Dessert Blog

Wrigley is as active as ever in rolling out new sweet products. The Chicago candy giant presented its latest confections, Life Savers "Orange Mints" and "Sweet Mint" flavors, the first new Life Savers mint products in more than 10 years.

Also new will be Altoids in spearmint and wintergreen gum flavors. Orbit, the biggest selling U.S. gum, will come in lemon-lime and crystal mint varieties. The new Hubba Bubba Max flavor will be "Outrageous Original." The products hit stores in July. Check out the Chicago Sun Times article for the full story.

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The world's most expensive desert is a sundae priced at $1,000. It can be ordered at the Serendipity Restaurant in New York City.

The sundae is made in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet and is eaten with an 18 karat spoon and a petite mother of pearl spoon. The baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet has 5 scoops of the world's richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream topped with a 25 karat mold of a Madagascar edible gold leaf. Over the ice cream is drizzled the world's most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana. Chuao chocolate, which is very rare and is grown on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela, is also sprinkled on top. This expensive dessert is stuffed with Paris' sweetest candied fruit including gold dragets, truffles and marzipan cherries. The sundae is topped with a small glass bowl filled with Grand Passion caviar. The ice cream is infused with passion fruit, orange and Armagnac to enhance the taste. On the very top of the sundae rests a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel.

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The NY Daily News reports Brooklyn's best cheesecake is coming soon to the Crossroads of the World. Junior's restaurant plans to bring its legendary desserts - plus fried chicken, brisket and pastrami sandwiches - to the heart of Manhattan with a big new Times Square eatery opening in June.

"We're going to bring the whole Brooklyn experience to Manhattan," said Alan Rosen, whose grandfather opened the original Junior's on Flatbush Ave. more than a half-century ago. The new place will have nearly 200 seats and room for an outdoor cafe seating about 80 more customers, with the same menu items as the Brooklyn store. It will be on W. 44th St. and Shubert Alley, just west of Broadway.

"They're ready for us, both tourists and New Yorkers who may not have found us yet," said Rosen. "We're looking forward to showing them what Brooklyn has known for 56 years." It's a huge step for the much-loved Brooklyn institution, which has a small outpost in Grand Central Terminal. With a thriving mail-order and online business, Junior's sells a half-million cheesecakes a year.

Even though there are now a dozen varieties of cakes, the traditional plain and strawberry flavors are still the best sellers. The family-owned eatery - known for its retro neon sign and perpetually double-parked cars out front - has been a landmark in downtown Brooklyn since 1950.

It thrived in a prime location next to the borough's grand movie houses, survived the neighborhood's long decline, and stayed on as it boomed again. The Rosens pride themselves on staying small and keeping standards high - and insist that won't change in Times Square. "We're going to have great comfort food and great service," Rosen said.

Junior's is sinking $1 million into renovating the 5,000-square-foot Times Square space, complete with murals of landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge, Ebbets Field and Coney Island. With 24-hour foot traffic, the new place will open up for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and stay open till the crowds start to thin at midnight or 1 a.m. on weekends. Rosen also had a message to Brooklynites who might worry that the new outlet could spell the demise of the original Junior's - fuhgeddaboudit.

"That is our flagship, and we are not going anywhere," he vowed. "We'll be around for another 56 years."

The eras of an institution

1929 - Harry Rosen, a lower East Side entrepreneur, opens the Enduro nightspot at DeKalb and Flatbush Aves. in downtown Brooklyn.

1950 - Junior's is born as Rosen remodels the place as a family restaurant and names it after his two sons, Marvin and Walter. The famed cheesecake recipe is born.

1960 - A lucrative business fueled by its location across from the Brooklyn Paramount Theater, Junior's gets handed down to the second generation of Rosens.

1981 - When a fire sweeps through the restaurant, worried customers line Flatbush Ave., crying, "Save the cheesecakes." After nine months of repairs, it reopens.

1989 - Junior's starts shipping cheesecakes nationwide.

1990 - Third generation of Rosens takes over Junior's.

2000 - Junior's opens an outpost in Grand Central Terminal.

2006 - New 280-seat restaurant planned for Times Square.

