Guilty Pleasures

I love chocolate, and I love Merlot, and I know they work well together. But never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that they could live in the same bottle. I guess I live in a cave, because apparently chocolate Merlot sauce is all the craze nowadays.

While visiting Napa Valley, my mom was nice enough to pick me up a bottle of Provenance Vineyard's Merlot Chocolate Sauce (made by Anette's Chocolate Factory). Ever since, I've been brainstorming recipes or just things that I could bathe in the stuff. Let's see, just a few that immediately come to mind - berries, ice cream, cheese, foie gras, steak, YUM!

Since I am yet to try other candidates in this category, I'm not necessarily preaching this particular one, but it is pretty good. Grabbing the essential aspects of both the chocolate and the wine, this sauce achieves a nice balance. My only complaint is that the chocolate does taste a little hershey syrupy to me. A darker and more bitter chocolate flavor would have probably worked better here. But all around, it's still good stuff!

For the Love of Cheese

Dear husband, forgive me but it seems I have fallen for another.

It was love at first bite, and the romance persisted into the dark night. For the only thing to light the way was a refrigerator lamp. Spoon in hand, I dug straight into the log like it was a slice of cheesecake; It was better.

I've always been fond of goat cheese, but Wild Blueberry Vanilla Chevre?!!

A recipe is not even necessary here. This stuff smeared on a branch would be great.

http://www.woolwichdairy.com/products.aspx?x=lwikHt29djH5vRRaTUO71A140NAgQgamqZpAG43kD8dllX%2b6tLmI6Q%3d%3d

Good news to all the pregnant ladies in the house - this cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk. So munch away.

AND they have other flavors too!!!

Is market research going a bit too far?

Okay, so there's a whole industry that exists for the purpose of getting consumers to spend more. From strategically arranging items in the aisles of a grocery store to altering your emotional state with the "sexy" lighting in a coffee shop, market research has come a long way in really manipulating our desire to buy and to spend.

But have market researchers gone too far in developing a new technique that will allow them to literally rack our brains?

After reading this article, I don't think I will ever shop the same way again. Check it out...

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/What-is-the-dollar-value-of-a-food-sensation