Slashfood

• Bacon Bourbon Brownies
  

  Filed under: Whisky, Dessert, Chocolate, Recipes, Pork, Baking, Comfort Food, Guilty Pleasures

  
  
  Sure, many folks go to an Alice B. Toklas place when creative brownie making is mentioned, but for a goody two-shoes like me (with a cop pal as my afternoon's company to boot!), there's much swoony satisfaction in a recipe that highlights some of my favorite legal vices. I'm hardly the first to alight at bacon brownies, but I decided to borrow a step from the bourbon balls I'm often rolling up 'round this time of year for holiday party purposes. A double-soak -- once pre and once...
  



• Three Holiday Chocolate Must-Haves
  

  Filed under: Chocolate, Hanukkah, Christmas, Edible Gifts

  First, a confession: I am not a chocoholic. I don't generally crave the stuff. Faced with a typical assorted box, I can stop after just one. But when the right chocolate product comes along, I morph into both fiend and pusher. Here are three of my very favorite indulgences, all available for purchase online.
  
  • See's Candy Toffee-Ettes. The ultimate bite-sized morsel. At the center, Danish butter toffee, perfectly salted, encases toasted whole almonds. Around that is a layer of luscious milk chocolate. Then the whole tiny chocolate parcel is rolled in more coarsely chopped almonds. By now, See's, which began...
    
  
  
  
  • Monday Night Brownie Sundaes
    

    Filed under: Chocolate, Recipes

    
    Several weeks ago on a Monday evening, Scott and I met up at home. Our individual days at work had battered us nearly beyond recognition and we needed something to raise our spirits. It was decided that the only thing that could help were brownie sundaes.
    
    I pulled Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours down off the shelf, surveyed the ingredient list and began to bake. The moment the scent of melting chocolate arrived at our noses, the stresses of the day eased. While I don't believe in turning to food to solve all of life's problems, those...
    
  
  
  
  • Colorful Chocolates from Ethel's
    

    Filed under: Parties, Dessert, Chocolate, Raves & Reviews, America, Celebrations, Holidays, Hanukkah, Christmas

    My friend Nicole swears by Ethel's Chocolate. Seriously, she said, "They are the greatest chocolates I have ever eaten." That's high praise as Nicole loves her chocolate.
    
    I checked out Ethel's online and their chocolates are gorgeous, like, audible gasp-gorgeous. These are obviously the best host gift (or loved-one gift, or self-gift) chocolates for this holiday season. Their holiday-themed packages are stunning, and even the regular sets, as you can see, are colorful and exciting. That's right, I said "exciting." They're...
    
  
  
  
  • Black Dinah Chocolatiers - 2008 Farm Market Collection
    

    Filed under: Chocolate, Raves & Reviews, New Products, Artisan Foods

    I wrote about Black Dinah Chocolatiers a few months ago, describing some of their luscious chocolates. Now Kate & Steve have a new collection out, their 2008 Farm Market Collection. As they say at Black Dinah, "This is what Maine tastes like... with chocolate. Each truffle in this collection features an ingredient grown on a local Hancock or Knox County farm, right here in Maine." And I wholeheartedly agree, some of the best farms in the area are providing the ingredients for these elegant and delicious chocolates. Each box comes with eight of ten, rotating,...
    
  
  
  
  • Tip of the Day: Perfecting chocolate cupcakes
    

    Filed under: Chocolate, Baking, Tip of the Day

    Do you find that your cupcakes form odd peaks, which makes frosting difficult? Try playing with your oven temperature.

    Continue reading Tip of the Day: Perfecting chocolate cupcakes

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  • Delicious and beneficious chocolates
    

    Filed under: Chocolate, South Africa, Northern Africa, New Products, America, Holidays, Food News

    
    Los Angeles gourmet chocolatier Compartes has created the perfect combination of style, charity, and deliciousness.
    
    Chocolates for a Cause (5 piece box for $20, 10 piece box for $30) brings you five explosive chocolate flavors decorated with little colored Africas in a box with a Relief Beads bracelet, all to benefit Darfur.
    
    Funds raised from this collaboration [with RELIEF INTERNATIONAL] go directly to funding the only women's center in Darfur!
    
    The five flavors are made with the finest African ingredients - some of them...
    
  
  
  
  • Tip of the Day: Recycle Halloween Candy
    

    Filed under: Chocolate, Candy, Halloween, Tip of the Day, Fall

    When I was a kid, my parents let me and my brothers each keep seven pieces of Halloween candy (we could have one piece each day for a week), and my dad brought the rest to work. So that no child may ever suffer such a cruel fate again, here are some more innovative ways to deal with your post-Halloween candy surplus!

    Continue reading Tip of the Day: Recycle Halloween Candy

    Permalink | Snacks, Dessert, Chocolate, Candy, New Products
    
    (New York) The dessert truck drove around on a city-wide tour this week to promote two new desserts infused with Pomegranate Liqueur. The media was asked to come to a location and vote which one they enjoyed the most. After all the votes are counted, the winner will have a new spot on the Dessert Truck's menu for the month of November (National Pomegranate Month).

    Continue reading Dessert Truck and Pama taste-off

    Chocolate, America, Artisan Foods

    
    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...