Brooklyn Fudge

Take Brooklyn Fudge with You When You Fly JetBlue at JFK!

2008-10-27T12:03:00.003-04:00

Now you can "get a piece of us" at 5 markets at JetBlue's new Terminal 5 at JFK. You can take a piece of Brooklyn with you whether you're flying out to one of JetBlue's many destinations, or just need something to take the edge off during your journey into the city. You can find Brooklyn Fudge at these T5 Markets:

Cibo Main Market
Cibo Away Cafe
Cibo Baggage Market
Cibo NYSG
Cibo

Make your trip sweeter with Brooklyn Fudge!

Buy Brooklyn Fudge at More Locations!

2008-10-06T08:08:00.004-04:00

It was so nice to see so many of you yesterday at the Atlantic Antic, and since more and more stores are picking us up everyday, I just wanted to give you an up to date list of them so you can pick up Brooklyn FudgeTM any day!

Atlantic Avenue/Borerum Hill:

Artez'n: 444 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (between Nevins and Bond). Open 6 days a week, closed Tuesdays. Hours are 1pm to 7pm Monday - Wednesday, Saturday 11am to 7pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm. In addition to many other funky, locally made gifts, art, and clothing, Artez'n carries our 1oz singles, Stoops (our 3 piece gift set), Blocks (our 8 piece gift set), and Mug a Brooklyn (a piece of each of our five flavors in a County of Kings Mug). They also sell Buy Real Brooklyn Gift Boxes, which include Brooklyn FudgeTM as well as many other fine Brooklyn made products. You can also place an order with them online or buy phone (718-596-2649).

Flying Saucer Cafe: 494 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (between 3rd and Nevins). Open 7 days: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 9:00pm, Saturday - Sunday 8:00am - 10:00pm. In addition to a wide range of coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches (including some kick ass chilli), Flying Saucer carries our 1oz singles. They have free WIFI, a garden, and are conveniently located next to a laundrymat. Open mic nights on Mondays and Free Movie Nights on Thursdays. You can reach them at (718) 624-0139.

Ft. Greene:

BAM/Brownstone Books: 30 Lafayette St, Brooklyn, NY 11217. Located on the 2nd floor of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brownstone Books is open open hour before performance or BAM Cafe events, typically 7pm - 10pm Thursday - Saturday. In a addition to a carefully curated selection of beautiful books with an artistic and local bent, Brownstone Books also carries our 1oz singles and Mug A Brooklyn. We hear the new rage at BAM is to pair a piece of Dark Wasabi Pecan Brooklyn FudgeTM with red wine, or Dark Orange Almond Brooklyn FudgeTM with white wine or champage. You can reach Brownstone Books at 718-953-7328.

Greene Grape Provisions: 753 Fulton St (corner of South Portland), Brooklyn, NY 11238. Open 7 days a week 8am - 9pm. Greene Grape Provisions carries our 1oz singles in addition to a wide range of other products. They have a coffee bar with fresh pastries, a butcher, a fishmonger, a cartucherie (what we Southern Folk call "that high class cheese"), produce, prepared foods, and regular groceries. You can place orders by phone or on their website. They deliver local orders over $25, and also ship. Their wine store is located at 765 Fulton Street, and is open from 12pm - 9m Sunday - Wednesday and 12pm - 10pm Thursday - Saturday. You can reach both stores at 718-233-2700.

Park Slope:

Blue Apron Foods: 814 Union St (at 7th Avenue), Brooklyn, NY 11215. Open 6 days, Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 7:30pm, Saturday 9am -7pm, and Sunday 10am - 6pm. A Park Slope staple, known for it's wide selection of imported and local fare, cartucherie (high class cheese), and fresh pastries, Blue Apron carries our 1oz singles and gift sets. They also make beautiful party platters and gift baskets. You can reach them at (718) 230-3180.

Leaf and Bean: 83 7th Avenue (at Union St), Brooklyn, NY 11215. Open 7 days, Monday - Friday 9:30am - 7:30pm; Saturday - Sunday 10am - 6pm. Leaf and Bean carries our 1oz singles and gift sets in addtion to a wide selection of coffees, teas, and gifts. You can also order by phone at 1-888-811-JAVA or 718-638-5791.

Tea Lounge: 837 Union St (between 6th and 7th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 7am - 1am, Saturday 8am - 2am, Sunday 8am - 1am. A full service coffee shop and wine bar, Tea Lounge carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide selection of coffees, teas, and pastries. It has free WIFI, happy hour from 5 - 7 (1/2 price draughts and $4 house wine, which pairs deliciously with Dark Wasabi Pecan Brooklyn FudgeTM....a cheap thrill less than the cost of a Big Mac Combo, and much classier and satisfying). They have a full schedule of music, poetry readings, and open mic nights. You can reach them at 718-789-2762.

Java Joe: 414 8th St (between 7th and 8th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY 11215. A local, family run shop since 1992, Java Joe carries our 1oz singles and gift sets as well as over 65 bulk coffees, teas, and gifts. They also serve hot and cold drinks on the spot. You can reach them at 718-369-6026.

Windsor Terrace:

GRAB Specialty Foods: 438 7th Avenue (between 14th and 15th streets) Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 11am - 8:30pm, Friday 11am - 9pm, Saturday 10:30 - 9pm, Sunday 10:30am - 7:30pm. GRAB carries our 1oz singles and gift sets along with a fine selection of cartucherie (high class cheese), craft beers on tap (for your growler), chocolates and pastries. GRAB also makes some of the most exquisite gift baskets we've ever seen. You can reach them at 718-369-7595.

