welcome to 2009, kiddies! i was in chicago for a couple weeks and i ate a lot of garbage while i was there, so hopefully i'll be able to catch up a bit and add a few posts to my struggling bloglet.

first up, let's talk about choxie. this is target's "upscale" brand of chocolate, and i gotta say, while it's not bad by any means, it's just not that impressive. the flavors are REALLY subtle (i mean, they always sound awesome, but then when you chomp down on a "brandied cherry truffle" you want a real flavor explosion, ya know? you don't expect it to taste like a hershey's miniature.)

but the holidays bring discounted chocolate, so of course i tried a few new choxie products this year. i was not entirely disappointed. how's that for a ringing endorsement? :)

first up, white chocolate gingerbread balls. these start with a core of nicely spiced, crunchy gingerbread, surrounded by a thick coating of pretty decent white chocolate (no palm oil? i'll have to verify.) to make 'em extra festive, they then receive a final schmear of waxy gingerbread-colored coating, but this doesn't add anything to the texture or taste. i found these to be pretty addictive in the same way that maltballs are, and maybe slightly more satisfying. the ratio of crunchy center and creamy coating seems pretty good, so these get a thumbs up from me.



i also sampled their "signature" line, which is expensive-- $15 for 8 small-ish pieces of chocolate-- and IMO suffers from the same flavor problems as all choxie products do. the texture is nice, with a smooth, buttery melt. the chocolate flavor is ok. but the fillings just don't taste like much. on the other hand, i gotta say that the chocolates themselves are beautifully decorated, looking much more like high-end molded artisan chocolates. and the packaging was adorable, with two little 'shelves' of chocolates and a handy guide to distinguishing between them.

so, more choxie, mostly more of the same: looks beautiful, but the flavor's not quite there. i did not dislike any of this stuff, but i wouldn't buy it again at regular price.

PEPPERMINT!! that's the best thing about holiday junk food. i suppose there's nothing keeping me from eating minty foods all year long, but it just seems so seasonally appropriate. for what it's worth, i also find it somewhat more difficult to find peppermint oil/peppermint extract at other times of the year--and even when i spotted it on the shelf at albertsons the other day, it was absurdly expensive. oh well.

the point of this post is to toot my own horn. :) i made a peppermint bark cheesecake over the weekend and brought it to share. i was initially unsure if peppermint and cheesecake would work together, but i figured it was worth a shot. the crust was made from Trader Joe's Peppermint Joe-Joes. i left the cheesecake base unflavored, but added a swirl of peppermint goo (just water, sugar, peppermint oil and food coloring) and of course chunks of my own homemade peppermint bark.

based on the reaction, i'd say this was a success. everyone at work WOLFED it down, and my bf seemed to like it too. :) definitely one to add to the repertoire... see a pic here:

i swear i had no intention of participating in Black friday activities this year. however, i was coerced into a "MIDNIGHT MADNESS" sale by my bf and his roomie. first off, let me just say i was shocked--SHOCKED--at the number of people willing to head out at midnight on Thanksgiving to save a few bucks. but there we were, too, so i can't complain too vociferously (what a word!) ...but this blog is about candy, so candy it shall be.

to be honest, i've never been a huge harry&david fan. i've always thought their products were decent, just way overpriced for what amounts to giftbasket filler. but h&d was offering 25% off their entire inventory on black friday, so i had extra incentive to sample their wares...

first i picked up a box of peppermint moose munch. for those of you who don't know, moose munch is one of h&d's premiere products, a mix of caramel corn and nuts, drizzled (or dipped) in chocolate. fortunately for me, the peppermint moose munch is entirely coated in a thick layer of dark-ish chocolate, then tossed with bits of candy cane and a red "confection" drizzle. IT IS DELICIOUS and seriously addicting. i could easily eat the entire 20oz box in one sitting, even though it would most certainly leave me on my deathbed.



i also perused their new (?) selection of flavored malted milk balls. i know i've seen a review of these somewhere before, but they were not h&d branded at the time. i picked up a box of the "coffee trio," as well as "banana split." both versions feature a rather small malted milk ball core, surrounded by a thick layer of chocolate and/or flavored coating. these are also totally yummy, especially for those of us who grew up on Whoppers (the candy, not the burger). i think they're a bit pricey at about $15/lb, but where else are you going to find banana split-flavored malt balls?

before moving to california, i'd never heard of Trader Joe's. now i live less than 2 miles away from the nearest TJ's, and thank goodness for that. while i'm not a huge fan of a lot of their refrigerated foods (their sandwiches, wraps and sushi are kind of meh, if you ask me...) i think most of their snackfoods are second to none, and almost always reasonably priced.

