Chocolate

24 S. High St. West Chester www.eclatchocolate.com 610-692-5206

8 tonight DISCOVERY Chocolate has an outrageous history, intricate scientific structure and even health benefits. It also energized the Aztecs, transformed television, helped win World War II and may save the rain forest.

Do you know that the United States is the world's largest importer of cocoa? That each American gobbles an average of 9.7 pounds of chocolate candy a year? That chocolates are chock-full of saturated fats? But this, or anything else, doesn't seem to matter much when you've got your heart set on devouring a morsel or more of chocolate. You know the feeling - you see an ad for a candy bar and, suddenly, you find yourself at the store, scanning the candy aisle for the perfect fix. There's no denying chocolate's powers to tantalize, and no wonder that it has a reputation as a cure-all.

A few days ago, a newspaper in San Diego pulled ads for "Better Than Chocolate" because they featured the word "lesbian. " Apparently, the paper is showing a belated concern for the sensitivity of readers, who presumably had already digested the ads for "American Pie," which use a variety of puns to herald its story of a male teen, a chronic masturbator who finds an outlet for his sex drive by harpooning a warm dessert. As heterosexual comedies (if having sex with a pie can be said to be heterosexual)

Dear Polly: I am trying to stay away from caffeine, and friends have suggested that I avoid drinking hot cocoa and other chocolate drinks. Is this true? How much caffeine is in chocolate? - Amanda Dear Amanda: It is true that cocoa and chocolate products contain some caffeine; however, the amount they contain is quite low compared to other beverages such as coffee, tea and cola drinks. Whether this small amount can affect an individual depends upon how sensitive you are to caffeine.

Q. Lately, carob has become popular as a substitute for chocolate. As a child I used to love to eat carob pods. I still like them but wonder whether they are fattening, whether they contain cholesterol, and whether they are any good from a dietary viewpoint. E. Blattberg Deerfield Beach, Fla. A. Carob is the fleshy pod of an evergreen tree native to the Middle East. The pods are about six inches long, leathery on the outside and sweet on the inside, and have a sugar content of up to 50 percent.

From the doorway you can see her - past polished showcases of carefully arranged chocolates, beyond solid mahogany counter tops filled with felt and foil hearts, behind towering stacks of ribbon-tied, red-wrapped candy boxes. There, bent over a worktable in the back of Shane Candy Co. in Old City, is the white-haired, white-aproned woman who - she'll be happy to tell you - has hand-dipped every almond crunch and every vanilla cream. And every marshmallow and every cashew, every glazed cherry and peanut butter ball, every nougat and coconut cluster.

Leave it to the British, whose enduring contribution to world cuisine is the kidney pie, to imagine a comedy about meat-filled bonbons. The so-called comedy in question is Consuming Passions, and the so-called meat in question is human flesh. At last, a movie that will appeal to the refined palates of chocoholics and cannibals. Adapted from a story by Monty Pythoners Michael Palin and Terry Jones, Consuming Passions is about a century-old British chocolate company taken over by a conglomerate that wants to maximize profits.

Chocolate is a food set apart. Unlike sugar, salt or cayenne pepper, where abundance can trigger reactions from cloying to painful, nothing exceeds like an excess of chocolate. With chocolate, extravagance is a virtue and gluttony is accepted, for though one can easily overindulge, to a true chocophile too much chocolate is an oxymoron. With that in mind we offer five chocolate opulences, which recognize neither diet restrictions, budget restraints nor rational thought. Though some of the recipes are rather complex, they all yield fantastic results.

Gluten-free, but good The taste and texture of gluten-free products has not necessarily improved with the number of new creations, but the ones from Ginnybakes are an exception. Made with brown rice flour and other organic ingredients, the cookies are baked to a delicate crisp and taste truly as good as those made with wheat, especially the chocolate chip, the butter crisps, and the chocolate chip macadamia. The nut bars, a yummy mix of almonds, pistachios, coconut, and dried fruit, are my new fave.

