Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolate CONTEST!

I feel like I’ve done a lot of product reviews and giveaways lately, and trust me I’m not complaining! It’s so much fun to try new products and then give my wonderful readers (that’d be you) a chance to give them a try.

Today though I have a very different review and a super great contest for you.  Oh and yes, it involves chocolate, and tea. You can tell why I’d be excited.

 

 

About a month ago (actually before the other giveaways I’ve offer lately) I talked to Francine from Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolate through a mutual connection (not giving away any names but she’s on her a lot.) Francine now lives and works out of the Brandywine Valley which is the Greater Philadelphia for those of you who aren’t familiar.

Francine has such a great story. After studying chocolate making at the Ecole Chocolat in Vancouver, Canada Francine moved from her native New York to pursue her dream of making her own artisan chocolates here in Pennsylvania.
 

Francine’s chocolates are made using fair trade chocolate, quality and even organic ingredients. Not only that but five percent of all of proceeds are donated to the Church of Christ disaster relief efforts.

 

 

I was so excited to try her chocolates so Francine was kind enough to send a variety box of her chocolates for me to try and I have a lot to tell you about them!

 

Francine sent me three of her flavors which were all so different but equally delicious.

 

 

The flavors I tried were the Dark Salted Caramel, Turtle in a Shell, and the newest tea-infused Black Currant.

 

The first chocolate I tried was the Dark Salted Caramel.

 

 

“Buttery caramel center in a 64% dark chocolate shell sprinkled with sea salt.” I must say that is a good way to describe it! The caramel was not you expect now a days from most candy caramel which can be syrupy and tough. Instead the caramel is soft, buttery, and melts in your mouth reminding me so much of the chocolates I had in England. I love dark chocolate so the combination of the light almost savory caramel, dark chocolate and just a light dusting salt went together so nicely. An easy favorite for those who don’t like overly sweet chocolates!

The second chocolate I tried was the tea infused Black Currant.

 

“38% white chocolate center infused with black currant tea in a dark chocolate shell.” When I first talked to Francine she mentioned her new creation, the Black Currant. How she knew Black currant was one of my favorite flavors of all time I have no idea! Black currant is such a popular flavor in Britain which makes this chocolate remind me the most of England. What I love about this chocolate is it is not what you would expect.
 

As soon as you bite into the Black Currant you the taste sweet berries with a creamy finish. You can definitely taste the tea infusion in this one. The sweet of the currants and the herbiness of the tea mixes so well with the dark chocolate. The ribbon of white chocolate on top pulls the whole chocolate together making it such a sweet treat. This is the best chocolate for fruit lovers!

 

The last chocolate I tried was the Turtle in a Shell.

 

“Buttery caramel and roasted pecan center in a 64% dark chocolate shell. Topped with roasted pecan.”  This was my favorite chocolate of all. The “turtle” had a slightly milder dark chocolate that went perfectly with the roasted organic pecans. You can instantly taste the bits of pecans swirled in caramel that is more substantial to compliment the crunchiness of the nuts. I love the almost liquor-flavor of this chocolate. If I had to choose I would buy a box of just these! (And probably one of each of the other ones….who could choose?)
 

But with a good segue to that…
 

You don’t have to choose!
 

On Francine’s website the chocolates are arranged into collections.
 

The Royal Collection features quintessential tea-infused British flavors. Looking at the Lavender Earl Grey, ginger blossom, even chocolate Chai I started to get home-sick for my home-away-from-home! I know a certain blogger friend who would like the Chai especially and I would like the Irish Mist with black tea and Irish cream! This would make such a unique gift!
 

I have envy over the Imperial Collection including Wine and Spirit Infused chocolates including the best liquor flavors like Kahlua, Pina Colada, Amaretto, Champagne, and more! These chocolates not only feature liquor flavors but also the great tea-infusions Francine prides herself on. This is what tea infusions were made for: organic black tea, white tea, osmanthus flowers, rooibos and so many others it makes my mouth water!
 

The Traditional Collection which includes "Old Time Favorites" with a twist like the Salted Saramel, the Turtle, and four other flavors including Hot Chocolate, Hazelnut Gianduja, Dark Chocolate Covered Cherry, and Peanut Butter Ganache! This is the one for classic flavor lovers!
 

Not only that but Francine offers lots of special items such as Wine Chocolates for Borderland Vineyards and Chocolate covered Brownie bites!