around the holidays, they bring in a bunch of cool stuff that disappears all too quickly. joe-joe's are the house brand oreo and they come in a few different varieties all year long. around christmas, they bust out the candy cane joe-joe's, which were introduced (i think) last year and they are seriously addictive: just a touch of mellow mintiness, plus some crushed up peppermint candy for a bit of extra crunch... MMM!!!

they also have a surprisingly nice collection of belgian chocolates, at only $7 for a 1/2# box. they come wrapped in luscious purple foil and would make a great hostess gift. i (of course) bought one for myself and was pleasantly surprised by the interesting flavors, including a tantalizing take on lemon meringue (milk chocolate cylinder filled with lemon curd and a white chocolate "meringue")

i'm always disappointed when the seasonal products disappear from the shelves, so i guess i'd better stock up while i can...

huh, i lied. it's been another two weeks since i posted anything at all. and this is prime candy-eating season, OMG!!! but i'm bored here at work (read: lots of work to do, no motivation) so i'll post about chocolate instead.

my friend steve brought this back from his most recent trip to vegas. it's a box of "American Pop" chocolates from the semi-famous Ethel M's. Ethel has a bunch of shops and 'chocolate lounges' in vegas and chicago. stop in for a sample, hang out with a cup of hot chocolate, buy a box to take home...

i gotta say, first and foremost, their chocolates are GORGEOUS. they're rather small compared to, say, my dear sweet See's or even Godiva. but they are beautifully tempered, incredibly shiny and lustrous and often colored in bold jewel tones. the chocolate shell offers a nice snap, hiding a smooooooth and rather loose filling. just look at this picture... this is the Ethel M fruit collection, another good choice-- i mean, have you seen lovelier chocolates in this price range?



on some occasions i have been less-than-impressed with Ethel M's chocolates. the flavors can be a little insipid, or maybe it's the cost that is coloring my perspective (they're not even THAT expensive, about $1.50 per piece). but for whatever reason, i found the chocolates in the American Pop collection to be mostly delightful. a few of my favorites:

pb&j: just as the name implies, it's a milk chocolate filled with peanut butter and a little squirt of strawberry jelly.

cinna-swirl: mild cinnamon ganache inside a milk chocolate/white chocolate swirl

say cheesecake: white chocolate shell, white chocolate cheesecake innards (VERY mild, doesn't have much of a cream cheese bite) and topped with a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs.

i went through the 12pc collection in a weekend, so ... well, i guess either i'm a horrible glutton (true) or these are pretty delicious (also true). if you're not in vegas or chicago any time soon, take a look at their website and order some for yourself!

well well well... looks like it's been a while since i've updated this thing. fact of the matter is, i haven't had a lot of new or interesting candy in the past few weeks. but the days after halloween are prime for a CHEAP CANDY EXTRAVAGANZA, so let's see if i can't put up at least a half-hearted effort...

the first of my post-halloween acquisitions is Brach's Caramel Apple Candy Corn. this is something i've honestly wanted to try for some time, but just never seemed to get around to it. i found a bag at Long's Drugs for just $.50, so i figured now was as good a time as any...



the candy corn is rather attractive in white, red and brown stripes, and smells quite strongly of caramel apples; much like Hershey's Caramel Apple Kisses, there's a nice tangy twinge of green apple to balance the expected overwhelming sweetness.

the texture is really quite nice: not too firm, not too soft, and NOT TOO MOIST. i hate wet, sticky candy corn and this stuff avoids that pitfall. the taste is surprisingly nuanced for a cheap ol' bag of candy corn. at first, you get the standard hit of sugar/honey that you'd expect from candy corn. this is followed almost immediately by a subtle hint of apples-- not nearly as strong as the Kisses or the Caramel Apple Lollipop, this is more of a faint background flavor. finally, as the candy corn melts away, you're struck by the mellow roundness of caramel. not too sweet (but not salty, either) it's a rather pleasant finish to a pretty good candy.

i don't know if this will fully satisfy my craving for standard candy corn, but it's a pleasant enough variation and i hope it sticks around.

BOSTON, part II

some time ago, i saw a brief story on Food Network (i think?) about the "lobster tail." not the crustacean, but a pastry item vaguely reminiscent of a lobster tail's shape, made of a sweet cream filling surrounded by crisp, concentric rounds of pastry. hopefully this picture helps clarify my half-assed description:

up until this week, i'd never seen one of these in the wild, and IIRC the point of the Food Network story was that hardly anyone makes 'em anymore, since the recipe is such a pain in the ass...

anyway, i was at Faneuil Hall when one of the bakeries in Quincy Market just put out a fresh tray of lobster tails. they were kinda pricey ($4.65) but i figured, when was i ever going to stumble across one of these babies in San Diego?

well, i'm glad i bought it because it was DELICIOUS. the pastry was exceptionally crisp and buttery, lightly sweetened from a dusting of powdered sugar, and provided brilliant textural contrast to the fluffy innards. recipes i've seen on the web seem to indicate that the filling can vary, from something ricotta-based, like a cannoli, to just whipped cream. this version of the lobster tail was filled with a light vanilla pastry cream (probably cut with whipped cream?) but still dense enough to be extremely satisfying. one of these is more than enough to fill you up for an afteroon, so $5 starts to seem pretty cheap...

if you ever get the chance to try one of these suckers, do yourself a favor... but you might want to share with a hungry (and not diet-conscious) friend!

