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“When you drink hot chocolate, it automatically conjures up feelings of nostalgia, warmth, family and sometimes even romance,” said Maury Rubin, owner of the renowned City Bakery in New York City.

Rubin has been serving his original recipe for more than 20 years. Little did he know that the simple drink would become the calling card of City Bakery today. Rubin’s secret is that he uses real, melted chocolate combined with fresh milk, as opposed to the watery kind you may know, likely the result of ground cocoa beans pressed to remove their butter.

His blend of real chocolate, made correctly, should “get into your emotions,“ he said. “It’s a crime that it’s so hard to find hot chocolate that bespeaks hot chocolate.”

Each February, City Bakery plays host to its annual Hot Chocolate Festival, which introduces new flavors for the entire month — everything from vanilla bean to ginger hot chocolate.

While Rubin’s recipe is a secret, making your own hot cup isn’t as difficult or time-consuming as it appears. It’s actually as easy as heating milk and adding melted chocolate. But to guide you along to chocolate nirvana, Maury offers some tips.

Maury’s tips for the perfect cup:

Chocolate:
Use real, high-quality imported chocolate. “The better the chocolate, the better the cup.”

Milk, preferred:
“This is the subjective part, but dairy, not water, gives the drink a rich foundation,” and it’s what Rubin prefers. Using half and half or heavy cream ultimately will deliver the thickest, creamiest hot chocolate.

Chocolate-to-milk ratio:
For a deep, full-bodied flavor, use 2 ounces of chocolate for every cup of milk. Add another ounce for more intensity.

Temperature matters:
Don’t serve it too hot. “With higher-quality chocolate, you’ll mask its subtle accents and quality by overheating it.”

Finishing touch:
Froth the hot chocolate with a handheld milk frother before serving. “This helps aerate the chocolate, giving it texture and an even nicer mouth feel.”

Marshmallow? Yes, please.

Purists say hot chocolate is best served alone, but topping it off with marshmallows is the perfect complement, according to Rubin. “It’s a Fred-Astaire-and-Ginger-Rogers thing,” he said, speaking of the sugary confections that add just the right amount of sweet and balance out the complexity of the flavors. As for whipped cream? “Anything other than [a marshmallow] is hot-chocolate blasphemy.”

TASTER’S CHOICE
If you can’t make it to City Bakery anytime soon, try one of these:

Jacques Torres Classic Hot Chocolate, $18

Chocoholics, get ready to melt. Acclaimed chocolatier Jacques Torres created a supremely blended sipping chocolate that’s rich and complex, and thick enough to coat the inside of a cup.

Vosges La Parisienne Couture Cocoa, $15

Made with dark chocolate for a smooth base, and flavored with Madagascar vanilla bean bits that add subtle texture, Vosges’ “La Parisienne” is gourmet “haute” chocolate.

Sarabeth’s Kitchen Hot Chocolate, $20

The closest thing to the famed chocolat chaud served at Angelina patisserie in Paris, Sarabeth’s European-style blend combines semi-sweet Belgian chocolate, Dutch cocoa and pure cane sugar.

MarieBelle Aztec Hot Chocolate, $26

There’s nothing spicy in MarieBelle’s Aztec Hot Chocolate — the smoky notes come from single-origin Colombian cocoa, and it comes in a charming tin.

La Maison du Chocolat Tasse de Chocolat, $18

La Maison du Chocolat’s luxurious rendition is made with dark chocolate “pearl” nibs, so when it’s melted and whisked together with milk, it takes on an almost pudding-like consistency.

Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa, $5

More sophisticated than original Hershey’s Cocoa, this blend of Dutch-process and natural cocoas is dark, deep in flavor and bursting with good-for-you flavonoids.

Source:  The Daily

Le premier magistrat de la commune de Parisot (559 habitants) ne cache pas sa satisfaction. Bien légitime au demeurant !

Pour Frédéric Kérestedjian et les Parisotains, le Père Noël s’est monté très généreux cette année avec l’arrivée dans les caisses de la commune d’un chèque d’un (joli) montant de €100,000. Chèque qui a été offert par Renée Willaume, la veuve de l’ancien premier magistrat de la commune, Jean Willaume, décédé le 12 janvier 2007. « Ce chèque représente près d’un quart du budget de fonctionnement annuel de la commune, relève au passage Frédéric Kérestedjian, nous avons passé un contrat d’équipement avec le conseil général pour la période 2011-2014 qui nous aide bien mais cette somme de €100,000 va nous permettre d’avoir un peu plus de marge par rapport aux différents chantiers que nous avons programmés comme, par exemple, la mise en place de l’accueil de jour pour les personnes frappées par la maladie d’Alzheimer, le curage et la remise en état du lac et de ses abords, l’amélioration de la place du foirail, etc. Nous avons également des travaux d’entretien courant de voirie à effectuer. L’utilisation de cette somme supplémentaire, je peux vous le garantir ne pose pas le moindre problème. Cela va nous permettre d’assainir les finances de la commune. Les petites communes, en général, ont des dotations budgétaires assez faibles et elles sont très souvent obligées de s’endetter. Ce chèque constitue un coup de pouce à ne pas négliger. » En 1966, la famille Willaume achète une maison de vacances dans la commune de Parisot. En 1991, lorsque l’heure de la retraite sonne, les Willaume se retirent en Quercy.

