Armchair Dining on DP

LOL, it just goes to show, @sarahk that one woman's "just another chocolate bar" is another woman's "chocolate is to die for."

That said, for me, there is no "just another chocolate bar." They are all divine creations worthy of respect and devotion (but mostly devouring, of course.) Yet, recently, my niece got married and honeymooned in Fiji. She came back with this for me to sample:



Let's just say that the Swiss have nothing to worry about. One of the few chocolate confections that I probably would not eat again.

 

Well, I had something new and different this week in the chocolate confection arena:



Have been seeing ads on TV for these Reeses Peanut Butter Cups that have Reeses pieces embedded in the filling and so I bought a package at our local drugstore when I saw them on the shelf. The fellow at the counter was as intrigued as I was with this new offering and we read the back of the package in which it said that this large and heavy package had only two cups but that it entailed sixteen servings! We both smiled and said that it was unlikely that either of us would eat less than one of the cups, so at most, it was two servings. Boy, was I wrong.

The peanut butter cups were probably two inches (5cm) in diameter and at least .75 inches (2cm) deep. While the package said that you could cut them each into eight pieces (to get the sixteen servings), I did divide them up into four pieces, which were big, rich, and very filling. The chocolate shell is much thicker and stronger than a typical Reese's peanut butter cup (to hold firm for such a large structure) and that made it better overall than a standard peanut butter cup, in my opinion. Worth a try if you see it on the shelf!

 

A staple of mine has always been and will continue to be Reese's peanut butter cups, but as is...not going to go with pieces embedded in them....nope. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". (Moe from the Three Stooges)

 

Well, my search for the perfect fruitcake continued this year and I found a very unusual one, that almost met all of my requirements (I like a lot of candied fruit, no nuts, and light cake.) Triana's Wholesale Bakery (in NJ) makes one that has a lot of candied fruit, no nuts, and the cake is plain pound cake. Looked and sounded perfect, but ultimately, the plain pound cake was a bit too light and dry. I would have preferred that it be a bit more like fruitcake cake, but it was pretty good, overall. Looks like this but without the nuts in this photo:



I have another fruitcake to try for the first time and will probably do so tonight or tomorrow:



It appears to be made by another wholesale bakery, ChuckaNut Bay Foods. I have the square loaf and am looking forward to trying it soon, nuts notwithstanding.

 

My friends opened a confectionary recently (actually the opening was on Thursday), I was helping out as a pastry chef for a while. Learned how to make all of these:





Enjoying the process, enjoying the taste. Mango thing is my favourite. Check them out when you will be in St. Petersburg, the place is called CoffeeBells (located at Bell street, that's why..)

 

@cormoran they look great! You must have had a great time helping out. We will definitely add St. Petersburg to the DP World Foodie Tour!

Which one of the above has the mango's?

 

@jrbiz

the one that kinda looks like mango (first one)
each of them consist of biscuite Joconde layer (or coconut biscuite), creamy mousse and a double filling made of Crèmeux and confit made of different fruit puree.
We also made some cakes and some tiny rum balls (in Russia they are called "Potato" cakes, because they look like potatoes a little bit - see picture).
Hovewer, we make them as tiny balls, so it is more like the english analogue.


Don't have a photo of ours, but it is quite similar to this:

 

Wow, these all look great! Keep us posted as to any other great confections or foods that you run into. I am drooling as I write this.

 

Ah, St. Pete. I remember walking up and down the Nevsky prospect and stopping at all little coffee shops. Love that city. Lived near the metro Rybatskoe for a couple months.

 

Yes, but did you get to eat any of the cool pastries that @cormoran posted above? Despite not liking rum, I really liked the look of the "baked potato" sweet above.

 

So, it has become a tradition in my house that we have to have available the White Fudge Oreo's that are a Limited Edition only available around the holidays (at least here in New England.) They are the BEST Oreo, by far:


I am pretty sure that I mentioned them previously in this thread, but wanted to report that the tradition continues and was very successful again this year. However, I did notice a new flavor Oreo on the grocery store shelves:



Did not pick one up to try, but am wondering if anyone on DP has tried them and if they are any good?

 

Every time I read this thread I gain at least one pound. I estimate that there are as many as 100 calories per post, 200 on the posts with pictures!

 

I knew there had to be a reason why my diet is not as effective as it should be. Now I have the reason (excuse.)

 

I was talking to a longtime Rhode Island native and he mentioned the "Cabinet" and once I ascertained that he was not talking about a piece of furniture (didn't take long...) I discovered that this is a true Rhode Island drink concoction that apparently is getting harder and harder to find. I have posted in this thread about coffee syrup mixed with milk, but this adds a twist. A "Cabinet" is a coffee beverage made of coffee ice cream, coffee syrup and milk:



I don't like coffee nor coffee flavored drinks or foods, so not my cup of tea, so to speak. But, for a coffee lover, I suspect that this is a great drink. We will have some in the DP Foodie World Tour tour bus cooler, of course.

 

Have you ever had a cherry cola? And no I'm not talking about a Dr.Peppers either, but a real cherry cola.

 

I do not recall having a soda fountain type cherry cola which I suspect you are referring to. In addition to Dr. Pepper, I have had Cherry Coke, and Cherry Pepsi, all bottled sodas. But I am sure that the fountain drink is much better. As an aside, I do remember as a very young child going to a soda shop, sitting at the counter where a "soda jerk" (not a pejorative) made me chocolate soda. Loved it.

 

By popular demand I am bringing this thread back to everyone's favorite vice...namely chocolates. I recently went to the chocolate shop to get a couple of bars of Whittaker's Peanut Butter bars. To my absolute horror they had completely sold out and weren't expecting another shipment until the end of the month.However the owner talked me into purchasing some Whittaker's Coconut Blocks instead. I took them home and got into one.....yes! I think while they cannot compare to the peanut butter bars, they are well worth the price and well worth trying out.

 

Oh my! I probably would prefer the Coconut blocks. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Kind of like Mounds bars only better? Need the deets!