Cacao Reserve for All

Since I wanted to stretch the next couple of paychecks in order to get some work performed on our house, a decision was made to go to Wal-Mart for a little household shopping. As a die-hard Target girl I wasn’t pleased, but we must do what we got to do to get by.

Like any cocoa connoisseur, I had to browse the hot chocolate/ coffee/ tea aisle to see what selects were available for Wal-Mart shoppers. Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s Drinking Cocoa Premium Mix caught my attention. At a price point of $2.07 for 5 servings, anyone has the chance to try a drinking cocoa. Over the past year, Hershey has worked to distinguished themselves in the premium chocolate arena with the introduction of Cacao Reserve chocolate bars and cocoa mixes. Now, The Nibble provided a favorable review of the Cacao Reserve chocolate bars. However, they were not as fond of the drinking cocoa as they were the bar chocolate.

I guess I will have to try it himself to form my own opinion. But any hot chocolate can be doctored up to create a delicious drink.

Champagne with a hint of cocoa

With a little down time on my hands, I finally had the chance to go through my magazine pile. The first one on my list was the December 2008 issue of Bon Appetit. On page 44, the magazine highlights rosé champagnes. The section called “IN THE PINK”, noted a champagne with a dash of cocoa. Nicolas Feuillatte NV Brut Rosé Champagne is described as “Strawberry notes with a subtle hint of cocoa.” The recommended blend is $53.00 per bottle.

I wish I read this article before New Years! I would have loved to ring in the new year with a cocoa infused champagne.

Win Hot Chocolate for a Year!

Oh my! What a way to welcome 2009. Aimia Foods, the UK based beverage manufacturer of Galaxy® and Maltesers Hot Chocolate, is awarding ten (10) lucky people with a year’s worth of Galaxy® Smooth Dark Hot Chocolate. Take a chance and enter to win 365 days of dark hot chocolate bliss. Contest ends Monday, February 9, 2009.

Deviation can be good

Deviating from a recipe can occasionally create a fabulous new one. I’ve done it many times before with delicious results. This evening I decided to make chocolate chip cookies with E. Guittard Fair Trade Certified Akoma Extra Semisweet Chocolate Chips made with 55% cacao. Unfortunately, I was out of brown sugar so, I opted to use Dark Muscovado Sugar which contains 100% pure cane sugar from Mauritius. Normally, I bake with margarine (I know Paula Deen wouldn’t approve of this), but this time I actually had unsalted butter in the refrigerator. Instead of the typical pure vanilla, I used Tahitian Vanilla.

Although the changes were minor, the dough color was a little deeper and consistency thicker and chunkier than normal. The final cookie maintained it’s chunky shape and each batch came out the same. Tomorrow, I will be shipping them to some family members for their insight. We enjoyed them in our house and if all is well, I will keep the substitutes a standard in my chocolate cookie recipe.

Closing out a delicious cocoa inspired year, part II

I started the fondue with four (4) Luker Bitter Chocolate squares and two (2) SOL Chocolate with brown sugar squares. Since Luker is 100% pure cocoa chocolate, the SOL was added to sweeten the mix. Both chocolates were added to my double boiler along with one (1) teaspoon of Mexican Vanilla. Since the SOL chocolate has a grainy texture with visible brown sugar granules, the overall texture of the fondue was grainy as well. This definitely wouldn’t do!

Around a half cup of evaporated milk was added for smoothness along with two (2) more squares of SOL chocolate. The bitter chocolate is quite overwhelming and I didn’t want an extremely sweet fondue, but one that would balance the flavor of various fruits and cheeses. I decided to add a cinnamon orange sugar blend I purchased during one of my trips back to California. After multiple sugar additions, one (1) additional teaspoon of Mexican Vanilla and a desire to throw in two Vanilla Bean Marshmallows from Plush Puffs things started to look up. Ahhh…my creation was official.

When it came time to dine, my other half was quite pleased. Considering he was frowning at the sample I provided in the beginning of my fondue making experience, he truly enjoyed the final result.

So, here is how we welcomed the 2009 in our house!