MEAT LASAGNA

We found the secret for a great lasagna every time!

And we are more than happy to share it with you!

Have you noticed that this dish tastes better when reheated the next day? For some reason it tastes better!

So, why not let the lasagna rest before baking? Next time you make lasagna try it, and you'll see the difference! Even before going to the oven it will be delicious!

Carla Amorin's Porcelain

Butter

1 Diced onion

1lb Ground beef

5 Diced, seedless tomatoes

7oz Corn

21oz Tomato sauce

16oz water

Oregano and basil

1lb lasagna nodles

16oz alfredo sauce

1lb mozarella cheese

Preparation

1. Sautee the onion in butter. Add the beef and let it cook. Add the diced tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce and water. Season with oregano, basil and salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

2. Pour some meat sauce on the bottom of a medium size baking dish, so the nodles don't stick to the pan while cooking. Arrange the lasagna nodles over the sauce, leaving some space between them. Add more sauce, cover with mozarella and Alfredo sauce.

3. Repeat the layers (nodles, meat sauce, cheese and Alfredo sauce) with the ingredients left.

4. Finish theh last layer with cheese, cover the pan with aluminium foil and refrigerate overnight.

5. After letting the lasagna rest, step that assures the nodles are moist, light and tasteful, take from the frdge to the oven, still covered, at 355°F for 20-30 minutes, to heat and melt the cheese, since the nodles will no longer taste undone. Do not let the sauce dry out too much.

Makes approximately 16 portions

Tips: If your using lasagna nodles that require previous cooking, follow the manufacturer's directions, build the lasagna and let it rest overnight.

Always choose good quality ingredients so you don't feel disappointed with the taste from the finished dish.

You can substitute the store bought tomato and Alfredo sauce for that family recipe sauce.

You can sprinkle lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese  on the last layer.

Do not cook the lasagna on the lower level of the oven. If the first layer layer start sticking to the the pan, because it didn't have enough sauce on the bottom, place another baking pan (bigger than the one you're cooking the lasagna in) with hot water to create a water bath.

The aluminium foil can be removed only after the lasagna is done.

Can I freeze? Sure! You can build the lasagna in disposable aluminium foil baking pans and close with the appropriate cover or with aluminium foil, label and place in freezer (you don't need to let it rest in the refrigerator). To thaw, place in the refrigeratos overnight and bake for 20-30 minutes. Durability up to 3 months.

Carla Amorin's Porcelain

MOM I'M ON TV!!! - Strawberry And Chocolate Bars

Ps. This is Talita, not me, Priscilla! Maybe you guys will meet me soon;)

The mistery is over!! If you had the curiosity to know who the Chocorango's writter was, with this post I put an end on the suspense!

You can get to know a little about me, Talita, with this interview from RIC TV! Thank you for all the kindness and attention from all of you, from the camera man who recorded the interview, Diones, Maika, the reporter who is a lovely person! And all of you from "behind the scenes" that even showed me everything that goes on backstage.

The recording was done in my house and is an incentive to all of you! Even with a small kitchen like mine, there is no limit if you're passionate about what you do!
I hope you guys like the video, and please don't mind my shyness with the camera! All I can say is, I'm loving everything that has been happening in my life!!

Ps. Yes, my dear readers, chocolate does cause pimples!

This recipe was exclusively created for the Ver Mais show from Maringa, was suggested by Vanessa from RIC TV, who gave the idea of making something to take as a "to-go" snack. We soon thought of something that combined strawberries and chocolate, I thought it would be very appropriated. We added oatmeal to make the bars healthier and we must confess that the flavor surprised us, and it was a big success, everybody loved it! 

Ps. Please forgive the sloppy picture, and not including the picture showing the filling.

150gr Butter
120gr Sugar
1 Egg
1tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Oatmeal
350gr All-purpose flour

To brush
1 Eggs white

Filling
300gr Strawberries
1tbsp Powdered sugar
1tbsp Cider vinegar

To decorate
100gr Semi sweet chocolate melted

Method
Start with the filling so it's cooled by the time to build the bars

1. Dice the strawberries and cook under low heat with the sugar and vinegar.

2. Cook for approximately 10 minutos. Let cool in room temperature or refrigerate.

Dough
3. Preheat oven to 355°F. Cover a large baking pan with parchment paper.

4. Cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat a little more.

5. Add the oatmeal and mix it. Mix in the flour just until combined. Do not over mix it.

6. Roll the dough in a well floured suface and using a clean ruller cut the dough into rectangles. Place a little bit of the filling in the center of each rectangle. Make sure you cut some rectangles a little bigger than the other to cover the dough with the filling. Brush the egg white on the bigger rectangles and place them over the smaller ones to seal the bars.

7. With that same ruller, cut the edges of the bars. Place on the previous prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool over a wire wrack and drizzle the melted chocolate to decorate.

Tips: The cider vinegar gives a special taste to the filling, but you can substitute for lemon juice.
You can use blackberries, raspberries even pineapples to make the filling.

Makes 20 bars.

CHOCORANGO RECOMMENDS

Sabor Sonoro is a blog you need to visit!

Marcel is the moderator, great guy with a cute little son and a beautiful wife!

The blog is filled with delicious recipes, fabulous pictures and great music! 

Bruschetta or "pizza bread"?- Photo by Marcel

Elaborated dishes like Salmon risotto with coconut and cashews (google translate did not did a good job translating the tittle) and simple dishes like these wraps that leave us mouth watering. But also take a look at the sweets: Nutella pastry, Waltz dream pie, Strawberry Dessert... Evrything is just so delicious!




Blog: Portuguese (click here for the google translated version)





 

Barbecue Salad- Photo by Marcel

RAFFAELLO- COCONUT AND HAZELNUT BONBONS

Are you craving something sweet? You can enjoy these little bonbons that are very similar to the famous Ferrero Raffaello. It takes 3 steps and less than 30 minutes to prepare it,  with such easy and fast recipe you'll want to make and eat them every day!

100gr unsalted margarine in room temperature
150gr Powdered sugar
200gr Milk powdered
50ml Milk
150gr Shredded coconut
15  Hazelnuts

Preparation
1. Using a fork, mix margarine, sugar and powdered milk. Add milk and 100gr of shredded coconut and mix in using your hands.

2. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutos.

3. Shape into little balls with one hazelnut in the center and roll the candy in the remaining coconut.

Tips: Make sure you use margarine, butter will interfere with the taste.
Use good quality ingredients, like in all the other recipes.

Makes 15 bonbons.

CHOCOLATE AND TANGERINE MARBLE CAKE

We would like you to put this recipe on the top of your "to do list"!!

We are sure that this Chocorango's creation will surprise you, the smell and taste is totally involving, the dough is light and fluffy. And who knew that chocolate and tangerines make such a great combination?

This cake is perfect for breakfast or for the weekend.

3.5oz butter, in room temperature
5.3oz sugar
2 eggs, in room temperature
5.3oz All-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
Zest of one tangerine
2.3oz tangerine juice
0.7oz cocoa powder
1oz rum

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 355°F. Grease a baking pan that will able to hold 118 fl.oz.
2. Beat butter and sugar until a fluffy and light cream. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each adition. Add JUST 3.5oz of flour and the baking powder and fold carefully with a spatula.
3. Pour about 2/3 of the batter in a second bowl.
4. Add the tangerine zest and juice to the bigger portion of batter and the remaining flour and fold carefully.
5. Add the cocoa powder and rum to the smaller portion of batter and fold carefully.
6. Pour the tangerine and the chocolate batter in the greased pan. Using a skewer or a fork light mix the batters. If you mix too much both batters you will not be able to tell them apart.
7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or you can make the toothpick test. Let cool over a wire wrack.

Tip: If you can't find tangerines, use oranges.

Makes 12 portions

CAN I FREEZE SOUP?

Yes you can! If is made only with vegetables and noodles, slightly cook them so they're almost "al dente", because after thawed they will be cooked again. For creammy soups, just follow the recipe.


To freeze, cool soup as fast as possible, placing the container the soup is in, over cold water. Freeze in a plastic container leaving about 1 inche of space on top so the liquid has enough space to expand.


To thaw, refrigerate overnight and heat before serving. Or you can place the soup still frozen in a pan under low heat, add a little water and stir until totally efrosted.

Durability: up to 3 months.

