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Posts with tag dark chocolate
Chocolate for Valentine's Day - Askinosie Chocolate
Next Saturday is Valentine's Day. I know that for some people, it's a holiday about love, romance and jewelry. However, for me, it will always be a day devoted to candy, particularly chocolate. When I was growing up, my mom would always leave little baskets of treats at our places at the breakfast table, and so my sister I would start the day with a chocolate heart, along with our Cheerios. The school day would progress with a parade of conversation hearts, red gummies and more chocolate. In honor of coming holiday, I'm going to be featuring some of the best chocolates that have come my way in recent days. One of my very favorites that I discovered last summer is Askinosie Chocolate. It's made by a man who is absolutely passionate about chocolate and who travels the world to meet the farmers who grow his beans. The resulting chocolate bars are single source and hand roasted, making for seriously intense and unique flavors. If you're shopping for a dark chocolate lover who's interested in terroir and the artisanal process, this would be an excellent choice.
Sweetriot Cacao Nibs - A Portable Way to Tame Your Sweet Tooth
I have always had something of a sweet tooth. At the age of two, I knew how to spell ice cream, foiling my parents' clever attempts to plan out treats for themselves for after I went to bed. As I got older, I was a fool for Jolly Ranchers, Sugar Daddies and Lik-M-Aid.
These days, the desire for sweet things remains, although I try to keep it in check for the sake of my dental health and waistline. However, I often find myself craving something sweet after lunch or dinner and if I'm not careful, those sugar yearnings can explode into some seriously unwise indulgences.
Thankfully, about six months ago, I discovered Sweetriot. These tiny, dark chocolate-cover cacao nibs satisfy my need for a sweet treat without blowing the calorie bank and for some unknown reason, I'm able to make a single 1-ounce tin last for weeks. There's something about the marginally sweet dark chocolate, coupled with the slightly bitter crunch of the nib that keeps my tastebuds happy.
If you're a chocolate lover who needs something tiny to keep your sugar cravings tame, I highly recommend these little guys.
A No-Brainer Hot Chocolate Recipe
At New York City's Roasting Plant Coffee Company (81 Orchard St. between Broome and Grand streets, and 75 Greenwich Ave. at Seventh Ave., 212-775-7755), they have to-die-for hot chocolate. The recipe is shockingly simple, and you can make it at home!The secret? Gelato.
Go buy a pint of your favorite chocolate gelato (dark chocolate is recommeneded), put a scoop in a mug, and let it melt. Add steamed milk to taste. Top it with marshmallows or whipped cream and chocolate chips (right). Done! Classy, frothy hot chocolate with a divine, rich flavor.
If you want pre-melted gelato at your beck and call (pour steamed milk on frozen gelato and you get "lukewarm chocolate"), keep some in your fridge in a sealable tupperware container, and use it within two days.
[via Tasting Table]
Just say yes to Amano Artisan Chocolate
Know who takes chocolate seriously? Me. Oh, and Amano Artisan Chocolate.
I was fortunate enough to taste the Madagascar, Ocumare, and Cuyagua varieties. In fact, I shared them with a bunch of actors, who all made the classic "mmm, delicious chocolate" faces. It was great.
While everyone loved the rich bean flavor of the limited edition Cuyagua and the almost-medicinal complexity of the Ocumare, the overwhelming favorite was the Madagascar Premium Dark Chocolate. The chocolate was so moist, and even at 70% cacao minimum was so sweet it tasted almost infused with blueberries. Delish.
Art Pollard began Amano in 1996 when he wanted to manfacture chocolate on par with that in other parts of the world here in America. He studied chocolate-making in Europe and Mexico, and for years only shared his work with selected chefs.
Since 2006, Amano Artisan Chocolate has been made available for all. Get some here, and check out some great photos of its preparation (and founder Art Pollard) below!
Gallery: Amano Artisan Chocolate
Book lover's chocolate
Some associate San Francisco with Rice-A-Roni, cable cars, and the gay lib movement. I, however, take the shallow route and associate it with fine American chocolate. Between The San Francisco Chocolate Factory and Ghirardelli, San Fran is just about the only city in the contiguous United States that produces decent corporate chocolate. [Note that I said corporate; there are plenty of lovely indie chocolate shops around.]
To wit: Upon her return from the golden state, a colleague presented me with The San Francisco Chocolate Factory's new "Book Lover's Chocolate". The bookshelf-ready packaging evokes an old leather-bound novel (albeit a tiny one, at only 5 inches), and contains rounds of milk chocolate (also available in dark and dark espresso). The schpeel: "Chocolate has been proven to boost brain power, so let our luscious bite sized discs help you devour your new book while pleasing your palate." Uh, okay, whatever you say, Book Chocolate.
But lo, this book chocolate is divine! The disc shape is perfectly contoured for mindless tongue-palate melting (no impatient biting here!), and the flavor is so creamy and rich, they're like little poppable drinking chocolates. I also test-drove the chocolate's promise of enhancing any reading experience, and while they didn't make the oeuvre of Ann Coulter any more digestible, they sure make it more palatable.
Review: Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds
Wow, I love these.
I'm a big fan of chocolate-covered nuts: peanuts, cashews, almonds. But not only can they be a big impact on the waistline, the chocolate taste can often overpower the nut taste. But Emerald's new Cocoa Roast Almonds take care of that. It actually has just a dusting of dark chocolate on the almonds, so you can actually taste both the nut and the chocolate at the same time. And because it's dark chocolate, it's better for you (don't go crazy - nuts and chocolate can be good for you in small doses, but you still have to watch the fat and calories).
