Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

German Chocolate Caramel Bars

I was going to try to wait and post this recipe for Chocolate Friday, but ... I couldn't wait. *sigh*  So much chocolate, so little time.

I really shouldn't try to bake at this time of the month, no matter how much I'm craving chocolate goodies.  This was almost a disaster, a real "abandon ship!" kind of disaster, but I clung to the mast and road the sucker out.  The resulting bars were delish, if I do say so myself.  In case you're interested in the story (if not, just scroll down...), the situation was this:

Picture one fiercely PMSing woman, sitting in the kitchen peeling cellophane off 50 little caramel candy pieces - 50 FRIKKEN CARAMEL CANDIES!!! -- and she gets involved in a movie which was originally only intended to help the unwrapping all those suckers less tedious.  Having gotten thusly involved in said movie, and being short of attention and patience anyway, PMSing woman puts caramels in the pan directly on the burner, adds milk, and then forgets about them.  Some time later, the smell of scalding milk and burning caramel having failed to penetrate her haze, her hubs wanders in and interrupts her movie with, "Whatcha burnin'?"

I'm here to tell you, caramel mixed with burnt milk is disgusting.  And it takes a while to get rid of the smell.  Fortunately I  had bought two bags of caramels, not being sure how many there were to a bag (50).  So I dumped the ruined batch and started over -- UNWRAPPING FIFTY MORE CARAMELS.  This time I put them in a pan on a pan in a makeshift double boiler setup. 

I guess it's time to buy an actual double boiler, huh? 

Anyway, you'll be happy to know that I was able to finish watching my movie without burning the 2nd batch of caramels and from that point forward, all was as well as it can be when you're PMSing.

German Chocolate Caramel Bars

1 box German Chocolate cake mix
3/4 cup butter (stick and a half)
1 cup evaporated milk
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I used some of the candied walnuts from the other day)
50-60 caramels

Melt caramels over a low heat together with 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk.  While caramels are melting, stir cake mix with softened butter and 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup evaporated milk.  Just add milk a little at a time till it reaches the consistency of frosting.  Divide batter in half and spread half on the bottom of a 9x13 inch cake pan.  Bake for 6 minutes at 350°.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with nuts and chocolate chips.  Pour melted caramel on top and lastly, dot with remaining cake batter.  Continue baking for 15-25 minutes. 

You can insert a toothpick into the cake batter portions to test for done-ness (should come out dry), but be careful because if you hit a chocolate chip or the caramel, it'll come out wet.

I took a platter down to my brother's last night and they were a hit!  Of course I saved some back for myself the hubs.  Heh.

Merry Merry!

Chocolate Friday: Bubble Chocolate

When I was offered some of this stuff to try, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Bubble chocolate.  Sounds like an aggregate product of the sapodilla and cacao trees, doesn't it?  Except you'd be hard pressed to find bubble gum actually MADE from sapodilla chicle anymore.  It's mostly made out of rubber and plastic and latex.  Gak.  You'll never chew gum again, right? 

But, I digress.  What was my point?  Oh yeah, bubble chocolate.  It is not a form of flavored bubble gum.  It's chocolate made with little air bubbles in it.

Kind of an interesting concept.  Probably not one that's going to fly with serious chocolate connoisseurs.  But I'm not really a connoisseur.  I consider myself more of a chocolate ... enthusiast.  Or greedy hound, if you want to call a spade a spade.  And an addict too, yes, but not terribly picky or discriminating.  Nevertheless, there were some things about this chocolate that I liked and didn't like.  To wit:

• On the plus side, it's novel and entertaining.  Kids would probably really like it.  If you chew this chocolate, you'll never get the fun.  You have to hold it in your mouth while it melts to feel the sensation, which is really neat.  (Can I say neat?)  We had a little tasting tray go round here, and this chocolate kept the conversation going for a good long while.  Think Pop Rocks, only not quite so radical a "pop".  As the chocolate melts, the air releases with little snaps and pops.  I actually was able to feel it better by letting the chocolate melt between my fingers.  Once I put the stuff in my mouth, the chocolate flavor dominated my brain.
• And speaking of ... the flavors are great.  I loved the Coffee Milk Chocolate, that was my favorite.  It comes in Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate as well, and they've obviously made an attempt to make this more than just a novelty candy.  The coffee bar is "infused with real coffee".  The dark chocolate is 60 percent cacao, but the hubs - who is a dark chocolate fan - didn't care for the Dark Chocolate flavor.
   