 

 

Review: I love the variety Designs by Francine includes in the artisan chocolates. Every chocolate is incredibly unique using flavors from all over the world. While this is a new business, Francine is well on her way to having a hit! Despite my vacuum-like qualities sometimes in actuality I am very picky about chocolates. You can tell Francine puts a lot of love in to all of her chocolates. My favorite was Turtle in a Shell because I love pecans. I’m big about supporting small and local businesses because that’s usually where the best products come from. I hope you decide Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolate no matter where you are in the US, you’ll be supporting a pretty great business from what I’ve seen.

Great for tea time too!

Have I made you hungry yet? Good!

When Francine and I talked about this review she had the great idea of doing something different than just a giveaway. Since her chocolates are so unique we wanted to give you my readers a chance to come up with a tea-infused flavor of your own!
 

The Contest

 

Have you ever thought about having your favorite flavors prepared in an artisan chocolate? Here’s your chance! Designs by Francine Artisan chocolate is giving one reader a chance to create their own unique chocolate including their favorite tea blends!

 

• One (1) reader will receive a 12 piece box of the chocolates they create from Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolate!
• The winner’s name and unique chocolate creation will appear on Designs by Francine’s website for sale! (With recognition for the winner)

Here’s what you do:

• Name the type of chocolate: white, milk, or dark.
• Suggest the type of tea you would like infused in the center of the chocolate. Be creative! (For ideas check out Francine’s website)
• NAME YOUR CHOCOLATE! Come up with a name that reflects the flavors and personality of your creation!

The Tea flavors are endless! Have fun!

 

The Rules:

 

• The Contest will run for two weeks from September 12th to September 25th. Designs by Francine will decide the winner soon after and I will announce it here on the College Cuisiner and contact the winner!! Please give Designs by Francine time to create your unique chocolate.
• Open only to readers living in US
• Entry must be included in a comment on this post.

• Leave a way for me to contact you: email, google account, etc.

Please spread the news via Facebook, twitter, and your own blogs!

 

Tweet and Facebook this contest!

 

 "Just entered the Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolate #contest on the @CollegeCusiner! #Enter now! http://www.thecollegecuisiner.com/2012/09/designs-by-francine-artisan-chocolate.html"

 

Thanks to everyone who enters! Good Luck!

 

P.s. if you are in the Philadelphia or Brandywine Valley Area on September 30th, Francine will be at the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail Harvest Festival at the Borderland Vineyard on Landenberg, PA. Stop by for a chocolate tasting utilizing Valrhona, Michel Cluizel and Venchi fine chocolates! Let her know I sent you!

 

Love,

 

The College Cuisiner

 

Note: Designs by Francine offered a free sample and the opportunity for a contest on the College Cuisiner. I was not compensated for a positive review and all opinions are my own. Like…yummy.

 

 
 

Campbell's Go! Soup

In the life of a college-aged foodie, it seems inevitable that more often than not the places we may go we will probably run into a few hipsters.

Say in the case of Trader Joe’s. I go there looking for a deal on fresh produce and so do the hipsters for either the same reason or perhaps the organic lemons in Whole Foods just didn’t look as fresh. (Doubt it though.) We all know I have a mild obsession/stalking from a distance relationship with Whole Foods.

In other situations such as the cool new LA Style taco restaurant I’ve been wanting to try in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, I am almost imitated to go pass the hipster crowd who makes me feel I don’t deserve to eat $2.50 tacos CASH ONLY with the likes of these much cooler people.

But let’s get passed my own insecurities shall we?

Feeling under the weather today I asked Aaron to get me some Campbell’s tomato soup. This led me to a Google search which informed me the canned soup giant is coming out with a brand new “hipster-inspired” line of packaged soups. After a little more research I found these new hip soups are inspired by none other than hipsters themselves  and 18-32 age group that is new increasingly more interested in more interesting flavors than plain tomato soup.



Courtesy of NJ.com



Campbell’s have made a big deal about this new product, Go! Soup In delightfully colorful pouch packages. They’ve sent executives to “hipster-hubs” like Portland, Oregon and London. Which explains why it looks like a package soup I’d buy at Marks & Spencer’s or Waitrose. If they are sending this across the pond they might have a hit on their hands.

They even looked around NYC food trucks for inspiration and followed young people on shopping trips! (with their permission of course.) Wonder if they sent any reps to a Philly Night Market?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flavors of the Go! Soup packages sound great. Moroccan style chicken soup with chick peas, Golden lentils, Chicken quinoa, or coconut curry…sounds like something you would get in that fancy deli for $4-5 a bowl right?

 

Or a lot like my dinner last night.

But as my above rant suggests, would a soup that you can find in the average grocery store that attracts the likes of me, the budgeted college foodie also attract Samara, the part-time yoga instructor/software engineer? That's the question.

