Craving chocolate?  Looking to satisfy your cravings in less than 100 calories?

Mrs. WellDone is!!  (And me, too.)

That’s why I’m glad ChuaoChocoholic found me and offered me a promise: sweet tooth satisfaction in 100 calories or less.  I said prove it.  She said she would…as long as I shared with me wife.  I reluctantly agreed.  So a week later, a sampler of the many flavors of Chuao Chocolatier ChocoPods both appeared at my door and very quickly disappeared into my mouth.  (And, sadly Mrs. WellDone’s mouth, too.  I’m not so good with the whole sharing thing.)

In the pack they sent me, I got several varieties including:

• Candela (spicy macademia nut praline)
• Passion (passion fruit caramel)
• Chinita Nibs (dark chocolate caramelized nibs and nutmeg)
• Spicy Maya (dark chocolate, pasilla chile, and cayenne pepper)
• Banana (banana, brown sugar and caramel)
• Firecracker (dark chocolate, chipotle, salt, and popping candy)

… and many more.

So many more, in fact, we missed out on the whole 100 calorie advantage since, well, we had to try them all!  I mean, I would be remiss in my duty as a blogger if I didn’t, right?  Right?

ChocoPod - Excellent Flavor

What’s good about ChocoPod?  Well, the  ChocoPods are good!

Okay, that’s kind of a blanket statement, especially given all their flavors, but overall I was extremely impressed with the creativity that Chuao Chocolatier put into their ChocoPods.  Seriously: banana, brown sugar, and caramel with chocolate or chocolate chipotle, salt and pop rocks?  High marks for creativity across the board.

Did I like all the flavors?  Negative.  For instance, the Candela was just not my thing.  I got the spicy, but I wanted more praline.  The chocolate banana (my wife’s absolute favorite) was okay and I tend to not care for passion fruit anything.  However, the nutmeg in the Chinita nibs more than made up for all that.  (Have you had nutmeg and chocolate?  Seriously!!)  I also really liked the Spicy Maya, which was a very nice pairing of sweeter chilies and sweet chocolate.

Plain Chocolate From Chuao Chocolatier?

The one thing I didn’t get to try was Chuao chocolate all on its own because they didn’t send me any.  I’m not sure if they offer it.  So I guess that would be my one warning.  If you don’t like flavored chocolate, Chuao Chocolatier ChocoPods might not be the thing for you.

On the other hand, if you always wanted a chocolate pumpkin pie, or if you do like chocolate, try the Chinita Nibs.

Um, did I mention I liked the Chinita Nibs?

The 100 Calorie Promise

Okay, so this is my parting thought on the ChocoPod.  The flavors I liked, like I really liked, but they were small.  Maybe two inches each.  So they definitely weren’t any health bar that offers you a huge bar of brown that they say is “chocolate” and expect you to eat it because it’s healthy.  Frankly, that was what I was expecting and was  I pleasantly surprised that I didn’t get that.

However, does that mean that ChocoPods can end all chocolate cravings in just one pack?  Maybe if you nibble slowly.  If not, expect a nice 200-300 calorie snack and allow yourself two or three packages in one sitting.  I mean, they’re good, so enough you might as well enjoy, right!

Get Your Own ChocoPods!

If are ready to silence your cravings with your own ChocoPods, visit the Chuao Chocolatier website.  They are ridiculously affordable.  On the other hand, if you want to win some for yourself, leave a comment below and tell me your favorite 100 calorie snack or a snack you’d like to see cut down to 100 calories.  Maybe I’ll try to recreate it.  Make it hard, because I love a challenge.

I’ll pick one random winner next Friday (3/19) night and you will get your own sampler pack!

Get to commenting and enjoy!

(Image courtesy of http://www.chuaochocolatier.com)

2010 Continues!

A lot of exciting things are supposed to happen this year.  If Arthur C. Clarke is right, this is the year that Jupiter will turn into a sun thanks to Roy Schneider.  We’re 2 years away from the Mayan (Aztec?) apocalypse.  Yep, this is an exciting time to be alive!

In all seriousness, while 2010 is a year of great opportunity, it’s also one of great challenge with the glocal economy still on shaky footing, joblessness soaring acros the world, and some very credible evidence that the environment is getting more and more unstable.  Fixing the environment is a big job, but it’s not so big if we all pitch in.  That’s why Caitlin from Roaming Tales and I are doing this series on sustainable eating: so everyone can make informed decisions about food and the food supply.

Okay, I’m back!

I wanted to talk about why I support #MeatlessMonday and how it fits into sustainable eating. 

