Last night after a long day of packing up boxes for Valentine s Day orders, I asked Mike to pick up Chinese takeout for dinner - I was exhausted. Fast forward two hours, an order of Hunan Chicken and two Crab Rangoon later, all of a sudden I had a burst of energy that translated itself into the Barefoot Contessa s Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes…
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What is it? All real chocolate comes from the cocoa bean, the fruit of a tropical tree, Theobroma cacao. Much of the quality of the chocolate will depend on the origin and quality of the beans. To make chocolate, processors roast and shell the cocoa beans, leaving only the centers, called nibs. These nibs are then pulverized or ground into…
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A…chocolate. If my best friend was a food this would be it. So amazingly satisfying on many different levels with so many options in flavors and taste. Milk, dark, bitter, organic, fair trade; the spices and flavorings are endless. Little does one realize though, chocolate is simple, easy, and quick to make yourself. You just need the right…
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Today: Forgot to plan for dessert? Grab whatever chocolate is in your pantry and make a last-second sauce with Alice s simple 2-ingredient ratio. You can make a fabulous dark chocolate sauce with any amount of sweetened dark, semisweet, or bittersweet chocolate you have on hand, regardless of cacao percentage, or even an assortment of leftover…
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[Photos: Liz Gutman] I always joke that I was raised by hippies.* All I ate for breakfast as a kid was shredded wheat or granola; and I always got weird stuff in my lunchbox, like hard-boiled eggs and fruit leather, that no one wanted to trade. Accordingly, any kind of artificial/super-processed (read: delicious) stuff was out of bounds for…
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Nesquik has been around for as long as I can remember. I remember drinking it as a kid and my kids drank it when they were small as well. It can be a “parents best friend” when they are desperately trying to get their kids to drink milk…ANY milk. Unfortunately, chocolate milk has been under seige the last few years by people complaining of…
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They make chocolates instead. Really, doesn’t it just make more sense? For such mammals to lay eggs is a biological impossibility, but the cleverest of rabbits explore their creative talents and craft cacao into treats for children- Now that sounds downright reasonable in comparison. I can see it now: Gifted little bunnies across the globe…
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Did you ever go into your cupboard or fridge, excited to grab a snack or a drink, only to find that it’s not there. Gone. Happens often in my household, and probably in most of yours too. I’m pretty sure my daughter probably mentioned to me a few weeks ago that we were out of Nes-Quick. More then likely I went to the grocery store, didn’t…
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Milk chocolate is synonymous with childhood. Smeared cheeks, sticky fingers, sweet breath and foil wrappers stowed away in books as treasures. It is only after we grow up that we banish the treat of our childhood and become fancy pants with dainty little squares of the darkest chocolate we can find. I love my dark chocolate as much as the…
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I know that saying anything is the best is a bold statement, but I stand completely behind this one. There’s nothing I love more than buttery, satiny smooth and sublime frosting. And few things are worse than an absolutely subpar frosting. This chocolate buttercream certainly ranks among the sublime. The combination of butter that is substantionally…
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Most kids (and many adults) have tried to make chocolate milk by dumping Hershey s dry cocoa and sugar into milk, only to be stymied by intractable clumps. Nesquik and other chocolate-milk powders exist for this express purpose, to make the cocoa dissolve in the milk. How do they do it? My problem as a chocolate-milk fan? Nesquik tastes God-awful…
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Have I ever mentioned that I had a big crush on the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street? If I didn’t now you know. I love cookies, it makes me happy, and I find baking them a great fun. The cookies I’m sharing with you today are not my creation I made few modifications to the original recipe, since it had a lot of sugar. I think I got this recipe…
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Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars… Cookies for Kids’ Cancer Cookbook September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month, and today I’m sharing some . What do these goodies have to do with cancer? The Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars come from the “Cookies For Kids Cancer: Best Bake Sale Cookbook.” I’m giving away 3 copies of this fabulous book–…
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The first time I made this, I got lucky. I threw the ingredients into a bowl, guessed at what quantities might work, and zapped it for 30 seconds in the microwave. It turned out perfectly the first time. Believe me, that doesn t always happen. I often have to do a lot of experimenting to get a new recipe right. This one was a winner right…
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Milk, white and dark chocolate. Photograph: Maximilian Stock Ltd / Michael Rosenfeld / Getty Images Salted milk chocolate caramel mousse This is gooey and rich with a hint of salt to cut through the sweetness. Don t be tempted to whisk the egg whites too much, as a looser texture is best with the foam not too stiff. Serves 6, 30 minutes preparation…
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