 

I think this is the question Campbell’s wants to ask. There are taking a big risk on the new soups which sound delicious but at the same time will they go over? The expensive homemade bowl of soup at the deli I like doesn’t have to market their soup for 100 million of their closest customers like Campbell’s. Will this soup be too adventurous for the average small town mom or dad? Will it not be adventurous enough for I-only-eat-organic 18-32 prized age group Campbell’s is so desperately trying to attract? I’m sure they’ve asked themselves these questions and weighed the pros and cons. Of course, they know their condensed soup audience probably will stay as such but maybe their new “skillet sauces” in similar Go! Soup exotic flavors will attract a new audience as well who might not pick up the new soup. This is the first time Campbell's has offered a new product by any means. I know I’ll probably give it at least a try.

When these soups will hit nation wide is hard to tell but these reports. It looks like Walmart is already carrying the items though so maybe you'll see them sooner than you think.

Courtesy of Design Boom

 

If this wasn’t enough Andy Warhol inspired cans of regular tomato soup are now on sale at Target. My question is will be want to eat the soup or buy ten to make a retro display in their kitchen instead of a back splash? I have no idea. I just want some tomato soup and grilled cheese.

What do you think? Would you buy this soup?

 
Love,
 

The College Cuisiner

 

Images courtesy of Package World, Ad Age, and Create ID

Super Easy Crockpot Chicken Chili

Every time I eat chili I think of Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory declaring that chili doesn't have beans in it and therefore what I'm eating is not chili.
 

Well sorry Sheldon tonight I made chili in a crockpot and it was delicious.

For my birthday, my oldest best friend Nicole bought me a beautiful crockpot and in the spirit of our homemade inspired gift giving she also made a crockpot cookbook including her one favorite recipes and space for the ones I would soon create! Thanks Nicole! 
 

Growing up Nicole's mom made the best crockpot dinners and despite my own mothers efforts she never got the hang of that thing. Sorry mom, you know it is true. Don't even get me started on that chicken kale "dinner" you made over the summer. But with more luck I'm excited to start pumping out delicious crockpot meals.

One big thing with crockpots is that as you are cooking this meal for roughly half a day you have to put in a lot of flavor and be be flexible. I'll probably be calling Nicole's mom for tips!

Just try to limit how often you open the pot. If you have a good crock pot it shouldn't burn and by opening you let out the prescious steam that helps cook your delicious meal!

As I've never experimented much with a crockpot, My chili took some tips from Budget Savvy Diva and Jimmy Fallon but this is my own recipe.

If you want a great meal for your family that literally makes itself give this a try. Because even if this recipe isn't "chili" it's delicious, whatever it is....

Super Easy Crockpot Chicken Chili:

Makes 5-6 servings

 

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, or 5-6 chicken tender pieces
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
3-4 large carrots, peeled and chopped into thin slices
8 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, chili ready or jalepeno variety
8 oz. of canned, frozen, or fresh corn
8.oz can of black beans
1 4 oz. can of tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried cumin
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. olive oil, additional for sauteeing
salt if needed


Optional:
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Fresh lime juice on top
half can of lager beer (requires additional 1 hour HIGH or 2 hours LOW cooking time)

Veggie Tip:

I listed this delicious chili under meatless, vegetarian, and vegan even though I realize there's chicken in it. That's because this recipe is so easily made into all three categories by simply NOT ADDING THE CHICKEN! Simple isn't it?

Directions:

In a large frying pan saute onions and carrots with a drizzle of oil olive until onions become translucent. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add sauteed onions and carrots to crockpot.

In the same pan brown each side of chicken pieces in olive oil until lightly browned (inside will still be raw.) Add chicken to the crockpot.

Add rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and stir. Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours.  Cook until well mixed and chili has desired thickness. (cook longer for thicker chili) Take chicken pieces out and shred with a knife and fork. Return shredded chiken to the crockpot and mix well.

Serve and enjoy. (p.s. Don't forget to unplug your crockpot!)

My favorite ways to eat crockpot chili:

topped with a little cheddar cheese and sour cream on top of cilantro lime rice

(cook rice according to package instructions, add 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro once boiled. Add 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about half a good lime) and some garlic salt. Stir. Delicious!)

On top of a baked sweet potato with cheddar cheese and fresh tomatoes. OMG!
My baked sweet potato inspiration from Jenn at Peas and Crayons. So worth the hype!

Or just as leftovers!

I hope you enjoyed my budget friendly and healthy crockpot chicken chili! Let me know if you try it and don't forget...it's gluten free too!

