The Best Chocolates I've Ever Had: Kate Weiser

Need a gift for a chocolate lover or a hostess gift -- or a gift for yours truly?  Note that I'm not being paid to say this . . .  Kate Weiser's chocolates are the best and most beautiful chocolates I've ever had.

I was a Vosges Chocolate fan and really like Christopher Elbow's chocolates as well, but forget them;  Kate Weiser's beats them all by a LONG SHOT.  The flavors are incredible (fresh ingredients!), and they're so beautiful and artistic.  The packaging is gorgeous as well.  It is truly artisan chocolate to the highest degree.

In some of the pieces, she cracks a corner so you can see an ingredient like basil in her Strawberry Basil chocolate, peeking from underneath the chocolate shell.

I can't wait to see what other flavors she comes up with.

Her current flavors include:

• Strawberry Basil
• Fresh Mint Leaf
• Raspberry
• Passion Fruit
• Yuzu
• Key Lime Pie
• Cherry Cordial
• Sweet Potato
• Mango Habanero
• Lavender Apricot
• Truffle Honey
• Hazelnut Latte
• Banana Dulcey
• Caramelized Pineapple
• Buttery Popcorn
• Peanut Brittle
• Ninja Turtle
• Toasted Coconut
• Red Wine & Berries
• Orange Butterscotch

I recently tried her Champagne and Cognac ones as well -- they are amazing.  The liquid slowly melts and then bursts in your mouth.  Time to stop by her shop and get some more.

What 3 restaurants would you like to dine at?

The question posed at dinner was, "If money were no object, what 3 restaurants would you love to dine at besides The French Laundry?"

Me: 

• Alinea
• Meadowood
• Per Se

If I could add on to this, I'd also say:  Momofuku and Tompolobampo.

Blog contributor the grandcruman's choices:

• Alinea
• Le Bernadin
• Joel Robuchon
• Sukiyabashi Jiro (the 10-seat sushi restaurant in a Tokyo subway station documented in Jiro Dreams of Sushi)

And you?  What would your choices be?

Documentary: Forks Over Knives

Last weekend we watched the documentary Forks Over Knives (recommended to me by my sister).  It has completely changed how we eat and will impact our lives forever.  

The research for eating a plant-based diet is incredibly compelling.  While we won't be giving up meat and dairy completely, we already have made a conscious effort to decrease the amount that we consume.  The link between meat (this includes poultry and seafood ~ anything that has a 'head') and health issues especially cancer is primarily what has compelled us to eat differently.  

No more milk in our household! 

We've switched to almond milk now!  

Ok. . . we still have half and half for coffee. . . 

This past week's meals were filled with farro, barley, and lots of salad & fruit.  I'll be sharing recipes that we're still making from Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Saveur magazines -- but will be slightly modifying them to decrease the amount of oil, dairy and meat called for in the recipes.  

All in all, I'd highly recommend watching Forks Over Knives -- watch it on Neflix or borrow it from the library.  I bet it'll change how you eat too.

2013 Big Tex Choice Awards

The 2013 Big Tex Choice Awards (the annual fried-food competition hosted by the State Fair of Texas) were announced today.  Fried Thanksgiving Dinner won for Most Creative while the Deep Fried Cuban Roll won for Best Taste.  Which item sounds good to you?

You can try them all this year during the fair which runs from Sept 27th - Oct 20th.

Awesome Deep Fried Nutella – Cream cheese and Nutella are whipped and spread over flaky phyllo dough sheets, rolled up and deep fried. Served with a drizzle of honey and shaved almonds.

Deep Fried Cuban Roll – A filling of slow-cooked pork shoulder, chopped ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and secret sauce is spread onto a slice of Swiss cheese, rolled up in pastry dough and deep fried. Roll is served with a side of mojo sauce for dipping.

Fernie's Deep Fried King Ranch Casserole – This stick-to-your-ribs, Texas-shaped creation is cheesy, salty, spicy goodness dipped in zesty Southwestern egg wash, coated in panko bread crumbs, and deep fried until golden brown. Served with a side of red, white and blue tortilla chips and your choice of our homemade “salsafied” sour cream or queso.

Fried Thanksgiving Dinner – Mama’s homemade stuffing and diced roasted turkey are rolled in a ball. Next it’s dipped in Southern cream corn, rolled in seasoned cornmeal and fried to a golden brown. Served with old-fashioned giblet brown gravy. The zesty orange cranberry sauce fills your dipping needs and results in a complete Thanksgiving dinner — fried.