Tips: Potatoes lose their texture is frozen after cooked. So you can always cook them on the side and add them to the soup when heating.

PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT BARS

This recipe is extremely easy and delicious! The base is a cookie and the filling a creamy pineapple custard and coconut topping. The hardest part is wait for it to bake... cool... and then refrigerate... cut... and finaly eat!

Cookie base
3.5oz butter
2.1oz sugar
1 small egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
7.7oz all-purpose flour

Pineapple and coconut custard
1 cup drained canned pineapple
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4oz milk
4 tbsp milk powder
2 eggs
3.5oz shredded coconut

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 355°F.
2. Beat butter, sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat a little more. Mix in the flour with a spatula.
3. Pour batter in a 12x8.5in. baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pineapple and coconut custard
4. While the cookie base cooks, blend the pineapple, condensed milk, milk, dry milk and eggs.
5. Simmer some water for a water bath.
6. When the batter finishes baking, pour the mixture from the blender over the cookie (still in the baking dish) and place the dish iver a bigger pan. Add some boiling water in the bigger pan, covering about on inch of the smaller dish. Place in oven for another 30-40 minutes, until the custard is firm, but after half the cooking time is done, when the custard is still a little runny, add the coconut. Add more water to the bigger dish throughout the cooking process if necessary.
7. Allow to cool and refrigerate. Cut in bar shapes and serve.

Makes 15 bars

CHOCOLATE, YOGURT AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR COOKIES

We found another delicious recipe made with your homemade yogurt! These cookies are a little different from the ones we are use to. They are soft, with an intense chocolate flavor and a delicate touch of balsamic vinegar. We chose not to add the sea salt, but Andrea said it is delicious.

Ps. Balsamic vinegar is made from grapes, with Italian origins. Is deicious with fresh strawberries. 

2.5oz melted cooled butter

2.4oz plain yogurt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4.2oz sugar

1 egg

5.3oz all-purpose flour

4tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 355°F. Place some pachment paper on a cookie sheet.

2. Whisk butter, yogurt, vinegar and sugar until well incorporated. Add the egg and whisk a little more. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and salt until incorporated. Do not over mix the dough.

3. With the help of two table spoons, shape cookies, leave some space between them so they don't stick to each other while baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and let them cool over a wire wrack and store in a sealed container.

Tips: You can substitute the balsamic vinegar for 1 or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Depending on the size of the egg you'll need more or less flour. To make sure you get the right amount of flour add 4.6oz first and then add the rest of the flour little by little if necessary. The dough should be thick and a little runny, if you're not sure bake a single cookie as a test. 

The cookie will be soft or crunchy depending on the amount of flour and time spent in the oven. The more flour and longer time in oven, the crunchier it will be.

Makes 30 medium cookies.

Adapted recipe from Dia de Domingas

CREPES WITH COLORFUL FILLING- Video Recipe

The question: "What's for dinner?" always hunt us! So we decided to post some more recipes that can be made quickly and will make even the picky eaters happy. And who doesn't love crepes? These ones were made with chicken, but to make your life easier you can double the batter recipe and make dessert, just use some strawberries with cool whip, dulche de leche, brigadeiro, whatever your imagination allows you.

Carla Amorin's Porcelain

2 large eggs

10oz milk

1 tbsp oil

1/2 cup cornstarch (2.5oz)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (2.1oz)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling

Butter

1 large diced onion

14oz cooked and shredded chicken

3 diced tomatoes

1 small grated carrot

3/4 cup corn

3/4 cup tomato sauce

oregano

basil

hot sauce

salt

Finish

Tomato sauce

Cheese (optional, it can be any kind of cheese)

Preparation

1. Blend eggs, milk, cornstarch, flour, salt and baking powder until combined, the batter will be watery. If possible, allow batter to rest for 15 minutes.

2. Heat a skillet and grease with a little oil to cook the first crepe, after that it is not necessary to grease the pan. Use a ladle to measure the amount of batter.

3. When the edges of the crepes are no longer sticking to the pan, flip over with the help of a spatula and cook the other side for a couple of seconds. Repeat these steps with all the batter and reserve.

