Bucks County Taste » Sweets

Don’t miss this!

Lynne Goldman — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:25:46 +0000

What do you think the “don’t miss” food experiences are in Bucks County and nearby? A delicious burger, a delightful cocktail, a perfect view? Or how about the “feel” of the place, and the way the bartender or wait staff know you, and what you like. What are your favorite experiences and places to go for food, be it restaurants, bars, markets, farms, wineries, or ice cream shops? Share your delights with us the page – (click here) Don’t Miss This!

Bucks County Food Tours Photo Gallery 07-09-11

Lynne Goldman — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:00:24 +0000

Here’s some fun photos from our Bucks County Food Tour this past Saturday. Can you guess where we went?

[Click on a photo to enlarge]

Welcome oWowCow to Wrightstown!

Lynne Goldman — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:06:10 +0000

oWowCow Creamery opened their second location today – and diets throughout Lower and Central Bucks have just been issued a challenge.

In case you’ve never heard of oWowCow Creamery, allow me to fill you in.

I first met John Fezzuoglio two years ago just months before he opened his first store in Ottsville, on Route 412, in Upper Bucks County. We got into a passionate discussion on the value of local sourcing. Well, mostly I listened. John knew so much more than I did at the time and he was about to put his money where his mouth was. Since then, John and I have had many long conversations about ice cream, local sourcing and even, G-d.

Some of you may wonder why I am so supportive of oWowCow. It’s not just that the ice cream is wonderful. I have several reasons, both intellectual and emotional.

Intellectually, I know the very real impact oWowCow is having on the local economy. When their business grows (30% per year), they need more from their suppliers – more cream, more honey, more eggs, more fruit. Got the picture? And I know of few others in Bucks County that are taking local sourcing as seriously as John Fezzuoglio. He’s as passionate about it as he is about ice cream (three kinds of vanilla, no kidding). They work very hard to find local sources, and support even the smallest local grower – like getting their mint from the Newtown Elementary garden. So you folks who buy your ice cream on sale at the Acme, don’t go complaining about prices – this is super premium, small batch, artisanal ice cream. And your money is going right back into the local Bucks economy.

Emotionally, the ice cream is, well, luscious. And interesting, creative and complex. And very, very good. Like the Vanillas. John makes three kinds – Tahitian, Madagascar and Indonesian. To hear him describe each is like listening to a sommelier. And they are all made with the finest extracts available made by the oldest extraction company in the country who cold press the beans (like fine olive oil) and use a slow percolation process. I asked why not use beans in the ice cream, instead of extract? Bless, John’s daughter, informs me that many ice cream makers do that just to get the flecked look in the ice cream. The bean pod has no actual vanilla flavor.

The other emotional aspect is that as I’ve gotten to know John and Bless, I’ve been honored to become friends with two very nice people. I wish them much success. They’ve worked hard for it.

For now, Bless is just thrilled opening has finally come and familiar faces are walking in the door. Customers from their Ottsville store that are happy to have oWowCow so much closer.

The new location is in Carousel Village, a collection of stores, a large garden center, an old-fashioned carousel and a small kiddie train, and even, an exercise center (at least those folks will feel justified in stopping by for a cone). Carousel Village is at 591 Durham Rd. (Route 413) in Wrightstown Township, just a few miles north of Newtown. Their summer hours are: Monday – Saturday, 11 am – 10 pm, Sundays, 11 am – 9 pm. Phone: 215.598.3248/3249

Click on any of the photos below to enlarge. Enjoy!

Local food blogs – part two

Lynne Goldman — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:00:45 +0000

It’s been over a year since I published Local food blogs – part one, sharing some of the interesting writing being done locally about food. It is a pleasure to read these blogs and websites. They give a view into the workings of our local foodshed in a way that is both informative and intimate. It also shows how much blogs have become a part of our written communication, filling a need many didn’t even know was there. When used well, blogs can contribute so much in the way of intimacy and sharing.

