Fans of the TV show “Portlandia” might recall more than a few references to chocolate in its various forms throughout the series. Though not a cacao connection, yet another now infamous episode spurred the pop culture reference “put a bird on it,” formally acknowledging the modern design aesthetic trend of putting fowl on everything from […]
Happy New Year Cocoa Beantown fans! Over the holidays, I’m sure many folks indulged in more than a bit of chocolate. Whether it was left in your stockings, delivered to your doorstep, or placed front and center on your holiday table, as any chocoholic knows, it’s important to have cocoa be part of the show! […]
Mother’s Day is FAST approaching (yes, it’s Sunday already) so let’s hope you’ve figured out what you’re going to get the woman. Just in case you haven’t (let’s be serious–I know there are a TON of procrastinators out there), here are some helpful tips for making sure that if you’re going to buy Mom some […]
One of the most oft-referenced “favorite” chocolate desserts of my chocolate tour guests is the infamous chocolate lava cake. Sometimes referred to as “molten chocolate cake,” whatever it’s called, there’s a reason it’s not hard to find these on almost every restaurant dessert menu anywhere. As a matter of fact, at D Bar desserts in […]
This is a great recipe I’ve made a few times for friends that involves those two blissful ingredients we discussed in yesterday’s post–chocolate and peanut butter. The original recipe calls for crunchy peanut butter, but when I have made it, I have switched that out for the White Chocolate Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter from […]
Everyone who buys bananas often finds themselves with the rather common scenario of having a bunch of overripe (read: brown and mushy) bananas on their countertop. Such a situation usually results in the bananas getting stored away in the freezer to be used at a later date, or put immediately into a bowl to be […]
The summer before my sophomore year of college, I went through a very difficult jaw surgery. Despite the fact that the operation has been streamlined over the years to the point that patients no longer have to have their mouth wired shut and only one night in the hospital is required, the recovery period after […]
Back in my increasingly longer ago college years, I actually was very tentative with my first forays into consuming alcohol. Going to college on a dry campus (Catholic school) meant that any drinking found going on in the dorms was dealt with swiftly and had rather serious consequences, plus the fact I was a lightweight […]
Isn’t it delightful when one of those march snowstorms charges through, leaving a ton more snow than the forecasters initially warned you about? Ahh, yes, these are the days where us New Englanders, and any other folks who have been in similar situations, grumble our heartiest, heave and sigh and shake our fists angrily at […]
At a birthday dinner not too long ago, I amazed my friends by combining two, pretty much universally lauded, food indulgences; chocolate, and potato chips. We were at a stir fry restaurant in in downtown Boston, and for some reason, one of my friends had a small bag of Lays potato chips with them. After […]
Unless you live in an underground bunker in preparation of the polar ice cap melting apocalypse, you probably are aware that the Oscars were last night. Now, while this event is normally not associated with chocolate (or eating in general–did you see how skinny some of those actresses looked?) it did get me thinking about […]
A couple years ago, I went out for a dinner with my dear friend Erica (who has a fantastic travel blog called As Her World Turns) at a place in Boston not far from my alma mater and Fenway Park. The spot is called Church, and as I recall, the four of us (Erica also […]