Chocolaterie Wanders

I came across this post by chance - just a quick update: We moved up to Vermont in 2011. I am the pastry manager at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT and enjoy my time here tremendously. It was not easy leaving the DC area - we had a great time and business was a lot of fun, but as the family grew, priorities shifted and we chose to move. Definitely the right choice for us - I will be in the area in March again just for a quick visit. It's amazing how much has happened in the DC area since then! Much love and greetings

Quick note from our trip to some wineries yesterday: Breaux Vineyards Nice and full body wines, the reds were surprisingly good, especially the 2002 Merlot. Breaux reminded us of Californian wineries in appearance of the lot and tasting building in light brown, almost Tuscan colors. It was too bad that the tasting glasses were so small and the prices fairly steep. A glass of the Merlot was served in the same small glass and came to be $9. Corcoran Vineyards Very small and very charming. Six wines to taste, the Viognier (Estate grown) was so good that we had to get two bottles of it ($20 ea.). We will be back!

We went to Williams today and got two gallons of apple cider and a half a bushel of apples. YUMM! It really is delicious. They said they will have cider another 10 days or so - I don't think we can make it out there again, but we'll be there next year - thats for sure! Beautiful drive too, now that the trees are changing .....

Awesome, thank you for the reply. We won't be able to make it this weekend, but (hopefully) early next week we'll step by there. Can't wait!

no-one mentioned Vienna's Cenans Bakery yet? We practically live off their bread most warm weather days (we get their bread from our farmers market - when that is closed, we make our own ....). I think the owners are Italian/Turkish and their breads are very good, nice crust, nice and heavy loaves, great flavor. Every week we get the 'Danish Kernel Bread' which makes a great grilled cheese or tastes really good with hummus and tomato. <link>

We had one lady tell us that it was impossible to sell unpasteurized apple cider at the farmers market. We'll call the FDA next week to check on that. In supermarkets or other commercial establishments we couldn't find any apple cider that has not been heat treated. It would be a shame, since unpasteurized apple cider tastes SO much better. PS. Nicholls FAQ on apple cider: link

Folks, we were wondering if anyone knows where to get unpasteurized apple cider. That said we do know the legal situation in the state of Virginia (and we won't put it in chocolate!). If anyone has information on this feel free to reply in this post or per PM. Thanks!!! [We lived a while in OH and we got spoiled up there with delicious unpasteurized apple cider!)

I had a hard time finding something I didn't like in this post. But this is definetly one of those things. We were on our way to Tain L'Hermitage, a little town about an hour south of Lyon. It was already too late - we got in rush hour coming from Paris and didn't suspect it to be THAT bad. Anyway, it was 12:30AM and we didn't have dinner yet. I pulled over at a gas station south of Lyon and we checked out the menu. Although I had learned the French language in high school, it wasn't really helping me understand anything on there. So we just ordered anything that gave us hope to get sth. fried. Well I tried to erase most memories of that dinner - but the fried sausage filled with inerts remains. It looked just like the one on the quoted post - just deep-fried. The second I cut in it it gave off a stench that just can't be described. I gave it one try, but the gummy-y texture didn't do it for me. We ate the fries and hit the road - hungry, but happier to be on the road again. The croissanterie in Tain L'Hermitage made us forget about last nights dinner excursion and we enjoyed our stay at the Valrhona factory in this small and almost forgotten town.

it is a classic .... scene => http://youtube.com/watch?v=wDlSlwqNcmY Note: oh, you might not want to view this after your dinner / have eaten / or have a weak stomach

went there and had our bbq fix it didn't wow us, but it was alright ...... not nearly as good as some places we have been in NC while we were living there ...

oh, i think they do and they have fantastic 'leberkaese' ....mmmh we got a lot of sausage and other meat products there - too bad our freezer is limited in size! come to think of it - wouldn't that be an awesome marketing idea for a swedish chef to open a restaurant in the US?

yeah, everyone should at least go by once being from germany, it was a pleasure to shop there a few weeks ago .... lots of familiar brands and products. they are opening up a second location - i think planned was end of summer, but this was still in the making and not rock-solid. check out their website - also for the address here: http://www.german-gourmet.com/

What is your take on fast food chains like MCD, BK or other chained family restaurants? I would rather see them being controlled more thoroughly ...

on imdb.com (intl. movie database) they list this movie as a remake of 'mostly martha' the preview on tv looked just like it and i was wondering if it would be a remake .... anyhow, nice to see more food related content in our cinemas ....

We are working close together with Chris and Pearmund Cellars/La Grange. Our Pate de Fruit are made with all Pearmund Cellar wines ... Personally I prefer Pearmund Cellar's wines, the Ameritage Reserve (PC) being my favorite red. The whites are delicious as well, especially the Riesling has been very successful. You can certainly taste a difference in the wines between both wineries, fermentation techniques and oaks used differ from each other, although Chris has his hands in all operations to some degree It is really not that far away from the Beltway and 66 - just avoid rush hours - especially on the last stretch on 66 it gets a little congested at times ... oh, and when you are there, ask for some chocolate samples of ours - they usually hide them somewhere - if they are not gone that is.

lmao We had our black bean dip last night (black beans, garlic, onions, red peppers, sour cream, chipotle pepper, kinda mashed up) with steamed carrots, broccoli, cucumber slices and roasted pita chips. We alternate this with substituting the black bean dip with hummus .... Can you tell we are on a diet?

I don't know about that one PoolBoy, but the one in the Manassas/Bristow at Linton Hall Rd./Nokesville Rd. opens next Wednesday (June 27th) ...

