We first started publishing a Holiday Chocolate recipe in 1998. This is our 19th version. We have been a little unscientific with our selections in the past. We often have come down to crunch time with the desperate plea, “Anyone got a recipe for this year’s letter?”
Well no more. Seriousness is Job One in the test kitchen today. We are organized. Jordan Lafayette (forget the ‘Boyle’, Jordan got married this summer) has taken charge of Holiday cooking. You can cancel your subscription to Bon Appetit. Jordan assigned everyone a day to come in with a Chocolate recipe to share…and to be judged. Little did we know how this apparently fun, bonding experience would almost turn ugly. Who would have guessed there was such competitiveness in the Dessert kitchens at Hanson & Doremus!
But we all survived and are (mostly) still on speaking terms. After two rounds of voting (Eric, Anne and Jordan were eliminated in the first round – totally unjust!) the winner was Alma Pilausic, a 2016 addition to our staff. If you haven’t met Alma she is usually the first person you will talk to when you call in. Alma is from Bosnia. She came to the US with her sister and parents in 1996. Without any previous English, she proceeded to complete four years of High School in Winooski, graduated from Champlain College in Business Administration and has worked in Finance since, raising three children with her husband who works at Global Foundries. Quite a New American success story.
Her recipe here is excellent. We have named it Alma’s Bosnian Chocolate Cake. The picture makes it look kind of imposing but Alma assures us that from start to finish, including the baking, it takes only one hour. We tried it. We voted on it. And we can tell you this is the Real Deal. Enjoy and Happy Holidays from everyone here at Hanson & Doremus.
