Bruttles set to make TV debut
First, Saveur magazine discovered Bruttles, and now Rachael Ray is dishing about the Spokane-made delectables.
Bruttles Candy Shop owner Carol Measel found out last week her signature candies will be featured on an episode of the Food Network maven’s daytime talk show.
“They sampled everything and they were just crazy about the Bruttles,” Measel said.
The square butter-brittle candies are made of either peanut butter or cashew. The peanut butter Bruttles are half dipped in semi-sweet chocolate. The cashew Bruttles take a dip in white chocolate.
Measel sent 140 of their 12-piece Bruttles bags to show producers recently. They told Measel the candy will be featured sometime in the next few weeks. (Check www.spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/freshsheet for more details as they become available.)
“We’re so excited,” Measel said. “It comes at the perfect time for us, when things have slowed down a little bit. I was so worried that it would happen around Valentine’s Day.”
Measel said the business has boosted its daily candy making to prepare for the orders they’re expecting once the Bruttles debut on Rachael Ray. They normally make 300 pounds of candy each day. For the next week or more, they’ll be making 600 pounds every day, Measel said.
Measel created the confections with the help of her great-aunt Sophia Gerkensmeyer. It was Gerkensmeyer who started the family confection tradition in 1951 when she created the original signature creation sold at Bruttles: the soft peanut butter brittle.
Peanut butter Bruttles are made with the same recipe as the soft brittle except the whole nuts are left out and each candy is dipped chocolate. The Davenport Hotel features the soft peanut brittle as a turndown treat at the hotel and the Davenport Tower.
Bruttles can be found at two retail shops in Spokane: Davenport Hotel Candy Shoppe, 10 S. Post St., (509) 624-2394; and Bruttles Candy Shoppe and Factory in the Spokane Valley at 11400 E. Sprague Ave. (509) 228-9509.
Time to Open That Bottle
Coeur d’Alene’s Gourmet Way and Bistro on Spruce want you to open that special bottle of wine to help the local Women’s Center.
The businesses are hosting an Open That Bottle Night dinner March 5, starting at 6 p.m. The idea of Open That Bottle Night – a night encouraging people to uncork the wine they’ve been saving for just the right occasion – was started by the writers of the Wall Street Journal’s popular Tastings column in 1999.
Bring your wine and choose from a four-course menu featuring flat-iron steak with bleu cheese gratin, New Zealand lamb chops with garlic and rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes or Szechuan Glazed Salmon. The price of the dinner is $44, not including tax or tip.
Gourmet Way owner Heidi Tsadilas, and Bistro on Spruce owner Chris Mueller ask that diners donate the additional $10 corkage fee to the Women’s Center.
For more information or to make reservations call Gourmet Way at (208) 762-1333 or Bistro on Spruce at (208) 664-1774.