YumSugar

Yummy Links: From Party Palettes to Marcel's DUI

partysugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:45:55 -0700

Black, white, and yellow makes for a sophisticated party motif. - Simply Stated
The top 10 ways to chop onions without crying.- The Epi-Log
Get a virtual taste of Starbucks mocha dark chocolate. - Baking Bites
Free ice cream! 90210 helps you cool off. - Serious Eats
Lucid absinthe is a tasty way to get acquainted with the green fairy. - Chow
Interesting tip! Use a serrated knife to slice tomatoes. - The Kitchn
Krispy Kreme cheeseburgers surface at the Google cafeteria. - Slashfood
Plan a patriotic beach party for Labor Day. - Hostess With the Mostess
In case you missed it, Top Chef's Marcel arrested on suspicion of DUI. - TMZ

Does Coffee Dream of Electric Chocolate? New Starbucks Chocolate Reviewed

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:30:31 -0800

This summer a press release went out with limited fanfare. The folks at Hershey's were teaming up with Starbucks. At the time there was very little news available, other than an upcoming Starbucks-branded premium chocolate. The news piqued my interest, but there was no word on when the products would hit the shelves. Turns out it's today.

Using the expertise of Artisan Confection Company - a division of Hershey's that includes Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt - Starbucks has created a line of products to sell in stores. There are three types of chocolate bars, tasting squares and filled truffles. Thanks to FabSugar - who hand-carried these samples back from New York - we were lucky enough to give them a try. If you want to learn more about each flavor, as well as what we thought of them, read more.

The box the samples arrived in was dramatic. It was a high quality brown box filled with all sorts of goodies. There were six different tasting squares, four truffles, three chocolate bars and covered coffee beans. I thought the bars were better than the squares, and that the truffles were a bit overpowering. The beans on the other hand, were absolutely delicious. Overall, the flavors that paired coffee with chocolate were highly successful, the other tea-inspired flavors, not so much.
Truffles

Dark Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffle: A rounded chocolate-covered-cherry sized truffle with a large dollop of vanilla bean cream in the middle. It was creamy and smooth, slightly buttery. Overall very nice.

Milk Chocolate Chai Truffle: This was the least favorite truffle. It was super heavy-handed with the cardamom and tasted more like sucking on chocolate covered cardamom pod, than it did like chai.
Milk Chocolate Caffe Mocha: The chocolate is slightly waxy. I thought it seemed rather Hershey's-like. Reminded us of the Hershey's Treasures, only better.
Dark Chocolate Espresso: This was by far our favorite truffle. The dark chocolate was smooth - almost too smooth - and it had a great melt, with a hint of smokiness. The espresso really came through, but was not overpowering. We'd definitely eat this again.

Milk Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
This was my favorite thing in the box. FabSugar - who is a bit of a chocolate snob and hates on milk chocolate - even thought they were delicious. Unlike most chocolate covered beans, these are more like ground up beans covered in chocolate. It's a big coating of chocolate on a lovely amount of crunch.

Tasting Squares

Milk Chocolate: This was sort of generic. It would hit the spot if you craved chocolate, as it was tasty, but there was nothing special about it.
Dark Chocolate: Strangely, we liked the milk chocolate better. We thought it was a bit waxy. Again, tasty, but nothing special.
Mocha Dark Chocolate: This was our favorite square, the flavor pairing was really nice. There were bits of beans in it. I almost wished they offered this in a milk chocolate version too.
Chai Milk Chocolate: Like the truffle, there was way too much cardamom going on. Some of the folks here liked it because of that, but I was disappointed by how much it didn't taste like chai.
Passion Dark Chocolate: This was the worst thing in the entire box. Some of the folks thought it was okay, but I hated it. It was highly floral in taste, and there were bits of things in it that were just too much. It sort of tasted like artificial powder stuck inside of the chocolate. I say pass this one off to your friends, so you can eat the others.
Citron Dark Chocolate: Like the passion square, this one is also infused with tea. It was nicely flavored and okay. However at the end, it started reminding me of cleaner. If you love lemon/chocolate pairings you'd probably like it, but once again I say pass this one and eat the others.

Chocolate Bars
There are three flavors of chocolate bars - milk, dark and mocha dark - the flavors are reviewed above, but it should be mentioned that they tasted much better in a thicker bar format. It was nice to have something to sink your teeth into.

So, have you seen the new Starbucks Chocolates - they'll be in large grocery and drug stores retailers soon. If so, have you tried them?

View 16 Photos ›

Up Next: Starbucks Dark Cherry Mocha, McDonald's Oatmeal?

YumSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:51 -0800

This year, coffee and breakfast have been the name of the game for fast food and casual chains. Last week, Burger King announced it'd soon be serving specialty coffee in a partnership with Starbucks-owned Seattle's Best - part of the company's goal to bring "new and improved" products to a.m. customers. But they're not the only ones raising the bar: Starbucks will also up the ante with a new specialty coffee, and McDonald's has been mulling over oatmeal.

With the Dark Cherry Mocha, which makes its US and Canada debut Mar. 9, Starbucks hopes to add cachet to its coffee drinks. The drink is already an international favorite and has a significant cult following abroad. It comes with espresso, bittersweet chocolate sauce, dark cherry flavoring, milk, whipped cream, and chocolate curls and can be made hot or iced.

Number one fast food chain McDonald's, in turn, has been following the lead of Starbucks and Jamba Juice by testing out oatmeal in test markets like Baltimore and Washington DC. Although it hasn't yet decided the future of the breakfast offering, McDonald's representatives maintain that the oatmeal has been "well-received."