Golden Fried Millionaire Pie – Sweetened, fluffy cream cheese filling is loaded with golden pineapple and Texas pecans then wrapped in a flaky pie crust and fried to a golden brown. Topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut and candied pecans.

Southern Style Chicken-Fried Meatloaf – Homemade meatloaf slices are coated in an authentic Texas chicken-fried breading and deep fried until golden brown. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, Texas cream gravy, and a ketchup-brown sugar glaze for dipping.

Spinach Dip Bites – Creamy and delicious spinach artichoke dip bites are coated with crispy tortilla chips and flash-fried until golden brown. Bites are served with salsa for an additional kick.

Texas Fried Fireball – Pimento cheese, pickles, cayenne pepper and bacon are rolled into a ball, dipped in buttermilk, covered with a jalapeño-infused batter and deep fried. Served with chipotle ranch for dipping.

What's food would you save from your fridge?

Last night, our power went out.  We were watching a movie, and all of sudden heard a boom and then everything in the house went dark.  It turns out the wire running electricity to our house went kaput, so we didn't have electricity for almost 9 hours. 

Great.

We had just gone to the grocery store and loaded up on groceries for the week.

Today, we cleaned out the fridge, and it made me think -- the next time the power goes out and there's a chance that it'll be out for more than 4 hours, we'll be heading to the grocery store to get ice so we can save some of the food and place them in coolers. 

What would YOU save from the fridge?  (For us, I think it'd be whatever costs the most to replace. . . plus all cheeses )

BTW, here's a link to the CDC's website regarding food safety when your power goes out.

Creative Cupcakes for the Shoe Lover

Aren't these cupcakes so cute?  My co-worker is an amazing baker and made these for another colleague's birthday. 

The shoe is a cupcake and Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookie, and the heel is a Pepperidge Farm Pirouette.  For the bows, she rolled out some Starburst candy, cut them into thin strips and formed them into bows.  So creative!

What would Gordon Ramsey say?

I was going through the photos on my phone and came across this one that I'd taken last month. 

An example of REALLY awful food photography and marketing at Twisted Root.  What would Gordon Ramsey say?

What Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor Says About You

First of all, did you know that this month is National Ice Cream Month? 
Also, National Ice Cream Day is Sunday, July 21st.

From Baskin-Robbins' press release:

Baskin-Robbins recently partnered with Dr. Alan Hirsch, a nationally recognized smell and taste expert and founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, to identify what some of the most popular ice cream flavors suggest about someone's personality.

If you favorite flavor is. . .

• Vanilla, you're more likely to be impulsive, easily suggestible and an idealist.
• Chocolate, you're more likely to be dramatic, lively, charming, flirtatious, seductive and gullible.
• Very Berry Strawberry, you're more likely to be a tolerant, devoted and an introvert.
• Mint Chocolate Chip, you're more likely to be argumentative, frugal and cautious.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, you're more likely to be ambitious, competitive and a visionary.
• Pralines 'n Cream, you're more likely to be loving, supportive and prefer to avoid the spotlight.
• Jamoca (i.e. coffee), you're more likely to be scrupulous, conscientious and a moral perfectionist.
• Chocolate Chip, you're more likely to be generous, competent and a go getter.
• Rainbow Sherbet, you're more likely to be analytic, decisive and a pessimistic.
• Rocky Road, you're more likely to be aggressive, engaging and a good listener.

So, what's YOUR favorite flavor?

Friday Night Dinner

Beef Wellington
Mashed Potatoes
Mozzarella, tomato, basil salad
Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages

 

Life is good.

Fatty Foods May Cause Cocaine-like Addiction

(This is old news and was on CNN Health back in March 2010.)

However, I was reading an article recently on this topic and decided to do a little more research and found this CNN article that originally was in Health Magazine.

Basically, fattening foods are addictive.  I'm not surprised.

A study in rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods like bacon and cheesecake affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction.

Perhaps this is why there are so many people overweight/obese in the U.S.

In the study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the researchers studied 3 groups of lab rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular rat food. A second was fed bacon, sausage, cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening, high-calorie foods--but only for one hour each day. The third group was allowed to pig out on the unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day.

Guess what happened?

The rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed. By monitoring implanted brain electrodes, the researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high.They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats' feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating. But the obese rats were not.

Apparently, our processed food is similar to cocaine -- white bread, corn syrup, etc. 

No more high fructose corn syrup in our house!  That means no more Mrs. Butterworth's syrup!

The World's Most Expensive Cocktail

The Guinness Book of World Records has a new "World's Most Expensive Cocktail."  The cocktail cost $12,916, and the anonymous buyer apparently only took a few sips, paid for it and left!

