As I write this, the first light snow is falling from the sky, and it really feels like sweater season. I often dread the beginning of this cold weather. I miss the farmer’s market, the madness of the holidays are looming over my head, and, I’m just plain cold. This year is different. The weather cooled very gently and after nine years of working at Caputo’s for the holidays, I’m feeling shockingly calm—almost zen, if you will.

So as the holidays approach and the snow starts to fall more frequently and in bigger doses, let’s enjoy it with our best friends and family over treats and nibbles. You’ll need a cocktail too, of course. Here’s how we’re enjoying the transition to winter:

CHEESE: Ossau Iraty Reserve

One of the most-celebrated and well-known Basque cheeses is made even more delicious in the hands of Caputo’s own affineuse, Antonia Horne, in the chilly comfort of our Cheese Cave. Ossau Iraty arrives in great condition to eat immediately. It tastes mildly grassy and sweet, and is a great choice for the table when you crave the comfort of a creamy, alpine-style cheese. But this is Caputo’s after all, so, of course, we couldn’t just let you settle for a good cheese. We want you to experience great cheese, and we want everyone to know first hand how our caves affect and improve even the most delicious wheels. Antonia gives the ultimate TLC to Ossau for six months. That sweet, grassy cheese transforms to have a deep, complex, brand new flavor. Ossau Reserve offers newly developed notes of caramel and browned butter with a still-perfect interior and more interesting and aromatic rind.

Enjoy this with your favorite cheese accouterments and wine alone, or get your cheese geek on and try the original Ossau and Ossau Reserve in a side-by-side tasting to see exactly what the differences are. You’ll want to hug Antonia afterwards. I always do.

CHOCOLATE: Solstice Chocolate

We give you one, fantastic chocolate almost every month, but this month is special. Here why:

1. We couldn’t agree on one Solstice bar. We didn’t have time to sell tickets to the WWE-style brawl it would take to select one, because of…
2. SOLSTICE CHOCOLATE FEST. That’s right. Our 4th annual Chocolate Fest features our first locally-made chocolate. Each bar will be featured in a dish made by a talented local chef in a sweet or savory application, plus all proceeds will be donated to the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Initiative (read more here).
3. Have you had Solstice? Could you pick one? Of course not, and neither could we.

Solstice is locally-made and has been blowing our minds. We’ve never seen the kind of support for a local chocolate like this. Solstice is on the menu of some of the best restaurants downtown, and it’s being used by Chocolatier Blue for its amazing chocolates. What’s more, Solstice is crafting chocolate with a no-waste and eco-friendly operation.

BAR: Beehive Spiced Orange Bitters

Bitters are the future, friends. Seriously. Local bitters are even more exciting. Imagine, little ol’ Utah making top-tier, high-quality bitters. Yeah, it’s happening.

Beehive Bitters is making a small selection of bitters that belong on the bar cart of any cocktail enthusiast. Not much for cocktails at home yet? You’ll find these bitters behind the best bars in the city, or you can add them to your personal pantry for cooking, baking, and marinading. The Beehive Spiced Orange Bitters is the perfect welcome to the cold weather. I’ll be using this in everything from plays on hot toddies to cranberry sauce. I’m even experimenting with turkey brine recipes that call this. The possibilities aren’t just endless, they’re exciting and, more often than not, quite rewarding.

I don’t consider myself a serious baker, but I enjoy baking. I also don’t consider myself a festive person, but I do enjoy getting in the spirit of things with the right people. And the right people are often kids. I will not go crazy decorating with friends, but I will with my little sister or with my friends’ children,  a number rapidly growing with each passing year. I love crafting with kids, and Matt and Yelena were gracious enough to let me steal their two darling littles for some fun Halloween-themed cake decorating.

I love cake pops. Say what you will about them, but small portions of delicious cake that don’t require utensils are always a yes in my book. Plus, it got us in the mood for the upcoming holiday. Marou’s Heart of Darkness bar is an incredible option for chocolate cake pops.

In making cake pops, the actual cake matters, but the binder matters even more. Most cake pops use icing to keep the crumb together. Here, we’re using an easy ganache that’s a real knockout. As a refresher, ganache is the magical combination of chocolate and cream. Different ratios serve different purposes—from glazes and icings to truffle fillings and beyond. The high percentage of cacao in the Heart of Darkness bar make it rich and complex, while those intriguing tasting notes shine through any kind of decorating you succumb to. Sprinkles and icing are no match for the intense flavor of this bar. You’ll have no trouble sneaking these while the kids are out trick or treating or while fast asleep after their sugar high come down.