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

WIAW #41: Labor Day Eats in NYC!

This Labor Day weekend I had the pleasure of going to New York City with my wonderful fiancé, and his fantastic mother, Lisa, and grandmother, Marie. We spent Saturday to Monday in the Big Apple and we had a wonderful time. Marie coming the whole way from Washington State (where many of you are reading from of course) had never been to New York City before. Aaron, a true Newyorkifile loved showing us around New York and I got a feel for the city that I never had previously.

 

 

This is only the second time I’ve slept over in the city (the first time being last Halloween.) You get a much different feel for the city when you stay over.

We had gotten a great military deal to stay at the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue and wow did we feel special! After a long misunderstanding with room readiness, we were upgraded from a standard room at regular price to a much more expensive 24th floor king suite with a Park Avenue view!!!

After this misunderstanding the manager even sent up a lovely apology note, a bottle of wine, and Waldorf Astoria chocolates!

Talk about service!

We did a lot this weekend but here are some of the highlights and of course, some of the food for What I Ate Wednesday! I'm with you Jenn, I am so eager for Fall!!!!


Oh and did we eat!

On Saturday shortly after we arrived we went to lunch at the Russian Tea Room for Aaron’s 22nd birthday celebration.

I had the Salad Oliver (chicken, red potatoes, etc. etc. yum yum)

The ladies had the Chicken Kiev: stuffed with butter, yep.

Aaron had a lovely lamb dish and all the girls got mimosas since it was technically brunch!

This place was so neat! I had never been to the Russian Tea Room before so it was a treat!

This glass bear in their upstairs banquet hall is filled with live fish. yep.

After finally getting our suite (worth the wait) we headed off a few blocks to Central Park and took a lovely carriage ride through the park with a wonderful guide.

 

The city from the back of our carriage.

The next day I started off with coffee and a fruit plate from the room service that Lisa and Marie ordered. Yum!

 

We spent most of the morning and early afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Here are some of the highlights:

 

 

 

  

Of course those highlights include the cafeteria sushi bar

And the three roll special Aaron and I shared (along with his pasta meal.)

After a trip to the 9/11 memorial and a few places in Midtown including Macy’s we went to a wonderful little Italian restaurant called Luna Piena on East 53rd Street. Finally my great Italian food craving was satisfied!

I had the incredible and very rich mushroom ravioli with truffle oil.

On Monday before our afternoon train back to Philadelphia we took a trip to the infamous F.A.O. Schwarz! I felt like a kid again! I would have liked to go on the Big Piano though! Only $2,500 to have one of your own!!

For lunch we went to the still very new Plaza Food Hall underneath the Plaza hotel.

Even the inside entrance going down was beautiful!

 

 

This place reminding me so much of the amazing London department store food halls via Harrods’s and Selfridge’s. It was beautiful! We finally chose a few things among the several bakeries, sushi bars, my favorite London chocolate shop, La Maison du Chocolat, and the Todd English food hall and restaurant/giant bar.

They even make their own pasta! It was heaven!

I ordered a New England style Lobster Roll with Ginger beer (non-alcoholic) with a pickle and chips. Now shredded lobster here! Just giant lumps of lobster and butter deliciousness on a toasted bun!

Of course no lunch is complete without cake!

Along with Lisa and Marie who were still full from breakfast, we all ordered cake from the famed Lady M Confections.

This unique bakery has been featured on Oprah and in every fashionable magazine etc. with good reason!

Marie and I both had their signature Mille Crepe cake made of 20 layers of paper thin crepes and fresh whipped cream with a caramelized sugar topping a la Crème Brule. Lisa had the very light strawberry short cake which she said was amazing.

I loved the Plaza Food Hall as it made me homesick for London!

After lunch we took once last day time look at Central Park and went back to the hotel to collect our luggage and head to Penn Station.

We had such a great weekend to celebrate Aaron and my birthdays as well as bring Marie to NYC for the first time! We had incredible weather unlike many of our friends at home and I got to see brand new side of New York. Despite all of my school work, I finally got to relax and had an incredible time! Thank you to the two beautiful ladies who took us to NYC, I hope you had a lovely time because we did!

Oh by the way, this is the view from our Park Avenue room!

On a side note, here’s the winner of my giveaway from GoPicnic Ready-to-eat meals via RandomNumber.org!

 

Molly from New York at Heart

 

Molly, I'll be contacting you for your information to send you your prize!

Check back next week for my name-your-own tea-infused chocolate contest/giveaway from Philadelphia chocolatier, Designs by Francine Artisan Chocolates! You won’t want to miss this one!

Love,

The College Cuisiner