I totally spaced on yesterday being National Nutty Fudge Day! Did you celebrate?
Nutty Fudge
1 1/2 Sticks butter
1/3 c Evaporated milk
1/4 c Sugar
1 c Milk chocolate
1 c Semi-sweet chocolate
1 c Marshmallow cream
1 c Peanut butter chips
1/2 c Chopped peanuts
Blend butter, milk and sugar in a med. saucepan. bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 miniutes. add both chocolates and the marshmallow and blend. Let cool. Then add the peanut butter chips and peanuts. Place in a buttered and foil lined pan. Chill at least 1 hour and serve.
Everyone remembers the red dye cancer scare from the early 90’s and the subsequent bags of redless M&M’s or cans of cherry-less fruit cocktail.
It was found that large amounts of it caused cancer in lab rats, but as more research was done it was determined that small amounts of it were safe and the health risks were small, though certain uses are still banned today. Many manufacturers switched to a different red dye anyway.
However, a recent study has found that some dyes might be good for you and could actually protect against cancer!
A researcher in Oregon added aflatoxin (a highly toxic carcinogenic) with and without the dye to food pellets that were given to trout. Nine months later she found that those who were given the aflatoxin with the dyes had 50% fewer liver tumors, 50% lower incidence of stomach cancer and a 40% lower incidence of liver cancer compared with those that had been exposed to just the aflatoxin alone.
Obviously a lot more research needs to be done, but it sounds like an interesting breakthrough! What do you think?
I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble talking my husband into making this for me for Mother’s Day! It’s from Gale Gand at the Food Network and she says she started making it when she worked in England at the Stapleford Park Hotel. She also points out that using croissants that are a few days old will better absorb the liquids and give you a creamier, flakier dish.
Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding
4 to 6 croissants, preferably 1 or 2 days old
2 cups half-and- half
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch salt
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional
Cut the croissants into 1-inch cubes. You should have about 3 1/2 cups. Place the cubes in an ovenproof baking dish.
In a saucepan, heat the half-and-half, cream, and salt over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. When the cream mixture reaches a fast simmer (do not let it boil), turn off the heat. Add the chocolate and whisk until melted.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Whisking constantly, gradually add the hot chocolate-cream mixture. Strain the mixture over the croissant pieces and toss lightly. Let sit while the mixture is absorbed, at least 15 minutes. As it soaks, fold the mixture a few times to ensure even soaking.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a roasting pan that’s 2 inches deep and larger than the baking dish with paper towels. Fill the pan with very hot water and place the dish of bread pudding inside. Bake until set, about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each serving.
Last week the Lifestyles Channel shared the spot(s) they write from but I was still out of state and didn’t get a chance to participate, though I wanted to!
So here’s my desk. It’s located in the corner of our family room and is connected to my husband’s desk which is right behind me and faces the wall on the right (he custom-made it). We desperately need an office and hopefully that’ll be happening sooner than rather later!
As of my birthday last year (my husband got me a laptop) this is another spot I can now write from! As you can see it’s also popular with 1/3 of the pet population.
I’ve been looking for these everywhere and finally found a box last week!
Snickers Charged is a limited edition 1.83oz bar that includes 60 milligrams of caffeine as well as taurine and B-vitamins in addition to the milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel and nougat of a regular bar.
The packaging, which I assume is supposed to portray power and energy, is silver with a charging rhino. My first impression was that it was leaning a little too much toward a power bar look, something I’m not interested in, so it didn’t appeal to me much at all. If it weren’t for the mention of caffeine on the box and wrapper I probably would have bypassed them altogether!
Anyway, I really enjoyed the bar itself! I’ve been disappointed with past limited edition chocolate and candy bars, but I liked the Snickers Charged. While I’ve never been a huge Snickers fan - if given a choice at the checkout or candy aisle I’ll usually go for some Reese’s - and it’s been a while since I’ve had a regular Snickers, it tasted pretty much what I remember Snickers tasting like in general - a, well, satisfying mix of smooth chocolate, peanuts, nougat and caramel.
I didn’t find it to have a metallic taste or bitter aftertaste and while caffeine doesn’t affect me to the point that I walk around wired I did notice a bit of a pick-me-up not longer after I was finished. In all, I really liked the Snickers Charged and think I might pick up another box next time I’m out before Mars yanks them from the shelves!
[images: personal collection; all rights reserved]
Below are the winners of the Twix Java! If I don’t hear from a winner within the next 24 hours or they live outside the U.S. (I did get a few of those!), I will re-draw tomorrow and update here.
I used a random number generator for the drawing so without further ado:
I had my husband draw names from a hat this morning, and am happy to announce that Phoebe and Christine Smith have each won a copy of the Winter edition of Season’s Best. Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who participated - and to Heather for letting me guestblog for Chocolate Bytes. It’s been fun!
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Though it’s not a US holiday we still like to use it as a reason to party or just relax and have a good time. Before looking for information on chocolate and Cinco de Mayo I’d never heard of chocolate tamales and they sound yummy!
Preheat oven to 350. Boil the milk and add the chocolate. Stir constantly until chocolate is completely melted, then add the butter and sugar. Mix until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Mix the corn flour and baking powder together in a bowl. Slowly add the chocolate mixture and mix by hand for 10 minutes. Grease 24 muffin cups (two muffin pans) and line with corn husks. Fill with chocolate tamale mixture and bake for 20 minutes.
It doesn’t get fresher than this - a tour through a chocolate factory in Mexico that culminates in a taste straight from the machine!
I can’t seem to find any info on how much significance chocolate holds for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, but why should that stop anyone? Do you do anything special for Cinco de Mayo?
For anyone who loves life and the people they share it with. Find advice, information, and observations on exciting beginnings and everyday journeys of families and relationships.
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