Carroll Gardens:

BoCoCa's Cafe: 195 Court St, Brooklyn, NY. A cozy coffee shop with a beat, BoCoCa's carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide range of hot and cold drinks and and pastries. You can reach them at 718-797-2385.

Tea Lounge: 254 Court St (between 6th and 7th Avenues), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Thursday 7am - 10pm, Saturday 7am - 12 midnight, Sunday 8am - 12 midnight. A full service coffee shop and wine bar, Tea Lounge carries our 1oz singles as well as a wide selection of coffees, teas, and pastries. Free WIFI. You can reach them at 718 – 624 – 5683.

Le Petit Cafe: 502 Court St (between 9th and Huntington), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, Monday - Wednesday 6am - 8pm, Thursday - Saturday 6am - 10pm, Sunday 6am - 8pm. Reknown for it's Sunday brunches, excellent customer service, and cozy atomosphere, Le Petit Cafe carries our 1oz singles and serves coffees, pastries, and full service meals. You can reach them directly at 718-596-7060.

DUMBO:

Peas & Pickles: 55 Washington St (between Front and Water Streets), Brooklyn, NY. Open 7 days, 24 hours a day, come to Peas and Pickles for fudge emergencies at any time of day or night. (They carry our 1oz singles). You can reach them at (718) 488-8336.

"That chocolate from New York sho is good,"

2008-07-25T13:29:00.004-04:00

Aunt Mae said to me in 1991, about a box of Godiva chocolate I had hand carried on Amtrak all the way from New York to Virginia. "I believe it's even bettah than the Whitman's Sampler we get down at Rite Aid."

If only Aunt Mae had lived to see this day, when Florence Fabricant of the New York Times implied that she thought that fudge from Brooklyn (based on Aunt Mae's recipe), "sho is good," and from what we can surmise, possibly something she finds more satisfying than a Whitman's Sampler from Rite Aid.

I am so honored and touched that Ms. Fabricant liked the product, and was kind enough to write about it. It makes me grateful for all the people connected with Brooklyn Fudge, living and dead.

Ben Franklin said "lest you be long forgotten soon after you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about." Apparently my great aunt, who had a 7th grade education, and never wore pants or learned to drive did both, and continues to have an impact on me and many other people more than a decade after her death. Watching this lesson unfold on a daily basis has been the greatest joy of this business and this phase of my life.

Aunt Mae basically stayed home all day, and spent about 8 hours a day involved in food preparation, and about 18 hours a day talking: talking to people at the house, talking to people on the phone, talking about people in the paper, talking about people on television, talking about people who were dead, talking about people who were alive. If she heard someone roll over in bed in the middle of the night, she would assume they were awake and start talking to them. She didn't do anything big, she didn't have a career or an education, yet she left a huge impression, and continues to make an impact. This one product based on just one of her recipes has created jobs, has delighted people all over the world, has inspired people, and I look forward to all the all the other positive things we can do with it.

Aunt Mae treated everybody that came into her house like they were the most important person in the world, as if they had great value, and I now think that that's true, that each of us does have great value, and often just being who we are is just as important as doing what we do.

Tasting at Blue Apron Tomorrow!

2008-07-25T13:19:00.002-04:00

I'll be doing a tasting tomorrow, Saturday, July25th at Blue Apron Foods, located at 814 Union Street (between 6th & 7th Avenues) in Park Slope from 11am - 3pm. Come on down and try some! And buy some!

Thank God for Brooklyn Boys!

2008-05-30T21:24:00.003-04:00

Once again, Brooklynites (some of which may also have Long Island and Carribean connections) rescued me from a crisis! The crisis put me beside myself, but the handsome, helpful, calm and can do men at DHL's Sunset Park (BROOKLYN) depot saved the day!

Some very special guests from the UK, China, Israel, South Africa, Japan, Mexico, Chile, and several other countries will be visiting with us, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Empire State Development, other New York manufacturers at the Weissman Center on Monday......and we want to show them some real American hospitality....and one of the things I am planning for them was in that box, which should have arrived on Thursday. It did not. It was supposed to arrive today. We were anxiously awaiting it all day. I have been known to freak out when my hospitality or gift giving plans are derailed, especially when it causes me to alter my theme or color scheme.....although we usually make it work some kind of way......we rip the drapes down and make the gown; we birth the baby.

The package was going to our storage facility, which closes at 8pm....we were calling them all day asking if DHL had come yet. Finally, I decided to go down there around closing time, and still no DHL. I went home to call and see what happened. When I tracked the package, I saw that they has attempted to deliver it at 7:51pm (when I was probably there or just leaving) but the facility was closed. So although I was having a Fred Sanford like heart attack, I managed to dial DHL Customer service....and begged the girl who answered to contact the driver who probably was still driving around the neigborhood. She said she could not because the facility is closed, and the package would be delivered on Monday. Obviously I had to have the package before our guests arrive on Monday. I knew that truck was in Brooklyn, and that package was in it, and we had to have it so our guests feel welcome on Monday. This girl was from Syracuse, and clearly did not understand New York City or Southern hospitality, but she did reveal the address of the DHL Brooklyn warehouse.

I knew my chances were slim, but I knew there was a chance I could intercept the truck and get the package. I was beside myself, and could barely speak Spanish or English, but somehow the car service driver got me down there.