One thing is for sure: the breakfast wars are on in full force. Which chain do you count on for breakfast on the go?

Source

Portion Sizes: My, How They Have Grown

FitSugar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:00:23 -0800

Obesity rates may not be getting worse in the US, but they have remained alarmingly high for the past 10 years. Though some restaurants are posting calorie counts, and weight loss reality TV shows like The Biggest Loser and One Big Happy Family are increasingly popular, Americans continue to struggle with obesity.

In addition to living a more sedentary lifestyle (read desk jobs and more TV time), people also eat more because portion sizes have grown dramatically over the last 20 years. The difference is astounding calorie-wise. Take a look at the chart below, and you'll understand why the US is expanding.

To see the rest of the list, keep reading.

How to Lose One Pound in a Week

FitSugar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 03:47:08 -0800

If weight loss is your goal for 2010, then there's no time like now to get that ball rolling. It's simple math when it comes to losing weight. You have to burn or cut out 3,500 calories from your diet each week in order to lose one pound. That breaks down to 500 calories per day, and the easiest way to do that is to do this combo move: each day, cut out 250 calories from your diet and burn 250 through exercise.

Check out the handy chart I made below. Each day, follow through on one from the diet column and one from the exercise column, and after seven days, you should see the scale budge.

To see the chart, read more.

All calculations for calories burned are based on a 130-pound woman. Use my handy calculator to determine the calories burned based on your weight.

Diet	Exercise
Swap out your morning bagel and cream cheese (450 calories) for a bowl of Chobani Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt with an extra small banana (192 calories).	Take a brisk walk for an hour and five minutes.
Forget the blueberry muffin from Starbucks (500 calories) and go for a bowl of Ultima Organic Blueberry Blue Corn Cereal (210 calories).	Hop on your bike for a moderate ride for 32 minutes.
Instead of buying a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts (530 calories), make a cheese omelet with two eggs and an ounce of cheddar (269 calories).	Lace up your sneaks and run at a moderate pace of 10 minutes/mile for 26 minutes.
For lunch, instead of scarfing down two slices of cheese pizza (544 calories), just enjoy one slice (272 calories).	Hit up your gym and swim laps for 32 minutes.
Snack on 15 baby carrots and two tablespoons of hummus (103 calories) instead of a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and jelly (358 calories).	Take advantage of the snow and go skiing for 37 minutes.
Instead of a baked potato with sour cream and chives (320 calories) as a side dish for dinner, have a cup of steamed broccoli (54 calories) instead.	Jump rope for 26 minutes.
To satisfy your sweet tooth, skip the bowl of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream (360 calories) and instead savor a cup of strawberries and two Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses (96 calories).	Take a cardio class at your gym for at least 37 minutes.

Taste Test: Starbucks Macarons

YumSugar — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:36:15 -0800

I mentioned before that 2010 will be the year when cupcakes take a backseat to the ethereal, candy-colored French macaron. The macaron - not to be confused with the dense, coconut-flavored macaroon - has spread far and wide beyond Ladurée, the Parisian pastry shop where it was first created nearly 80 years ago, to Japanese patisseries, American bakeshops, McCafés, and, now, Starbucks.

From Dec. 13 to 25, a limited edition 12-piece macaron set will be available in select Starbucks locations. Made in France by Château Blanc "exclusively for Starbucks," the $9.95 gift box includes two pieces of each of the following flavors: coffee, pistachio, raspberry, vanilla, chocolate, and lemon. Being the slight macaron snobs that we are, we didn't know what to expect. Read our thoughts after the break.

Starbucks Chocolate

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:22:18 -0800

View Slideshow ›

'Wich of the Week: Pecan Pumpkin Cakewich

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:00:10 -0700

In Autumn I welcome the arrival of all things pumpkin, whether it's pumpkin lattes at Starbucks, pumpkin chocolate cookies, or pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. So why not pumpkin sandwiches? Inspired by carrot cake with cranberries folded in, this sweet sandwich would make a great dessert or an afternoon snack with cider. Just in time for Halloween, you can make your own pumpkin bread or use a mix from a store like Trader Joe's, which is where I found the apple-cranberry chutney. Get this comfy Fall recipe now.

My Afternoon as a Starbucks Barista

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:10:52 -0700

Chaotic as things may appear behind a Starbucks counter, every drink is made custom and to order in a systematic, organized way. I know this because I spent an afternoon as a Starbucks barista. Laurel Village Starbucks store manager Deanna Barbagiovvanni put me to work yesterday behind the espresso machines.

The trickiest part of being a barista is deciphering the code on the side of a Starbucks cup. It was like trying to read an unknown foreign language. "That's a nonfat, two-pump white mocha," Deanna said, reaching for espresso shots, as I stood there, still trying to make sense of the notations. Customers rarely place orders for standard drinks, she explained: "One girl comes in every day and orders a venti Coffee Frappuccino with a grande scoop of ice, double blended, with light whip and just a little chocolate drizzle." Find out what else I learned and check out a video of me as barista when you read more

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:30:59 -0700

Seriously, make this cherry pie: it's the best you'll ever have.
Party plans a "birthday paw-ty" for FabSugar's cutie-pie French bulldog.
Starbucks is changing the names of several of its stores.
Check out Summer's collection of cool, creamy ice cream cakes.
We conducted a side-by-side test of two European raisin-and-nut chocolate bars.
Find out why Texans love the soft filled pastries known as kolaches.
An inside look at the food at a rustic wedding hosted on the banks of Northern California's Russian River.