The cocktail has 2 shots of 154-year Croizet cognac as well as Grand Marnier Quintessence, Chartreuse Vieillissement Exceptionnellement Prolongé and a dash of Angostura Bitters.

A bottle of the cognac has a $157,000 value and it goes for $6,000 per shot.  (That makes Louis XIV look cheap!)

Here's the article from the Wall Street Journal:  A $13,000 Cocktail Goes to Waste

Make room for Champagne!

I was reading an article in Food and Wine Magazine by Ray Isle "A Wine-Buying Strategy for Every Personality" (Jan 2013, p. 70).  I love how he ends the article:

And one final note:  No matter what kind of life you lead, leave room in your fridge for at least one bottle of Champagne.  Bottles of Champagne are like umbrellas:  The day you don't have one on you is always the day that you absolutely, positively need one.

I second that! 

Hunger and Food Waste

I think this is so disturbing . . .

A few excerpts from the article New report: as much as 2 billion tonnes of all food produced ends up as waste :

A new report 'Global Food Waste Not Want Not' by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers reports that as much as 50% of all food produced around the world is never eaten due to issues as varied as inadequate infrastructure and storage facilities, to overly strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one free offers and consumers demanding cosmetically perfect food, according to a report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The report,Global Food Waste Not Want Not, also found that between 30% and 50% or 1.2 billion to 2 billion metric tons of food produced around the world each year never reach a human stomach.

With UN predictions that there could be about an extra three billion people to feed by the end of the century and an increasing pressure on the resources needed to produce food, including land, water and energy, the Institution is calling for urgent action to tackle this waste.

Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said:  "The amount of food wasted and lost around the world is staggering. This is food that could be used to feed the world’s growing population – as well as those in hunger today. It is also an unnecessary waste of the land, water and energy resources that were used in the production, processing and distribution of this food.

“The reasons for this situation range from poor engineering and agricultural practices, inadequate transport and storage infrastructure through to supermarkets demanding cosmetically perfect foodstuffs and encouraging consumers to overbuy through buy-one-get-one free offers.

Champagne Only Comes from France!

'Champagne' Set for Obama Dinner Has French Wine Lobby Miffed

 Source: NewsMax 1/9/13

 

Summary and thoughts. . . 

 

The White House will be serving "Korbel Natural, Special Inaugural Cuvée Champagne, California" with its dessert course at the inaugural dinner.  Sam Heitner, the director of the Champagne Bureau, says that the description violates U.S. law because Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France.

 

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (of course, there's a committee for this. . . there's a job for everything!) says that the wine is labeled in accordance with U.S. law.  Apparently, U.S law is more flexible than other countries.  The law prohibits the term for newer sparkling wines but preserves it for those produced before 2006 - and only if their origin is spelled out in their name.

 

I always wondered how Korbel could have the word 'Champagne' on their bottle label.  It really should be called Korbel Sparkling Wine.  

 

 

Wine: Who Owns What and Does It Matter?

Just as PepsiCo owns Pepsi, Gatorade, IZZE Sparkling, Tropicana, Ocean Spray, Mountain Dew, etc., and Coca-Cola owns just as many beverage brands, such is the world of wine.

Michigan State Professor Philip Howard has illustrated how a handful of companies own the multitude of wine brands on the market today.

Zoom in to see the names of the wine producers and the companies that own them (they look like small dots/blobs if you don't zoom in):
http://www.businessinsider.com/philip-howard-msu-wine-map-2013-1

Does it matter who owns what?  As a consumer, I don't think so.  Thoughts?

The Cost of a DUI

With New Year's Eve festivities commencing tomorrow evening, please remember to designate a driver or call a cab.  Last year, I sat on a jury for a DUI case, and it opened my eyes to how a DUI can totally ruin your life.  Financially alone, a conviction can cost you $24,000 in Texas. 

 

One thing I learned when I was on the case -- even if you don't feel tipsy or buzzed, there are things such as the horizontal gaze nystagmus test that measures the involuntary jerking of the eyeballs that officers use as part of their sobriety test in many states including Texas.

 

According to Wikipedia:  The horizontal gaze nystagmus test has been highly criticized and major errors in the testing methodology and analysis found.  However, the validity of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test for use as a field sobriety test for persons with a blood alcohol level between 0.04–0.08 is supported by peer reviewed studies and has been found to be a more accurate indication of BAC than other standard field sobriety tests.

 

The Cost of a DUI

Source: WSFA12

December 23, 2012

In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. But few drivers fully understand the impact of a DUI conviction.

