GOOD TASTES.HOP TO IT: There are lots of Easter candy choices, including upscale chocolate eggs and bunnies from various chocolate makers and more. One of our favorites is a box of fabulous, beautiful Chocolate Easter Eggs (Oeuf de Paques) handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft by San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden 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 Michael Recchiuti. They are really half-egg shapes and have a dark chocolate shell with a silky, smooth center of extra-bitter chocolate ganache ga·nache n. A rich icing made of chocolate and cream heated and stirred together, used also as a filling, as for cakes or pastry. [French.] with a touch of Tahitian vanilla bean. Twenty half-eggs are packed in a 7-ounce box for $28. Order online at www.recchiuti.com no later than Thursday for delivery by Easter. Recchiuti Confections has also recently released three chocolate bars -- Bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. , which is 85 percent cacao cacao (kəkä`ō, –kā`–), tropical tree (Theobroma cacao) of the family Sterculiaceae (sterculia family), native to South America, where it was first domesticated and was highly prized by the Aztecs. ; Feve, which is 85 percent cacao and contains cacao nibs; and Dark Milk Chocolate, which is 55 percent cacao. We like them all -- the dark ones are really dark chocolate -- but the milk chocolate was particularly good as it is darker than most others available. Each bar is 4 ounces and retails for $7. A set of three is $18. Purchase them at the shop in San Francisco's Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city. Marketplace or online, www.recchiuti.com. Joseph Schmidt Confections Joseph Schmidt Confections is a San Francisco-based chocolatier, which produces gourmet confections using imported Belgian chocolate. The company is known for the quality and flavor of its hand-decorated confections and its stylish and creative hand-made packaging which changes , known for their gorgeous packaging and truffles, is offering an Easter collection that includes a bunny box filled with truffles, chocolate carrots and more ($32); a hand-painted wooden basket filled with four spring truffles resting on a bed of paper grass ($15); chocolate hand-molded bunnies, duck and lambs ($10 to $15 each); baby bunny box filled with two layers of eight bunny truffles and two chocolate carrots ($28). Also available is a spring treasure box Treasure Box (1996) is a novel written by Orson Scott Card. It takes place in modern day America, and is a mix of fantasy and horror fiction. Plot introduction The plot details a middle-aged man, Quentin Fears (pronounced "fierce"), who marries a woman who turns out to be with five mini truffles in a pastel box with a flower-shaped lock ($13) and a flower box with 14 slicks --thin chocolate discs filled with an assortment of chocolate ganaches such as raspberry, orange and caramel ($28). Look for the beautifully packaged items at Whole Foods, Macy's, Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus U.S. department-store chain. It was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1907 by Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman, and her husband, A.L. Neiman. , select specialty grocery stores and online at www.jsc.com or call (866) 237-0152. Boule boule Deliberative council in the city-states of ancient Greece. It existed in almost all constitutional city-states, especially from the late 6th century BC. In Athens the boule was created as an aristocratic body by Solon in 594 BC; later, under Cleisthenes, 500 members Parisian Patisserie pa·tis·se·rie n. A bakery specializing in French pastry. [French pâtisserie, from Old French pastiserie, from pasticier, to make pastry, from *pastitz, , Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is creating over-the-top special Easter items, among them the Boule Grande Egg -- a gigantic, totally edible, 18-inch dark Venezuelan chocolate egg, hand-painted with colored chocolate and luster dust (3 pounds, $100; available in store only); an Easter Hatbox with chocolate pieces and demi-eggs ($65); the Boule Grand Easter Basket with various chocolates and marshmallow marshmallow /marsh·mal·low/ (mahrsh´mel?o) (-mal?o) a perennial Eurasian herb, Althaea officinalis, shapes ($48); and the Boule Petit Easter Basket with various chocolates and other treats ($28). To place an order (shipping is additional), go to www.boulela.com or call the store at (310) 289-9977. See's Candies has plenty of Easter selections large and small for everyone on your list, ranging from foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies, large and small, to Easter baskets filled with lots of goodies and Easter box assortments to decorated eggs in an array of sizes and flavors and more. Prices vary, depending on item. Order online at www.sees.com or stop by a See's store. Flippin' Fudge, an online gourmet provider of individually wrapped 1-inch square cubes of fudge (less than 100 calories each), offers a selection of gifts to jazz up traditional Easter baskets or send family and friends. Go online to www.flippinfudge.com/Gourmet-Easter-gifts-Line is overdrawn o·ver·draw v. o·ver·drew , o·ver·drawn , o·ver·draw·ing, o·ver·draws v.tr. 1. To draw against (a bank account) in excess of credit. 