I found out about #MeatlessMonday from Twitter months ago.  Instantly, even without knowing there was a site and an eNewsletter behind it, I knew it was something I could get behind for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, I think the best reason to support #MeatlessMonday is that it’s very middle-of-the-road.  In the meat vs. veg*n debate, there is, quite frankly, a lack of moderation.  Both sides feel very strongly that they are right and the other side is very, very wrong.  Frankly, I’m not here to weigh in on either side, nor recap the debate except to say that both sides have valid points and points where they are basically off the reservation.  (Or in other words, both sides are very human.)

So, enter #MeatlessMonday.  It’s one day out of the week where we pledge to avoid eating meat.  That’s like 3 meals or, if you work out with my trainer, 3 meals and 3 snacks where you give up meat and try something new and different.  It’s not very difficult to do and it’s easy to plan for, but it’s a small change that can have a big impact on your health and the environment.  It’s a small enough change that even the most dyed in the wool meat eater can make and it’s a start in the right direction if you want everyone to be veg.  In other words, it’s a good compromise for those who don’t want to get wrapped up in the extremes of both sides.

But why do it at all, or as one friend asked, why make Monday worse by not eating meat?

So, I have no doubt that Monday was chosen because it’s an alliteration (and because Tofu Tuesday was already taken…), but of all the work days in the week, Monday is the easiest to plan around.  More and more people are starting to cook on Sundays to feed themselves for the a portion of the week.  Therefore, picking Monday as your day to get meatless means that you have Sunday to research vegetarian recipe books and sites to figure out what you are going to make and so you can make it beforehand.

But more than that, cutting your meat consumption by 1/7 has innumerable benefits for you and for the environment.  Since this is a series on sustainable eating, I’ll eschew the health benefits for now, except to point out my SheKnows article “Vegetarians make better lovers.”

On the environmental side, it’s a fairly well documented fact by now that meat production, especially large-scale factory farms, are environmental catastrophes.  They stink, making the land around them hard to live on, run off from all the animal droppings pollute local ground water supplies, and the animals are treated horribly and pumped full of antibiotics and hormones.  They live badly and die badly and taste badly when served on a plate.  It’s not sustainable and it’s not good for eating.

Dedicating one day to not eating meat would lower the demand for it.  That would in turn reduce the need for large factory farms which would both improve the environment and would level the playing field for smaller meat producers who believe in sustainable meat production.

Oh, and did I mention vegetables taste good, especially when they are grown using sustainable methods?  I have no data to prove this, but my experience has been that sustainable growing of fruit and vegetables has outpaced sustainable raising of meat products.  So, in effect, the trade is to eat fewer factory farmed meats and more sustainably raised vegetables.  It’s a net positive for the environment and for farmers doing things the right way.

And that’s why I support #MeatlessMonday.  I am a believer in taking baby steps and in all of us making small steps that add up to one big change for the environment and #MeatlessMonday is one great way to do that.  Also, because I don’t want anyone to feel like they are alone with their small change, I will continue to provide meatless recipes every Monday and support the cause.

It’s not going to feel like a big sacrifice if you actually enjoy what you eat, right?

From Camarones a la diabla comes

Spicy Chickpeas in Ancho Chili Sauce

So, first of all, happy #MeatlessMonday!  Hopefully you are doing your part for the environment and for yourself today and are having one day where you go without meat.  If so, good for you!  If not, it’s never too late to get started!

So, today’s recipe was a bit of an experiment  I concocted after making Camarones a la diabla for the second time (both with and without the camarones.)  I love the flavors, I love the heat, I kind of love the fact it leaves me with a bunch of dried chilies I need to cook with…

Actually, I do love to experiment and this particular recipe came about because I like to play and because, well, frankly, I needed to eat.

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Never one to turn down a challenge, when The Olive Press, an all-world olive oil store in Sonoma and Napa put out a challenge to several food bloggers to do four courses with four of their olive oils, guess who signed up?  This guy.

Guess who is going to win?  This guy!  (No offense, I come by my arrogance naturally.)

You smell that?  I just opened a can of whup [bleep] and four bottles of olive oil including:

The Arbequina a light (they call it delicate) Spanish olive oil with an almost Spring-like flavor of fresh cut grass and wild flowers.
The Mission, a Northern California olive oil that tasted the most like the store-bought olive oils I am used to, though with deeper notes and more complexity.
The Italian Blend, a robust oil that delivered strong olive oil flavor.
The Blood Orange which was sweet and citrusy and is my new favorite olive oil, hands down.

So, given these four oils as the canvas on which to make my four course masterpiece , I had to come up with a theme.  My first thought was Italian: caprese salad, pesto, olive oil gelato and caponata.  I was feeling pretty good about things.  For about two minutes.