Today I’d like to introduce you to two local food blogs – one from the community-supported-agriculture (CSA) farm, Blooming Glen Farm, and the other from the popular Doylestown bakery, Crossroads Bake Shop.

Blooming Glen Farm, in addition to being one of the largest CSAs in Bucks County, also sells their vegetables at farmers’ markets in Wrightstown, Collegeville, and down in Philadelphia at the Headhouse Market. The farm began in 2006, on land leased from Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger of Tussock Sedge Farm in Blooming Glen (Perkasie). Tricia Borneman and Tom Murtha have farmed together for 11 years using sustainable farming practices, that is, without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified crops.

The Blooming Glen Beet, a blog started by Tricia and employee Jana Smart, began this past February. It is filled with beautiful photography by Tricia of life on a farm and the products of the farmers’ labor. Jana contributes delicious, seasonal recipes. When I asked Tricia why she started the blog, she first said it was a natural progression from previous communication methods to the membership – from paper newsletters, to email newsletters, and then website newsletters.

I find that the format of the blog really agrees with my artistic sense of style … it enables me to take snapshots of the farm throughout the week, and visually keep our customers connected to the farm.

I really wanted to find a way to keep our CSA members and market customers engaged in what was happening on the farm… and also excited about the food. So many people just aren’t sure how to cook fresh veggies, or are always looking for fresh ideas and tips, and having Jana’s weekly recipes are a huge help. After all, if folks feel overwhelmed with what to do with their CSA share, we aren’t doing our job – we want to inspire them to have fun with the food, and to really understand the full connection to the farm.

So (with Jana’s) recipes combined with my posts about the nitty gritty of farming, what we are planting, and what’s growing, what the crew is doing every day and all that…I feel like we really have an intimate knowledge of the whole process, from farm to plate, and can share that with our farm community through the blog.

Take a look at some of Tricia’s documentation of life on the farm, like the post from early March when the seeds are just going in but you can still feel a bite in the air (It all begins with a seed). Or Spring Begins, showing the hard work to be done on the farm, birds hatching and tender green shoots pushing their way up in the greenhouse. Tricia’s photography is intimate, tactile and immediate. You can feel it.

Jana steps in with her timely, seasonal recipes and enticing photography, waiting for the coming harvest but making due in the meantime in Bread ‘n Butta. As she says in the post, “stretching out the first few trickles of farm edibles–namely herbs and radishes–the best way I know how: BUTTER.” Check out her wonderful recipes for Swiss Chard in One Bunch, Two Ways, which includes a recipe for Creamed Chard and Spring Onions, and Swiss Chard Stalk “Hummus.”

Intimacy and sharing the details of day-to-day work were also a driving force behind Marcia Durgin’s desire to start a blog for her Doylestown bakery, Crossroads Bake Shop. For over twenty years, Crossroads has been baking superior European and American bread, desserts and pastries, all made from high quality ingredients. Everyone seems to have their favorite there: cinnamon raisin bread, challah bread, rustic European breads, focaccia, scones and brioche. Of course, when I’m in the shop I head straight for the Ricotta-Polenta Pie. More on that later.

Marcia is writing the blog with photography by her, and her daughter, Addie. Why blog, and why now, I asked her.

I decided to start (the blog) in order to introduce a new way to communicate to our customers. We have a lot of information … (and) there is always more detail that we don’t have time to chit chat about when there is a line at the cash registers. The blog is meant to be a fun reference and data base for our customers and our staff. The information will be there as needed.

Another goal is to have the blog represent the more personal side of Crossroads…It is bit of the “behind the scenes” inside look at what Crossroads is REALLY, and who the owners and staff are. It has the ability to represent the ‘feeling’ of crossroads, that you only know well if you are a regular customer.

