As a chef, and really as a person, winter is an interesting time, a time when the need for comfort magnifies. For me the winter is when I slow a bit, recharge, refocus and spend time cooped up in my warm home reacquainting with my family.
As I have watched this process play out each year, not just in my life but in the lives of others as well, I see why at winter’s midpoint we begin to crave the excitement of romance – Valentine’s Day. The world slows in various degrees of hibernation during the winter months, colors fade (though at least I replace that color with my imagination), maybe by reading a book. Maybe by going to the store and finding the most colorful vegetables I can to make dinner. Or maybe, just maybe, instead of color I look for flavor, for me in February that flavor is, has been and always will be chocolate.
What coffee is to the start of my day, chocolate is to the start of my year. Chocolate seems to wake my senses in ways no other food or, for that matter, no other thing can do. Wakened senses open the door to the romance of possibilities and the excitement to share each new day with someone else. And though I can find enjoyment alone, there is something validating in the sharing process of a great meal, or, in this case, the end to a great meal.
I knew I wanted a to create a recipe that featured chocolate with one of our jams and, with the suggestion of one of my friends and fellow chefs, I decided to make a chocolate crepe and fill it with our Almond Cherry Jubilee Jam. – Steve Sommers, Executive Chef
CHOCOLATE CREPES
¾ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (5oz)
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 egg
¼ cup dark chocolate chips (over 50% cocoa content) (1.8oz)
Fischer & Wieser’s Almond Cherry Jubilee Jam
10 oz milk
Butter for frying
Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water (bain marie) and let it cool down a bit. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Pour in the chocolate and mix again. Make sure there are no lumps. Heat up your frying pan, add a small piece of butter and pour the chocolate batter over – use a ladle or a measuring cup. Spread around evenly by lifting the pan and turning it allowing the batter spread. Once set, turn it over and cook for a further 1/2 minute to a minute (or until cooked). Serve with Fischer & Wieser Almond Cherry Jubilee Jam.
