Enstrom's Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee

On the eve of Thursday, December 1, I had one of those days. It started off with one of those nights where you knew you had to go to be early on account the next day was a big day, with lots of important things to do. Where you knew that from the minute you got up your heart would be racing in order to finish these important things which of course in retrospect aren’t that important but that’s another entirely different story.

In this particular case, I had to organize my menagerie of doves, finches and one grey cat with white feet so I go see Elizabeth Taylor’s auction preview at Christie’s in New York, and be on a marketing panel that I had agreed to months ago. Problem was, that night was the night of the Santa Ana winds. For those of you in states that have “weather” let me tell you – in California, we’re not prepared for it – especially Southern California. These said winds started around 11pm and lasted to about 4am. The winds rocked our houses, uprooted full-grown trees, blew out windows, eliminated any hope for sleep and horrors shut off our electricity. No electricity meant – my cell phone started running out of juice halfway through the day, I couldn’t get to my car in the garage to drive to Home Depot to get some wood to nail down a blown out window or run a my thousand other errands and worst – I couldn’t get on my desk top computer to email my presentation for my talk onto my portable computer.

What we did without electricity? While pondering this great thought, I heard the postman (rain or shine as you know) leave a nondescript cardboard shipping box at my doorstep. Upon opening it, I found an elegant luminescent gift box labeled World Famous Enstrom’s Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee – the kind of gift box that you would be perfectly at home on a table decked out with tea, cakes and white gloves. Each layer is carefully crafted from the pearly exterior to the carefully tissued interior that opens to reveal a heaping, generous layer of delectable, chocolate covered toffee.

For toffee aficionados, toffee is the combination of all the things that are destined to prevent you from ever achieving that enviable six-pack - sorry Tony Horton. We’re talking about sweet cream butter, sugar, salt and of course chocolate and crushed almonds and honestly if that’s what we’re talking about – who cares about that six pack – right? But what makes this toffee extra special is that their recipe which was perfected by Chet Enstrom three generations ago. The result is a rich, crispy, buttery, silky and salty toffee that is coated with milky chocolate creamy goodness and liberally dotted and sprinkled with toasted, crushed almonds. Each bite feel joyous and the joy doesn't have to end there my friends. Enstrom also carries a Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee, Gourmet Chocolates, Turtles and Truffles as well - so you can satisfy your sweet tooth in a myriad of ways.

After savoring a luxurious piece – OK more than one piece - like a proverbial rainbow - Enstrom's made my day turn around. My neighbors who could get into their garage, came by boarded up my broken window, friends brought over dove food and took me and my computer to a power source - and throughout we broke toffee together. And, the day turned around - such is the power of Enstrom’s World Famous Milk Chocolate Almond Toffee and the power of friends.

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Sweet Moments Bite Sized Brownies by Pillsbury

I normally don't write reviews for anything other than artisan chocolatiers but, I had to make an exception for Pillsbury as I have happened to love the Pillsbury Doughboy since I was a little girl. I could never get enough of watching him get the poked in the belly and then giggling afterwards a much awaited event that occurred at the end of every commercial. My obsession with him was such that my mom saved the box tops and got me my very own stuffed Pillsbury Doughboy. When he first arrived, I was horribly disappointed as honestly, he looked nothing like the Pillsbury Doughboy I saw on TV - but my mom told me he had dried out a bit in the mail and that was good enough explanation for me. He was my favorite toy - gracing my bed up until I went to college. I still have him. So when I was contacted by Pillsbury, I couldn't say no - and I was glad I didn't.

Besides some other non-chocolaty goodies like Grands, Crescents and Pillsbury Turnovers (why doesn't Ralphs carry these?), Pillsbury has just introduced SweetMoments Bite Sized Brownies. This is not a completely apt description because they are so much more than just brownies. True, they are bite sized and have a brownie in them, but there is no mention of the silky cheesecake, the layer of caramel or raspberry and the fact they are frozen. Somehow you just know if you take some brownie, raspberry, cheesecake and coat it with chocolate and then freeze it - you know how all the ingredients together are just better - and they are.

Each bite packs a big flavorful and decadent punch - perfect for after a meal when you're craving something sweet. The cheesecake is silky, the brownie has a nice chew to it and the caramel or raspberry filling is satisfying but not overpowering. After you bite into these little morsels, you can enjoy seeing the layers of goodness which somehow always makes it more pleasurable in much the same way there is a big difference between a slice of cake and a heap of icing versus the cake being nicely layered. But the best part of the deal is it's only 190 calories for three. The only problem is - how to limit yourself to three? Thankfully there are 12 in a bag - and a steal at about $3.00/bag.

