“I owe it all to art books, chocolate and young men.” ~ Beatrice Wood, 103
Sometime ago I posted some tasting/flavour wheels and I am happy to bring you an update. Hope these chocolate wheels help you enjoy your chocolade / chokolade / Schokolade / sjokolade / tjoklit / الشوكولاته / čokolada / chocolat.
Credit for wheel above: Chocolopolis.com
You must agree you can never get enough chocolate this time of year. Chef Janet Craig, the contributor our “Who Let the Dog Out” series of recipes has found another way to work it into your Valentine’s Day. She likes to use Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and I see that Black Oak Brewery just released their Triple Chocolate Cherry Stout, so there are some great options for you to choose from.
4 lbs beef short ribs
1 cup seasoned flour (salt, pepper, paprika)
¼ cup oil
2 large onions sliced
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tsp thyme
1 bottle of Chocolate Stout
My inner child took over last night and I made a batch of Easter nests with eggs. The recipe is an old classic and a goody.
Makes 12
1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch chips 1 cup peanut butter 2 cups chow mein noodles a splash of marshmallow vodka – optional for the “big kids”
Bag of chocolate mini eggs
1. Melt the chips and pb in the microwave on medium power for 1 minute. Stir and nuke for another minute.
2. Remove from the microwave and stir until all ingredients are blended. Add the vodka and stir well. Toss in the noodles and stir until all the noodles are coated.
3. Spray 12 muffin tins with oil. Scoop the noodles into the muffin tins, making them bowl shaped to hold the eggs.
4. Place the eggs in each nest while the chocolate is still soft. Store in fridge until they are firm.
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
~Norman Vincent Peale
What’s your favourite part? Watching the soft cottony marshmallows become a white satiny mush? Stirring in the crisp rice cereal? Pressing it into a pan with buttery fingers?
When I find the seasonal red and green rice crisps on the grocery store cereal shelf, I still get a giddy child-like rush. Crispy rice squares are such simple and beloved treats and they have become a Christmas staple in many homes. A few days ago, I was making a batch and I knew I had to make them a little *sin*ful – but of course!
The recipe on the cereal box is easy to follow and when I stirred in the vanilla, I also added 3 tablespoons of Irish Cream. Then, once the cereal was stirred in, I tossed in several handfuls of dark chocolate chips. When it comes to chocolate chips, generosity is the rule!
These squares are really rich and deeelish! And don’t worry; they are super kid-friendly.
*Tip – Use only fresh marshmallows. The first time I tried to make these squares I used older dry marshmallows, but they refused to melt. They just rolled around in the margarine and actually started to roast a bit! It made me laugh.
During this Holiday Season,
May your Home be Blessed
with Laughter and Love.
“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.” – Daniel Webster
If your September has been like mine, it has been really, really full. Two weeks ago we held our wonderful Best Bites, Taste of the Region fundraiser and this weekend I was invited to present at the International Plowing Match 2012 (IPM) here in Waterloo Region.
Thank you to all the IPM volunteers who pulled off this magnificent event. Hundreds of vendors and thousands of volunteers worked tirelessly for 2 years preparing for approximately 100,000 visitors. Astounding!
Bird's eye view of the IPM tent city in Roseville.
Sandwiched nicely between Anna Olson & Rose Murray. So great to be around the best!
Wonderful to meet Anna Olson in person!
Ontario Gleaners was one of the IPM vendors and my dear friend Shelley Stone, who shared her recipe and story “Special Delivery” Black Forest Cake here, is the manager of the of the Ontario operations. So, it was a perfect fit to share Shelley’s recipe and story at IPM.
Challenges often lead to new and more wonderful things. Shelley’s recipe has brandy sprinkled on cooked layer cake, but for the IPM presentation, I was asked not to serve anything with uncooked alcohol. Getting a little creative, I made a brandy cream sauce instead and it is deelish! Think creamy toffee spiked with brandy! Hello!
1. Fold the sugar into the butter until it is mixed well.
2. Put the mix in a sauce pan and add the cream and brandy.
3. Stir and heat over medium heat until the sugar crystals melt and the mixture becomes a smooth liquid toffee.
4. Can be poured between the layers of the cake or served over the cake slices. When pouring between the layers try trimming off the top of the bottom layer so the cake soaks up the sauce.
Tip! Shelley’s recipe uses simple boxed cake and I made it *sin*ful by replace most of the water with red wine.
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