More Fruit and Chocolate

Let's get back to chocolate!  But still fruit!!  As you all know, I am not a big drinker.  But when I saw these, I wanted to try them.  That's part of my problem - I see a new chocolate candy (or cookie or cake or ice cream or frosting) I want to try it.

These are chocolate-covered wine grapes by Bissingers:

The verdict?  If you like wine, you'll like these.  I think I was hoping for something a little more grapey and a little less winey.  But wine lovers will love these and Bissinger's does chocolate right.  They're also unique - I've never seen them anywhere else.  And I love unique!

Bissinger's also makes these Fig Truffles:

They look pretty good, (white chocolate drizzle is a nice touch) but they reminded me of fruitcake.  Not chocolately enough.  They also have cognac in them - ugh.   Where's an alcohol-loving boyfriend when you need one? 

Lindt has a so delicious raspberry truffle:

You just can't go wrong with Lindt.  So creamy, so delicious and this has just the right amount of raspberry and chocolate - LOVE them!!

These little treats are AMAZING!!!  This one is Wildberry Yogurt Eisdessert - a mix of blueberries, raspberry and blackberry filling over yogurt covered in smooth milk chocolate (Eisdessert means ice cream dessert - Lindt suggests you slightly chill these):

This is raspberry:

These are sooooo good - they taste like little fruit and chocolate cheesecakes!  I'm telling you - get to a Lindt store and buy a few - soooo worth it!

This is dark chocolate covered strawberry:

While WAY better than orange, after the awesome baby cheesecakes, why bother with these?  I actually thought the dark chocolate overpowered the strawberry.

Ghirardelli has a dark chocolate square with raspberry filling:

It was okay.  Nothing earth shattering.  Lindt truffles kick Ghirardelli butt.

Lindt also has a raspberry bar:

Lindt's bar has a liquid center sealed in that amazing creamy milk chocolate.  It has a good flavor, but I don't really love the liquid center.  I'd rather have a raspberry cream  filling.

Perugina has a raspberry bar:

It has an interesting center - almost like a raspberry jelly.  I liked it better than the liquid, but I don't love the jellyness.  But what I really like is a creamy raspberry filling (like the filling in the strawberry Lindt above).  So I can't really suggest you run out and get any of these bars.  Get the yogurt/cheesecake eisdessert!!!  Do it, do it!!

One of the big flavors at Candy Expo was black currant (some kind of weird berry).  Lindt has a dark bar in their Excellence line with it:

The bar also has almonds (yum!).  When you open it, all you smell are the weird black currants - a grapey, berryish smell.  I'm not big on blackcurrent (as you heard with the purple bear cookies).  Too bitter.  Don't like it.

This one I got at the Anthon Berg booth at Candy Expo - most of their chocolates are infused with alcohol:

This one was super sweet with just a hint of the blackcurrant bitterness.  While not bad, I don't really want to eat another one.  Not really a rousing endorsement, huh?

Go with the amazing, awesome cheesecake (yogurt, whatever) eisdesserts!  They are fabulous!!!!!  Oh - and if you need some motivation - keep a couple in the fridge!  Yay!!

Chocolate, Cherries and The Wolfman

Let me warn you all right now that this blog posting is not for the faint of heart. The autopsy photos are extremely gruesome. Please beware!

My buddy Chris and I went to see the perfect Valentine's Day movie yesterday - The Wolfman. Hearts (and other internal organs) were ripped out. Gypsies made wild predictions about love and being doomed. And the heroine tried to save the beast (also known as the bad boy) with her love. The outcome was the same as it is in real life, but for those of you who haven't seen the movie yet (or for those of you still in denial about your own relationships), I won't spoil it for you.

Let's just say we had a great time AND helped out a good cause. We smuggled in a box of Peanut Butter Patties Girl Scout cookies. YUM!

They were gone by the time the movie started, but what the hell. Hey - I TOLD you this was going to be gruesome!

Of course, the dreaded Valentine's Day is over and I still have candy to review. There is just too much candy and too little time. For the next couple of days, we're talking cherries. That kind of goes with President's Day (George Washington chopping down the cherry tree and all). I see chocolate covered cherries at Christmas too, but Valentine's Day seems to be their big holiday. Never have I seen so many displays of cherries. So here we go!

These are all cherry cordials. From Wikipedia: a cordial is a type of candy in which a fruit filling is placed within a chocolate shell. Wise Geek says there actually has to be a cherry in there (or I guess a blueberry if we were talking about blueberry cordials) which is preserved in cordial, a sweet liqueur or sugar syrup for the nonalcoholic version. Who am I to say which definition is right? All these seem to fit one of the definitions, so I'm going for it.

Let's start with Cella's. The box says that since 1864 Cella's has been devoted to only one thing - producing the very best quality chocolate covered cherries. They go on to say that their creation is unique - "selected cherries are surrounded by a delicious 100% clear liquid". Woohoo! 100% clear! I just love the taste of clear!