2. s/43.htm. Among the fudge flavors: Wake-Up Call (espresso), Fuzzy Bubble (champagne peach), Island Retreat (coconut), Skippy's Surprise (peanut butter and dark chocolate), Berry Nuts (raspberry walnut), Citrus Shot (orange) and Toffee Crunch. While the idea of small fudge bites sounds enticing, we weren't overly enthused with the flavor of the fudge. Somehow the cubes seemed a little slick and too contrived. If you want to give the fudge a try, four-piece samplers are available for $9.50. A 16-piece variety box is $22.50; a 28-piece box, $35. SusieCakes Bakery in Brentwood is offering egg-shaped sugar cookies, frosted bunny and chick cookies, chocolate eggs, Rice Krispie treats with pastel egg sprinkles, Easter basket cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting frosting the slight graying of the haircoat around the face, particularly muzzle, in dogs with aging and as a regular feature of some breeds such as the Belgian shepherd dog. , green coconut "grass" and mini jelly beans) and an Easter lamb cake. Prices range from $2 to $55. For more information or to place an order, call (310) 442-2253. Or visit www.susiecakesla.com. Located at 11708 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. -- Natalie Haughton DIET COKE PLUS Diet Coke Plus (also known as Coca Cola Light Plus) is a new formulation of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. It is sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium, unlike regular Diet Coke which only contains aspartame. : Do we really need Diet Coke with vitamins and minerals? Apparently the folks at Coca-Cola North America think we do -- and have launched Diet Coke Plus, a calorie-free version with vitamins B3, B6 and B12, and zinc and magnesium. Each 8-ounce serving provides 15 percent of the daily value for the vitamins included and 10 percent daily value for the minerals. Our tasters couldn't detect any real flavor difference (but we didn't taste it side-by-side with Diet Coke without the vitamins and minerals), but were skeptical of buying this product -- and didn't see any reason to. To commemorate the debut, special limited-edition 12-ounce sleek cans will be available locally while supplies last. The drink is also available in 12- and 20-ounce plastic bottles and 12-ounce can 12-packs. -- N.H. CONTEST ALERT: If you have a terrific cheese recipe, enter the Alouette "Make Every Occasion Perfect" recipe contest. The grand prize winner will receive a five-night, six-day culinary trip for two to Chateau de Berne cooking school in Provence, France. For entry forms and rules, go online to www.alouettecheese.com. Deadline for entries is May 1. -- N.H. EASTER TRIVIA: Here are a few fun Easter facts from the National Confectioners Association Founded in 1884 in Chicago by representatives of 69 confectionery manufacturing firms, the National Confectioners Association is one of the oldest, most respected trade associations in the world. . The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 19th century and remain among the most popular treats associated with Easter. Some 63 percent of Americans would prefer receiving a chocolate bunny on Easter morning, followed by 10 percent who would like to have marshmallow bunnies. The majority of chocolate bunny fans like a solid chocolate bunny (42 percent) followed by a hollow chocolate bunny (21 percent). More than 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made yearly in this country for the holiday. About 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter (that's enough to completely fill a plastic Easter egg that's 89 feet high and 60 feet wide -- about the height of a nine-story office building). Red jelly beans are kids' favorite. When checking out their Easter baskets, kids first grab for chocolate bunnies (76 percent) followed by marshmallow treats (18 percent), malted milk balls/eggs (17 percent) and jelly beans (16 percent). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25 feet high and made of chocolate and marshmallow. The egg weighed 8,968 pounds and was supported by an internal steel frame. Visit www.candyusa.org for more Easter information, including basket ideas. CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- 3) no caption (easter chocolates) (4) no caption (Diet Coke Plus) |
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