The bay to the warehouse and the trucks glowed golden and friendly. I knew the was a a 50/50 chance security or would be called and I would be thrown out/turned away, or by some miracle they would be willing to look for it and find it. Those seemed like odds worth taking. I barged in and told the man in charge (Brian), that I'm looking for a really important package, and I know the address and the tracking number, is there anyway they would be willing to look for it for me. Although he's originally from Long Island, he responded like a true Brooklynite: "we can probably find it." I was shocked.....it was a huge warehouse.....the lady in Syracuse had assured me there was no way possible that the tracking number could ever be related to a route or a truck, although everything I knew about freight and trucking told me otherwise. He came back a minute later an calmly told me the tracking number was invalid, I must have missed a digit....which wasn't a shock since I was in a state when I left the house. He was nice enough for me to look up the correct number in my email.

While he did this, I joined the car service driver and several other DHL guys (Jose Luis, Hector, and Kenny) on the curb to update them. The car service driver had already told them that I was totally bereft over this package. I told them all the package contained something important that we needed so we can share Brooklyn Fudge with Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the rest of the Americas. In true Brooklyn style, they immediately wanted to help. "What was the address, what was the zip, oh yeah that had to be that route..." Brian appeared with the real package seconds later.

These guys renewed my faith! It reminded me that I'm lucky enough to live in the "we can do it" capital of the world, Brooklyn, NY, where people will really stick up for you and have your back. Just like when I left my cell phone on the B69 bus, and the bus driver saved it, and I got to go down to the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot (also in Sunset Park) and meet all the folks down there to get it. Not having a phone for a couple of days or not getting a package the day I needed it were gut wrenching experiences, but both reminded me yet again what Brooklyn is about, and who Brooklyn people are.

I'm proud to be an adopted Brooklynite, even though I'm a native Virginian, which is probably a good thing for the lady in Syracuse. A native Brooklyn woman would "want to strangle huh."

See everybody at Tom's Diner tomorrow (782 Washington Avenue 11238)!

Feast on Brooklyn Fudge while you Feast Your Eyes on Brooklyn Interiors

2008-04-01T11:19:00.003-04:00

Join us this Thursday (April 3) from 6pm - 8pm at Safe-T-Gallery (111 Front St. at Washington Street, suite 214, in DUMBO)for the opening of Larry Racioppo's "Brooklyn Interiors."

The spaces that fill Larry Racioppo’s photographs are always larger than any possible building that might enclose them. Whether it is the conscious majesty of the Loew’s King and Pitkin Theaters, now gone spectacularly to ruin, the blue collar universe inside the Furlong Tavern, or the scattered desks and chairs in a closed Catholic elementary school much like the one he attended a generation ago, his rooms contain an almost infinite number of lives and dreams -- all solidly encased within their painted, often peeling walls.“Brooklyn Interiors” is the result of years of seeking out and gaining access to those places where the physical bones of the city concentrate and clarify the elusive spirit that makes Brooklyn Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn Interiors” will be on exhibit from April 3 to May 11. For more information, call (718) 782-5920 or visit www.safetgallery.com.

Spreading the (Brooklyn) Fudge!

2008-03-29T07:39:00.004-04:00

Come see me today at Tom’s Restaurant at 782 Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights! (We make Brooklyn Fudge at the kitchen at 766 Washington Avenue, and our office is next door at 768 Washington.) I will be at Ton's as I usually am most Saturdays, giving out samples of Brooklyn Fudge to people waiting on line. Have one of their legendary Egg Creams or Cherry Lime Rickies while you’re there. Comfort food always makes you feel better!

Tomorrow I’ll be going up to the Hudson Valley for Maple Weekend at Remsburger Maple Farm and Apiary. I met the Remsburger Family at the Chocolate Expo back in February, and thought they and their products were great. They often do events here in the city, and sell at the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal Green Market. They make wonderful things such as Maple Cotton Candy, Maple Cream, and there will be a Pancake Breakfast and Maple Tree Tapping Demonstrations.

The Remsburgers have been maple farming in the Hudson Valley for several generations. I'm happy that people are turning away from industrial farming and really starting to support local farmers more and more now with the organic movement and the 100 mile diet.

Supporting local farmers and conserving the land is very important to me, because I grew up on a small farm that had been in my family for generations myself. Unfortunately, like much of the farmland within 50 – 75 miles of Washington DC, it is now a housing development. My heart will always be broken over this, but I do my best to find ways to transform tragedy and disaster into something positive whenever I can.

Much of the Virginia countryside around where I grew up has transformed into strip shopping centers and sub-divisions now, and we cannot bring that land back. But we can preserve farmland and countryside that has not been (over)developed yet. The way to do that is to support local farmers whenever you can by shopping at the Green Market, places you know source from local farmers, ordering from a CSA in your area, and getting involved with organizations like the Land Conservancy. This world sure could use more farms and fewer Chuck E. Cheeses!

Dynamite Brooklynite: Harold Feinstein

2008-03-28T12:50:00.003-04:00

One of the friendliest people I met last night at the Bond Street Gallery, was Harold Feinstein, the artist himself, on hand for his “Coney Island of the Heart” show. I did not know what he looked like, so I didn’t know who he was until he told me, which embarrassed me, but it seemed like he forgave my ignorance and immediately put me at ease. And that probably explains why his photographs feel genuine, real, open and uncontrived: because that’s how he is with people, all kinds of different people.

