In celebration of World Chocolate Day on July 7, Joshua Elie holds a bottle of wine and a plate of chocolate fudge brownies in his kitchen. Photo by Patricia Elie.
By Joshua Elie
I grew up in a world where if you wanted something, you had to work for it or build it yourself. Food, even chocolate, didn’t motivate me as much as other things did.
I got my first real job when I was 5 years old. There were these antique Tonka trucks about two miles away at the Wheeler Dealer, the local antique store, that I wanted for my sandbox. I asked my parents to buy them for me, and they said no. I think all they saw was rusted junk. What I saw was a front-end loader, a backhoe and a dump truck, and I had roads, jumps and cliffs to build for my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I walked back to the store and asked if there were any work I could do to earn those toys. Sonny Siciliano, the owner, put me to work stacking bricks “nice and neat” around his miniature golf course. I walked back and forth every day for weeks. I might have been good for an hour a day ⸺ I was 5, after all ⸺ but I earned those toys. More importantly, I learned if I wanted something, I had to earn it.
I must not have been particularly good at doing dishes because they quickly moved me to the fountain and basically had me scooping ice cream. The smiles and the joy I saw in people getting the treat they had been looking forward to all day, or all week, was priceless. I also met my first love there, and we worked side-by-side every day. It was the greatest summer of my life.
What does this have to do with World Chocolate Day? (I’m getting to that.)
The “Duck” was originally a House of Flavors, very much like Ludington’s, though after Larry bought the place and the adjoining laundromat it became much more “earthy.” It was open 24 hours, and I would often tell my parents I was spending the night at a friend’s, though I was hanging out at the Duck to watch the after-the-bar crowd and then the after-the-party, after-the-bar crowd. I realized how relaxing coffee and breakfast were while watching the sun rise before going to bed. I did a lot of this later in life: performing with my band until 2 a.m., loading the equipment in the truck until 3-4 a.m., then finding a 24-hour restaurant. Sometimes I would come across one with fresh pie or Danish, warm from the oven.
Even better is warm chocolate fudge on ice cream (tastes best after working) while watching the sun set on Lake Michigan, the most beautiful sunset in the world.
Happy July 7 … World Chocolate Day! (Brownie recipe below the photo.)
Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 25 minutes
2⅔ cups flour
1½ cups baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups sugar
1½ cups (3 sticks) melted butter
4 tbs milk
4 eggs, beaten
10-12 oz jar caramel sauce, heated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cocoa and baking powder. Mix slowly. Add milk sparingly, until just moist enough to coat evenly in a baking pan. Line 17” x 11” baking pan with parchment paper and tuck corners. Spread mix evenly and trim loose paper from edges. Trimming is important because loose paper will burn. Top evenly with hot caramel. Bake for 25 minutes then remove. Cool, then put in freezer for 1 hour. This makes it easy to cut. Pairs explosively with robust red wine. Boss’s choice: Livingston Merlot.
