by Sharm | Feb 6, 2012 | Kansas City, Local Products, Local Restaurants, What You're Missing KC!
With Valentine ’s Day just around the corner, I have compiled a list of a few goodies you can find around town to make you day a sweet as can be.
I would say he first thing that to come to mind when most people think about Valentine’s Day s is chocolate. Kansas City has quite a few choices when it comes to that cocoa confection starting with the ever-popular Christopher Elbow.
Food and Wine magazine gave the #1 ranking of their top 10 Chocolates to Christopher Elbow for the No. 6 Dark. It features 61% dark chocolate blended with popping candy to create a unique, irresistible chocolate bar. I had the chance to tour his shop a while back and had no idea the detail that went into making these exquisite chocolates! Now I know why they taste so good. Some take 2, 3 or even more days to make.
You can read more about the tour
here.
Elbows chocolates are of course available at his shop on McGee Street but some other locations around the metro include the Roasterie Café, Brookside Market, Foo’s Frozen Custard, Halls Department Store, Dean and Deluca and Cosentino’s Market. Elbow’s Chocolates are also available nationwide including his store in San Francisco. Here is a link to find all the locations his chocolates are available.
Christopher Elbow Chocolates
1819 McGee Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
ph. 816-842-1300
fax 816-842-1301
Tues – Sat 10a.m. – 6p.m.
Next is Amore Chocolate Pizza Company. Christopher and Annette Cook run this local shop. Annette is a former theater buff and would make these “break a leg” chocolate pizzas as gifts. As popularity of them grew, Annette found herself taking orders for them and Amore Chocolate Pizza Company was born.
Located in Leawood in the Town Center shopping center, Amore Chocolate Pizza Company is also a dessert café and bakery offering a variety of chocolates, desserts, coffees and more. Certain nights feature live music and a fondue bar.
Patric Chocolates have a variety of bars available to purchase including a bar he collaborated with Kansas City’s own Christopher Elbow. His bars are available at the Better Cheddar in Kansas City, various stores throughout St. Louis and online. Visit Patric Chocolates.com for more information.
If it is cakes or cookies you are looking for Kansas City has that covered too. Jude’s Rum Cakes are the creation of Chef and Caterer Craig Adcock who owns Belly Up BBQ. Named after his mother-in-law, Jude’s Rum Cakes are made with only the best quality ingredients. Whole eggs, real butter, Barbancourt Rum from Haiti, a local Rum from Tennessee and locally grown pecans from Missouri Northern Pecan Growers. Once the cakes are made, they are soaked in the rum for 24 hours in order for it to saturate through the cake. The result is a rich, moist, and fragrant cake.
Jude’s Rum Cakes come in three sizes. The large 4-pound version ($50) yields 16 large slices and the smaller size 2-pound ($30) will yield 8 slices. They also bake and sell mini muffin-size and two-bite teaser rum cakes. ($12 – $15)
Order online or arrangements can be made for pick up and by calling 913.526.6708.
If Cheesecakes are your passion check out Cowtown Cheesecakes. Owner Chef Terry Mille has created a variety of flavors and uses local and seasonal ingredients when available. Some flavors include: Strawberry Shortcake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Key Lime, Lemon, Lemon Blueberry, Strawberry, Pumpkin, Fudge Swirl, Devils Food Cake, White Chocolate Raspberry and Kansas Cream.
Visit CowTown Cheesecake’s website or contact Chef Terry at chefterry@cowtowncheesecake.com for more information on pricing and ordering. You can also find CowTown Cheesecake company on Facebook.
For cookies and other treats such as handmade marshmallows,cake pops and more check out Everyday Organic Cookery. Owner Jamie Milks believes that eating healthy, organic food is something you can do everyday and that is why every thing she makes uses local and organic ingredients. Jamie is a genius when it comes to creating these treats and has spent hours testing and perfecting the recipes. Her cookie dough flavors include: chocolate chip, salted caramel, honey lemon ginger and more. All items are gluten free and are absolutely delicious.
Just for Valentines Day, Farm to Market Bread Company has created a Chocolate Cherry Bread. This Kansas City tradition is available for a limited time only, Feb. 8 through Valentine’s Day. This bread is made with semi-sweet chocolate, Michigan-grown red tart dried cherries and 100 percent cocoa. Like all Farm to Market artisan breads, Chocolate Cherry is made with all-natural ingredients. This year, the recipe is being crafted into 14-ounce round loaves that make perfect gifts or treats for the office.