What I enjoy most about it is that I get to elaborate on things that I think are really cool and that many customers know nothing about. This might include items we make one day a year, but are really special. Or it might just be the ongoing discussion of how to make the best pizza ever at home. I enjoy posting the artists who show at the bakery too, as I feel the local art is an important element in our shop culture.

The blog includes recipes like the one for my favorite, Ricotta-Polenta Pie. (My thanks to the Crossroads’ customer who asked Gourmet magazine to get the recipe from the bakery for publication.) Or the post about what to do with leftover pizza – besides eating it cold over the sink – in Pizzawrap or Rizzo’s Revenge? (Did you know Marcia’s husband and co-owner Paul Rizzo is from the famous Rizzo’s in Glenside? Guess they know what to do with cold pizza.) The blog is just getting its legs, having really started this spring, but I’m looking forward to learning more about what happens at this wonderful bakery. Marcia puts it well when she says,

I am delighted to have a business that brings people together, either around their tables, or at the bakery itself. The blog is an extension of how we like talking about special food and the joy of just being together around it.”

The new, cool foodie Dad

Lynne Goldman — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:13:24 +0000

Yep. It’s this Sunday. You better get your act together. Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19, 2011.

Do people still buy ties for Dads? Or barbecue equipment? Or is that all advertising gobbly gook? More like polo shirts and ugly shorts, no? What truly is reality?

Before I get too metaphysical, let’s get really real. I’ve got some great ideas for the foodie Dad, or any Dad for that matter, who enjoys eating.

Restaurants. How about a gift card to Dad’s favorite restaurant? (Mom will like that too). Click on this post and this one to get some ideas.

Specialty Food Stores. Ditto on the gift card, only why not get him one at his favorite specialty food store, like Altomonte’s, or his favorite bakery (Crossroads, Town Crier, Cramer’s, or at one of the farmers’ markets)? Or his favorite butcher (Haring Brothers, Illg’s, Ely’s, Maresca’s)? Wine or beer store (Phillips’, Wonderful World of Wine, Walker’s)? And let’s not forget ice cream places (oWowCow, Goodnoe’s, Uncle Dave’s, Chubby’s, Sweet Pea, Half Pint Kitchen, Yardley Ice House…here’s a list of even more).

Chocolate. It’s not just for Valentine’s Day anymore – or for the ladies. Pssst. I’ll tell you a secret. Men like chocolate too. Think the Painted Truffle (Stockton Market), Theo’s Chocolate or Laurie’s Chocolates (None Such Market), Raymer’s (Doylestown), and Didi’s Chocolates (Jamie Hollander Gourmet).

Bucks County Food Tour. If your Dad is into food, Bucks County Food Tours is the perfect gift. They can offer a variety of “behind-the-scenes” tour themes – meat, ice cream, cheese, or a mixed bag of fun, interesting local food and wine. They can customize a tour too. Five hours of eating, laughing and enjoying Bucks County bounty. For more information, see their website.

Cooking Classes. Who couldn’t use a little brushing up on their cooking skills? Even if your Dad is pretty swift in the kitchen, he might enjoy learning a new cuisine or honing his skills. We’re fortunate to have several places in Bucks that do interesting and innovative cooking classes. Look up The Cooking Cottage in Sellersville, the Kitchen Garden Cooking School in Durham, Casa Casale in Lahaska, or Carlow Cookery in Doylestown.

Whatever you decide, be sure to spend some quality time with your Dad, and thank him for all the food he’s given you over the years!

Happy Father’s Day.

The year in food: Bucks County 2010 – part 2

Bucks Food Calendar: June 10, 2011

Lynne Goldman — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:59:51 +0000

The forecast this weekend is mixed – for the weather, but not for fun things to do and eat!

Strawberries still abound and overcast skies are the best conditions for picking it yourself, says personal chef, Rich Baringer, in his article on where to find strawberries in Bucks and how to pick them. I had one of those transcendent moments yesterday, out in the strawberry fields at our local CSA (community supported agriculture farm). It was hot. I picked a beautiful red ripe strawberry and popped it into my mouth. It was still warm. It was the sweetest strawberry I have tasted in years.