Filling

4. Sautee the onion in butter and add chicken. Cook for a couple of seconds and add the tomatoes, carrot, corn and tomato sauce. Mix well and season with oregano, basil, hot sauce and salt.

To finish

5. Put the chicken filling in the crepe close to the edge, and carefully roll it. Place all the filled crepes in a baking pan and spread a little tomato sauce and cheese on top (if you're using cheese). Place in low heat oven for 5-10 mintues until crepes are warm and the cheese melted. Serve immediately.

Tips: If you make a thin crepe, do not over cook it, otherwise it will crack when rolling.

This batter is very light and flavorful, pretty much anything you put on it will taste good.

Make sure you put the carrots in the filling. In the end, it will taste great and will be healthier!

Can I freeze it? YES! You can freeze the crepes separated with a plastic up to 3 months.

You can freeze the filling after is cooled up to 2 months. And you can also freeze the crepes already filled for up to 2 months.

Makes 10-15 crepes

Carla Amorin's Porcelain

MILK BREAD WITH GUAVA PASTE- READER'S RECIPE

Hozana has a gift, she bakes bread like nobody's bussiness! If you had the chance to try one slice, you know what I'm talking about: The bread she bakes are always light, soft, delicious! And she was very kind to give us her recipe of homemade milk bread that is fabulous! You can make one loaf with guava paste, the other with cheese, chocolate, butter and cinnamon, raisins or with no filling to appreciate just the taste of the bread.

Ps. If you have no success in making bread from scratch, do not give up! Hozana when firts started, just made breads hard as rocks.

20oz milk
3.4oz oil
2 eggs
1oz wet yeast
1 level tbsp salt
7oz sugar
approximately 35oz all-purpose flour


Filling
10oz guava paste


Preparation
1. Mix the milk, oil, eggs, yeast, salt and sugar in a big bowl and add the flour little by little until you get a stick dough.
2. Transfer the dough to a well floured surface and knead the dough until smooth but still sticking a little to the hands. If you put too much flour the bread will be hard and heavy.
3. Shape dough into a ball, cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 90 minutes in a warm place (80°F).
4. Lightly knead the dough in a surface with a little flour. Divide in two or three parts.
5. Roll each part with a rolling pin, spread the diced guava paste and firmily shape dough into rolls so it doesn't open. Arrange the loaves in a big greased pan, so there's enough space to expand and place them in the oven (turned off) or cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for two hours.
6. Preheat oven to 355°F and bake the loaves for 40-60 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool over a wire rack.


Tips: Although Hozana doesn't use this method, bakers recommend you to dissolve the wet yeast in sugar.
Make sure the wet yeast is fresh.


Makes 2 to 3 big loaves

Hozana's recipe

BRIGADEIRO ON THE SPOON - Video recipe

Brazilian party without brigadeiro is not a party!
Ana didn't ask us for it, but since we're excited with the idea, we thought of making the candy that is the star of the brazilian parties: The Brigadeiro.
And since the traditional way of just rolling and decorated with sprinkles over a mini paper cup wasn't enough, we created a new way to serve it.
The base is a crunchy and light dough. The brigadeiro is made with cocoa to taste more like chocolate, with less sugar and the creaminess and deliciousness is the same as always!
Watch the video and see for yourself, is easier than it seems.

Tuile Cookie Spoons
2.5oz butter, in room temperature
1.7oz powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
3.5oz All-purpose flour

Brigadeiro Candy
1 can sweetened condensed milk (395g)
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter

Preparation

Tuile cookie spoons
1. Whisk butter, sugar and salt until it becomes a light cream. Add the egg whites and beat well. Mix in the flour just until well incorporated, do not over work the dough. You can store the dough in the frigde covered with a plastic up to 5 days.
2. Preheat oven to 355°F. Grease several teaspoons with a lot of butter.
3. With well floured hands, shape the dough into the spoons, the thickeness of the dough should not be too thick or too thin. Bake for 7 minutes or until the dough is firm.
4. Remove from the oven and carefully separate the dough from the spoons. Return the tuile cookies to the oven, place a piece of cardboard under the bowl of the spoon so it's evenly brown. Bake for 5 minutes. Allow to cool over a wire wrack.

