Chocolate Odds and Ends and Easter

I keep finding cherry!!! But I didn't even try these once I performed the autopsy.

Hmmm.....something doesn't look right - check out the close up:

Yikes!! See those little round balls? That's not sugar, baby! Some type of mold? Fungus? Ewwwww!!! Maybe it would help if these companies would use some EXPIRATION DATES!!!! Beware if you buy any food stuff at the Grove Park Inn gift shops - apparently they have been on the shelves for a long, long time. This is the third time (all different products and different companies) this has happened to me with Grove Park Inn purchases. Yucko!!!

Look at this - pineapple!!! A pineapple Bing!!! (Remember the ugly yet weirdly good Cherry Bing?)

While this is not terrible, it's not as good as the Cherry Bing. And it's actually called a Tropical Bing. I think the pineapple flavor works best with a high quality dark chocolate - this combo (with milk chocolate and peanuts) is not so good. Sigh. I'm have high hopes for pineapple and chocolate.

Since we talked about Raisinets in the last post, I thought I'd review these:

I found these in World Market - they are from the UK and are made by Fox's Confectionery. They are basically Raisinets, but I like the chocolate a little better. Is it worth going to World Market to hunt them down? No, not really. I mean, is any chocolate covered raisin really that exciting? But if they were next to the Raisinets, and I really was craving the whole chocolate/raisin thing, I would buy these.

I've never seen the Easter Junior Mints before:

Love those wildly colored boxes!!! They only have about seven Junior Mints in each, but they sure are festive!!

And since we looked at the Poppet Raisinets, let's look at the Poppet Junior Mints:

The Poppets (on the right) aren't bad - they have a different taste than the Junior Mints. What they lack is that awesome creamy Junior Mint texture. Who doesn't just adore that? They are just not as creamy - a little more to the chewy side. And they are inconsistent - some seem to have no mint at all and to be solid chocolate. Nope - the Junior Mint is much better. Go USA!! Tootsie Roll Industries makes the Junior Mint.

We are going to be hot and heavy on Easter from here on out. Here's a festive and delicious Frey Swiss Chocolate Bunny to kick us off:

Love the gorgeous metallic packaging.

Isn't he just the cutest rabbit ever? Look at his little rabbit muscles!

And his little cottontail!

Of course, I had to autopsy him for you - hollow:

Frey makes delicious, creamy milk chocolate that I swear only the Swiss can make. This rabbit is exquisitely designed and molded, and the chocolate is wonderful. Easter 2010 is looking pretty darn good!!! Hoppy Spring!!

These are the Best of (Chocolate) Times

Have you been in the candy aisle lately? In Target or your local drug store? Even the grocery store? Every week I go in, I swear it's gotten bigger. And not just bigger - better! You can get chocolate from all over the world at Walgreen's! How amazing is that?

In Target last week I got a Chocolat Frey (a great Swiss chocolate maker) http://www.chocolatfrey.ch/ bar. This was a Japonais bar, described as "extra fine milk chocolate with hazelnut and crunchy meringue biscuit filling." I have one word for it - YUM! It melts in your mouth and has this cool crunchy crumbles of biscuit in it. Fantastic! I also bought a Pear & Caramel bar, described as "fine milk chocolate with a fruity touch of pear and caramel flavor." I also say "YUM!" And my taste buds are not dead! I can taste the pear!!!! It's perfect - not too much, just right. A very cool bar. And Swiss chocolate is sinfully good. So smooth.

These are fantastic chocolate times! We have everything at our fingertips! Wild gourmet flavors (some of which are horrible - I had some chipotle caramel yesterday that I had to spit out - it was so awful! But sea salt caramel ROCKS!!!), dark chocolate and milk chocolate of all cacao counts, chocolates from single origins all over the world, and on and on. It's really like Wille Wonka everywhere you go. My childhood dreams have come true!!! (Now if I could just get an Oompa Loompa....)

And there are fun options everywhere - Papa John's just released Chocolate Pastry Delights described as four light and flaky pastries, filled with rich chocolate made with Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Morsels, then fresh-baked and drizzled with white icing. * Wow - I just really want to try one!

There's chocolate cereal, chocolate yogurt, chocolate rice cakes, chocolate pasta (I'm not saying it's all a good idea, I'm just saying it's out there. And I'm damn happy about it!).

We are living in great chocolate times!! So get out there! Try one of these new crazy bars! You can test new flavors and see what you like. Try crazy combinations - some of which have never been tried before - discover what you really like. Have a tasting party with your friends. There is much fun to be had for a relatively small outlay of cash. Maybe it's because we are seeking comfort in these uncertain times and are turning to chocolate for comfort. Or maybe chocolate is just hip right now. But really, who cares why? Just enjoy it! Celebrate life, have fun, eat chocolate! Viva la chocolat!