I also did not know that I was quoting him the other day. I didn’t know he wrote the quote that so eloquently described Coney Island and his take on it. Let me share his whole quote:

“I was born in Coney Island and used to say that I dropped from my mother’s womb straight into the front car of the Cyclone roller coaster! A nickel would get me a ride on the trolley to Coney and for the rest of the day I’d use up my quarter on rides, attractions, and plenty of sweet treats. I’d earn a little more to spend by drawing portraits on the boardwalk and having spent every last nickel, hitch a ride on the back of the trolley home again. But watching was always my favorite pastime. Over the years, the expression “melting pot” has been stunningly reflected in Coney Island’s appeal as the playground for the working class. Here Orthodox Jews, African Americans, Italians, Russians, Puerto Ricans and folks from all over the world were drawn together by the lure of the surf, sand, boardwalks, side-shows, hot dogs, and the permission to leave go of all inhibitions. It is classic Americana exuding the spirit of generosity and common humanity that is the best of the American spirit. These photographs span six decades. In 1995, on Coney Island’s 100th anniversary, ABC Nightline featured my photography as a way to celebrate this legendary place. In spite of periodic gloomy predictions, Coney Island’s magic continues to transcend time.”

Looking at his photographs in person, I felt a feeling of hopefulness that I could not explain. Now that I know a little more about the man who took them, I understand that’s because of how he sees the world and the people in it, regardless of whether or not he has a camera in his hands, when other people might have a more jaded perspective.

Thanks for the hopeful perspective, Harold! That’s what this world needs!

Multiple (Brooklyn) Fudgasms at Bond Street Gallery Thursday Night!

2008-03-25T13:41:00.003-04:00

Join us at the inaugural opening of sister art spaces, the Bond Street Gallery and the Bond Street Annex at 297 Bond Street, between Union and Sackett this Thursday (March 27^th) from 6pm – 9pm! The galleries will serve up delicious, diverse imagery dripping in local color with their exhibits “Coney Island of the Heart” and the “James White Photographs”; while Brooklyn Fudge serves up the chocolate version of the same.

“Coney Island of the Heart” features the work of Harold Feinstein, Bruce Davidson, Bruce Gilden, Sid Grossman, Harold Roth, and Henri Silberman. “It celebrates the history of Coney Island as the playground of the working-class melting pot through exuberant and singular images of the Jews, Italians, African-Americans, Russians, Puerto Ricans, and others who have played there.”

Ironically enough, Brooklyn Fudge happens to be made in a working-class melting pot as well, and was actually transformed from the original Virginia recipe, to one of Brooklyn origin, steps away from Bond Street Gallery, while I was living on Douglass between Bond and Hoyt. The people who played at Coney Island sound a lot like some of the early Brooklyn Fudge Tasters and Makers who made Brooklyn Fudge the fusion it is now: the Jews (Rebecca Berlant, Brian Taylor, Susan Taylor, Michael Silverman), Italians (Peg Simone), African-Americans (Priscilla Maddox, Claudia Jemmott), Russians (Igor and Andrei from my old Bond Street storage cube), Puerto Ricans (Juan Vasquez, Josh Diaz, Letty Colonio), and let’s not forget my favorite Hoosier, Barbara Richard, Silicon Valley Girl, Gretta Perlmutter, Cubano Jovani Remior, medio-Cubana y Mexicana Mary Abramson, all 900 of the roommates and people I’ve crashed with in the past two years, and last, but certainly not least, my Africano Cien Percent, Berber Cien Percent, Musulmano Cien Percent, Amrane Boussaid from Algiers, Algeria.

I’m so proud we’ve made an un-inbred product, one truly born of fusion! I’m proud to serve it in a setting that couldn’t be more celebratory of Brooklyn, and what it is, which the work in this exhibit so masterfully depict.

AND, AND, if this is not enough yumminess….did I mention the James White photographs feature eight Victoria Secret’s Models? How can you miss this?

The Importance of Being AHNest

2008-03-24T17:44:00.002-04:00

I could have crawled to Manhattan faster than the R train carried me, but the inspiration of this afternoon far outweighed the inconvenience. You don’t need me to tell you that Priscilla Ahn sings like an angel (and plays the harmonica, ukulele, and guitar like one too); tens of thousands of people know that. Her words refreshed and uplifted me as much as her music. She lives the mantra of being who you really are, and doing what you really want to do. She did that, and stays true to what she thinks is right, even when other people were saying, “why don’t you do it this way.” I really admire people like that, and always love it when they prove that they were right and the people saying “why don’t you do it this way” were wrong.

At least I like to look at them as wrong, but I guess the truth is that their way could have worked too, (for them), but the most important thing in any discipline is to do what you think is right for you. You usually can’t get behind something if you’re not feeling it. Nobody else can live your life for you, and you’ll never know if it was right or wrong for you until you try it. Whether it’s right or wrong, either way, you’ll eventually have to do something next.

I’m much longer in the tooth than Priscilla, and her presence today reminded that I too was less fearful and more devil may care than I am now. Although some of that fearfulness that creeps in with age has greatly extended my lifespan, and I recognize that it comes naturally with the slings and arrows life throws our way the longer we live it, people like her remind me that we can choose how much we let it rule us, and that perseverance always wins out. I hear that message in practically everything I read and in every conversation I have. Several of those conversations were the other folks in the studio audience at LIVEatFYI today, and that says a lot of the environment and the people who fill it.

The environment Paul Kontonis and the rest of the For Your Imagination team oozes possibility, creativity, and independent spirit. What a breath of fresh air! Even the plants looked happy and well taken care of there! It was my pleasure to be a part of it this afternoon, and I greatly appreciate them including me in this fun and inspiring event.

Amazing how potent FREE music can be!