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NBC tossed its Celebrity Cooking Showdown into the garbage disposal. Following abysmal ratings of its planned weeklong series of shows, NBC quickly aborted its kitchen competition. It was taken off the air Thursday and Friday, replaced by reruns of other series.

After a fair showing of 8.2 million viewers on Monday, the cooking show sunk to 3.3 million viewers on Tuesday night — unusually low numbers even if it was competing directly against Fox's American Idol. Although the third installment recovered slightly to 4.8 million viewers on Wednesday, NBC pulled the plug. It instead streamed Thursday's planned episode over the Internet, where viewers were invited to vote on the winners.

That was an unusual way to settle a cooking contest, as New York Daily News critic David Bianculli noted: letting people who can't taste the final product decide. NBC said Friday it will air that penultimate episode on Saturday night, followed immediately by the final show where the winner is announced — the show that was originally supposed to air on Friday. Saturday is usually the least-watched night of network television.

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The always expanding Starbucks is now jumping into the French market with both feet. The Seattle based coffee giant has begun the French invasion in earnest with 23 Starbucks already open.

Business Week Online reports that Starbucks is catching on in France in a very big way. With slow and steady expansion over the next few years, Starbucks France could build up a nice business. But it is unlikely ever to be as important as markets like Britain, where the company is about to open its 500th store. Experts expect branded coffee chains to represent just 250 outlets by 2008 in France, compared with the 55,000 traditional cafés. When it comes to coffee, at least, French purists need not worry about a U.S. cultural invasion.

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The coolest talking e-cards are now available from Blue Mountain Arts. You can type in any message and choose a baby or animal to recite the message for you. You can even choose the voice you would prefer the character to have. It's really pretty hillarious. Check this out at Blue Mountain Arts

It's perfect for birthday cards, anniversary cards or for any special occasion.

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Ever wonder why we put candles on our birthday cakes? Here's the beat answer I've found.

We put candles on birthday cakes to honor the birthday person - usually one candle for each year. The custom goes back to the ancient Greeks, when worshippers of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting, used to put honey cakes on the altars of her temple on the sixth day of every month. It was believed that the candles had the power to grant a wish and ensure a happy year. The wish had to remain secret and would come true only if all the candles were blown out with one puff. The candles lost their magical power if the wish was uttered aloud.

There you go.

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Rachae Ray is an Emmy-nominated television variety celebrity chef and author who hosts at least four different programs on cable television's Food Network: 30 Minute Meals, $40 a Day, Inside Dish, and Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels. She has authored a series of cookbooks based on the 30 Minute Meals concept. She will also host a syndicated TV talk show starting in 2006.

Ray teaches simple recipes that she says can be prepared in thirty minutes or less. Like many cooks, she uses garlic and chicken stock as simple ways to boost flavors, and emphasizes using fresh herbs whenever possible. She says that measuring "takes away from the creative, hands-on process of cooking", and instead favors approximations such as "half a palmful" and "eyeball it". On her television programs she has popularized catchphrases such as "E.V.O.O... extra-virgin olive oil", "Yum-O!", "So delish!", "G.B... garbage bowl," and "How good is THAT?".

Ray launched her own magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray in conjunction with Reader's Digest. The magazine premiered on October 25, 2005 and plans bi-monthly issues in 2006. In addition to her television hosting and cookbooks, Ray has endorsed products for Price Chopper supermarkets and Burger King, and has developed her own line of cookware and cutlery. When she endorsed Wüsthof's , sales rose dramatically, and she now endorses her own line of santoku knives.

In late 2005 Ray signed a deal with Oprah Winfrey and King World Productions to host a syndicated daytime TV talk show in 2006. Recurrent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show will be used to fuel the launch, much as the Dr. Phil show was spun off based on his own frequent visits to Oprah. The show will film in New York City, and Ray will still appear on the Food Network. Ms. Ray said, in coordination with the syndication announcement, "People know me for my love of food, but I have so much more I want to share".

In addition to Oprah, Rachael Ray has appeared on The View, The Today Show, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2006, Ray and her 30 Minute Meals show received two Emmy Award nominations, for Outstanding Talk Show Host and Outstanding Service Show.

