Jelly Belly gets ready for Easter

Easter is a candy lover's dream, and Jelly Belly has certainly risen to the occasion. Cybele, the candy goddess at Candy Blog, just reviewed the "Deluxe Easter Mix" which contains an assortment of pastel Jelly Bellys, bunny corn, mellocremes, gummi eggs and malted chocolate eggs. Retail price is $4.99 for a 9oz. bag, and though she managed to source a package for much less, she rated the item at 6/10 on her infamous candy scale.

If you are looking for a mixture of gifts, Jelly Belly offers pre-made Easter baskets including "The Ideal Easter Basket" ($50) which contains almost three pounds of assorted candy, as well as "The Cute Little Easter Bundle" ($34.99) which is about half the size but has a lot of variety. (Though for $35, I would really hope so.)

By ordering either of those on their website, you can expect to get some freebies along with your baskets - which may help to ease the pain of spending that much money on candy in the first place. In addition, the "Fruit Fantasy Basket", as pictured above, sells for $39.99, but comes free with any order of $250 or more.

Tara Reid to open fast food restaurant

I'll skip over the obvious "American Fry" jokes and get right to it. Tara Reid, probably best known to the world for both her role in the American Pie movie franchise as well as her (former) globe-trotting, hard-partying lifestyle, has announced her plans to open a fast food establishment in Los Angeles.

The new restaurant, set to open on March 31st, will be named Ketchup - and though the menu has not been released as yet, Tara herself plans to spend time in the kitchen "making sure everything is done properly."

Though it may seem like a strange move to some, the restaurant business is in her blood. Growing up in New Jersey, Tara's parents owned a bar, and she currently has shares in three other restaurants - Bella, The Shore and Geisha House.

Gourmet Marshmallows

When I think of marshmallows, two images immediately come to mind. Steaming cups of hot cocoa adorned with tiny little marshmallows, or the roasted variety - the ones we placed on sticks and set over a campfire as kids. I don't think I've ever considered the idea of marshmallows being gourmet, but that is exactly what Plush Puffs are offering.

They come in a variety of flavors including Caramel Swirl, Chocolate Chipetta, Maple Pecan, Sydney's Cinnamon, Peppi-Mint, Orange Honey, Toasted Coconut, Vanilla Bean, Kona Coffee Crunch, and Pumpkin Praline. Though they sound pretty amazing on their own, Plush Puffs has a variety of recipes on their website as well. They sell for $7.99 per package of 6, or two packs for $14.99.

Next Epicurean Masters event planned for Egypt

Last month, Epicurean Masters of the World held an opulent feast in Bangkok for the extraordinary price of $25,000 per person. Their next location has been unveiled as Egypt, and though it is lower in price - "just" $10,000 a head - this gourmet adventure is scheduled to be much larger than the last event. With the ancient Pyramids of Giza as a backdrop, apparently thirty 3-star Michelin chefs will be preparing some of their most exquisite and culturally diverse creations for a planned crowd of 500 attendees.

Though admittedly the price tag associated with these events sounds extremely excessive, proceeds from the dinners are donated to charities local to the chosen locations. This event is scheduled for December of 2008.

Make your own Ghirardelli Chocolate Dessert Cups

I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but I do love how beautiful it can make even the most ordinary desserts. If you've ever wondered how chefs prepare some of their gorgeous chocolate creations, Ghirardelli lets us in on one of their secrets with this recipe for chocolate dessert cups which I found via bfeedme.com. Using balloons of all things, the procedure is really quite simple - dip inflated balloons partway into melted chocolate and let set in the freezer until solid.

The cups can be filled with just about anything - mousse, ice cream, berries, whatever your heart desires. Just be sure to remove all traces of the balloon before serving. If you'd like to try making these at home, the full instructions from the Ghirardelli website can be found after the jump.