• On the down side, it melts too fast.  One of my favorite taste combinations is a bite of chocolate and a mouthful of popcorn.  I've got this down to a science.  I pop in the chocolate bit, let it start to melt, and then shovel in the popcorn at just the right moment so that chocolate continues to melt and surrounds every crunch and swallow.  It's a little bit of heaven, trust me.  I tried this chocolate with my popcorn, but the silly stuff was melted and gone before the popcorn.  No matter how I tried it.  A friend of ours who tried it said "it's not creamy enough", which I think is the same issue I'm talking about.  Chocolate that is denser and creamier melts slower, lasts longer, etc.

This last item is a serious drawback, but all in all, I like it.  A chocolate novelty, fun and tasty.  You can find out more at their website here: www.bubblechocolate.com

Chocolate Almond Candies for Christmas

If you're looking for a truly decadent chocolate candy to add to your Christmas party tray, try these.  They're pretty easy, albeit time consuming, and they're guaranteed to be a hit. 

This concoction began life as a coconut candy recipe.  But since I'd rather eat live grubs than coconut, I modified the recipe to suit my own taste, which is excellent, if I do say so myself.  But I have to admit I got a little help online - brain fart, can't remember where, one of those "ask Eloise" websites - where the question is, if you'd rather eat live grubs than coconut, what can you substitute for it in your candy recipes?

And the answer was: nuts.  Now THAT was good news.  So, drumroll, please:

Almond Chocolate Christmas Candies

1/4 cup margarine
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup half and half (cream)
6-8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp shortening
Candy paper cups

Melt margarine and stir in the powdered sugar, almonds and cream.  Chill, so it's easy to handle.  I let mine chill overnight, but it should just be chilled enough to easily roll into balls.

Melt chocolate chips and shortening.  If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a makeshift one like I do.  Set one pan on top of another.  Put the chocolate and shortening in the top pan, and water to boil in the bottom pan.  Just be careful that no water or steam get into your chocolate pan.

When the chocolate is melted, spoon into cups, filling each about halfway.  Scoop a small amount of the nut/sugar mixture into your hand and roll into a ball.  Think -- melon ball.  In fact, if I had had a melon ball scoop, that's what I would have used.  Press the ball down into the chocolate, so that the chocolate rises up on the sides. 

I drizzled melted chocolated on top of each candy for decoration.  Other ideas: press a chocolate chip into the center of each ball, or a sliver of almond.  Sprinkle with chocolate or colored cookie sprinkles.   

This recipe makes between 48-60 candies, depending on how large you make them.  The chocolate does set and harden some, but I recommend chilling them before serving.  In fact, I'm going to freeze some and see how they do.  I'll let you know. 

Good complimentary Christmas candy: Cream Cheese candies.

Merry Merry!

Christmas Candy Cane Brownies

My offering for Chocolate Friday this week is a fun recipe for Christmassy brownies.  This recipe can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.  If you're a "from scratch" kind of person, or if you have a ton of time on your hands and nothing to do, you could make all the ingredients from the ground up.  Or the bowl up, as it were. 

I'm not fussy about brownies, and as I've said many times, I'm a lazy git.  So I started with a brownie mix.  I did make the frosting though, because you just can't get the same flavor from the premixed frostings.  If you need recipes for "scratch" brownies, try the BCCY version or the healthy brownies from Recipezaar.

Christmas Brownies w/ Candy Cane Cream Cheese Frosting

Bake brownies using your favorite mix or recipe.  Since these are VERY rich, bake medium to thin.  Either split into two and spread over bottom of two 8x8 pans, or spread thin over a 9x12 pan.  Allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz softened cream cheese (room temp.)
1 stick butter or margarine
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
Red food coloring
4-6 candy canes

Mix together cream cheese, butter, peppermint extract and powdered sugar until creamy.  Pour a few drops of red food coloring into mixture and stir lightly with a spoon or knife, just enough to get streaks but not thoroughly blend the color.  Spread thickly over brownies.


