Monday, September 13, 2010

In Honor of Chocolate and a Certain Cookbook


As we're only a few weeks out from the release
Chocolate Never Faileth (squeee!) I decided to give a sneak peek into part of the book.

No, not into the recipes themselves (although maybe I'll post one or two in the next couple weeks, just for kicks).

I thought that showing some of the other elements of the book, the in-between stuff, would be fun. The book has lots of trivia, facts, and anecdotes I dug up, all centered on, of course, chocolate.

Below are four of many from the book. (Remember that you can now
PRE-ORDER Chocolate Never Faileth through Deseret Book!)


True Story #1, about Lynn:
After being admitted at 18 weeks of pregnancy and spending over one hundred days in the hospital, Lynn broke the record for the longest stay at that hospital’s neonatal unit in hopes of saving the life of her unborn baby. Her daughter was finally born, nine weeks early—young but alive and with a good prognosis, weighing in at 3 lbs, 2 oz. Exhausted, Lynn returned home, craving a giant bag of peanut M&Ms. She ate the whole thing in a day . . . then picked up the empty bag and realized with a tad of horror that it had contained . . . 3 lbs, 2 oz. The exact weight of her baby.


Anecdote from Delyana:
A good piece of chocolate has about 200 calories. As I enjoy two servings per night, and a few more on weekends, I consume 3,500 calories of chocolate in a week, which equals one pound of weight per week. Therefore . . . In the last 3 ½ years, I have had a chocolate caloric intake of about 180 pounds. I weigh 165 pounds. Without chocolate, I would have wasted away to nothing about three months ago!

I owe my life to chocolate.


A Bit of Trivia:
A few years ago, Mars. Inc. stopped marketing the Mars Bar candy bar—but they didn’t stop
making it. In its place, the company now sells the exact same bar with a new name. It’s now Snickers Almond. Did you realize it’s the exact same candy bar?

But in Europe and elsewhere, the same candy bar is sold as Mars Almond.

Confused yet? Let’s make it worse.

A candy bar marketed to Europeans and others outside the U.S. as the Mars Bar is called the Milky Way here in the U.S.

Wait. What?


And finally, a gem from my dear friend Luisa:

Elga called it a dessert when she gave me the little handwritten index card [with the recipe], but I know she must have been kidding, because, um, see, Elga, it doesn't have any chocolate in it.


IMPORTANT NOTE:
I get to be part of Ladies Night at Deseret Book's flagship store in Salt Lake City on Saturday, October 2! (Woohoo!)

I'll be there signing cookbooks . . . and giving out samples. Please come!

28 comments:

Rachael Anderson said...

Your cookbook sound delicious and fun--the perfect combination. I'm excited for its release

Rachael Anderson said...

P.S. Your blog is beautiful!

Stephonie said...

I am very excited for your book! Wish I could go to the book signing.

Randi said...

Ok Luisa just made me laugh out loud!
I'm VERY excited for your book, Annette!

TisforTonya said...

all funny stories - I LOVE the 3 lbs 2 oz baby story the most :)

Kristina P. said...

These are funny! I love that you compiled them. I'm with T. The M&M one is hilarious.

Elana Johnson said...

Oh, I love that bit by Delyana. That is priceless. And what a beautiful cover! I might be able to come to your signing.

Heather Moore said...

I'll be sending you chocolate craving brain waves on Oct 2!

Krista said...

These are fun! Thanks for sharing... I need to find some chocolate now.

Susan Anderson said...

Great stuff. I'll be it adds a lot to the feel of this book!

=)

Melanie Jacobson said...

Love the anecdotes!

Happy Mom said...

Wish I could be there!

I'm gonna buy the book just for chocolate stories and trivia.

Angie said...

Love those stories. I must go buy a Snickers almond right now. I have missed Mars bars!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

I actually had a Milky Way when living down there and thought...strange...it tastes just like a Mars bar. Now I'm wondering what your Mars bars taste like!

So excited for the success of your book. Christmas is going to be EASY this year!

Michelle said...

That m&m story kills me.

Now I want me some good chocolate!

Jessica G. said...

I am seriously questioning my dedication to chocolate as I have not pre-ordered your book. I mean, honestly! Where are my priorities?

LisAway said...

AWSOME!! I am so excited for the book! And it took me awhile to get the whole Milky Way/Mars difference. Mars here are like Milky Ways, as you state, but there are also Milky Ways which are closer to 3 Musketeers only the filling comes in chocolate, vanilla or strawberry (and isn't quite as good as 3 Musketeers). :)

LisAway said...

(insert second "E" in first word above.)

Julie Wright said...

it's funny when people rant about the loss of Mars bars in my store and then I direct them to the snickers almond. They always look at it suspiciously when they make the purchase, as though they don't quite trust it.

lesa said...

Last year I gave cookbooks to my girlfriends for Christmas.

I want to carry on that tradition and I think you just helped me find the one I'm going to give this year..

Thanks!

Scott said...

One of favorite subjects. I have to give a nod to the anecdote. There is this store in San Francisco called Chocolate Heaven. I go in there and spend about fifty dollars every time. So I think how robust my savings would be if I didn't have chocolate. Congratulations on the Desert Bookstore gig. If I were in Utah I'd be there to actually meet you! Keep up the hard work. It looks like it's paying off!

Melissa Cunningham said...

Hey Beautiful! I gave you an award on my blog! Come over and check it out.

Amanda said...

I'll have to sneek off to Deseret Book on October 2nd! By the way, all of a sudden I find myself craving chocolate and I cannot figure out why. Maybe it has to do with the fact I drove past Hatch Family Chocolates yesterday or the fact I'm reading fun chocolate anecdotes on your blog . . . hmmm . . .

Annie-Savor This Moment said...

Chocolate and humor! What more could I ask for? Sounds fun and delicious.

Erin said...

Fun blog post about chocolate!

And again, I wish I lived closer to the SLC/Provo area.

Lisa @ Pulsipher Page said...

yum chocolate!

Christy said...

So fun! I can't wait to read your cookbook.

Hilary said...

Nothing funnier then some chocolate jokes. :)

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