Fancy Food Show 2010 Continued

The first night I was in NY, my friend Ruth (she makes fabulous jams and wanted to go to the Fancy Food Show to learn about selling them on a larger scale) joined me and we went to Junior's for cheesecake.  Look at this beauty:

Oh yes, that's cheesecake with chocolate cake, amazing chocolate frosting and chocolate chips and chocolate shavings.  It was absolutely fresh, moist and delicious.  And HUGE!

We also hit Hershey's Time Square store (as I mentioned) and I found these:

Macadamia nut Kisses!  I love how the paper tag says Aloha!  These are wickedly addictive.  I haven't seen them anywhere else, but I highly recommend them.  I ate almost a whole bag one night in my hotel room.  It was the nuts - crunchy, delish.

Here we are at the show (see how big it all is?):

You weren't supposed to take any pictures, but my buddies at Walkers let me.  Look at this amazing booth:

Rich wood, thick carpet - and it was packed the whole show.  The gang was doing some SERIOUS business.  This is the booth right before the award celebration:

They gave the guests these great Walker's goodies:

I love the paragraph on the back of the gorgeous black tin - Walkers is still owned by the founding family.  And they do make some simply amazing shortbread:

And eight cookies were packed in there!

We'll be reviewing them in upcoming posts = sooooo good!!

Now, since one of my readers (thanks, Perry!) recommended these, I had to try some:

These cookies contains real bits of ginger:

Now, here's the deal - if you like ginger - these are amazing!  I think real ginger tastes weird, so I am not crazy about these.  My heart belongs to shortbread.

It was so fun to be part of the Walkers' celebration!  And to play in NYC!  More to come!!!

Brown Cow: National Ice Cream Soda Day

Today is National Ice Cream Soda Day, and, of course, I'm going to have a Brown Cow! See recipe below. Ice cream sodas, aka ice cream floats, are made by combining ice cream with soda or carbonated water and flavored syrup. Of course, mine always contain chocolate. While many people consider root beer and vanilla ice cream to be the classic ingredients for an ice cream soda, there are lots of variations. Be sure and experiment.

According to Wisegeek.com, "although the recipe for an ice cream soda is quite simple, there is a trick to creating the perfect drink. Plain soda foams because it releases carbon dioxide gas, but ice cream is actually a foamy mixture of liquid, ice crystals, and air pockets. Therefore, if you want to make an ice cream soda with a lot of foam, put the ice cream in the glass before pouring the soda. If you want to make a treat with a minimal amount of foam, add the ice cream after the soda has been poured."

Supposedly, the ice cream soda was invented in Denver in 1871 by Otto Baur.  Soon, there were soda fountains and ice cream parlors scattered throughout the United States.

Brown Cow Ice Cream Soda Recipe

Root Beer
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
Chocolate ice cream

Pour a good quality rootbeer into glass, leaving about 2 inches on top.
Scoop some chocolate ice cream and drop in.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup on top.
Whipped cream optional

Celebrate!

Brownie Oatmeal Cookies

Brownie Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

8 oz. semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups old fashioned oats
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cut walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, stir chocolate and butter over low heat just until chocolate melts. Remove from heat.
   
2. Stir in corn syrup, eggs, and salt.
   
3. In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
   
4. Pour chocolate mix over dry ingredients and mix well.
   
5. Drop by tablespoonfuls on greased cookie sheet.
   
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cookies will not change much during baking.
   
7. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove brownies oatmeal cookies and cool completely.

Chocolate Picnic Cake: The Picnic Game

I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing Chocolate Picnic Cake, what else?

Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations loves picnics so much, that once again this year, she's playing the International Picnic Game. Each letter of the alphabet has been taken by a different blogger who will post what they're bringing to the Perfect Picnic A-Z!

Want to find out about the history of the picnic? Be sure and read the story at Months of Edible Celebrations.

The picnic this year is filled with international recipes and posts. We're going to have fun! Check out all the recipes at all these different blogs, so you can have your own Virtual Picnic... or real!


