Moondarra - Chocolate and Hazelnut Cream Cheese - March 19, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Moondarra Cheese Pty Ltd
Chocolate and Hazelnut - Australian Cream Cheese
Good ++
Weight: 4.2 oz. (120 g.) in total package
Calories: 440 calories in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate Surprise Week.

Sometimes chocolate and cheese can pair surprisingly well.
Today's Chocolate and Hazelnut Australian Cream Cheese offering from Moondarra Cheese Pty Ltd (Dandenong, Australia) was deliciously unique. (Moondarra produces a variety of flavored cream cheeses.)

This creamy and well balanced cream cheese was spreadable -- just sweet enough, not too sweet -- making it suitable for a variety of uses: dessert plate fare, tea sandwiches, as a toast spread, or just for eating by itself. The incorporation of small bits of chocolate and hazelnut yielded subtle chocolate flavor highlights and nut texture and flavor.

*Moondarra is an indigenous Koori word for a region in Gippsland, Australia, known for dairy products. 

Las Vegas chocolate bars - March 18, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Paramount Chocolates
Dark Chocolate Bar
OK
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 37 calories (estimate) in .25 oz. (7 g.) piece
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Candy Shoppe, McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, NV

Vegas Image (Distributor)
Crisp Chocolate Candy Bar
Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 37 calories (estimate) for .25 oz. (7 g.) piece
Cost: $2.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Candy Shoppe, McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, NV

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate Surprise Week.

I thought I'd have enough chocolates from Las Vegas for another Las Vegas or Gaming theme week. (I had one a few years ago.) However, no dice.

I was surprised, however, to find these two bars that I'd tucked away in the Chocolate Vault just for this occasion. I'd purchased these (and some chocolate poker chips) in 2013 from The Candy Shoppe in the Las Vegas airport. So this week's Surprise Week seemed to be a good place to include them.

Both bars were adorned with replicas of the famous "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada" sign that greets visitors to this "Sin City" in the desert. This sign is so famous it has its own Wikipedia entry. And both bars were fairly fresh given how long ago that I'd bought them.

My favorite was the thick, rich milk chocolate bar with crisp rice.

2nd St. Creamery - Truck Stop Fudge - Mar. 17, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

2nd Street Creamery
(Wells Enterprises, Inc., aka Wells' Dairy)
Truck Stop Fudge ice cream
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (105 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 250 calories in 1/2 cup ice cream
Cost: $1.49 (sale) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate Surprise Week.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all who celebrate in the U.S., and beyond.

The closest I came to the Emerald Isle (Ireland) was imagining the green pastures of a dairy farm, dotted with cows, in the midwest, near a place called the 2nd Street Creamery*.

Surprise. We're pulling over for some Truck Stop Fudge ice cream from 2nd Street Creamery. (I couldn't find the company's Limerick Cherry Chocolate ice cream -- that would've offered a fun Irish twist.)

The Truck Stop related name was unusual enough I hit the brakes when I saw it in the freezer section. Plus that cute drawing of the cow riding a bicycle-milk cart sucked me in.

Made of rich chocolate ice cream, marshmallow cream and fudge sauce, this 2nd Street Truck Stop Fudge flavor was worth stopping for.

*Wells Enterprises, Inc., aka Wells' Dairy, is likely the largest, privately held, family owned ice cream maker in the U.S. They're also the owners of the 2nd Street Creamery and Blue Bunny ice cream brands. I was surprised to learn that Wells produces more than 150 million gallons of ice cream annually.

NewTree - Kola bar - March 16, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

NewTree
Kola (Petillant) bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) total bar
Calories: 105 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $6.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: NewTree Cafe, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

NewTree just expanded their operations in the Bay Area. An attractive new cafe in downtown San Francisco opened earlier this month (March 2015). The company is offering a menu that includes more food items -- in addition to a display wall of chocolate bars, that continues to be updated.

When I visited Benoit and crew on opening day, I noticed a new Kola bar on the shelves that I hadn't seen before.

This Kola (or Petillant) bar did a great job of capturing the essence of a cola soft drink in a dark chocolate bar. The bar was crafted with 72% fairtrade cacao from the Dominican Republic, and incorporated "lime shavings" cola flavor, and "carbonated sugar" (glucose, lactose and carbon dioxide). I'm assuming the latter is popping candy (aka pop rocks) -- providing the fizz in this homage to a popular carbonated beverage.

*The kola nut is the fruit of the kola tree (native to Africa) that provides the flavoring used to make popular cola soft drinks.

Ticket Chocolate - French Truffle - Mar. 15, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ticket Chocolate
French Truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) total package
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in 2 servings
Cost: N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate Surprise Week.

Each year I look forward to having a week like this, a time when I can feature items might be unique, whimsical, new, or involve something unexpected.

I first spotted today's Hot Chocolate on a Stick offerings from Ticket Chocolate (San Francisco, CA) at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, earlier this year. The company produces single-serving "blocks of fine couverture chocolate" on a stick (or vintage silverplate spoons), that can be stirred into hot water or milk of your choice.

Thank you to Ticket Chocolate for allowing me to try their 6 oz. (170 g.) sized bag of 4 individual servings of their French Truffle flavor. It did not disappoint.

It has been a cold winter on the East Coast, with plenty of snow. And, thinking of them, I made hot chocolate from one serving, stirring the chocolate on a stick into hot water; it dissolved completely after a minute or two.

However, California has skipped winter altoghter it seems. It was a warm day today and I didn't necessarily need any more hot chocolate, but still wanted more chocolate. So, I also ate a second serving, right off the stick, lollipop style and liked that very much too.

A chocolate (or any food) tasting is enhanced by presentation and what I'll call the experiential component. Ticket Chocolate scores high marks on both.

Other Ticket Chocolate flavors include Belgian Milk, Salted Caramel, Peppermint, Three Chili, Chai, Peanut Butter Cup and Vanilla Mint.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzels, and Spread - Mar. 14, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Gratify Foods
(Distributed by Osem USA, Inc.)
Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Covered Twists
Good
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 5.5 oz. (156 g.) in total package
Calories: 210 calories in 7 pretzels
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Happily there are many tasty gluten-free pretzel options these days, even some with chocolate.

The line of Gratify Gluten Free pretzels, distributed by Osem USA, Inc. (Englewood, NJ) includes several pretzel + chocolate options (some seasonal) -- and, at least one with peanut butter as well.

This morning, I enjoyed a handful of Gratify Gluten Free Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Covered Twists. These pretzels hit all the snack receptor buttons - rich, crunchy, creamy, sweet, savory/salty...etc. And one serving size (7 pieces) was just the right amount.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week. 

Betty Lou's - Nuts About Peanut Butter - Mar. 13, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Betty Lou's, Inc.
Nuts About Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.7 oz. (49 g.) in total package
Calories: 210 calories in 1 package
Cost: $1.79 for 1 package
Purchased from: Country Sun, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

The product name took up a lot of space on the label from Betty Lou's (McMinnville, OR). But the "Nuts about Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Energy Ball" inside combined peanut butter, gluten-free vegetable protein, chocolate chips and more, to make a chewy, satisfying snack.

The company's tagline "Great Stuff and Plenty of it," had a nice, familiar ring to it. I've previously tried some of the company's Great Stuff bars with fruit, vegetable and chocolate ingredients. Founder Betty Lou started making products with alternatives to refined sugar and healthy ingredients for her own family more than 30 years ago.