chocolatada!

Chocolate in the Southwest

Just stumbled upon an interesting site, the Arizona Chocolate Lovers Guide. While it lists events and places specific to Arizona, it also has some interesting recipes, tips for cooking with chocolate, and gift ideas (I think I may need to get some of this chocolate aphrodisiac oil...)

Chocolate in New England

I'm just about settled into Boston-- and on my first day of class I've got a juicy bit to share with my fellow chocolate lovers. Boston University's culinary program is hosting a chocolate festival on October 23, followed by a Chocolate Symposium on October 24. The symposium includes chocolate for breakfast, chocolate for lunch, presentations of papers about chocolate, and even more chocolate to taste. How could that be a bad deal?

Speaking of class, I decided to make a little weblog out of my experience in Boston University's Culinary Certificate Program. Check it out-- it's called Burning My Fingers in Boston.

Remember Julia

It's a melancholy day. Sad to see her gone, but thankful for what she brought to the world.

I suppose the best way to pay tribute to Julia Child is to cook something from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Or just cook something. Enjoy the cooking. Invite friends and family over. Open a good bottle of wine and share the food and drink in the warm company of people you enjoy.

Savor each moment.

Egullet has put together a tribute to her, too -- and you can visit her kitchen at the Smithsonian or watch some of her programs thanks to PBS.

Something's Wrong With American Justice!

A woman was arrested -- arrested! -- for eating a chocolate bar inside a metro station in Washington. She has to appear in court for this! (Story)

Shocking, I know. Outrageous! Of all the things that go wrong in DC...!

Friends, bring your favorite chocs and meet me in DC for a metro eat-in!

Big News

I have been sitting on something for months that is really exciting (at least for me), and it's time to share it with you. I'm going to graduate school!

Depending on how long you've been reading my blogs, you may or may not know that I'm a working journalist... (I'm a producer for a television station) and, of course I have shared my love of food with you. I also love journalism-- or at least, I love doing journalism and I love what journalism should be to the people and communities news organizations serve. I have been torn between these loves-- for a long while I have thought of opening some type of bakery or cafe, but I wasn't yet ready to leave news. Last year it finally dawned on me that I could try to combine the two.

After looking at a number or programs, I found something really unique that I think fits my goals perfectly. I applied to Boston University's Master of Liberal Arts in Gastronomy program. This program was founded by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, and it is the only masters degree in gastronomy offered in the United States. I'll be able to combine culinary training with courses in food writing, food history, hunger, nutrition, and more.

In the next few months, I'll be packing up and moving to Boston. School starts in September.

I'm not sure what will happen to backyard grub... I'm pretty sure I won't be posting as often between now and September. I'm also pretty sure I will at least continue chocolatada. I am also contemplating a blog of my adventures in the culinary training part of the degree...

Stay tuned!

And Mom Said It'd Give Me Pimples!

Newsday reports that a group of nutritionists got together to name the 10 most important foods. I'd like to comment that a lot of my favorites are on this list of ten-- blueberries, avacados, nuts... well, you can read it for yourself. Holding number 10 on the list: dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate!

Ukrainian Snickers

No, I'm not talking about frozen Snickers bars.

This is the nickname for a new craze at a restaurant in Kiev: pork fat dipped in chocolate.

I know you think I made this up.

I didn't! See?

S'mores

Hershey's wants you to eat more S'mores this summer... and so they've come up with some new twists on the traditional recipe-- using peanut-butter (dig it!), bananas, strawberries, raspberry jam, cherries, flavored marshmallows and Hershey's special dark bars. (No, not all of that at once.) And Hershey's reminds us that we don't need a campfire to make s'mores. Okay, yeah, you could nuke it... but it's just not the same.

I like the version Steven Raichlen published in The Barbecue! Bible: use homemade chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers, and use a chocolate a bit more grown up than Hershey's. I used convenient squares of Ghirardelli dark chocolate, you know, the ones in the blue foil wrappers?

Mm. I want s'more!

Chocolate Beauty

Or, how to smell so good he'd put you on a plate and sop you up with a biscuit.

One woman discovered chocolate beauty products that not only make you smell good, but are good to your skin, too. Ah, cacao. The wonder bean!

Anyway, her adventure begins over a bowl of cake batter in the kitchen...

Chocolate A Day

A new article at WebMD says one small bar (1.6 ounces) of dark chocolate will keep your heart tickin'.... and apparently you don't have to knock yourself out or break the piggy bank trying to get the "right" chocolate.

In a British study with about 20 people, half the participants got a Dove Dark Chocolate bar every day for two weeks. The other half got chocolate with flavanoids removed. The result showed improved blood vessel function.

Skeptical? I am too, and that's natural for someone in my line of work. But that's not going to stop me from eating a little chocolate every day. (Just in case.)