TIDBIT: Chocolatier Vs. Confectioner

What’s the difference between “chocolates” and “confections?” Is a “chocolatier” or chocolate shop the same as a “confectionary?” A confectionery (also spelled confectionary) is a confectioner’s shop—more popularly called a candy store or sweet shop in modern times. A chocolatier (a French word, pronounced cho-co-la-tee-YAY) is both the chocolate shop and the person who makes…
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FREEBIE: Italian Cookbook From Barilla

Fettuccine With Pumpkin and Bread Crumbs will be a hit at your table.   Last year, Barilla created a free downloadable cookbook featuring Italian recipes from celebrities and prominent chefs. For every cookbook downloaded, Barilla donated $1.00 to America’s Second Harvest—The Nation’s Food Bank Network, which helps the needy. This year, five celebrities—Chris Daughtry, Debra…
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TODAY IN FOOD: It’s Cream Cheese Brownie Day

February 10th is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. Why add cream cheese to brownie batter? You might logically say, for more richness. Cream cheese makes a denser, fudgier brownie, and the tangy quality of the cream cheese is a nice counterpoint to both the deep chocolate flavor and the sweetness of the sugar. Some cream…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Valentine Cake

Make these individual Valentine cakes with a 3-inch heart cookie cutter.   Bake your sweetie a devil’s food chocolate cake with our Valentine cake recipe from Michael Recchiuti. It uses a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut mini-heart cakes from a sheet cake. For one large cake, heart-shaped cake pans are available at any kitchen supply…
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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Burdick Chocolate

Larry Burdick was a pastry chef in New York City when he chose to focus on making chocolate. Then, he decided to focus on making it in quieter, gentler New Hampshire—in the old “mail order” days, before the Internet, when those in the know might get a holiday catalog. Today, it’s easy for chocolate connoisseurs…
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