BOSTON, part 1

ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: prepare yourself for an epic recounting of one of the premier dining events of my life. yes, yes, after years (well, months?) of whining, i finally had occasion to go to the chocolate bar at cafe fleuri in downtown boston.

i think i've mentioned it like a billion times on this blog, but basically the chocolate bar is a rather fancy sweets buffet. calling it a "chocolate" buffet is somewhat misleading, as there were plenty of other items available (even if many of them did prominently feature chocolate...)

before i dive into specifics, let me mention some of the cool stations at the chocolate bar:
* Chocolate Martini Bar
* Crepe Station, with all sorts of wacky fillings (M&Ms, marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, and, of course, chocolate)
* "Make Your Own Chocolate Bar" Station, where you could pick a bunch of things to toss into tempered chocolate, and then it set up into your own customized creation-- more of a chocolate puddle than a chocolate bar, though :)
* Cotton Candy Station, made to order (that is to say, made while you wait, even though cotton candy pretty much always ends up looking the same...)
* Chocolate fountain, perennial brunch favorite featuring pretzels, marshmallows, biscotti, etc
* Penny Candy Station, where visitors could fill up little bags of ice cubes, langham-branded chocolate squares, peppermint patties, charleston chews, chocolate covered pretzels, etc and take with them when they leave! cute!

so, besides all of this cool stuff, there were all sorts of fancy cakes, cookies and candies. i believe they say there are over 125 unique items, but i don't know how they arrive at that number... regardless, i made a concerted effort to try as many of the items as possible before i got too sick to continue (see the sacrifices i make for you, gentle reader??)

here's what i had (i swear, i ate every last bit of this stuff! and even though most of them are small, appetizer-sized portions... i think this list is still pretty impressive/revolting)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cup - tiny chocolate shell filled with PB mousse, a thin lining of grape jelly, and a small grape on top. quite tasty!
Macaron - not the coconut cookie, but the delicate french cookie made of egg whites and almond flour. two varieties, dark chocolate and mint chocolate. the mint chocolate one was delish, but the dark choco macaron was kinda dry and not quite as impressive.
Chocolate Mint Toffee - rather than the crunchy butter toffee that i was expecting, this was more of a minty caramel. nice undertone of burnt sugar, the mint follows on the back end, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. this one's subtle-- perhaps too subtle for a guy like me. i would've preferred crunchy.
Chocolate Whoopee Pie - did not care for this at all, it was REALLY dry with not much filling (although i suppose that might be what a whoopee pie is like, i've never had one in the wild...)
Pink & White Cookie - like the fabled black & white of jewish deli fame, except the dark chocolate is replaced with pink, strawberry-flavored chocolate. lovely. i could see serving this with tea at the country club.
White Chocolate Carrot Cake - the cake was moist, very straightforward in its flavors; no weird abundance of pineapple or raisin or orange juice. just a pleasant, mildly spicy chunk o' cake... i'm not sure if the frosting contained cream cheese at all, since it was EXTREMELY sweet. personally, i prefer the classic frosting.
S'more Spoon - this was a dollop of chocolate pudding in a chinese soup spoon, topped with graham cracker crumbs and a torched bit of marshmallow cream. not bad, but mostly just tasted like decent homemade chocolate pudding.
Marshmallow Crunch Cup - thin dark chocolate shell, with a lump of chocolate'n'krispies mixed together, topped with marshmallow creme and drizzled with more chocolate. i liked this, although it was quite hearty and one was plenty.
Hazelnut Dacquoise - a dacquoise is made up of layers of delicate meringue and buttercream. this one was rich as hell-- i mean that in a good way
Cappuccino Cup - a cute little chocolate cup (with a lip!) filled with chocolate ganache and a beige, coffee-flavored whipped topping, dusted with cocoa powder. yum.
Chocolate Lavendar Torte - thin alternating layers of cake and chocolate ganache, with a hint of fragrant lavendar (and dried lavendar sprinkled on top!) i liked this, but it was rather floral and i can see how someone might not appreciate flowers in their chocolate. one piece was enough to get the idea.
White Chocolate Berry Cup - a thick white chocolate shell, with a medallion of white cake at the bottom, filled with whipped cream and berries. simple, but f'in tasty.
Mint Cookie Mousse - an oreo topped with a molded mint chocolate mousse, holding a tiny reservoir of chocolate sauce. i enjoyed the textural contrast, and i can't imagine the headache of making hundreds of these things...
Chocolate Risotto - very light and fluffy, i thought this would be like chocolate rice pudding but it was strangely not at all sweet.
Chocolate Banana Tart - a tiny cookie shell holding a dollop of chocolate mousse and a sliver of banana. good, if you like bananas.
White Chocolate Cremeaux - wtf is a cremeaux? i just looked it up, and i'm still not sure. it was like a slightly bouncy white chocolate mousse, sitting atop a chocolate wafer cookie. ultra creamy texture, i very much enjoyed the flavor (although i admit to really liking white chocolate, so i'm sure that helps...)
Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta - this was a fairly big portion of rubbery panna cotta on a shortbread leaf, with a puddle of caramel goo on top. i thought this was perhaps a little too stiff, and the flavor was a little watery.
American Opera Cake - the traditional opera cake is flavored with almonds, coffee and chocolate. this one had peanut butter mousse and... orange?? i don't think these flavors go together at all; maybe the only thing i tasted that kind of made me do a double take...
Chocolate Ginger Angel Food Cake - a lot denser and moister than you expect from something called angel food cake... the chocolate and crystallized ginger work well together.
Chocolate Caramel Popcorn Ball - just what it sounds like... perfect for halloween
White Chocolate Cheesecake - a really nicely-made cheesecake, very smooth and creamy without being too dense or heavy. topped with berries to balance the sweetness.
Chocolate Tres Leches - a round tumbler filled with chocolate sauce, tres leches cake and topped with chocolate mousse. REALLY wet for a tres leches (as if i'm an expert) and rather sweet, but enjoyable. of course, by the time i got to this i was pretty much sick of sweets. and they said it couldn't happen...