Found in the refrigerated section of discerning grocery stores.

embrace sweets

All photographs ©
Ron Dunlap Photography

If someone, who has never had a brownie before and then says – “This was the best brownie I have ever had,” you know that, that’s a pretty good brownie. But when someone, who is 75 years young, considers himself a connoisseur of all things chocolate, with brownies on top his list, and is your friends, well known curmudgeonly father, there is nothing that you can really do but stand up and take notice.

Like any good artisan baked good worth it’s salt, pardon the pun, the minute you lift the lid, you are immediately knocked over with rich wafts of chocolate. You can just tell by looking at them, that they are going to be gooood which is always the ultimate in good (you know, when you are compelled to put more o’s in the word good).



Each perfectly, rich, chewy and gooey brownie is carefully crafted to prevent you from getting into the skinny jeans you haven’t been able to get into since 2007. But no matter – there is always next year and honestly bikini season will be over before you know it.

We tried several flavors, but apparently, just to make us a little crazy, the flavors rotate based on the seasonality of the ingredients. So don’t hesitate, leave your New Year’s Resolutions by the side of the road, forget about the fact dinner is in a few minutes and just indulge. Really, it’s “so” worth it.

For the chocoholic it doesn’t get better than the Tres Chocolate. Basically this is a brownie that can’t stop getting enough of a good thing. The Chunky Walnut is chock full of the most wonderful toasted buttery, crunchy and meaty walnuts and the PB Royale, which is laced with chunks of Reese’s Peanut Butter cup is divine. For those who love raspberry and chocolate, the Chocolate Raspberry has your name all over it. Like all Embrace Sweets brownies, they are generous with their ingredients and you get a rewarding mouthful of raspberry sauce with each mouthful. We also enjoyed the Hot Chocolate which has just the right amount of kick. Our favorites were the Smoked Sea Salt Caramel which had indulgent rivers of caramel and just the right pinch of salt and the Blanc Chocolate Mac, a white chocolate brownie that was so perfectly buttery and creamy you just couldn’t stand it.

All of Embrace Sweets chocolates comes in their adorable signature packaging which makes them perfect as gifts – only if you can control yourself.



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Au Coeur des Chocolates Part II - Truffles

All photographs ©
Ron Dunlap/Doglight Studios

For those who haven’t had the benefit of a classical education (a favorite saying of a friend’s father) Au Coeur des Chocolates translates to Heart of Chocolates. And, Master chefs Shawn Williams and Doug Basegio’s explore this concept with extravagant results.

Be prepared that the first thing you will do after opening a box of Au Coeur des Chocolates, is pick yourself off the floor. Because if you’re not knocked out by the incredible, smell of rich, wafting chocolate - so rich you could wear it, you will certainly be knocked out by the sheer beauty of the chocolates each as exquisite as a Sultan’s treasure.

Savoring each chocolate made me feel like as if I were the star in my own movie conjuring up images, feelings and moods. The first group of chocolates I savored were fruity and took me to some unnamed exotic locale, wearing something loose, possibly organic (but still immensely flattering) apparel and with a perfect, seamless tan. This is the kind of movie where one goes on vacation, leaves their deranged world behind, finds true love and more importantly discovers their true self. My selection for this particular fare, included the Passion Fruit, the Yuzu (if you had the benefit of a classical education, you would know Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit) and the aptly named Candied Orange Hazelnut Crunch. Each chocolate is bursts in your mouth with sensational, vivid, sparkling flavor. The Yuzu, was especially outstanding: light, refreshing and tart.

Palet d’Or, Tahitian Dark Truffle and the Salted Caramel, take you to someplace entirely different, more of a film noir where the mood suggests some intrigue and mood lighting. Each truffle in this series explores the range and depth of chocolate. The Palet d’Or is made with Chefs Williams and Basegio’s favorite dark chocolate and is the perfect match for the exacting chocolate connoisseur, the aristocrat with the secret past if you will. And, while you might not consider the Tahitian Dark Truffle as a player a final feathery note of vanilla tells you not to underestimate this chocolate. My favorite though was the Salted Caramel. This is not an ordinary salted caramel that involves a basic caramel and salt. No. This is a smoky, buttery, silky caramel with a pinch of savory Maldon sea salt – the kind of chocolate that lurks in the shadows and is the key to your puzzle.