2008-03-24T09:11:00.000-04:00

Mix up the Monday grind with a music break this afternoon from 1pm – 4pm as Priscilla Ahn performs live on the web at LIVEatFYI. I’m crossing the river and bringing Brooklyn Fudge into Manhattan to be part of the studio audience. Normally I have to be blown out of Brooklyn with dynamite; I don’t come across the river and brave the crowds in Manhattan unless there’s somebody or something really worth seeing.

Happy Easter: Do I Dare to Eat a Peep?

2008-03-23T15:00:00.004-04:00

“I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.”

At least I would if I were in California! But not on this frigid day here in Brooklyn.

“I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.”

At least not until the Mermaid Parade comes around in three months or so!

The holiday and the unseasonable cold brings to mind the Easter spreads I used to make out in Long Beach, where every day was like a Seinfeld episode, except we were in Southern California and everybody was a gay Latino, except for me, and our one token Jewish person, beloved friend and yoga teacher, Rachel.

Since you could never move the car due to the parking shortage, we all got real close. We never kept the back doors locked, and we all had keys to each others cars so we could move them to save each other parking. A dozen people a day burst through the back door, and there was always somebody out in the yard screaming my name. I loved it.

Since my house doesn’t have central air, and California keeps getting hotter all the time, I cooked most everything out on the back porch with a propane grill that also had a burner. In the mornings I’d fry up some bacon and eggs to eat with our coffee. People popped over for various evening activities such as yoga night, American Idol Night, Sex in the City night, and we’d eat dinner and drink a couple bottles of wine, and sometimes practice yoga again around 2am. The lighter being omnipresent to ignite the…..the grill, I was particularly fond on any type of food or drink that could be set on fire.

A typical Easter meal would include peep kabobs and assorted pastel cocktails such as mimosas, pink panthers, bellinins, mangmosas, gauvinis, and non-red sangrias. I’ve already ODed on peeps for this season, both eating them and reading about them, and I get so bored with the same old thing being done in the same old way. As you know, I have a penchant for the fusion of things white trash and pretentious, due to their ability to cancel each other out and create something delicious in that space. The only person I’ve seen bring that perspective to peep-based sugarcraft is a (Los) Angelina with the wherewithall to roast her peeps with a crème brulee torch.

‘Nuf being said about that, I wanted to share some of my Easter cocktails with you. While doing a little research on some of these cocktail recipes, it came to my attention that sometimes my idea of what a drink should be is entirely different from other peoples. So let’s try them all and see what works best!

My Pink Panther

My pink panther is simply pouring a combination of pink grapefruit juice and pineapple juice into a glass and mixing it with champagne until I get the color I want, much like egg dyeing. For parties, I prefer cocktails that can be quickly and easily made while the hostess is tipsy herself, and not ones that take her away from her company. I find blenders to be conversation stoppers; however, when unwanted or boorish guests darken your door, a blended drink can save the day. The pulse setting effectively interrupts their tiresome comments, and you can always choose to send them to the store to get that essential ingredient you “forgot.”

Here are a couple other takes on the Pink Panther:

Gin-based Pink Panther (courtesy of drinkofthe week.com)

1 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz. Creme de Cassis
3/4 oz. Orange Juice

Complex Pink Panther (courtesy of cocktail.com)

Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake and pour into a chilled martini or cocktail glass.
2 750 ml bottles pink Champagne
1 qt club soda
1 cup white dinner wine
1 qt raspberry sherbert
4 oz cherry liqueur
6 oz frozen pink lemonade concentrate
2 cups raspberries
ice block
fresh mint
Combine wine, sherbert, liqueur and lemonade concentrate (thawed) in a large pitcher or bowl. Stir. Add ice, Add raspberries and club soda. Stir gently. Keep chilled with ice block. Pour into punch cups and garnish with fresh mint. (Makes 38 four-ounce servings).

Malibu-based Pink Panther (courtesy of drinksmixer.com)

1/2 can pink lemonade
6 - 10 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1 1/2 oz whipped cream

Crush a hand full or two of ice into a blender, add the frozen pink lemonade and malibu rum, and blend for 30 seconds or until smooth-like consistensy. Add in your desired amount of whipped cream and blend further until smooth. Serve.

Since I’m a rum-lover, not much of a gin person, and because I like to keep things simple, I cotton to the Malibu based substitute, although needless to say I’d use Cool Whip instead of whipped cream. Sometimes when you’re making drinks for lots of people who are drunk anyway, and you're tipsy enough yourself that your really shouldn't being playing with knives, it is more appropriate to use a concentrate as a base, although whenever possible/sober I prefer to use fresh ingredients. In this case I’d make homemade pink lemonade, which is a whole other can of worms we can open on a warmer day. Suffice it to say I make lemonade with a cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a cup of sugar, and however much more water it takes to fill up a half gallon jug, and then I throw in something like grenadine or cranberry juice to make it pink.

Wishing you Egg-cellent Cocktails and aBUNNYdant flaming peeps!

Music to Eat Fudge To!

2008-03-22T22:35:00.001-04:00

At one point during my 11 years in corporate America, I worked in a fluorescently lit, windowless room half the size of a football field, filled with cubes with one foot high walls as far as you could see. Of the couple hundred people in that room, I was one of the few women, and probably the only person not wearing a French blue button down shirt and khaki pants. I refused to dress in drag no matter how much it was encouraged.

