Corn Meal-Crusted Chicken and Chocolate Waffle

Upon viewing the title of this post, you're probably wondering why I'm blogging about chicken if I own a dessert cafe. Well if you're out of the loop, you may not know that we also serve a Five Course Chocolate Tasting Dinner once a month in addition to our regular sugary faire.

Exclusively on September 20th we are offering seatings at 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 for our Southern Comfort Prix Fixe dinner. For $35 each our, guests to enjoy:

White Chocolate Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
Butter Beans with Cocoa-Glazed Duroc Bacon
Sauteed Southern Greens with Candied Cocoa Nibs
Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken and Chocolate Waffle with Chile-Maple Syrup
Sweet Potato Pie with Milk Chocolate Gelato

Yesterday we did a little recipe testing and tried out the entree- our eclipsed version of fried chicken and waffles. Crusted in cornmeal and a savory herb blend of African Grains of Paradise, Tellicherry Peppercorns, and Maldon Sea-salt, our pan-fried chicken breast rests upon a cripsy waffle of buckwheat and cocoa. Served with a generous portion of chile-infused real maple syrup, it's sweet and savory all rolled into one. If you've never come across the Grains of Paradise before, they really make the chicken sing. The tiny seeds have a pungent, peppery taste which is closely related cardamom. I also use them in my Moroccan Spice chocolate bar because of their North African association.

You'll only find this plating for our September dinner, and as they regularly sell-out, don't wait to make your reservation. Call (619.578.2984) or email (info@eclipsechocolat.com) your reservation today.

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Basil-Absinthe Truffle

Continuing my foray into my pantry cabinet for ingredients too expensive for their own good, this week I am finishing up a ganache for a lovely little ditty I am calling Basil-Absinthe.

Absinthe originally became popular in the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries in France, particularly among artists and writers like Charles Baudelaire, Vincent van Gogh, and Oscar Wilde. Absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive and psychoactive drug due to the presense of the chemical thujone. Although Absinthe was vilified, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary liquor. Its psychoactive properties, apart from those of alcohol, had been much exaggerated.

By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries due to the temperance movement. A revival of the Green Faerie began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale, and in 2007, various brands began to infulitrate the American market when it was legalized here, too. It was about that time that I also became fascinated by it.

The herbal flavors of aniseed, star anise, and fennel is pretty intense, so I decided to showcase the liqour on a palate of 61% dark chocolate ganache. Becuase it is 100 proof, Absinthe is never drank straight up. It is usually enjoyed poured over a sugar cube and diluted with water. Following the same idea, I chose to finished this truffle with a coating of more dark chocolate and a healthy garnish of a house-made basil sugar. It's a neat addition with an intense aroma of basil that you perceive well before any chocolate actually meets your palate.

It's a limited edition flavor, so come get it while it lasts.
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Eclipse Chocolat Travels to the Bay Area!

Zach, my professional God-Send, newly acquired General Manager, and all around fun-lovin Wing-Man has been doing great things around the cafe since he started his career with Eclipse back in June. Can you tell I'm pretty fond of him? He's a pretty awesome guy... and he's single, ladies! That's Zach Negin, GS, GM, WM. Find him here during most business days and Saturday afternoons.

Seriously though, I've kept him quite busy with some exciting business growth & development tasks and so far he's performing quite nicely. On the top of his agenda is a business trip that he and I are taking next weekend to the Bay Area. We will be doing some sales approaches to some of SF's finest foodie shops, boutiques, and cafes hoping to draw up new accounts for the upcoming winter holidays. We've also managed to find a day to ourselves (sans Eclipse) to explore the area at large. Personally, I've only been there once, so I'm quite excited to get out and about.

So we're packing suitcases of chocolate bars, caramels, and truffles in hopes to spread the good cocoa-word. And while we're gone (Thursday through Sunday) we're entrusting the cafe to our finest. All cupcakes and brownies will be baked courtesy of the amazing Autumn, and all customer service has been entrusted to the lovely Jen and Nicole. Don't forget to say your thanks... they're each picking up my slack quite nicely.

And how does this effect me?, you ask? Well I suppose this post is more of a Call-To-Arms than anything else. I'd love to hear from you all with recommendations. We will be wandering about the streets of SF, Berkley, and Oakland and we'd love to hear where you think Eclipse should make a stand. Have a favorite shop? Tell us! With a little luck, you may find our line there before Xmas. We're also excited to hear of all the can't-be-missed foodie haunts. After all, we will need to eat at least 11 meals while we're there, plus snacks!

Honey-Saffron Truffle

I made a new Special Edition truffle today and it turned out to be quite possibly the most expensive infusion I've ever made. Not that it broke the bank, but it's not every day that I dive into my ingredient pantry to pull out a few Jacksons of exotic spices. And while the flavor is particular enough to disinterest a few of my regular clients, this truffle is a rare treat for those excited by Spanish Saffron.

Honey-Saffron begins with a ganache made from cream infused with sweet honey and the dried stigma of an exciting little Spanish flower. The little flecks of ruby yield tremendous flavor and color to whichever liquid they are steeped, but since each stigma requires hand-harvesting, Saffron, as the most expensive spice in the world, remains a costly ingredient even in its potency. After setting, we rolled each truffle in a coating of 31% white chocolate and garnish with an equally romantic ingredient, Bee Pollen.

Gathered by the worker bees, Bee Pollen contains a wild cocktail of health-wise components including all the essential amino acids, a full spectrum of vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B12, C, D and E), and various minerals (calcium, manganese, phosphorous, iron, sodium, potassium, aluminium, magnesium, and copper). Culinarily speaking, the little pollen granules are vaguely earthy in flavor with strong honey overtones and sandy in texture. Not exactly your go-to sweet treat, still I love using it in conjunction with honey whenever possible. It's the romantic in me.

Personally I love the idea of this truffle (infused with flower stigmas & honey, topped with pollen), but that's mostly because of my love of all things apiary. Regardless of your fondness (or lack there of) of our bee-kind brethren, it's a pretty truffle in cross-section with the warm golden ganache framed by a creamy-white shell. We will be showcasing this infusion through the early Fall, so don't miss out.
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ART ROCKS! University Heights Arts Open Reception

We don't typically have much hanging on the walls though this weekend we're very excited about hosting a local painter. Steve Briner has provided us with a wonderful collection of work that will be on display this Friday, September 5th. Join us and meet the arists for the opening that evening from 6-9 here at the cafe. We will be sampling some of our Exotic Truffle Infusions including Double Espresso, Lavender Sea-salted Caramel, and a brand new seasonal infusion: Honey-Saffron.

We chose to display Steve's work to participate in the University Heights Third Annual Arts Open: ART ROCKS!. This Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 5pm our neighborhood will be showcasing over 100 artists, playwrights, performers, and musicians at various local stops. Check out the full details here.

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Exotic Gelato- Part Quattro

I made two more Exotic Gelatos before the weekend, but ran out of time to do a posting before our Spectacular. In all, the event was a lot of fun and we were washing tasting spoon all day long. We settled on seven signature flavors:

Buttermilk Vanilla Bean
Milk Chocolate & Sea-salt Nib
Marshmallow Almond Rococo
Chile-Burnt Caramel & Mango
Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Chunk
Salty Peanut Butter Toffee
Extra Dark Chocolate Espresso Bean

We are also pulling "special edition flavors" from our freezer when the moment seems right. This first week we made and sold quite a few pints of Azteca Cinnaroll. It's out of stock until I can find the time to make more!

Remember the rice pudding from the last tasting dinner? Well, what was left found its way into pints of Black Rice Pudding gelato. All the comfort of both an ice cream and a rice pudding. See it here next to the Extra Dark Chocolate Espresso Bean.
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Exotic Gelato- Part Tre

Two more Exotic Gelato flavors comin' your way. It's been fun pumping my favorite flavor profiles into an iced format. Did I mention how yummy the Milk Chocolate & Sea-salt Nib is? Well it is... and how!

Today I am debuting another salty treat that is near and dear to my heart. Last fall I started making Salty Peanut Butter Toffee, and everyone seemed to love it. It quickly became one of those things that even I find myself sneaking snacks on. Well the flavor profile found its way into a cupcake months later which also seemed to be well appreciated. So I ask you, the cocoa-crazed masses, how can I NOT stuff this stuff into ice cream, too?

Salty Peanut Butter Toffee Gelato is pretty much all it claims to be. I start with my Buttermilk Vanilla Bean base, and upon freezing I fold in premium peanut butter, my house-made Peanut Butter Toffee, and Maldon sea-salt. No chocolate in this one, folks, but with all that's going on here... well who needs it?

The other gelato launched today is Mint Chocolate Chip-Brownie Chunk. Again, with the heady title no one should be surprised on this one, either. Peppermint-infused 61% dark chocolate chips and our house-made Double Dark Chocolate Brownies stud the creamy vanilla base. It's got an intense mint flavor and is two tons of fun packed in a little pint.

These and our other six featured gelato concoctions are available frozen by the pint. Don't forget to stop in during our Spectacular for your free samples!

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