So Long Chocoholics!

This is my last blog for a while everybody. But its been fun. I hope I taught some people about chocolate or at least got you interested in different recipes, movies, and products!

I could not leave without mentioning the new M&Ms that I tried last night:

They are for the new Indiana Jones movie and are called Mint Crisp. They taste just like a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie and are my new obsession!!! Everybody should go out and grab a bag, you won't regret it.

Join the Dark Side; It is Good for You

Okay, this is great news:
According to WebMD and many articles, dark chocolate is actually beneficial to your health. Now, of course, this does not mean that we should all go out and binge ourselves on dark chocolate, but it does mean that I feel less guilty when I sink my teeth into a Lindt dark chocolate truffle, almost.
Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that are importat in fighting heart disease and other bodily ailments. However, milk chocolate does not contain these. In fact, drinking milk after eating dark chocolate neutralizes the effect of the antioxidant and defeats the purpose of eating the chocolate for health reasons.
Dark chocolate has also proved to be beneficially in the fight against high blood pressure. But only if you have reached a determined age and have mild high blood pressure. It is also important that while eating this extra chocolate, you cut down on other foods.

Mexican Chocolate? Ole!

We can find chocolate anywhere we go, as long as it is either milk, dark or white. There is one chocolate that is a little more difficult to get our hands on. Mexican chocolate.

This is a specially flavored chocolate that is made with ground up cocao beans, adding vanilla, both very normal, then adding cinnamon and almond flavors. This may seem like a strange combination and it definitely is a different taste than what most Americans are used to. It is also considered grainier and less smooth than the average milk chocolate.

I have never tried this type of chocolate, but I am always willing to try!

Dark vs. White vs. Milk Chocolate

According to the poll I took towards the beginning of my blog, the highest number of voters preferred dark chocolate over white and milk chocolate. I thought this was intersting because I feel like a know many people who really dislike dark chocolate, so I decided to find out the difference.
Most people would consider dark chocolate to be bitter compared to the creamy milk chocolate that people are used to. This of course is true because dark chocolate contains more chocolate liquor (the result of grinding cocao beans), about 35-50% and therefore less sugar, vanilla flavoring and cocoa butter. Also, there is no milk in dark chocolate to further sweeten the dessert.
Milk chocolate contains much less chocolate liquor, with about 15%. The remaining 85% consists of milk (obviously), sugar, vanilla flavoring, and extra cocoa butter. This gives it its lighter color and sweeter, creamier taste.
Most white chocolate contains absolutely no chocolate liquor, which makes some think that it is not actuall chocolate. It does contain cocoa butter, milk, sugar, and vanilla flavoring.

*To give you a hint of what chocolate liquor is, think about this. Have you ever tasted unsweetened baker's chocolate? Not the best thing in the world for those with the sweet tooth but that is what chocolate liquor is when it is solidified. So it makes sense that dark chocolate with the most liquor would be so bitter.

So those of you who voted on my poll, there is a little explanation as to why our favorite, dark chocolate, has such a different taste from milk.

Chocolat

Johnny Depp must have a thing for movies about chocolate because I just remembered this movie I watched in my French class in high school called, "Chocolat" Something about a French woman who makes chocolate, people realize its an aphrodisiac, the town goes nuts I think and she's got a thing for my Johnny :)

Not a bad movie and the chocolate looks delicious.

Chocolate + Shoes = Perfection!!!!

Okay, we all know that most girls have a thing for shoes, and chocolate. Gayle Harte of Gayle's Chocolates must have realized this too because she designed this great treat as well as dozens of other fun chocolate ideas. Each shoe is handmade and no two shoes are exactly alike.

Some other delectable designs that are available at http://www.gayleschocolates.com/ include:

-Maple Leaf Box with chocolate acorns inside a maple-flavored chocolate gift box.

-Chocolate Strawberry Pig- Dark Chocolate Covered with Strawberry Chocolate. Yum!

And one of my personal favorites:

-Chocolate Turkey Pinata: A blend of milk, dark and white chocolate on the outside. Crack it open and you will find chocolate truffle drumsticks, chocolate wishbones, chocolate acorns and maple leaves. Definitely something for the chocoholic to give thanks for!

Did You Know...