Raspberries are starting to appear this weekend. Shady Brook Farm says they have them, and they will be at the Wrightstown Farmers Market on Saturday and the Lower Makefield Farmers Market next Thursday. Berry, berry good.

Also, if you stop by the Wrightstown market, stay for the butter making demonstration by members of the Historic Foodways Society of Delaware Valley. This local group recreates and interprets for us modern day folk how cooking was done 100 – 200 years ago, or sometimes, as in this case, not even that long ago. Jane Magne, director of the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance and Wrightstown Township Supervisor, will be churning the butter and showing kids and adults alike how to easily make butter at home. Using local cream, they’ll make sweet cream butter, sour cream butter and compound butter (with herbs). They’ll also be dressed in period costume. Jane, who grew up on a Kansas farm, and spent her professional career as a microbiologist, knows a thing or two about churning butter in both a tasty and safe way!

Here’s a fun outing for Saturday (providing it doesn’t pour…). Stop by the Doylestown Farmers Market and then walk over to the Strawberry Festival at Salem United Church of Christ on Court Street. It’s an annual event that is everything strawberry – pancakes, baked goods, and other foods for purchase, as well as local crafters and artisans and a quilt raffle.

Saturday also brings another annual festival, this one in Upper Black Eddy. The 3rd Annual Coffee, Crafts & Music Festival will take place at the Homestead General Store from 11 am to 4 pm – weather permitting. The rain date is Sunday, if need be. Frenchtown – just across the river in New Jersey – will be holding their Second Saturday monthly celebration too (New Hope, PA too!).

Welcome Holland Township Farmers Market, opening for the first time tomorrow, Saturday, June 11, from 9 am to 1 pm. The new market will take place at Riegel Ridge Community Center, 910 Milford-Warren Glen Rd. in Milford, NJ. Stop by and help support this fledgling market, to be open every other Sunday through the summer. More details to follow in our 2011 Farmers Market post. For more information, or if you’d like to be a vendor, please contact Mary Denvir at 908.797.6090 or e-mail at marydenvir@hotmail for further details and an application.

Coming next week…Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19. Where will you take your Dad? Us? We’re going to a firehouse breakfast, as my Dad as been begging to go to one for ages. There are FOUR next Sunday.

For more details on any of these events, please go to our full calendar, Food Events in Bucks County. Have a lovely, delicious and satisfying weekend. Follow Bucks County Taste also on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday, June 10:

Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [1-7 pm]
Ottsville Farmers’ Market, Linden Hill Gardens, Ottsville [4-8 pm]
Beer Tasting, Phillips’ Fine Wines, Stockton, NJ [4-6 pm]
Friday Wine & Music @ Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Pennington, NJ [5-8 pm]
Spaghetti Dinner @ Delaware Valley Fire Co, Erwinna [5:30 - 7:30 pm]
Wine Concert Series @ The Market at DelVal, Doylestown [6 pm–9 pm]
Wine Concert Series @ Shady Brook Farm, Yardley [6 pm–9 pm]
Summer Fireworks in New Hope/Lambertville – New Hope, PA & Lambertville, NJ [9:30 – 10:30 pm]

Saturday, June 11:

Doylestown Farmers’ Market, Doylestown [7 am-12 pm]
Strawberry Festival @ Salem United Church of Christ, Doylestown [8 am - 2 pm]
Plumsteadville Grange Farm Market, Plumsteadville [9 am - 12 pm]
Wrightstown Farmers’ Market, Wrightstown [9 am-1 pm]
Holland Township Farmers’ Market, Milford, NJ [9 am - 1 pm]
Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [9 am-4 pm]
Annual Coffee & Crafts Festival @ the Homestead General Store, Upper Black Eddy [11 am - 4 pm]
Pink Day @ Shady Brook Farm, Yardley [11 am - 4 pm]
Picnic at the Vineyards - Unionville Vineyards, Ringoes, NJ [12 - 5 pm]
Wine Tasting @ Phillips’ Fine Wines, Stockton, NJ [12-6 pm]
2nd annual BBQ Cookoff for a Cure, Hatfield [12 - 6 pm]
The Dan Webb Road to Recovery Beef-and-Beer (fundraiser), Newtown [1 - 5 pm]
Beer Tasting @ New Hope Beverage, New Hope [3-7 pm]
Second Saturdays in New Hope, New Hope [3 - 9 pm]
Dinner @ Plumsteadville Fire Co., Plumsteadville [4 - 8 pm]
Saturday Wine & Music @ Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Pennington [5-8 pm]

Sunday, June 12:

Breakfast Buffet @ Richland Twshp Fire & Rescue, Quakertown [8 am - 1 pm]
Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers’ Market, Flemington, NJ [9 am-1 pm]
Saucon Valley Farmers’ Market, Hellertown [9 am - 1 pm]
Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [10 am-4 pm]
Fun on The Farm @ The Market at DelVal, Doylestown [11 am - 4 pm]
Picnic at the Vineyards @ Unionville Vineyards, Ringoes, NJ [12 - 5 pm]
A Dummies Guide to Wine Tasting @ Crossing Vineyards and Winery, Washington Crossing [2 - 4 pm]
Benefit Dinner for A Woman’s Place @ Copper Leaf Grill, Buckingham [5 - 9 pm]

Monday, June 13:

Soupcon Salon by Kindle Cafe @ Manon, Lambertville, NJ [7 - 9:15 pm]

Tuesday, June 14:

Langhorne Farmers’ Market, Langhorne [3:30 - 6:30 pm]
Cooking Asian Greens with Kathy D’Addario (class), Horsham [7 - 9 pm]

Wednesday, June 15:

Pierogy Wednesdays @ St. Anne Ukrainian, Warrington [9 am - 12 pm]
The Farmers’ Market @ Playwicki Farm, Feasterville [4 - 7 pm]
Global Dinner @ The Cafe at Rosemont, Rosemont, NJ [5 - 8 pm]
Complimentary Beer Tasting @ the Copper Leaf Grill, Buckingham [5 - 9 pm]
Schnitzel Night @ United German Hungarians Club, Bensalem [5:30 - 7:30 pm]

Thursday, June 16:

The Taste of Summer (class), Sellersville [10 am - 12 pm]
New Hope Farmers’ Market, New Hope [2:30-6:30 pm]
Lower Makefield Farmers’ Market, Lower Makefield [3:30 - 6:30 pm]
Sushi Night in the Wine Cellar – The Inn at Lambertville Station, Lambertville, NJ [6 - 10 pm]

For more details on any of these events, please go to our full calendar, Food Events in Bucks County.

Follow Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter.

Bucks Food Calendar: June 3, 2011

Lynne Goldman — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 21:33:49 +0000

Ok. I’ll say it. This is killing me. Sitting inside at the computer on this absolutely magnificent day. This is going to be short, folks. The backyard is calling to me. Also, there is lots going on this weekend. Here are the highlights…

Welcome Plumsteadville Grange Market, opening for the season tomorrow, Saturday, June 4, from 9 am to 12 pm. The Plumsteadville Grange is located right on Route 611, just north of the intersection of Stump Road. For more information, see their website.

Have you heard? Local strawberries are finally here! Check out our post on where to find them and pick your own in Bucks County. I just picked up some nice ones at the Center Farm in Furlong. Also, stop by both Shady Brook Farm and the Market at Del Val this weekend for their annual Strawberry Festivals. Both take place on Sunday, June 4 from 11 am to 4 pm.