anyway, i am between working cameras at this point but i did snap some craptacular pics using my cellphone. EDIT: updated with pics!

all in all, a monumental chocolate experience... i'd encourage anyone who finds themselves in the area to give it a try, although i think most people will be overwhelmed by a meal comprised entirely of sugary confections... cafe fleuri's chocolate bar is open every Saturday between September and June and costs about $40 (including coffee, not including liquor or tip).

well, it's been a long time, and i still don't have anything good to write about. next week, i'll be visiting the Chocolate Bar at Cafe Fleuri in Boston, and that will undoubtedly result in a ginormous post, but until then...

this past weekend, i went to see Anita Baker in concert at Pala Casino. she is my all time favorite A-#1 singer, so you could say i was pretty excited. the concert was not bad; she sounded great, but the venue was pretty much crap. nonetheless, a good time was had by all...



but this blog is not about r&b artists, so let's talk about Pala's buffet. i gotta say, i was kind of impressed. so far Barona has been my standard for "good" buffets outside of Las Vegas, but i'd have to rank Pala a close second. turns out Saturday is "steak and shrimp night," which sucks because i do not enjoy either steak or shrimp, but there was plenty of other stuff for my grazing enjoyment.



but of course my real focus is on the desserts. i was impressed first and foremost by the cannoli-- i don't know if these were fresh out of the kitchen or what, but the shells were actually CRISP. usually the filling works quickly to soggify the shell, resulting in a gross semi-solid mass that bears almost no resemblance to a legit cannoli. i don't know that i've ever encountered a better buffet cannoli (tho still not in the same league as the REAL THING from an italian bakery).

their chocolate chip cookies were studded liberally with semisweet chocolate, but had an odd sour aftertaste, so i have to give those a pass. the tiramisu was exceptionally creamy, and although dusted with cocoa powder, remained somewhat bland. i preferred the white chocolate raspberry mousse cups, which maintained that luxurious texture along with, you know, some actual flavor.

i found it interesting that they served a variety of bar cookies, which are probably extremely cheap to produce but suitably tasty. one unidentified item tasted lightly of cinnamon, walnuts and white chocolate. the other was nothing more than a Magic Bar, but i happen to like these and they were executed well enough.