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Fenway faithful waited 86 years for a Redsox championship. Now, another long wait is over, as Red Sox fans and all visitors to Fenway Park can now finally enjoy a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee at Red Sox home games and other Fenway events. Dunkin' Donuts and the Boston Red Sox announced they have enhanced the Fenway Park experience by making Dunkin' Donuts' famous hot and iced coffees available within the ballpark for the first time with the opening of two new "Dunkin' at Fenway" stands. Fans can enjoy hot Dunkin' Donuts coffee, including Original Blend and Dunkin' Decaf, as well as Dunkin' Donuts iced.

The stands will feature innovative new coffee-dispensing technology designed by Dunkin' Donuts especially for Fenway Park. The new technology will ensure that customers within the ballpark environment are served coffee fast while maintaining the same quality and taste New Englanders have come to expect from Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' Donuts is America's largest retailer of coffee-by-the-cup, serving nearly one billion cups of brewed coffee each year. Dunkin' Donuts, using 100-percent Arabica coffee beans, offers a milder roast coffee that is milled specifically for the company and is recognized by the industry as a superior grade of coffee.

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I found this delicious Passover Cheesecake With Strawberry Sauce at RockyMountainNews.com. Enjoy!

Makes: 16 servings

2 cups soft coconut macaroon cookie crumbs or ground walnuts

3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

4 eggs

2 cups strawberries, hulled, quartered

2 teaspoons orange juice

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan).

• Mix cookie crumbs and margarine. Press firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up side of lightly greased springform pan. Bake 12 minutes.

• Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and 1 cup of the sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well-blended. Add peel; mix well.

• Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour into crust.

• Bake 55 minutes or until center is almost set.

• Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan.

• Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

• Place strawberries in blender or food-processor container; cover.

• Blend until smooth; strain. Stir in juice and remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.

• Serve spooned over cheesecake slices. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving: 320 cal., 24 g fat (14 g sat.), 120 mg chol., 20 g carb., 270 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 6 g pro.

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It's every chocolate lover's wish that their favorite indulgence could somehow be healthy for them. Now, chocolate makers claim they have granted that wish. Mars Inc., maker of Milky Way, Snickers and M&M's candies, next month plans to launch nationwide a new line of products made with a dark chocolate the company claims has health benefits.

Called CocoaVia, the products are made with a kind of dark chocolate high in flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that is thought to have a blood-thinning effect similar to aspirin and may even lower blood pressure. The snacks also are enriched with vitamins and injected with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols from soy.

A paper published by the American Heart Association concluded that chocolate contains chemicals, including flavanols, that have the potential to reduce heart disease. But it added researchers still don't know enough about flavanols to make dietary recommendations.

Other major chocolate companies also have started promoting the flavanol content of their dark chocolates, such as Hershey's Extra Dark, introduced last fall with highlights on its label touting its 60 percent cocoa content and high level of flavanol. Dark chocolate, which contains more flavanols than regular chocolate, is the fastest growing segment of the $10 billion-a-year chocolate market. Hershey reports that its dark-chocolate sales have grown 11.2 percent over the past four years. Last year, Hershey Co. acquired San Francisco-based Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Inc., known for its dark chocolate with high cocoa content and baking products, and plans to add new dark-chocolate products.

Mars created a new division, Mars Nutrition for Health & Well-Being, to distribute CocoaVia. The company has sold the CocoaVia products online for a couple years. They are already available at retail stores in 34 states, selling for nearly $1 a bar.

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Emeril Lagasse is a celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and writer. He is of French Canadian and Portuguese ancestry. He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University.

Known best for his TV show Emeril Live on the Food Network, one of its highest-rated programs, Lagasse was the first host chef of Food Network's beginners' cooking show, How to Boil Water, in 1993. After appearing on numerous other FoodTV programs, he hosted his own show, The Essence of Emeril. "Essence" is the term Emeril uses as the name of a spice blend of his own creation that he often uses in his cooking. Emeril also often suggested that viewers of his show create their own spice blends that reflect their personal tastes and be unafraid to use them to customize the dishes he would teach.

Emeril is known for his very entertaining hosting style as well as several catchphrases, including "BAM!", "Kick it up a notch", "Feel the love", and "Oh yeah, babe", usually said before or after adding something spicy to a dish, or after the reaction to adding something.