Tidbits. I spoke with John Fezzuoglio of oWowCow Creamery. He says the new store in Wrightstown at Carousel Village will probably open in 3-4 weeks…Sleeping Beauty will be coming to Chubby’s Dairy Barn in Plumsteadville on Sunday to tell stories and sign autographs (who knew?). Girls are welcome to dress up (I think they mean female children).

Coming next week. On Saturday, June 11, the Homestead General Store in Upper Black Eddy will hold their 3rd Annual Coffee & Crafts Festival from 11 am to 4 pm…The 2nd annual BBQ Cookoff for a Cure will take place at the Hatfield American Legion, in Hatfield from 12 to 6 pm (I know it’s not Bucks Co, but it’s a good cause and sounds delicious)…On Sunday, June 12, there will be a Benefit Dinner for A Woman’s Place from 5 – 9 pm at the Copper Leaf Grill, 4950 York Rd, Buckingham, Pa .

For more details on any of these events, please go to our full calendar, Food Events in Bucks County. Have a beautiful, relaxing weekend.

Friday, June 3:

Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [1-7 pm]
Ottsville Farmers’ Market, Linden Hill Gardens, Ottsville [4-8 pm]
Beer Tasting, Phillips’ Fine Wines, Stockton, NJ [4-6 pm]
First Friday Crabfest! @ Vintage Grille, Doylestown [4 - 10 pm]
Friday Wine & Music @ Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Pennington, NJ [5-8 pm]
Asian Pear Wines & Dessert Sampling @Wine & Spirits Store, Newtown [5:30 - 7:30 pm]
Barrel Tappings @ Triumph Brewing Co., New Hope [6:00 - 7:00 pm]
First Friday in Perkasie – Perkasie [6 pm - 9 pm]
Pink Day Preview Party (fundraiser) @ The Market by Shady Brook Farm, Doylestown [6 - 9 pm]
Wine Concert Series @ The Market at DelVal, Doylestown [6 pm–9 pm]
Wine Concert Series @ Shady Brook Farm, Yardley [6 pm–9 pm]
First Fridays in Doylestown – Doylestown [6 - 9:30 pm]
LOBSTAH! (class) @ The Cooking Cottage, Sellersville [6:30 - 8:30 pm]
23rd Tyler Tasting Party at the Tyler Mansion, Newtown [6:30 - 9:30 pm]
Summer Fireworks in New Hope/Lambertville – New Hope, PA & Lambertville, NJ [9:30 – 10:30 pm]

Saturday, June 4:

Doylestown Farmers’ Market, Doylestown [7 am-12 pm]
Plumsteadville Grange Farm Market, Plumsteadville [9 am - 12 pm]
Wrightstown Farmers’ Market, Wrightstown [9 am-1 pm]
Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [9 am-4 pm]
Free Knife Sharpening @ Carlow Cookery, Doylestown [11 am - 2 pm]
Pink Day (fundraiser) – The Market by Shady Brook Farm, Doylestown [11 am - 7 pm]
Wine Tasting @ Phillips’ Fine Wines, Stockton, NJ [12-6 pm]
Hampton BrewFest @ Phoenix Sports Club, Feasterville [1 - 5 pm]
Beer Tasting @ New Hope Beverage, New Hope [3-7 pm]
Spaghetti Dinner @ Riegelsville Fire Company, Riegelsville [4 - 7pm]
Lobster Fest @ Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury [4 - 8 pm]
Saturday Wine & Music @ Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Pennington [5-8 pm]

Sunday, June 5:

Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers’ Market, Flemington, NJ [9 am-1 pm]
Stockton Farmers’ Market, Stockton, NJ [10 am-4 pm]
Chicken BBQ @ Chalfont Fire Co., Chalfont [11 am - 4 pm]
Strawberry Festival @ The Market at DelVal, Doylestown [11 am - 4 pm]
Strawberry Festival @ Shady Brook Farm, Yardley [11 am - 4 pm]
Hunt for wild wood sorrel with Wildman Steve Brill, Huntingdon Valley [1 - 3 pm]
Music @ Villa Milagro Vineyards, Finesville, NJ [2 - 5 pm]
Sleeping Beauty @ Chubby’s Dairy Barn, Plumsteadville [6:30 - 8 pm]

