Does your cocktail need some chocolate? A Cholive could be just what you’re looking for.

Cholive = chocolate + olive … get it? Don’t worry, they are not actually chocolate-covered olives.

They are olive-shaped chocolate truffles. Skewer them and you have a delicious cocktail garnish.

Here’s one recipe that sounds like a good use of chocolate!

Dirty Grasshopper
1 oz. Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka
1 oz. Green Créme de Menthe
1½ oz. White Créme de Cocoa
½ oz. Half & Half

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into an old-fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with a skewered Cholive.

Of course, DIY folks out there could skewer any tiny chocolates and see how that works, too!

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Cholive Company (via Liqurious)

It is Mixology Monday time again, and our host Rowley’s Whiskey Forge has tasked us with the all so appropriate theme of hard drinks for hard times. Rather than come up with a few wallet stretching cocktails, I thought I’d share a few tips on stretching your drinking dollar. A recession doesn’t mean you can’t drink well, it just means you need to drink smarter.

Stay home and invite friends

Drinking at home is always cheaper than going to a bar. No huge revelation here, but it needs to be said. Staying home doesn’t need to mean drinking alone, invite friends over, put out some snacks have some fun. Hopefully, a guest or two will bring a bottle along, now that’s economical.

Drink spirits instead of beer & wine

A 750 ml bottle of liquor has about 25 1 oz. drinks. A decent bottle of just about anything can be had for $20 or less. This makes each 1oz. drink about $.80 or bit over $1 if you pour a 1 1/2 oz shot. Compare that to a bottle of wine. A decent bottle runs you $10 or $2.50 a glass. If you want to push it, there are some decent $5 or about $1.25 per drink. OK you can get some cheap beer, but I set the bar at decent, not cheap, so a decent six pack is going to run you $6 on the low end or $1 per drink. If you shop well, the math gets even better.

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Chocolate is a traditional Valentine’s Day gift. And while there isn’t really such a thing as bad chocolate, Valentine’s Day is an occasion to show you put more thought into your gift than running into the Rite Aid and grabbing the last Whitman’s Sampler.

Since it is the thought that counts, here are some gourmet chocolates that will show you put a lot of thought into your chocolate selection. Choose the chocolate that matches your sweetheart’s sweet tooth and personality.

TCHO is a high-tech chocolate maker with a conscience.

Using technology, the company maps cocoa beans by their flavor type to make the perfect organic dark chocolate. And their business practices “go beyond Fair Trade” to include a crusade against worker exploitation and slavery in farming.

If your Valentine appreciates no-frills, quality chocolate and a modern aesthetic, then TCHO’s quote tins (your choice of famous quotes about love) filled with chocolate hearts is a good choice.

Garrison Confections melds the modern with the traditional, producing beautiful and tasty handmade chocolates.

Garrison mixes unusual gourmet flavors and artistic presentation, perfect for a Valentine who enjoys special surprises but a minimal amount of fanfare.

The box includes the “Tarzan and Jane” — guava rose, pink guava pate de fruit over dark chocolate ganache enrobed in milk chocolate among the varieties inspired by history’s greatest lovers.

Woodhouse Chocolate is handmade in unique flavor combinations, with traditional Valentine’s packages available.

If your Valentine swoons at gourmet confections such as jasmine green tea in a milk chocolate ganache or elderflower blossom in a dark chocolate ganache Napa Valley’s Woodhouse is the chocolatier to seek out.

All of these would go well with a great Champagne or sparkling wine!

Find Valentine’s Day cocktail recipes

If you’re planning a special Valentine’s Day dinner, don’t forget the wine! Here are some basic food and wine pairing tips.

The first thing to remember is that it is more important to choose a wine that you enjoy than to follow rules. However, there are some tips that will help enhance your food and wine experience.

• Match the intensity and “weight” of the dish with the intensity of the wine. So a bold dish calls for a bold wine. And a light dish calls for a light wine. Sounds logical, right? Although sometimes opposites attract, it’s a lot more difficult to come up with a complimentary pairing of a strong wine with a light dish and vice versa.
• Artichokes or asparagus both contain compounds that really mess with your taste buds and can make a great wine taste really gross. Who knew?
• “Acidity” in wine (such as a sauvignon blanc) is a good match for deep-fried foods, creamy and cheesy foods, fish, spicy Asian and Indian foods, tomato dishes and tart foods.
• Wines high in tannins (such as a Syrah) pair well with fat.
• Cuisine from a region usually pairs well with wine from the same region.

If champagne will be a part of your Valentine’s Day, be sure you know how to open it without putting an eye out.

Though it’s very dramatic to “pop the cork” and send it flying across the room, the correct way to open a bottle of champagne is far quieter … and also doesn’t waste any bubbly or put anyone in harm’s way.

Simply point the bottle away from yourself and others. Remove the foil. Cup your hand over the cork or drape a towel over it as you twist open the wire cage. With your hand firmly over the cork, twist the bottle with the other hand. Move the cork back and forth to ease it out of the bottle.

Whatever you do, don’t use a corkscrew — that would spell disaster!

Photo credit: sfllaw

This artichoke dip is so good! It’s by no means health food, but it fits right in with any Super Bowl Sunday snack menu. Serve it with tortilla chips, potato chips or a good loaf of crusty bread.

Creamy Artichoke Dip

1 1/2 cups chopped artichoke hearts (frozen and thawed or from a can, drained)
6 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced
optional: 4 oz. can of green chiles

Heat the cream cheese in a sauce pan until it is soft, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until all ingredients and flavors meld into a creamy mix of delicious flavors. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve it.

Super Bowl cocktail recipes

On the lookout for cool barware, I found the Nambe Tilt collection. This unique glassware will add flare to any home bar.

Nambe Tilt Barware