My Chocolate Fantasy

Just like the traditional New York cheesecake, the chocolate chip cheesecake recipe is ripe for modification. It basically involves just one modification to the traditional recipe: adding chocolate chips.

Once you’ve broken that “addition barrier,” the dam can break.

Think about the first time you added applesauce to pancakes (or even the aforementioned chocolate chips). It was as if you’d been standing in front of a white canvas and suddenly gotten the courage to pick up a paint brush full of red paint and make a few bold strokes, marring the previously pristine surface but at the same time making it something infinitely more interesting. Suddenly, you had the refrigerator open, pondering.

How about pecan pancakes? They eat those down South, right? Maybe some savory pancakes! I could add some ham and cheese or maybe some jalapenos or habanero peppers! Do you remember the rush of creativity? Do you remember how you made pancakes for dinner on a weeknight just so you could test out eight or nine different flavors?

Well, you likely won’t be making eight or nine chocolate chip cheesecakes on a weeknight, but once you start experimenting you might find yourself buying a spare spring form pan to allow for double batches.

If, by chance, you’re stuck for ideas, head back to basics. What do you know that goes with chocolate? I seem to recall a certain oft-parodied commercial from years ago, wherein one person eating a chocolate bar slammed into another person eating peanut butter. (Did people always walk around eating peanut butter out of the jar?) The result of the collision was the confection now known as the Reese’s Cup.

What else goes with chocolate? Mint chocolate chip is traditionally one of the more popular ice cream flavors. Snickers bars have chocolate and caramel matched together. Are you getting any ideas? You should be!

Now, go cook!

Paris salons are offering chocolate facials, wraps, and scrubs to people who want healthy-looking and wrinkle-free skin.

The services aim to dispel once and for all the age-old myth that chocolate causes acne and other skin problems.

The chocolate-based beauty treatments have been lauded by chocolate gourmets and chocoholics alike who welcome the quick cocoa fix designed to satisfy the senses.

The trendy 32 Montorgueil Spa in Paris uses Nuxe’s Phytochoc range of beauty products that is a hit among middle-aged women who want to reduce their wrinkles. Its chocolate facial costs about $155 and lasts for an hour and a half.

“At 32 Montorgueil cocoa extracts are used for their cosmetic benefits rather than to impart a chocolate high, as the Phytochoc range bears little resemblance to the best Belgian bar,” said the Agence France-Presse.

The Four Seasons Hotel George V Spa offers a “Decadent Chocolate Package” which lasts two and a half hours and costs $390. For that amount you get the “Chocolate and Cranberry Body Scrub” that uses sweet almond oil, chocolate extract, and crushed cocoa beans to exfoliate the skin. Or you can have the “Toffee Chocolate Wrap” where you can soak for 45 minutes in a warm concoction of cocoa butter, shea butter, and chocolate essence.

For the “Deep Chocolate Massage”, chocolate-scented vitamin E enriched oil is used to knead away any wrinkles. The session ends with a plate of hand-made chocolates and a pot of caramel tea.

At the Bernard Cassiere Spa, $58 gets you a 45-minute “Anti-Stress Anti-Pollution Chocolate Treatment.” It starts with a facial massage of pure cocoa butter and leaves you in a state of chocolate bliss as thick melted chocolate is applied on the face and neck. The chocolate mask is made by Italian chocolatier Walter Bovetti and can be licked.

Contrary to popular belief, chocolate doesn’t cause acne. When consumed as part of a balanced diet, this sweet treat has many health benefits. Cocoa or dark chocolate is a rich source of flavonoids and antioxidants that protect the heart. It lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels. The polyphenol compounds in cocoa are also believed to have anti-aging properties.

“Recent scientific studies have suggested chocolate boosts the serotonin in the brain that produces a calming effect and stability. Stress has been identified as a cause of acne. If chocolate stimulates the serotonin and calms the nerves, then chocolate could ironically be found to assist in acne restraint,” according to the Acne Resource Center Online.

As in all things, moderation is the key. Eating large quantities of chocolate is undesirable since it is a rich source of calories that can lead to obesity and a host of diseases. Stick to small but regular amounts of dark chocolate if you want healthy skin. Or better still, use the Rejuvinol AM/PM Botox Alternative Age-Defying System. This powerful anti-aging formula has two components: the Rejuvinol morning moisturizer that nourishes and tones the skin; and the Rejuvox night cream that reduces fine lines and wrinkles. Go to http://www.rejuvinol.com for details.