Monday, June 6:

Complimentary Wine Tasting @ Yardley Inn, Yardley [5 - 8 pm]
Maize’s Matthew McPhelin (class) – SOLD OUT @ The Cooking Cottage, Sellersville [6:30 - 8:30 pm]
Soupcon Salon by Kindle Cafe @ Manon, Lambertville, NJ [7 - 9:15 pm]

Tuesday, June 7:

Langhorne Farmers’ Market, Langhorne [3:30 - 6:30 pm]
Summery Salads (class) @ The Cooking Cottage, Sellersville [6:30 - 8:30 pm]
Chicken 101 (class) @ Yardley Inn, Yardley, PA
Gluten Free / Healthy Living Support Group, Langhorne [7 - 9 pm]
Cooking the CSA way with Kathy D’Addario, Horsham [7 - 9 pm]

Wednesday, June 8:

Pierogy Wednesdays @ St. Anne Ukrainian, Warrington [9 am - 12 pm]
The Farmers’ Market @ Playwicki Farm, Feasterville [4 - 7 pm]
Global Dinner @ The Cafe at Rosemont, Rosemont, NJ [5 - 8 pm]
Complimentary Beer Tasting @ the Copper Leaf Grill, Buckingham [5 - 9 pm]
Schnitzel Night @ United German Hungarians Club, Bensalem [5:30 - 7:30 pm]

Thursday, June 9:

Summery Salads (class) @ The Cooking Cottage, Sellersville [10 am -12 pm]
New Hope Farmers’ Market, New Hope [2:30-6:30 pm]
Lower Makefield Farmers’ Market, Lower Makefield [3:30 - 6:30 pm]
Sushi Night in the Wine Cellar – The Inn at Lambertville Station, Lambertville, NJ [6 - 10 pm]

For more details on any of these events, please go to our full calendar, Food Events in Bucks County.

Follow Bucks County Taste on Facebook and Twitter.

Chocolate for Mother’s Day

Lynne Goldman — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:55:09 +0000

I don’t know about your mother, but I know what my mother likes. Chocolate, dark chocolate. Marzipan. Almonds. All encased in chocolate.

So if you are scratching your head wondering what to get your mother, wife or significant other for Mother’s Day, scratch no longer. Here’s a listing of some local places to buy exquisite sweets to impress mom. Many of these chocolatiers sell online too.

Didi’s Chocolates. I met Didi last Saturday at the Bucks County Chocolate Show, but it turns out we’ve met before – over 15 years ago. A superb pastry chef, Didi turned her talents to chocolate in the last couple of years. Lucky for us. Try her chocolate “bars” – dark Belgian chocolate covering an assortment of fillings, like triple caramel and peanut butter. You can learn more here, in the article I wrote at the show. You can buy Didi’s chocolates locally at Jamie Hollander Gourmet Foods in New Hope.

Laurie’s Chocolates. Laurie Douglass creates her delicious chocolates from her home in Buckingham. I also met her at the chocolate show. Read all about her chocolates in the article posted from the show. You can buy her chocolates locally at None Such Farm Market, Maximuck’s Farm Market, The Chocolate Box and other locations.

The Painted Truffle. Tom Sciascia makes beautiful chocolates and confections, and sells at the Stockton Farm Market every Saturday and Sunday.

The Chocolate Box. Step inside and inhale. A couple of times. I found this little store only recently even though it’s been there for years. Stop by and inhale too when you’re in Lambertville. At 39 N. Union Street.

Raymer’s Homemade Candies. This is another great place to breathe. Full of all kinds of chocolates and more. They are in Doylestown at 21 East Oakland Avenue.

