One of my favorite celebrity chefs on the Food Network is Giada De Laurentiis. Aside from the yummy-looking Italian dishes she creates, she also has an affinity for chocolate that many people can relate to! She uses this, well, obsession for all things cocoa to come up with some fun and tasty desserts as well!

Using Nutella, a chocolate hazelnut spread, and chocolate chips Giada has created an easy chocolaty pizza dessert that’s sure to hit the spot after any meal. This would be a lot of fun to have the kids help out with and after the pizza has cooled …read more

Paula Deen is one of the few cooks/chefs on the Food Network that I bother to watch anymore. I don’t make a lot of her recipes (I like my arteries) but the ones I have made have always turned out well.
This one is her Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies which is a take-off from her Gooey Butter Cake. I like it with a Devil’s Food cake mix, it gives the cookies and extra rich chocolate flavor. They’re a lot like Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but a little bit chewier.
Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at …read more

I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble talking my husband into making this for me for Mother’s Day! It’s from Gale Gand at the Food Network and she says she started making it when she worked in England at the Stapleford Park Hotel. She also points out that using croissants that are a few days old will better absorb the liquids and give you a creamier, flakier dish.
Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
4 to 6 croissants, preferably 1 or 2 days old
2 cups half-and- half
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch salt
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
Vanilla ice cream, …read more

I know, that does not sound too appetizing. This was originally intended for a Halloween party, but there’s absolutely no reason it can’t be used for a St. Patrick’s Day party too! This comes from an episode of Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on the Food Network.
Green Chocolate Slimedoo
2 cups heavy cream
2 ounces sugar
2 ounces butter
2 pounds white chocolate
6 to 12 drops green food coloring
Strawberries, bananas, pineapples, apples, pretzels for dipping
Make a ganache: In a non-reactive double boiler set over medium-low heat, bring the cream, sugar, and butter to a boil. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small chunks – a …read more

Brownies, like many other great inventions, are said to have been the mistake of a careless cook who forgot to put baking powder into a chocolate cake recipe. She ended up with what we now call brownies, and thank heavens she didn’t just toss the pan out without trying them first!
I was watching Food Network last night and caught Alton Brown doing an episode on cocoa, which included him to making the brownies below. I’ve made these before (but didn’t get pictures of them) and they’re delicious!
Cocoa Brownies
Soft butter, for greasing the pan
Flour, for dusting the buttered pan
4 large eggs
1 …read more

I found an amazing interview yesterday with Mr. Chocolate himself, Jacques Torres. I remember when he had his own show on the Food Network for like a month before it disappeared into the ether. Why does FN hate talent? (kidding, kind of
The video has embedding disabled so click on the picture or link above to view it.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen Giada De Laurentiis make this on Everyday Italian. Hazelnuts aren’t the easiest thing in the world to find but any natural/health food store with a bulk nut section should have them.
Chocolate-Hazelnut Tart
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
1 cup corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 store bought frozen pie crust, defrosted
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, …read more

Truly a product after my own heart. I was watching Food Network the other day (nothing odd about that, trust me) and saw a segment on a product that made me drop what I was doing and sit in rapt attention for seven minutes. It’s called Backpackers Chocolate, an odd name for a really cool idea (pardon the pun):
“After climbing Santa Fe Baldy one hot summer day and opening a bag of melted chocolate, Clif and Chris, the founding partners, came up with the idea for ‘weatherproof chocolate.’ By encasing gourmet chocolate in wax, they created a product that was …read more

I saw these cute chocolate map boxes on Food Network a while back and made a mental note to mention them. But I forgot. Then my friend Alicia sent me a link to them several weeks ago and I thought I had bookmarked them to refer to later but… I forgot. Then my other friend Heather wrote about them today with her contest entry so hey, third time’s the charm! And as she pointed out, the “Due To Current Weather Conditions We Are Currently Not Shipping” at the top of the page is pretty amusing.
The chocolate boxes are filled with …read more