Last week, we introduced our first Recommended Creation for Valentine's Day- the Aphrodisi-snack! While that creamy Milk Chocolate creation is sure to compel your sweetheart, we thought we'd put together a White Chocolate-inclusive option for chocri fans who love our two-toned base. (And if you haven't seen it, our official Valentine's Day customized chocolate page is up!)

The "With Love" bar is a customized Valentine's Day chocolate bar beginning with our very popular Milk and White Chocolate base. Atop this chocolatey perfection, we've added Flower Mix, sweet and tart Raspberries, and an edible Smiley Face. This bar has a nice mix of literal and metaphorical sweetness, and is a perfect customized Valentine's Day chocolate option for anyone who wants a slightly more individualized Valentine's gift option.

You can find this personalized Valentine's gift idea in our Recommended Creations section!

We've dealt with this before on our chocri blog, and people always want to know... is chocolate an aphrodisiac? The long and the short of it is that feel-good chemicals tryptophan and serotonin, both present in chocolate, as well as phenylethylamine, the chemical released by your brain when you fall in love, bolster the idea of chocolate as a food that helps put people in the mood for sweet, sweet loving.

With many Googlers beginning to search for a personalized Valentine's gift idea, we've created a new bar as an homage to chocolate as a love potion: the Aphrodisi-snack. Dark chocolate topped with golden pearls, pretty candied lilac, rich bourbon vanilla and an edible "I love you" banner is our suggestion for a personalized Valentine's gift idea to inspire feelings of love and romance. Isn't that sweet?

You can find this personalized Valentine's gift idea in our Recommended Creations section!

Although a nice bottle of red wine is, let's face it, always welcome- sometimes you get a bit of vino fatigue. Walking into a dinner party or Thanksgiving gathering with the tenth bottle of wine of the evening can feel a bit anticlimactic. People love getting gifts, but giving gifts is something people really enjoy, too. Finding the perfect gift for someone who has done you a kindness is a great feeling, and what's more fun than the look on someone's face when you present them with something unique and perfect for that particular individual?

If you're reading this blog, you know that customized chocolate is what chocri is all about. Our chocolate is of excellent quality, but our vast range of toppings means that we literally have something for everyone- well, everyone who loves chocolate. (Which is pretty much everyone.) Our recommended creations do very well, but there's something people love about selecting their own one-of-a-kind gift to their exact specifications.

You also probably know by now that custom chocolate takes a bit of time to assemble- we want to get it just right to your specifications! And Thanksgiving is tomorrow! However, one of our most popular gifting options year round are our customized chocolate gift certificates, allowing your recipient to visit our site and create their very own personalized chocolate.

If you're looking ahead, you can always create a bar for your hosts or hostesses. But if you've only got a day, an hour or five minutes and don't feel like hitting up the crowded liquor store or bakery on a holiday, we have two other options in which you might be interested.

Our printable gift certificates, like our chocolate, are customizable. If you have a printer or prefer to give something tangible, this is an excellent option.

However, not everyone has a printer. Some people are a bit more data oriented, too, and we have gift codes so you can even bypass the printing step. When you place your gift certificate order, you will immediately receive a gift code in your email so you can pass it on to the recipient through email. (Or inscribed in a card if you want to be all fancy.)

If you're looking for a quick, unique and reasonably priced gift option for your host or hostess and you're short on time, you can find our gift certificates page here. And if you need help with your order, you can find us on Twitter!.

Unsurprisingly, chocolate fountains have risen in popularity sharply as they've become available on the consumer market. Formerly the domain of party rentals sphere and only generally found at fancy events, more and more people have added chocolate fountains to their arsenal of home entertaining tools. But how do you use a chocolate fountain?

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and the official kick-off of the holidays, many people are whipping out chocolate fountains, perhaps received as gifts last season, for the very first time. And why not? Can you think of a tastier treat than pumpkin pie bites dipped in white chocolate or pecan pie, also a Thanksgiving staple, enrobed in dark or milk? Fruits, marshmallows, cookie bits and even savory treats like pretzels and potato chips are also popular "recipes" for chocolate fountains.

We've used a chocolate fountain at events like Maker Faire, and the process can be a little daunting if you're a first time chocolate fountain user. But the process is fairly easy- we've compiled a few helpful hints on how to use your chocolate fountain:

Cocoa butter or oil makes the chocolate go round: Couverture chocolate, with a cocoa butter percentage of between 33%-45% is recommended to ensure smooth chocolate flow. If your chocolate has a lower percentage, you can add a bit of oil during the melting phase. One recommended ratio is a half cup of oil to five pounds of good quality chocolate.

Melt first, dip chocolate later: A chocolate fountain can melt chocolate, but using a microwave or double boiler speeds up the process and ensures even melting and less fuss.

Crumbs and fountains don't mix: If possible, avoid crumbly dippers like dry cookies or cakes. They'll get unsightly bits in your smooth, flowy chocolate.

Chocolate's like a Gremlin- don't get it wet! Inadvertent introduction of water can cause chocolate to 'seize' and get lumpy. Keep water away from the fountain!

You are what you heat: Better quality chocolate leads to better quality fondue parties. Less well made chocolates won't harm your fountain, but good chocolate=good chocolate covered strawberries.

Got questions? Let us know in the comments and we might be able to help out- or if it's a holiday party emergency, you can try reaching out to us on Twitter. Are you dusting off the chocolate fountain for Turkey Day? Got any suggestions for delicious dippables?