Chocolate

Paleo Recipes for Brownies and Banana Bread

If you haven't yet heard of the Paleo lifestyle, you're in for a treat. The Paleo philosophy is really simple: eat only whole, unprocessed foods and cut out all grains, legumes, and refined sugars. I know that cutting out grains and legumes may sound like the opposite of what many nutritionists advo ... More >>

10 Cool Things at the 2013 Phoenix Gluten-Free Expo

Okay. The expo was crowded, the lines were long, and people always seem to lose their sense of dignity when there are free samples of anything. But there was a lot to be happy about at the 2013 Phoenix Gluten-Free Expo held over the weekend at the DoubleTree Resort in Scottsdale. See also: - Ted' ... More >>

Portillo's in Scottsdale Has an Outrageous Chocolate Cake Shake. Yes, Folks: Chocolate. Cake. Shake.

The Guilty Pleasure: Chocolate Cake Shake Where To Get It: Portillo's, Shea just east of Loop 101 The Price:$3.19 small, $3.99 large (and they mean large) What It Really Costs: Hopeless addiction. When Portillo's opened in Scottsdale, I had quite the reminder that a) There are a lot of expatriate ... More >>

Mesa Farmers Market: What We Bought, What We Skipped and What We're Still Lusting Over

The Spot: Mesa Farmers Market, open Fridays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. See Also: - Bodega 420 in Phoenix: What We Bought, What We Skipped, and What We're Still Lusting Over - Best Farmers Market for Petting Baby Goats 2009: Mesa Community Farmers Market - Phoenix Farmers Who Tweet

Sweets by 5ftLatina's Kathryn James: Caramelpalooza Candymakers 2013

As the chefs competing in Smeeks and Chow Bella's fourth annual Caramelpalooza -- coming 7 p.m. Friday, April 5, at UNION -- get out the candy thermometers, we've got our pens ready to introduce you to the faces behind the caramel. Like may people out there, Kathryn James is all about New Year's re ... More >>

Flourless Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies

I've been writing about food related Pinterest finds for one year and have yet to report on cookies. It's about time. And these are wonderful, particularly in this picky day and age. These cookies don't contain flour, or nuts and barely any diary - making them the absolute perfect treat for when y ... More >>

Candy Land

Fourteen Valley Restaurants to Take Your Sweetie Pie to on Valentine's Day

On which day of the year does one-third of all Americans visit a restaurant? If you guessed Mother's Day, often referred to as the busiest day in the restaurant biz, you're wrong. Valentine's Day is the holiday that draws out the diners, so if you're planning a fancy date night with your special som ... More >>

SanTan Sex Panther: 60 Percent of the Time, It's Good Every Time

Beer: Sex Panther Brewery: SanTan Brewing Co. Style: Porter ABV: 6.9 percent I don't know how no other brewery snatched up the name "Sex Panther" before SanTan did, but I'm ecstatic they all missed out, because now I get to pepper this review with Anchorman quotes. Thank you, other breweries' name ... More >>

Make Your Own Chocolate Chip Heath Bars: Chow Bella's Halloween Showdown

Trick... or treat? For the latest Chow Bella showdown, our writers whipped up a dessert reminiscent of, or incorporating, their favorite Halloween candy. Check back all week for recipes; tomorrow our critic Laura Hahnefeld will pick her favorite. Today: Claire Lawton's Chocolate Chip Heath Bars S ... More >>

Mini Chocolate Lava Lamps and More Desserts at Binkley's Restaurant

If you have your ears (or, er, tongues) open in the Phoenix food scene, Binkley's Restaurant needs no introduction. Chef and owner Kevin Binkley has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef Southwest for several years in a row, and this year he was named as a finalist. To those who ... More >>

Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Don't Knock It Till You've Tried It

See also: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip -- Made with Garbanzo Beans (And It's Good, Not Just Good for You) I never thought twice about cookie dough until Pinterest showed up in my life. My problem with most cookie dough is that I'm sensitive to flour - I can't eat it. Luckily Pinterest offers ma ... More >>

The 10 Best Halloween Candies Ever.

