Chocolate week: Vinaigrette, chili and chai

Chocolate chili
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1 Cup Chopped Onion
  
• 28 oz. Can of Tomatoes
  
• 1-2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
  
• 1-2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder (or finely chopped 100% chocolate)
  
• 1 tsp. Cumin
  
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
  
• 16 oz. Canned Kidney Beans
  
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Bell Pepper
  

Directions:

1. Cook onions in olive oil until soft. Add the tomatoes, chili powder and cocoa powder and cook.
   
   
2. Add cumin, pepper, can of beans and chopped bell power.
   
   
3. Cook until flavors meld for 20 minutes.

Note: For any chili recipe, the general rule is to add in on a 1:1 basis cocoa powder with your chili powder. It gives the final result a wonderful depth of flavor.

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Nib vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Chopped Shallots
  
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
  
• 1 T Cocoa Nibs
  
• 1/4 t Salt
  
• 14 t Ground Black Pepper
  
• 4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  

Directions:

1. Mix all together for an incredible and unique salad dressing!

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Bittersweet chocolate chai
Serves one

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Prepared Chai
  
• 3 oz. Finely Chopped Bittersweet Chocolate (70-80% cacao)
  
• 1 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Prepare the chai in your favorite manner. Blend the chocolate and hot chai together.

Option: Finish with a little cayenne or red pepper flakes to kick the spiciness up a notch.

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The heritage of artisan chocolate in the Bay Area:

The original chocolate makers (Ghirardelli) came to the Bay Area with the gold miners in the middle 1800's and chocolate has been important to the area ever since.

We have had Guittard, Scharffen Berger and now Bittersweet Origins and other local chocolate-makers. Bittersweet is known as a bean-to-bar chocolate maker where Seneca takes 50-pound bags of cacao beans and roasts them, cleans them, tempers the chocolate and turns it into chocolate bars.

Every batch is different since each bag of beans is slightly different and the processing of the beans is slightly different every time.

For more informaton on Bittersweet, www.bittersweetcafe.com