What are those emotionally stressful situations? The holiday season: shopping, decorating, entertaining, dieting (yeah, sure). It all adds up to seasonal insanity, says the Chocolate Crisis Center.

Their solution: a variety of chocolate candy pills that “will give you the fortitude to survive the season.”

Or the office. Or the kids. Or anything, one chocolate bite at a time.

The Chocolate Crisis Center, which is not a government agency but a Denver-based producer of confections, packages confections in classic pill bottles and First Aid kits: Caramels, truffles, nuts and fruits are enrobed in rich Belgian dark or milk chocolate.

These delicious confections are then topped with cocoas, spices and fruit essences for a wide range of delectable taste surprises—all with a humorous “First Aid” twist.

Everything we tried was delicious. Individual bottles, called Daily Doses, are delightful stocking stuffers or party favors.

Various kits are larger gifts. There are Calamity Kits, Major Crisis Kits, a Minor Crisis Kit and a Shock Treatment Kit, some assembled from your choice of the Daily Dose candies:

A reusable first aid kit is filled with bottles of chocolate “pills.” Photo courtesy Chocolate Crisis Center.

There’s more, including Holiday Blues Peppermint Creams, a large blue bottle of jumbo “pills” the size of a nickel, a gentle peppermint coating over a soft, green minty center. The mint is very delicate—there’s no throat-cooling blast of peppermint oil. Seven big “pills” per serving is more than most people need to be cured.

Order online at ChocolateCrisisCenter.com or phone 1.800.329.6950.

The rich flavors of eggnog in a family-friendly ice cream. Photo courtesy Talenti.

Talenti Gelato has been a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week twice—that’s how much we like it.

This superb brand is selling luscious Old World Eggnog Gelato through the end of the year: the flavor of traditional egg nog transformed into rich, creamy gelato.

It’s a perfect, easy New Year’s Eve dessert: served plain; in a parfait layered with chocolate sauce, amaretti or shortbread cookie crumbs; over pound cake or brownies; even atop apple or pecan pie.

There’s no alcohol in this gelato, but you can pour a shot of rum or brandy over it to turn it into a spirited dish.

Old World Eggnog Gelato is made with fine Tahitian vanilla beans, hormone-free cream and milk, fresh egg yolks, pure cane sugar, pure vanilla extract and, of course, nutmeg.

The eggnog gelato is rich and indulgent, but has about 30% less fat than conventional premium ice cream. The suggested retail price is $4.99 to $5.99 per pint.

Old World Eggnog is available in only until the end of the month, so stock up now. Find a Talenti retailer near you: store locator.
Fortunately, there are some 20 other flavors of gelato and sorbetto to keep you happy for the rest of the year.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ICE CREAM AND GELATO

Here’s the scoop.

Elegant strips of prosciutto are wrapped around slender, crunchy breadsticks for a delicious and eye-catching appetizer.

Grissini is the Italian word for long, pencil-thin breadsticks. You can buy them for the easy version of this recipe; or you can bake your own. If you’re baking the breadsticks, start two days in advance to allow the dough to rise.

If you can’t find truffle butter (it adds great flavor), use the best unsweetened butter you can find.

The grissini can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

The recipe was created by Chef Tim Doolittle of Table 10, a Mario Batali restaurant in Las Vegas.

Yield: about 4 dozen grissini.

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED GRISSINI

Ingredients

 
*“00” or double zero flour, made by Antico Molino Caputo in Italy, is considered to be the world’s best pizza flour. “00” flour is a very fine flour that is perfect for pizza dough and breadsticks. It is available at upscale Italian markets and online. If you can’t obtain Caputo, you can use another brand. More about 00 flour.

Preparation

1. COMBINE yeast, warm water and honey in the bowl of a standing mixer. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If the mixture does not foam, start over with new yeast.

2. ADD the sea salt and flour along with the water and olive oil to the bowl of the mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until a very soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium and beat, occasionally scraping down the sides, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Scrape the dough into the center of the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 or up to 2 days.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F.

4. TURN the dough out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it out into a 6-inch circle. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into thin strips about ½ inch wide. Place the strips onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

5. SLICE each piece of prosciutto in half to form thin strips. Spread a small amount of the truffle butter onto the prosciutto and then wrap the prosciutto around the top half of the grissini.

6. SERVE immediately, once wrapped with prosciutto. Take a breather and watch them disappear into the hands of guests.
WHAT EXACTLY IS PROSCIUTTO?

Check it out.