While I have a great love for all cinema, my favorite types of movies are the ones that make you laugh – whether they are silly capers or targeted to 7 year old boys and girls. To me, there is nothing more meaningful to bringing a smile to someone’s face and the Caribbean Coconut, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Banana Caramel and Ginger deliver on the smile. The Caribbean Coconut is a sophisticated take with light coconut flakes, and the Crunchy Peanut Butter nutty and delightful. I was most taken with the Banana Caramel which is every bit as good as it sounds. This story line involves a banana cooked until it’s own sugars begins to caramelize, then has some additional caramel is twirled in and, if that were not enough, mixed with a rich, sinful chocolate ganache. The Ginger is one of the most beautiful chocolates I have ever seen. It is faceted like a jewel and then decorated with a sprinkling of tiny white and yellow dots. When I first saw it, my immediate reaction was to make some sort of excuse so I could hoard it somewhere forever and for my own, personal, selfish enjoyment. However, greed took over. Biting into the dark molded chocolate reveals a center ganache that is smooth and sensuous with a delicate taste of ginger and wild honey.

It's always sad when the lights come on and the curtain closes but with Au Coeur des Chocolates, you can at least console yourself that you will always have the perfect ending. Enjoy the Vanilla Latte, a light coffee flavored chocolate or the Peppermint Dark Chocolate as your last bite, while you ponder where your chocolate experience will take you.

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Au Coeur des Chocolates - Part I - Nuts

All photographs ©
Ron Dunlap/Doglight Studios

It’s ironic that you start life knowing exactly what you want and then end it in a frantic search for What It All Means. And that is exactly what is so brilliant about Au Coeur Des Chocolates. They’ve spent the time to figure out what lies at the heart of the most important thing in life – that thing being chocolate. So you can leave all your concerns aside and focus instead on finding somewhere you can lounge comfortably and enjoy some pretty amazing chocolates.

I have always been a finicky eater and I cannot tell you how many times someone has told me “you’d really like that (lamb, celery, tongue) if it were cooked right.” And then somehow, I would always get finagled into having to sample their expert rendition of lamb, celery or tongue, only to reinforce the fact that I don’t like it. So, my philosophy has always been, trust your gut. But I have found the exception to my rule. You may be wondering what I am getting to and it’s this: If you really believe you are not a chocolate-covered nut person, trust me, the only reason is that you haven’t had Au Coeur Des Chocolates Caramelized Nuts. The process in which Au Coeur Des Chocolates Caramelized Nuts are created is painstaking, but oh, so worth it. First, each tiny nut is toasted. Then when the nuts are at the peak of toasty-ness, they are cooked in sugar until the sugar caramelizes and each nut is covered in a light crunchy skin of caramel. Then they throw in a dash of salt to accentuate the flavors and the pièce de résistance is a generous, velvety coating of sumptuous, dark chocolate. To ensure quality and perfection, Au Coeur Des Chocolates employs tiny elves to oversee each exacting step. OK, this last part may or may not be true, but it sure tastes like it. Each bite takes you through the pleasurable taste sensations of the crunch of the nut, the crispiness of the caramelized coating, and then the feeling of smooth, silky, rich chocolate – all blended together in a way that will make you crazy in the same way catnip makes my cat William crazy. You will most certainly find yourself reaching in for “just one more” until the whole bag is empty – even if you are on a diet and your reunion, where you want to show your ex what they missed out on, is less than a week away.

Au Coeur Des Chocolates offers Caramelized Almonds and Caramelized Hazelnuts. You may be tempted to purchase Caramelized Almonds if you are on Team Almond or Caramelized Hazelnuts if you are on Team Hazelnut. But we highly recommend purchasing both, and, instead of troubling yourself about this seeming extravagance, muse on the dilemma of choosing between them and call it a day – a really good day.

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alegio chocolates

If your motto with chocolate is the debauchery should never end, then you must make a trip to Alegio Chocolates. Alegio Chocolates is a hidden gem in the heart of the Gourmet Ghetto in Kensington, California (that’s near Berkeley University for those not familiar with the geography of the San Francisco East Bay). Designed under the keen eye of proprietors Panos a former film producer, and Robbin, it transforms the small space into a jewel-like box that exhibits the finest chocolates from around the world. Walking into the store always reminds me of the scene in Moscow on the Hudson, where Robin Williams, a Russian defector enters an American grocery store for the first time. In Moscow, he had to stand forever in line for some likely, miserable government, issue coffee – but in America he becomes so completely overwhelmed by an grocery aisle dedicated to serving up a depraved offering of a zillion coffee brands, he collapses.

Much like the supermarket scene, Alegio Chocolates serves up a cornucopia of treasure for the chocolate connoisseur. But unlike the random selection at a grocery store, each chocolate that graces an Alegio Chocolate's shelf has been meticulously selected. Both Panos and Robbin are charming and knowledgeable hosts that are happy to take the time to explain the details on how chocolate is made to exactly which Enric Rovira Bombola chocolate to enjoy with your favorite vintage wine. And, if you’re lucky and put on your most winning smile, you might be introduced to the secret drawer where Panos will pull out his latest, extraordinary chocolate find and offer you a tantalizing taste.

