Simple chocolate creations topped with fresh berries at Rabbit Hill Inn make a delicious end to the meal.

This Molten Chocolate Cake is a specialty of Manor On Golden Pond

Edible artwork from the Chesterfield Inn in West Chesterfield, NH.

Decadant chocolate mousse from the Inn at Thorn Hill, Jackson, NH

Recipe of the Day: Chocolate Frangelico Torte from Rabbit Hill Inn

Ingredients:

8 oz. shortening                                     

5 eggs

12 oz dark, sweet chocolate, chopped                     

½ cup sugar

1/6 cup Frangelico  (though other liqueurs may be used)

Method:

Melt shortening.  Stir in chocolate.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs and sugar.  Add the liqueur.  Combine the egg and liqueur mixture with the chocolate.  Pour into a sprayed and papered 6”-7” cake pan.  Bake at 350°F in a water bath. It will set like Jell-O when baking is complete.

from the recipe files of Pastry Chef Paula Bystrzycki

You’ve probably thought more than once in your life that you’d die for a piece of chocolate, but did you know that chocolate can actually keep you from dying?  You’ve probably heard about the antioxidant benefits of chocolate too. According to Chocolate.com, researchers have discovered a long list of other potential health benefits from chocolate; we’ll be reviewing those as we count down to American Chocolate Week. In a Chocolate.com story about American Chocolate Week, the site described a study in the Netherlands that showed  eating the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day could lower blood pressure and also reduce the risk of death by up to 50%.  The good news is you now have a healthy reason to eat chocolate daily; the bad news is you should probably stop a third of the way through the bar!  Choose dark chocolate and the health benefits multiply.

Enjoy Chocolate Digestives and other choco-treats at DINE member inns during American Chocolate Week.

We’re featuring a new chocolate recipe each day offered from Distinctive Inns of New England.  Today’s recipe of the day is Chocolate Digestives from the Captain’s House Inn in Chatham, MA.  Visit Captain’s House Inn during American Chocolate Week (March 14-20) and you’re bound to find these and other chocolate treats served at tea time afternoons at the inn.

Chocolate Digestives from the Captain’s House Inn

 Ingredients:

 1 Sleeve (16 oz.)         Plain Digestives

3/4 Cups                      Butter

4 tsp.                           Light Brown Sugar

4 tsp.                           Cocoa Powder           

2 Tbsp.                        Golden Syrup or Honey

3 Bars                          Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate

 Method:

 1. Place the digestive biscuits in a sealed plastic bag and crush with rolling pin; set aside.

2. Melt the butter, sugar, cocoa and syrup in a saucepan.  When melted, remove from heat and add crushed digestives.  Fold until crumbs are fully coated.

3. Place into a greased 9×13-inch baking tin and refrigerate until hard. 

4. Melt chocolate in a double boiler until smooth and pour over biscuit mixture.  Refrigerate until set.

5. When set, cut into squares and store in refrigerator.

 Makes 24 digestives.

For additional information on American Chocolate Week and recipes for you to use at home, read these stories:

Get Ready For American Chocolate Week

Recipe of the Day: Chocolate Tissimo Cake from Chesterfield Inn

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” - Charles M. Schulz

For those who didn’t see yesterday’s blog entry, American Chocolate Week is quickly approaching and Distinctive Inns of New England are getting you ready with a new chocolate recipe daily.  Celebrated each year during the third week in March, American Chocolate Week will take place March 14-20, 2011. 

Check back to the Distinctive Inns of New England’s blog daily for new recipes that you can feature at home to celebrate American Chocolate Week and be sure to share the recipes with friends and fans via Facebook too.  We’re running a contest to see who can refer the most people to the Distinctive Inns of New England’s Facebook page.  Simply go there, “like” the Distinctive Inns then refer friends who must also “like” them and add a comment that you referred them. Our best referral source will receive their own customized chocolate treat!

Right from the kitchen of the Chesterfield Inn, located on the border of New Hampshire and Vermont, here’s today’s daily recipe: Chocolate Tissimo Cake!

Enjoy Chocolate Tissimo Cake and other decadent chcolate desserts during American Chocolate Week.

Chesterfield Inn Chocolate Tissimo Cake

 Ingredients:

20 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1 lb. unsalted butter

14 oz. granulated sugar

15 eggs, separated

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbl. Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate in double boiler.  Cool slightly.

 Cream butter and sugar.  Add cooled chocolate mixture.  Blend well.

 Add yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla and Grand Marnier.

