Food+Drink

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Oaxacan Red Molè

‘Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter! No, you got your peanut butter in my chocolate!” Remember that old candy bar commercial that suggested that only a collision could bring the two flavors together? It turns out they are an obvious pairing for countless confections and desserts. Chocoholics everywhere agree that a day without chocolate is a day without sunshine. Eating chocolate causes endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by actually making you happy. Research has found that chocolate eaten in moderation can even lower blood pressure. One T-shirt I agree with reads: “Emergency alert: If wearer of this shirt is found vacant, listless or depressed, administer chocolate immediately!”

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Artisan Chocolate

Charlie Douglass faces supreme temptation daily. Nearly every morning he has a rendezvous with an enrober, a machine that releases a sensual wave of shining liquid chocolate over row after row of truffle centers.

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1859 & Dine: Breakfast Bliss

1859 anonymously reviews Oregon breakfast restaurants Victorian Café, Stepping Stone Café, Blue Scorcher Café and Deux Chats Bakery.

vernon t williams, wei wang, oregon state university, oregon research

Blue Cheese Popovers

Ingredients: 2 large eggs   1 cup whole milk   2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted   1 cup all-purpose flour   1/2 teaspoon salt   1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper   1 1/4 ounce Oregon blue cheese, crumbled   1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh thyme   Non stick spray   Directions: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour, salt and pepper. Whisk until all of the lumps have dissappeared. Whisk in the cheese and the thyme. Transfer the batter to an airtight container. The batter must be chilled; refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray non-sitck spray in to cups of mini-muffin pan. Fill each cup to the top with the chilled batter. Bake the popovers until golden and puffed, fifteen to eighteen minutes. Serve warm. 

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Apple Cider Cocktail

Rob Melton, bartender at Salem’s popular French bistro La Capitale, created this delicate and festive cocktail featuring E.Z. Orchards French cidre: 1 ounce Berentzen apple liquor*4 ounces chilled E.Z. Orchards cidreNutmeg and cinnamon stick Shake Berentzen in an ice-filled cocktail shaker for ten to fifteen seconds. Strain into a well-chilled martini glass. Top with cidre. Garnish with a thin apple slice, and a dusting of fresh grated cinnamon and nutmeg. *Berrentzen is a German apple schnapps available in well-stocked liquor stores. If you can’t find it, substitute another brand of apple schnapps. Food pairings Before prohibition spoiled all the fun, cider was one of America’s favorite drinks. With its farmhouse roots—inexpensive, relatively simple to make and a scrumptious way to use a bumper crop of apples – and low alcohol content, typically 3-7%, it was thought of as an everyday family beverage. It’s also complementary to a wide range of…

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Tangy Chicken Thighs in Apple Cider Reduction

Is there anything in a fruit bowl more accommodating than the apple? Fresh berries wait for no one. Peaches and plums turn soft and mealy in a few days. The greenest bananas will be covered with brown spots within a week while the apple waits patiently. Even when apples pass their optimal ripeness and you put them in the crisper for just a few more days, they can be used in a tart or made into apple sauce.

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1859 & Dine: Oregon Seafood

1859 anonymously reviews Oregon seafood restaurants Local Ocean Seafoods, Cabezon, Baked Alaska and Montage.

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An Apple Refined

Kevin Zielinski’s eyes light up as he names the apple varieties he tends at his Willamette Valley orchard, just outside of Salem. Champagne Rienette. Douce Moën. Muscadet de Lense. St. Martine. The sinuous vowels and soft consonants even sound delicious. Eventually, they become fluid when Zielinski transforms these French heirloom apples into a traditional sparkling hard cider that leaves many searching for words.

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Wild Mushroom Risotto with Oregon White Truffle Oil

Serves 10 as a starter or 4 for a main course Ingredients: ½ ounce dried porcini 1 quart water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon soy sauce ¼ pound unsalted butter 1 cup long grain rice ½ ounce dried onion Grated Parmesan cheese 2 ounces Joel Palmer House Oregon White Truffle Oil   Directions: In uncovered saucepan, bring water, dried mushrooms, sugar, salt and soy sauce to boil then add rice and reduce heat to simmer. Strain out the liquid and reserve. Chop the mushrooms finely. In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter and add the dried onion and rice. Stir for one minute then add the reserved mushroom liquid. Cook uncovered and stir gently until water is absorbed and evaporated, about fifteen to twenty minutes. Portion rice, drizzle lightly with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil and serve.