Farm to Market Chocolate Cherry Bread retails at $5.99 per loaf and will be offered in select Kansas City-area stores from Feb. 8-14 including Cosentino’s Price Chopper’s, Marsh’s Sun Fresh, Westport, HyVee (77th &State Line Rd) Hen House (87th and Lackman), Corinth Hen House, Camelot Hen House, Prairie Village Hen House, Deer Creek Hen House (135th and Metcalf) and Fairway Hen House. Lawrence residents can find Chocolate Cherry Bread at Community Mercantile.
If you are a wine lover, Somerset Ridge Winery will quench your thirst. Somerset Ridge wines are served in some great local restaurants around KC including Bonefish Grill, Taste, Gaslight Grill, Blue Bird Bistro and Jasper’s just to name a few. They are also available at several retail locations around the city. Visit their website for more information on locations.
www.somersetridge.com/retail.html
Enjoy Valentines Day with your sweetie with one of these sweets! For a list of more local products savory and sweet check out the local products page.
In Good Taste,
Sharm
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by Sharm | Sep 7, 2011 | Articles, What You're Missing KC!
Hello and Welcome to Discover Finer Living, formerly What You’re Missing KC!, the go to sight for KC foodies and news about the best food finds in town. Although the name has changed, I still feature news from the KC food scene!
My husbands job has relocated us out of the KC area to Wichita, KS. If you have been a What You’re Missing KC! fan, don’t worry! KC will always be my hometown and I have added a What You’re Missing KC! page as I do get back quite often and I still get press releases and news about KC. And of course I have to share the love I have for the amazing local food scene!
The reason for the change stemmed form his new job position and which requires quite a bit of travel and since our nest is empty, I am free to tag along.
In addition to work trips we also enjoy getting away at our leisure with cruising being a favorite! I have started this blog to share some of our travel adventures as well as my favorite products, recipes, healthy living tips and anything that makes living finer.If you have a great food find you think should be featured on this sight, Please contact us.
by Sharm | Nov 17, 2010 | Articles, Food & Drink, Kansas City, Local Products, What You're Missing KC!
If you have had a Boulevard beer in the past 21 years, stop by your favorite drinking establishment on November 17th at 10pm, and raise a glass of Boulevard to toast their 21st Anniversary.
On November 17, 1989, the first keg of Boulevard beer was sold to Ponak’s Mexican Kitchen just a few blocks from the brewery. Since then boulevard has added numerous beers to their line and is shipped nationwide.
Boulevard beers are currently available throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas, with partial distribution in Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
The 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale is similar to the brewery’s signature pale ale, but kicked up a notch to celebrate its coming of age.
Boulevard is passionate about beer and has many unique opportunities for those who are passionate as well.
In addition to making exceptional beers, Boulevard offers public and private brewery tours, event space rental, beer-pairing dinners and a BrewMasters Luncheon, which is a collaboration between the brewery and a local restaurant.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend both a private brewery tour and a Brewmasters Luncheon.
The tours really give an in depth look at the beer making process as well as lots of fun facts on how some of the beers got their names and of course tasting, tasting, tasting! Did I mention tasting, because you will not go away thirsty!
The Brewmasters Luncheon is held in the beautiful event space on the third floor. The view from this space is one of the best in the city.
The Luncheon I attended featured Webster House and had wonderful dishes prepared by their chef Charles d’Ablaing.
The first pairing was Amber Ale and a Chilean Sea Bass. The second was a seared duck breast and the Long Strange Triple and the last was a Bully Porter paired with an elk tenderloin.
If you have not had the chance to go to a Brewmasters Luncheon, put it on your list. It is a really neat to experience meet Boulevards Brewmaster Steven Pauwels and learn about all the different beers as he explains them in relations to dish, and then of course tasting the way the flavors work together is the added bonus!
Happy Anniversary Boulevard!
For more information on brewery tours, Brewmasters Luncheons and other opportunities Boulevard offers visit the Boulevard website.
And as always if you have a great food find in KC you think I am missing, email me.
In Good Taste,
Sharm
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by Sharm | Jun 2, 2010 | Food & Drink, Food Finds, Kansas City, What You're Missing KC!
Chef Mark’s Kitchen hand crafted artisan finishing sauces, seasoning blends and instant sauce mixes are made by one of Kansas City’s most respected chefs, Mark Alan Mollentine.
Chef Mark Alan Mollentine’s interest in cooking started early. He grew up around food. Their yard was graced with fruit trees, berry bushes and always had a small garden with vegetables and herbs. Everything was always hand-made. The food was simple, but extraordinary.
Chef Mark attended culinary school in Dallas, Texas. As a culinary student he was selected by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) as “Outstanding Student” and was invited to the annual conference in San Antonio where he assisted Ms. Julia Child with her activities, including book signings and prepping for a TV Show.
His first professional “chef job” was as an apprentice at a small, private school. One day, this tiny blond girl of 6 or 7 tugged on his pant leg and when he bent down to her she whispered, “Please don’t tell my mom, but I like your food better than hers.”
Once back home in Kansas City, Chef Mark’s experience here has included eight years as a culinary instructor; banquet chef for Hallmark Cards’ family namesake country club, Hallbrook C.C.; executive chef of the prestigious Wynbrick Country Inn in Liberty, MO.,he has also owned a prominent catering business and the historic Governor’s Meeting House Restaurant in Shawnee, KS.
He is currently the private corporate chef for Gear For Sports, a Kansas City-based international corporation; chef for Good Natured Family Farms local-food alliance and he writes a food column “The Chef’s Table” for a Kansas City food magazine. Recently, he helped create the KC Food Artisans association.
He has cooked for major celebrities, renowned political figures, top corporation executives and prestigious university chancellors. He was the chef/caterer for the movie “Ride with The Devil”, where he was chosen to personally chef for the movie’s top talent, Ang Lee, Jewell, Toby Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and others. His own “screen credits” include over 20 live-television cooking segments, a DVD highlighting local holiday foods, appetizers & cooking techniques, and hundreds of private and public “chef cooking demonstrations.”
Proudly, for the past six years, He has been associated with the Kansas City Buy Fresh / Buy Local program, helping to create a better consumer understanding of local, farm-fresh foods. In connection with this venture, he launched his own line of artisan-crafted, All-Natural Sauces, Hand-Selected Seasoning Blends and Instant Sauce Mixes, under the name “Chef Mark Alan.”
The finishing sauces, seasoning blends and sauce mixes are an easy and wonderful way to add flavor to a variety of dishes. They come in some great flavors like roasted red pepper aioli, apricot dijon glaze, lemon rotisserie and sweet and smokey BBQ just to name a few.
Chef Mark’s products are available on-line at www.ChefMarksKitchen.com, at all area Hen House Markets, select Price Choppers and other local retailers. A complete list of all of his products, where to buy them and over 70 recipes are on Chef Mark’s website.
And as always, if you have a great food find in KC you think I am missing Email me
In Good Taste,
Sharm
by Sharm | May 5, 2010 | Articles, Food & Drink, Local Restaurants, What You're Missing KC!
Add vodka and make Limoncello! It will make everything better.
That is exactly what Jasper did at “A Limoncello Experience”.
First of all, if you have been to Jasper’s you know it is like going to a friend’s house for dinner, and that he is the most personable, sweet man you will ever want to meet.
If you have not been, get it on your list of places to go. It will become a favorite spot guaranteed!
Now about those lemons…. A multi-course treat that had all sorts of fancy Italian names that I had no idea what they meant, but they sounded sexy and of course they sure tasted good, which is really what matters to me.
We were greeted with a limoncello cocktail consisting of limoncello and champagne it was refreshing and delicious. The table was set with the yummiest Sicilian Limoncello Crackers and Limoncello and Cream Cheese Braided Bread made by the very talented Suzanne Frisse of Meadowlark Acres. meadowlarkacres.web.officelive.com/default.aspx In addition to the bread and crackers was a Lemon Ricotta and Sicillian Olives; it was a delicious way to start the evening.
The First Course: Was a Chilled Asparagus and Limoncello Cappuccino. It was this most amazing creamy asparagus soup with just the perfect hint of lemon. There was also included an Oyster Christina. 
I have to admit I was a little nervous about that as I have never been inclined to try an oyster. My husband likes them but I just can’t seem to get over the look them laying in that shell, that I have never brought myself to try one. The Oyster Christina was fried so I thought OK I can do this for Jasper because I really want the whole Limoncello Experience! Well who knew what I was missing! It was very tasty and had this lemony glaze that added just a touch of lemon flavor. Thank You Jasper for taking me out of my little culinary box!
The Second Course : Was a Scampi Limoncello and Leek Risotto.
Jasper himself did a demonstration on how to prepare the dish. He was informative and personable. I felt like I was in his home. 
The Risotto was creamy and delicious. Jasper also scores another point for getting us out of our culinary box, this time for my husband Steve. He has asked me before when we have been to other places that serve a risotto, “What’s risotto? I tell him it is a like a pasta dish made with rice. He say’s “Rice is for Chinese Food”.
So he has never tried it until now. Thank you again Jasper! He really liked it.
The Third Course Was a Pasta alla Limocello a cut pasta, with a lemon cream and local garlic chives and A Slow Roasted Limocello Chicken served with Pendelton’s ( a local asparagus farm www.pendletons.com) Asparagus and Fresh Mozza Cream Potatoes.