Brigadeiro Candy
5. Mix condensed milk, cocoa and butter and let simmer over low heat, always stirring until it becomes a thick cream and it no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan. Pour the brigadeiro onto a plate and allow to cool.
6. Shape little balls with the candy and roll them through the sprinkles, leaving a sprinkle-free spot so the candy sticks to the spoon.
7. Place one candy over one spoon and add a little presure so the candy sticks to the tuile cookie spoon.

Tips: Use high quality ingredients, specially for the sweetened condensed milk, to get a flavorful brigadeiro with good texture.

Makes approximately 80 brigadeiro spoons

SUGGESTED POST- HOW TO MAKE YOGURT

Today we don't have any video, but we have the premier of "Suggested Post"!
We always so many cool things from other blogs and of course we had to share our new discoveries with you, readers.
We really wanted to show you the post that totally revolutionized our view on yogurt!
Everybody knows that plain yogurt is healthy and so tasty when combined with fruits, cereal, eating straight out of the container...
The problem is, everytime we buy one cup of yogurt, we think of a thousand ways of using it and end up eating it all at breakfast! And the many delicious recipes we thought of making? Are always promised to be done next time.
Now, we want to change you life too! So you have the freedom to make breads, cakes, flans, eat at breakfast, snack, even eat yogurt at lunch if you feel like it! This method is very practical and cheap, we absolutely recommend!
It was in one of Vitor from Prato Fundo, that we discovered this technic. And we didn't tested only once, twice or three times, no. We are sure it was more than 5 times! After that we lost count.

Photo by Vitor Hugo

In his post, Vitor explains his experiences and gives us the recipe, so is worth to click here
and read the full post.
The method was such a success, that our yogurt was a lot thicker than the one from the picture, being a little difficult to get it out of the thermos. We made with only one tablespoon full of yogurt to 33.8oz (1 liter) of whole milk and we got great results.
But is best to follow his sugestion: Two level tablespoons for every 33.8 (1 liter) of whole milk.
Thank you Vitor for this precious tip!


Complete post: How to make yogurt in thermos.

MINI-PAULISTA COUSCOUS - Video recipe

Continuing with Ana's requests, we present to you a super easy recipe.
Since there is a lot of brazilian who loves these, we decided to create a mini version for the Paulista Couscous.

It allows you to prepare it beforehand (just like the the Hidden Chicken) and it looks beautifull on the table. It can be served warm or cold, so you don't have to worry about making everything when your guests arrives.

Porcelain and Bamboo mat by Carla Amorim

Olive oil
1/2 diced onion
1 diced tomato
3 tbsp diced red bell pepper
3 tbsp yellow bell pepper
2 tbsp diced olives
1/2 cup corn
9 oz tomato sauce
17.6 oz water
2 tbsp manioc flour
9oz couscous
Salt
Pepper

For the finishing touch
Corn
Peas
Sliced palm hearts
Quail eggs
6 sardines (from the can)

Preparation

1. Sautee the onion in a little olive oil. Add the tomato, the bell pepers, olives and corn. After a minute add the tomato sauce, water and mix it.
2. Gradually add the manioc flour and couscous, always stirring. Cook for approxamately 2 minutes, don't stop stirring, until the dough is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.

For the finishing
3. Boil the quail eggs in water for 1 minute, peel them and slice them.
4. Cover muffin pans with aluminium foil, arrange in the bottom and sides one slice of egg, a little corn and peas, a slice of palm heart and a piece of sardine. Add a little bit of the couscous dough and press it so all the ingredients are shaped in the mold.
5. Remove from the muffin pan on the serving plate or napkin when is time to serve. Serve warm or cold.

Tips: You can use a chicken bouillon instead of salt.
If you need to heat up the couscous before molding, add a little water and stir in low heat.

Makes approximately 70 mini couscous.

HIDDEN CHICKEN - With video

Ana from the States, asked our help for her husband's birthday party. But things aren't always as easy as they look, she had some guidelines for the snacks.
Ana wanted finger foods, but not coxinhas or any other popular brazilian party food... She didn't want to deal with all that frying. But the worst was still to come: It needed to be a tipical brazilian dish, since this was the party's theme.
We don't offer this kind of services, but it would be an honor to help an afflicted reader and since Chocorango loves a challenge, we started researching for ideas.