SPOOKY MAROU CAKE POPS
Makes about 20 cake pops

• 20-25 lollipop sticks, available at any craft store
• One 8-inch chocolate cake (I love using this recipe)
• 3 Marou Heart of Darkness bars, or about 9 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces
• 3 ounces heavy cream
• 6 ounces white chocolate for icing, optional
• Immersion blender, optional, but so handy

In a large mixing bowl, crumble the cake between your fingers into fine crumbs. Set aside.

Simmer a small pot of water. Set a metal or glass bowl over it, making sure there is air between the bottom of the bowl and the simmering water. Pour cream into bowl and heat until it’s warm enough to melt the chocolate. Add 3 ounces of chocolate and stir to melt. Once the chocolate is melted, immerse your blender fully, making sure there is no air stuck in the top of your blender. Blend until your ganache is fully mixed and shimmering. If you don’t have a blender, continue stirring until the ganache comes together. Set aside to cool.

Once ganache has cooled, add small amounts to your cake crumb and mix with your hands. Continue adding ganache until the crumb holds together, but isn’t totally dense and weighed down. Scoop out portions for your cake balls. Roll each into a ball on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and freeze 5-10 minutes.

While your cake balls are chilling, begin melting the remaining chocolate over simmering water to coat your cake balls. Poke a lollipop stick into each cake ball, spoon melted chocolate over each ball until fully coated. Coat all in dark chocolate or use another bowl to melt the white chocolate and use the same process to coat. You can set these on a plate to set and have a flat bottom, or stick the bottom of each stick into styrofoam to set in a more circular ball. Allow 30 minutes to set, then decorate to your heart’s desire. Or you can just eat them—that works too!

So, did September actually happen? Between the warm weather and busy schedules we’ve kept here at Caputo’s, I’m quite positive we jumped right from August to October. I’m just starting to pull my sweaters and comfy socks out of storage and see cute posts of friends getting their hands on the the season’s first pumpkins. I’m ready for cozy dinner parties, hot drinks, comforting stews, and all the wonderful traditions of autumn. We’re keeping things fun and festive this month to help you welcome the cool weather in tasty fashion. Here’s what we’ll be noshing on this month.

PANTRY: Maestri Squid Ink Spaghetti

There is really nothing better in life than a plate of high quality pasta. If the quality is there, I could not care less about the sauce accompanying it or the vessel in which it is served. I would argue that bronze dye extruded shapes and artisan style pasta is a dying art form that is giving way to slippery, cheap teflon-cut noodles. Dear friends, they are not the same. The ideal pasta is roughly textured on a molecular level, creating a sponge-like surface that holds sauce to itself rather than floating in a puddle of it. There is a toothsome texture and flavor from the grains it was made from. To have the best pasta is to have life. Seriously, this is the stuff of gods. I say you’ve earned the right to a better pasta, don’t you?

Maestri is handmade and extruded by master pasta maker Giovanni Castiello in the most attentive, dedicated fashion. Castiello has traveled across all of Italy to learn and perfect over 80 shapes of pasta. Each shape receives the same TLC and attention to detail as the next. This black—dare I say spooky—spaghetti is colored with squid ink and is the perfect base for a seafood-laden dish. Keep it simple with garlic, oil, herbs, and your shellfish of choice, or let your creative juices flow with a combination of flavors. We’re loving an ‘nduja-spiked tomato sauce with scallops, shrimp, and clams. I dig it so much, I’ll likely have to share the recipe it with you.

BAR: Bittermen’s Hellfire Habanero Shrub

More from the master of all things specialty food, Matt Caputo: “As bitters makers go, Bittermens has mastered the technical skill needed to perfectly execute consistent, quality bitters. Despite all that precision, none of the artistry is lost. In fact, these are some of the most creative concoctions found anywhere, flavors that pay homage to pre-Prohibition era cocktail culture but have a wide arc all their own. Bittermens is for the barkeep who has mastered the classics and is ready to create.”

Bittermen’s spicy little shrub is a perfect way to add a spicy kick to cocktails and food alike. I find myself adding this to everything from sauces for tacos and enchiladas, tomato sauces for pasta, tequila cocktails, and spicy brownies. This shrub is the perfect balance of acid and spice.