I'm sure you have heard somebody say something such as the following, "Will work for food." or something more like what I would say, "Will work for chocolate." A funny thing is, cacao beans were actually the currency used in the Honduras. When Columbus and his crew found a canoe off the coast of what is now Honduras, the natives were very protective of the cacao beans they had and would pick up each and every seed that fell. This was very strange to Columbus because he did not know their customs. His son noted, "They seemed to hold these almonds [referring to the cacao beans] at a great price; for when they were brought on board ship together with their goods, I observed that when any of these almonds fell, they all stooped to pick it up, as if an eye had fallen." (http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/exploring_chocolate/choc_2.html)
Obviously, chocolate was pretty important back then too, maybe a bit more than now even!

Gooey Mocha Pudding Cake

While I was reading last month's Glamour magazine, I came across a recipe that I wanted to try so I ripped it out of the mag. A few hours later, upon seeing it on my bedroom floor, I realized that I'm doing this blog on chocolate and decided to share this delicious looking recipe by a judge from Top Chef, and former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Fab Five member, Ted Allen. Here it is, ENJOY!:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour
7 tbsp. powdered cocoa
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot coffee (he uses Godiva chocolate creme coffee but insists that any brand will do)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar;flour;3 tbsp. cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, butter and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into a 9-inch square pan. In small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar; 4 tbsp. cocoa and brown sugar; sprinkle over batter. Pour coffee over top. DO NOT STIR. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Let cool. Serves 9.

Easter Candy

Why did chocolate get so deeply incorporated with Easter? I always thought the whole commercialized portion of Easter was all about a big rabbit hiding pastel-colored eggs but now it is about Easter baskets and every kind of candy imaginable being molded into eggs, bunnies, and carrots. This commercial from the 80's just emphasizes how big chocolate is for the Easter season: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCWvb_mf2ts Unfortunately, I could not upload the video, but if you follow the link, you will see an old commercial showing kids thanking the Easter Bunny for giving them M&Ms. What happened to painting the eggs and going on hunts the next morning?
It is funny how chocolate always finds its way into the stocking, basket or bag of children during every holiday even if it doesn't seem to have anything at all to do with the holiday, like M&Ms and Easter. At least the M&Ms today are pastel-colored, and not the original kind like in the commercial!

Okay, so here's the deal with being Christian, at least Catholic. During the Easter season, particularly the 40 days prior to Easter Sunday, also known as Lent, most Christians choose something to give up along with the no meat of Friday rule. I have been giving something up for years, coffee, french fries, peanut butter, cookies, and this year, soda. I have always wanted to try to give up chocolate but I could never get myself to do it. There is just too much temptation and way too many opportunities to eat the delicious treat. Not only do I not particularly want to give up chocolate, but after thinking about it, there are so many foods that I eat that contain chocolate. While in school, I generally survive off of granola bars, peanut butter crackers packs, and 100 Calorie Packs, usually the chocolate chip cookie variety. Everyone knows that the best granola bars are the "Chocolate Drizzle" Special K bars so I know that I would not be able to resist eating them. Also, it is easier to find snacks with chocolate than without. If I gave up chocolate, then I would have to be extra careful not to go to the vending machine and get something that turns out to have some type of chocolate flavor or chocolate chip in it. And it doesn't help at all that for most of Lent, every store is selling Easter candy, and I know that I always buy the Mini Eggs from Cadbury.
Maybe if I prefered Peeps over Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs then I would have an easier time giving up the milk chocolate goodness, but until then, I'll keep giving up the things that I know I could live without.

Not So Wearable

I almost forgot about this episode of this season's Project Runway where the designers were given the challenge of using candy wrappers to create new dresses. On Episode 6, entitled "Eye Candy", the designers went to the Hershey's store in Time Square and they were given five minutes to grab whatever materials they could that they could use to transform into makeshift fabric. Well, the results were pretty interesting...including dresses made out of Hershey, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, KitKat, York Peppermint Patties, and Twizzler wrappers, pillows, and other raw materials. Talk about shameless promotion on the part of Hershey chocolate ;) but it was all good, here are the designs:

This is the

winning design,

made by Rami.

This is the losing
design, by Elisa,

which sent her home.

Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

Everybody knows that chocolate-flavored cereal is the best kind of cereal in the world. It is the kind that all the kids wanted when they were kids, not caring that Cheerios or Corn Flakes were much healthier than puffs of chocolate. But it was hard not to want the sweet-tasting cereal because of all the bright boxes, toys, and the chocolate milk that you get at the end of the bowl.

