1. California Honey – Simplicity sings in this beautiful golden California honey ganache dipped in Swiss milk chocolate.

2. Hazelnut Praline Truffle – Pure and delicious Hazelnut praline is better than ever in this luscious milk chocolate truffle.

3. Hot Dark Chocolate – This intense dark chocolate confection is infused with jalapeno pepper for a delightfully spicy sweet combination.

4. Mango – Ripe sweet mango provides a taste of paradise, which we enrobe in delicate white chocolate.

 5. Peaches and Cream – Nothing says “summer” like tart fresh peaches drenched in heavy cream and coated in white chocolate.

 6. Peanut Brittle Truffle - The buttery toffee and roasted peanuts that make peanut brittle such an all-time favorite are blended into a creamy milk chocolate truffle.

 7. Peanut Butter Banana – Back by popular demand, this confection is new again, honoring a classic flavor combination with a blend of creamy peanut butter and fresh banana covered in milk chocolate.

 8. Rum Cake – Indulge in a rich buttery dark rum-soaked cake, which we’ve blended into white chocolate ganache and covered with dark chocolate.

 9. Sweet Tea – Fresh brewed black tea and a splash of lemonade covered in white chocolate is a refreshing change from the ordinary.

 10. Tiramisu – Ciao down on creamy vanilla mascarpone and rich espresso ganache enrobed in a dark chocolate shell.

Norman Love Confections offers a total of 36 flavors year-round. In addition to the new flavors described above, the following delectable tastes are making a comeback this year:  66% Venezuelan Dark (formerly known as 70% Complexite), Almond Marzipan, Caramel Apple, Cherry Cordial Truffle, Cinnamon Roll, Coconut Truffle, Cookies ‘N’ Cream, Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle, Espresso Truffle, Florida Orange, Key Lime Shell, Milk Chocolate Truffle, Mint Chocolate Chip, New York Cheesecake, Passion Fruit, Passion Panna-Cotta, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Pistachio Cherry, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Strawberry, Tahitian Caramel, Vanilla Cupcake, White Chocolate Raspberry and White Vanilla Truffle.

For more information on these 36 flavors, special collections such as BLACK and S’more Love, Specialty Chocolates and more, visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/.

At Norman Love Confections, we hold chocolate tastings occasionally at the Fort Myers, Florida Chocolate Salon, and we find wine is a perfect complement to our gourmet artisan chocolate creations. However, there is an art to selecting a wine and chocolate pairing. A wine can bring out the flavor notes of a fine gourmet chocolate, or it ruin the flavor by turning it bitter or sour to the taste.

Of course, discovering the combinations you enjoy most is the whole point of this activity. We suggest the following tips to help you begin your adventure in wine and chocolate pairing on your own:

The wine should be as sweet or sweeter than the chocolate served with it to avoid a bitter or sour effect.

1. A light, buttery White Chocolate should typically be paired with lighter, sweeter wines such as Sherry or White Zinfandel.
2. Milk Chocolate is usually excellent with Pinot Noir and lighter bodied Merlots, with chocolate accented desserts and mild milk chocolates better complemented by Rieslings and dessert wines.
3. Robust Dark Chocolates, such as those in Norman Love Confections BLACK™ line, are best paired with a Red Zinfandel, and Tawny or Vintage Port is best for dark chocolate desserts and Truffles.
4. If your tasting includes many different types of chocolates, start with the lightest chocolate and progressively work toward darker varieties, ending with dark or bittersweet chocolate.

Visit http://www.normanloveconfections.com/ to order a wide selection of fresh handcrafted chocolate creations, from the single-origin dark chocolate collection Norman Love Confections BLACK™ to the 36 different flavored confections available year-round.

Please share your favorite Norman Love Confections chocolate and wine pairings here for others to try!

…Anne Schuette, who was born on April 7th, 1905!

Anne lives with her daughter and family in Fort Myers (and in Illinois), and here she is enjoying our Norman Love Confections cake and gourmet chocolate for her 105th birthday!

Thanks for sharing your photos Anne & family!