Pala also had an assortment of cream puffs, ice cream, warm desserts like cherry cobbler and bread pudding, fruit tarts, etc. all in all, there was lots to choose from, including plenty of sugar-free options. verdict: worth the $20. but especially because my friend paid :p

opinions vary, but i think "candy season" begins in middle september, as the back-to-school junk gets shoved off into a dirty corner and the halloween stuff gets pulled out. then, for the rest of the year, it's candycandycandycandycandy (admittedly a bit of a lull between halloween and christmas, but that seems to be getting shorter every year...)

last night i noticed that target had almost finished setting up this year's halloween offerings. say what you will about target (and i have plenty to say, believe me-- but that's a subject for a different blog), i think they have the cutest/most unique holiday stuff of any mass-market retailer.

anyway, i picked up a bag of "toasted s'mores" gourmet candy corn. i believe these are manufactured by Galerie (warning: annoying, uninformative flash site). i love s'mores and i love candy corn, so how could i go wrong??? well, here are a few things i've learned over the years:

(1) chocolate "flavored" items are usually a waste of time. if it doesn't actually contain chocolate, it's not going to come even close to approximating the chocolate experience. since chocolate is such an integral part of a s'more, you can imagine that the candy corn incarnation kind of misses the mark in this regard.

(2) sometimes you just can't improve on the classics. i happen to love the sweet simplicity of traditional candy corn, so most variants pale in comparison. this includes indian corn (meh) and mellowcreme pumpkins (bleh).

(3) printing the word "gourmet" on a label automatically disqualifies it from actually being a gourmet product.

so, first things first: rather than the standard white-yellow-orange color scheme, these are white-tan-brown. and they have an inconsistent appearance: some are blistered, some have bubbles or cracks or white spots throughout. gotta say, i'm not all about appearances when it comes to candy, but these kind of look like something you'd find on the bottom shelf at your local dollar store.

the smell is... uh... not like s'mores at all. actually, i'm not quite sure what these smell like. the first things that come to mind are: SUGARY. maple. coffee. you can detect a very faint whiff of artificial graham cracker in the background, but it's subtle and seems to magically come and go.

the texture is pretty good. one of the things i don't like about some brands of candy corn (BRACH'S) is the high moisture content. i prefer candy corn to be slightly dry and crumbly, followed by a quick melt.

so it's not that these are particularly bad, and the colors are an interesting counterpoint to the candy corn of your youth. i just don't think i'd ever guess they were supposed to taste like s'mores unless it was printed right there on the label, and at the relatively high price (as compared to regular old candy corn) i doubt i'd buy them again.

target also had a few other varieties, including cotton candy and green apple.

part of the joy of being a known junkfood junkie is that friends, neighbors and well-wishers often contribute to your stockpile of goodies. the downside is, those of us with very little willpower have a tough time keeping myself from blowing through 18 lbs of chocolate in the course of a weekend.

at any rate, none other than Caramel Apple Hershey's Kisses showed up on my desk this morning. what a thrill! regular caramel hershey's kisses were one of the first variants to debut a few years ago, and remain one of my favorites. i vastly prefer rich, buttery, flowy caramel to the sticky/chewy variety, so these are right up my alley.

reports are that these are now available in the seasonal dept of your local Wal*Mart. but enough free advertising-- how do these taste?

caramel hershey's kisses were one of the first variants to debut a few years ago, and remain one of my favorites. i vastly prefer rich, buttery, flowy caramel to the sticky/chewy variety, so these are right up my alley.

the caramel apple edition kicks it up a notch (#$(#$ you, emeril) by adding a healthy dose of artificial apple flavor. i gotta say, fake or not, i think these are pretty damn good. the caramel is rather liquidy and tastes like a big ol' granny smith, with some floral notes and a juicy tartness that is fairly convincing. maybe a little too strong for the average consumer, but it reminds me of Charm's Caramel Apple Pops, which i also adore.

so, hershey's is apparently on a roll with their limited editions right now, as i've enjoyed both these and the Pumpkin Spice. well, except for the vile candy corn variety, which are ridiculously cute but taste like you've been huffing a can of Pam non-stick artificially flavored butter spray. bleh.

well, not much going on in junkfoodland these days. i've been out of town a lot, so maybe i should just talk about the food (junky- and non-) that i had recently in Las Vegas.

personally, i am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, especially in late August-- it's way too hot to do anything except busy yourself inside the hotel. i don't really gamble, i don't drink, i don't like corny standup or cher, so what do i do in Vegas? eat, of course! and since this trip was on the company, i made sure to make the most of it.

(1) Bellagio Buffet -- this is a "fancy" Vegas buffet, with food that's a couple notches above what you'll find at your friendly neighborhood Hometown Buffet (and substantially more expensive). seems to me that the quality has declined somewhat over the past couple of years...

the food was "ok" but a lot of it tasted strange, not sure if it's by design or they're just cheaping out on ingredients. for example, their carrot cake looks ultra fancy, but is overwhelmingly pineapple-y. personally i don't like any pineapple in my carrot cake at all, and this tasted more like a pineapple upside-down cake than a carrot cake. scandalous! similarly, their sweet potatoes were drowned out by too much orange juice, so barely tasted like sweet potatoes at all. my favorite item on the buffet was their soft serve ice cream, and that's kind of sad.