When it comes to shopping for Halloween candy, everyone knows the basics: no generics, no toothbrushes, no mystery baked goods, and if you're giving out king-sized candy bars, word will quickly spread through the trick-or-treat grapevine that your house is the jackpot. But what are the specific ca ... More >>

Nikki's Top Four Picks for Arizona Restaurant Week

See also: Kevin Binkley on Loving In-N-Out Burger See also: Noca Owner Eliot Wexler on Chef Claudio Urciuoli Restaurant Week begins September 15 and runs through September 23. And while it smacks of Black Friday, Christmas in July and all the other bargain bonanzas that attract the great unwashed, ... More >>

Laurie Notaro's Recipe for Haboob Brownies

See also: Laurie Notaro's Five Reasons Why Haboobs Are Awesome Several weeks ago, I was forced by the hand of hormones to make a pan of brownies. It happens. One moment you're browsing an Anthropologie catalog thinking, "They'd do so much more business if they sold sizes boobs actually fit into," a ... More >>

Chocolate Crème Brûlée with Brandied Cherries at Timo Wine Bar

Since opening last October, Timo Wine Bar has become known as a hip yet understated place to relax and enjoy an outstanding wine list along with fabulous wood-fired foods - and preferably a hot date. Along with Spanish-style tapas and farm fresh salads, the restaurant serves a wide variety of items ... More >>

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip -- Made with Garbanzo Beans (And It's Good, Not Just Good for You)

Chow Bella shared this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago, before Pin Up Girl, on a board called "Dare you to try this." At first glance, I couldn't understand the dare. What's so daring about cookie dough dip? But then I looked at the recipe... What makes this rebellious is that this is a heal ... More >>

Gâteau Marjolaine at Christopher's

Phoenix isn't exactly a culinary hub, and the Valley's restaurants don't always get the kind of attention as those in New York, L.A., and Seattle. But we have our fair share of star chefs, and if there was a leader of the pack, it might just have to be Chef Christopher Gross. He and his restaurants ... More >>

Vegan Cupcake Crusade: Nami vs. 24 Carrots

​Do you guys know how hard it is to find a vegan cupcake on the fly in this town? And I'm not talking about special ordering a dozen or waiting till the second Saturday of the fourth month or going to Sprinkles -- I'm talking about purchasing one cupcake of the vegan variety on a moment's notice f ... More >>

Amy S.'s The Holidays Really Take Their Toll (House) Cookies

Cookie dough porn. ​Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. Today: our final entry, Amy Silverman's "The Holidays Really Take Their Toll (House) Cookies."   Let's face it: You've made it this far in the holiday season and all you really want right now is ... More >>

Nicole's Mini Pans

Our latest Chow Bella showdown: a traditional holiday cookie exchange. From now through Christmas, we present Chow Bella's 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Today: Nicole Smith's Mini Pans. Tedd Roundy Nicole's serving 'em up.​Some people say, "I'm turning into my mother" like it's a bad thin ... More >>

Dominique's Mini Dark Chocolate Pear Tarts

If you look forward to the holidays because they provide an excuse to spend all day baking something extra special for your holiday cookie tray, you can't go wrong with these rich Mini Dark Chocolate Pear Tarts.

IHOP v. Denny's: Clash of the Christmas Pancakes

Lauren SariaIHOP's white chocolate mint pancakes​Thanks to Hallmark it's become socially acceptable to throw some green and red on just about anything and market it a special holiday treat...and don't you just love it?! Don't know about you, but we can't get enough peppermint and sugar flavored go ... More >>

Chocolate and Wine: A Sexy Pairing

​Something great happens when sexy forces combine. Brangelina took on an army of children, the Sports Illustrated models became a calendar institution, and don't make us explain what happened when Kama met Sutra. Like it or not, sexiness is a powerful thing. When it comes to food, there's nothing ... More >>

Cheesecake Choco-Berries: Fair Food Showdown

With the Arizona State Fair headed our way at week's end, we at Chow Bella decided on our latest  challenge: Create a "fair food" that kicks it up a notch. No one dared to cook with bugs, but we did have some creative entries. Check back later this week, when critic Laura Hahnefeld will choose ... More >>

Mexican Chocolate Cake from Blanco

​Tacos may very well be the perfect food, but let's face it, the standard Meximerican fare can get a bit stale after a while. Taco the Town is here to highlight some of the more unusual Mexican finds in the Valley. This week: Mexican Chocolate Cake served up by Blanco Tacos & Tequila ​¿C ... More >>

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses. That's Right. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses.

