ChocolateBet: May 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Gelato Classico
Burgandy Cherry Gelato w/ chocolate sauce
OK-Good
Wt: ~ 4 oz.
Calories: ~250 cals.
Cost: $4.00 inclu. tip
Purchased from: Gelato Classico, in San Francisco, CA

I've decided to continue with the chocolate theme weeks....This is Day #1 of chocolate and cherry week. It was just warm enough in San Francisco to stop and grab some gelato on the way back to the car.

ChocolateBet: May 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 servings
Swiss Knight (Imported) Fondue Au Chocolat + Southern Tsunami/AFC Corp. Ocean Crab Roll (Crab and Avocado Sushi)
OK - Good (Each item was very good separately; they were OK together.)
Wt:
Fondue: 2 oz. (56 g.); 7 oz. (200g.) total container +
Sushi: 10.5 oz. (298 g.)
Calories: 280 calories (fondue) + ~1,000? cals. for 12 pcs. crab roll = 1,280 cals. total (estim.)
Cost: $7.99 (fondue) + $7.25 (sushi) = $15.24 total (This was an expensive experiment.)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Day #7 of Chocolate and Meat Week calls for something daring. Or, as my daughter would say, gross. But I thought to myself why not try sushi fondue? Wouldn't you? :-). (It was either that or lamb with chocolate pomegranate sauce -- a dish I was going to invent on the fly. But, I had to work late, and I ran out of time to cook anything elaborate.)

I have to admit, I am glad to see the back of Chocolate and Meat Week. I was running out of items or combinations to try. I thought about dunking turkey hot dog pieces into chocolate fondue this evening, but went for the crab roll instead. I have to admit that after this I would have been out of ideas. What I learned this week: a really nice, rich chocolate-y mole sauce goes well with most meat or main entrees. And the remaining edible chocolate + meat alternatives generally also involve a close relative of a mole sauce. All other possible combinations are pretty iffy.

ChocolateBet: May 7, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Chapala Mexican Restaurant
1 beef taco & 1 chicken taco dipped in a side of their mole poblano sauce
Very Good
Wt: ~10 oz.
Calories: ~600 calories/meal eaten
Cost: $9.11 for a la carte tacos + drink
Purchased from: Chapala Mexican Restaurant, in Mountain View, CA

Day #6 of Chocolate and Meat Week finds me sampling yet another meat and sauce-with-chocolate combination. Since Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) fell on this week, it seems fitting that I'm eating different versions of mole sauce, with different meats. I like the richer, sweeter (more chocolate-y) versions of mole. This one was nice. (There are many different kinds of mole sauce from different parts of Mexico: black, red, green, yellow, and some may be fruit-sweetened vs. chocolate-sweetened. Some are more bitter, and some are sweeter.)

ChocolateBet: May 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 plate/meal
Taqueria El Grullense (restaurant)
Chicken Mole Plate/Meal
Good - the mole sauce on the chicken was a little bit bitter (anchiote?) for my taste; the homemade corn tortillas and also the pineapple fresca were very good.
Wt: ~14 oz.
Calories: ~ 700 calories
Price: $10.25 for the whole meal + drink
Purchased from: Taqueria El Grullense

Day #5 of Chocolate and Meat week led me to try a different kind of mole dish for dinner this evening. Earlier this week my chocolate/meat item I ate was enchiladas with a mole sauce. The sauce for these enchiladas was a different blend, a bit sweeter/less bitter, at another restaurant. (I need to find out whether this flavor that is slightly bitter is anchiote or not - just to satisfy my own curiousity.) Mole sauce ingredients, I've found out, can vary widely. Some contain banana, ground sesame seeds, cracker crumbs, and other interesting ingredients beyond tomato sauce, spices and cocoa.

ChocolateBet: May 5, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 servings
Hillshire Farm - Beef Lit'l Smokies + Homade (Red) Chile Sauce + Vosges Oaxaca bar
Very Good (sauce = 4 Tb. chili sauce + 1 very small square choc.)
Weight: 4.5 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 420 calories total (320 calories for 10 small links + 100 cals. for sauce)
Cost: $4.99 (Smokies) + $3.69 (Chili Sauce) + $0 (choc.) = $8.68 total
Purchased from:
- Lit'l Smokies links: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA
- Red Chili Sauce: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA
- Vosges Oaxaca bar: Whole Foods, in Cupertino, CA (gift of 1/2 bar - Thx Alec)

I'm having to get a bit more creative on Day #4 of Chocolate and Meat Week. I'm mixing a few ingredients to get something that tastes good. For some reason there are just not a lot of chocolate and meat products at the store. Buying lots of ingredients (as opposed to one ready-made, turnkey retail chocolate product) makes for more complicated record-keeping; but it's fun to experiment with different combinations.

How did I make this dipping sauce for the Lit'l Smokies? I put the red chili sauce in a small glass bowl with a small square of chocolate bar, and a few grains of cinnamon (and heated just to the point where I could stir the chocolate piece into the sauce). My first batch of sauce was heavier on the chocolate side. I enjoyed the sauce better with the Smokies when it was mostly red chili sauce, and just a little melted chocolate. This Vosges flavor with chilies went well with this sauce.

ChocolateBet: May 4, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Rub with Love (Spice Rubs & Sauces)
Cocoa Nib Barbeque Sauce (with ribs)
Very Good - nice blend
Wt: 33 grams (2 tbsp.)/16 oz. (456 g.) total jar
Calories: 50 calories/serving
Cost: $5.39 total jar (16 servings) (+ ~$6.00 for small rack of ribs for this dish)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Chocolate & Meat week is progressing. Today is Day #3. Today I enjoyed barbeque sauce (with ground cocoa nibs) on ribs.

ChocolateBet: May 3, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving/dinner
La Paloma (Restaurant)
Enchiladas de Mole
Very Good
Wt: ~10 oz.? for whole dinner/plate, including two enchiladas and sides of rice and beans.
Calories: ~ 900/dinner
Cost: $10.75 + tip = ~ $12.55 total for meal
Purchased from: La Paloma, in Santa Clara, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Meat Week. This evening I enjoyed some nice enchiladas stuffed with white meat chicken and mole poblano style sauce (which contains ground spices and cacao/chocolate). Dinner came complete with live music, and a festive atmosphere at the restaurant.