ChocolateBet: December 31, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

Talenti
1.) Caribbean Coconut Gelato
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup
Calories: 190 calories
Cost: $6.49 total container
Purchased: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

2.) 1/3 cup Belgian Milk Chocolate Gelato
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/2 cup
Calories: 220 calories
Cost: $6.49 total container
Purchased: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Stonewall Kitchen
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel
Good
Weight: 2 Tb. (30 g.) / 12.5 oz. (354 g.) total glass jar
Calories: 120 calories
Cost: $n/a
Purchased: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today I made an ice cream sundae worthy of Chocolate + Coconut + Caramel Theme Week.
It was easy to imagine I was on a sunny, tropical beach somewhere, getting ready to make a toast to the New Year.

I used two different kinds of Talenti Gelato for this dessert. The Talenti Caribbean Coconut Gelato was quite good, but lacked the incredibly smooth and creamy consistency of the Talenti Belgian Milk Chocolate Gelato, due to the very finely ground coconut, and slightly lower fat content. (Note: Talenti also makes a Sea Salt Caramel gelato, but I couldn't locate this one in time for today, Day #7 of Chocolate + Coconut + Caramel Theme Week.

This gelato was fine by itself. However, I decided to guild the lilly by topping these two flavors with some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce from Stonewall Kitchen. I think a sprinkling of lightly browned toffee coconut and nut bits on the side might have been a better choice.

The Stonewall Kitchen chocolate caramel sauce would be good with vanilla ice cream with sliced fresh banana and chopped nuts.

Happy last day of the year (2011) to all.

ChocolateBet: December 30, 2011

Chocolates of the Day:

2 pieces
Russell Stover Candies, Inc.
1.) Coconut - Dark Chocolate - Good - Good +
2.) Caramel - Milk Chocolate - Good
Weight: .5 oz. + .434 oz. = .934 oz. (26.6 g.) for 2 pieces
Calories: 126.6 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $9.99 total bag/package for 4 different chocolates
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

Are you all sick of reading about chocolates yet? I hope not, because this past week, I passed the "I've-eaten-more-than-1,900 different-chocolates" mark (over a period of more than five years). When I started this chocolate adventure, I thought I'd run out of chocolates to try. However, there is almost no chance of that happening. So, join me as I carry on this daily practice into 2012.

On to today's chocolates: two, individually wrapped pieces from a large, Russell Stover (based in Kansas City, Missouri) assortment bag that contained four different flavors. I chose the Coconut and Caramel pieces -- because this is Day #6 of Chocolate + Coconut + Caramel Theme Week. Of the two, I preferred the Coconut covered in dark chocolate; however, eating both pieces together seemed to improve the flavor of both.

Russell Stover is (according to their website) the largest manufacturer of boxed chocolates in North America. Russell Stover and his wife Clara first cooked up small batches of chocolates in their Denver, CO, bungalow in the 1920s; the company has evolved significantly since then. I've found the quality of Russell Stover chocolates to be fairly consistent over time. This may or may not be because of preservatives, or rapid turn-over on store shelves (resulting in fresher chocolates). As companies grow this big, I'm guessing they have all their production and delivery processes down to a science. According to a Funding Universe article (from more than 10 years ago), Russell Stover maintained their own line of refrigerated delivery trucks, to help ensure freshness.

ChocolateBet: December 29, 2011

Chocolates of the Day:

1.) 1 serving
Trader Joe's
Golden Caramel Swirl in French Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream (Super Premium)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/2 cup (100 g.) / 1 Quart (946 mL)

Calories: 260 calories
Cost: $4.49 total container
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

I'll kick off today's entry with a random observation: It's impossible to do a Chocolate + Coconut + Caramel Theme Week without thinking about German chocolate cake frosting. If it didn't already exist as a wonderful complement to chocolate cake, then someone would have to invent it.

What do you call chocolate + vanilla + caramel + ice cream? I'd call it a great start. Now, to make this Trader Joe's  Golden Caramel Swirl ice cream an official entry for Day #5 of Chocolate + Coconut + Caramel Theme Week, I sauteed some chopped pecans with coconut shreds in a tiny pan. The result: a great German chocolate topping for ice cream. Unfortunately, my sloppy pan-to-dish presentation and this photo don't do this dessert justice.

2.) 1 piece
Russell Stover
Coconut Wreath
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.)
Calories: 140 calories
Cost: $0.50 for 1 wreath
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

To amp up the crunchy coconut quotient today, I also enjoyed this Russell Stover Coconut Wreath. Russell Stover has been cranking out chocolates since the early 1920s; and the company's chocolatiers have been experimenting with chocolate, coconut and caramel for quite some time. For a brief moment I felt like I was eating a round, upscale coconut version of a Nestle Crunch bar. This wreath also went well with the above Trader Joe's caramel ice cream.

ChocolateBet: December 28, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 ice cream bar
Magnum
Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar
Good+
Weight: 3.38 fl. oz. (100 mL) in 1 bar / 10.14 fl. oz. (300 mL) package of 3 bars
Calories: 320 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.49 total box of 3
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Theme Week.

Magnum Double Caramel bars (from Unilever) looked good. I'd seen the ads. They also fulfilled all the requirements for this week's theme week; they contained chocolate, caramel and coconut (oil). The description on the box read: "Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Dipped in a Chocolatey Coating, Caramel Sauce and Belgian Milk Chocolate."

I hesitated when I saw the word "chocolatey," but these bars were a hearty, well balanced blend of creamy vanilla ice cream, sweet caramel sauce, a Belgian milk chocolate layer, and a thick, smooth chocolatey shell (that contained the coconut oil). So, there was more than enough cacao in this bar to be satisfying. You may, however, want to eat this over a plate/sink as you take bites and the shell fractures.

ChocolateBet: December 27, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2 bars
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
Caramel Coconut Bars
Good - Good+
Weight: 2.96 oz. (84 g.)/ 4.5 oz. (126 g.) total package
Calories: 400 calories in 2 bars
Cost: $9.56 (sale price) for total package of 3 bars
Purchased from: Williams-Sonoma, Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Theme Week. Eating this chocolate combo has been a little like hitting the three-sweet-trifecta. While dark chocolate helps tone down the sugar level, it almost makes my teeth hurt thinking about some of this week's selections.

Today's Caramel Coconut Bars (Barre au Caramel et a la Noix de Coco), sold at Williams-Sonoma stores, included all three theme week flavors in one treat, plus almonds, cranberries and dark chocolate.

This thick, chewy bar was rich tasting (and at 200 calories per bar, it was fairly rich in caloric value as well -- or maybe that's just because I ate two of them). One of these hearty bars would be good for winter sports enthusiasts along with some hot soup.

ChocolateBet: December 26, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Palmer
Swirling Santas and Snowmen
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.)/ 4.3 oz. (122 g.) total bag/package
Calories: 100 calories
Cost: $0.99 total bag
Purchased from: CVS/Pharmacy, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Theme Week.

Palmer is one of the larger maker of novelty and holiday chocolates in the U.S. The company's milk chocolate Swirled Santas and Snowmen, individually wrapped in foil and flavored with caramel, were the object of today's fun and games.

Where was the coconut? you might ask. It was provided by Safeway -- in the form of shredded coconut "snow." (No, that is not yellow snow.)

ChocolateBet: December 25, 2011

Chocolates of the Day:

Russell Stover
1.) Dark Chocolate and Coconut Cream Santa 
Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.)
Calories: 150 calories
Cost: $0.50
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Russell Stover
2.) Caramel Santa - Covered in Milk Chocolate
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.)
Calories: 170 calories
Cost: $0.50
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

Ho ho ho. Merry Christmas. It's time for chocolate Santas -- two different kinds: dark chocolate coconut and milk chocolate caramel. Perfect for Day #1 of Chocolate, Coconut and Caramel Theme Week.

I enjoyed the coconut Santa the best. I like coconut and I prefer dark chocolate; although, this piece was not shaped like St. Nick. For that matter, the caramel Santa form was only vaguely human-shaped, but if you're in the holiday spirit you won't mind.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend.