Nothing says “Happy Valentine’s Day” like chocolate from Ghirardelli. I was given the opportunity to try out a few of their Valentine’s specific chocolates and was impressed as usual. My favorite by far was the Dark Chocolate and Strawberry (because I am a dark chocolate fan). However, I also really liked the Milk and Strawberry. The Sublime White Vanilla Dream was so creamy and smooth that it melted in my mouth. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was the favorite of everyone else in my house.
The thing about Ghirardelli is that it is expensive-tasting chocolate that doesn’t break the bank. I’ve never had a piece of it that wasn’t perfect, whether directly from the store in Downtown Disney or from the shelf at my grocery store. Their standards are so high. As a chocolate aficionado (is there such thing?), I know good chocolate, bad chocolate, and overpriced chocolate. I always come back to Ghirardelli.
If you are considering Ghirardelli this Valentine’s Day, I have something that will sweeten the pot for you even more (see what I did there? chocolate…sweeten…) For the month of February you can take 10% off your Ghirardelli.com purchase with code CJ10. You can also get free shipping on orders of $50 or more. You might as well order $50 worth because I know you can think of a few people to give it to. (Or save some for yourself if you are smart)
Are you a fan of Ghirardelli? What are your favorite flavors?
I was lucky enough to try out the Ghirardelli Chocolate Flavored Sauce the other day and it is fantastic! We used it on ice cream and they suggest that you use it in coffee. But the best suggestion that I have seen is to make a chocolate martini with it. Check out this picture and tell me you are not drooling!
The chocolate martini recipe is fairly simple–vodka, hazelnut liqueur, and raspberry liqueur. What really make it something special for chocolate lovers is the drizzle of chocolate sauce that coats the inside of the glass.
Have you tried this recipe? Do you have a favorite chocolate martini that you make yourself or get at a particular restaurant?
You can order your mom something fancy for Mother’s Day and wonder if she’ll like it. Or you can order her something comfortable that you know she will love. David’s Cookies makes chocolate chip cookies that will rival even your homemade cookies.
I started ordering David’s Cookies as gifts about 5 years ago because they are as close as I have found to homemade. In fact, I have a suspicion that one of our local delis actually uses David’s cookie dough and passes the cookies off as homemade in their bakery.
You can choose from different flavors and sizes of cookies. They also have brownies, although I tend to stick with the cookies when I place orders. You have to be sure to order early in the week, however, because they do not ship at the end of the week. This is because their cookies are not shrink-wrap preserved like a lot of other cookies. It’s honest to goodness like you baked them yourself, put them in a tin, and shipped them. Except none of them ever break and you don’t have to scramble to find a tin.
If you are considering chocolate chip cookies as a gift, check out the video below. Also be sure to look for David’s Cookies coupons because you can often find up to 15% off or free shipping.
Two of my favorite things in life are wine and chocolate. What could be better than pairing the two together? Unfortunately, it is not that easy. You can’t just take a Hershey bar and eat it while drinking a glass of chardonnay. Different types of wine match with different types of chocolate. How can you be sure that you are pairing them properly?
Join a Wine Club
My best suggestion to you is to join a wine club that provides tasting notes for the wines. You will get to explore different types of wine each month (or quarter, depending upon the club), and the best wine clubs will tell you exactly what matches the wines. I’m typically a white wine drinker but have come to understand that dark chocolate (my preference) usually pairs better with red wine. (If you need help, check out the Top Red Wine Clubs posted at Wine Club Reviews and Ratings.)
Rosa Regale and Dark Chocolate
My very favorite is pairing Rosa Regale (Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto) with dark chocolate. I initially discovered Rosa Regale while on a Disney Cruise and have been in love with it ever since. It is a little bit pricey, though, and something that I tend to reserve for special occasions. Outside of wine clubs, it is the only time that I have discovered a great wine pairing on my own.
If you are a fan of both wine and chocolate, take a little bit of time to get educated about how best to enjoy them together. You will not be disappointed!
I consider myself a bit of a chocolate covered popcorn expert. I’ve tried everything from Boy Scout popcorn to homemade chocolate popcorn balls. But this year I found my all-time new favorite, Popcornopolis! Although they have a number of great flavors (some of the odd people in my family prefer the savory over the sweet), by far my favorite is their signature Zebra.
Zebra Chocolate popcorn is caramel popcorn drizzled with stripes of dark chocolate and white chocolate. Normally I am not a fan of white chocolate, but there is something about this combination that makes it the absolute best popcorn I have ever tasted. I’m not even the type that gets popcorn at the movie theatre. If it doesn’t have the right kind of chocolate on it, I don’t bother. Zebra Chocolate is definitely the right kind of chocolate.
If you are more of a purist, Popcornopolis also has a Chocolate Caramel that is the same but without the white chocolate. But I really encourage you to try the Zebra, because it’s 10X better than it even sounds. They also have a Rocky Road if you like nuts (almonds in this case) in your caramel corn. The Rocky Road also has pieces of marshmallow. For a limited time, they have Candy Cane Crunch, which is dark and white chocolate infused with peppermint and a dusting of crushed candy canes. I have not tried that one yet, but it is on my list!
Lastly, they have a chocolate with peanut butter. I’m not a fan of peanut butter, so I did not even try it. I did buy a bag of it for the rest of my family and it disappeared within a day, so I am guessing that it was pretty good!
I do have to caution you about the “pickers” in the group. When you put out a bowl of this chocolate popcorn, keep an eye out for the people who immediately try to grab the big chunks of popcorn stuck together with extra chocolatey goodness. You’ll know what I mean when you dig into the bag. And if you are one of the “pickers,” make sure that you grab the bag first and pull out those big chunks before anyone else has the chance.
If you are looking for a great gift idea, Popcornopolis is the way to go. I actually buy it now every time I am entertaining groups of friends and have become kind of known for serving it. They have great coupons on their site and you can also use this code of ours DELISH20 to take 20% off any order if they are not running a better deal on their site.
The chocolate martini recipe is fairly simple–vodka, hazelnut liqueur, and raspberry liqueur. What really make it something special for chocolate lovers is the drizzle of chocolate sauce that coats the inside of the glass.