It had been a while since I ate chocolatey cereal, but last night while at my aunt's house, I had a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. While pouring some in a bowl, I heard my 6-year-old cousin screaming "I'm crazy for Cocoa Puffs! I'm crazy for Cocoa Puffs" which just made me laugh.

Recipe for Cocoa Puffs Choco Milkshake--

Ingredients:

2 cups of milk

2 cups of coco puff cereal

1 tsp of honey

1 small banana

Preparation Instructions:

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and serve!

Maybe the banana will make it seem a bit healthier, but kids cereal just should not be in milkshake form.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Leave it to the wonderful Tim Burton to remake a film about a creepy guy in a top hat and a candy factory and make it even more popular. I must admit that I love this director which could be why I prefer the 2005 remake over the original but I digress. This movie, in case anybody has not seen either version is about a man who owns a chocolate factory and opens it for a day to five lucky golden ticket winners. Each room is full of some strange candy making technique or another and there is even a huge chocolate waterfall that turns into a rich chocolate river.
This entire movie consists of scene after scene of chocolate eye candy, quite literally, even if Johnny Depp looks a little weird. It is a funny, sweet, worthwhile film for chocolate lovers everywhere and anyone interested in a meal-in-a-stick of chewing gum...perhaps Willy Wonka should have gotten a patent?

Hershey Park

Hershey Park would have to be one of the coolest theme parks in America. I went there during my sophomore year of high school and I am not ashamed to admit that I had a blast. There were rides and people dressed up in Hershey Kiss and Bar costumes like at Disney World except you were in Pennsylvania. There were gift shops full of plushes in the shapes of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and any other Hershey product. I remember a store that had a wall dedicated to just different kinds of Hershey chocolate varieties. My favorite part was the tours that showed you how the chocolate was made from the cocoa beans and the processes that it went through. Part of the tour even had an area that smelled just like chocolate. There were even sample size chocolates at the end.
I had fun there and I would encourage others to go as long as they don't take themselves too seriously!

How do you say "I Love You"?

With Valentines Day having come and gone, I ask you how you said "I Love You" to that special someone. Many choose a romantic dinner, some a teddy bear, and still others choose the classic treat of a box of chocolates. Well, not all chocolate is made the same. For example, there are new ideas for chocolate that come from all over the world. One that interested me the most which I found thanks to Dr. Cohen comes from a Japanese idea.
First off, in Japanese culture, apparently, only the woman gives people chocolate. It's not even only for her love interest, instead, she must also provide candy for people like her boss, father-in-law and other people that she feels she has an obligation to. While this seems like a nice idea, is it really worth giving chocolate to everybody in one's life? Wouldn't that take away some of the significance of the gift of chocolate that one gives to their boy/girlfriend?

I have found this awesome website after I Googled chocolate one day that sells chocolate bars and gives a 10% net proceed to endangered species, the habitat and humanite. The website is www.chocolatebar.com and I encourage you all to take a look at it. It sells chocolate bars in flavors that will make your mouth water, such as Dark Chocolate with Esspresso Beans and Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint and many other flavors for $2.79 per 3 ounce bar. Now, admittedly, the chocolate is a bit more expensive than your average Hershey bar, but they are all-natural and grown and traded ethically. The candy wrapper has artwork of one endangered species and there is information about the animal on the inside.
This company also makes organic bars and even do wedding favors. It is a good excuse to indulge in some chocolate when you know that you could be helping tigers, dolphins, gorillas and many other endangered animals.

Chocolate Fudge Scones

After finding this recipe, I could not resist sharing what looks like a delicious treat:

Chocolate Fudge Scones

Chocolate Fudge Dough:
4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder
4 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size chunks
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
About 1/3 cup crystallized sugar (or granulated sugar), for sprinkling on the tops of the unbaked scones

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F: Line 2 heavy cookie sheets or rimmed sheet pans with lengths of cooking parchment paper.
Mix the dough: Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and granulated sugar into a large mixing bowl. Drop in the chunks of butter and, using a pastry blender or two round-bladed knives, cut the fat into the flour mixture until reduced to large pieces about the size of large pearls. Reduce the fat further to smaller flakes, using your fingertips. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Pour the egg mixture over the sifted ingredients, scatter the chocolate chips over, and stir to form a dough. Gather the dough into a rough mass. Knead the dough lightly in the bowl for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Form the scones: Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured work surface, pat or roll each piece into a disk about 7 inches in diameter. With a chef's knife, cut each disk into 5 wedges. As the scones are cut, press in any chips that may stick out of the sides. Transfer the scones to the prepared pans, placing them 3 inches apart. Assemble 5 scones on each pan. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each scone.

