Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Almond Nuggets with Chocolate Drizzle

Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Almond Nuggets with Chocolate Drizzle: From Denny:  Chocolate and almonds are the ideal combination for a cookie.  This is basically a sugar cookie with sliced almonds that makes for a stiff dough.

It is a simple exercise of dropping the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet - so that makes it easy even for beginner bakers.  The chocolate comes in when you ice the cookie with bittersweet chocolate that has been melted together with real butter and almond extract.

What's amusing is how the recipe creator actually thinks these mere 24 cookies will last long enough to make it into a covered container.  Bring your friends! :)

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Romancing The Chocolate: Beautiful and Easy: Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie

Romancing The Chocolate: Beautiful and Easy: Decadent Chocolate Mousse Pie: From Denny: I love searching through the recipe databases of various companies promoting their food products. You never know what gems you will find to inspire you to try something new or tweak a family favorite.

The recipe database at Spice Islands is a real treasure trove of goodies - and I've only started on the dessert section! Color me into the Well Impressed Corner. :)

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Romancing The Chocolate: Valentines Day Cookies: Reverse Chocolate Chip

Romancing The Chocolate: Valentines Day Cookies: Reverse Chocolate Chip: From Denny: In the mood for a chocolate batter cookie with white chocolate chips? This version also sports an unusual ingredient: the heady spice coriander. Add in the exotic flavorful macadamia nuts and this cookie is a huge hit. You can always substitute your favorite nut like almonds or walnuts.


When I found this recipe on the ABC Recipe site, they referenced it to "Stew Leonard's." Of course, I asked the obvious question, "Who is that?"

I live in south Louisiana so had never heard of the Connecticut grocery store chain. So, I googled them and found a wonderful site worth the visit. They started out as a dairy farm in Norwalk, Connecticut and branched out from there over the decades into a full blown grocery chain. Check out this wonderful chocolate recipe.

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Romancing The Chocolate: Valentines Day: Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pie

Romancing The Chocolate: Valentines Day: Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pie: From Denny: Pies are always an easy idea for holidays as they take less time and fuss than individual portion recipes.

This is a light taste of chocolate and butterscotch. If you want to intensify those flavors, step up the chocolate chips to 3/4 cup, instead of 1/2 cup. You could even drizzle the finished chilled pie with extra chocolate syrup to add that decadence factor.

As to intensifying the butterscotch flavor, why not add a few microwave melted caramel candies to the mix? Or you could add more butterscotch chips instead of taking the time to melt caramels.

Most people prefer a light taste to dishes. At our house we often like spicy dishes and strongly flavored desserts. So, if it's supposed to taste like chocolate and caramel, we want it to be obvious.

I really think this cook was showcasing the mascarpone cheese above the other flavors, so a different name would have been a better idea since the chocolate and butterscotch flavors tend to be background in this pie. The choice is yours: simple and creamy cheese with a light taste of chocolate and butterscotch - or kick it up a notch to just a bit more!

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Romancing The Chocolate: Celebrate Valentines Day With Fiery Chocolate Fondue

Romancing The Chocolate: Celebrate Valentines Day With Fiery Chocolate Fondue: From Denny: Chocolate fondue is the favorite of Valentine's Day menus. This recipe is extra special with the addition of some Tabasco hot sauce to kick it up a notch - the romance, that is. :)

It's also a ridiculously easy recipe, with only a few ingredients, sure to be a crowd pleaser at a party - or just for two.

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Romancing The Chocolate: Chefs Recipe 4 Valentines Day: Warm Chocolate Cheesecake

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Romancing The Chocolate: Chefs Recipe 4 Valentines Day: Warm Chocolate Cheesecake: From Denny: Looking for an easy to make chocolate cheesecake? Chef Sara Moulton is always coming up with great ideas that are simple to make.

Usually, we serve cheesecake chilled. Have you ever thought of eating your cheesecake while still warm from the oven? Sara likes this recipe to enjoy that warm creamy chocolate delight.


Sara bakes these chocolate cheesecakes in small ramekins. She didn't offer up a photo but check out the awesome one I found of another version of chocolate cheesecake at flickr, decked out in blackberries.

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Unusual Tabasco Chocolate Cherry

Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Unusual Tabasco Chocolate Cherry: From Denny: Enjoy a little pepper heat with your chocolate? Then these unusual cookies from the Tabasco hot sauce company are for you.

Chocolate and cherries are another winning combination enjoyed during the Valentine's Day celebration season. Tabasco just decided to kick it up a notch.

This recipe calls for making huge cookies that are shaped into football ovals and then decorated with icing to resemble the pigskin laces. Instead you can shape them into hearts, piping icing with a heart inside a heart for decoration.

