Taste of the season

Photo illustration by Dawn Madura - dmadura@mscd.edu

1. Mermaid’s bakery

(303) 534 0956, Dianna, Lisa
Cousins and co-owners Diana Ayala and Lisa Mavroudis have been running Mermaid’s Bakery and Pie House for just nine months. This will be their first Valentine’s Day.

“All of the holidays have been really fun. This I think is going to be a little bit different than the other holidays because everyone wants something a little more personal,” Mavroudis said.
The bakery fills special orders with two days notice, Mavroudis said, so orders that need to be filled by Valentine’s Day have been pouring in for weeks.

“We definitely are going to have a lot of special orders this week,” she said. “Somebody wanted a giant rice crispy treat in the shape of a heart. We don’t usually have rice crispy treats, but we were happy to make it special for them.”

While special orders will be most of their business, Mermaid’s pies and cupcakes are the stars of the shop. There are more than 20 different cupcakes to choose from and they’re also running a special on their mini pies, Mavroudis said, with a heart cut out of the middle for Valentine’s Day.

2. Chocolate tour on Havana

The Havana Business Improvement District is hosting their first International Chocolate Tour. The chocolate-tasting event will be held at five different shops on Havana. The World Food Bazaar, 242 Havana St., will have chocolate from India, Solomon’s European Market & Deli, 1939 Havana St., will be featuring chocolate from Lithuania, Russia and the Baltic Region, including the famous Bogatir Confectionery Factory in Moscow. The English Teacup, 1930 Havana St., will have chocolate from the Nestle and Cadbury companies in England. Nejashi Textiles and Gifts will feature Turkish chocolate from the Ulker Company and Katherine’s French Bakery, 2832 Havana St., will have dark and white French chocolates designed by chef Katherine Pappas.

Gayle Jetchick, executive director of the HBID, said that the idea for the chocolate tasting event was something new that should be fun.

“We have so many neat international markets we want to showcase,” Jetchick said. “It’s a free event. People don’t have a lot of money to spend right now.”

The event will offer tastes of chocolates from milk to dark, Jetchick said, and each piece of candy will be offered with water or a salty cracker as a palate cleanser.

Jetchick said the World Food Bazaar and Nejashi Textiles & Gifts would be offering sugar free chocolates to taste as well.

“I threw those in because we had several people that love chocolate but cant have the sugar,” Jetchick said.

3. The Madden

Greenwood Village’s newest art museum, The Madden, will start its second exhibit, Intimacy & Seduction February 16. The exhibition features a noteworthy gathering of artists assembled both regionally and from abroad, contemporary working artists and traditional masters. Artists include Peter Anton, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Chin Chi, Vittorio Matteo Corcos, Kim Dickey, Mary Ehrin, Jill Greenberg, Peter Max, Todd Siler, Mark Sink, Daniel Sprick and Andy Warhol. Joining them in this exhibition will also be artists from The MADDEN’s permanent collection, including Albert Bierstadt, Colin Cambell Cooper, Robert Rauschenberg, Filadelfo Simi and JMW Turner.

There is a special Valentine’s Day sneak peak on the 14, with a dinner and desert extravaganza. In addition to the exhibit, food and handpicked champagnes, guests of the sneak peak will be invited to take a turn with a paintbrush and paint live nude models.
Packages start at $45.

4. Body painting with chocolate

Recipe courtesy of www.delish.com

What better way to show your significant other you care than to smother them in chocolate? You could always visit your friendly neighborhood adult novelty store and pick up a flavor, or here is a simple recipe to make the delicious goo at home. What you do with the chocolate once it is applied to the body is quite up to you.

SERVINGS
3 different flavored paints

INGREDIENTS
13.5 oz cream
17.5 oz high-quality dark chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet), chopped
1/2 bunch mint, finely chopped
1 chili pepper finely chopped
1 double shot of espresso

PREPARATION

1. Divide cream into three individual pans. Add mint into one pan, chili into the second pan, and espresso into the third pan. Slowly warm each pan to a near simmer and remove from heat, allowing flavor to infuse for 15 minutes.

2. Place dark chocolate in a small bowl and set bowl over a small saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir constantly until chocolate melts.

3. Remove pan from the heat and divide chocolate into three small pots.

4. Return pans of cream to heat and, once hot, strain each pan of cream into one chocolate pot, creating three separate flavored chocolate body paints.

5. Using 3 small brushes and your imagination, paint away!


5. Lovely Confections

Not every gift needs to be romantic. Sometimes, remembering the special people on Valentine’s Day is the most important thing. Owner and head pastry chef of Lovely Confections, Porche Lovely, wants her pastries to be all-inclusive.

“We want to focus on the spirit of the season. Anyone can be your Valentine,” Lovely said.
Located on the corner of Steele and Colfax, Lovely Confections offers an upscale and professional pastry experience. Lovely chooses local ingredients such as diary from Morning Fresh from Bellvue, Fort Collins-based Rodelle’s vanilla extract and flour, and ice cream from Boulder.

“It’s an important thing to do to decrease carbon footprint,” Lovely said.
As an appropriate dessert for Valentines Day, Lovely picked chocolate covered cherries and strawberries.

Collaborating with neighbor File-n-Style, couples can get a luxury spa pedicure, pink champagne, mini cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, long stem roses and, to top it off, a photo of the day for $64.

Yet for a more informal Valentines Day, there’s no reason to treat yourself or give a cupcake dessert to a co-worker or friend. Lovely’s cupcakes include traditional flavors such as chocolate, vanilla, and carrot as well as special flavors on the weekends. A regular cupcake has a starting price of $3 and can be customized to fit any sugar-lover’s liking. Not a bad way to show someone you care without breaking the bank.