Pink Saturday Scooter

When my husband and I were driving home from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last week (which you can read about by clicking on the highlighted words) we saw this wonderful pink Vespa scooter parked on a street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan! If you have ever visited Italy you'll know that this is the vehicle of choice in many cities, especially Florence and Rome, but it is a rare sight to see in New york City!

Of course when I saw it I yelled out "Pull over!  Pink Saturday!" almost as a reflex, and then jumped out of the car to take these photos.

Wouldn't you love to tool around NYC on this pretty pink number? I would -- but I'd make sure to stay on the quiet side streets!

Beverly asked that we share a favorite holiday recipe today so please click on this link if you'd like to see a post I did two years ago about my favorite Christmas cookies.  I make them every year!
To see more Pink Saturday posts please visit Beverly at the How Pink the Sound blog.  Thanks Beverly for another week of pink fun!

I'm also having a give away for a 2.2 pound Jacques Torres dark chocolate "Big Daddy" bar on this post.
You have until midnight of December 9th, 2010 to enter by leaving a comment on that post!

Would you also like a chance to win $500 worth of books from Chronicle Books in their "Happy Hual-idays" promotion ending December 12th, 2010?  See My Back Page blog for further information!

Jacques Torres Chocolate Give Away

In my Thanksgiving post I showed a large chocolate turkey I bought as a centerpiece for the dessert portion of our Thanksgiving dinner, and I promised to tell you more of the shop where I bought it. I went to the Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven located in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, located at 350 Hudson at King Street (1 block South of Houston), New York, New York.

Jacques Torres began his career as a pastry chef in his native France where he worked with distinction and honors. He came to the United States in 1988 to work at the Palm Springs Ritz Carlton Hotel as Corporate Pastry Chef. In 1989 he became the Executive Pastry chef at the exclusive restaurant Le Cirque.  In 2000 he opened his own chocolate factory and shop in Brooklyn, New York, serving a wholesale and retail market.

All photos will enlarge if clicked on once and then again when they open in a new window

In 2004, Jacques opened Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven in Manhattan where he transforms cocoa beans into chocolate bars before your very eyes!  His shop's walls are large windows so you can watch the entire chocolate making process take place, as you can see in the photo collage above.

An interesting short video about Jacques Torres and the stories behind his chocolate shops and factories.

The day I visited the chocolate workers were busy making turkeys for Thanksgiving, and ......

....wonderful snowmen, Santas, Christmas trees and chocolate filled Santa's boots!

Inside the store there is a large counter on one side where you can make your chocolate selections

There were so many wonderful chocolates to choose from!

On the other side of the store is his barista counter with cafe tables where you can purchase a coffee, tea or a delicious hot chocolate.

I could not resist getting a hot chocolate! It's so good!

 

Torres also has beautiful gift baskets for sale which can also be ordered through his website, in case you need a wonderful holiday gift!

And now for my give away-- 

I like to buy Jacques Torres' two pound signature "Big Daddy" bars for baking, and I bought an extra Dark Chocolate one on this visit, as I thought it would be a fun give away.  It's 2.2 pounds of his wonderful pure chocolate -- excellent for eating, baking or making hot chocolate, and it is a $22 value!

  

Just leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered in the give away.  If you are a follower of my blog, or become one, I'll give you two chances to win, just let me know in another comment.  I'll use the random.org generator to pick a winning number out of all the comments on December 10th, so you'll receive the bar in time to use for some Christmas baking if you'd like.

Good luck!

THANK YOU!! WINNER HAS BEEN CHOSEN AND NOTIFIED!

Please join me again on my blog next week!

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