Baci!

Perugina, the legendary Italian chocolatier known world-wide for creating only the highest quality confections, debuts its specialty heart-shaped box filled with iconic Baci confections just in time for Valentine’s Day. “Baci” is the Italian word for “kisses” and the confections are produced in the hills of Perugia, Italy near the historic home of St. Valentine. Almost 90 years after their creation and in keeping with tradition, each Bacio (singular) includes a special message of love tucked into each foil wrapper. Legend has it that Perugina’s founding partners would express their sentiments for each other by passing hidden love notes in the Baci wrappings.

Baci are Perugina’s most popular chocolate confections and their coveted recipe has remained virtually unchanged since Baci were first created in 1922. Baci have a gianduia center, a sensuous whipped chocolate filling blended with finely chopped hazelnuts, that is crowned with a whole hazelnut and then enrobed in a silky, dark chocolate.

Beautiful, delicious and exquisite. A lovely gift!

www.perugina.com

Do You like Chocolate?

Is that a Trick Question? No, but you might find a treat by tuning in this Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00pm EST for a live chat on “Tips and Tricks for Baking with SCHARFFEN BERGER Chocolate” with Yigit Pura, executive pastry chef at San Francisco's Taste Catering Co. and winner of Top Chef: Just Desserts Season 1.

HOW TO JOIN

1) Join by logging into Ustream and visiting the Scharffen Berger channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/scharffen-berger

2) Join by logging into Facebook and visiting the Scharffen Berger page, UStream tab: https://www.facebook.com/ScharffenBergerChocolateMaker?sk=app_196506863720166

3) Join by following #ElevatedDesserts on Twitter

Chef Yigit Pura (pronounced Yeet) will answer your questions on everything from baking with chocolate to mastering the perfect cake texture to making a glossy, smooth ganache that will impress your guests every time.

Yigit has a lifetime of experience in the pastry kitchen, beginning his culinary career at age four in Ankara, Turkey. To help launch the Elevate a Classic Dessert with SCHARFFEN BERGER Chocolate Contest, Yigit specially developed this recipe to which he will share the inspiration: Chai Tea-Spiced Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache.

Up next for Yigit: the 2012 opening of Tout Sweet, a high-end pastry shop located in San Francisco's Union Square, followed by a cookbook titled "Sweet Alchemy" with Chronicle Books that will be released in 2013.

So, DO you like chocolate?   http://www.scharffenberger.com/

Chocolate Coquettes

Divine truffles with seemingly magic ingredients. Magic or not, they are delicious and will tempt even the most strong-willed among us. The Sweet Coquette Collection from Vosges Haut Chocolat will please beyond a doubt and if you are going to give or receive or eat chocolate and chocolate truffels, you might as well enjoy the experience as much as possible,

The directions for storing and savoring the truffles are reminiscent of romance. The instructions advise that you first enjoy how the truffles looks and then lightly taste the top of the truffle.Then bite and listen for the snap of the chocolate and taste the truffle in two slow, languishing bites. There's no gobbling to be done here. A slow, intense savoring of every taste and texture.
 They are made with fresh cream and so must be consumed with 10 of receiving them--which should be no problem. But do take it slow....
For a delightful visual tour visit http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/

Classic Cocoa for Cooking and Drinking

You know the name and are familiar with the chocolate but remember this classic that has been with us for some 100 hundred years--definitely a classic. Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Chocolate is perfect for baking or making  hot chocolate. You can add whatever sweeteners you wish. A second variety was added-- Hershey's Natural Special Dark, a special blend of Dutch, processed cocoa and natural cocoa. Drink your chocolate and bake with it, too.

Very Choice Chocolate

 Here is an absolutely heavenly chocolate bar. Amano Artisan Chocolate recently launched its Montanya (70% cacao) chocolate bar and two new Milk Chocolate bars - Jembrana and Ocumare. To bite into them and savor them is to love them.

In 1996, Art Pollard decided that there had to be better chocolate than what was available in the U.S. So began his quest for the “ultimate chocolate.” After much research and experimentation, Art developed a process that incorporated both modern and ancient chocolate-making techniques. After studying chocolate manufacturing in Europe and further honing his skills, in 2006 Art and his business partner Clark Goble  felt the chocolate was  comparable to the very best European chocolate and Amano Artisan Chocolate company was created.

This is simply divine chocolate. The Milk Chocolate has the depth and smoothness of Dark Chocolate, but it is very much milk chocolate. And the Dark Chocolate—let’s just say you will never forget it.  Amano has received numerous awards worldwide and is now recognized by industry experts and top chefs as producing one of the highest quality chocolates in the world. One taste and you will know why. These chocolates are meant to be savored

Amano Chocolate is available at specialty foods retailers nationwide and at amanochocolate.com.

                                                                                                  

Wine or Chocolate? Wine AND Chocolate!

Valentine’s Day often brings about a small dilemma—present your beloved with a gift of delicious chocolates or a bottle or two of delectable wine?   Nicole Hitchcock, Turning Leaf Winemaker has a suggestion—why not couple the  chocolates with wine? Here are some of her pairing suggestions to give chocolate a new significant other.

