The most stylish, approachable, and mouth-watering chocolate cookbook ever, from award-winning chocolatier Fran Bigelow In 1982, Fran Bigelow proudly opened the doors to Fran’s Chocolates, a boutique storefront styled after European chocolate salons, where she could showcase the pure flavors of the exquisite confections she had spent years perfecting. Chocolate lovers in Seattle immediately beat a path to Madison Street to taste desserts as wonderful as anything in Paris or Belgium. Over the past two decades, Fran Bigelow has grown into a world-class chocolatier, operating two elegant shops that enjoy cult status in Seattle and beyond, by way of her mail-order and Internet business. Now, in her debut cookbook, Fran reveals the magic behind her addictive creations: how she manipulates a few ingredients—butter, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and nuts—to create sublime textures and highlight pure flavors in her elegant modern desserts. The seventy-five recipes included here range from extravagant celebration cakes and holiday specialties (White Chocolate Torte or Souffléd Chocolate Mocha Roll); to European style fruit and nut tarts (Chocolate Cherry Tart or Milk Chocolate Crème Fraîche Tart), soufflés, cheesecakes (White Chocolate Brie Cheesecake, a Fran specialty), homemade ice creams (Dark Chocolate and Ginger Bombe), and extraordinary renditions of American classics, including brownies, chocolate cookies, the ultimate hot fudge sauce, and a chocolate milkshake that will instantly transport you back to childhood. Fran also tells you everything you need to know about chocolate, from the different styles of chocolate-making employed in Europe, South America, and the U.S. (and how each result in different flavors), to deciphering labels (which ingredients enhance meltability, for example), and how the amount of cocoa in different brands and styles of chocolate influences the final taste of a dessert. You will learn how to taste a truffle—preferably in two bites—and the language of chocolate “signs,” the squiggles atop candies. Recipes for some of Fran’s award-winning confections are also included here: chocolate cherries and nut clusters; chocolate stuffed fruits; easy cocoa-dusted truffles; and more ambitious dipped truffles featuring liqueurs, coffee, vanilla, and other chocolate-friendly ingredients; and chocolate fondue, a perfect party dessert for children and adults alike. Whether you are a cocoa connoisseur or devotee of the cacao bean with cravings that won’t quit,Pure Chocolateis a must-have for any chocolate aficionado.

Are you still looking for that seemingly elusive diet that will make you lose weight but still allow you to enjoy the food that you like best? If you want to find out about a diet that not only allows you but even insists that you eat something that most people regard as indulgent, decadent, and heavenly, keep on reading! If you are like most people, you probably equate going on a diet with suffering, giving up food that you enjoy eating, and having to practice white-knuckled willpower. You probably associate it with going hungry and forcing yourself not to indulge in food that gives you comfort and pleasure. Most people see food not only as fuel but also as a source of satisfaction, comfort, and enjoyment. It is difficult to deprive yourself of good food; it takes immense, extraordinary willpower that most people don’t have. It comes as no surprise, then, that 40% of people who diet give up during the first week! Many diets are just too difficult to sustain. They are too drastic or too strict. They expect you to make extreme and immediate changes in the way you eat. They have a lot of constrictions that lead not only to hunger pangs but to headaches, irritability, fatigue (both physical and emotional), and feelings of resentment and deprivation. They make you feel so constrained and helpless that you end up going on food binges and abandoning your diet. This Dark Chocolate Diet Plan is unlike many diets in so many points. Read the book and discover the following: You CAN eat scrumptious dark chocolate – oh, yes, you CAN! Why dark chocolate is an essential part of this diet. How to enjoy and savor good food, including dark chocolate! How to feel that you are in control of food. You have the option (and the ability) to make food choices that are both pleasurable and healthy. There is NO need to go hungry. There is NO need to feel deprived. How eating “nutritious” food can feel great. You don’t have to rush and feel stressed about making changes in what you eat. Why making stark and radical changes in your diet don’t work. Why it is better to embrace SMALL changes.

The perfect primer to all things dark chocolate, plus an array of indulgent recipes to satisfy all your dark chocolate cravings. Deep Dark Chocolate is overflowing with irresistible recipes using bittersweet and semisweet chocolate, cacao nibs, and beans—the darker the better. These sinfully decadent desserts include such indulgences as Black Magic Chocolate Espresso Cookies and Crunchy Nut Bittersweet Caramel Bars, and that is just the beginning. . . . Author Sara Perry tells you everything you need to know about the types of dark chocolate in the marketplace, what the percentages mean, and which ones are best to cook with. And each recipe showcases dark chocolate at its very best. Papa Haydn’s Chocolate Gateau will make your loved one feel extra special. The deceptively simple A Little Chocolate Cheesecake with Mocha Affogato will turn your dinner part into something spectacular. Dark chocolate is always the star here whether it is making an appearance in cookies, cakes, custards, pies, drinks, or sauces. So, start your day with a Chocolate Dream Scone with Mascarpone Spread or end it with a Clean-Chic Chocolate Martini nightcap—every day is brighter when you include a bit of dark chocolate. And with Deep Dark Chocolate, you’ll always keep your bittersweet-tooth satisfied. “A winning take on everyone’s favorite sweet. . . . While there are already more than enough cookbooks devoted to the topic, the approachability and breadth of Perry’s sweet, inventive collection make it worth the indulgence.” —Publishers Weekly

Have high blood pressure? Try a square of dark chocolate. Worried about cardiovascular disease? Snack on some dark chocolate chips. From the time of the Aztec Indians, the cocoa bean has been cherished as a food of the gods. They may have been on to something because in this book, George Rapitis shows how dark chocolate contains powerful flavonoids that can help promote heart health. This book is filled with delicious recipes such as that are low in calories and filled with antioxidants coming from dark chocolate.

100 healthy Raw Vegan recipes of the most famous meals in the world. Healthy versions of pizza, pasta, bacon, pies, cakes, macaroni and cheese, pop tarts, spaghettis, Reeses pieces, Kung Pao chicken, deli meat and cheese slices- all non dairy, non-meat, gluten-free, no cooking, no wheat and easy to make. By Raw food pioneer and chef Cara Brotman and health expert Markus Rothkranz

Chocolate is a decadent visual exploration of the world's favorite indulgence, from its origins to tasting, techniques, and recipes, so every chocoholic can really appreciate every mouthful. Find out how to identify quality when buying, taste like a pro, or make your own chocolate at home and experiment with different flavor combinations. Take the leap from chocoholic to chocolatier with the help of 15 step-by-step recipes for truffles, fondant, cake, and more. Eight step-by-step techniques provide mini master classes for tempering, flavoring, and even making your own bean-to-bar chocolate. Chocolate also traces the transformation from cocoa bean to bar, highlights the chocolate-producing countries throughout the world, and explains why chocolate is so addictive. With more than 300 photographs, this book is a visual indulgence that is sure to lead to a palatable one. Give in to your inner chocoholic and become an expert on the world's most delectable treat with DK's Chocolate.

"From its origin as the sacred, bitter drink of South American rulers to the familiar candy bars sold by today's multimillion dollar businesses, people everywhere have fallen in love with chocolate, the world's favorite flavor...Join science author HP Newquist as he explores chocolate's fascinating history."--