(2) Fleur de Lys -- here was my opportunity to see how the other half lives! to be fair, i am really not a gourmet kind of guy. after all, i had no problem eating at Chipotle every week for several years. here's what i had, as best as i can remember:
- Trout-Something-Or-Other Amuse Bouche
i thought this was absolutely disgusting, but you know, it's trout. bleh.
- Lobster Medallions with Microgreens and Mango Confit
i am admittedly not a huge fan of lobster, so that part didn't bowl me over. the microgreens were bitter. mango confit? i guess that's supposed to be preserved in sugar, but it just tasted like plain ol' mango to me.
- Organic Guinea Hen with Asparagus Risotto
this was fine, but not exactly thrilling. the hen was exceptionally moist and the risotto was cooked well. thankfully i did not seem to have a problem with asparagus-scented pee after this meal :p
- Chocolate Tasting
well, it's chocolate, how can you go wrong!? chocolate banana cake, mocha gelato with chocolate crumbs, chocolate ganache tart... all pretty good, although you start to get tired of all that chocolate after a short while (believe it or not)
- Petits Fours
not really petits fours, but more of a random assortment of tiny post-dessert desserts. everyone else was beyond full by this point, so i ate most of them :) included a delightful raspberry macaron and a fresh, soft, buttery salted caramel.
my favorite part of this meal was the bread. that also seems kind of sad.

(3) Bayside Buffet (Mandalay Bay) -- i'd never been here before, and i gotta say, this place is pretty nice. for a buffet, the decor is rather sophisticated and there's lots of windows/natural light which i found refreshing. sadly, i did not get to spend a lot of time here because of work issues, but i would definitely come back. the pizza was great (fresh, crisp crust. lots of cheese!) and the desserts were top notch (so much better than Bellagio... these actually looked cute and tasted good, like the fruit tart in a delicate dark chocolate shell or the banana creme cake)

(4) Smith & Wollensky -- it's a steakhouse, so you know i won't be too impressed. later i heard that pretty much everyone was disappointed with the quality of the steaks here. i ordered the lemon pepper chicken, which again was "fine" but nothing spectacular (except for the portion size, which was ridiculously massive...) for dessert, chocolate cake. i can do better.

(4) Le Village Buffet (Paris) -- disappointing. the food here is not bad, but either they've stopped making my favorite item (the pistachio + lemon macaron) or they only serve it with the dinner buffet. i did enjoy the pork loin with rhubarb chutney, and their chocolate chip cookies, while bearing no apparent relation to the Paris theme, are pretty damn good.

wow, that was a long post about nothing, and even though it seems like a lot of whining, i actually had a pretty good time :) i'll try to conjure up some new candy to write about next time.

as summer winds down, candy season starts up again. halloween is just around the corner (well, maybe down the block and around the corner) and i happened to spot the elusive Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses at my local Target (no sign of caramel apple, though...)

my first thought upon opening the bag: they sure do reek, kind of like a bag of potpourri, and not exactly appetizing. unwrapped, the kiss is a pleasant halloween-y shade of toasted orange. i'm guessing the coating is just colored, unflavored "white confection" (i tried to pick off just the coating and couldn't really discern a flavor, but i'm not entirely sure). inside, a creamy white filling that is extremely sweet but does indeed have that pumpkin spice kind of flavor.

off the shelf, these are not that great; they are simply TOO SWEET and the texture is soft and fudgy, as if they're already partially melted. however, here are two suggestions to improve your Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kiss experience:

1) Pop 'em in the fridge for a while. Chilled, these are somehow quite a bit more palatable than they are freshly-purchased. The texture is more akin to a standard Kiss and it is easier to bite off the bottom of the kisses and eat the pumpkin creme (uh, that is, if you're into that sort of thing...)

2) Eat them while enjoying a cup of strong black coffee. This helps IMMENSELY and in fact makes the whole experience quite a bit like enjoying a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. Those of you who don't like coffee... hmm... not sure what to tell ya. i'll just say that i was leaning towards a negative opinion of these UNTIL i had them with coffee, and now i'm rather fond of the little buggers.

so, that's it, my first limited edition of the season. i'm sure there are tons more on the way :) :) :)

i also had occasion to attend the "Celebrity Food Show" in beautiful downtown Anaheim, California over the weekend.

if you're expecting a massive exhibition hall filled to the brim with all sorts of decadent delicacies, well, simmer down. it was actually held in the ballroom of a hilton, so it was quite a bit smaller than anticipated.

if you're expecting dozens of A-list celebs wandering the halls and bantering with the common-folk, well, you're mistaken. i did get to see a presentation by Food Network celebrity chef Duff, from TV's Ace of Cakes, but that's about it. not to detract from his celebrity status (the crowd was WILD for him), but he's just a dude who makes slightly above average cakes. he (and geoff, and especially mary alice) seem really nice and fun, though, so it was a good time.



