Alaina, Author at The Chocolate Website

Mar14 0

Last week there was a little impromptu party at a local Mexican restaurant. Staying true to my quest to try as many new chocolates (or chocolate-related foods) as possible, I bypassed my favorite dish (chimichangas), resisted the temptation to say “make that two” when the orders for burritos, tacos, chipotle chicken, & nachos swirled around me, and ordered Pechuga de Pollo con Mole Poblano.

That is (and I am taking liberty with the translation) chicken with a sauce that included chocolate.

Not So Mad About Mole Photo Credit: Pati Jinich

Mar10 0

One of the many things I love about chocolate (besides how it tastes!) is the diversity of shapes. Squares and rectangles will never go out of style, but it’s great fun to expand and see what else is available.

One shape just about everyone is familiar with: Kisses from Hershey. Italy has their own version. Holland makes tulips.

And now, yet another shape…Taza!

Taza Chocolate

Mar07 0

Are you wondering how chocolate can be terrifying? Me too. I realize chocolate can be borderline terrifying if there are too many to choose from. And I’ve heard chocolate can be a little terrifying to some waistlines.

(This particular chocolate doesn’t look scary to me.)

But recently, at first glance, there have been more and more mentions of the “terror” of chocolate. My immediate thought is: How can chocolate freak people out? Only when I backtrack and read the word again do I keep realizing – laughing at myself – that the word is actually terroir, “how a particular region’s climate, soils, and aspect (terrain) affect the taste of”….and here is where the dictionary usually says wine.

The term can also be applied to chocolate.

Mar03 0

All it takes to immediately transport you to the tropics (that is, if you aren’t already there!) is one bite of Divine Mango and Coconut Chocolate. It’s loaded with tropical fruit.

This bar marked two firsts for me: My first chocolate with mango, and my first taste of Divine.

Divine Mango and Coconut Chocolate

Why did I bypass more conventional flavor choices and choose mango?

Feb29 2

Despite me being a part of Pinterest’s target demographic, the first time I’ve ever made something using a recipe found via Pinterest was only a few weeks ago.

Yes, I’m aware it’s 2016. Before you go act all shocked:

I do cook and bake. Not on a regular basis, but the concept is not a foreign one. But when I do make something, out come the recipes we’ve used time and time again, because they’re the tried-and-true. While certainly nobody was complaining about me making chocolate chocolate chip cookies for the umpteenth time, I decide to branch out a little and try something new.

The very first recipe I tried from Pinterest was a winner. I’ve already made it twice. It has already been approved by at least a dozen people, and it only takes three ingredients.

Last (but certainly not least) one of those ingredients is chocolate. Naturally.

The recipe? Chocolate Covered Cherry Fudge from the House of Yumm:

Chocolate Covered Cherry Fudge

Feb25 1

To recap: A few weeks ago, I may have mentioned something about plans to be brave and try chocolate with BIG ants on it. The point was not because it sounded perfectly thrilling (far from it!) but rather because it was a type of chocolate I hadn’t tried, and I’m apparently up for trying anything chocolate related… for the experience of it all.

Well, almost anything. I’m sure I might run across something covered in chocolate that I might balk at. Can’t think of anything right now though. (Bacon, goat’s milk, hot pepper, cilantro, and the like are all fair game.) Wait. Let me take that back; I thought of something. Chocolate with worms on it might be going a bit too far. (Don’t ask me to explain the difference between ants in chocolate and worms in chocolate. It has something to do with the texture.)

In case you forgot how big the bachaco ants were, or how the pincers were very, very real, let me remind you:

Chocolate With Fat Bottomed Ants Gallery Photo

Well. This past weekend was the ant-tasting party. It just so happened there were fifteen ants and exactly fifteen adventurous taste-tasters, so that worked out perfectly. (There may also have been a few onlookers, a few other types of non-insect-infested chocolates, and chocolate fudge involved.)

Feb22 0

When I think of Italy, I think of history. And architecture. And good food, and family. Now, thanks to Perugina 51% Cacao, I’ll also think of chocolate as well.

My first taste of Perugina chocolate was in the form of Baci, chocolates with a hazelnut filling, wrapped with a love note (“Say I Love You The Italian Way”). They were tasty, but didn’t exactly make my top ten list (only because nothing involving nuts usually makes my top ten list).

(Technically my top 10 list doesn’t exist. And if it did, it would probably look different every few weeks!)