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Dennys Funny Quotes: 34 Funny Friday Quotes, Friday Music Video

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Dennys Funny Quotes: 34 Funny Friday Quotes, Friday Music Video: From Denny: Need a little weekend inspiration? Bored in your corporate cubicle? Your mind wandering far, far away from work because your body can't wait to leave?

These funny, and sometimes downright wicked, quotes should get you through the last remaining hours before the weekend officially starts.

Check out the silly Friday song by Rebecca Black. So far it's been viewed over 21 million times. Now that's a lot of bored folks out in the virtual work world with too much time on their hands.

The Healing Waters: Super Bowl Party: 3 Healthy Chips, 5 Healthy Dips

The Healing Waters: Super Bowl Party: 3 Healthy Chips, 5 Healthy Dips: From Denny: These unusual chips and dips are packed with flavor and spice sensations, both familiar and exotic that will make you the hit of the party. The food director of Prevention Magazine, Lori Powell, created some winners here.

We love creative uses of spices at our house. What is really a winner is that munching all night long on these combinations and a glass of wine or beer will keep you under 1,000 calories - and that's if you stuff yourself silly. Considering most hamburgers come in at 1,200 calories at most restaurants, well, this is good news.

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The Social Poets: Groundhog Day: How Many Talented Psychic Rodents In America?

The Social Poets: Groundhog Day: How Many Talented Psychic Rodents In America?: This is the stuffed, ok, taxidermied groundhog, known as Potomac Phil that hails from Washington, D.C. He gets wheeled out to the Dupont Circle Ground Hog Day celebration to determine whether he sees his shadow or not. Not sure who the human political hack is for him to make the announcement. But hey, the new burgeoning club played polka music to honor him.

His fans are hoping to raise enough money to replace him with a live groundhog next year. Until then, Potomac Phil continues to trash talk his beltway imitator Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania.

And what is Punxsutawney Phil's response to this stuffed upstart? "Ah, Potomac Phil is Newt Gingrich's first cousin, all trash talk and no money. I'm the real deal since 1887."

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Romancing The Chocolate: Chef Recipe: Chocolate Tart with Caramel and Cream

Romancing The Chocolate: Chef Recipe: Chocolate Tart with Caramel and Cream: From Denny: Everyone who enjoys a chocolate tart every time they can, raise their hands. Yeah, I thought so - sisters of the soul. I sure order it from the La Madeleine restaurant or other local bakery whenever it shows up in the display case. It's like a little piece of heaven in one tiny spot - a rich little chocolate pudding, a dollop of cream and some pie crust, simply divine.

This is a New York chef recipe from the famous restaurant Aureole. Chef Christopher Lee uses Sicilian sea salt to enhance the sweet creamy richness of the indulgent chocolate dessert.

He also includes the unlikely addition of the chocolate malt Ovaltine to the bittersweet baking chocolate.

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Valentines Day: Warm Upside-Down Pear Cake With Tangerine Custard Sauce

From Denny:  For pear lovers - and lovers - this is an outstanding dessert good enough for any holiday!

Like any upside down cake this one is practically beginner cook and foolproof.  The custard requires a more experienced cook and a little time but is well worth the effort.

The cake is a simple one using all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, tangerine zest, a few tablespoons of milk and heavy cream, a couple of eggs, cognac and pecans.  Cream, cognac and pecans (all fav ingredients of mine) all play off each other for a wonderful flavor combination.

This tangy tangerine sauce is an unusual and clever pairing with the pears and hearty cake.  The sauce combines half and half cream, tangerine juice, tangerine zest, vanilla extract and sugar along with the egg yolks to make it rich and memorable.

Sold?  Yeah, me too!  If you can't find tangerines, try substituting oranges.

Tip:  In fact, every time I enjoy a fresh orange I go ahead and take the time to zest it, placing the zest in the freezer like a treasure mounting up over time.  Then, when I need some orange zest for any recipe I'm ready to go.

Romancing The Chocolate: National Chocolate Cake Day Today! 2 Recipes

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Romancing The Chocolate: National Chocolate Cake Day Today! 2 Recipes: From Denny: Like anyone had to inform the chocolate hounds that today is a special day. We all know we sure don't pay much attention to any other holiday - excepting Valentine's Day - 'cause only chocolate holidays rule. :)

What are the goals of National Chocolate Cake Day? The Obvious: bake and decorate a wonderful chocolate cake and then enjoy it with a few friends! Now that's what I call a plum assignment.

First off, everyone should have at least one basic good Simple Chocolate Sheet Cake in their bag of magic baking tricks. This will make you a big hit at family or sports gatherings - read that at tailgating too.

People can cut the small or large size they desire. Of course, the cake can end up looking like a bit of a messy disaster that way so usually most cooks choose to pre-cut the pieces. I usually cut mine into long fingers like 1-inch x 3-inches. The dieters (and the diabetics who are supposed to behave but can't) can slice that in half - and the Hungry Jacks can take two. Everyone is happy!