Continue reading Make your own Ghirardelli Chocolate Dessert Cups

Vosges Chocolates - Green Truffle Collection

If you are looking for something a little more refined than marshmallow peeps and hollow chocolate bunnies this Easter season, Vosges Haut-Chocolat has released a Green Truffle Collection which showcases flavors inspired from Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia. Included in each box is a mixture of:

Kayoko - Japanese green tea, white chocolate and cherry blossom
Kaffir - Thai kaffir, coconut and dark chocolate
Ellateria - Indian cardamom, dark chocolate and white poppy seeds
Buddha's Leaf - Malaysian pandan leaves, dark chocolate and cocoa powder

As I'm sure you can imagine, exotic flavors such as these come at a lofty price. According to their website, a box of 16 pieces (as pictured above) sells for $41.

As we have seen before, mixing unique flavors is nothing new for this company. In fact, according to their mission statement, Vosges' goal is "to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness to indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure." Mission accomplished, I would say.

Food for Thought plates

Here's an interesting item for the next time all you hepcats and kittens host a dinner party: retro plastic dinnerware emblazoned with carcass maps. For the noncarnivores out there, a carcass map is one of those endlessy fascinating diagrams that hangs in butcher shops.

My meat and fire-loving alter ego Joey Deckle tipped me off to Food for Thought plates, which are the brainchild of designer Charles S. Anderson. You probably can't read the text, but the piggy plate shown here is labeled swine.

If you have an inkling that the word "swine" implies some sort of tongue-in-cheek value judgment about meat eaters you're not far off the mark. The other three plates in the set are steer, lamb and mutt, which in this case is not short for mutton, but simply denotes dog. Sure they're a far cry from Williams-Sonoma's elegant Je demande du boeuf carcass map platter, but I still wouldn't mine having a set in my cupboard.

These royal chutneys will make your tongue dance

I was at a local food event today which show cased regional and local food products made by small / family businesses and farms. Every now and then I run across a product so good I have to share the news. The Bombay Emerald Chutney Company has not just one, but five great products. Their gourmet line of "Royal" Chutneys are fantastic: Royal Mint Chutney, Royal Tomato Chutney, Royal Plum Chutney, Royal Cranberry Chutney, and their new Royal Pomegranate Chutney. It's a Mom and Pop company who make their chutney by hand from their own family recipes using all natural ingredients that they personally buy themselves, and they have no preservatives.

My favorite is the Mint Chutney, made from Coriander, Lime Juice, Mint Leaves, Green Chilies, Salt & Spices. You would think that from such few and simple ingredients the flavor would be simple, but it's not. It has a very complex taste with just the right balance between the tangy lime, fresh mint, salt, and a nice but not lethal dose of spices. The Tomato Chutney has a very solid, summer ripe tomato presence, with the lemon, spices, salt, and cilantro bringing it all together.

Continue reading These royal chutneys will make your tongue dance

Rachael Ray: Great magazine, lame TV show

How can someone who puts out such a fun food mag put on such an unbearable TV show?

I want to like Rachael Ray, the TV show. I really, really do. Honest. But it's just an annoying hour to me. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. One minute Rachael will be teaching us how to make some cool quick meal with pasta and vegetables, and then five minutes later she'll be talking about women in abusive relationships or how someone can organize the shoes in their closets. It just doesn't work for me. (And there's also the whole thing with her voice and bubbly personality, which I can take on 30 Minute Meals but when it's an hour every day...). But it's really popular, so maybe I'm not the right audience.

But Every Day With Rachael Ray? That's a great little magazine. It has a bunch of recipes that you feel you can actually cook (unlike some mags), quick guides to eating in various cities, tips on shopping, tips on buying wine, interviews. It's well-done. If there's one quibble I have is the whole "celebrity fridge" feature in the back of every issue. It's kinda funny to see what celebs have in there, but do we have to have some quiz about what they have? On the same page where we can see the answers?!? It seems to be a quiz made for people who find the TV Guide crossword difficult.