- Norman

]]> http://www.gourmetchocolatelove.com/a-gourmet-chocolate-birthday-meet-our-oldest-customer/feed/ 3 http://www.gourmetchocolatelove.com/our-gourmet-easter-chocolate-selection/ http://www.gourmetchocolatelove.com/our-gourmet-easter-chocolate-selection/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:36:26 +0000 Norman http://www.gourmetchocolatelove.com/?p=309 If you’re looking for the perfect gift for Easter…

…you’ll definitely want to check out our Gourmet Easter Chocolate selection.

This year’s Chocolate Easter Egg flavors include:

• Peanut Butter – made from Georgia peanuts and rich Swiss milk chocolate.
• Tahitian Caramel – a milk chocolate egg filled with buttery caramel.
• Cookies and Cream – a classic combination in a chocolate-speckled egg.
• White Chocolate Raspberry – fresh tart raspberries swirled in sweetness.
• Keylime – made from fresh keylime juice.
• Strawberry - a heavenly Belgian couverture saturated with ripe strawberries and cream.
• 70% Dark Complexite – the most saturated chocolate confection for true dark chocolate connoisseurs.
• Vanilla Cupcake – sweet cream and vanilla frosting ganache mixed with tiny cake pieces.

Our gourmet chocolate Easter eggs will be available in various gift boxes including:

• 5-piece and 15-piece all-egg gift boxes,
• a 10-piece gift box with 8 eggs and 2 truffles,
• a 25-piece gift box with 8 special collection eggs and an assortment of popular flavors from our core line, and
• a 50-piece gift box with 16 eggs and an assortment of other favorites from our traditional collection.

Our solid chocolate Easter bunnies are another Easter exclusive, which will come in milk, white and dark chocolate, and our chocolate-covered marshmallow bunnies are a must-have treat for 2010!

Our 2010 Gourmet Easter Chocolate selection will be available on our web site starting next Monday, March 22.

Enjoy!

- Norman

PS – To receive by Easter, all orders must be placed by 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 31 (for 2nd day shipping) and 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 1 (for overnight delivery).

Please note, due to high seasonal demand, we cannot honor any customer requests for specific flavors, during the week of March 29 – April 3 except where allergies are concerned.

iVillage.com just featured our Eggnog Truffles in their Holiday Gift Guide, A to Z!

Our Eggnog Truffles feature…

grated fresh nutmeg infused in farm fresh cream which is carefully folded with Swiss white chocolate and creamy butter which create this wonderful Christmas tradition.

Learn all about our Holiday Specials, including our Eggnog Truffles by visiting our online store.

Keep in mind, you can do your Holiday Shopping in advance and schedule your deliveries, too.

Enjoy!

the December 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping recommends our 5 Piece Signature Chocolate Gift Box for $13.

Be sure check out all of our signature Holiday chocolates – they are wrapped in festive holiday ribbon, and a perfect gift for everyone on your list.

Enjoy!

…to give for the Holidays this year – we think you’ll really enjoy our Bright Holiday Basket.

You’ll be able to fill someone’s heart with holiday cheer this year as our delightful gift promises to brighten the holidays with an abundance of treats, including:

• 25 Piece Green Box of Norman Love Confections
• 4 Pieces of S’more Love (Box)
• 3 Solid Bars (1 Milk, 1 White, 1 Dark)
• Toffee
• 1 package of Turtle
• Christmas Bark
• Pistachio Nougat
• 1 Black Mug
• Basket
• Black Sipping Chocolate Tin
• Stuffed Bear

Please keep in mind, our Holiday Basket does not contain preservatives and is best enjoyed within 3 weeks of delivery.  If you prefer, you can order now, and specify a future delivery date during checkout.

Learn all about our Holiday Specials by visiting our web site, by giving us a call at (866) 515-2121, or by visiting our Chocolate Salon.

Gourmet Chocolate Love.

We’ve got a lot of exciting things planned for our blog, but would really like to hear what kinds of things you’d like to hear.

As I’ve learned, it’s really important to make this as interactive as possible with those who really enjoy our chocolate creations – so I look forward to hearing your feedback.

If you’d like to share your ideas, simply leave a comment below.

In the meantime, be sure to visit our new web site (www.NormanLoveConfections.com) and learn about our:

• Holiday Specials
• Signature Chocolate Gift Boxes
• BLACK Single-Origin Chocolates
• Chocolate Gift Baskets
• Chocolate Specialties,
• Chocolate Clubs,
• Gift Certificates, and more.

Thank you.