A trip to the theater

Yesterday, Anna and I had a theater date. As in, thee-ay-ter. Since I know how much Anna loves all things fancy, I planned a surprise trip to Cacao, a tiny chocolate boutique within The Heathman Hotel. We sipped our chocolate (one kid’s hot chocolate, one chocolate macchiato) in one of the hotel’s elegant sitting areas.

The chandelier and flower arrangement directly over our heads.

A tiny chandelier and cast shadows in the restroom.

Afterward, we went across the street to see Oregon Children’s Theatre’s performance of Giggle, Giggle, Quack. The show was great (all the OCT shows we’ve seen have been really high-quality), and the building is fantastic. After the show, many of the kids burned off extra energy climbing on a fantastic chair/sculpture in the theater lobby.

The theater's central skylight.

Anna, directly under the skylight in the theater lobby.

The above-mentioned chair/sculpture.

As usual, I couldn’t resist all the wonderful opportunities to capture shadows and reflections. And I love opportunities to be a tourist in my own town.

The signage outside The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, directly across from the theater.

Part of the theater facade, showing the circular staircase winding up to each floor.

Chandeliers inside Schnitzer Hall, with reflections from the theater.

The all-chocolate dinner party

A few days ago, I posted about my new chocolate addiction, courtesy of our trip to France. I was curious about an all-chocolate dinner party and decided to attempt one for my birthday dinner this week.

The idea began with this recipe for molé, from David Lebovitz. A few weeks later, he posted a recipe for this chocolate cake, and the decision was made. I had the main and the dessert, now I just had to round out the menu with some sides and an appetizer.

Browsing at Powell’s, I found this book from Scharffenberger, which is filled with amazing recipes and information for the chocolate-obsessed. I decided on a goat-cheese and cacao nib spread, with homemade lavash from the previously mentioned Artisan Bread in 5-minutes a Day (a second plug for that book: the more I use it the more I love it.) I added an aged gouda and some quince paste to the plate to round it out. I also had little chocolate disks (74% cacao, Dominican Republic), some salted almonds, and some nibs by themselves. I hadn’t eaten nibs before, but apparently they are quite good for you (no sugar, high in antioxidants and fiber).

Following the apps, which were served with Prosecco, we moved on the the molé, which I served with roasted butternut squash (from our garden) dressed with an olive oil/balsamic/shallot/cacao nib dressing (all these recipes are from the Scharffenberger book). Both the molé and the squash were amazing! We paired these with a Russian Hill syrah, which held up really well to the spices of the molé. This course was followed by a salad of baby spinach, pears, toasted walnuts, and more cacao nibs. More syrah, hilarious conversation, and a brief pause to recover before moving on to the dessert followed.

For dessert, I served the chocolate cake (which is almost like a dense mousse) with fresh raspberries, a little whipped cream, and a tawny port. Yum.

I have to say, the menu was exactly what I wanted it to be. I was able to incorporate chocolate into every single dish, but without anything being overly sweet or rich. Portions are definitely a part of that (we kept them reasonable) as was the use of good, dark chocolate. Even the cake has only a couple tablespoons of added sugar. So, as my gift to you, I present the cake recipe, in English, and with step-by-step directions (which you don’t get when reading David Lebovitz’s scrawled note off the bathroom wall at Racines, although it makes for a great story!) Enjoy!

Gateau Zoë

• 8oz salted butter (although I unintentionally used half that-8 tablespoons-and it turned out fine)
• 1/4 c strong espresso
• 2-3T superfine sugar
• 6 eggs, separated
• 8-11 oz good, dark chocolate (we used 11, bien sur!)

1. beat yolks with sugar
2. beat whites until stiff
3. melt chocolate and butter, add espresso
4. mix in yolks
5. fold in whites

Put the mixture in a buttered, floured, 9-inch cake pan (we used cocoa powder instead of flour). Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. The center will be molten, but the sides should be firm.

Note: we had a hell of a time getting it out of the pan, and basically it just fell apart. I suggest a spring-form pan if you’ve got one. If not, embrace the mess and pretend it’s mousse!

One last note: for my birthday present, David bought me a fancy crepe pan to further my francophile tendencies. I can only assume that a crepe post will follow soon!

Chocolate

I’ve never been a chocolate person. As a child I was partial to strawberry, and my preference for fruit-based ice creams and other desserts has remained pretty consistent. I’ll always choose the lemon tart over the chocolate cake.

In the past year or so I’ve watched my daughter discover chocolate, and I drew the conclusion that one was either a chocolate person (like my daughter) or wasn’t (like me).

And then we went to France. I’m not sure how it happened, except to say that a small amount of good, dark chocolate accompanies many things in France. Without realizing it, I developed a habit.

Since returning to Portland, my new-found love of chocolate has become obvious. First I made these outrageous dulche de leche brownies. Then, our good friends (confirmed chocoholics) introduced us to these candies, imported from France.

And then yesterday I had the pleasure of discovering Cacao. Located inside the Heathman Hotel, the tiny boutique chocolaterie sells “drinking chocolate” as well as coffee-based drinks (I had the dark chocolate mocha — divine) and imported chocolates from all over the world. I am especially excited to try the dark chocolate Grey Salt Caramels. Just in time for Valentine’s Day (hint hint)!