Chocolate For Breakfast
There used to be an unwritten law that one does not start drinking before Noon. This silent law was usually acknowledged by the semi-serious question, "Is it noon yet?" Sometime in the last three decades of the 20th century that unwritten law was re-written to push noon back to 5pm. The push back came along with the end of the Martini lunch.
I received a book in the mail yesterday that focused my mind on these sorts of unwritten rules: "Chocolate With Breakfast".
This beautifully produced and subversive cookbook puts chocolate in the context of the one meal where it is usually excluded and silently acknowledged to be inappropriate. Though having dove down into the possibilities that this book offers for morning culinary delights, I've recently become a convert to the chocolate-for-breakfast mind-frame.
There are other unwritten rules where drinking and eating are concerned that probably should be broken and great effort has been put into breaking them. The Champagnois and other producers of sparkling wine have for ages been trying to place their drink in the context of everyday dining, rather than just for special occasions. They been successful with a few brave lawbreakers, but not enough.
The idea that red wine is for meat and white is for fish (or at least for non-meat plates) is another unwritten rule (actually, I'm sure it is still written somewhere) that many have tried to dispose of. They've convinced me, but not a lot of others.
But in this day and age, there is still something about starting the day with a chocolate treat that probably seems way too indulgent for most folks. The author of "Chocolate with Breakfast", Barbara Passino, provides a number of ways that chocolate can be introduced into recipes that does not SEEM indulgent, but is rather just another ingredient. But she isn't fooling anyone. The entire books revolves around the enticing premise of breaking the rules. And that's one of the reasons I like it.
I rarely break the newer "not before 5pm" unwritten rule. Though occasionally I'll have glass of wine or a Manahattan with lunch. But it's almost always just one. And when in Mexico, the rules don't count since it's a vacation and rules concerning drinking and the clock are way too limiting where good tequila and cerveza are concerned.
But I do recommend "Chocolate For Breakfast" for anyone in the mood to break an unwritten rule. It feels good.
The one meal where it’s usually excluded? Off the top of my head, there’s hot chocolate, pain au chocolat, mocha, nutella on toast (or crepes) and the Dutch breakfast of butter and chocolate jimmies on bread. If there is such a thing as one meal where chocolate is excluded, I would argue for lunch.
I did a post not too long ago “How Early Is Too Early” wondering where all those rules came from, while drinking a Gin & Tonic at 11am….I tend to think most of the rules intended to control someone elses behavior are BS and pretty arrogant, who the hell am I to tell someone when they can have or not have a drink?! Just let one of those people try and stop me….
What? No mention of Count Chocula? What kind of wine and food blog is this?
i love a chocolate croissant for breakfast, but the notion of that makes my wife gag. it takes all kinds, n’est-ce pas?
Awesome! I love this post
Generally I am one of those tortured souls who obsessively follows the rules, but I will drink Champagne with Harold’s Fried Chicken (which is a southside Chicago slice of heaven)
Thanks for posting that.