Then try the Mexican Chocolate Fudge Pecan Cake where cinnamon is added to a basic chocolate and buttermilk cake. Chocolate and cinnamon are natural pairings and the result is wonderful.

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Comfort Food From Louisiana: Mardi Gras: New Orleans Zulu King Cake

Comfort Food From Louisiana: Mardi Gras: New Orleans Zulu King Cake: From Denny: When you experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans one of the first things you want to enjoy again is the famous King Cake.

Here in Baton Rouge our grocery stores and local bakeries offer literally dozens of varieties from chocolate eclair to cream cheese and blueberry. Those are two of my favorites. :)

The Zulu King Cake has coconut and chocolate chips. Cinnamon, sugar and cream cheese is another popular version.

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Chocolate Crackled

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Chocolate Crackled: From Denny: These chocolate chunk cookies are delightfully decadent as they also include ancho chile pepper that provides some smokey heat. Cinnamon and extra vanilla extract balance the chile heat and intense semi-sweet chocolate.
A variation of this cookie is provided that enjoys using roasted ginger spice in place of the cinnamon.

Check out the interesting variations of your favorite chocolate chunk cookie!

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Triple Chocolate Pistachio Mint

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Triple Chocolate Pistachio Mint: From Denny: These rich cookies are perfect for the holidays from Thanksgiving to Christmas to Valentine's Day to Mardi Gras. Any celebration will do when it comes to chocolate!

Chocolate and peppermint are a great pairing, each complementing the other. What I like about this chocolate recipe is it uses bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate too. The contrast of the very dark and the light white is awesome, balanced by the roasted pistachio nuts. Can it get any better?

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Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip

Romancing The Chocolate: Cookies: Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip: From Denny: This is basically your standard chocolate chip recipe but with the difference of lots of extra vanilla extract to punch up the intensity. They should probably rename these cookies to Intense Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies.

This recipe is from McCormick, the company we usually think of for spices. Turns out they have quite an extensive recipe collection!

These cookies use light brown sugar along with white sugar. We like dark brown sugar at our house and reduce the white sugar by half. But hey, we are living in Louisiana where we like the molasses taste of dark brown sugar.

We bake and cook a lot with the cane syrup produced here. Steen's cane syrup is a lot like black strap molasses in that it is an intense taste but much sweeter, just perfect for baking or making an awesome barbecue sauce. I find it a bit too strong to pour onto pancakes. Of course, my Cajun husband thinks it's awesome on pancakes and waffles. :)

Romancing The Chocolate: Easy Triple Layer Mud Pie

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Romancing The Chocolate: Easy Triple Layer Mud Pie: From Denny: This is an easy recipe for those chocolate lovers who are in a hurry to whip up a dessert and then forget about it for a few hours while it chills in the fridge.

Simple pies like this are also perfect for tailgating to those special sports events.

All you need for this simple dessert is part of a can of sweetened condensed milk, 3 squares of semi-sweet chocolate, a prepared chocolate cookie crumb pie crust, a chocolate instant pudding mix, some two percent milk, 1/2 cup chopped nuts and a small tub of frozen whipped topping of your choice.

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Dennys: News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food: Check Out Christmas Posts: Funny, Music, Cartoons, Quotes, Recipes, Poems, Stories

Dennys: News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food: Check Out Christmas Posts: Funny, Music, Cartoons, Quotes, Recipes, Poems, Stories: From Denny:  Check out so many Christmas themed posts that you will pig out like it is a holiday feast.

I've been blogging for three years now and have found loads of Christmas music of all genres - and still adding.  Interesting food to enjoy along with Christmas humor to keep you laughing as well as munching through your busy holidays.

This year I'm adding more Christmas stories and poems, the classics.  Every year there are new recipes to try so the holiday food train just keeps on rolling!

Dennys: News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food: Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 17 Nov 2011

Dennys: News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food: Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 17 Nov 2011: From Denny: Check out blog posts on photography, arts, food, news, politics, a huge amount of humor - especially the political pundits, poetry, astronomy, quotes, music, spiritual and just about anything else that catches my eclectic interest. Can you tell that 140 characters just doesn't work for me? :)

The last posts roundup I did was back in June and we sure are overdue like a long pregnancy. Be sure to bookmark this post as you will enjoy endless hours of laughing while you absorb some good information.

Most of the blog posts are at my flagship blog that spun off into the other 20, The Social Poets, where the news crashes into humor. I even manage to write a few in-depth news posts, slicing and dicing the BS that passes for truth these days on the airwaves.

And to think I do all this in my spare time... Hope you enjoy!