That menu just felt safe.  I knew I could pull it together and it would be good, but was it enought to stand out?  Could I win the prize pack from the Olive Press with it?  Let’s be honest, if the good folks from the Olive Press were sitting down at my table (or if Emeril ever perfects smell-o-vision), I’d do that menu in a heartbeat.  But I knew for this competition, all I had was my words and a few pictures.  So I had to rework my theme.

I asked Twitter.  My tweeps were no help.  At all.  Most of the uses for olive oil they came up with can’t be repeated on a PG blog.  Google, on the other hand, was a great help and within no time I had a new theme: world cuisine with olive oil.  Four cuisines, four olive oils, four courses, four chances to delight the taste buds.

Better yet, the total cost of this menu was about $40 and it only took 2 hours to put together.  Can you say party time?

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get to the menu:

First Course – Greek Appetizer Trio

This trio of hummus, baba ghanoush, and flavored olive oil gets things started using the robust Italian Blend olive oil.  I choose it because it had the boldest flavor of all the oils (hence “robust”), which all three appetizers needed.  The hummus and baba ghanoush would both have been flat and monotonous with a good olive oil flavor and, of course, flavored olive oil is just going to be disappointing without a strong olive oil base.

The baba ghanous recipe is from The Olive Oil Source, the flavored olive oil is just Italian Blend olive oil, parsley, oregano and garlic.  The hummus is chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, lemon, salt, and tahini smoothed out in the food processor.

Second Course – Spanish Tuna/Olive Tapas

Spanish course,  Spanish olive oil, right?  Sadly, no.  That would have made sense, but the delicate flavors of the Arbequina would have been lost beneath the saltiness of the tuna and kalamata olives.  Instead, I used the Mission in this recipe from EricWeisstein as a base, but used package tuna (due to time considerations) and topped with sriracha for a nice kick of spice.  Be careful not to use too much, though.

Third Course – Asian Hot Pot with Shrimp

Ah, the famous Sichuan hot pot… this is the dish that really got me excited.  I got even more excited when I tried the Arbequina since I knew it would be perfect for this.  See, the chilies in the dish all have very pungent flavors, but having a fruity olive oil in the mix changed the complexity of the hot pot’s flavor.  Instead of just being heat, there were subtle floral undertones to the dish not present in a normal hot pot and that was a very good thing.

To recreate this dish, fill a fondue pot 1/2 full of Arbequina, then add 1/2 cup of Chinese chili oil and a few dried peppers.  Stir and bring to heat.  Serve with raw shrimp that are put into the hot pot to cook.

Fourth Course – Lemon and Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake with Gelato and Chocolate Sauce

Yes me, the ever non-baker had to get help both from the Blood Orange Olive oil and Epicurious.  I then topped with Jasper Mirabile’s caremelized guanciale gelato with a dash of chocolate sauce.  It was heavenly, though.

And that’s my meal.  Seriously, about $40 bucks, a little over 2 hours.  One heck of a party.  Give it a try, it’s the perfect dinner.

Enjoy!

It’s kind of last minute, but I found out that Chef Michael Smith who, as luck would have it, is the head chef at Restaurant Michael Smith (funny how that happens) and the excellent Extra Virgin, is having a dinner with wine pairings featuring superstar Italian winemaker Antonio Sanguineti on Monday, March 1st.

The festitivities for the dinner begin at 5:30 at the Cellar Rat where you can meet Mister Sanguineti and discuss the ins and outs of making some of the best Italian wines on the planet.  The dinner begins at 6:30 at Restaurant Michael Smith and features a 6-course menu with wine pairings. 

Can you say drool?

The first course is marinated Cici Beans with (get this) grilled radicchio and cauliflower frito paired with Trevisiol Presecco.  I mean, jeez.  This course had me at Prosecco and fried cauliflower.  I can just see myself trying to trade my radicchio for more cauliflower like in third grade (only I won’t be trading for more French fries.)

If that weren’t enough, the other five courses include

• Grilled king fish
• Pancetta wrapped stuffed quail* (yowsa)
• Wild boar with papardella
• Bistecca alla flortine
• To top off the night, vanilla panna cotta. 

(*Yes, I realize quail are cute, but they are cute and delicious.)

That’s the kind of menu one should expect from a James Beard Outstanding Chef finalist.

Last I checked, space was still available, but with seating limited, I’d make a reservation soon.  To do so, call 816.842.2202 and tell them BlogWellDone sent you.  I promise that will make absolutely no difference!