This is a great addition to the Emerald line, which has come out with a lot of new flavors recently, including Salt & Pepper Cashews (pretty good but way too heavy on the pepper, as many salt & pepper products are), Wasabi Oven-Roasted Peanuts, and Honey Dijon-Glazed Walnuts 'n Cashews.
Gamer geek love results in Mii chocolate sell-out
Who knew gamers -- the ones who hole themselves up in their basements alone with their consoles for weeks at a time -- could be so lovey dovey?
Paul Pape designed these little Mii milk, white, or dark chocolates that come two in a box that's shaped like a console. The figures inside have tiny red hearts to indicate their love. They're totally cute for Valentine's Day, but they are sold out! OH NO! If you're creative enough, I'm sure you could put together something like this, or something even better, for your gamer love.
[via: Scanner]
Brosnan and Broccolini: Bon Appetit in 60 seconds
The world of organic meat. - Have an Earth-friendly dinner party.
- Shopping the seasons.
- This month's recipes include: Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Puree, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios, Whole Grain Pancakes with Wild Blueberry-Maple Syrup, Seared Arctic Char with Broccolini, Olives, and Garlic, and Coconut-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.
- Also in this issue: Organic dark chocolate, the 10 best eco-friendly restaurants, shopping tips, an interview with Pierce Brosnan, and new columns.
Wired for chocolate
I used to read Wired mag religiously, in the late 90s and early 00s (I think that's what we're calling this decade, right?). But I don't read it that much anymore. I'll skim through it at the bookstore and if there's an article that grabs my attention I'll read it, but I don't usually buy it. Which is ironic, considering I'm online 22.5 hours a day now, compared to when I read it all the time.
Anyway, Wired co-founder Louis Rossetto is in the news again, and this time it's for chocolate. Rossetto and Timothy Childs have started a chocolate company named Tcho, and the chocolate is now available. The chocolate is still in beta mode, as Rossetto says. Right now you have to order it through the web site and pick it up at their HQ in San Francisco. I'm sure that will change and they'll have mail order, or ordering it next Christmas is going to be really cumbersome for people if they have to travel from the East Coast to pick it up.
Thanksgiving: Easy appetizer and snack ideas
I've become sort of the appetizer guy in my family when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas. While my sister cooks the main meal, others in the family always offer to bring something over: desserts and other pies, soda, wine, etc. I've been doing appetizers and snacks the past few years, and here are a few tips.
I think appetizers and snacks should be low stress and easy to make/set up. One of the best is a cheese and cracker platter. All you have to do is go to your supermarket and go to the cheese section (you know, the stuff beyond Kraft) and choose several good looking, nice cheeses. I usually go with a cheese nut roll (I've been buying a Port Wine cheese roll that everyone seems to like), a good aged cheddar, and maybe some Boursin. For crackers, it's amazing what is available, and I usually grab several different varieties: pepper crackers, rosemary crackers, and also plain ol' Ritz, which you can't go wrong with. Get a nice platter or tray, put the various cheeses in the middle, each with their own knife, and then spread the crackers all around the edge. Looks great.
Continue reading Thanksgiving: Easy appetizer and snack ideas
Slashfood Ate (8): Worst Halloween treats I ever received
Halloween is a time for candy. No matter what you do the rest of the year, how healthy you eat and what diet you follow, Halloween is the day you eat peanut butter cups, jawbreakers, and candy corn. But kids often get treats in their bag that just make them scratch their heads. Here are the ones I remember from my childhood.
1. Apples and bananas. Seriously, I don't want fruit in my bag. What is this, Halloween or a dental convention? Giving fruit to kids on Halloween just screams "I forgot to buy candy and I had this lying around."
Continue reading Slashfood Ate (8): Worst Halloween treats I ever received
Happy National Chocolate Day!
As if anyone needs a holiday as an excuse to eat chocolate!
Today is National Chocolate Day, and I thought that instead of having one post where I mention the day and list some recipes I'd do a bunch of posts that have to do with chocolate the entire day. So expect recipes, facts about the history of chocolate, maybe even some posts on things that you can make out of chocolate. I'll let you know what I find. Tune in throughout the day for more.
Mmmm...chocolate.
This is why you like chocolate
Since most of us love chocolate (some like all kinds of chocolate), it would be good to know why we're so addicted to the stuff. Could it be ... bacteria?
Nestle paid for a study in Switzerland that showed that, while everyone has various microbes in their stomachs and intestines, people who crave chocolate seem to have different types of microbes than other people. The study actually took a while to complete because they couldn't find 11 men who didn't like chocolate!
I'm not sure what's more interesting: the fact that people who love chocolate have different types of bacteria in their body, or the fact that we all have trillions of bacteria in our bodies.
Mmmm ... Chocolate Television!
No, this isn't a giant mound of chocolate shaped like a television (though wouldn't that be something?). It's a web TV network devoted to all things chocolate. Brilliant!
As we all know chocolate can cure everything that ails us both physically and mentally, and Chocolate Television covers just about everything: companies that make chocolate, candy expos, chocolate blogs, recipes, and so much more. Viewers can even upload their own chocolate-related videos and other content.
I'd rather see this on my local cable system than the Oxygen network.
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