Chocolate Wars

 

Family Iron Chef … Battle of Chocolate

It was a feast of epic proportions, from the chocolate-covered biter biscuits entered by my 14-month-old niece to FarmGuy’s homemade chocolate malt milkshakes. We sampled chocolate cake, chocolate raspberry cheesecake, fudgesicles, chocolate-covered marshmallows, white chocolate cheesecake, Snicker bar salad drizzled with chocolate sauce, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate fudge and my own chocolate trifle. I called it afternoon delight!

We learned something profound.

Are you ready?

It’s truly groundbreaking …

   

Indeed you CAN have too much chocolate.

   

I profess the truth, but I urge you to prove me wrong … it was a delightful road to enlightenment.

 

 

 

We gathered at ‘Bernice’s Pond’ on a sultry summer night.

Our host and hostess are there on the right. Sometimes I question their sanity. Adults are nearly outnumbered by kids … and we did see a stork fly over! (Or maybe it was a crane.)

 

 

 

Here’s our kind hostess now.

She loves parties. She loves people. She’s planning a shopping trip for the ladies and a girls’ night for the little princesses. And I heard Barbie may be there. I cannot convey the depth of my daughters’ excitement at an evening of toenail painting and Barbie games. They’re pleased, to say the least.

This photo makes me think of Fantasy Island. “De plane, Boss! De plane!”

 

 

 

I want you to see the results of our gluttony.

But first you need to understand how we arrived at that point.

The first step involved chocolate milkshakes.

 

 

 

Step two: ginormous chocolate and nut-covered marshmallows on a stick.

Throw in cookies, cake, chocolate-whipped cream-caramel-brownie trifle and some cheesecake.

Stir.

The result?

 

 

 

Pure, filthy, unadulterated BLISS!

And lots of grass and dirt in the crevices. It was a chocolate-induced frenzy that resulted in dancing, flinging, rolling and stomping. And eventually some smearing.

To be honest, I think that patch of bare earth began as an ant hill, but they quickly headed for the hills and fled for their very lives. (As did the parents of these two rugrats!)

 

 

 

Things eventually calmed.

Or maybe this was prior to the madness, I can’t remember.

I’m still coming out of my sugar coma.

 

 

 

These were not casualties of the chocolate war.

They were highly prized, though, and if I’m not mistaken currently reside in my daughter’s bedroom. I don’t mind. These are much prettier than the locust carcasses I discarded the other day. A nicer alternative to the cow teeth she’s been bleaching for her collection jar.

What?

I really can’t explain. Well I could, but … no.

 

 

 

Hey, they do say chocolate is an aphrodisiac!

 

 

 

Evening.

Spent with family and friends and chocolate and kids and dragonflies and croaking frogs.

A perfect memory.

Especially for the winner of this battle of the bulge.

 

 

 

Raspberry Swirl White Chocolate Cheesecake.

Don’t worry, I will get the recipe. You want it, trust me.

It was prepared by my grim-faced brother-in-law.

 

 

 

He does smile, just never when I want him to.

He’s beaming with pride at his victory — can’t you tell? Really. He is. And because he won, he chose next month’s secret ingredient. Could he pick something normal — like chocolate or peanuts or cheese? Of course not.

Iron Chef September: Battle of Onions & Beer.

    

P.S. If you happen to have a recipe with both onions and beer, please send my way.