Green Beans & Cake

Love in a box

...and, ahem, a wrapper.

 

Piper-Heidsieck Champagne...minis!

Paired with Amedei Chuao 70% dark chocolate.

I'm in love....!

Commandment # 10 (and a half)

While some women may dream of owning the latest pair of Isabel Marant Otway Boots, others, like me, have dreams of a different sort.

And what could this dream be? [Wait for it...]

A wine and chocolate cellar.

Yes, I know. It doesn't seem like a rational dream to have, does it? Who would want such a thing, you might ask. How fantastic could a wine cellar (and for me, a wine AND chocolate cellar) be?  Let's take a trip to my friend Sarah's blog, "The Seven Spot" and find out.

Sarah, your cellar is the stuff of genius.

I mentioned to my husband the other day that if we one day build a house, I wanted to have a chocolate and wine cellar instead of a traditional basement. I might add in a commercial kitchen too. Just for good measure. Matt looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"Do you have any idea how much that would cost?" (typical Matt)

"It doesn't matter! How hard could it be to build a cellar?" (typical me)

"We would have to hire people to dig a huge hole in the earth."

"Well, then, I'm sure I could do it. How hard could it be?"

If you know me, then you know how comical that statement is. Let's just say that manual labor really isn't my forte. haha

Mr. Parker's "90" is also an "80"?

I've been keeping a wine journal of all the chocolate and wine pairings I enjoy trying. When I read about wine ratings in Wine Spectator or the Wall Street Journal, I often wonder how wine critics come up with their rating systems. What does a 90 or 95 rating really mean, anyway? (statistically speaking)

Just as my "wine rating self-esteem" was coming to a low, I came across an article in the WSJ the other day about the inaccuracy of wine ratings -- even for the most famous critics.

Check it out here, wine lovers!

Cheers.

 

The perfect pairing

My search has begun. I'm looking for the perfect red wine to pair with the dark chocolates that I make. I'm currently trying out Malbec reds. I'm not sure if it is the best type of wine to pair with dark chocolate...but, it's a trendy start. :-)

Any suggestions?