If we needed to communicate, we would email each other rather than walk over to each other’s desks. Since our cubes had no walls, all of our conversations would run together, so we communicated via jabber and email. I don’t know about everyone else, but the guy in the cube next to me and I were bored out of our minds. We were handling government contracts, which means you often get to impasses where you have to wait on the government, or for some higher level cog in the wheel to tell you what to do while waiting for the government, but you have to appear busy while doing this, which is hard. The year was 2001, and there wasn’t nearly as much to do on the internet as there is now. We worked our butts off appearing to be busy while doing nothing because we were not allowed to take action or initiative: we listened to music, we web-surfed, we sent emails.

Now thanks to modern technology, there’s wonderful stuff on the web to occupy people who have mind numbingly boring jobs and management they feel compelled to thwart. I recently met Paul Kontonis, whose company, For Your Imagination, brings truly entertaining content to the web. I haven’t had access to normal American television in about three years, but hear tell there’s hardly anything worth watching on it anyway. Every time I’ve attempted to watch iptv, I find nothing but amateur, wannabe tele-evangelists talking about the Lord. Since hardly a day goes by when at least one if not two people drop by our Washington Avenue headquarters to discuss this topic, (who can do it a lot better quite frankly) I saw no reason to go looking for it on the internet. But The Shitty Show Shoe reneweth my faith! It maketh me lie down in green pastures and restoreth my soul, (particularly after somebody tries to get me to sell it to them wholesale, and I need a laugh).

I look forward to perusing the wide variety of shows, both entertaining and informative. This Monday afternoon (the 24^th) from 1pm – 4pm Priscilla Ahn will perform live on LIVE@FYI. And I get to be in the studio audience! One time I got to watch a taping of the Dating Game out in LA, and this man periodically threw candy at the audience to keep them energized. I’m bringing some Brooklyn Fudge, and maybe they’ll let me throw it at the rest of the audience! What are you doing Monday afternoon? The same old boring old crap you can’t stand but do anyway because you don’t feel you have a choice?

Your body may be chained to a desk, but your mind doesn’t have to be! Join us for some music, entertainment, and a lifting of mental fog. If you don’t like what you do, or feel you have no choice in the matter, I strongly encourage you to reflect on that, because it can kill you. When I worked in corporate America, I received an email at least once a year that someone had dropped dead at their desk, and the last time that happened, it was a boy I used to travel with, who I’m sure was under 40, and had a wife and a new baby, and a new house. After that it didn’t make much sense forcing myself to spend so many hours doing something that wasn’t me no matter how lucrative it was, because it all catches up with you in the end, and all you have left are experiences and memories, and they best be good ones. Assumably, you will not be clutching your Blackberry on your deathbed, and as you gasp your last breath, you will probably not be regretting that you didn’t work more hours on something that ultimately meant nothing. The one thing worse than “damn, I wish I didn’t” is “damn, I wish I did.” Charlie O’Donnell graciously reminded me of that recently, as he does for many other people through Path101, a totally new approach to doing something for a living worth doing.

Fudge is in the Air! (I wish Spring were too)!

2008-03-22T00:08:00.004-04:00

March 21st is supposedly the first day of spring, but I'm not going to bullshit you, as so many blogs and other media seem to be doing. It is colder than a witch's tit in a brass brassiere. According the Park Slope Weather Family, it is actually 33 degrees right now, but with the windchill it feels like 26, and Saturday, it appears we may have a heat wave, as the temperature rises to a balmy 46.

I am not a person who likes sub 60 degree weather, and it makes me much more irritable when it happens outside the months of January and February. On the bright side, it will probably be over for real in a month or so. Last year I angrily wore a puffer coat until April 19th, and then on the 20th everything changed. Everybody stopped wearing their ugly winter gear, and the mood seemed lighter and more hopeful. Although I realize we have a global warming problem, I still assume this tundrazation will finally end in a month or so, just like it did last year.

That said, there are many wonderful Spring and Easter events going on here in Brooklyn this weekend, but do wear a coat. As everyone knows, there are several egghunts going on in Prospect Park and one in DUMBO also. Coney Island opened last weekend, and the Dreamland Roller Rink is opening there this weekend.

Herein lies the only opportunity to excuse this outrageously cold weather. Because we are in frigid New York City attempting to be Springlike....you can hunt for eggs (just don't lick them, because you'll get your tongue stuck), and then you can go to Coney Island, ride the rides, go roller skating, and then you can go ice skating at Abe Star Rink at the Coney Island Board Walk (until it closes for the season on April 6). With the right wardrobe, you can tell Old Man Winter to go fudge himself and have yourself a grand old time.

As for me, as always, I'll be at Tom's Diner (782 Washington Avenue) in Prospect Heights, working the line, giving out nuggets of Brooklyn Fudge to people shivering in the cold.

Welcome Spring!

Do You Want to Know What Fudge Is? Do You Want Me to Show You?

2008-03-05T23:15:00.002-05:00

Then come on down to Bidon Ville Coffee & Tea on Saturday (March 8th)! This Saturday I'll be doing a tasting there from 11am - 4pm, instead of my usual post at the Tom's Restaurant line in Prospect Heights.

I apologize for my blogging hiatus. I hate a stale blog.....but I hate stale fudge worse.....and if I have to choose between what I'm going to keep fresh, I have to put Brooklyn Fudge first and the Brooklyn Fudge blog second. Hopefully I'll be able to do both at the same time, if I can just stay put. I may make a rare trip to Queens on Sunday. My confectionary and organic cosmetics cohort, Gretta, AKA cupcake addict/advocate, has invited me to a cupcake meetup in her neighborhood (Astoria). That's awfully far north for me, but I do make exceptions for cupcake business. Her roomate is a boy from South Carolina.....and I always look forward to getting together with another out and proud Southerner up here in the big city. While most Southerners in this town are closeted, the South Carolinians never are, which is nothing compared to how they act in the South. I lived in Winston-Salem, NC as a teenager, and still remember the convoys of South Carolinians with their gamecock flags that would dominate the roads whenever Wake Forest played South Carolina. South Carolinians have a need to express themselves, and Lord help you if you encourage them. I hate to sound like a cliche, but I can promise you two things about this Sunday: Cool Whip will be involved and "Steel Magnolias" will be repeatedly quoted.