In our recent trip, we were able to sample some divine Claudio Corallo, considered some of the best and most complex chocolate in the world. The cacao beans, of this single source, ground breaking chocolate, are grown on a tiny African island of Principe. The beans are then transported to Sao Tome where Corallo has spent 10 years perfecting techniques to convert his them to chocolate that is absolutely unforgettable. We left with two bars that barely made it into our car before being ravenously devoured.

Among the many chocolates you can sample, Alegio also offers an exclusive collection of Joan Coukus truffles. Each of these divine little truffles are intensely flavored, perfectly balanced and hopelessly addictive. My favorites include The Orange and Ginger, The Habanero; Madagascan chocolate with a hint of chili, The Honey; a delicate fusion of Tasmania Honey from Australia and chocolate ganache, The Grapefruit; an award winning combination of tart, fresh grapefruit puree and the lushness of silky caramel and The Cinnamon; because who doesn’t love cinnamon and chocolate? For those who are bold – or maybe just a lush, try The Scotch for something unusual; a Venezuelan chocolate mixed with a smokey, peaty Scotch.

Whether you enjoy a truffle or an exotic chocolate bar, you will be guaranteed to find satisfaction at Alegio Chocolates. Just remember, if you get dizzy, it’s best to sit down and put your head between your knees.

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elsylee galetes artesanals

All photographs ©Ron Dunlap/Doglight Studios

When our box of Elsylee Galetes showed up at our door, I couldn't help but bursting into one of my favorite songs "C is for Cookie" by the celebrated cookie junkie, Cookie Monster. I admit there is something a bit incongruous about thinking of Cookie Monster together with and these delicate, artisanal cookies. But once you it's easy to turn into Cookie Monster, with his singular quest to ingest as many cookies as he can in an eye-rolling, frenzied manner that the neighbors are still talking about. No matter, it's worth becoming a social outcast for Elsylee's fine, artisan cookies.

These are simply the most amazing cookies. Each cookie is crafted by a masterful hand with all-natural and organic ingredients and in small batches. If you are a cook, you know a cookie really relies on butter for maximum decadence - and Elsylee delivers a rich buttery taste with each sinful bite. Each cookie is politely dainty, perfect for an elegant tea party and allows the well-mannered adult to have more than one cookie without looking piggy. Mind you, these cookies are adult cookies, for adult palates, and not to be shared with children or Muppets under any circumstance.



Each cookie was so divinely wonderful it is hard to choose a favorite but there are so many selections you are bound to have one that hits the precise note for your particular sweet tooth.

The Elsylee Edinburgh was my particulate favorite. A crisp square of shortbread, lightly dusted with powdered sugar with a rich, dark chocolate taste, that with just the right amount of thickness so each bite crumbles in an enjoyable way. After my first bite, I claimed these as my own although I allowed the other tasters to divide up a single cookie for tasting propriety.

The Elsylee Vienna is an almond-cherry shortbread with a handmade blackberry conserve center with white chocolate artistically drizzled over the top. This cookie combines the slight salty taste in the short bread, the tangy fruit center, crunchy almonds and, last but not least, finishes with a taste of white chocolate. Oh, and if that is not enough for you, the cookie has that sensation of "melting in your mouth" which, as anyone knows, makes the cookie not count in terms of calories.

Another cookie with many of the same characteristics as the Vienna is the Elsylee Paris. This too is almond shortbread, but topped with semi-sweet chocolate and perfectly toasted, roasted almonds. I attempted to claim these for my own as well but almost lost my hand.

For the serious chocolate lover, may I cordially suggest the Elsylee Los Angeles which is just like our debauched City of Angels except chocolate: a Dutch chocolate, slightly chewy cookie with both dark and milk chocolate chips, with a dash of espresso (which enhances any chocolate taste) and roasted walnuts and pecans. The only issue with this cookie is that if you are not careful you get that telltale, I-just-ate-a- chocolate-cookie residue around your mouth or, worse, a chocolate covered tooth. We recommend a quick look in the mirror after enjoying one of these, especially if you plan to speak in public or there are paparazzi in the vicinity.

The Elsylee Aspen has your name stamped all over it if you are one of those people who is completely seduced by the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Peanuty and chocolatey, this was unanimously voted as the "best chocolate peanut butter cookie ever." You need to take that vote seriously as it is based on a collective 150 years of peanut butter cookie taste testing experience.

Sadly all good things must end, and we ended this gastronomic chocolate cookie orgy with the Elsylee New York. For the sake of brevity this is basically a home-made Oreo. "This is what an Oreo is supposed to taste like" said one enraptured taste-tester. Sorry Nabisco, but it's true.




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