CHOCOLATE PICNIC CAKE

There are many recipes for Chocolate Picnic Cake--some using box mixes, some from scratch, but I'm posting an easy one! The nice thing about this Chocolate Picnic Cake is that it travels so well. It doesn't have to be refrigerated, and you can actually make ahead and freeze.  This is a variation on Mary Kennedy's Chocolate Kahlua Cake and my Double Chocolate Bundt Cake. They would all travel well to a picnic--virtual or real!!

Ingredients
1 (18 ounce) box Devil's Food  or Dark Chocolate Cake mix (I use Duncan Hines)
1  package instant chocolate pudding mix
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup warm water
1- 1/2 cups 70% or higher dark chocolate (chopped) or dark chocolate chips
1 cup (16 oz) sour cream
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Pour into oiled and floured Bundt pan.
3. Bake at 350 for about an  hour or until tooth pick comes out clean.
4. Dust with powdered sugar.

So, I'm going on a Picnic, and I'm bringing ...

A--Almond Joy Pie 
B--Baked Beans
C--Chocolate Picnic Cake
D--Dutch Funnel Cake
E--Easy Blender Chicken Pie
F--Five Bean Salad
G--Granola Bars
H--Herb and Cheese Pasta Salad
I--Incredibly Fruity Raspberry Cakes
J--Jeweled Picnic Bars
K--Kaltschale (cold fruit soup)
L--Long Island Lemonade Cocktail
M--Mushroom Tart
N--Nut Roast
O--Olive Nut Bread
P--Pomegranate Mousse Cake
Q--Quiche
R--Raspberry Chocolate Macaroons
S--Spicy Glazed Shrimp and Veggie Kabobs
T--Turkey and Pear wraps w/Curried Aioli
U-"Unoriginal Whole Foods Salad Bar"
V-Vegetable Things of Spring Salad+
W-White Caramel Popcorn
X X-quisite Layered Fruit Salad 
Y-Yellow Squash Casserole (soon:)
Z-Zucchini Bread 


(I'll be updating ALL the foods "I'll be bringing..." to the picnic on July 1)

I'm ready for the picnic! Thanks, Louise, for organizing the Picnic!

Fancy Food Show 2010 Update

Greetings from New Yawk City!  After two full days at the Fancy Food Show I can say I need to spend some serious time at the gym.  Dear God.  I have literally eaten my way around the world.  Some facts:

2,400 exhibiting companies
331,000 square feet (makes Candy Expo look tiny)
24,000 attendees

There were companies and attendees from all over the world.  I've spent time with the folks from Belgium at the Leonidas booth - where they told me in Belgium there are more Leonidas chocolate shops per person than there are Starbucks per person in the US.  After I had one of their hazelnut praline chocolates, I could see why.  I want to move to Belgium.

Last night the crew at Walkers Shortbread had a lovely champagne reception to celebrate winning their fourth Queen's Award for Enterprise for International Trade.  A pretty big deal and I was THRILLED to be invited to celebrate with them.  I can't tell you how great the team at Walkers is - Steve - thank you for a wonderful time!!  Maybe I should move to Scotland - I do love shortbread.  And that whole kilt thing is pretty cool.....

Today I spent time with the crew at Seattle Chocolates (my new BFFs!).  It's so awesome to meet people who are passionate and creative - and some of their latest creations are amazing!  I want to move to Seattle.

There were lots of other great people I met and fabulous chocolate I tasted - but there were some challenges too.  The vast majority of the samples were tasting samples - meaning there's not much you can take home.  (It's not packaged and usually is just a piece of something.)  This means no photos for the blog - I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the exhibit area.  A real challenge for doing reviews.  Several of the vendors said they would mail things, so we'll see how that goes. 

Another challenge is New York City in the summer.  I forgot how much I hate NYC in the summer.  Temp in the 100s, high humidity, a bizillion tourists, and the stench of garbage everywhere.  GLACK!!!  I do NOT want to move to New York.

