Weird but simple non-dessert chocolate recipes?

February 5, 2007 6:13 AM

Can you suggest any simple recipes that contain chocolate, but that aren't exactly dessert, and that aren't chili or mole?

I'm trying to come up with a weird, yet yummy entry into an office chocolate recipe contest. Chili that contains chocolate is pretty standard, and mole sounds way too hard, and again, everyone's heard of it. The recipes here are way too fancypants - I'm looking for something with pot-luck appeal. So far I'm pondering making Fools Gold Loaf - - but replacing the jelly with Nutella... but that might be really gross. Got any better ideas?

posted by chr1sb0y to food & drink (23 comments total)

Hassenpfeffer if you can get rabbit. It's a highfalutin' ingredient, but the result is basically a nice thick hearty stew. Not all recipes for it have chocolate, but many do — google around.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:38 AM on February 5, 2007

Try some chocolate pasta. I've eaten it for dinner, though it's usually a dessert. THere's a recipe on that page, too. I prefer strawberry over raspberry sauce on top, and find that a little sauce goes a long way - don't make too much of it. Secret trick with the whipping cream - put a little amaretto before you whip it.
posted by notsnot at 6:48 AM on February 5, 2007

Previewing your fool's gold loaf - chocolate with bacon is delicious.
posted by notsnot at 6:49 AM on February 5, 2007

I don't know if there's an official recipe or anything, but I stumbled upon melted chocolate covered grilled chicken chunks once and found it delicious.
posted by infinityjinx at 6:54 AM on February 5, 2007

Try this:

Take any standard hummus recipe and replace the sesame tahiniwith unsweetened baker's chocolate. (Buy the bricks not the powder and pastify it).

I love unsweetened chocolate. A few weeks ago, I noticed the flavor was similar to sesame tahini, thus the reason for the experiment. It turned out really good!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 6:56 AM on February 5, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

You might check out some of Heston Blumenthal's recipes. A Cauliflower Risotto with a chocolate jelly?
posted by medium format at 6:57 AM on February 5, 2007

That chocolate Fool's Gold Loaf sounds great. Chocolate + bacon = win.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:58 AM on February 5, 2007

I was thinking a curry might go well w/ the chocolate flavor and found this site, which also had a few other recipes. While none of them may have enough chocolate for your purposes, they sound good, esp. the calzone.
posted by artifarce at 6:59 AM on February 5, 2007

You might want to consider picking up Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes: From the Cacao Pod to Muffins, Mousses and Moles, which I picked up about a month ago. Yes, it has desserts but also many "main dish" items with (good) chocolate in it. It has a mole recipe, sure, but also sausages, a stew, and a few other main-dish ideas. It's also just an awesome, upscale chocolate cookbook. Hope that helps!
posted by twiki at 7:06 AM on February 5, 2007

From the Hershey site:
Spicy Cocoa Sloppy Joes
Roasted Vegs (would be a bit of work/shopping unless you had the spices and some of the vegs already)
Spiced Cocoa Chicken Salad
posted by artifarce at 7:10 AM on February 5, 2007

I just happened to have some bacon, Hershey's bars and a kaiser roll handy. I tested it with just the above ingredients. Then I added some butter. Then some peanut butter. The complete version was excellent. So were the other partial versions. Ok, let's be honest here. Chocolate is awesome. Bacon too. add anything you want to that combo and you are good to go and considered a gourmet cook as far as I am concerned.

Thank you for the loaf recipe.

I have found that spice and chocolate go really well too.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:15 AM on February 5, 2007

I've got some instant coffee out of which I plan to make a pork roast rub along with some cocoa. I don't know if it will suck, but that's what spouses are for: testing.
posted by monkeymadness at 7:20 AM on February 5, 2007

Toast with chorizo and melted dark chocolate.
posted by subtle-t at 7:33 AM on February 5, 2007

Clotilde, of Chocolate and Zucchini, seems to have a lot of recipes in her chocolate archives. There might be something interesting in there...
posted by echo0720 at 7:41 AM on February 5, 2007

Cocoa powder can add a tasty but unidentifiable depth to tomato sauce (like for spaghetti). Maybe that's too subtle for your purposes, I'm not sure.
posted by vytae at 7:45 AM on February 5, 2007

do a google search for "savory chocolate recipes" and you'll find listings like this.
posted by Dave Faris at 8:22 AM on February 5, 2007

Dark chocolate fondue with ancho chili powder? Sort of a desert but....damn it's good.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2007

There was a certain recipe in a Martha Stewart Living a few years back that I never made. But I always thought it sounded oddly delicious. It involved dipping bite-sized chunks of sharp cheddar cheese in melted dark chocolate, and then sprinkling them with bits of dried mango.
posted by changeling at 11:37 AM on February 5, 2007

Check out this month's cover story from a St. Louis "foodie" magazine: Hot Chocolate: Chocolate lends its unique flavor to savory dishes, too .
posted by sauris at 11:50 AM on February 5, 2007

These are delicious and so so easy chocolate chip scones from scratch. I use this recipe but make twice as many as listed for a smaller and more realistic serving portion. Serve them with a little clotted cream (add a bit of sour cream to heavy cream and whip, then chill for an hour) and it's a little taste of heaven. This might not be weird enough for your event, but they sure are good!
posted by onlyconnect at 12:08 PM on February 5, 2007

It sure as hell ain't "simple", but...

On one of the "Iron Chef" episodes, the theme ingredient was Mediterranean Tuna. One of the dishes prepared by the challenger was "Tuna stewed in red wine and bitter chocolate". The judges thought it was excellent.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:48 PM on February 5, 2007

I've loved chocolate chip pancakes for years. I'm not sure that they have "potluck appeal", but who knows?
posted by andythebean at 9:56 PM on February 5, 2007

i think these melted chocolate and brie tarts look awesome. maybe a bit labour intensive for a potluck- perhaps making a single pie would be easier than a zillion tarts? - but sounds soooo gooood.
posted by twistofrhyme at 11:06 AM on February 8, 2007