I was getting so full and knew dessert was coming so I had to pace myself and I am glad I did because it was quite a treat to keep the experience going the next day for lunch with my leftovers.
And last but not least, The Fourth Course consisted of “A Trio of Sweet Lemon Inspired Endings” which included a Lemon Gelato, Limoncello Cannoli and a Limoncello Tart. All were so good. 
The crust for the tart was made from Jasper’s Mothers sugar cookie recipe and I am telling you it was to die for!
Well if you are not drooling by now to make the ending even sweeter a wonderful Limoncello liquor was added to finish things up.
Are you kicking yourself already for missing this?
Well you are in luck. Jasper has a list of “Experiences” lined up for you to take advantage of that includes some of the most decadent ingredients.
The next few coming up are:
“A Mozzarella Experience”
“A Prosciutto Experience” and
“An Heirloom Tomato Experience”.
Now that I have seen what this guy can do with lemons, I can’t wait to see what he can do with these other ingredients.
Jasper takes such care in preparing his dishes. He uses as many fresh and local ingredients as possible and you can truly taste the difference.
If you can’t make it to one of his “Experiences” you must at least go for lunch or dinner. I promise you will be hooked!!
Jasper also has the Marco Polo Italian Market right next door. A perfect option when you are craving good food on the go or don’t have time for a dining room experience.
The market serves from 10:00 A.M.-10:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. Prices range from $2.75-$6.95 and features Italian sandwiches, pasta, chicken, pizza and desserts. The grill is still outside and Italian sausages are fired up daily. The market seats 55 and also does catering.
1201 W. 103rd Street | Kansas City, MO 64114 | Phone: (816) 941-6600
To register for one of the “Experiences” call 816-941-6600 or email jasperjr@aol.com
“A Mozzarella Experience” is June 17th
“A Prosciutto Experience is July 12th”
“An Heirloom Tomato Experience” is August 9th
Cost is $45.00 per person, does not include wine pairing tax or gratuity.
Make your reservations today!
For more information visit Jasper’s website.
And as always if you think you have a great local food find you think I am missing, Email me
In Good Taste,
Sharm
by Sharm | Apr 12, 2010 | Articles, Events, Local Restaurants, What You're Missing KC!
When it comes to Italian in Kansas City there is only one name at the top of that list and it is of course Jasper’s. With Zagat saying it is the “Best Italian Restaurant in Kansas City” and giving it the distinct honor of being one of the “Top Ten Italian Restaurants in America” along with numerous other awards, you know it is the place to go!
Jasper himself has become a nationally acclaimed chef. He has made guest chef appearances at The James Beard House in L.A., New York, Milan, and Paris. He has been written about by every major newspaper and magazine including Laudes by USA Today, New York Times, Midwest Living, and Italy’s Cucina. When dining in Kansas City, Jasper’s has become a must visit for many.
Jasper has also been making his own Limoncello for many years and is credited for bringing the liqueur to Kansas City over 25 years ago and that is what I am here to tell you about.
Okay so what is not to love about this dangerously smooth concoction? Vodka, Lemon, Sugar, it is an artisanal masterpiece! I cannot wait to learn how to make this. Keep reading to get the scoop.
You are invited to join Jasper for A Limoncello Experience where he is going to take that liquid gold and make a whole Limoncello menu with it.
Jasper’s “A Limoncello Experience” is going to include a Limoncello demonstration and multi course small plate tasting as you have never tasted before.
You will experience Limoncello in a unique menu that includes:
Springtime antipasta, Limoncello bread,
Artisan pasta in a Limoncello cream sauce,
Limoncello Shrimp and a never before experienced handcrafted gelato & tort,
All served with Jasper’s own Artisanal Limoncello Liqueur.
A to die for tasting…A Limoncello Experience at Jasper’s this is one event not to be missed!
Monday, May 3, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Make Reservations today! Call 816.941.6600
$45.00 per person plus tax and gratuity
Tax $4.50
Gratuity $9.75
Total $59.25
Registration & Reservations by credit card guarantee only.
NO REFUNDS!
A registration form can also be found online at Jasper’s http://www.jasperskc.com/limoncello.html
Besides “A Limoncello Experience” Jasper will be hosting a number of events throughout the year and I just got wind of one called “A Canolli Experience.” My mouth is watering just thinking about that crispy shell and that sweet filling combination a canolli has and wondering what magnificent touches Jasper will put on those already perfect little gems. I cannot wait for that! Stayed tuned for details!
Don’t Miss “A Limoncello Experience.” Register today!
And as always if you think there is something I am missing in the KC food scene, Email me
In Good Taste,
Sharm
