Pleasure Palate "Chocolate Month" - Mexican Chocolate Evening September 22, 2006

Time to tempt your palate with all the pleasurable flavors that Southern California has to offer. Join Pleasure Palate as we do some culinary exploring of restaurants (both high-end and holes in the walls), various food and beverage tastings, cooking classes, potlucks and so much more. From savory to sweet, from salty to sour, from spicy to tangy, from exotic to All-American, we'll taste it all, so come along and take your taste buds on the ride of their life.

You may not have known this, but September is "Chocolate Month", or at least, I'm declaring it Chocolate Month. For this special time of the year, we will be celebrating this sweet sensation through a few chocolate-inspired events. For tonight's event, it's all about experiencing a Mexican chocolate-inspired evening at historic Olvera Street inside a coffeehouse known for their Mexican Hot Chocolate, Casa de Sousa

But first, a little info about Mexican chocolate...

History and Lore of Chocolate

The botanical name for chocolate is Theobroma, which means "food of the gods". The name is appropriate for the importance of chocolate in the Mexican culture. Chocolate is among the many things the Spaniards acquired from the Aztecs. The native Aztec people made a variety of drinks made of chocolate combined with honey, nuts, seeds, and spices. The drink was used in rituals by priests as well as nobleman. While many historic references are made to the Aztecs and chocolate, the Aztecs actually adopted the use of chocolate from the earlier Mayan Culture.

Traditional Uses for Mexican Chocolate

Hot Drinks - The most traditional use for chocolate was for hot beverages such as Atole, Champurrado and Mexican Hot Chocolate.

Atole is frequently served with tamales. Champurrado is also served as a dessert with Churros or a sweet bread call Pan Dulce. These drinks are whipped up using a wooden whisk called a molinillo (moh-lin-nyee-oh) (or, a blender). The whisk is held between the palms of your hands. Then using a back and forth motion the whisk moves back and forth in the mixture until it is aerated and frothy.

Mole (moh-Lay) - A sauce that varies in content depending on the region. The traditional red mole contains chilies, garlic, nuts, tomato, spices and chocolate. It is important to note that the amount of chocolate is very small and enhances but does not overpower the sauce. The sauce is served with turkey or chicken. Mole does not use the Mexican flavored chocolate but instead a dark bitter, unspiced version.

Mexican Chocolate Evening

Our evening at Casa de Sousa will be a fun-filled evening enjoying a Mexican chocolate-inspired meal and movie and all for just $30!

The fun starts at 7:00 pm where for half an hour, we will mix and mingle over:

- your choice of the famous"Montezuma's Gold" tequila/chocolate) or a virgin stawberry/chocolate Daiquri

- bite size chocolate tamales with the xoco sauce, raspberries and french cheese.

At 7:30 pm, we will sit down to dinner that will include one more drink of your choice, which could include their delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate, plus the following:

Entree
Xoco Mole Chile Rellenos dressed with walnuts, crisp chilaquiles, zucchini and corn medley and Spanish rice

Dessert
A pure cacao(chocolate) and mint mini cake.

While enjoying our meal, we will be treated to a screening of Like Water for Chocolate. Like Water for Chocolate is a popular novel, published in 1989 by first-time Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel. The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life for her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her domineering mother's traditional belief that the youngest daughter must not marry but instead care for her parents. Tita is only able to express her passions and feelings through her cooking, which causes the people who taste it to experience what she feels.

An evening that's all about Mexican chocolate is definitely the way to start the weekend, so please come out and join us!

COST:
This event needs to Pre-Paid by September 19 to reserve your spot and your payment will cover all the chocolate and wine pairings.

* If you are paying via Pay Pal, please send $32.00 ($30 + $2 Pay Pal Fee) to my Pay Pal account at abby@pleasurepalate.com.

* If you are paying via check, the cost will go down to $30 and you'll have to email me for an address to send the check to.

IMPORTANT: You cannot just show up for this event. I need to collect all the money and pay in one lump sum by September 20. I also need to turn in a final headcount that same day. This event is first come, first served. The first 25 who pay the fee will get to go.

Official Website: http://www.pleasurepalate.com