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Souvenirs from New York

Thursday, 7. June 2012 5:26

Pasta with truffle cream -- dinner from my New York souvenirs.

Some people tote home T-shirts or snow globes from vacations.

Me? I’m prone to do that on occasion, but more often than not, my souvenirs involve food.

I love nothing better than scouring supermarkets or specialty food stores to bring back a real taste of the place I’m visiting.

When I walked into New York’s Eataly last month, I knew I’d hit paradise for edible memorabilia.

The multi-restaurant food emporium brims with the flavors of Italy. Bringing back some of the wondrous gelato, cheeses and specialty beef would be out of the question, of course. But dried pasta was definitely do-able. I scoured the plentiful pasta aisles there to find one that would withstand being shoved into my carry-on without getting badly crushed or crumbled. I hit upon the Alta Valle Scrivia Trofiette ($4.80). The sturdy Ligurian durum wheat pasta is a slender, tightly twisted 1 1/2-inch sliver that has a hand-rolled look to it. Traditionally, it’s tossed with pesto sauce.

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Category:Chocolate, General, Great Finds, Travel Adventures | Comments (12) | Author:

Outrageously Good Gourmet Marshmallows

Monday, 7. May 2012 5:25

Strawberry marshmallows to sink your sweet tooth into.

When I was a kid, I thought marshmallows were the perfect food.

After all, they were cute, sweet, squishable, meltable and fat-free. What more could a gal want?

(OK, the fact they were still caloric obviously escaped my reasoning back then.)

Now, the inventive ones by Have it Sweet have me singing the virtues of marshmallows all over again.

Made by a husband and wife duo in Los Angeles, this small confectionary company turns out fresh, delightful marshmallows in mind-boggling flavors. Think bubblegum, cinnamon sugar. apple pie, lemon swirl, and double cocoa swirl.

Produced in small batches to order, the marshmallows are  made of all natural ingredients, including organic and sustainable ones when available. They get their hues from food-based, organic colorings.

Chocolate hazelnut swirl marshmallow (front) and fleur de sel caramel swirl marshmallow (back).

Recently, I had a chance to try some samples.

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Category:Bakeries, Chocolate, General, New Products | Comments (10) | Author:

A Sweet Way to Celebrate the Giants’ Home Opener

Thursday, 12. April 2012 5:25

"Pitchersnaps" and "ShortBEARD'' cookies from Waterbar. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Sure, you can dress in your best orange and black.

You can whoop and holler, too.

But best yet, you can nosh on cookies baked in honor of your fave players as you cheer them on.

Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti wants to help you celebrate the San Francisco Giants home opener on Friday, April 13 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. She’ll be selling fresh-baked Giants-themed cookies at a pop-up outside her restaurant, Waterbar on the Embarcadero.

Choose from Pitchersnaps (a riff on gingersnaps), Pablo Sandoval’s Panda Prints (peanut butter and jam thumbprints), Buster Posey’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Brian Wilson’s Chocolate Sea Salt ShortBEARDS (get it?).

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Category:Chefs, Chocolate, Enticing Events, General, New Products | Comments (9) | Author:

Malt Balls for Grown-Ups

Friday, 6. April 2012 5:25

Can't eat just one.

If the Easter Bunny doesn’t leave you some of these babies, don’t despair.

You can get them on your own from San Francisco’s premier chocolatier, Recchiuti Confections.

Malted Dark Revolutions (how’s that for a snazzy name) have turned the classic malt ball on its head. Bite into these glossy orbs and you’ll discover a crunchy malted cookie covered in a proprietary blend of dark milk chocolate.

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Category:Chefs, Chocolate, New Products | Comments (12) | Author:

Souvenir From Hawaii — Macadamia Nuts

Wednesday, 21. March 2012 5:25

Macadamia nuts direct from Hawaii star in these indulgent cookies.

When visiting Hawaii, don’t forget to pack your swimsuit, flip-flops, sunscreen — and Costco card.

Seriously.

The cavernous membership warehouse store has some of the best — and best priced — Hawaiian souvenirs you can find. I’m talkin’ surf T-shirts, bags of taro chips, lilikoi cookies, Kona blend coffee, and of course, macadamia nuts. My husband had to buy another tote bag for the plane for all the goodies he brought back home on our trip to the islands last year.

Me? I was content with a big bag of macadamias for a steal.

After all, it’s always good to have a ready supply for when the baking mood hits.

And it did big-time with this recipe for “Macadamia and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies” from Alice Medrich’s “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy. Only, I changed it up, substituting dark chocolate for white — TCHO Dark Chocolate Disks 68 Percent ($7.98 for 8 ounces) to be exact, of which I also received a sample. With macadamias one of the richest tasting nuts around, I prefer them with the slight bitter-earthiness of dark chocolate rather than the often cloyingly saccharine white chocolate.

The cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for at least two hours or overnight, so plan accordingly.

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Category:Chocolate, Favorite Cookie Recipes, General, Travel Adventures | Comments (20) | Author: