Tampering

It has been a while since I have taken time to do this. But as you are all in the midst of the holiday season I am sure you understand. This year has been a fabulous cooking feat. I have had so much fun learning new recipes to add to my repertoire with some indescribable disasters of of cooking half asleep and making the worst birthday breakfast possible for my sweet hubby. With all that, I still managed to muster up the confidence to tackle the yearly candy day.
Candy day always starts off the same with buying more chocolate because I can never remember which size bar is required by the most incredible fudge recipe i have ever made. Up to this year it has been one of those sacred recipes that I have know that tampering with would surely lead to the demise of every good tradition in the book. Thus, I have been able to hold off switching, substituting, or making do with this recipe for six years, almost a record for me. Being me, and having read up all year on how to tame chocolate in to submission I went for it. Adding just a hint of ginger, a touch of cocoa powder, and fudging the chocolate by four oz. made fudge that must be kept in a lock box. so here is the recipe, and have you master lock ready and waiting, I am sure it will cool just fine under lock and key.
Fudge- Based on Valerie's incredibly lovely wonderful recipe.
Prep 13x9 in pan by lining with foil and leaving a good 6 in overhang on at least 2 of the four sides. Set pan aside
1 12oz pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
3 4 oz bars Hershey milk chocolate bars broken up
1 7 oz car marshmallow fluff ( name brand is fluffier wierd but true)
1 Tb butter
1 T good vanilla extract
1/4 t ground ginger
3 Tb dutched cocoa powder
Place bove ingredients in over sized bowl, and set aside.
In a large saucepan combine
4 1/2 cups white granulated sugar ( use it all this is chemistry, don't substitute trying to make fudge healthy, that's not he point)
1 12oz can evaporated milk
Turn heat to medium and stir about every other minute at least to keep from burning. Bring to a boil and star timer for 6 minutes one it has started boiling.
When the timer ruins your meditative state of making your shopping list, immediately remove from heat and pour into bowl with chocolate. Stir entire concoction until smooth, creamy, and no streaks of marshmallow are showing.
Pour into prepped pan and set out to cool at room temp,Cut in to 1x1 in pieces, put in air tight container and then transfer to lock box or fridge.
Nuts can be added to the chocolate mixture in the first bowl if your family likes that, but trust me when it tastes this good there is no need.
Smile but not too long cause you will miss your chance to try it in your reflective state.
Merry Christmas
Mrs. Brownie

A new Favorite

Okay, in all honesty I am not big on food trends I think they tend to get out of hand where a home cook ends up in the kitchen with a bunch of ingredients that no one really likes but they were cool on that TV show, or an article couldn't say enough about them. Living in the real world where a grocery budget doesn't leave much wiggle room for things like imported foie gras, I like recipes that most people might have the ingredients on hand. Thus, over the last week after being asked to create a menu for a themed Bethlehem party I decided to give the cool dip a go in my own food processor to help stay within budget. Man am I so glad that I did. I found out that Taihini is much cheaper made in your own home as well so here is how you do it.
Next time you are at the market go to the Asian section and buy some bulk sesame seeds for the tahini- ie. sesame seed paste. I know it may sound weird but it makes the hummus have a nutty flavor that is fabulous. Grab a bottle of sesame seed oil while you're there this is great stuff to make your Asian recipes taste more authentic and makes a fun twist on roasted veggies.
tahini is just
1/4 cup sesame seeds (toasted if you would like a nuttier flavor)
1 T of water
1 t sesame seed oil
1 pinch kosher salt
put all ingredients in food processor and let it run until it creates a smooth paste.
Remove paste to condiment container and store all but 1 Tablespoon in the fridge.
For hummus
Put reserved paste
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
2 T Lemon Juice
2 T Olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper (optional)
2 cloves minced garlic
and any additional herbs that you have on hand fresh or dried are fine. Remember herbs like tarragon are very potent. I like a bit of mint or cilantro personally. 1t of anything you like should do the trick and up to 1 T fresh herbs minced.
Turn on blender and let run. Intermittently take spatula or spoon and scrape sides to get a well mixed dip and there you go. That $8 a tub dip is yours for pennies on the dollar and it tastes SO much better than the other stuff. Enjoy with anything you might typically dip in a savory sauce. Get creative, and just wait for the bowl to empty- it doesn't take long. Big plus is it is good for you, so less guilt during the holidays never hurt anyone.
Smile and savor
Ms Brownie