Dark Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
  o  The richest of all the reds, this wine boasts notes of vanilla and brown that perfectly complement   the bitterness in darker chocolates.

Milk Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Merlot
   o  The fruitier character in this Merlot brings out the natural, bright flavors in classic milk chocolate.

White Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Chardonnay
   o  A twist on the common red wine & chocolate pairing, the acidity level in drier whites, such as Chardonnay, cuts through the sweetness of white chocolate making for a more balanced bite.

Sounds interesting and this is an idea we have been seeing more frequently—pairing chocolates with wine or fine spirits. It certainly is a way to please multiple zones of your beloved’s (and your) palate.

                                                      http://www.turningleaf.com/

Choco-Luscious!

It is always time for chocolate and Chocolations delivers very special creations fashioned from delectable chocolate and other complementary ingredients. Chocolations specializes in Specialty Truffles, and they are the luminaries of their divine line of custom made Chocolates.

Focus for a minute on the Truffles—There’s White, Milk and Dark. Then there’s three kinds of Coffee Truffles—Latte, Cappuccino and Espresso.

Prefer tea? How about Earl Grey Tea Truffles or Green Tea or Jasmine Tea Truffles?
Then there are Fruit Truffles, including Cassis and Toasted Coconut; Amaretto Truffles, Peanut Truffles; Concord Grape or Crème de Menthe or Peppermint—these are just some of the Truffle flavors and they concoct new flavors every week.

There are other chocolate creations—for instance—a “Good For You” patty –Dark Chocolate with dried blueberries and salted almonds—giving you extra antioxidant power in addition to the dreamy taste—the salted almonds lend an intriguing note to this delicious treat.

Here’s a fantastic gift idea--Take a peek at their website and find out more about the Chocolate of the Month club—Imagine getting 12 shipments of chocolates on a regular basis (no shipments in July and August but you get 2 in December and another month you choose)--

http://www.chocolations.com/

Ask them about Gifts ( that is a chocolate “Tea Set” pictured above), Party Favors, Wedding Favors, and Holiday Specials.

Chocolations—the place for chocolate for anyone who adores chocolate and what can be created with it.

One note—if you have a severe allergy to peanuts or nuts, they recommend you refrain from eating their truffles and other products.

Chocolate, Chocolates, More Chocolates

Chocolate and Valentine’s Day. They do go together very nicely. And Cupid’s day is February 14, and that’s coming up very quickly.
But even if you don‘t keep Valentine’s Day, chance are you wouldn’t mind celebrating chocolate. But, what kind of chocolate? And what brand?

Pay a visit to
http://www.chocolate.com/ This is a very useful online marketplace that offers 2318 Products from 92 Vendors in the U.S.A. and Canada. You will have plenty of all-things- chocolate options from which to choose, including Cookies, Brownies, Cakes, Dard Chocolates, Baking Chocolate, Popcorn, Sugar-Free Chocolates, Kosher Chocolates, Organic Chocolates, Fair Trade Chocolates, Corporate Gifts, Bulk Orders and more. And in this one place you can see what different chocolate specialists from coast to coast have to offer.

And if you have any questions about shipping, product details, or other questions you can send them an email from their site and expect a response to your question. You will get a reply from chocolate.com within an hour letting you know your query was received and if they cannot answer the question right away--if it concerns very specific product details--they really will get back to you in a timely manner with an answer.

There even some gifts on sale, such as, from Ashland, Oregon, Creek House Patisserie’s set of 8 gift boxes each containing 4 scrumptious molded truffles—perfect if you have a number of sweeties you would like to give a little sweet something to or perhaps, not on sale, but nicely priced assortment of gift baskets —286 at last count.

With a column about interesting facts and factoids about chocolate, the website itself is a pleasure to visit even if you are not interested in placing an order—but it will be very hard not to order something.

Back to Nature, Forward to Health

Another company offering more natural and good-tasting foods in a variety of forms is Back to Nature Foods. Started in 1960, in Pasadena, California this company has the philosophy that “the best way to move forward…[is] to go back”

Keeping with that thinking, their products have no cholesterol and no trans fat. No artificial preservatives or colors, either.

Here is a look at a few snack offerings:

Bar Harbor Blend (Cranberries, Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds & Vanilla
Almonds)
This is a snack packed with flavors and textures that will keep you reaching for more. The crackling crunch of the Vanilla Almonds and the muted crunch of the Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds contrast beautifully with the Cranberries. What a great combination.

Pacific Heights Blend (Salt Roasted Almonds, Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, and dried Bing Cherries. Again, a sumptuous combination of textures, flavors and sweet and (just ever-so-slightly) salty.

Another Snack is the Sonoma Berry Blend—All fruit -- Dried Cranberries, Raisins, Bing Cherries and Strawberries. This is a nice surprise--putting those fruits together was an inspiration.

Consider putting these out as snacks for guests and friends instead of the usual chips. Not only are they healthier, the delightful surprising blends will be a hit with anyone who tries them.