Here are a couple others that I haven’t visited – yet – but they certainly look worth trying:

Newtown Chocolatier at 156 N. State Street in Newtown.

Pierre’s Chocolates at 360 West Bridge Street in New Hope.

Where’s your favorite local place to buy great chocolate? Do let us know!

Bucks County Chocolate Show: Didi’s Chocolates

Lynne Goldman — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:16:43 +0000

As it turns out, Didi Mercier and I have known each other for a long time. Something clicked when I saw her name. That’s because Didi Mercier has been making delicious, sweet things for a long time. We actually worked at an auto parts store company over 15 years ago – me doing training and development, Didi doing data entry. It was her first reentry into the workplace after raising her children. She had worked as a pastry chef for Chef Tell Erhardt, and at several fine restaurants. I heard this and ordered a birthday cake from her, much to my delight. It was clear to me – and to Didi – that this was her passion. We both moved on, and Didi continued working on her own, selling exquisite cakes and pastries with fine ingredients to restaurants.

Once we rediscovered our connection, she filled in the rest, sharing how she got into her newer business – making fine, handcrafted chocolates. Didi, a long-time resident of Bedminster, completed the Professional Chocolatier Program at Ecole Chocolate, a chocolatier school in Canada. Then she started working at Jamie Hollander’s Gourmet Foods in New Hope, to get their pastry kitchen up and running. There she began playing around with his tempering machine and making gourmet chocolates for the store. Didi’s chocolate business began in earnest about a year ago, and with the formal launching of her new website, she’s branching out to new vendors and direct selling online.

Didi works hard to find all natural ingredients, using rich Belgian chocolate with delicious fillings like triple caramel, coconut, hazelnut gianduja, peanut butter and almonds. You can see the influence of her pastry background in her Chocolate Bars with Filling, or her Chocolate Squares & Ganache, with flavors like raspberry-infused or orange-infused chocolate.

You can find Didi’s chocolates at Jamie Hollander’s, as well as online at www.DidisChocolates.com. They are as beautiful as they are delicious, packaged perfectly for special gifts…or Mother’s Day.

Didi’s Chocolates
608 Elephant Road
Perkasie, PA 18944
web: www.DidisChocolates.com
email: love@didischocolates.com
267.871.5177

Bucks County Chocolate Show: Laurie’s Chocolates

Lynne Goldman — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:20:29 +0000

It all started with drinks, chocolate drinks to be specific. Laurie Douglass got into chocolate through hot cocoa. Then it was chocolate making classes, and more classes, and, well, you know how it goes. Nine years later and a couple of states later, she’s making four kinds of hot cocoa, buttercrunch toffee, caramels, truffles and more. This is Laurie’s Chocolates, a home-based business right here in Central Bucks County.

I started with the Hot Cocoa Bar (what a lovely idea!). Dark Hot Cocoa Mix with cinnamon marshmallow, topped with dark and white chocolate shavings. It’s made with Laurie’s Buckingham Blend, her first hot cocoa creation. The cocoa combines black and rouge cocoas with Madagascar Bourbon vanilla powder. If that doesn’t grab you, how about Chocolate Dreams , ChocoMinty or Kickin’ Cayenne cocoa?

Then there’s the chocolates – salted caramels, Merlot truffles, Bark, Buckeyes (Ohio’s famous chocolate treat made of peanut butter balls dipped in milk chocolate). Laurie uses local wines, honey, butter and cream, as well as high quality varietal chocolates and cocoas. Cinnamon caramels, Turtles, brownie truffles and much more.

You can buy Laurie’s Chocolates locally at None Such Farm Market (Buckingham), Maximuck’s Farm Market (Doylestown), The Larder (Doylestown) and The Chocolate Box (Lambertville, NJ).

Laurie’s Chocolates
web: www.laurieschocolates.com
email: laurieschocolates@yahoo.com
215.756.3631 or 215.340.7676