Afternoon Pick-me-up

There are some days at work when I just can't sit at my desk for one minute longer, but the thought of going out for some mediocre, overpriced, generic deli sandwich is just as unappealing.

On those days, I'm grateful that I work in Midtown and have the option of taking a nice, leisurely stroll over to Rockefeller Center to visit La Maison du Chocolat. Not that it has become a habit (bit too pricey for that!) but earlier this week, my coworker J. and I braved the humidity to wander over for some treats to cheer ourselves up.



I admit that I am a sucker for nice packaging. It's one of my many failings. J. got herself a scoop each of chocolate ice cream and strawberry sorbet, which I neglected to take a photo of, but holy frijole was that chocolate ice cream rich. It's a bit pricey ($4 a scoop if I remember correctly) but if you love chocolate, you will really appreciate the intensity of this ice cream. A scoop is almost too much.



My choice was the individual Pleyel, a chocolate and almond cake for $6. This picture is deceptive because it doesn't show anything for scale, but the cake is quite small (about 4 inches long). Like the ice cream though, it is extremely rich and dense and so I actually only managed half of it that afternoon. I saved the rest for the next day. Delicious with coffee.

Not that I hope for too many stressful days at the office, but on the other hand, life can't be all bad if you can have desserts in the middle of the day. And hey, if nothing strikes your fancy here you can wander on over to Teuscher!

La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Center
New York, NY 10020

Treats from Switzerland

Yes, I did a bit of a disappearing act from this blog for a bit. It's been very hectic and busy around here....plus, I have to admit I have hardly cooked or baked in about a month because turning on the stove or oven heats the apartment up something fierce, and I'm just too tired.

However, I wanted to share some photos of these yummy snacks from Switzerland.


I received these as part of a birthday gift from the Man (I'm going to have to come up with a better nickname). He knows what I like. These are gianduja filled rolled wafer cookies (somewhat like the flute cookies you can buy at Asian groceries...but BETTER).


I'm not sure if these are manufactured year round, but these seem to have been packed for Sechselauten, that strange but wonderful springtime festival in which a snowman is blown to smithereens. I approve of such holidays.

We also had some visitors from Basel recently and they very kindly brought us some edible gifts in the form of Leckerli. By the way, that's my favorite kind of gift. You know, in case you were thinking of getting me something. I mean, edible--not limited only to Leckerli!



Leckerli is a type of cookie made with almonds, honey, and candied peel and glazed with sugar glaze. I always sort of equated it with gingerbread, and it certainly has a similar texture if not quite the same flavor. It is delicious and I've had to limit myself to only eating one or two squares at a time...because given the chance, I could probably finish the entire box at once. Plus, it came in a gorgeous tin with a Basel scene to remind me of the fun times we had there.

So there you have it. Nothing homemade, but everything tasty. Bonus? No stove or oven necessary. Simply open mouth and insert cookie(s).