Offenders could face jail time and a possible prison sentence, and the financial impact could be devastating: first-time offenders may be responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in costs and fees. On top of that, a driver's auto insurance rates could skyrocket following a DUI conviction.

 

The Cost of a DUI

Unless a driver lives in a city with an adequate public transportation system, there is no substitute for the convenience of driving a vehicle. Access to driving privileges makes it much easier to travel to work, school, or run errands. But salvaging the right to operate a vehicle can prove astronomically expensive following a DUI conviction.

The Illinois Secretary of State's office reports that the average cost of a DUI in Illinois is roughly $14,660. In other areas, the cost can be even greater. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, a DUI conviction in Texas can top $24,000.

 

DUI and Auto Insurance Rates

Skyrocketing auto insurance rates can add to the financial aftermath of a DUI conviction. After a DUI, you will be categorized as a high-risk driver. A convicted driver's premiums will rise and his carrier may non-renew or cancel your policy. Depending on a host of factors, including insurance company, age and gender, the driver's auto insurance rate may spike as a consequence of a DUI.

Depending on how long a DUI remains on a driver's record, these rates can continue for up to seven years. Furthermore, if any accidents and tickets (past or future) are present, the driver's auto insurance rate could soar even higher.

 

Steep Legal Consequences

Operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a major criminal offense, and the consequences of a DUI conviction are virtually endless. A conviction can lead to jail or prison time, a criminal record, court and administrative costs, attorney fees, community service requirements, alcohol education courses, substance abuse treatment, revocation or suspension of driver's license privileges, probation and more.

What the above estimates fail to account for is the number of hours it takes to satisfy all the corresponding obligations. Time spent in court, at alcohol and drug education classes, hours in treatment, restitution services, and jail time can turn a person's world upside-down.

 

Have a DUI? You Can Still Save on Auto Insurance

Let's face facts-if a driver is convicted of a DUI, his auto insurance rate is going to rise. But more than any other driver, those convicted of a DUI can't afford not to shop around for the best auto insurance rate available.

Although a driver with a DUI will have limited options, don't fall into the trap of signing on with the first company that offers you a policy. Conduct research, compare quotes and make a careful decision. In the meantime, take a conservative approach to driving and steer clear of tickets and accidents.

 

BE SAFE!  HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR'S!

R+D Kitchen's Carrot Cake

Even though National Dessert Day was on Sunday, I think we should celebrate it all week.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, it's rare to come across a phenomenal dessert that's to die for here in Dallas.  There are many good desserts but not amazing ones that I crave and dream about.

We gave R+D Kitchen's Carrot Cake a shot again recently when we saw another table that had ordered it.  It looks delicious (Don't you think?  Check out the layers and the frosting.) and was pretty good but still doesn't come close to Truluck's Carrot Cake that was worthy of me writing a haiku in honor of it.

Turn Your Power Drill Into a Multi-Purpose Kitchen Tool

I don't know if this is actually possible so don't try this at home, but it sure is funny (less than a 2 minute video from the blog LifeEdited):
Turn Your Power Drill Into a Multi-Purpose Kitchen Tool

Macaron vs. Macaroon?

I was reading an article about Thomas Keller in the September 2012 issue of Vogue.  I thought that the word "macaron" was spelled incorrectly, thinking that the delicious treat I love to get when we go to Keller's Bouchon Bakery should've been spelled "macaroon."  I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned something:

From Wikipedia: 
A macaron is a sweet meringue-based confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food colouring.  The macaron is commonly filled with ganache, buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. The confectionery is characterised by its smooth, domed top, ruffled circumference (referred to as the "foot"), and flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth.

Since the English word macaroon can also refer to the coconut macaroon, many have adopted the French spelling of macaron to distinguish the two items in the English language. However, this has caused confusion over the correct spelling. Some recipes exclude the use of macaroon to refer to this French confection while others think that they are synonymous.

Here is Macaroon vs. Macaron Primer for more clarification and photos!

Would you pay more for a prime time restaurant reservation?

When It Comes to Reservations, Time is Money

I just saw this article today in The New York Times about some restaurants charging more during prime time seating and less during slow days & times.  It's an interesting thought since theaters, airlines and hotels have been doing this for years. 

Savored.com is the site many restaurants are using to achieve this -- where you can get up to 40% off food and drink in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, NYC, Philly, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

According to a study done by a professor at the Cornell School of Hospitality:  “People were O.K. with different prices by time of day and day of week, but what made that even more pronounced was the way you framed it.  If you said it’s 20 percent cheaper to come during the week than on the weekend, people thought that was more acceptable than if you said it’s 20 percent more expensive on the weekend.”

What do you think?