I didn't visit any high end chocolate shops because whatever I bought would have melted.   Did go to Macy's (the bus stopped me from going in in Chicago, but I made a comeback) and found some great deals.  Also visited M & M World - so packed with people I wanted to gouge my own eyes out.  And had to hit Hershey's Times Square store where I found macadamia nut Kisses!  How exciting - I had no idea!  Review to come.

It was great to connect with so many people who are passionate about chocolate and food.  I ate a lot, laughed a lot, learned a lot, and lived a lot.  Life is too short to spend it any other way.

Mikki's Mandelbrot

There are many Mandelbrot recipes, and they're all delicious. When I was growing up, I loved our neighbor Flora's Mandelbrot. She was a great baker, and she always seemed to have extra for the neighborhood children.

Mandelbrot is very similar to biscotti in that it's twice baked. Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot is very special, and, of course, my favorite. Technically it's not mandelbrot since the word itself mean almond bread, but adding the chocolate chips makes these heavenly.

I've posted a Mandlebrot recipe before, but recently my neighbor Mikki brought Mandelbrot to my Literary Salon with mystery author Elizabeth George. I love when my worlds of mystery and chocolate collide. The Salon was great, and the Mandelbrot was terrific, so I asked if she would share it here on DyingforChocolate.com. The directions are Mikki's, complete with her own notes. If you compare Mikki's Mandelbrot with the other one. It's a difference in technique. The ingredients are quite similar.  Mikki left the extra Mandlebrot with me, and I snapped this photo before devouring the remainder. Of course when I make it, I will add more chocolate chips, but then I'm a chocoholic. Either way, you'll love these.

Mikki’s Mandlebrot

Eggs                3 large
Oil (Vegetable)1 Cup (If using canola or a blend it changes flavor)
Sugar               1 Cup (more or less, according to taste)
Flour                 3 1/2 cups
Baking powder 2 tsp
Salt                   1/4 tsp
Vanilla               1 tsp
Walnuts/Almonds 1 Cup, chopped (I prefer almonds. Mostly I delete nuts)
Semi-Sweet choc chips 3 oz. chopped (or use minis - easier)

Topping:
Cocoa       1 tsp
Cinnamon 1 tsp
Sugar        1 Tbsp
Mix together. Adjust to personal taste

Almonds, slivered 4 oz. (Mostly I delete)

Oven 350F

Beat eggs well & add oil & sugar. Sift dry ingredients then add to egg mixture. Add vanilla, (nuts, if desired), and chips. Shape into 2, 3, 4 rolls (whatever fits cookie sheet, whatever size cookie you want. Bake for 25 mins. (will crack on top a bit). Let cool 10 mins, slice, sprinkle with topping and separate each cookie a bit so next baking will bake all cookies throughout. Return to oven and bake for approx. 15 mins. Longer baking time makes crispier cookies; shorter baking time - cake like.

Makes about 50 cookies. Freezes well and taste great frozen.

Chocolate Espresso Power Bars

1-1/2 cups pecans, lightly toasted
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons organic decaf espresso, finely ground
10 large medjool dates, pitted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
10 drops stevia
1 tablespoon agave nectar

1. Blend pecans, cocoa, and espresso in food processor until finely ground.
   
2. Add pitted dates and process until blended into dry ingredients.
   
3. Process in vanilla, stevia, and agave until well combined.
   
4. Press mixture into an 8x8 inch pyrex dish. (Add a little water if your batter is crumbly when handling.)
   
5. Freeze for 2 hours. Then cut into squares.

Source: Elana's Pantry

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake: 2 Easy Recipes

The other day Louise at Months of Edible Celebrations posted about the birth of Richard Hellman (Hellman's Mayonnaise) in 1876. The exact date coincided with her own birthday. Of course her birthday was many, many years later. Since there is no holiday dedicated to Mayonnaise, she and I think there should be. Where would tuna fish be without mayonnaise; where would sandwiches be? So better late than never, let's celebrate Mayonnaise Day. Be sure and check out the history of Mayonnaise, the life of Hellman, and a lot more info about mayonnaise at Months of Edible Celebrations.