I may bring Angel with a Dirty Face (the Brooklyn Fudge cupcake) to Queens. It's a white cupcake topped with Brooklyn Fudge ganache. I think I'll bring the Wasabi and Citrus versions; I call them Turning Japanese and Tangelina Jolie. As a matter of fact, I may bring them to Bidon Ville too.

Bidon Ville is located at 47 Willoughby Avenue, in beautiful Fort Greene, Brooklyn (the 'hood where I currently live). I'll see you there!

Tasting outside of Tom's Restuarant & at Greene Grape Provisions!

2008-02-01T08:49:00.000-05:00

Come out and taste some Brooklyn Fudge and meet me this weekend!

I'll be giving out samples to anybody standing in the line for Tom's Restaurant (782 Washington Avenue, between Sterling and St. John's) from 10 to 4 on Saturday. So in addition to the wonderful hospitality you already get from Tom's, and the coffee and orange slices and suckers they give out to the line....this week we're throwing in some Brooklyn Fudge! I'll be wearing my "make fudge not war" or "FUDGEtaboutit" t-shirt as I do everyday..... (Thankfully I have more than one of each). If you want one of your own, you can pick one up at the Shaz Gallery at 790 Washington Avenue. They sure get a lot of attention, if you're into that. People yell at me across the subway platform to tell me how much they like it. I'll be giving out coupons for them outside of Tom's so you can get a discount.

Another great reason to come to Prospect Heights this Saturday is because this is the Brooklyn Museum's First Saturday (you get in free). Don't get that Sunday morning regret, like so many of us get.......oh, man, I forgot about First Saturday again! Don't do it.....just get up, take a shower.....Don't worry about a clean shirt.....just come on down, and get in line, try some fudge, have an orange slice, some coffee.....somebody will hold your place in line while you go next door to Shaz's to get a new shirt.....go to Tom's, have a mango walnut pancake.....and then you come out feeling good and looking spiffy....and off you go to the Brooklyn Museum.....for free!

On Sunday, I'll be doing a tasting at the new Greene Grape Provisions Store at 753 Fulton (at the Corner of South Portland in Ft. Greene) from 12:00 - 2:00/whenever. At last we have an alternative to Bravo and Pathmark in Ft. Greene! I nearly lost my mind last night at Pathmark, which is a common experience..... I needed a cookie cutter at 9pm at night....so I was forced to go there.....in the process, I decided I had to have a marshmallow heart peep.....and a several $7.99 CDs and DVDs.....of course the marshmallow peep would not scan, although it clearly had a UPC code.....They checker told me it was part of a pack. I told her that was impossible because there were 100 next to it. She did a series of price checks. Most people would have given up and said forget it. Not me. I said, listen.....I've had to walk a long way to get here, and I am not leaving this store without that peep. You can charge me for the whole pack if you think it's individually wrapped......I'm not leaving this store until you sell me that peep. After a several more minutes and several more Pathmark personnel got involved, they collectively came to the conclusion that it was 49 cents.

Thank God Greene Grape Provisions is here....not necessarily as a heart peep source.....but I would never be pushed to the point that I would require a peep to cancel out the stress of shopping there. It's a gorgeous store!

Come see me there on Superbowl Sunday! (I know I erroneously reported that the Superbowl was last week on this blog. Hopefully you all have another Sports News Source than me. Those of us who spend most of our time thinking about cooking don't always keep track of sports so well......except for the food aspect of it.)

Hot Fudge! Hot Damn!

2008-01-27T15:22:00.000-05:00

After spending and afternoon at GRAB on Saturday, I feel like my IQ went up about 10 points. I always love being around people who are excellent or expert at something, and they are certainly experts on cheese....cheese from Europe, cheese from all over the United States, including right here in New York.... It was fascinating to listen to everything they had to say......and their customers were interesting too..... I found out that there's apparently a enclave of banjo pickin' bluegrass playing people right here in Brooklyn.... Brooklyn never ceases to amaze me....just when I think I've it can't have one more sub-culture or ethnic group, I discover another one. And he told me that there were some North Carolinians in his group....and when you add that to me, and the guy from Tennessee and the girl from Alabama I met last week....I can't help but notice that Southern population in Brooklyn is growing like kudzu.

Later that night my roomate invited me to go to BAM to see that Daniel Day Lewis movie that's been nominated for an Oscar, and for a drink at the BAM Cafe. When we got there, that movie was sold out, so we decided to go to Juno, which was a little later. As we made our way towards the cafe, one of the guards informed us it was closed for a private party. So many roadblocks were being thrown in our way....how could we salvage it......of course the answer was: "with a beer." Neither of us had ever been to Thomas Beisl, the Viennese cafe across the street, but boy am I happy we ended up there.

A few minutes before we were about to leave, we met Thomas, the owner and executive chef, and that was the highlight of the whole evening. Once again that day, I was in the presence of someone excellent. I had noticed some waiters with arms full of some pretty beautiful desserts as I came in, but I didn't take a really good look as I had beer on the brain at the time. Somewhere in the course of the conversation, Thomas mentioned they only had a six burner stove. What! Get out! That's just two burners more than most people have at home.....and that usually becomes a real juggling act once you're trying to cook for 20 or more.....And they had a whole restaurant full of people and the food was beautiful and delicious.