The hardest part of getting your hands on this bottle is then deciding whether to store it in the bar or pantry once you’ve brought it home.

CHOCOLATE: Marou Heart of Darkness

Don’t you wish Matt Caputo could narrate your entire food journey for your entire life? This is as close as we can get, but it’s pretty fantastic, right?

“Marou evokes many thoughts and emotions. From exhilaration, lust, fear, and back to comfort. It is an incredibly complex and exotic chocolate. It manages to be ethereal and visceral at the same time. On the one hand, it is like an exotic and mysterious woman whispering in a language you can’t remotely comprehend. On the other, it is like a musical journey from slow Asian instrumentals to death metal.

Using 100-percent Vietnamese ingredients, including shade-grown cacao from five different provinces, Marou captures aromas and flavors never before experienced by our Western palates. While it will take us much more tasting to really get to know the soul of Marou’s chocolate, one thing is perfectly clear: The two French expatriates behind Marou who live in Vietnam make chocolate that is a cousin to French cuisine, but distinctively Vietnamese. Marou makes globalization look sexy.”

It can’t get much darker than 85% without beginning to lose its palatability. Marou has mastered the art of creating a super-dark chocolate that is still super delicious. Some chocolate with this percentage of cacao content are far too bitter, and I find myself wishing for just a touch more sugar. Not here. You’ll love its deep and dark complexity and its full flavor and nuance. Plus, the nod to the eerie novel from whence its name comes makes it an ideal bar for October.

It’s here: the last moments of summer. As we say goodbye to the sunshine-filled days of summer and welcome a new school year, we want to make sure to savor the flavors of the harvest season with the most delicious, new, and craveable treats from Caputo’s. Take a peek at our latest obsessions here:
CHEESE: Mesa Feta

Mesa Farm in Torrey, Utah, is home to a local artisan very near and dear to our hearts. Randy Ramsley is at the helm of Mesa, which is home to about 40 goats near the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park. Here, Randy raises his small herd along the banks of the Fremont River and creates a small collection of world-class cheeses. Our current favorite is his 100-percent local goat’s milk feta. Aged about four month to achieve optimal flavor, Mesa Feta is tangy, briny, and delicious. This cheese is the perfect pair for our local bounty of fruits and vegetables. Toss it into Greek-inspired salads, over seasoned watermelon or stone fruit, and top your grilled burgers, mushrooms, and other veggies with it. You’ll be glad you did, and we’ll be glad to have you in full support of this fantastic local product.

***In 2023, Randy of Mesa Farm entered his beautifully earned retirement. The farm and its singular cheeses will live on in our hearts and stories for years to come.***

SAVORY: Piquillo Peppers

There are many piquillo copycats out there, and for darn good reason. Piquillo peppers, which translate to ‘little beak’ in Spanish, are a cornerstone of Spanish cooking and tapas culture. Piquillo peppers—grown in Northern Spain, near Lodosa—offer a sweet flavor with no spiciness, and a sturdy, meaty texture. Piquillo peppers are roasted, seeded, and de-stemmed before canning. Your piquillos should be whole when they come out of the jar. Stuff them with high quality Spanish tuna, a mixture of cheese and herbs (cough, like the Mesa feta above, cough, cough), or chop and toss into frittatas, casseroles, stews, and more. Use these instead of other roasted peppers for amplified flavor, and they’ll make your dish even tastier.

BAR: Peychaud’s Bitters

We’ve got another traditional cornerstone for you here. This Craving is one part Creole magic and one part cocktail king. Created by New Orleans apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud in the 1830s, this bitters has withstood not just the test of time, but it was one of the only bitters to survive Prohibition. Light, sweet, and floral, this is an absolute must-have for home cocktail enthusiasts and professional mixologists alike. You can’t make a proper Sazerac without it, and you deserve a Sazerac after that first week of getting the kids through school.

CHOCOLATE: Pump Street Hacienda Limon 85%

Pump Street has stormed on to the American market after a publicized mention at the Oscars. It has long had a cult-like following for both its baked goods and chocolate alike. Hailing from the almost-too-cute and quaint town of Orford, Suffolk, Pump Street coaxes Heirloom Cacao Preservation cacao beans into some of the most decadent bars we’ve tasted. These bars are complex, perfectly textured, and truly craveable. Pump Street offers beans from Hacienda Limon in three different cacao percentages to explore the full spectrum of flavor from these heirloom beans. The Guantupi region of Ecuador is home to cacao beans used by many artisan chocolate makers across the country, but we just can’t get enough of Pump Street lately—especially the 85% bar. This is the ultimate gift to give the most important person in your life: yourself! Go on, indulge.

It’s one of the original matches made in food heaven, and it’s a part of mornings all over the world. Coffee is the jumpstart to the day, a delicious welcome to the day ahead. Milk softens the blow of pure black coffee for some, and adds texture or flavor for others. Either way, we all sure do love it.

OmNom took a necessary part of my daily beverage intake and turned it into something innovative, exciting, and entirely delicious, the Coffee + Milk Bar. These chocolate makers took lightly-roasted coffee and processed it in the exact same way they do with cacao beans to make a bar of chocolate. Sugar, milk powder, and cacao butter are added for sweetness and texture. The result is a creamy, delicious bar that tastes exactly like we’d expect, milk and coffee.

I’ve kept a sneaky stash of this in my office since we received our first shipment. I’ve been trying to cut down on my caffeine intake lately. Somehow, I’ve justified the C+M bar as a chocolate-like treat rather than a coffee break. It’s working out splendidly. It’s working out so well, in fact, that this has become my new go-to gift for little “thank you”s and birthday treats.

Stash this bar away for yourself, give it as a fun gift, or use it as a groovy substitute for milk chocolate in your favorite recipes. The coffee flavor will come through in a fun and tasty way.

August is an exciting time for us at Caputo’s, because our favorite local and seasonal produce pairs perfectly with our favorite crave-able market finds. Barbecues, warm nights, and fun events are still plentiful, and what’s a fun summer evening without delicious goodies to share with your pals? Get these Cravings in your life to enhance your August foodie fun.

CHEESE: Halloumi

Halloumi is an unique cheese in many ways. There’s almost no melting point to speak of, so a quick and hot sear or grill will give slices of halloumi a really delicious, caramelized exterior and firm center. You won’t experience this with any other cheese, and we totally dig that. Try grilling this with some kosher salt and drizzling it with honey. If you really want to get fancy, throw in some charred cherry tomatoes, basil chiffonade, and condiment olive oil. Drooling? Yeah, thought so.

SAVORY: Biellese Finocchiona

This may or not be my very favorite salami—like, ever. Coarsely-ground pork is seasoned primarily with fennel seed, and boy do I have a soft spot for fennel flavors. Cured meat can often feel heavy and overly savory, but Biellese has created a salami that is delicate, sweet, and perfect for snacking on with your favorite summer white wine or beer. Ask your deli monger for thin slices to eat solo or wrap slices around seasoned ricotta and roasted farmers market veggies. Did I mention this is a favorite product from Slow Food USA? Not only is it delicious, but it also embodies all the values we so adore from the Slow Food movement. Three cheers for this salami!

CHOCOLATE: Solstice Limited Edition Solstice Gran Couva (SOLD OUT!)

It’s a chocolate so nice, so well balanced, and so tasty that of course there won’t be enough to go around. Our friends at Solstice have taken these extremely limited cacao beans from Trinidad and coaxed the most fantastic flavors from them. Fresh spice notes and a silky texture make this the ideal chocolate for midnight snacking, or for hiding in your desk. Make sure to get these bars soon, they won’t last long.

That point in the summer has arrived. IT’S TOO HOT. My legs stick to any surface I sit on, I’ve melted numerous lip balms and plastic cups left in my car, and I have to keep a close eye on my roommate’s air conditioning habits, that power isn’t gonna pay itself.

Oppressive heat calls for icy luxury. This week, that luxury comes to us by way of Luxardo cherries and you nearest freezer. You may recall a recent fennel pollen semifreddo and my argument for making this every day. But really, semifreddo is the ultimate easy dessert.

Whip cream, whisk eggs with additional ingredients, combine, and freeze. There, done. It’s almost too easy.

My pal and fellow class instructor, Evan, and I decided it was high time we rally the Caputo’s troops from all locations for a fun, food-oriented gathering. We love these monthly Cravings and wanted to share that with our fellow cheesemongers and deli co-workers, so we pulled a few cocktails and cheese samples together to learn about, discuss, and enjoy.

I wanted to make something special to add to the lineup. Luxardo semifreddo, duhhhhh.