After trying a couple recipes with no success, we came up with this Hidden Chicken, you don't need any silverware or even a plate. We're not really sure if it's origin is brazilian, but is a very popular and delicious dish!


The base is a the same pastry as a quiche, the filling is a well seasoned chicken, and a creamy mashed potatoes and then crunchy potato sticks.


Ana, we hope you like this dish as much as we from Chocorango did!


Ps. Don't forget to watch and comment about the video!

Base
10.6oz flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3.5oz cold butter
1 large egg
2 tbsp cold water


Filling
1 small onion diced
Butter
10.6oz cooked and shredded chicken
1/2 cup corn
Fresh ground pepper
Oregano
Basil
Salt


Mashed Potatoes
10.6oz potatoes
3.3oz milk
1 tbsp butter
Salt


For the finishing touch
3.5oz cream cheese
Potato sticks


Preparation


1. Mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Add the cold butter and mix it with the tips of your finger.
2. Add the egg and cold water and mix it until all the ingredients are well combined. Do not knead the dough. Add more water or slour if needed. Place the dough in the fridge wrapped in plastic for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 355°F. Reserve a muffin pan.
4. Place a thin layer of dough in the pans. Poke holes with a fork and bake for 20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and crunchy. Remove from the pan and let cool over a wire wrack. Reserve.


Filling
5. In low heat, sautee the onion in butter untiil transparent. Add the shredded chicken and sautee a little more. Add the tomatoes and corn, mix it. Season with pepper, oregano, basil and salt. Reserve.


Mashed Potatoes
6. Simmer potaoes (do not peel them) in water in a little salt. Once soft, drain the water, remove skin and mash them.
7. In low heat, cook the mashed potatoes with butter and milk until you get a thin consistency. Add salt. Remove from heat and reserve.


For The Finishing Touch
8. In each little pie crust, place a little bit of the chicken filling (it doesn't need to be cold), add some pressure. Add a little bit of cream cheese and mashed potatoes (it doesn't need to be cold). Sprinkle as much potato sticks as you wish.
9. Reheat in a 355°F oven for 5-10 minutes and serve.


Tips: You can freeze the baked pie crusts up to 3 months. The chicken filling can also be stored in the freezer up to 3 months. The mashed potatoes can also be freezed up to 3 months, but is better to make it the same day you will serve it. Thaw the pies/chicken filling in room temperature for 30 minutes, build them and bake them until they're hot. If you're going to freeze the mashed potatoes, you can freeze it already biult. Sprinkle the potato sticks after it comes out of the oven.


Makes 30 little pies.
   

CHOCORANGO RECOMMENDS- AND IS NOT A BLOG!!

Today we are going to talk about a wonderful website, and if you like chocolate like we do, you won't be able to resist their delicious treats. Hotel Chocolat offers luxury chocolates, they carefully prepare everything not to just look pretty (and oooh boy do they look good!) they only use high quality ingredients, so every bite feels like a piece of heaven melting in your mouth.

Sometimes we need or want to give somebody a gift, but we just don't know what to get them, they either "have everything" or are really picky. That's why Hotel Chocolat have a wide selection of Chocolate gifts! I'm sure you will find something for everybody.

And can you believe that we're in September already? Only 3 months away from the happiest time of the year! So if you're anything like me, who hates shopping in a crowded store, where you have to literally fight for that last gift box in the shelf, then why not make your life a little easier and stop by the website for these wonderful Christmas gift ideas? You can send or receive the gifts beautifully wrapped. Can you believe they also have Chocolate Advent Calendars? I would make sure I would be the first one to open all the little windows.

4 X Rather Large Cracker 
(click on the picture for more details)

They are so organized you can find everything you're looking for in no time, and they also have a Tasting Club, that allows you to receive a new selection of chocolates every month, and you can get a 5% discount in pourchases online, in-store (UK only) or via catalogue, you can also save up to 30% exclusive members-only offers, talk about a great deal!

You don't live in the UK? No problem! Hotel Chocolat offers delivery all over the world, and for us from the US, they ship directly from their warehouse in Boston MA, but no matter where you are, they make sure you receive your chocolate in perfect condition.

But don't take just my word for it, go make them a visit right now!

Dinner Party Platter

(click on the picture for more details)