Lagasse initially gained fame in the culinary world after opening his first restaurant, Emeril's Restaurant, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1990. It was designated "Restaurant of the Year" in Esquire magazine of that year. Emeril is mainly known for his emphasis on Creole and Cajun cooking styles. Indeed, many of his restaurants as well as his corporate office, Emeril's Homebase, are located in New Orleans. Lagasse was the chef/proprietor of nine restaurants.

Emeril has written several best-selling cookbooks, from Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking, his first book which was published in 1993, to From Emeril's Kitchen, published in 2003.

Emeril briefly starred in a self-titled TV sitcom on NBC during the fall 2001 season, but it was canceled after a few episodes and widely panned by critics. Recently he has appeared in Crest toothpaste commercials yelling his trademark catch phrase, "BAM!!!".

Emeril Lagasse also has a line of kitchen knives made by Wusthof and cookware made by All-Clad. He is also an accomplished drummer, having passed on a scholarship to New England Conservatory of Music.

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Cheese cakes are still one of one of the most popular sweet fixes. The cheese cake category has always done really well on the 1-800 Dessert site. TheMotleyFool.com reports on the teriffic success of the Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant devoted to this delectable cake. The well run chain is considered a healthy investment per The Fool. The company operates 104 restaurants nationwide under The Cheesecake Factory name, usually just one per metropolitan area. It operates in 29 states and D.C. It has been slowly growing over the years, using cash flow instead of debt. Management has said that it's targeting about 200 total locations in the U.S., and it expects to open about 21 locations this year.

But The Cheesecake Factory is alot more than just cheesecakes. The Cheesecake Factory is a unique, upscale casual dining restaurant offering more than 200 menu selections including Appetizers, Pizza, Pasta, Seafood, Steaks, Salads, Sandwiches, and more. Their menu also features specialty dishes like Chicken Madeira, Miso Salmon, Cajun Jambalaya Pasta, and The Factory Burger.

But save room for dessert! Try one of their 50 delicious cheesecakes and desserts such as their White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle® Cheesecake or their new Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake with a cappuccino or espresso.

It's a great place to eat and now also a great financial investment. It's almost like having your cake and eating it too!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheescake From 1-800Dessert.com

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Business Week reports
1-800-FLOWERS.COM , a leading multi-channel retailer of thoughtful gifts for all occasions, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc., a multi-channel retailer and manufacturer of chocolate and other confections under the well-known Fannie May, Harry London and Fanny Farmer brands. The acquisition, for approximately $85 million in cash, includes a modern 200,000-square-foot candy manufacturing facility in North Canton, Ohio and 52 Fannie May retail stores in the Chicago area, where the chocolate brand has been a tradition since 1920. Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc. is expected to generate revenues of approximately $75 million in its current fiscal year ending April 30, 2006. The acquisition is expected to close on or about May 1, 2006, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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I don't know about you but I'm absolutely fine with the concept of different rooms for different purposes. What I mean is that a kitchen should be for cooking and eating, a bedroom for sleeping, a bathroom for....well you get my point. So here comes the Bed Restaurant. Just what we needed. I would love to have been at that first brain storming meeting of the owners.

The conversation probably went something like this:
Chef Partner: I just graduated from culinary school. Let's open a cool new restaurant.
Money Partner: That's a great idea. But we need to be unique...something that will really get the attention of the public.
Chef Partner: My newly acquired cooking education will draw them like flies, I'm sure of it.
Money Partner: No, I'm thinking more of a restaurant where you can see and smell your friend's feet while dining.

I just lost my appetite for lunch. Believe it or not there are now 3 Bed Restaurant locations. They are in Miami, New York and Atlanta. Click here to read a recent reveiw on this place. The Miami restaurant has become a destination for the beautiful people such as George Clooney, Busta Rhymes, Janet Jackson, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Francis Ford Coppola, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Derek Jeter, Britney Spears, Shakira, Cameron Diaz, Sting, Paris Hilton, Shaquille O'Neal, Anna Kournikova, Mickey Rourke, Harrison Ford, Ja Rule. and many more.

Before dining at Bed Restaurant remember to don a fresh pair of socks.