Since it was Louise's birthday, she decided to make a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. I've made chocolate mayonnaise cake before, and you'd be surprised how many recipes there are. Seems like everyone's Aunt Sadie had a recipe. It shouldn't be a surprise to you that mayonnaise was used often in past generations. Remember mayonnaise in jello molds? That used to be a staple at special occasions all over the U.S. If you don't remember, be glad!

Since I try to post easy recipes here, I have two. The first is slightly harder since it means making a layer cake (2 layers) and icing the cake. That's not really difficult--just takes a bit more time--and sometimes layer cakes aren't even, so you need to do a bit of shaping. The second recipe is for a Chocolate Mayonnaise Bundt Cake. You just mix all the ingredients together and pour into the bundt pan and bake. Easy peasy. And delicious.

As I said there are many recipes for Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake. I've chosen to post Louise's recipe with her photos. Thanks, Louise, for your permission. Louise collects cookbooks, and this recipe is from That amazing ingredient: mayonnaise! Talk about your odd cookbook!

Mayonnaise Cakes are really moist, so it's hard to go wrong on either of these recipes.

Here's Louise's finished Birthday Cake:

Want to try a variation of the above recipe? Use Miracle Whip instead of Mayonnaise. Totally different taste. Most people are particular when it comes to the choice between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip. I still think it's worth trying Miracle Whip in this chocolate cake recipe... or for that matter, in the bundt cake recipe below. Word to the wise: don't taste the batter before it's baked. It will seem a bit odd, but the final results will be delicious.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Bundt Cake
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
6 tablespoons dark cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon Madagascar vanilla (or whatever you have)
1 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip)
1 egg, whipped
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup chocolate chips or broken dark chocolate 70% or higher cacao
powdered sugar

Directions:
Blend dry ingredients.
Mix in vanilla, mayonnaise, egg and water-- just enough to get all ingredients blended.
Fold in chocolate chips (broken up chocolate)
Pour into greased Bundt pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool cake.
Dust with powdered sugar.

Photos: Months of Edible Celebrations

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars

Here's a chocolate chip bar recipe with cranberries and cream cheese.

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons orange peel, grated
1 12-oz. package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup cranberries, dried (4 oz.)
1 package cream cheese (8 oz.)
1-1/4 cups sweetened condensed milk

1. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until creamy.
   
2. Stir in flour, oats, and orange peel until crumbly.
   
3. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.
   
4. Reserve 2 cups mixture. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.
   
5. Beat cream cheese in small bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk.
   
6. Pour over hot crust, and then sprinkle with reserved oat mixture. Return to oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set.
   
7. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Makes about 3 dozen chocolate chip bars.

National Chocolate Pudding Day: Hot Chocolate Pudding Cups

June 26 is National Chocolate Pudding Day. I've always loved chocolate pudding, even from a box mix, but this tastes soooo much better. This great recipe comes from Ghirardelli. I'll be having a Ghirardelli contest next week, so be sure to stop back for that. In the meantime, if you have some chocolate at home, try this hot chocolate pudding recipe. As always you can use any chocolate you have, but since this recipe is from Ghirardelli, I usually use Ghirardelli chocolate!

Hot Chocolate Pudding Cups


Ingredients:
10 ounces (1bag) Ghirardelli Gourmet 58% Cacao Semi-Sweet (I've used 72 %) Chocolate for baking
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
whipped cream
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Directions:
Position rack in middle of oven and heat to 350° F.
Arrange 6 oven-proof six-ounce coffee cups or mugs in a baking or roasting pan.
Melt chocolate and butter in bowl set over simmering water, whisking occasionally until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
Stir eggs and sugar together in separate bowl over simmering water until warm to the touch. With handheld electric beater, beat 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
With spatula, fold eggs into chocolate mixture until light and smooth.
Spoon batter into cups.
Add enough very hot water to the baking pan to come halfway up sides of cups.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until tops of puddings are no longer shiny.
Serve warm, topped with a dollop of whipped cream.


Photo: Ghirardelli

Chocolate Chile Pecan Brownies

Get spicy with this brownie recipe that includes chile powder.