Yikes! This autopsy was messy! My subject kept bleeding out. There's the infamous 100% clear liquid. All I could think when I ate this was, "Good God, these are sweet!" I have to confess, they are way too sweet for me. One every 10 years or so would last me.

If I thought Cella's were sweet.....it was only because I hadn't yet had a Queen Anne cherry:

AAIIEEE! What a mess! We've got clear liquid, pink goo, some cherry guts - this looks like something out of The Wolfman. And that pink goo is the sweetest stuff on the planet. I am so going into a diabetic coma. Are these made for 12 year old boys? Surely these are too sweet for adults! I'm freaking out at their sweetness and I'll eat frosting out of the can! Get some silver bullets and kill these things!

Now for the sake of this blog, I had to try one of each of the "flavors." Dark chocolate was the best only because it offset some of the sweetness. I couldn't tell the difference between burgundy and milk chocolate - they tasted exactly the same. The ingredient list is exactly the same. I have no idea. Maybe there's a burgundy cherry? I think my heart rate is through the roof with all this sugar. Dear God.

Now look at these babies! From one of my favorite chocolate makers, Perugina:

Not so messy. Simple. All about the cherry. These absolutely destroyed the other two. These tasted like cherries and delicious chocolate. These are what a chocolate covered cherry should be. These were amazing.

Okay, Chicago (both Cella and Queen Anne cherries are made in Chitown) - you might need to step it up just a bit. Maybe create a less horrifying line for heath nuts or foodies? I mean once you've tried Perugina, these two are an embarrassment.

If you want to try Perugina, I found them in World Market. They are fabulous!!

These came out at Christmas in a different bag - red with white snowflakes:

But they are exactly the same on the inside:

And I have to tell you, I like these! I mean there are no real cherries involved and they are light years from the Perugina cherries, but for 20 calories each, I think they blow those real chocolate covered cherry death bombs away! Those are 70 calories each and they make me feel kind of ill they are so sweet.

I am proud of Little George Washington for manning up and admitting he chopped down the cherry tree. I think our lesson for the day is to take responsibility for your actions. And along with that theme, I am going to take responsibility for eating all these chocolate covered cherries and hit the gym.

In fact, I think if everyone in American could man (or woman) up and take responsibility for themselves, we'd be in a much better place. That's my political message in honor of the day. That and eat more chocolate!

More cherries are coming!! More cherries are coming!! (No George, not the British. Maybe the Chinese, but not the British.)

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

I love nuts. Many have said I am nuts, but that's another entry.

Let's talk chocolate bars and nuts.

Here we have Valor's Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Chocolove's Cherries & Almonds in Dark Chocolate. Valor has whole almonds which I love. But it was like they were on the bottom and there was a thick layer of chocolate on top. I thought the chocolate was average. Almonds A+, chocolate C.

Chocolove has the cherries which really make it. Otherwise it's only okay. Wish it had the almonds of the Valor. Almonds C, Chocolate B. Cherries A! Chocolove also has a love poem inside the wrapper which I adore. I am a sucker for romance.

Speaking of romance, Baci (kisses in Italian) by Perugina is one of my favorites. Packed with chopped hazelnuts and topped with a whole hazelnut, these are delicious. They also have a romantic quote wrapped in each one. These deserve an overall A++.

The little bar in the back wrapper is Carezza by Costa, a Peruvian chocolate company. It apparently contains secret almonds which I could neither see nor taste. Combine that with yucky chocolate, this was a D. I didn't spit it out or feed it to a dog, but it was not goo

Vosges (an $8 candy bar) Gianduja Bar is simply mind blowing. I took a bite and exclaimed, "Holy God!" The milk chocolate is so soft and creamy it melts in your hand. And this is what Gianduja is - "hazelnuts and almonds are caramelized with sugar, then the mixture is ground into a fine paste, and finally it is gently mixed with milk chocolate." All I can say is it is well worth the eight bucks. A++

This bar is just a lie. Look at that picture! Look at all those almonds! It's false advertising - there are MAYBE half that many almonds, and the chocolate is only average. D for lying. Call Oliver Kita - I think my human rights have been violated.

The Perugina (makers of the delicious Baci) dark chocolate with almonds is also only okay. Not enough almonds, chocolate a B. Stick with the kisses.

Now the Dolfin bar has great dark chocolate with lots of richness and depth but just not enough almonds. It also comes in a really cool resealable wrapper (nice!). Chocolate A+, Almonds C

And then there are two organic entries. Love the sea salt in the Lake Champlain bar, but adore all the almonds in the Green & Black's bar. Both have great chocolate (although not quite as smooth as Vosges and not as deep and rich as the Dolfin bar.) Solid As.

The best dark chocolate and almond combo I have had to date is Trader Joe's dark chocolate almond bark. There are so many almonds - the chocolate is just there to hold them together! That's the way I like it! If you're going to go nuts, you should go all the way. (But don't forget the romance!)