Put candy canes into a sandwich bag and crush by hammering lightly.  (If you have a lot of pent up frustrations, go easy.  You don't want candy cane powder!) 

Sprinkle crushed candy cane over the top and press the pieces down lightly into the frosting.  Chill to allow the frosting to set up.  Serve to your favorite elves.

Note: If you love the combo of chocolate and peppermint like I do, add some crushed candy canes to the brownie batter and bake the flavor right in.  It adds a nice little crunch, too.  Hershey's makes some great Chocolate Mint candy canes that you can probably find at your local grocery store.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Friday: Edible Art

I'm not sure, but I think chocolate art would create a serious war in my senses.  Too many desires going on at once.  Do I keep it to look at, carry it around to smell it, or just munch away? 

Lillie Belle Farms, an actual farm/estate in Oregon complete with tasting room, produces completely edible chocolate art.  Fully eat-able, from top to bottom, back to front.  The tree shown here is one of Lillie Belle Farms' chocolate sculptures created for the Oregon Chocolate festival, made from chocolate and sugar.

And have a look at their chocolate paintings.  Even the frames are edible! Created by Chocolatier Jeff Shepherd, the paintings are 6" x4" with white chocolate canvases, dark chocolate frames, and cocoa butter paint.

I was thinking about trying to do some chocolate artwork myself, but ... I don't know if I could keep my mouth away from the medium.  What joy to do some fingerpainting, tho, eh?

Swapping, Blog-Style

This is just such a cool concept. It's been done in a variety of ways on the net, via blogs and websites both.  Swaps are all over the place.  I've seen one where a journal was passed around, eventually traveling all the way around the world.  Pretty cool.  Bloggers are so inventive, and it still amazes me sometimes how small the internet has made the world.

This blog - Knitters Tea Swap 2  (and where, pray tell, is Knitters Tea Swap number ONE???)  lets folx sign up and send each other little packages of oh-so-wonderful stuff.  I had a great time reading the posts and looking at the pictures of what was in the packages.  It was a voyeuristic joy.  Sort of like vicarious Christmas.  Because it's not just tea - there's cups and biscuits and even chocolate! 

Of course, a mention must also go to TeaSwap, which has been around for a long time.  They're a little more organized, complete with yahoo group, database and all. 

Here's one for coffee lovers - the Knitter's Coffee Swap.  It looks like this one is just starting a swap, I couldn't find any posts or pics of packages.  What a great idea though. 

I wonder, when you ship yarn and coffee beans together, do you end up with a sweater that always smells like coffee?  I could live with that.

And joy oh joy, here's one for chocolate.  And there's pictures and posts and lots of vicarious enjoyment to be had at the Chocolate Swap blog.

I wish I had the oomph to be able to participate in something like this.  Of course, I don't knit anymore, but I think I would really enjoy the swapping process.  At least... heheh... I would enjoy the packages arriving.  I remember what a thrill it was when my tea package arrived from the tea fairy.  My problem is I'm allergic to the post office.  I break out in hives at the thought of going there.  If I have to drive by it, I go real fast, and if the light happens to turn red right there, I hold my breath and avert my eyes.

Pretty pathetic, huh?  I guess I'll just have to enjoy other people's gifts.  So keep blogging about your packages folx!  Somebody out here is enjoying them with you.

Tea & Chocolate

My previous posts about tea and chocolate have focused mostly on chocolate flavor in tea, a la hints of cocoa to be found in various yunnan gold teas, or on chocolate goodies to be served with tea. 

Today I'm anxious to try a new kind of chocolate - a culinary concoction combining tea and chocolate, created and co-branded by Charles Chocolates and Teance Fine Teas.  According to this article on Culinary Muse:

There are a few chocolate bars on the market that add dried tea leaves to plain chocolate and call it a day. This new collection goes beyond the simple stirring of ingredients together. Experienced alchemists are at work here. By infusing cream with the highest grade teas and then adding milk and bittersweet chocolate to create a ganache, Chef Marika Doob of Charles Chocolates and Winnie Yu of Teance Fine Teas have created a new dimension of chocolates.