anyway, back to the food. here are some of the things we stumbled upon:

fiorentino super supreme ice cream: my favorite item of the show, i had a scoop of sour cream gelato with a squirt of mango mint coulis. sounds kinda weird, but really tasty and unique enough to be worth a second (and third, and fourth) look.

brandini toffee: recipe developed by a couple of kids in between listening to Hannah Montana and reading back issues of Tiger Beat. actually, it was pretty good: nice texture, not too hard, didn't stick to the dental work, not cloyingly sweet. kudos to you, young chilluns

bubbles baking company: they only sell wholesale, and their desserts were not remarkable. attractive, yes, but my cheesecake is way better. :)

the jesus cookie: um. all religious junk aside, jellybeans do not belong in cookies. i can not be persuaded otherwise.

boss nova juice company: they were handing out full bottles of this stuff all over the place. i was excited to try the "acai and passion fruit" variety, but i gotta say, i really didn't care for it. maybe it was just too exotic for me, kind of like a peppery cranberry juice cocktail. meh.

anyway, it was fun, but i think i've got my eye on this for next year.

i am a huge fan of malt, in candy or milkshakes or in a teaspoon straight out of the jar (well, maybe not so much.) i am not as huge a fan of malt liquor, but i suppose there's still time to up my street cred. at any rate, one of the first candies in which i encountered malt was the venerable Whoppers, which has a decently malty center, but covers it all in a thin layer of waxy fake chocolate (thanks, Hershey's, for your continuing efforts to destroy chocolate!)

much better are the malted milkballs that are covered by like 1/2" of genuine milk chocolate, such as these beauties manufactured by the georgia nut company. a good malted milkball is OMG GOOD, and something that i can easily eat until i become violently ill. if that's not a ringing endorsement, i don't know what is.

but, back to Whoppers. recently, as with practically every other product these days, a selection of "limited editions" have appeared on store shelves. i've seen both reese's peanut butter Whoppers and strawberry milkshake Whoppers. this past weekend, i indulged in the strawberry milkshake variety, and i must say, they're kind of not so great.

to be fair, it's not easy returning to the waters of mockolate after you've been swimming around in the real thing for so long. at least this doesn't really even pretend to be chocolate, with a coating that smells like lip balm and is disturbingly flesh-colored.

these are far from inedible, they're just really, really sweet. i still like the slightly salty hit of the maltball center, but the coating is overpowering. i don't quite get the milkshake flavor, just a vague (VERY vague) fruity essence behind a waxy sweet-sweet-sweet coating. i still ate quite a few of them-- no surprise there-- but i probably would not buy them again. i'll stick with real chocolate with real cocoa butter, thanks.

i think it's clear that i enjoy eating chocolates, but i've never spent a significant amount of time trying to make my own. it always seemed like such a hassle (and besides, what if the chocolates i like most are things i can't easily recreate in a home kitchen?)

nevertheless, i spent some quality time in the test kitchen this weekend, attempting to gauge the practicality of chocolate making. i invested a few bucks in some chocolate (just a bar of TJ's bittersweet, not fancy couverture or anything) and some candy molds. for the choco innards, i used leftover banana caramel (i'd made this to put on top of panna cotta, but still had a ton) and a kind of mint fondant, which turned out to be rather delicious despite the recipe being all kinds of funky.

so, how easy was it? actually, it was really easy and the results were not only pretty (god, i need to bring a camera with me) but tasty as @#($(. but there are a few things to note:
(1) chocolate making can be messy, especially if you are using makeshift equipment. the kitchen looked like the aftermath of an easter bunny massacre
(2) tempering chocolate is CRITICAL to making chocolates you can actually handle, and figuring out how to temper chocolate is not easy for me
(3) one should probably make sure there are guests willing to take home bunches of chocolate, because i could've eaten a few dozen of these on my own

all in all, it was a fun experience and i think there will be a lot more experimenting in the future. imagine all the crazy things you can wrap inside a yummy chocolate shell!

new developments in the exciting world of japanese candy!



i went to the zoo this weekend and rather than pay those crazy prices for subpar zoo food, i stopped at Mitsuwa and bought some junk food instead.

first, i picked up perennial otaku favorite Pocky in "brazilian pudding" flavor. what exactly is brazilian pudding, you ask? i haven't a clue. a quick google search turned up this recipe, which sounds like a very basic milk-flavored concoction. the Pocky themselves were pretty tasty, although i find myself at a loss to describe the flavor. i guess it could be milk-ish, but i noted a subtle hint of coconut. i guess that makes it more tropical? anyway, two enthusiastic thumbs up on the taste and addictiveness, if not exactly hunger-satiating.

