Chocolate Marquise

This was one of the best selling product at Bake To Order no matter in what season. It's made by dark chocolate that would definately satisfy those chocoholics. The recipe extracted from BBC-Food website conducted by my idol chef, Lesley Waters.


The texture is quite like mousse, soft yet rich cocoa flavour. You would rather let it melt slowly in your mouth for few minutes and swallow it slowly before you have the next spoon. The recipe is quite simple to make as it could be made in advance. Store it in the fridge then serve it right after a meal for the guests with no hastily. I used 70% dark chocolate and reduced 1/3 sugar from the original recipe. It's best serve with a dollop of whipped cream and fresh berries.

Feeling The Pinch?

When was the last time you went out to dinner?
Did you notice how empty the stores are lately?
How about those giant "For Lease" signs everywhere?
Where did everyone go?
Is everyone holding on to what little money we have?
How did you spend your stimulous check? If you are like me, it went into my gas tank!

I guess I will be the first to say it out loud ....... "It's a recession!" And in my opinion it is going to get a lot worse. BUT ...... there is hope for those of you that are smart with your finances.

1. If you like to eat out - great.. go for it. Just limit what you purchase or even share a meal. My wife and I have been doing this for almost 15 years!
2. Need some new clothes? Hit Target ..... or even Sears .... that's right Sears. LL Cool J has a smokin' new line out at Sears - Buy his clothes and you too can be hip!

In times like these, if you panic YOU WILL LOSE! Be smart and spend wisely. If all Americans stop consumer spending, then you will see a depression and not a recession .... sad but true. Consumer spending in the USA is the "life blood" of our economy.

At AB&R Plumbing we have really felt the pinch. Our entire crew is still busy BUT .... all of our clients -commercial plumbing and residential plumbing - in cities like;

• Mission Viejo
• Lake Forest
• Newport Beach
• Laguna Beach

are all watching how much they are spending on improvements or repairs. "If it ain't broke ... don't fix it" we are hearing.

This has forced our management team to really buckle down and reinvent ourselves. What do I mean by this? Look at Madonna for instance, it is easy to become #1 in something but it is harder to stay #1 for any length of time. For the last 20+ years, Madonna has reinvented herself year after year staying in the spotlight without fading ..... a little misguided - perhaps .. but I think you get my point!

I am not saying you should "Reinvent the wheel", but you may need to seriously alter some of your daily spending or rituals to make it through this recession without damaging your image, credit, relationships or employment.

Any comments out there?

The Kitchen Sisters Come Out Swingin

Events On
Our Radar

The 2008 Presidential Election,
Tuesday,
November 4.
VOTE.

Public Radio Fund Drives happening nationwide this month. Support your local station. Keep the airwaves public and vibrant.




The Naked Truth: The Katie Lee Exhibit
at the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University.
Katie is one of the pioneering river activists we chronicled in “Cry Me a River.” She fought the
damming of Glen Canyon in the 1950's and at 88
still works unrelentingly for the environment.

Books We're Reading:

Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits by Jenny,
Laura & Martha McPhee. Three of John McPhee's daughters create a collection
of photographs and life stories.

A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis. When we first began the Hidden Kitchens series we ate at a secret, twelve-seat, one-table, one-night-of-the-month restaurant tucked into an apartment in Paris. That elusive ritual dinner that David Tanis & Randal Breski created helped inspire our NPR series. This is a collection of some of David's recipes and stories. David is also the chef at Chez Panisse.

Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samrasan
Our intern Deena Prichep recommends this lovely novel.

Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin. We have been following the saga of Project Alabama for years now. Natalie is a clothing designer from Florence, Alabama, home of Sam and Becky Phillips of Sun Studios and WHER fame. Her commitment to hand-made textiles and local artisans is part of what we are watching as we explore the secret life of girls around the world.

Radio We're Making:

Chocolate Town: A Hidden Kitchens story-in-progress about the chocolate company towns and the candy factory “sweetie towns” of England.

Kitchen Sisters Recording & Interviewing Workshop - Friday, September 26, San Francisco.

The Blonde in the Village: We travel to the mountains of Korea near the DMZ for the secret saga of an outcast girl.

Favorite Things: The Kitchen Sisters session at the Third Coast International Audio Festival - October 11, Chicago.

Music We're Spinning:

WWOZ FM in New Orleans, "Guardians of the Groove."

Sincerely Jane by Janelle Monae. We heard this song on KCRW when we were in LA for the gathering of Public Radio Program Directors from all over the nation. We're looking for music for our new girls series and something about this song stuck.

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone by The Temptations, co-written by Norman Whitfield, who died last week. He also co-wrote Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Just My Imagination and I Heard it Through the Grapevine and so much more.

Earl Palmer's drumming. A beautiful lost and found sound. Palmer, who also died last week, played drums on La Bamba, Lucille, Donna, Tutti Frutti and so many songs with a rhythm that lives. He worked with Fats Domino, Little Richard, Frank Sinatra, Tom Waits and on and on. Beat in peace.

Paintings We're Admiring:

Kitchen Brother, Charles Prentiss (Nikki's husband) exhibits his paintings at Open Studios in Santa Cruz the 1st and 3rd weekend in October. You're invited to visit the commune where Nikki and Charles live, tour his studio and take a behind-the-scenes look at The Kitchen Sisters' production studio there. October 4-5 & 18-19, 11am - 6 pm. See some of Charles' artwork and get directions at charlesprentiss.com.