THEY MAY not have been so good with dates, but those Mayans knew a good thing when they tasted it. Historians believe that a savvy Mayan swigged the first chocolate beverage about 2,000 years ago - a drink made from ground cocoa, cornmeal, water and chili pepper. And while he's sadly known mostly for his revenge these days, the Aztec ruler Montezuma's court reportedly drank about 2,000 cups of xocolatl (Aztec chocolate) per day, 50 of which were consumed by the ruling leader himself.

HOT CHOCOLATE is like pancakes. Both aren't hard to make from scratch, but for some inexplicable reason, most people use mixes and the end result suffers. Here are some wonderful recipes guaranteed to produce wintry, chocolate bliss. Boozed-up or "virgin," spice-laced or marshmallow-topped, enough for a crowd or a single cup just for you - there's a hot chocolate recipe to cover every need. The first one doesn't even use cocoa.   HOT SPICED WHITE CHOCOLATE 1 pint whole milk 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons honey 6-7 cardamom pods, lightly toasted and cracked Zest of 1 lemon Pinch salt 8 ounces quality white chocolate Bring all ingredients but chocolate to a boil in a saucepan.

You want something rich and decadent for the holiday season. Something chocolate. Something that will impress. Something that really says celebration. But you don't want to spend hours making it. The answer? A flourless chocolate cake. It's like a baked truffle - simple, yet sensational enough to impress your guests. All you have to do is dress it up with whipped cream and fresh berries. Be sure to cut small slices; it really is amazingly rich.   Flourless Chocolate Cake Makes 16 servings 11/2 cups (3 sticks)

Saturday Chanukah bowling Join the Chabad of Penn Wynne for a bowling Chanukah celebration. Enjoy pizza, unlimited bowling, and a bowling-pin menorah. Wynnewood Lanes, 2228 Haverford Rd., Ardmore. Admission: $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Time: 7 to 9 p.m. Info: 610-529-9011, www.chabadpennwynne.org . Saturday Winterfest in Center City Bring the entire family out to Sister Cities Park's first Winterfest. The festival will offer a sing-along with Frosty the Snowman, snowflake science presented by the Franklin Institute, and cookie decorating, among other activities.

'Tis one of the all-time-great chocolate-chip cookie adaptations, made by Metropolitan Bakery with dried cherries, bittersweet chocolate chunks, and a sprinkle of sea salt. This year, the bakery is packaging them for a fab holiday gift: eight giant cookies in a jar - to keep them fresh and prevent breakage. Package of eight, $19.95 at Metropolitan Bakery, 262 South 19th St., 215-545-6655 and other locations after Dec. 14. - Maureen Fitzgerald Tres chic, n'est-ce pas?

Q: Kimberly, I love chocolate! Is it possible to eat it on a regular basis without totally ruining my diet? - J. Moss A: Absolutely. In fact, you can eat a piece of chocolate every day and still lose weight, no problem. The key, as always, is portion control. One ounce of plain chocolate per day will cost you about 150 calories. Other chocolate candies' calorie counts vary. A York Peppermint Patty is 150 calories. But one of my favorites, a piece of premium Godiva chocolate, is 250 calories.

Taken from a reference in The Magician's Nephew , Easy Nougat is perfect for the holidays, according to author Dinah Bucholz, and makes 3 dozen candies. 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 3 cups confectioners' sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1/2 cup marshmallow creme 1/2 cup nonfat milk powder 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, broke into pieces, or chocolate coating pieces 1. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate in a large mixing bowl.

MAE WHITMAN , who plays lovable but looking-to-find-herself Amber on NBC's "Parenthood" and the opinionated but confidence-shaken Mary Elizabeth in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," (see Gary Thompson's review on Page 34) is in a very good place. She's making music with her boyfriend, Landon Pigg ; "Parenthood" is the most loving, nurturing environment she could ever hope for ("I really could be on that show for the next 100 years and be completely happy. We're obsessed with each other.

Her apron smudged, Tegan Hagy could be found one day last week in her usual, if rather unlikely, haunt — a second-floor kitchen space she shares with a cupcake baker in the echoing vastness of the old Globe Dye Works at the edge of Frankford's postindustrial boneyard. She is the city's only — though far from its first — maker of bean-to-bar chocolate bars (hers are PhillyLoveBars), sourcing and roasting her own cocoa beans, one 145-pound bag at a time. She has bigger plans, of course.