“Un maire plein d’énergie”
Aujourd’hui Renée Willaume qui est entrée dans sa 86 e année et qui réside à Strasbourg se rappelle parfaitement de ces années-là. « Quand mon époux a remplacé le maire de l’époque M. Galan qui venait de décéder, Parisot était un peu une belle endormie, il y avait de l’ouvrage pour la réveiller. On avait décidé de faire un maximum de choses pour notre commune d’accueil ». Jean Willaume, ancien dirigeant du Racing Club de Strasbourg, Maire de Parisot de 1993 à 2005, président de la communauté de communes Quercy-Rouergue et Gorges de l’Aveyron de 1997 à sa démission en 2001 pour raisons de santé a marqué à tout jamais l’histoire de la petite cité quercynoise au-delà de sa disparition. Frédéric Kérestedjian ne prétendra pas le contraire en relevant notamment : « C’était un homme d’une très grande rigueur morale qui avait en permanence une énergie débordante. C’était un grand visionnaire. Il a marqué l’histoire de la commune ». Pour toujours.

Source:  La Depeche du Midi

From an extremely envious John Riley

A friend and I were tired of home cooking and so we phoned to check that they were open.

We were warmed greeted by Charlie the owner. The bill came to €44-00 largely taken up by my steak (€15-00) which came with potato gratinée, a bottle of Côté du Rhône and my bread and butter dessert. My friend had something more modest: a fish dish and partook of the wine.

The bar resto is nicely decorated, immaculately clean and has a congenial feeling to it. The service was timeously and the food was really tasty.

I am delighted to have found a new ‘local‘.

The lunchtime menu is €12-00.

Tel. 05 63 65 22 18. (English spoken slowly!)

Recently we reported that cyclists are usually more efficient on both hills and flat terrain when they pedal quickly (at about 80-85 rpm) rather than at slower cadences.

Now, a new study suggests that the greater efficiency may be related to the rapid rate at which glycogen is depleted in fast-twitch muscle fibers during slow, high-force pedaling.

To determine the actual effects of slow and fast pedaling on leg-muscle cells, scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Wyoming asked eight experienced cyclists to cycle at an intensity of 85% V02max for 30 minutes under two different conditions.

In one case the cyclists pedaled their bikes at 50 revolutions per minute (rpm) while using a high gear. In the second case, the athletes pedaled in a low gear at 100 rpm. The athletes were traveling at identical speeds in the two instances, so their leg-muscle contractions were quite forceful at 50 rpm and moderate — but more frequent — at 100 rpm.

As it turned out, the athletes’ oxygen consumption rates were nearly identical in the two cases, and heart and breathing rates, total rate of power production, and blood lactate levels were also similar.

However, athletes broke down the carbohydrate in their muscles at a greater rate when the 50 rpm strategy was used, while the 100 rpm cadence produced a greater reliance on fat.

The greater glycogen depletion at 50 rpm occurred only in fast-twitch muscle cells. Slow-twitch muscle cells lost comparable amounts of their glycogen at 50 and 100 rpm, but fast-twitch cells lost almost 50 percent of their glycogen at 50 rpm and only 33 percent at 100 rpm, even though the exercise bouts lasted for 30 minutes in each case.

This rapid loss of carbohydrate in the fast-twitch cells during slow, high-force pedaling probably explains why slow pedaling is less efficient than faster cadences of 80-85 rpm.

Basically, as the fast fibers quickly deplete their glycogen during slow, high-strength pedaling, their contractions become less forceful, so more muscle cells must be activated to maintain a particular speed. This activation of a larger number of muscle cells then leads to higher oxygen consumption rates and reduced economy.

This scenario, in which slow pedaling pulls the glycogen out of fast-twitch muscle cells, may sound paradoxical but it isn’t; after all, slow pedaling rates are linked with high gears and elevated muscle forces, while fast cadences are associated with low gears and easy muscle contractions.

Since fast-twitch fibers are more powerful than slow-twitch cells, the fast-twitch fibers swing into action at slow cadences, when high muscular forces are needed to move the bicycle along rapidly.

On the other hand, “fast” pedaling rates of 80-100 rpm are not too hot for the slow-twitch cells to handle. Slow-twitch cells can contract 80-100 times per minute and can easily cope with the forces required to pedal in low gear.

Another possible paradox in the Wisconsin/Wyoming research was that fast pedaling led to greater fat oxidation, even though maximal fat burning is usually linked with slow-paced efforts.

Basically, the higher fat degradation at 100 rpm occurred because the slow-twitch cells handled the fast-paced, low-force contractions. Slow-twitch fibers are much better fat-burners than their fast-twitch neighbors.

Fortunately, there’s a bottom line to all this: During training and competition, cyclists should attempt to use fast pedaling rates of 80-85 rpm, both on the flat and on inclines.

Compared to slower cadences, the higher pedaling speeds are more economical and burn more fat during exercise. Ultimately, the high pedaling rates also preserve greater amounts of glycogen in fast-twitch muscle fibers, leading to more explosive “kicks” to the finish line in closing moments of races. (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 1992)

Hunter Allen is an Elite Coach, ex-professional cyclist, co-creator of Cycling Peaks Software, and co-owner of the Peaks Coaching Group. H e is a regular presenter for USA Cycling on the topic of training with power for their coaches education program.  Hunter has raced as a member of the Navigators Cycling Team nationally, in Europe and South America and has helped hundreds of athletes from all walks of life take their training to the next level.  Contact Hunter Allen: hunter@peakscoachinggroup.com