Of course Thomas is no novice, and he well understands that good food is a matter of context, something you suit to the people you're cooking for and the place you're cooking in, and not some pretentious idea you stuff down people's throats. Now that's what I respect. I respect chefs who live in the real world and take a stand for what they think is good and don't need somebody else to tell them what that is. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him, and he said...."you have to try my hot fudge". He opened the window the the kitchen and asked for it, and two minutes later, out came a hot, fresh, beautiful golden crepe, covered in hot sauce and whipped cream. It was delicious! I'm honored he shared it with us. I will definitely be back for Sunday brunch. Thomas Beisl, I bow to you, to your hot fudge, and to the multiple fudgasms it induces.

My First Blog Entry!

2008-01-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

At long last I am entering the blog world! It took me fuh-evah to figure out how to log in and I apologize I don't know how to post pictures or videos today....but I am working on that. The last thing I want is for y'all to be bored. The truth is, my camera is broken the last time I checked.....and I can't figure out how to make the camera on my phone work.....It's one of those things like text messaging and burning CDs that I have to get somebody more technical and patient than I am to do. I think I may go to Circuit City an buy a new camera on Sunday during the Superbowl......when I can have it all to myself......that way I can cross that errand off my checklist AND feel like a movie star......just like when Katie Holmes and Victoria Beckham call up Kitson and tell them to open the store just for them......that's how it's going to be for me at the Atlantic Center on Sunday night. They really know how to pamper their customers!

Tomorrow I'll be doing a tasting at GRAB on 7th Ave between 14th and 15th Street from 12:30 - 2:30/however long I feel like staying. I love visiting with y'all and hearing what you think, and what flavor you like best, so I'll probably be there until they throw me out. Last weekend I did a tasting at Blue Apron in Park Slope and had so much fun. I met people from Prospect Heights, and England, and New Zealand, and Algeria......it was great. I enjoyed being there.....they carry so many wonderful products and are so knowlegable (yes I know I misspelled it.....it's the second time today.......I have all these friends who are these big deal editors.....and look at me......I don't know enough to spell the k word)......Hopefully one of them will see it and tell me how to spell it....because let's face it, I've got a lot more interesting things to do than look it up in the dictionary......or learn how to use punctuation......or stop writing run on sentences.....Anywho.....back to GRAB. Depending on what real estate agent you talk to, some of them say it's in the South Slope and some say it's in Windsor Terrace. It's a fierce debate apparently. The bottom line is, the closest train is the 7th Ave F.....or if you're a bus person, the B69 is a good choice.

So, come out and see us tomorrow! GRAB has a lot of unique and delicious things......and if you're having people over on Sunday to watch the Superbowl the least you can do is buy some Super Fudge to go with it..... Leave the coconut nibs and PBR from C-Town for a private binge.....clean up good for your company with a potpourri of imported and local specialties for the Giants' big day!

Flavors to Savor!

2008-01-21T13:23:00.000-05:00

"Perfect for eating when you're as sober as a judge, or with people with whom you bear no grudge, there's no other fudge like Brooklyn Fudge. "Brooklyn Fudge re-invents the concept of fudge itself into something you've never seen or tasted before. Often the "fruitcake" and freak of the candy world, fudge was long overdue for a makeover.Brooklyn Fudge comes in individually wrapped 1oz pieces, not huge slabs or Texas toast sized slices you'd only give to people you hate. Do not confuse it with cubes of fudge that could survive a nuclear holocaust and come in 37 flavors such as "Pina Colada" (which, as far as we're concerned, should ONLY be a FRESH, rum based cocktail, NOT an air freshener or anything else). Unwittingly trolled from cardboard boxes next to a deli cashier registers by people in drunken stupors in the middle of the night; this abomination violates everything Brooklyn Fudge stands for and deserves to be hurled into the Gowanus Canal with the other toxic waste.Brooklyn Fudge comes in five delectable flavors, and each contains a fortune, or saying, imparting ancient Zen-Baptist wisdom of the Southern tradition.

They include:
Dark Pecan: our most respectable flavor, a dark riff on the original pecan, with a deeper, more serious chocolate, imbedded with pecans carmelized by the velvety texture. Make fudge not war!

Dark Raspberry Almond: Some people call this taste perverse; a sweet and playful raspberry flavor punctuates the dark, not so innocent chocolate, with light whisps of sliced almonds thickening the plot. Fudge saves the the day!

Dark Orange Almond: a flavor as intoxicating as the scent of orange blossoms in the spring time, the twist of pure orange provides a punchy counterpoint to deep chocolate with no sense of humor. Sliced almonds add to the marvelous texture and segue these strange bed fellows. All you need is fudge!

Dark Cinnamon Almond: Pelo suelto y en la carrerterra! No churro required for this chocolate. This sensual cinnamon mole will send you South of the Border, pulling the hair of your inner chollo all the way. Sliced almonds come along for the ride. FUDGEtaboutit!

Dark Wasabi Pecan: Abunai! Chocolate is the new soy sauce, and pecans are the new ginger. While the deep rich chocolate seduces and distracts you, you await the head butt of the wasabi. The real surprise is its subtly and its ninja-like ability to balance the chocolate. As soon as you finish telling everybody "I don't taste the wasabi," you'll feel this multi-sensory, multi-dimmensional flavor. Oh fudge!