Short Takes

MEALTIME READING

Believing there’s no such thing as overkill, the fine folks who bring us those insanely tasty Marshmallow Peeps every Easter are about to market a new recipe and craft book featuring the spongy candy. Peeps! Recipes and Crafts To Make With Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat, is set to debut this spring. Ideas within its pages include Frosty Peepsicles, a Peeps Holiday Wreath, Peeps Fondue, Peeps in a Blanket (Um, Ew.) and even a Peepinata, for party fun. (The mind boggles.) Some details are available HERE, but you’ll just have to be patient; the book doesn’t hit stores until March. (Isn’t the anticipation just KILLING you? Yeah, us neither.)

AND OF COURSE THERE'S CHOCOLATE

We also heard from a new company pushing some womens’ favorite combination treat: Salt and chocolate. B’drizzled, a woman-owned company focused on making and distributing what they claim is the best tasting chocolate-drizzled popcorn on the market (There’s more than one? We had no idea…), has launched a new e-commerce site at b’drizzled.com just in time for Valentines’ Day. Although we strongly suspect that anyone buying this might be gifting themselves. We’re just sayin’. Besides the regular stuff, they also offer Double Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and more. Hope they send a sample to 770 Broadway, NY, NY 10003.

NOW OUR TEETH ARE STARTING TO HURT

Not to be left in the dust, the Dunkin’ Donuts chain has also jumped on the chocolate bandwagon, introducing three new chocolate-infused offerings: a Milky Way Hot Chocolate, an M&M's Donut, and Dunkin's own Triple Chocolate Muffin. “Dunkin' Donuts is delighted to offer an exciting Mars Chocolate brand infused menu to allow our customers to indulge their love of chocolate with delicious new food and beverage choices,” said a company rep. And another whole set of New Years’ resolutions just went flying out the window.

DIP ONCE, DO THE MATH

With the Super Bowl looming, we expect to see more of these types of releases in the coming weeks. We say, “Bring ‘em on!” First up is from the Hass Avocado Board, which touts you-know-what. Their braintrust has decided that on Super Bowl Sunday, consumers will scarf down the equivalent of 49.5 million pounds of Hass Avocados, presumably in the form of guacamole dip. And just to make sure you all realize how much that is, it’s enough to “cover Arizona's University of Phoenix Stadium football field, end zone to end zone, 19.1 feet deep in Hass avocados," they said in a release. (Man, SOMEONE has too much time on their hands…). More info can be found at Avocado Central.com, where you should check out their “Field of Guacamole” in the “Tailgating” section. Wow.

DANGEROUSLY DECADENT

Ever hear of Chocolix? You will. It’s a new chocolate company offering “herbal aphrodisiacs infused into dark chocolate truffles.” According to the company they add “generous amounts of powerful herbal formulas that modify your mood.” But bring your wallet. “Prices for the extra-large truffles start at $9.50 for a 2-piece Good Love Pack.” Man, that must be some GOOD chocolate! Details are at Chocolix.com.

CALL IT LIKE YOU SEE IT

Some folks feel positively gross when they give in to their cravings and eat what they enjoy. But one U.K. company is counting on just that guilt to market their line. The Filthy Food Company markets a decadent line of chocolates with names like “Cheeky Chocolate Bites,” “Seductive Strawberry & Cream Bites” and “Kinky Creme Brulee Bites.” Truth in advertising? What a concept!

BELLY UP TO THE BAR

With the holidays on everyone’s minds, we scroll over today to Mondo Liquor.com. What sets them apart from online online hooch outlets is that they don’t sell the regular stuff; they prefer to carry a line of “independently produced, hand-crafted and hard-to-find products,” they tell us. Like what, you might ask? How about “Pumpkin Pie Vodka”, a “Little Can of Organic Vodka” (For all you ‘Green’ drinkers out there) and our current favorite, “Floot Champagne”, which is actually a sparkling wine for those on the go. “Each single serving 6 oz. can comes with a plastic 'bendy' straw. Very tasty and very portable” they tell us. ‘Coz nothing says “Celebrate” like wine in a can…

HOW DO YOU SAY 'SKOL!' IN JAPANESE?

We also heard from Oregon-based SakéOne, brewers of fine Japanese rice wine, who are marketing special holiday gift packs of their well-known beverage. While we don’t usually think “The Holidays” and “Saké” at the same time, the company is trying to make converts out of shoppers looking for a different gift. They’ve got sampler sets in three- and four-pack iterations available at their Web site, Sake One.com. We’d welcome it as a gift; we only had saké once, at one of those restaurants where you sit on a mat on the floor. At meal’s end (which included three bottles of you-know-what), we couldn’t stand. Good times. Good times.

YEAH, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT . . .

We understand why the folks at online lobster site LiveLob.com would be a little down this time of year, what with everyone thinking, “Turkey, Turkey, Turkey!” But we doubt their effort to convince anyone to serve lobster instead of the traditional bird is gonna fly. Still, we offer them kudos for trying: “Lobster is a versatile food that works in many holiday dishes or recipes. It takes much less time and effort to prepare than a roasted turkey, and lobster can simply be boiled for a few minutes and served!” they claim. But their site’s worth a visit for the pumpkin cheesecake dessert, and their famous pumpkin pecan pie. But lobster as a main course? Reminds us of the year Mom made a ham instead of turkey. (Yes, really.) We never let her forget it. You don’t make that mistake twice.

WHEN IS A BEER NOT A BEER?

You’ve gotta hand it to Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams Beer: The man knows how to market his stuff. Out today is a new batch of what Koch calls “Samuel Adams Utopias,” or Extreme Beers, just in time for the holidays. The stuff is described thusly: “Samuel Adams Utopias is a strong, rich, dark beer that is uncarbonated and is served not pint by frosty pint, but at room temperature in a two-ounce pour, to be savored like a vintage port or a fine cognac . . . the 2007 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias weighs in at 27% alcohol by volume. The average beer is about 5%.” Not to belabor the obvious, but Dude: That’s Booze! At 54 proof! Are we the only ones who see this? Still not convinced? They also add this: “The limited-edition brew will be available at select specialty beer and liquor stores for a suggested retail price of $120–$140 per bottle. Jim, nicely done. Beer. Meh.