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
10 tbsp. unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 extra large eggs
1-1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached flour
2 teaspoons hot ground red chile
Generous pinch of salt
1 cup caramelized pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Generously butter and lightly flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
   
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir well and let cool a few minutes.
   
3. Beat mixture with a wooden spoon until blended. Stir in sugar and mix well.
   
4. Beat eggs and vanilla into the batter until well blended.
   
5. Stir in flour, ground chile, and salt until just mixed.
   
6. Stir in pecans.
   
7. Pour batter into pan, spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool and cut into chile brownie squares.

Coconut (and Chocolate) Cookies

Since we ended with Almond Joy Pieces last time, let's open with Almond Joy Cookies in this entry:

These are a chocolate cookie base with a layer of coconut cream - a few almonds are tossed on top and the whole thing is enrobed in chocolate.  Not a bad idea.  Not a great cookie.  The Almond Joy bar is better.  But a great effort at making a cookie out of a candy bar.  If you feel it's important to to that.

Check out these festive summer cookies offered by Pepperidge Farm!  Tahiti Coconut:

They remind me of Milanos - which I love with all my heart and soul. But these were no good.  I found them very, very dry and with little taste of coconut.  Disappointing - usually Pepperidge Farm rocks!  These are terrible.

Target's store brand Archer Farms made these:

They are wafer thin and are pretty good.  The coconut is more for decoration than for taste.  The dark chocolate overpowers everything else.I like chocolate covered Moravian cookies better.  But these are not dried out and if you want a light, dark chocolately cookie - these are very good.

And look at this coconut entry by Little Debbie:

Titled German Chocolate and subtitled "cookie rings with caramel and coconut," I had to wonder about these.  I mean, really - Germany and coconut?  Does that makes sense?  Well, according to Wikipedia (yeah, yeah, I know, not always right) the whole German Chocolate cake (with the coconut and caramel and all) came from a recipe submitted by a Dallas housewife in 1957.  It was called German Chocolate cake because the chocolate she used to make it was Baker's German Sweet Chocolate.  I gotta say this concoction seems more Dallas circa 1957 than Germany.  What does your gut tell you?

Anyway, these are not bad.  I don't think they hold a candle to those Samoas the Girl Scouts sell (better cookie - these need more cookie).  And I'm thinking the Pacific Islands seem a better fit for coconut than Germany.  But, hey, what do I know?  Tahiti, Samoa.....

I've never tried coconut macaroons before.  This one by Godiva was my favorite.  But I can't tell if it's just because of the chocolate:

Gotta love the chocolate base with the Godiva name stamped in:

This had a cakey texture that I liked better than the other macaroons:

I usually love Archway cookies:

And these looked great!  I think, for coconut macaroons, they probably are great.  These just aren't my favorite.  With chocolate, they are amazing.  Without chocolate, not so much.

These were made in my hometown of Macon, GA by Crown Candy Corporation. 

And they were drier than dry.  Ugh.  Archway was at least moist and chewy.  These were el yucko.  I'm so glad I got out of Macon.

I have to start reviewing some of that shortbread I have!!  And would you believe I found some coconut shortbread?

Eh.  Kind of dry.  What is it about these coconut things that makes them dry?  I expect coconut to be moist!  This shortbread didn't do anything for me and I ADORE shortbread!

Here's some vanilla shortbread from my friends at Walker's:

This has a really good flavor. Sometimes shortbread can be a bit bland, but this has a great, but not overpowering flavor.  Delish!

Harry and David also has some vanilla shortbread:

And I have to say, I love the thickness and the texture of this shortbread.  For the most part, I really love Harry & David's baked goods.  And I like the granulated sugar on top.  (As usual, nothing like the picture on the box.) BUT the flavor of Walker's is better.  The texture of Harry and David's is better, but I gotta go with Walker's.  So yummy!

Okay, gang - more shortbread and coconut and loads of other good stuff to come!!  But I might be MIA for a few days - I'm heading to New Yawk City for the Fancy Food Show!  Don't worry, I'll look both ways before crossing the street.  But I WILL be taking candy from strangers.