Second Annual YEAR OF CHOCOLATE CONTEST

AKA: Life Without Chocolate…

Last summer, we gave away a 4-piece box of gourmet chocolate truffles every month to a lucky winner out in Idaho. Kathy receives a different boxed artisan truffle collection every four weeks delivered right to her door! And she won this simply by answering the question: What would your life be without chocolate?

As temps soar into the 90’s in the Northeast, we’re back again with another YEAR OF CHOCOLATE CONTEST! Only this time, the stakes are higher!

Not only will one lucky winner receive a year of chocolate, but also a tee shirt with their winning entry printed right on the shirt. This year, we’re asking for a witty & humorous slogan that we can print on promotional items for Barkeater Chocolates. You can use the Life Without Chocolate…(fill in the blanks) template, or come up with one of your own. It must be one line & mention the word “chocolate.”

Staff at Barkeater Chocolates will go through the entries and select up to 10 slogans that they would love to use on their tee shirts and other materials. Then, the fun really begins!!

Those who follow Barkeater Chocolates on Twitter and Facebook will get to vote for the best slogan. You can vote for your own slogan – but you must follow/fan us to do so. This insures that no one votes more than once. Want to win? Promote the Barkeater Chocolates page on your Facebook page or tweet about @bark_chocolates on Twitter. Ask your friends and followers to vote for your slogan. As an incentive to them, we will give out another prize, chosen at random, to one follower or fan who votes. That winner will receive one 8-piece box of artisan truffles and one tee shirt with the winning line!

POST YOUR WINNING SLOGAN IN THE COMMENTS SECTION! Remember, we need to know we can contact you should your slogan become one of the finalists, so posting from “anonymous” won’t make the cut unless you put your name (first is fine) and email address in the body of the comment.

Please read the rules! And don’t plagiarize or tweak a commonly used slogan. For example, no one should post “Got Chocolate?” or “Chocolate…Don’t Leave Home Without It.” Also, material deemed offensive will be deleted immediately. Stay away from copyrighted lines from a recorded song, published book or movie – which means, No Forrest Gump references! If chosen, you will be stating that the line is original and not submitted elsewhere! Thanks and GOOD LUCK!

Barkeater Chocolates Texas Chili Recipe

Barkeater Chocolates’ Texas Chili

2-2 ½ pounds cubed beef (round or chuck)

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground pepper

1 medium onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 12-oz. bottle Mexican/Southwestern Lager

1 cup water

½ tsp. ground paprika

½ tsp. ground chipotle pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

4 Barkeater Chocolates’ Cayenne Truffles (embellishments removed)

Fresh cilantro for garnish

Combine salt, pepper and flour. Coat beef in flour mixture. Heat vegetable oil on medium heat. Add beef, onions and garlic, in batches if necessary. Brown beef.

Place beef, garlic and onions in crock pot or large stock pot. Add lager, water, paprika, chipotle pepper, oregano and truffles (being sure to remove any embellishments or decorative candies). Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours/ or on high for 4-6 hours; or simmer on stove for 1 ½ - 2 hours or until beef is tender.

Serve over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serves 6-8 people.

Help! What Do All Those Chocolate Labels Mean?

Or...What's the difference between Dark Chocolate/Semi-Sweet Chocolate/Bittersweet Chocolate????

The answer is...maybe a lot...maybe nothing.

It's more of a marketing distinction than anything else. Here's what we know for sure:

Unsweetened Chocolate has NO sugar, NO milk and consists of ENTIRELY Chocolate Liquor; though when you read the label, it may just say "unsweetened chocolate." So what is Chocolate Liquor? Ground up Cacao Beans! It is used for baking delicious desserts when you are adding your own sugar. Great for brownies and cakes!

Milk Chocolate has chocolate liquor, sugar, and naturally - MILK! Usually, you can expect vanilla (or artificial vanilla - usually labeled "vanillin") and soy(a) lecithin which is basically the glue that holds chocolate together. It is derived from the soybean and is found in most brands of chocolate. In order to qualify for Milk Chocolate - it must contain 10% Chocolate Liquor. It could contain up to 35%. Sidebar: Credit for Milk Chocolate goes to Daniel Peter, A.K.A. Peter's Chocolate - in conjunction with Henri Nestle's new invention: condensed milk.