Hey, like I said in my last post, Jasper’s Restaurant in Kansas City really is having a Slow Food Pork Demo and Dinner, which is proudly called from Snout to Tail (click on the link for the Google Calendar reminder.)   I’m pretty excited about it.  Scratch that, I really excited.

Why?  Well, I kind of like pork.  Especially local, organic pork.

But more than that, not only is the dinner/class a cooking demo put on by Chef Jasper (who, if you haven’t been to one of his classes, be ready to be both entertained and STUFFED full of good food), the food is really exciting.  Chef Jasper, along with other members of Slow Food, have put together a menu which accentuates the local pork including some guanciale I spied hanging in his wine cellar that he made himself.  The menu also includes Tuscan Bean Soup, Penne Amatriciana, Porchetta, and maybe some jalapeno pork?

(Need more convincing, check out the pasta con sugo all’ Amatriciana.  That’s going to be on the menu.)   Need even more more convincing?  Somerset Ridge Winery will be pairing their locally produced wines with each course in the meal.  Need even more more more convincing?  See that lovely guanciale over there?  That’s for dinner.

So if you want some great local pork, if you like good wine, if you want to learn how to cook like Kansas City’s iconic master chef, or if you just want to meet me, Blog Well Done, come to Jasper’s this Thursday.  But hurry.  Seats are limited.  Get yours by calling 816.941.6600 right now.

Match Meat Pizza

It’s another #MeatlessMonday!!  But wait you say, it’s Thursday!  That’s true, it is Thursday, but I’ve been pretty lax in my support of #MeatlessMonday the past few weeks and I wanted to get back in the swing of things.  So all this week, we’re doing meatless recipes.  (By the way, next week will be a celebration of all thing seafood in honor of lent and the sacrifices made around the world by Catholics everywhere.)

Anyhoo, this recipe is pretty simple.  I included it for two reasons.  First, it’s a simple.  It’ s not quick due to the fact I’ve included a whole wheat crust recipe, but that can easily be replaced by something store bought.

Secondly, it’s vegan.

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Yeah, I know it’s Tuesday, but I want to keep #MeatlessMonday going on all week long, so how about

Vegetarian Quesadillas with Mushrooms

Okay, so a quick footnote.  This entire week, I’m going to be blogging #MeatlessMonday recipes despite the fact that only one day can actually be Monday (and that, of course, was yesterday.)  However, I missed a few #MeatlessMondays and I am atoning for it this week with lots of vegetarian and vegan recipes. 

Also, I am thinking that this is timely for lent since a lot of you have to go without meat on Friday.  I promise that meatless does not have to be borning.  And who knows, maybe next week, we’ll talk fish.

Okay, anyway, let’s talk quesadillas with mushrooms.  So, I got this idea tonight at dinner while perusing the vegetarian section (what can I say, I was looking for ideas?)  and on the menu there were several versions of quesadillas with “marinated mushrooms.”  Some came with zucchini and other vegetables, which all sounded good, but for some reason, the idea of a simple mushroom quesadilla just sounded good.

So, let’s roll with it.

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So the question was asked at today’s #FNI what’s my favorite soup, which has to be

Creamy Potato Soup

Specifically, the creamy potato soup from Panera served with a nice piece of whole wheat French baguette.  (Though, I answered Beef Barley soup, but that was just pandering.)  Anyway, I got to thinking how a good creamy potato soup recipe would be just the thing for a great #MeatlessMonday post.

Except for one thing.  Bacon.

I’m pretty sure one of the things that makes Panera’s creamy potato soup so good is none other than bacon.  And yes,  bacon does taste good, but this is #MeatlessMonday and so we’re going to take it out and see if we can’t make a great soup anyway.

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Tofu Rules! at 1177 West Hastings by Roland

Tofu + chocolate?  Must be unResolution Month’s Vegan Week and

Vegan Tofu Chocolate Pie

Yes, that’s right tofu chocolate pie.  Seriously.

Oh, real quick.  Welcome to the second-to-last day of unResolution Month!  It’s been an educational, enriching, delicious, resolution-breaking month!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the recipes as much as I have!  Plus, don’t worry, we’ll do it next year, too!

Anyway, back to tofu chocolate pie.  This whole concept may sound weird.  I know when I was first vegan, the whole concept of blending chocolate and tofu sounded about as sane as mixing chocolate and Velvetta.  Then I had chocolate soy milk, which is mixing soy + chocolate and that’s really good.  I highly recommend it. 

So if a little chocolate mixed in with some soy milk is worth a try, I guarantee this pie filled with delicious chocolate, margarine, and sugar is really, really worth it.  Oh, and tomorrow, I promise I’ll give you that vegan ice cream recipe so you can have vegan pie a la mode!

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