I couldn’t stop there. I wanted to incorporate a fun play on neapolitan ice cream by adding a chocolate and mascarpone component as well. The Luxardo semifreddo was fantastic, but sandwiching it between two other semifreddi made it even more so.

We nibbled and snacked. We sipped and laughed. And then we ate semifreddo. LOTS of semifreddo.

You can make yours and keep them frozen for up to a week without compromising flavor. So I say make a giant batch to cool off and keep your heat-induced impatience in check. It’s worked for me all season. Enjoy!

Luxardo Cherry Semifreddo
Serves 10

• 1 egg
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup Luxardo Cherries, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons Luxardo cherry syrup, poured off from the whole Luxardo cherries
• 1 ½ cups cream

Line a medium loaf tin with plastic film. Beat the cherry syrup, egg, and egg yolks with the honey in a bowl until pale and thick. Whip the cream until it has thickened and doubled in volume. Fold in the egg and cherry juice mixture and pour into the loaf tin. Wrap in plastic and freeze for 3 hours. Remove the semifreddo and fold in the chopped cherries. Cover again and continue to freeze for an additional 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, invert the semifreddo onto a serving platter and drizzle with extra Luxardo syrup or more cherries. Serve slices immediately.

(For chocolate or mascarpone semifreddo, substitute cherry components for melted dark chocolate or mascarpone. You’ll also want to add 1/4 cup sugar when mixing with the egg yolks.)

The heat is upon us. Such a heat wave calls something to get us out of that stinky, sweaty funk and into the world of poolside icy drinks, patriotic fireworks, and memorable meals with friends. And of course, treats. We need treats.

For our monthly Cravings, we’ve brought in some fantastic new products and somewhat of an old faithful that we’ve never been able to get enough of. We think these products will make your July a bit cooler. They’re downright perfect additions for any summer occasion, whether it’s the family barbecue, poolside shenanigans, or an air-conditioned escape from the outdoors.

CHEESE: Vegetale

The flavor of this goat’s milk cheese is sweet, mild, and approachable. I couldn’t figure out why I gravitated toward this cheese so quickly until I began reading about it. Vegetale is made an hour away from the town my maternal family is from in Basilicata, Italy. Basilicata is Calabria’s neighbor to east in Italy, when I describe the region to friends, I reference the arch of the boot that is Italy. Vegetale is made in Gorgoglione, almost the center of Basilicata. I grew up with this cheese and this flavor—my senses remembered it long before I was even consciously aware of what I had been eating. My Nonno ate cheese like this by the pool with either cold beer or white wine while I jumped off the diving board and paddled around like a loon with my cousins. We’d take a break from our summer tomfoolery to inhale the cheese, fruit from our family’s trees, and Capri Sun nestled into the cooler next to Nonno’s wine. I miss those kinds of summer day—I can’t say I miss the Capri Sun though. You don’t have to be from Italy to love this cheese. It’s simply the perfect poolside snack. Just ask my Nonno.

CHOCOLATE: OmNom Coffee+Milk

Yep, we definitely eat chocolate during summer, especially this one. Matt and Yelena let me tag along to a dinner with the owners and makers of OmNom a few months ago in Seattle. They gave us the smallest taste of this bar, and I’ve been awaiting its release ever since. We are putting this in as our chocolate pick; however, there’s not really any cocoa solids to speak of in this bar. Shocking! You see, this bar is made entirely from coffee beans. Nope, no cacao mass at all. There is some cocoa butter for texture’s sake, but this is truly a coffee bar. Given that, it’s the ultimate midday pick-me-up, the treat hidden in your desk, the snack you really should keep away from the kids, the heaven-on-earth kind of bar. You get the idea, right?

SWEET: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

If you read “maraschino cherries” and immediately thought of the acid-red type of cherries often accompanying dance-club drinks, which taste of preservatives and sugar, I understand. But please, come join us in the world of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. Sour Marasca cherries are candied in a syrup that let’s us taste both cherry and liqueur. Fantastic does not begin to describe them. They’re the perfect finishing touch to your cocktails and I’ve had many successful evenings combining them with pork as an entree. You’ll hear about these many times in the coming weeks, we can’t help ourselves.

For at least the past three years, I ‘ve been preaching that Utah is the bright center of chocolate culture in the U.S. This year, Ritual Chocolate has proven me right by uprooting its entire operation from Denver and transplanted to Park City.