Great review Betty. We just stayed one night in NYC and didn't make it to WD-50, although we met Stupak (a former class-mate of Melanie). I just wanted to add a quick recommendation: Payard Patisserie & Bistro on Lexington Ave. We were surprised to see how big it actually is on the inside and the assortments and varieties of confections/pastries/savories and breads reminded me of Europe - Paris actually. We were on the run, but had enough time to enjoy a cappuccino, a piece of plum/puff pastry and a "martinique" which had poached pear and caramel mousse inside. The latter was very sweet and although it had a nice caramel flavor, it didn't really do it for me. The puff pastry with plums though was delicious and it reminded us of my dad's plum cake in Germany (which is not as sweet though). We didn't get a chance to taste any of the chocolates and since we stopped by M. Cluizel and some other chocolatiers earlier we opted out on even more sweets to try I will also post a more complete review of the different stores we visited on our trip on my blog (-> signature)

We might make it to the cinemas for that one. Pixar delivers fun movies and it would be great to see something food related hit the younger age groups .... we might even make June 29th

We were pleasantly surprised as well. I enjoyed the little dishes that kept your food warm. I did order mine extra spicy, but got it just medium hot (probably because my wife ordered hers not very spicy).The only downer on that night was that we were served the dessert (milk rice kinda) and we were charged for it - well, we didn't order it and were 'assuming' that it was complimentary. Yeah it wasn't. If you are out in Manassas again and crave something Middle Eastern, then there is an alternative, although it is no sit-down and not as formal dining. It is also located on Sudley Manor, although on the other side of the road - a very small shop that serves Middle Eastern food. They do not offer Falafel (one of our favorite dishes), but have a nice Tandoori oven and great chicken skewers. Very friendly owners and nicely painted interior. <Link>

I first heard about it from friends a couple of weeks ago. It would be sad, if we lose our standard of good chocolate here in the US. In Germany, they have certain distinctions for foods - they are not laws, but rather guidelines that have to be respected. It would be very misleading for customers if this gets pulled through by the industry. Everyone should voice their opinion on this to the FDA. They extended the deadline, which was April 25th I think to sometimes in May or June. Please go to the site established by G. Guittard reffered to in the above linked article and let them know what you think about this issue. I cannot understand why anyone would want to eat a 'chocolate bar' that contains no cocoa butter, but instead trans fats .... didn't we learn that trans fats are bad for us? What do you guys think of this? I personally think that the food industry would distance itself from the artisan chocolatier even more and that just might be to our advantage - on the other side, more and more people will have to be informed of what they are really eating and will the majority of people realize the difference?

Is that not an interesting thing about just ice tea and lemon. My recommondation is to always let the server know with clear, short and distinct voice, friendly of course. If I have a drink, be it water or tea or coffee - I usually do not want any refill, out of the same reason mentioned above. If I see the server approaching I put my hand above the cup/glass and smile at the server and say: Thnak you. Well, this doesn't always work and sometimes it can be dangerous (-> hot coffee) I had to get used to this, because in Germany there is nothing like a 'free' refill anywhere (this is pre-year 2000), so the problem does not occur. We usually enjoy the dinner and the service, no matter how crazy it is sometimes. The only I get annoyed by a misbehaviour of servers is, if it is a special occasion or a very good restaurant, where something like this is really not the right place. Since we are mostly mild in character and know both sides (Melanie is a chef and I waited many times in my parents pastry shop) we can overlook little mistakes by the servers, especially when they are inexperienced, we are very forgiving. And then there is the aspect that in other countries you do not get that exclusive threatment, that you get here. In Cologne, Germany for example it is 'fashion' that you get threated bad (or not as good) as a customer in a bar/restaurant. I find it kinda weird, but if you know what to expect it can be amusing. Don't be surprised if the waittress says: "If you want to know what we have to offer, look at the menu" I do believe in the saying: "The customer is always right", but at the same time you cannot take everything with sunken head. The working force in a restaurant is not there to be taken out on all the problems that one might have. Once again ... communication is everything.

i was making gelato in my dads pastry shop. we had a professional italian ice cream machine, where you would be able to cook the custard in the top compartment and then feed it directly into the freezing bowl below it. we experimented with many recipes and learned about the relationships between fat/water/sugar levels of custard mixtures. to enhance the rich flavor we also added milk powder. the only thing i didn't like about the milk powder was, that it had its 'own' taste. you are definely able to tell, compared side to side [that depends on the amount used though]. you are probably able to see the difference of a batch with milk powder against a batch without it, after a week in the freezer. but then again, ice cream shouldn't get that old anyways.

that is terrible. not to get too off-topic ... over in europe the city hopper airplanes that fly netween the countries cost you as little as 25EUR round trip ... there you do not get anything to eat, but you are only in air 30-60 minutes anyways ... my thought is: when the airline can make enough money with 25EUR a passenger in europe, then they might as well give you more than a muffin or two here .... back on topic, i regularly enjoy the peanuts and nut mix i get with delta on the way to cleveland, ohio ... we usually have fruits and sandwiches with us anyways or just sleep during the flight .... regarding the poster that mentioned emirates air .... i have only heard good things about them. they were voted best airline numerous years ... the only airline coming close to it, that we flew a few times was singapore airlines. very good service and really delicious meals.

Coming from Europe I can only recommend using marzipan instead of fondant. I do have to say though, that it is kinda hard to find good marzipan (=without added almond extract) anywhere. And you might not have the equipment or time to make it yourself. And third, many people might dislike the fact that the color will not be white (unless you coat the marzipan layer with white chocolate - and even then it is not really white). Marzipan covered cake: Another possibility is to go completely different .... I made this cake for a friend in Germany on the go (he didn't tell me that he didn't have a cake until 2 days before the wedding) ... It is a (low-fat) banana bread recipe on the inside, layered with a almond (=marzipan)/pastry cream/rum filling. Topped with a mirror out of ganache ... the sides decorated with ladyfingers and finished with (real) flowers ....