Sweet Potatoes

I rarely buy food items off of web sites. I do it only in extreme situations—when I know I can't get something at a local store or if it's so freakin' bizarre I have to try it.

One one fine day, clad in pajamas and warm socks, I did what I frequently do in the evening—watch the Food Network. And during one of these food specials where they go to some factory out in the middle of no where and feature some amazing person who makes the tastiest whatever, I was introduced to Spud Fudge, fudge made from cooked Idaho potatoes. Apparently, it replaces a 1/3 of the sugar. Whatever, I was just intrigued because each of the chocolates was fashioned into little baked potatoes with chocolate made to look like sour cream and a pat of butter, all clad in aluminum foil. How cute!

I had to have this, so I immediately ordered a sixer of 4-ouncers. I was beside myself with glee that these lil chocolatey potatoes would be arriving. And since my mail situation in New York was not one to be envied, I had them sent to my work address. One day, one of our receptionists walked into the office I was sharing with three other people and said, somewhat worriedly, "you just received a box of potato-based fudge."

"Ah-ha!" I said, running over to receive the bounty. And boy, these things might have only been 4 ounces each, but they were heavy and dense. I took a small knife and shaved off a small sliver to taste, and it was amazing—super creamy, rich, high-quality chocolate. Another sliver, and then another. I also felt obliged to share it with the receptionist lest she think I was some kind of insane person slicing potato fudge with a plastic knife at my desk (which I was).

AC was also intrigued by the notion of Spud Fudge when we saw the show on the Food Network, but he's not the type to just up and buy something off the Internet just to try it. He would have to carefully consider the situation, weight the pros and cons, and then, most likely, decide that it wasn't a good idea (AC, you know it's true). And when I brought the product to him, he was still a bit cautious about it. But he quickly became a believer once the spuds settled into his taste buds. If I remember correctly, he might have killed a 4-ouncer right then and there.

Two years later, I still think about Spud Fudge, and I've since visited the company's web site a few times since my first purchase. The site is much slicker, and the company is offering a wider variety of products. It might be time to procure another stash. And maybe you should, too. —AK