It’s not like Denver is some culinary backwater, where the chocolate and culinary scenes aren’t thriving. Quite the contrary—Denver is a booming foodie town, and Ritual had been adopted with great zeal into the community. Too bad for Colorado that Utah just has too much chocolate gravity for such an excellent company to resist once exposed to it.

Robbie Stout and Anna Davies, the husband and wife who own and operate Ritual, often visited Robbie’s family in Park City, where he grew up. Sure our access to the outdoors is far superior to Denver—we all know that. But I would like to think that after seeing the unparalleled energy and chocolate appreciation from our local food community at Caputo’s 2nd Annual Chocolate Festival, plans were set in motion. Alright, maybe I give myself too much credit. You’ll have to ask Robbie and Anna if you want the whole truth.

Nonetheless, no serious craft chocolate connoisseur would dare argue that Ritual is not one of our country’s Top 5 elite chocolate makers. So whatever the reason for their move, we win.

June is always exciting—vacations, outdoor concerts, farmers markets, and summer festivals are one the horizon. And the small amount of gardening I attempt every year isn’t quite ruined yet. Plus, it’s national Accordion Awareness Month. So there’s that.

We’re gearing up for Father’s Day, and it shows in our Cravings this month. We may or may not have been hungry when we put the list together, and now I just can’t stay away from these fantastic little treats. Check out June’s selections for you and your friends, for Dad, and for another upcoming summer to remember.

CHEESE: Quicke’s Red Leicester

We’ve always been big fans of Quicke’s traditional cheeses from the United Kingdom. Their meticulous processes involve hand-making every wheel and milling the cheese curds twice before forming the clothbound wheels for this cheese. Quicke’s Red Leicester is made with vegetable rennet and annato seed, which gives it its wonderful dark orange hue. It’s aged at least four months before wheels are released.

Red Leicester is crumbly, dense, and has a lovely, well-balanced sweet and caramelized flavor. Serve on a cheese board and pair with full bodied white wines and seasonal summer beers. We’ll be testing recipes with this beauty soon, so stay tuned!

CHOCOLATE: Rozsavolgyi Chocolate with Olives and Bread 77%

To be perfectly honest, we were not prepared for this chocolate to be as good as it is. This brand is definitely some of the best in the world, and Caputo’s is thrilled and proud to include it in our portfolio. Single origin and inclusion bars alike are produced with the utmost care, no vanilla, and a balanced roast. This type of passionate production allows for a very deep exploration of terroir, while still having a distinctly European ‘chocolatey-ness’ (we insist this is a word).

Additionally, some of their inclusion bars, like this 77% bar with olives and bread, will amaze even the most jaded connoisseur! Roasted olives, toasted bread, and olive oil are blended with 77% dark chocolate for an entirely unique chocolate experience. The result is an unlikely, but incredibly satisfying, combination of sweet and savory.

Rozsavolgyi was given a Bronze award by the Academy of Chocolate for this bar in 2013 in the Seasoned Bar category. We’re proud to say we’re truly addicted to this award-winning bar.

CHARCUTERIE: Smoking Goose Delaware Fireball

It all started on Delaware Street in Indianapolis. Coarsely ground pork met its match in crushed chili, espelette peppers, and garlic and was wrapped in caul fat, dry aged, and finally cold smoked. Thus, the Delaware Fireball was born. Smoking Goose Meatery in Indiana makes a drool-worthy array of smoked and cured meats that we can’t seem to stop eating. Animals are sourced from independent farms across Indiana and these truly artisanal products speak to that in just the first bite. Hand-tied, nitrate-free, and utterly-delicious, with a perfectly pleasant spicy finish…what more could we ask for?!

SWEET / DRINK: Bittermilk New Orleans Style Old Fashioned Rouge

This is our second Bittermilk selection. Our cocktailing remains incredibly easy with Bittermilk in the proverbial arsenal. If you missed it last month, here’s a quick refresher on Bittermilk:

Fans are singing praises for Bittermilk across the country, and the full line of Bittermilk has already been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal! Joe and MariElena Raya are the owners of Gin Joint in Charleston, South Carolina, and the makers of our newest all-natural cocktail go-to. Simply mix your Bittermilk of choice with a spirit and ice. Voilà: a cocktail, and an impressive one, too. Add a garnish if you insist, but how easy does that sound? No more muddling, peeling, and hunting for a whole shipping cart full of grocery items to serve your friends a delicious libation. You just need this lovely bottle and a quick jaunt to the liquor store. With six fantastic concoctions, there’s an option for every spirit and every soul.

