BE MY VALENTINE.Here are some of the latest new chocolate products and happenings. PERUGINA: Perugina's Baci chocolates has introduced the Baci Book of Love Book, a booklike box filled with 15 Baci chocolates and love notes and tied up with a burgundy bow for $10. Other possibilities for sweethearts include a cute teddy bear, outfitted in a red sweater adorned with hearts and holding five pieces of Baci, for $15; and a Perugina Velvet Heart with 11 varieties of Perugina chocolate for $25. Look for them at department and specialty stores. In addition, Perugina (in a contest sponsored by Nestle USA) is searching for romantic inspiration in the Baci Contest of Love. Simply submit an original short love note (approximately 20 words) expressing your love for another, a romantic moment or inspirational feeling and send to Baci Contest of Love, P.O. Box 1921, Young America, MN 55594-1921 or enter online at www.Baci-Perugina.com (you'll also find contest details at this Web site). Entries must be received no later than March 15. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip for two to Venice, Italy, for six nights along with $500 spending money. GODIVA: Godiva's recipe for romance this Valentine's Day is once again chocolate and diamonds. But in this year's promotion (its sixth annual), the chocolatier choc·o·la·tier n. 1. One who makes or sells chocolate. 2. A place where chocolate is made or sold. [French, from chocolat, chocolate, from Spanish chocolate is teaming up with Harry Winston, jeweler to the stars, for the first time. Hidden inside eligible boxes of Godiva's Reflections of Romance Valentine's Day Collection are winning certificates for Harry Winston diamond jewelry. The grand prize is a 4.5-carat diamond solitaire solitaire or patience, any card game that can be played by one person. Solitaire is the American name; in England it is known as patience. There are probably more kinds of solitaire than all other card games together. ring (worth $85,000) - and 50 others will win 1-carat platinum and diamond heart pendants (valued at $5,000 each). Among boxes that could include the winning certificates are Valentine Ballotin Bal´lo`tin n. 1. An officer who has charge of a ballot box. , Truffle truffle (trŭf`əl) [Fr.], subterranean edible fungus that forms a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship with the roots of certain trees and plants. The part of the fungus used as food is the ascoma, the fruiting body of the fungus. Heart, Romantic Velvet Heart, True Love Heart, Truffle and Heart Box, and a 12-piece Valentine Box. Look for the chocolate boxes at Godiva boutiques and department stores or order by calling (800) 946-3482. - Natalie Haughton CHOCOLATE OBSESSION: Just in case you haven't had enough chocolate this week, tune into the Food Network. Jacques Torres will prepare all kinds of wild chocolate creations tonight, Thursday and Friday at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Grammercy Tavern pastry chef Claudia Flemming will join Sara Moulton on ``Cooking Live'' at 4 p.m. today preparing chocolate Valentine treats while Alton Brown will deliver facts on chocolate and cocoa powder on ``Good Eats'' at 6 and 9 tonight. That should satisfy your cravings. - N.H. COOK UP CASH: Join the World's Biggest Little Dinner Party this month and raise money for the American Heart Association American Heart Association (AHA), n.pr a national voluntary health agency that has the goal of increasing public and medical awareness of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, and thereby reducing the number of associated deaths and disabilities. . Here's how it works: Invite your friends to a heart-healthy dinner party at your home Feb. 23 and ask them to make a donation to the association (instead of bringing a hostess gift). Sponsored by Glen Ellen Wines, the event is also hoping to land a new Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous dinner ever held and raise $250,000 for heart disease and stroke research. Consumers interested in hosting a dinner can register via the event Web site at www.glenellendinner.com or by calling (800) 432-7852. The Heart Association and the winery are providing a menu with recipes and wine suggestions. Entertain, raise money for a worthy cause, and have fun with your friends all at the same time. - N.H. HEART PEEPS: Add a little fun to Valentine's Day with Marshmallow marshmallow /marsh·mal·low/ (mahrsh´mel?o) (-mal?o) a perennial Eurasian herb, Althaea officinalis, Peeps Hearts. Packed nine hearts to each package, the Strawberry Creme flavored hearts are red (in a pink package) while the Vanilla Creme hearts are white (in a red package). Beyond eating them straight from the package, keep them in mind for fast, easy and attractive decorations for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, tortes, pies and more. Suggested retail of each 3 3/8-ounce package is $1.49. Look for them at supermarkets and drugstores. For ideas about using various shapes and flavors of Peeps in seasonal craft projects and recipes (some are kind of corny), write for a free copy of ``A Peeps for All Seasons.'' Send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to Just Born, Peeps Holiday Ideas, 1300 Stefko Blvd., Bethlehem, PA 18017-6620. - N.H. DINING OUT With new chef Andrew Pastore firmly in place, the hip Sunset Room in Hollywood now has a revised menu. Regulars might notice that some of opening chef Claude Segal's signature items, like his carrot and ginger soup, remain on the menu. But Pastore, who hails from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , where he worked at the Blue Water Grill, and made his mark locally at Michael's in Santa Monica, has put his own stamp on the Sunset Room's fare. New intrigues include Pastore's artichoke artichoke, name for two different plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), both having edible parts. The French, or globe, artichoke (Cynara scolymus ravioli with lamb meatballs and shaved Parmesan ($18) and grilled halibut halibut: see flatfish. halibut Any of various flatfishes, especially the Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (genus Hippoglossus, family Pleuronectidae), both of which have eyes and colour on the right side. in black bean black bean see castanospermum australe, erythrophleumchlorostachys. sauce with jasmine rice and baby bok choy ($25). He pairs his grilled Colorado rack of lamb Noun 1. rack of lamb - a roast of the rib section of lamb crown roast rack - rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton lamb roast, roast lamb - a cut of lamb suitable for roasting ($29) with polenta po·len·ta n. A thick mush made of cornmeal boiled in water or stock. [Italian, from Latin, crushed grain, barley meal.] Noun 1. , red chard chard: see artichoke; beet. chard or Swiss chard Edible-leaf beet (Beta vulgaris, variety cicla), a variety of beet in which the tender leaves and leafstalks have become greatly developed. and a Violette mustard reduction. For dessert, he's introduced a molten chocolate creation ($7.50) with coffee bean coffee bean see sesbania. sauce. Located at 1430 N. Cahuenga Blvd., the Sunset Room, one of the new breed of fashionable club-restaurants in the Hollywood area, serves dinner only Wednesdays through Saturdays from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Club hours are from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information and reservations, call (323) 463-0004. - Larry Lipson CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Peeps Hearts) (2) no caption (Box of Godiva Chocolates) (3) no caption (Baci Book of Love Book) (4) no caption (Perugina teddy bear) |
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