White Chocolate is made from Cocoa Butter, sugar, milk, vanilla, soy lecithin and absolutely NO cacao (Chocolate Liquor). It's allowed to be called White Chocolate because of the cocoa butter, which is part of the make up of Cacao Beans. Sidebar: Calling White Chocolate "chocolate" really irks some people.

Cocoa Powder is unsweetened and is made by crushing mostly defatted chocolate liquor and removing most of the cocoa butter. Though not completely fat free, it does lower the fat content in baked goods. Natural Cocoa is used in conjunction with baking soda in recipes because of it's high ACIDIC content. Dutch processed cocoa powder is milder and LESS ACIDIC.

Sweet Chocolate has at least 15% chocolate liquor. When was the last time you went to the grocery store and saw "Sweet Chocolate?" I don't know where you live, but I have NEVER seen it in the baking section, EVER. Yet, the FDA has a classification for it. Naturally, you can assume there's a fair amount of sugar in Sweet Chocolate.

OK - so here's where it gets DICEY.

There is no FDA distinction between Semi-Sweet/Dark/Bittersweet chocolate!

In Europe, dark chocolate must contain 35% cocoa solids...and it's a pretty good bet that when you buy dark chocolate here in the U.S., it will contain anywhere from 35%-70% on average. Barkeater Chocolates, for example, uses chocolate made with 63% cocoa solids for most of their truffles, and 68% cocoa solids for its elite (organic) collection. But the only way to know for sure is when chocolate companies put it right on their labels, which is becoming quite trendy. Even high-end baking chips that label different bags "semi-sweet," or "bittersweet" will usually put the percentage on the bag. Typically, the chocolate labeled "semi-sweet" will be lower in cocoa solids than "bittersweet," but that's only WITHIN a brand. One brand may label their 60% chocolate as "bittersweet," while another company will label that same percentage as "semi-sweet." Sidebar: companies that label their chocolate as "dark" (or bittersweet/semi-sweet) - may still have ADDED MILK FAT in their ingredient list.

DOES IT MATTER?

In baking, interchanging bittersweet for semi-sweet will NOT make much of a difference. The higher the percentage of solids, the more the baking chip will hold its form. But if you're melting the chocolate in your recipe anyway, it won't make much of a difference at all.

In matters of health - YES it matters. The higher the percentage of cacao, the lower the percentage of sugar and milk. This equates to more antioxidants and fewer calories.

In matters of taste - YES it matters. The higher the percentage of cacao, the more bitter the chocolate will taste. Going for a higher percentage (up to 90% in some cases) may mean stronger health benefits, but if you gag while trying to eat it, you will probably just seek out another sweet (and less healthy) food. Many people strive for a satisfying middle-ground - somewhere in the 60-70% range.

So in the end...it's all just a matter of your priorities - how the chocolate will be used, brand loyalty, health benefits and cost. And as for that killer cake-recipe, your family won't be able to tell whether you used 62% or 65% - so go with what you like!

Barkeater Chocolates' Soy Almond Torte Recipe

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate
12 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 ½ cups (12 oz) unsweetened plain soymilk
1 tablespoon almond flavored liqueur
½ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp. pure almond extract
½ cup sliced almonds
1 scoop soy vanilla ice cream (optional)

Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl on 50% power in microwave, in 45 second intervals, stirring in between.
Meanwhile, heat soy milk in saucepan on medium heat just until scalding (bubbles forming along the edges of the soy milk) - not a full boil.
Pour soy milk over melted chocolate and stir until fully incorporated. Add almond liqueur, sugar and almond extract and stir to blend.
Pour into a lightly greased 8-10” spring form pan. Top with sliced almonds. Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 3-4 hours. Slice and serve alone or with a scoop of soy vanilla ice cream.