Sweet Tooth​ Berries and booze? Yes, please. Sweet Tooth blogger Erica, a twenty-something dental student with a baking obsession, came up with the idea for chocolate covered strawberry shot glasses with her friend Marissa. "They're as simple as they look," Erica writes. "-- hulled out stra ... More >>

Chocolate Festival at Chakra 4 Cafe

Carol Blonder Calio Confections​ We popped into Chakra 4 Café and Tea House Saturday to start off our Valentine weekend with a Chocolate Festival. Chocolate vendors Lisa Reinhardt, Wei of Chocolate, and Michelle Calio, Calio Confections were there to entice customers with their lines of or ... More >>

Valentine's Day Showdown: Bistro Dinner with Our Resident Chef

Jonathan McNamaraCarol Blonder with most of her Valentine's menu.​Our Virgin Cook, Wynter Holden, refers to the Valentine dinner menu as a competition! In spite of the size your knife (is that from the tool shed?) Wynter, game on! And no apologies, Cyndi Coon, Thrifty Cook, we planned our menu ... More >>

Make Your Own Raw Chocolate -- It's Easy! (Not.)

Kelly Green​ ​In the name of good health and a good read, each week we'll be bringing you a health product, complete with review. We're calling this feature Crunchy Granola -- even though we doubt much of this stuff tastes that good. Raw chocolate has been eluding me for some time now. Ev ... More >>

Pilgrim Cookie

Illustration by Cyndi Coon​With Thanksgiving upon us -- and knowing that some people are already pie'd out -- we figured that making some cookies for your guests to snack on post dinner would be a good idea. Sticking with the pilgrims, these cutie cookies serve the sweet tooth and the theme ... More >>

Brady Breese's Cocomint Cookie

Carol Blonder Cocomint Cookies​Right in time to feed the holiday cookie exchange frenzy, Brady Breese of Urban Cookies shares his Cocomint cookie recipe. Lucky for us we found Shaun, Brady's wife and business partner, handing out cookie samples Saturday, at The Local First Fall Festival. We ... More >>

AZ Restaurant Week, Charity Wine Tasing and Milk Chocolate Day in Today's Eater's Digest

technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com​Hungry for your early morning serving of food news, with no preservatives or additives?Charity Wine TastingTeam "Sole" Mates will be hosting a charity wine tasting and buffet dinner at Ruffino's Italian Restaurant in Ahwatukee tonight starting at 5 p.m. Enj ... More >>

Thin Mint Showdown: Fudge Truffle Cheesecake w/ Thin Mint Whipped Cream

Jonathan McNamara ​ One can never have enough Thin Mints. At least that's what we thought until Managing Editor Amy Silverman brought in a dozen unsold boxes to a recent Chow Bella meeting. If one must make lemonade when life hands one lemons, we theorized one must make dessert when life han ... More >>

Monday Night Martha: Who Doesn't Like a Cookie?

​We've got to hand it to Martha; the lady knows how to make a cookie. With hundreds of cookie recipes in her repertoire the hardest part can be deciding which one to try first. Luckily we had the help of a cute little girl with definite ideas about what she likes and doesn't like. After a sel ... More >>

Fresh Baked Gifts: The Irish Car Bomb Cupcake

Heather HochWe don't think we could love anything more.​We're not quite sure how to classify this one. It's a cupcake for chocolate lovers, bar flies, and people who generally like to eat rich. The Irish car bomb cupcake is a rich, moist Guinness chocolate cake with a flavorful whiskey chocola ... More >>

Chocolate Alert! Eleanor Joseph Truffles Land in your Grocery

Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that help fight free radicals and stave off aging, and a glass of wine a day can reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. So that fistful of dark chocolate medallions and glass of Cabernet you'll be downing tonight are totally healthy!

Avalon Chef Travis Watson to Teach Chocolate Class

Chocolate and wine. We can't think of two better things to spend an evening tasting. Well, we're in luck. Chef Travis Watson, of Avalon in Scottsdale, is offering one night of just that: Chocolate and wine tasting, complete with petit fours, truffles and pairings, not to mention a how-to and histor ... More >>

Caffiend: Gold Bar Espresso's Mocha Especiale

If you can drive just 20 feet past the Starbucks in the Basha's Plaza on the northeast corner of Southern and McClintock in Tempe, you'll find another gem of a coffee house in the same shopping center: Gold Bar Espresso. This cozy little corner shop touts itself as "simply the choice of the connoiss ... More >>

Battle of the Cupcakes

Urban Cookies vs. Cupcakes   It's been several years since the cupcake craze ignited. According to most food fad timelines, cupcakes should have jumped the shark by now, but they obviously haven't because there's still no shortage of frou-frou cupcake boutiques around the Valley. That's fine wi ... More >>

Veggie Boy: Gluten-Free Creations Bakery

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From U.S. District Court to the Arizona State Fair, attorney Steve Silver's baked goods are under every judge's nose

Second Helpings

Second Helpings

Second Helpings

Second Helpings

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