Bake and cook the scones: Bake the scones in the pre-heated oven for 17 to 19 minutes, or until set. Begin checking the scones at 16 minutes. Transfer the pans to cooling racks. Let the scones stand on the pans for 1 minute, then carefully remove them to cooling racks, using a wide offset metal spatula. Cool completely. Serve the scones freshly baked.

Bake and serve within 1 day.

For Chocolate Fudge Chunk Scones, substitute 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, for the semisweet chocolate chips.
Makes 10 scones.

Reprinted by permission from ChocolateChocolate, by Lisa Yockelson. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2005 by Lisa Yockelson. All rights reserved

What's With All The Chocolate?

What are you doing this Valentine's Day? Yes I understand that it is a highly commercialized "holiday" and mature adults should realize this and frown upon all the teddy bears and sappy cards but lets face it...we all want to get a box of chocolates on February 14th. What makes us crave chocolate so much on this holiday. I've heard that giving flowers means "I'm sorry" and giving chocolate means "I love you" but is this really the reason for the increased chocolate sales in February? Maybe we eat so much of it because according to my bottle of Herbal Essences, eating chocolate gives the sensation of falling in love. And all we need is love, right? Well apparently, we need love to be inside a heart-shaped paper box with a pretty flower on it. But just how much chocolate are we buying and eating each Valentine's Day?
Ghiradelli, Mrs. Fields, Hershey, Dove, Lindt and countless other companies have offered their chocolates at your local neighborhood Walmart and people have been buying them. One can even go online and find even more, even a Hershey's basket that is filled with 365 miniature chocolates. Charging about $60 for this is just a little ridiculous. Why pay so much money for a product that is just supposed to show that you care?
The three most common gifts to give on Valentine's Day are flowers, chocolate and diamonds, so I'm not surprised that chocolate is seen in bulk everywhere towards the end of January and most of February. While diamonds may be a girl's best friend, chocolate tastes better and can be shared!!

Chocolate Com Pimenta

Sitting in the library recently, eating my lunch which consisted of a Grande White Chocolate Mocha and a cream cheese brownie from the Starbucks downstairs, I began thinking about why people started to mix foods, such as chocolate. It made me wonder who thought of mixing chocolate and coffee and calling it mocha and how it suddenly becomes a gourmet coffee drink after this. And what about the brownie? It was interesting that people would even attempt to put cheese on a dessert. The last thing I would think to put cream cheese on top of would be a brownie, many people would think that cream cheese only belongs on a bagel. I also thought of that Mastercard commercial that everybody has seen entitled "Restaurant". In this short commercial, a woman is eating a chocolate covered jalapeno pepper for dessert. It is about living in the moment and I would say that to try something like that would be pretty spontaneous. We have seen chocolate everywhere and as coatings and flavorings to some strange things. One chocolate-flavored item that I recently tried and have no intention of eating again is the chocolate Skittles. I had high hopes since I love the fruited variety, but upon opening that package which consisted of "vanilla" "chocolate pudding" "brownie batter" "s'mores" and "chocolate caramel" I was thoroughly disappointed. In this case, chocolate just should not be mixed with other flavors and textures, especially the chewy kind. But like the chocolate covered jalapeno, you do not know if you like something until you try it, so I suggest you try some new chocolate concoctions and maybe you'll like what you come up with.
**If you would like to see the commercial, visit www.priceless.com and look under Priceless TV for "Restaurant."**

Food of the Gods

Warning: This blog may cause you to crave chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. Chocolate can be found in many forms, flavors and textures. One can find it being used as a topping, especially on ice cream; a filling, such as in my personal favorite, chocolate cream pie, and in a variety of other ways. This rich delicious treat has been both friend and foe to many people for centuries, even dating back to the Aztecs who used to make a hot chocolate-like product out of cacao beans for their warriors to help regain strength and is still used today as a snack and even an aphrodisiac. Going down the aisles of a supermarket, one can find chocolate or the misleading "chocolate flavor" anywhere, from powders, syrups, bars and chips to cereals, pie crusts and toppings on granola bars. Throughout this blog, there will be information pertaining to everything chocolate, from lip glosses, to sodas, to plain old chocolate bars, and there'll be some recipes thrown in on the way. ENJOY!!