These tea chocolates come in five different flavors: Formosa Baochong, Special Jasmine, Osmanthus, Lichee and Charcoal Roasted Oolong.  The Muse says they're available on the Charles website, so I went in search.  I found them here, under edible chocolate boxes of all things.  $60 for 14oz of chocolate.  Must be really GOOD chocolate. 

I would really like to try that jasmine tea chocolate.  Sounds delish!  Something for the Christmas wish list!!

Chocolate Friday: Tips for Tasting

I've always been a kind of sloppy choco-taster.  It's just like with art, I like what I like, and I can't tell you why.  But chocolate tasting is more than a matter of the tongue.  Recently I watched a show about chocolate on the Travel channel, and I learned (it's very educational watching these shows, even if I do have to keep a drool rag handy) that there are four factors to consider when chocolate tasting.  So if you wanna be a choco-connoisseur, here are your criteria: 

ONE  - What it looks like.  Good chocolate will be smooth and shiny.  No streaks or dots, no cracks, and full color (not that funny grayish hue chocolate can get when it's old).

TWO - What it smells like. The chocolate should have an odor, and it should be rich and chocolatey, not smokey or burnt or smell like chemicals.

THREE - What it sounds like.  When you break a piece of good chocolate, it will have a distinctive sound, what the experts call "snap".  It should also break cleanly, not crumble or break into layers.  Of course, this test is kind of hard to do on something like a truffle.  Heh.

FOUR - What it tastes like. (Finally!) True chocolate taste testing should be done slowly, so you can enjoy the way it melts on your tongue as well as the flavor.  In other words, don't just chomp and swallow.  Chewing doesn't allow the chocolate to melt and release it's nirvana.  It should feel smooth and creamy in your mouth. 

I vote for a future where we'll see chocolate tastings held as frequently as wine tastings.  In the meantime, I may have to have a chocolate tasting party here.  What a great idea!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was so busy today I almost missed Chocolate Friday! 

My offering today is a bit of food porn.  I took these shots of the cookies I made yesterday. 

I have no special recipe to list here, but what my mom did that made these the BEST cookies was to modify the Toll House cookie recipe slightly.  Instead of butter, she used crisco.  Sometimes she used half margarine and half crisco.  And the bake time should be a little less than the standard recipe. 

Truly Scrumptious!

Mini Mocha Macadamia Muffins

For Chocolate Friday, it's mmmmmocha mmmmmadness again.  This time, in the form of a small, harmless looking but highly deadly muffin. 

One of my favorite things for a tea party is a tray of assorted mini muffins. And I wanted to make something using the Folgers Chocolate Truffle coffee I have here, so I modified and mini'd this recipe from The Best of Coffee, A Cookbook.  These are so good, I know they wouldn't last long.

I have to add here that I think bite-sized food is the best way to avoid guilt of eating decadent foods.  Smaller food has less fat and stuff, right?  Even if you don't eat it standing up?

Mini Mocha Macadamia Muffins

1/2 cup freshly brewed espresso (chocolate flavored coffee if at all possible)
1 tblsp baking cocoa
3/4 cup plus 2 tblsp sugar
1 2/3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup coursely chopped unsalted macadamia nuts
1 oz. white chocolate chips
1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, bring espresso to a boil, add 3/4 cup sugar and cook, stirring frequently until sugar is dissolved.  Boil over med heat w/o stirring for 4 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup.  Cool to room temperature.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 2 tblsp sugar until light and fluffy, then add the eggs, beating well after each.  Add coffee mixture and beat until blended.  Fold in half the dry ingredients using a spoon or spatula.  Fold in sour cream, then add remaining flour mixture.  Lastly, stir in the nuts and chocolate.  Fill muffin cups (greased) 3/4 full.  Bake 15-17 minutes at 400 degrees F. 

Makes 48 mini muffins.  And that's a PILE of muffins.

Enjoy!