Tiramisu Shaped Like A Bed

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Real men across the fruited plain are stretching their hamburger-flipping muscles in anticipation of barbecue season. Yeah, there's nothing better than a brewskie in one hand and spatula in the other, taking over where the little lady leaves off in feeding the family unit. When this special season arrives men are not satisfied with merely hunting and gathering but now also feel that food preparation is in order. Frankly I've always felt that this is a scam perpetrated upon us feeble minded men by the women in our lives....but I digress.

Let's face it guys, the only benefit in handling a furnace blast to the face in 90 degree weather is that we usually get to eat meat to our heart's content with no complaints from the fairer sex. But beware my knuckle dragging friends, we are about to be grilled ourselves. That's right, the ladies are about to embark on a mission. Yes, a mission to bring healthful eating to the barbecue grill. Is nothing sacred?

The latest grill fad is barbecued fruit. It tastes great, bringing out the succulence of a variety of different fruits. One of my favorites is grilled pineapple. For some grilling tips and delicious recipes for Teriyaki Grilled Pineapple, Sweet Maple Grilled Pineapple and Grilled Pineapple with Chili click here.

Hey, don't give me that look....I'm still eating fries with my burgers and dogs.

Grilled Pineapple

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Here's a great recipe I found at Sun-Sentinel.com for crumbly but delicious brownies for Passover or for those allergic to gluten or wheat. It's quick, easy and sure to satisfy your chocolate brownie craving.

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No one knows for sure how and when in originated, but a 1924 Seattle fund-raising cookbook seems to mark the first published appearance of the upside-down cake. An upside-down cake is a cake made upside-down in a pan and then, once cooked, turned over and allowed to set, and is eaten right-side-up. This process requires that the top of the cake be placed on the bottom of the cake pan and the bottom on top. Usually, chopped fruits such as pineapples and cherries are placed at the bottom of the pan before the batter is poured in, so that they form a decorative topping once the cake is inverted. For more of the cake's history and to discover a terrific recipe for a Maple-Pecan Pear Upside-Down Cake click here.

Pineapple Cherry Upside-Down Cake

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Another new funky restaurant has opened in Manhattan....in Greenwich Village, of course. The place is called Peanut Butter & Co. and true to its name the sandwich shop specializes in everything peanuts. HamptonRoads.com reports on the peanut craze. Lee Zalben's sandwich shop offers everything from favorite classics such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ants on a log to wholly unexpected delights, such as the Cookie Dough Surprise -- peanut butter, vanilla cream cheese and chocolate chips. Check out this link for some cool peanut butter treats.

My peanut butter favorite is slathering some Skippy (crunchy of course) on a sliced and cored macintosh apple. Plaster a bunch of raisins on top and enjoy an all natural sweet and salty experience.

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Have you ever heard of Ice Wine? Neither have I. When asked the same question I protested vehemently, "who would drink wine on the rocks". Oh, ignorant me. Ice wine has been in existence for approximately 200 years and supposedly was invented by a German winemaker who was surprised by an early frost. He decided to press the frozen grapes anyway, but separated them from the rest of his vintage so as to avoid ruining everything. To his surprise, the resulting wine was pure and sweet. Ever since, ice wine has been produced to some degree in all wine producing countries of the Northern hemisphere, including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and others. The difference between ice wine and other dessert wines is that ice wines show a much clearer fruit and varietal character.

It is essential to harvest on the first freezing night of the year, because grapes left on the vine to go through a freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle can pick up unwanted flavors. Winemakers are often nervous wrecks by harvest time, as they will have spent night after night waking up repeatedly to check the temperature. There's a great Saturday Night Live skit lurking in this paragraph. Just thinking about that German guy in his sleeping cap and jammies waiting for his grapes to chill is rather amusing.

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Coke's much touted new beverage is being rolled out today. This is the latest attempt by the big boys at capturing some new market share in the "fusion" drink arena. I haven't yet tried the new concoction and I'm anxious to do some tasting. But I've got to admit, I'm a little skeptical. Coke has always been my favorite soft drink and I love a good cup of joe. But I'm also a purist at heart. Give me my cup of Starbucks in the am and an ice cold Diet Coke for lunch and I'm a happy camper. Chron.com's survey shows a 50% approval on the new drink. I'm running out to find a bottle. I'll keep you posted.

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