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Saturday, February 4, 2023

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. I think Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Champagne are a perfect combination for Valentine's Day. Chocolate Covered Strawberries are so easy to make, but make a huge impact. You can stuff them or drizzle them--or roll them in crumbled toffee. Whatever you decide fresh strawberries dunked in good quality chocolate is the key. 

CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

Ingredients
1 quart fresh large fresh strawberries, with tops
1 cup Dark Chocolate 60-65% cacao, chopped
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate 72-85% cacao, chopped
3 Tbsp heavy cream
Optional: White chocolate, melted for Drizzle (make sure this is 'real' white chocolate)

DIRECTIONS:
Rinse strawberries and dry thoroughly, keeping tops on.
In top of double boiler or stainless steel bowl atop pot of simmering water, combine chocolate and heavy cream. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Dip strawberries 1/2 - 3/4 way up in chocolate mixture and place on wax paper or parchment lined cookie sheet to allow chocolate to harden.
Optional: When hardened, drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Hints:
Wash strawberries and pat dry with paper towels; set aside. Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. A drop of water in melted chocolate can cause it to "seize" and turn the entire mixture into a mess. How to smooth out chocolate: add a tiny bit of honey and stir.

How to dip:
Grasp stem of strawberry and dip into chocolate, swirling to partially cover with chocolate. Give strawberry a small shake as you pull it out of the chocolate. When strawberry is completely out of chocolate, swirl it in quick, clockwise motion to let excess chocolate drip off. Place on cookie sheet lined with waxed paper or parchment. Repeat with rest of the strawberries.

Optional: Add white chocolate drizzle.

Want to get a bit fancier? Here are links to Chocolate Covered Stuffed Strawberries.

Chocolate Covered  Stuffed Strawberries: Cookie Dough, Cheesecake, Marscapone

Strawberrries Stuffed with Chocolate Cream

Friday, February 3, 2023

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER: RED VELVET PANCAKES for Valentine's Day

Time to plan your Valentine's Day dinner.  How about breakfast for dinner with Red Velvet Pancakes. You can make Red Velvet Pancakes from scratch or use a mix. Add a little extra love by using a heart-shaped pancake mold! Hint: If you use a mold, use several and be sure to spray the molds, so the pancakes don't stick.

There are many Red Velvet Pancake Mixes. My favorite Red Velvet Pancake Mix is from The Griddle Cafe. My second choice which is still fab would be the Red Velvet Pancake Mix from Cost Plus World Market. If you have a favorite, let me know by commenting below.

Want to make Red Velvet Pancakes from Scratch? Here are two awesome recipes. The first recipe is my favorite, but the second is great, too. 

Of course you can make these Red Velvet Pancakes any time. How about this weekend?

1. RED VELVET PANCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE GLAZE 
(Adapted from About.com)

Pancakes:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp Dark cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
8 ounces buttermilk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, and cooled slightly
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp red liquid food coloring
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Extra butter or nonstick cooking spray

Cream Cheese Glaze:
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk

Directions
Preheat griddle to medium-high heat. In bowl, whisk to combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
In separate bowl, whisk eggs, then add milk, buttermilk, butter, vanilla extract, white vinegar, and food coloring, whisking to combine completely. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Do not overmix.
Brush some butter or spray nonstick cooking spray on hot griddle, and spoon batter into desired sized pancakes (or molds). Cook until bubbles form in batter, the edges are dry and underside is lightly brown, about 5 minutes, then flip over and cook other side 1 to 2 minutes more. Repeat as needed until all batter is used.

As pancakes cook, make cream cheese glaze: 
In small bowl, use fork to stir together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add a little milk if needed to make glaze that has thin enough consistency to drizzle.

To serve, stack three pancakes on a plate and drizzle cream cheese glaze over them.

2. BISQUICK RED VELVET PANCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE GLAZE
(recipe from Betty Crocker)

Cream Cheese Topping
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbsp milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Pancakes 
2 cups Original Bisquick™ mix
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 cup milk
1 to 1 1/2 tsp red paste food color** (Do not use liquid red food coloring in this recipe)
2 eggs
Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions 
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and 3 Tbsp milk with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until topping is smooth. Cover; set aside.
In large bowl, stir all pancake ingredients except powdered sugar with wire whisk until well blended. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat (375°F). (To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles jump around, heat is just right.) Brush with vegetable oil if necessary or spray with cooking spray before heating.
For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbles form on top and edges are dry. Turn; cook other side until golden brown.
Spoon cream cheese topping into resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut off tiny corner of bag; squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pancakes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

** Do not use liquid red food coloring in this recipe**

Thursday, February 2, 2023

EARTHQUAKE COOKIES: Guest Post by Crime Fiction Writer Joseph Finder

I love when my mystery and chocolate worlds collide. Here's a guest post from crime fiction writer Joseph Finder for Earthquake Cookies. Joseph Finder is the 
New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels, most recently House on Fire.  Two of his novels, High Crimes and Paranoia, have been made into major motion pictures.  He is also the winner of the Barry award, the Strand Critics Award, and the International Thriller Writers Thriller award for best novel. 

JOSEPH FINDER: EARTHQUAKE COOKIES

Just before Christmas, a friend of mine, Annie, came by for dinner and brought dessert: these amazing chocolate cookies called Earthquake cookies from a wonderful shop in Cambridge, Mass., called Sofra. What’s so great about them is that they have a fudgy, brownie-like center and crisp edges like a chocolate chip cookie.

They were gone by the next day.

Apparently, as they get stale, they get better – the inside stays gooey and the outside gets crisper. But like I said, none were left, so we never found out.

A Google search turned up the recipe. I’m not a big baker, but I’m a big chocoholic, and we had to bring something to another friend’s Christmas party, so I decided to try the recipe.  

The dough had to rest at least overnight and for as long as a week in the fridge.You roll the cooled dough into balls, roll those balls in granulated sugar, then dust them with powdered sugar. If you want to know why chocolate crinkle cookies crack, Cooks Illustrated (of course) has a scientific explanation: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/how_tos/8922-science-the-key-to-crinkly-cookies (Something about how the sugar forms a crust and the inside rises until it cracks. I didn’t follow it.)

They’re called earthquake cookies because they look like your California backyard after an earthquake. Here’s the recipe, a modification of the classic chocolate crinkle cookie by chef Maura Kilpatrick of Sofra in Cambridge, Mass.. (The crinkle cookie was invented by a Mrs. Helen Fredell of St. Paul, Minnesota. I know this only because I’m a research fiend.)

This one is worth the effort.


Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Family-Style Baked Alaska: Retro Ad with Recipe for Baked Alaska Day

This Retro Ad & Recipe for Family-Style Baked Alaska is perfect for today's food holiday--National Baked Alaska Day. For ingredients, you can always update the recipe by making your own chocolate cake and your own ice cream, but take a look at this Betty Crocker Ad with recipe. It's easy to make and still delicious!