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Chocri: Create Your Own Personal Designer Chocolate Bars

  Looking to give some chocolate this Mother's Day or Easter? Leave the bon bons and the bunnies to the guys with no imagination. This year you're going unique, unusual and custom. This year you're going with Chocri . Imagine a site where you can select one of four delicious gourmet chocolate bases (milk, dark, white, and a milk and white combo), then add on your choice of up to five toppings, from a list of dozens that includes such taste bud pleasing favorites as raisins, roasted almonds, caramel pieces and rice crispies. But before you think Chocri has stopped at the doorstep of The Expected Usual, they cross over into the exotic, unusual, and downright insane, with a bevy of additional topping choices that'll blow your chocolate-loving mind. Think Bourbon Vanilla, ground chili, basil, cayenne pepper, wasabi peanuts, real gold flakes, candied rose petals, corn flakes, or my personal favorite: Bacon. Yep. Bacon. And trust me, the bacon chocolate bar I ordered did ...

Grill Dad "The Ultimate Burger"

  Every guy and his dad loves a big, meaty burger. But in today’s world of "The Biggest Loser," we are inundated with warnings of excess calories and all the health concerns that come along with it. It's almost enough to make a guy eat tofu. Almost. Fear not my fellow carnivores. Chef Kyle Reynolds of Le Cordon Bleu Atlanta -- the prestigious culinary institute -- have designed a burger that delivers flavor, is packed with nutrients, and is lower in fat and calories. Billed "The Ultimate Burger," it'll allow you and dad to enjoy some juicy flame-grilled goodness, without worrying you're gonna get your inheritance sooner than later. Here's Chef Reynolds' recipe, so you can make some next weekend. The Ultimate Burger Servings: 4 12 ounces White Oak Pastures grassfed ground beef (2.6% fat) Salt and pepper, to taste 2 ounces Sweet Grass Dairy – Green Hill cheese 4 hamburger buns 2 ounces fat-free mayonnaise 2 ounces wholegrain mustard 1 clove g...

Win a "Beef It Up" Red-Meat-Lover's I (Heart) Beef Prize Pack

  If you're a proud carnivore like I am, and need your regular serving of red meat (preferably seared to perfection over an open flame, the way the Grill Gods on Mount Meat decreed from on high), then all the propaganda about how bad it is for you is enough to make you consider tofu. (Sorry, even I couldn't keep a straight face while typing that...) But according to research conducted by the beef experts at Beef Checkoff (remember the "Beef, It's What's For Dinner" campaign? Those guys), beef actually offers many health benefits, including heart health, muscle development and weight management. Here are a few of their beefy facts: - Today’s beef is lean. 67% of all beef muscle cuts sold at retail is lean, and 19 of the top 25 most popular beef whole muscle cuts are lean, like T-Bone, Sirloin and Tenderloin. - On average, a 3-ounce serving of lean beef is only about 150 calories and provides 10 essential nutrients such as zinc, iron and protein. - Several o...

The Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos Are Finally Here

  They've been rumored for years, and they have finally hit stores nationwide: The Doritos Locos Tacos. A mashup of the goodness of one of the most popular snack foods of all time, with a late-night drive-thru staple, Taco Bell's new menu addition is expected to sell 60 million a week. That's a lotta runs to the border... Not just a typical Taco Bell shell dusted with the familiar orange Doritos seasoning (that was actually tested at the beginning and failed miserably), this is a special, custom produced, shell that is 100% Doritos through and through, a process that was incredibly difficult to pull off. Steve Gomez, food scientist for Taco Bell, told me, "Taking something that was always made to be a flat triangle, and turning it into a curved shell that could withstand cracking and breaking was very challenging." But they got it done. And with all this hype over the product development and launch, the really important question is: How does it taste? Taco Bel...

Pickles Pigs & Whiskey: Chef John’s Lip Smackin’ Southern Recipes for Your Next Backyard Feast

  Chef John Currence of Oxford, Mississippi knows a thing or two about good barbecue, good southern cooking, and good whiskey. Besides owning 6 restaurants, including City Grocery, Bouré, and Big Bad Breakfast—and getting a visit from Anthony Bourdain for an episode of Part’s Unknown — Chef John won the prestigious James Beard Award (kinda like the Oscars for chefs), in 2009 for Best Southern Chef. So when he tells you how to make fried chicken or smoke a hog, you listen. We’re listening. Chef John’s new cookbook, “ Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey: Recipes From My Three Favorite Food Groups ” (also nominated for a James Beard Award for best cookbook), is packed with good ol’ boy recipes elevated to high cuisine I asked Chef John to give us a few of his favorites, some recipes we can use to impress at our next backyard bash. He didn’t disappoint. Below you’ll find instructions on how to make his smoked Tasso Ham, Coca-Cola Brined Fried Chicken, and Rosemary Cherry Lemonade to wash it...

Resolution Tips: 18 Tips for Getting Your Closet (and Life) Organized

  It's resolution time, and that means making a list of things we'd like to do to improve our lives, but will probably forget about by mid February. One of my resolutions is always to get more organized, especially when it comes to my closets. So I spoke to Lisa Adams of LA Closet Design , designer of incredible closets for men (that's one of hers in the pic above), and all around expert in tackling clutter, to get some tips for getting my stuff in order, and advice on what to do to keep things in place and make life easier. Here's what Lisa had to say: Organizing in General 1. Start organizing one room at a time. Even within a room, you might want to organize one section of that room at a time. For example, organize until you can see the kitchen countertop or a section on the floor, and then move on to the area next to it. Think in terms of baby steps to organization. 2. Re-look and evaluate each piece of “clutter.” Ask yourself: If your home was destroyed by a f...

Trunk Club: Get Great Styles Without Going Shopping

  Let's face it, going shopping sucks. And not just getting dragged along by your girl to mall after mall, but shopping for clothes for ourselves. Most of us never know what to look for, what the hottest new styles are, or where to go for the best deals. That's changed. Because Trunk Club is our new personal style service. One we can use right from the comfort and convenience of our home or office. The membership is free, and all you need to do is simply log on to the site, fill out a brief the styling questionnaire asking your measurements, personal style, type of work, upcoming events, etc. Then, based on your answers, Trunk Club will assign a stylist that will best service your needs, who you'll meet with through one-one-one consultations (also free) via video conference, phone or email. Your stylist selects the clothes and ships them to you from their warehouse in complete "outfits" including pants, shirt, belt, shoes, etc. Within 2-3 days, you'll ge...