Much time has been to devoted to designing chocolate packaging to tempt consumers. This consumer loved the richness of the reds, golds, and browns of the Perugina 51% Cacao packaging:

Perugina 51% Cacao Chocolate Bar Wrapper

Feb18 0

I seem to have a reputation of being more than a casual fan of chocolate.

It’s come to the point where multiple friends call me to report if they’ve found any new chocolates, and I often show up here and there with chocolates that are too good not to share. (Like one of my latest acquisitions, Green and Black’s Maya Gold.)

And then there is the fact that one of my favorite T-shirts says:

I Heart Love Chocolate T-Shirt

(Sorry. There are currently no internet-worthy photos of me actually wearing this shirt. While photos do exist…I seem to recall one of me wearing it while showing off two 1kg bars of chocolate…let’s just say the picture quality was awful and leave it at that.)

Feb15 0

If I were keeping a list of the chocolates that I’ve never tried (or never even heard of until the past few months), the list would be quite extensive. The variety of chocolates available worldwide is literally mind boggling.

My goal is to, slowly but surely, make a dent in the list of chocolates I haven’t tried…thereby lengthening the list of chocolates I have tried.

One of the latest brands that made it from one list to the other is NewTree Chocolate. NewTree Lime Granola Chocolate is now on my list of favorites, my list to try again, and my list to spread the word about….’cause it’s DELICIOUS.

NewTree Lime Granola Chocolate

Feb10 0

In January, somebody asked if they could bring me anything from their travels to various islands via cruise ship.

T-shirts or trinkets never even crossed my mind; my immediate reply was, “No, thanks. What I want would melt!”

Undaunted, they said they’d see what they could do. A week or two later, I found myself the recipient of a delightful selection of (non-melted!) chocolates, including a rather fantastic assortment of Valor Chocolate (Chocolates Valor) from Spain:

Valor_Chocolate_Banner

Feb08 5

When visiting a new store, I usually make a beeline for the chocolate section.

It’s not that I don’t care about other foods. I like other foods. But they can be found at the grocery store, and I’m at the grocery store every week. On the other hand, visiting new stores isn’t an every week occurrence, especially one that might potentially have chocolates I haven’t tried yet.

During one such trip to a new-to-me market, my initial scan of the store only turned up large bars of baking chocolate. Upon further investigation, I hit the jackpot: A shelf filled with a variety of chocolate bars and bonbons. Immediately, my eyes rested on one particular bar. I could almost hearing it saying, “Pick me! Pick me! I’m photogenic! Pick me!” So I did. Behold, Sanders Chocolatier Cafe Crunch, Closeup:

Sander Chocolatier Coffee Beans Chocolate Bar

This chocolate wasn’t lying about being photogenic!

Sander Chocolatier Cafe Crunch

Dark and milk chocolates, crafted to look like coffee beans, decorated this beautiful chocolate bar. Inside the bar were flecks of coffee beans.

The coffee flavor wasn’t particularly strong, making this bar perfect for those who like both coffee and chocolate but, when the chips are down, they’d pick chocolate flavor over coffee flavor any day.

But wait, there’s more…

Sander Chocolatier Pimienta Limon (Lemon Pepper)

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I would like this chocolate. Yes, it had lemon (lemon + chocolate = fantastic). But it also had pepper. Pepper goes on steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. I needed convincing that pepper belonged in chocolate.

Sander_Chocolatier_Lemon_Pepper

Consider me convinced. Well, at least I’m convinced pepper belongs in chocolate as long as it is paired with lemon crystals. This delicious bar is so incredibly flavorful that it made my list of favorite chocolates. (It will hold this position for at least a couple of days. My list of favorites keeps expanding and changing!)

It turns out that lemon pepper is rather photogenic, too:

Sander Chocolatier Lemon Pepper Chocolate Bar

Online:
Website: Sander Chocolatier
Twitter: @sanderchoco

Author: Alaina

Not So Mad About Mole

A Taste of Taza Chocolate

The Terror of Chocolate

(This particular chocolate doesn’t look scary to me.)

Divine Mango and Coconut Chocolate

Chocolate Covered Cherry Fudge

Chocolate Studded With Fat Bottomed Ants, Part 2

Perugina 51% Cacao: 100% Delicious

More Than a Casual Fan of Chocolate

NewTree Lime Granola Chocolate Review

Valor Chocolate – My Ship Came In

Sander Chocolatier: Ready For Its Closeup

Sander Chocolatier Cafe Crunch

Sander Chocolatier Pimienta Limon (Lemon Pepper)