Whiskey fans? Meet your new secret ingredient for the easiest and most impressive home cocktails. Fans are singing praises for Bittermilk across the country, and the full line of Bittermilk has already been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal! Joe and MariElena Raya are the owners of Gin Joint in Charleston, South Carolina, and the makers of our newest all-natural cocktail go-to. Simply mix your Bittermilk of choice with a spirit and ice. Voilà: a cocktail, and an impressive one, too. Add a garnish if you insist, but how easy does that sound? No more muddling, peeling, and hunting for a whole shopping cart full of grocery items to serve your friends a delicious libation. You just need this lovely bottle and a quick jaunt to the liquor store. With six fantastic concoctions, there’s an option for every spirit and every soul. Whiskey fans? They’ve got a few for you. Clear liquor only? Fret not, this Charred Grapefruit Tonic works with gin, vodka, AND rum. Try them all—we have. We’re currently digging this in particular because of its multiple uses; plus, spring feels like the perfect time for a fun spin on a the classic gin & tonic. We’re big fans, and we hope you’ll join the club. Dad’s going to love this fresh take on an all time favorite drink.  Add 1 part Bittermilk with 4 parts rye, stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a lemon twist. Done. It couldn’t be an easier, or any more delicious for that matter.

We’re looking forward to another fantastic Salt Lake City summer, and we plan to welcome the season with these addicting nibbles. We hope you have the tastiest June possible!

Five years ago, I searched around for fellow chocolate geeks to share in a wacky experiment: develop a local club dedicated exclusively to testing, tasting, and talking about the finest chocolates.

I love chocolate, and I love to share it with my friends, but I wanted a “society” of friends who were as nerdy and passionate as me. So I created a safe harbor for them to join me in chocolate geekery. I called the group the Utah Chocolate Society specifically to evoke visions of robes and torches and secret chants.

Early April 2010, the first 12 people joined Nick Frappier and I to blind taste chocolate. We inadvertently established our modus operandi: a strong emphasis on blind tasting. We began having monthly meetings with a focus on bars made from beans originating in Madagascar or Venezuelan or chocolate made by brands like Amedei or Amano. As it turned out, the similarities and differences told stories about the characteristics of bean origins and stylistic choices of the producers.

With our first anniversary, we started an incredible tradition of anniversary gelato, courtesy of Amber Billingsley. The first batch involved $70 worth of Amedei 9 transformed into a mere half-gallon of chocolate stracciatella gelato. It literally made some of us misty-eyed. Leading up to the second anniversary, we started our annual Chocolate Society March Madness Tournament—unless that violates a trademark, in which case let it be known that it is our Spring Silliness Tournament. The first tournament featured 32 chocolate bars paired off in a single-elimination, randomly-paired tournament. But each year since has included 64 chocolate bars. We have the only blind, honest chocolate competition out there, and it is some fun!

We have had lectures from a chocolate producer (Rob from Fresco) about the production process, Eric Durtschi from Crio Bru about bean agronomy, and Francis Fecteau from Libation about the tactics of smelling and tasting. We have visited a variety of chocolate producers, had meetings in various local venues to see and celebrate Salt Lake City, and we have eaten a LOT of great chocolate.

It didn’t take long for the real value of the Utah Chocolate Society to shine through, and it wasn’t in the chocolate. It turns out the society—the people who make it up—are easily the best part. We represent different ages, backgrounds, faiths, and senses of humor. We share in a common passion of chocolate, and we do it loudly and with much merriment.

April 30th saw us celebrating five years of getting together to get nerdy about chocolate, and I may have set too high a bar for myself if ever I try to outdo it. Adam Kriesel from Chaia Cucina Catering provided an awesome meal, after which we had, in typical ChocSoc fashion, WAY too many desserts and goodies provided by the people that make the whole institution so great.

My original goal was to find like-minded people to share in the chocolate discovery journey. Mission accomplished.

The next goal is to help Salt Lake City—and all of Utah—realize that Utah is a weird outlier in the chocolate world. The world of fine chocolate is completely overrepresented here in terms of both the number of world-class producers and the number of people who can’t get enough of the stuff. And I want Utah to further embrace that happy fact and shout about it annoyingly loudly to friends and family who ask, “What’s good in Utah?”

You can also learn about fine chocolates in one of the many classes taught at Caputo’s Market.