MarieBelle and Frangelico

I received a beautiful box of MarieBelle chocolates and a bottle of Frangelico as a pairing set. I actually opted to bake the Italian hazelnut liqueur into a dark chocolate cake in combination with Hedonist’s bitter sweet cocoa. The duo was fantastic. Unfortunately, while the MarieBelle sampling was attractive, it didn’t ship well. The pieces tasted a little dry and a couple of the chocolate tops had lifted from their bases. I’d be curious about how they fare fresh from a shop rather than going through the mail.

Day of Hearts!

Hedonist‘s raspberry dark truffles for Valentine’s Day are luxuriant. I mentioned before, dark chocolate and raspberries is a favorite combination of mine and I’ll certainly revisit these. The art is a lovely and playful approach to hugs and kisses. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Hedonist for the Holidays

NY-based Hedonist Artisan Chocolates sent me some truly delicious selections. Seriously, these aren’t just beautiful; their flavors are fantastic. Each of these would make a perfect gift or stocking stuffer. Wishing all a fabulous Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year!

Better than Williams and Sonoma’s bark!

The seasonal filled chocolates are as tasty as they sound: egg nog, fig, ginger molasses, champagne pomegranate, and orange clove.

I always favor fleur de sel caramels and these were no exception.

If you want something to cozy up to, the Bittersweet Drinking Chocolate comes with bits of chocolate that make for a rich hot beverage.

Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé

My thoughtful friend brought me beautiful chocolate all the way from Hungary. While I enjoyed it several months ago, I’m finally posting again! These selections were truly delicious and the art and design, well, as you can see, they are fabulous.

Guylian Belgian Chocolate

Guylian’s signature shells are beautiful and delicious. Their bars were lovely but the shells offer the best flavor and creamy texture. I highly recommend the dark chocolate ones. On top of creating an international favorite, the chocolatier contributes to Project Seahorse! Thanks, Guylian, for the selection!

Gail Ambrosius

Gail Ambrosius is featuring these new delightful creations in her shop. She never fails to take an inventive approach to the freshest, purest herbs, nuts, and so on. The orange almond might be my favorite because I worship marzipan. I recommend sampling the pistachio bomb last because it has a mighty bite and the heat remains when sampling the other milder flavors. Also, these beautiful chocolates very much mirror Frank Lloyd Wright’s aesthetic.

Vosges Visit in Chicago

R and I traveled to Chicago for a long weekend with my siblings. We had a blast and Vosges was a shop we indulged in among our many foodie adventures. It was an absolute delight seeing Vosges in its home base. Each piece was delicious as usual, but the Black Salt Caramel Bar was my favorite. No surprise here since that’s a standard among my top three preferred combos.