i also got my latest delivery of japanese kit kats over the weekend, including watermelon and brown sugar. i thought the watermelon was only so-so, basically because i couldn't actually identify the flavor as being watermelon. there was a faint aftertaste of something melon-y, but it was barely there. my friend found them much more enjoyable.

the brown sugar one... well... maybe i'm misunderstanding the description, because i love brown sugar but these were kind of rank. it could be a strong molasses flavor, but really they just... they're... uh... they really don't taste right at all. and i have a whole bag of them. d'oh. still, an interesting addition to my ridiculously huge assortment of kit kats from around the globe...

so while it's not a particularly great deal, i finally broke down and purchased some M&Ms Premiums at the low, low price of $3.50 per 6oz package. since i only bought one (see, i am cheap!) i went for the mint variety (not pictured). normally i'd go ahead and type up the crazy marketing copy off the box, but that's already in the trash (why do i keep putting things in parentheses? hmm.)

anyway, these consist of solid white chocolate on the inside, covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate, and then painted a splotchy (slightly metallic?) green. the real thing to note here is that these are IMPOSTOR M&Ms. they don't have a candy shell. how can you call something an M&M if it doesn't have the candy shell to help prevent it from melting in your mouth, but not in your hand?

there's still some kind of coating on the outside, something waxy and very vaguely unpleasant. after the first one, i was kind of disappointed-- i think it was the shock of not having a shell. because then i got down to serious snacking and i found these to be pretty tasty after all: they have a very smooth melt, a pleasant buttery aftertaste, and just enough mint to make you stand up (or sit down) and take notice.

would i buy these again? probably not when you can still get a big bag of mint crisp M&Ms for the same price as 6oz of these. and really, i think i'd prefer it if these had a shell; i just find the whole M&Ms branding to be sort of loosely applied here. but they are tasty, and if someone else decided to foot the bill, i'd be happy to enjoy them again :)

well, it appears i haven't written in a while. i have excuses, of course: i've been on the road a lot, away from the computer, etc etc. and to be honest i haven't even been eating much in the way of exciting new candy. the closest i've come is a couple flavors of fudge from quaint little Cambria, California, a resort town "gift shop." so, let's talk about fudge.

i really like fudge, but it can't be too soft or moist. i prefer it when the fudge is hard with a little bit of a crumble, but readily melts into the sweet essence of heaven on your tongue. i have no problem with cheater's fudge, although this recipe is not as amenable to wacky variations as a standard recipe is. the taste and texture is still fantastic, and the recipe really could not be easier.

but the fudge in Cambria was the real deal, butter and sugar and cream in a big ol cauldron. we picked up two varieties, Chocolate Mint and English Toffee.

the Chocolate Mint was an appealing chunk of deep, rich, chocolatey fudge with a thick swirl of green throughout. the mint flavoring was not confined to the green fudge, though-- that was apparently for aesthetics only. nonetheless, this stuff was delicious if not a bit too soft for my liking (it was better after spending a little quality time in the fridge...)

the English Toffee was a creamy white fudge with chunks of heathbar sprinkled throughout. now this stuff was AWESOME. the texture was thicker and more crumbly (still, this was also better after being refrigerated) and the little crunchy bits of toffee helped give some contrast. my friend thought this fudge was too sweet (duh! it's fudge!) but i really, really liked it and will have to figure out how to recreate in my home kitchen.

anyway, that's all i've got for the moment. i'm still holding out for a sale on Premium M&M's... :)

hey, bargain shoppers: your friendly neighborhood target store may have just put a bunch of pretty decent chocolate on clearance! this weekend i picked up a handful of chocolate bars from Frey, which is notable mostly for the fact that they produce some really f'in unusual combinations (especially for a mass-market retailer).



i picked up the Japonais, a milk chocolate bar with hazelnut and meringue filling, as well as the White Chocolate with Lemon and Lime Zest. each was $1.28 per 3.5oz bar. they also had White Chocolate with Blood Orange and Cinnamon (not too sure about that combo) and White Chocolate with Blueberry.

so far i've only tasted the White Chocolate with Lemon and Lime, and it is exceptionally tasty. the chocolate has a nice snap and melts readily, but the real star is the zest, which is very bright and... well... zesty! the texture is a little unexpected, somewhat crispy like toasted coconut, as if the peel had been freeze-dried before mixing with the chocolate. totally yummy.

anyway, just a heads up for you bargain shoppers... good luck!

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: the reason it doesn't have the texture of zest is that it is, in fact, not zest at all. instead, the chocolate contains little crunchies made of lemon or lime "powder." so, probably not all natural, but it doesn't change the fact that i thought this bar was delicious.