March 2012

A love for fondue

 

Oh fondue. We have had some fun times together. You were so good to me when we had those oil broiled strips of meat before dunking them into wondrous cheese. Sometimes, to switch it up, you’d toss in pieces of bread, a bit hard from being toasted, but it would soften as the cheese sank into it. It was a strange process to be sure, but I assure you, dear fondue I enjoyed the introduction to you.

 

But then, I was shown again how wondrous you are! You simply changed the game up on me; instead of meat there was nothing but fruit. The fruit was OK on their own, some strawberry there, some banana here, even a few pieces of apples and grapes. No oil - I’d figure trying to fry fruit with that kind of oil would be considered strange – but instead some bowls of heated chocolate.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Easter Eggs

One of the best things about Easter is the candy, especially for those who love chocolate. While store bought Easter candy works in a pinch nothing beats the freshness of homemade chocolate eggs. This recipe from the website tasteofhome.com uses ingredients such as peanut butter and nuts to keep it fun and unique. Take it with you to Easter dinner or as a treat after your kids Easter egg hunt. Young and old alike will enjoy this tasty, homemade Easter treat. Best of all, you won't eat into your cooking plans because the dish takes only 25 minutes to make and one hour to chill.

 

Things You'll Need:

  • ¼ cup of butter, softened
  • ¾ cup of chunky peanut butter
  • 1 and ½ to 2 cups of confectionery sugar (divided)
  • 1 cup of coconut (flaky)
  • ½ cup of walnuts, finely chopped
  • 2 cups or 12 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons of shorting
  • Wax paper
  • Mixing Bowl

Chocolate Cars

I have seen many things pertaining to, covered in, and even being filled with chocolate. Hell there is chocolate fashion. But I found something rather interesting. Chocolate cars. Yes, they are a thing. Lemme backtrack. I’ve seen chocolate mini cars made entirely as a desert, and a real car coated in chocolate.

Now the first question one would ask is ‘why’?

Chocolate Fantasy Fulfilled | The Chocolate Fountain

What is the greatest invention of the 21st century? Cell phones? The internet? Electric cars? Nope. Those are all good guesses, but, unfortunately, all wrong. The chocolate fountain is the clear cut winner. It truly epitomizes all that is great about this century and I am confident that, looking back, future generations will feel the same way.

Sometime in the 1980’s, some genius from Canada with a love of all things chocolate decided that a free-flowing, lava-like stream of chocolate exuding from a towering volcano structure would be a fabulous idea. I have no idea why, but I do not argue with such obvious and remarkable intelligence. I mean, it is the stuff we dreamed about at night after viewing “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Warm, melted chocolate at our disposal. Ready for the taking. Yum.

Review of Starbucks Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

Today I headed over to Starbucks for my usual: a nonfat iced mocha. When I arrived at the counter I realized that several new, low-calorie treats were available for us customers to choose from. When I saw the selection it came into my mind that I was eying the latest treats to land on Starbucks store shelves everywhere. The pastries are an attempt by the company to produce something sweet without breaking your calorie budget for the day. Previously, the store offered mini-cakes and cake pops, along with bagels, muffins, coffee cakes and large cookies. I love those soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies but I was in the mood to maybe try something different and, well, healthier.

Chocolate Flavored Wines

I mentioned the fun to be had with chocolate wine in an earlier post, as well as chocolate candy wine. But today, I’m going in head first in drinkable chocolate wine. There are a few out there – most of them fall into the desert wine category. As in, they are meant to be paired with well deserts. Note that desert wines tend to contain less alcohol than in normal wines, so don’t expect to get absurdly drunk.

I have seen wines and chardonnays; but the places that make them seem to be overseas so promotion is sparse. A few companies do import them, but the reception is a bit meh. These places tend to instead of allowing direct orders to sell them in random specialty stores. Drinks such as Chocovine peak interest because hey – we all like chocolate here. And wine…why not.

5 Fun Facts About Oreo Cookies

Oreo Cookies Turn 100 This Week

Oreo cookie turned 100 this week and given that one of America's favorite brand reached such an important milestone, I thought covering a couple of facts about the famous cookie would fit well within the theme of all things chocolate. Did you know that Oreo produces different flavors depending on the country you live in? I didn't know that Mexicans enjoyed what's referred to as “Trio Chocolate” Oreo cookies. This is just one piece of information along with the other fun facts I gathered together for this post about the famous Oreo treat.

Chocolate Snails

"The odd thing is this is mostly only heard of in European countries. "

Have you ever heard of chocolate snails? Does the words ‘chocolate’ and ‘snails’ together make you cringe? Whelp, don’t worry; all is not what it seems. The ‘chocolate snail’ isn’t a real snail at all but more an artful decoration made by molding chocolate into well a chocolate shape. The full on melted chocolate types seem to require a mold; though I haven’t found any mold in a shell like shape to use. I just wonder what type of chocolate was used as melted chocolate tends to be…finicky.

There’s another variation is of a chocolate bread resembling a sweet bun but instead of frosting and cinnamon, you have chocolate in-between the layers of bread. The name in this case comes from the swirl shape of the cut bread resembling the swirly brown on a snail’s shell.

Treats and The Woman of My Family

I love chocolate. I’ve said that before. Heck, I’ll probably say it again. Many times. I am not usually a candy bar person, I prefer Godiva. The good stuff. But, there were times in my youth that I did eat the drugstore candy. So, did the other women in my family.

My mom loved those Bit-O-Honey candies. At one point they stopped making them, but they brought back the 1924 treat. My mom was not a sweets girl, but she loved this particular chewy bit.