 In separate bowl, beat egg whites just until stiff, but not dry.  Fold egg whites into chocolate-egg-butter mixture until completely incorporated.  Reserve two cups of batter.  Keep reserved batter covered, at room temperature.

 Butter and then sprinkle with sugar, the bottom of a 10 inch springform pan.  Pour remaining batter into pan.

 Bake for 55 minutes.  As cake cools, it will sink in middle.  When cool, spread reserved batter in depression in center.

 Makes one 10 inch cake.

Read more about American Chocolate Week here: Get Ready For American Chocolate Week

"Like" Distinctive Inns of New England on Facebook and get a new chocolate recipe each day to celebrate American Chocolate Week.

“I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process…. It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?” – Anonymous

America has a sweet tooth; probably fueled by all those fall and winter holidays.  It all starts in the fall, with Halloween.  In an effort to insure there’s enough for trick-or-treaters you stash a few extra bags of those delicious mini chocolate bars. Chocolate Santas and chocolate wrapped gold coins highlight December, not to mention all those chocolate holiday cookies. Next comes Valentine’s Day where how many millions are spent on heart shaped boxes of chocolate? And it all ends with the Easter bunny in April.  But what about March? Green beer on St. Patty’s Day simply won’t soothe the sweet tooth!

Don’t worry, in an effort to keep chocoholics fueled chocolatiers have named the third week of March “American Chocolate Week”.  Celebrated this year from March 14-20, businesses in the business of chocolate will celebrate the week by serving chocolate in all shapes and forms.  To honor one of America’s healthiest antioxidants (Yes! tune into our next blog entry for the health benefits of chocolate!), the Distinctive Inns of New England will share more than 25 luscious recipes utilizing chocolate and roll out the cocoa carpet for guests with plenty of chocolate treats. 

The best way to stay tuned and create your own virtual chocolate recipe collection is to “like” Distinctive Inns on Facebook.  Click here to go to their Facebook Page, for daily links to fabulous recipes!  Know a fellow chocoholic?  Share this with them and encourage them to “like” Distinctive Inns of New England on Facebook too.  If they mention that you referred them, you might just get your own chocolate treat from Distinctive Inns of New England! The person who refers the most “new likes” to Facebook will receive a customized chocolate treat. Just remember to tell your friends and fan to mention who referred them!

Here’s a sneak peak at the kinds of recipes in store for the upcoming weeks.

French Silk from the Rabbit Hill Inn

 Ingredients for the Crust:

2-cups graham cracker crumbs           

½ Cup melted butter

** Mix together and pack into 10” cake pan

Ingredients for petit fours:

4 oz dark sweet chocolate/ chopped                                      

8 oz butter

5 egg whites                                       

2 Tbsp sugar

** Melt the butter and add the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Cool until warm to the touch. Set Aside.

Mix the eggs & sugar and heat over a double boiler until 105 degrees (very warm to the touch).Stir constantly. Whip on high speed until very light in color and triple in volume. Pour in the chocolate and butter mixture. Whip until it just starts to thicken. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting into small serving pieces.

- from the recipe files of Rabbit Hill Inn’s Pastry Chef

At the beginning of the year, the New York Times Week in Review spent some time focusing on The Sustainable Life, providing a guide to a healthier, happier 2011.  In one article entitled “The Happy Marriage is the “Me” marriage” author Tara Parker-Pope maintained that “for many couples, it’s just not enough to stay together. They want a relationship that is meaningful and satisfying. In short, they want a sustainable marriage”.  She went on to explain the importance of self-expansion in making a successful marriage and concluded that “research showed that the more self-expansion people experience from their partner, the more committed and satisfied they are in the relationship”.  Both the researchers and Parker-Pope agree that this research* explains why partners are delighted with surprises like a weekend away.  Travel to new places is one fun step toward self-expansion, and when couples do it together, it can ultimately lead to a more sustainable marriage.

Take the sustainable marriage quiz

As researchers study how people sustain their relationships by accumulating knowledge and new experiences, a process they call “self-expansion”, they’ve developed a set of questions to measure the sustainability of marriages based on new experiences. Studies outlined in the NY Times article show that the more self-expansion a person experiences through their partner, the more satisfied and committed they are to the relationship. Does your relationship encourage self-expansion?  Take the quiz to see how it stacks up.  Simply click here for the complete quiz and scoring model for your relationship.

And next time you’re looking for an excuse for an escape, simply mention the importance of self-expansion to your partner, and then book your romantic getaway with any of the nine DINE members. 

*research conducted by Dr. Aron and Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., a professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey