Mole burrito - Aug. 24, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fiesta del Mar
Mole Burrito
Good + - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $12.95 for 1 plate
Purchased from: Fiesta del Mar, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Cheese Theme Week.

Not all chocolates are sweet. Mole sauce is a dark, flavorful, savory sauce made with ground chiles, herbs, nuts, seeds, and unsweetened chocolate. It is particularly delicious served atop vegetables or chicken, and is often served with cheese (queso).

This evening I enjoyed a mole burrito plate at a favorite local restaurant, Fiesta del Mar (Mountain View, CA). I had a similar dish as few years ago with chicken and black beans, and this dish was a variant on this theme. The rich sauce was perfect with the chunks of white meat chicken, melted cheese, and a handful of thin slivers of fresh onion. The raspberry margarita on the side provided some sweetness.

Snack Delights - August 23, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Philadelphia (Kraft)
Snack Delights
Milk Chocolate - Good
Weight: 2 Tablespoon serving / 8 oz. (226 g.) total container
Calories: 110 calories in 2 Tablespoon serving
Cost: $3.29 for total container
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Cheese Theme Week. Several of the chocolates selected for this theme week were related to cream cheese. Of all the cheeses, this one may blend the most naturally with chocolate -- whether in cheesecakes, cheesecake brownies, refrigerated pies, parfaits, spreads or other desserts.

Philadelphia is a well-known cream cheese brand in the U.S. Part of Kraft Foods (Northfield, IL), the Philadelphia brand has been extended to include several flavored cream cheese spreads over the years. Today's "Snack Delights" cream cheese spreads were packaged in small recloseable plastic tubs and could be used as dips as well.

Today's two flavors I sampled, Milk Chocolate and Cinnamon*, were also sweet enough to serve as cream cheese frosting for cakes, banana bread, or cupcakes. This could be wonderful news, or not, depending on your preference for sugar.

I assembled a fruit, nut and snack plate (strawberries, blueberries, almonds, gluten free pretzels and gingerbread cookies) to eat with these spreads. I enjoyed the white chocolate cinnamon spread as much as the milk chocolate cream cheese with these snack items.

*Note: I do not normally "count" or feature white chocolate items on ChocolateBanquet.com; however, the cinnamon white chocolate cream cheese did pair nicely with the snacks and with its milk chocolate sibling.

Albatross Fudge - August 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dude Sweet Chocolate
Albatross Fudge
Good - Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) / 5.5 oz. (156 g.) total box/package
Calories: 105 calories (estimate)
Cost: $12.00
Purchased from: Dude Sweet Chocolate, Dallas, TX

Certain savory and sweet foods, such as cheese and chocolate, seem to inspire cravings. So, I thought, why not combine the two. Today marked the beginning of Chocolate and Cheese Theme Week.

To kick off the week, I tried a few slices of Albatross Fudge, a sweetened condensed milk fudge with Valrhona African "Abinaio" 85% dark chocolate, Rogue Creamery (dehydrated) Blue Heaven blue cheese, and sea salt, as part of a fruit and cheese plate. This dense fudge (described as "very much a foodies chocolate") was created by the clever people at Dude Sweet Chocolate (Dallas, TX). (The name "Albatross Fudge" was inspired by a Monty Python (comedy) sketch.)

Blue cheese offers a distinct salty, acidic, flavorful bite that complements chocolate nicely if the blend is well crafted. And Rogue Creamery (Central Point, OR) offers some great blue, and other, cheeses as a starting point. (Rogue Creamery's next door neighbor, Lillie Belle Farms, makes a blue cheese (chocolate) truffle, which I had the chance to re-taste last month.) In both today's Dude Sweet Chocolate fudge, and Lillie Belle's truffle, the combined flavors were fun and intriguing.

Pairing suggestions from the Dude Sweet Chocolate website include:
"Great as a griddled sandwich and cappuccino as a dessert, pinot noir, chardonnay"

Mocha Almond Fudge bars - August 21, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Turtle Mountain, LLC
So Delicious - Minis (box of 4 bars)
Mocha Almond Fudge bars
Good - Good +
Weight: 4.6 fl. oz. (136 mL) in 2 bars / 9.2 fl. oz. (272 mL) in total box
Calories: 300 calories in 2 bars
Cost: $4.23 total box of 4 (sale price)
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Frozen desserts, popsicles and ice cream were perfectly designed for hot summer days. I enjoyed every bite of today's (two) frozen, "So Delicious" Mocha Almond Fudge Minis (bars) from Turtle Mountain, LLC (Eugene, OR).

These cool treats on a wooden stick were good considering that they were almond "milk" based. They had elements of fudge ribbon sweetness, but weren't too sweet. I carefully ate each frozen mini, bite by bite, in the back yard, until I had to run inside and lean over the sink, to prevent shards of frosty chocolate coating from calving onto my shirt. (Just the way I remember eating similar frozen treats when I was young.)

These non-dairy frozen dessert bars were also gluten free, soy free and vegan. (The So Delicious line of products also included dairy-free ice cream and yogurt.)

Coco Nutties - August 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wonder Food Co.
Coco Keeno - Coco Nutties
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $3.75 in 1 package
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

I like chocolate, nuts, and monkeys. So, I was drawn to today's Organic "Coco Nutties" -- roasted almonds covered in dark chocolate from Wonder Food Co. (Palm Desert, CA). The packaging was adorned with an illustrated golden lion tamarin monkey.

These Coco Nutties were part of the Wonder Food's Coco Keeno line of chocolates. (A loose translation of cocoa and quinoa, Coco and Keeno are also the names of the company's monkey mascots. Their real world (monkey) counterparts are South American rainforest canopy dwellers.) The company specializes in treats made with (or covered in) "organic cocoa from the rainforest."

The 70% dark chocolate coating enveloping the almonds was rich and complex in natural, undiluted/unadulterated flavor (which I liked); although the overall product seemed quite sweet. (Organic sugar was the first ingredient listed.) The roasted almond center(s), were nicely done, and crunchy.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Chocolate Almond Sorbet - Aug. 19, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Scream Sorbet
Chocolate Almond (sorbet)
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. serving / 12 oz. total container
Calories: 150 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $9.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Scream Sorbet, Oakland, CA

Scream Sorbet (Oakland, CA) closed up shop, but a pint of their delicious sorbet, lives on in my freezer. Or, it did, before today.

Scream Sorbet made some of the finest "ice creams" I've ever tasted, loaded with high-quality, fresh-tasting ingredients. It was creamy and rich -- only there was no cream or milk in these sorbets, just pure flavor. I'm guessing there was some special equipment involved that helped create this silken smooth texture.

I savored every bite of the company's Chocolate and Almond sorbet this morning. It was made with "water, organic Inzana Ranch almonds, Ciranda cocoa powder, sugar and sea salt." Occasionally I'll get sucked into an intense tasting experience, where the rest of the world seems to fade away somewhere in the background. This was one of those times.

Thank you Scream Sorbet. Hope to see you again one day.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Almond Cluster - Aug. 18, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mama Ganache Artisan Chocolates
Almond Cluster
Weight: .6 oz. (16.9 g.) (estimate) for 1 cup/piece
Calories: 90 calories (estimate) for 1 cup/piece
Cost: $1.50 for 1 Almond Cluster
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Strawberry Village Shopping Center, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week, so this past week I was on the look-out for chocolate and almond items I haven't tried yet. (After eating more than 2,500 different chocolates, this is more challenging than you might think, but certainly not impossible.)

I knew I was in the right place to locate more almond-themed chocolates, when I paid a visit to SweetE Organic (Mill Valley, CA). Elana Turchon has lined her shelves with chocolates and candies that offer alternative choices for those looking for organic, gluten free, nut free, dairy free, or other alternatives. I quickly spotted (with Joy's help) today's Almond Cluster from Mama Ganache (San Luis Obispo, CA), that was individually wrapped in copper-colored foil.

Mama Ganache specializes in organic, fair trade confections. I bought two Almond Clusters, and ate one on the drive back home (for research purposes). The dark chocolate was rich in flavor, and embedded in the cup-shaped chocolate was a generous helping of chopped toasted almonds that seemed to have a sweet crunch to them.