Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate + Fig + Rose - Nov. 27, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Organic Dark Chocolate 73% Cacao Super Dark bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 158 calories for 1 oz. (14.1 g.) piece of chocolate
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Thanksgiving to all in the U.S. I'm thankful for time spent with family, and for all the people growing cacao and making great chocolate.

Today was the last day of Chocolate and Fig Theme Week, and the first day of Chocolate and Rose Theme Week.

With this many food and chocolate flavors intersecting today (I'm giving pumpkin a rest this year), I decided to make a trio of small shotglass desserts with chocolate. What's better than one dessert? Desserts that are so tiny, you can have more than one.

All three of these desserts incorporated chocolate from today's Organic 73% Super Dark bar from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

The first dessert, served warm, consisted of brandy-marinated figs, atop a layer of chopped bacon, topped with a layer of melted dark chocolate in a shotglass.

The second tiny dessert was a fig bread pudding -- with chopped figs and gluten-free raisin cinnamon toast, topped with chopped pecans, cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg, and chocolate shavings.

Last but not least, the third small glass was filled with greek yogurt flavored with rosehip jam, rosewater and cardamom, and topped with chopped, roasted and salted pistachio nuts. and chocolate shavings.

The Trader Joe's Super Dark bar was smooth, dark fun, with fudgy and nutty flavors. This organic bar was perfect by itself, or for livening up a dessert.

Sapore Messo Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar + figs - Nov. 26, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sapore Messo Foods
Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar
Good++
Weight: 1 teaspoon / 375 mL (12.07 oz.) in total bottle
Calories: 6 calories (estimate) in 1 teaspoon
Cost: $12.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Sapore Messo Foods table, Farmers Market, OFJCC, Palo Alto, CA

The days are growing shorter, and it's time to turn to the dark side. By that, I mean Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar -- that can be used to liven up all sorts of dishes.

Drizzle this Sapore Messo (San Jose, CA) balsamic over some figs on gluten-free toast with some great olive oil, and you have a great sweet and savory tapas plate. Or create a fig bruschetta. (The company also offers several other flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars, including a fig balsamic. The balsamic vinegar they work with is from Modena, Italy.)

A small amount of this dark chocolate balsamic vinegar imparts powerful flavor, so use sparingly on lighter dishes, such as fruit salads. This type of product invites experimentation. And, I'm going to experiment next with a small shake of this balsamic vinegar on a mango, blackberry and sage salad for the upcoming Thanksgiving long weekend.

Any fruits or berries that pair well with dark chocolate (strawberries, raspberries, orange, etc.) would likely work well also. Add a dollop of greek yogurt and grate a little dark chocolate over the top and you have a fruit salad that could easily serve as dessert.

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

Blanxart Dark Chocolate + Figgies and Jammies - Nov. 25, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Blanxart
Chocolate Negro (Dark Chocolate)
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 79 calories (estimate) in .5 oz. (14.1 g.) piece of bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: (unknown, lost information)

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

When I think of figs and chocolate, I think about Spain and other Mediterranean countries and the many wonderful ways to enjoy figs (with goat cheese; with sherry, port and various liqueurs; in savory dishes or in salads; etc.).

Today's 62% cocoa Chocolate Negro (Dark Chocolate) bar from Blanxart (Barcelona, Spain) was wrapped in gold foil and a brown paper outer wrapper with a hand block-printed image look from centuries past. This bar would likely have harmonized nicely with figs and sherry, then as now.

If you're in dessert snack mode, and prefer to skip the sherry, try a piece of this chocolate bar with a Mission Fig "Figgies and Jammies" cookie from Pamela's Products (Ukiah, CA). These gluten-free cookies had a cake-like exterior that enveloped a jam-like fig and fruit filling. Or you could melt the chocolate and use it as a fondue to dip your cookie or pieces of cut up fresh figs, peaches, apples, berries or other fruit.

There are days when it's easy to get carried away with pairings -- like today. This smooth, relatively sweet, dark chocolate bar was also perfectly fine all by itself.

DOTI Berry Allure - Figs in Chocolate - Nov. 24, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

DOTI (Chocolate Manufacturer)
(Chicago Importing Co.)
Berry Allure - Figs in Chocolate
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 7 pieces
Cost: $6.95 for 1 package/bag
Purchased from: Draegers - San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Fig Theme Week.

The Berry Allure brand Figs In Chocolate were from DOTI (a Polish chocolate manufacturer). The company specializes in European chocolate covered fruits and nuts.

Chewy pieces of fig had a hint of butterscotch brown sugar flavor and were coated with Belgian chocolate. I found them somewhat addictive. Not too much sugar, but just the right amount of natural fig sweetness.

3D Candies - Blue Cheese White Fig caramels - Nov. 23, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

3D Candies
Blue Cheese White Fig chocolate caramels
Good - Good +
Weight: .672 oz. (19 g.) / 3.36 oz. (95 g.) in total package
Calories: 100 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $14.99 for 1 package of 5 pieces
Purchased from: Draegers, San Mateo, CA

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

3D Candies (Sacramento, CA) offers several caramels, and has developed successful relationships with wineries over time -- which likely leads to fun and interesting food and chocolate taste test research with wine.

Today's 3D Blue Cheese and White Fig, non-GMO, chocolate-covered caramels might pair well with some wines. (Perhaps port or sherry and some savory, roasted walnuts would make an interesting trio?)

Each of the five pieces in this package were decorated with a slice of dried white fig. I didn't taste any blue cheese flavor in these caramels. While some will revel in the generous sweet caramel filling, I might be tempted to add a few grains of sea sea salt or savory flavor to balance the sweetness.

As with any caramel or filled chocolate, make sure you buy a fresh package.

The Oakland Chocolate Co. - Fig Butter Bar - Nov. 22, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Oakland Chocolate Co.
Fig Butter Bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 149 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Co., Oakland, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Fig Theme Week.

This dark chocolate Fig Butter Bar was hand-crafted by Nancy Nadel at The Oakland Chocolate Co. (Oakland, CA). The chocolate was made from scratch using single origin, Jamaican cacao beans. And the tiny filling cavities were bursting with dried chopped fig, and hints of orange zest, lemon and sea, salt yielding a small bar that was full of concentrated flavor.

The Oakland Chocolate Co. - 85% Fig, Pumpkin seed bark - Nov. 21, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

The Oakland Chocolate Co.
85% Cacao Chocolate Bark - Fig, Pumpkin and Hemp Seeds
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70.75 g.) in total bag/package
Calories: 149 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. piece of bark
Cost: $5.50 for 1 bag/package
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Co., Oakland, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Fig Theme Week. Cold weather tends to enhance my appreciation of rich, concentrated flavors, like those found in dried fruits. So, while fresh figs are wonderful, I'm focusing on great chocolates made with dried figs this week.

Today's dark chocolate and fig offering from The Oakland Chocolate Co. (Oakland, CA) came in the form of thin shards of 85% (Jamaican) cacao bark, adorned with small slices of dried figs. Green pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and small, sparkling crystals of sea salt added great, well-balanced texture and flavor.

When so many other holiday barks are loaded with sugar, this one stands out as a less-sweet, tasty, dark alternative.