Chocolatechic

It’s Friday, and I’m nosy.

In the house of Chocolate, we hug all. the. time. If a couple of hours go by without someone getting some sort of affection, a hug, a kiss, a loving pat on the shoulder, a back rub, or something, then people in this house begin to seek it out…seek me out,  ’cause I’m known to give a good hug now and again.

Thank you all for your lovely responses to my post about my Grams. I will write about her more later, but for today and in honor of her and how much she means to me, I need to know, I must know (because you know, I’m nosy)

Who was the last person you hugged?

When I went away to college, I know that my parents expected me to get an education, and I did. I learned how to play cards. Sorry ma, but that is all I remember from college.

About a month after I went away, I began staying up in the student center playing cards. The Westerman boys, myself, Celeste (my room mate), and a few of her our friends would play Spades for hours. Lupe Rodrequez taught me how to shoot a better game of pool (sorry Lupe, it didn’t stick), but I can play a mean game of poker, thanks to him.

We are a card playing family. Actually, the boy and I play cards, the girl and Superman suffer through.  The boy has inherited my passion love of games. The stratagizing, the challenge, and most of all, the winning. When I was young I didn’t loose well. Now, I rarely loose at all. Those that have played cards with me know.

Do you feel her suffering?

Currently, she is beating me. It won’t last long.

Internet, my heart is sad today. Yesterday I saw my Grams, and she is dying. I could just weep.

My heart isn’t into blogging.

I will be back tomorrow.

Dear Internet,

A strange anomaly happened to me Saturday.

The girl and I went to Stuffmart to get 2 mailing envelopes (to mail something to a friend and a picture of the chips to my sister) and some kiwi.

We came home with 2 mailing envelops, some kiwi and

these.

Could someone please explain to me how it happened?

Signed,

Clueless in Chocolateville

If your on a diet, you just might want to click off my blog now, because if my other posts haven’t done you in, this one will.

Chocolate Intensity. That is what this is called.

When I came upon this recipe, it called to me, and I answered with a resounding yes! yes! yes!

Would you like to answer the call too? It is painless. I guarantee it.

First you must get out your 9 inch baking pan, butter it…..yes, butter. Then line with parchment and butter the parchment. Yes. Butter.

Weigh your chocolate and set it aside. You don’t have to use Ghiradelli, but a good friend sent me a ginormous bag, and Ghiradelli is great chocolate.

In a heavy sauce pan, add 3 sticks of butter. Yes, 3. Paula Deene and I are BFF.

Sugar.

Coffee. I love the flavor that coffee gives to chocolate. It adds just enough ‘je ne sais quoi’ (somein’ somein’ for those that don’t speak French) to it that makes the chocolate better. Superman drinks his coffee strong enough to manufacture fuel for NASA so I cut it with water.

Heat this to boiling.

Pour it over your chocolate and let it sit for a minute before stirring. I didn’t get a shot of this because the boy

was busy and didn’t call me in.

In another bowl, whisk 6 eggs

vanilla and salt.

Pour about 3/4 cup of the hot chocolate over the eggs, whisking constantly. This is called tempering.

Pour the tempered eggs into the hot chocolate and whisk to combine.

Strain your batter to catch any cooked egg bits. You don’t have to do this, but it will make your cake taste better. I promise.

Pour this luscious goodness into your prepared pan.

Set your cake into your largest roasting pan, and fill it with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. This is good for your roasting pan, especially if you have all sorts of baked on food from last summer and didn’t wash it then. I’m just sayin’.

Bake for 35-45 minutes till center is shiny, set, but a bit jiggly. Put the cake on a cooling rack from 20 more minutes. Invert cake onto the cake plate. Make sure it is exactly where you want it because this bad boy will not move. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before glazing.

For the glaze, you will

heat some cream

weigh some more chocolate

pay the photographer a paltry 6 chips

pour hot cream over chocolate to melt

stir after one minute.

I could drink this.

See how glossy the chocolate becomes?

Add some vanilla, and stir.

Congratulations. You have just made a ganache. Pour it over the center of your cake and smooth. Don’t forget the sides. They must be covered too.

Did you by any chance notice the lack of flour in this cake? That lack of flour gives this cake a fudge like quality, with a smooth silky texture. Pure heaven.

If you want to make this for yourself, click here to get your recipe.

Internet, I tell you, life around here couldn’t be more interesting if I tried.

The energy is palpable.

I hope the neighbors don’t call the cops.

I sent the boy off this morning at 5am. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself.

I took this picture yesterday.
Had I waited till this morning, he would have looked more like this.

I realize that you appreciate my efforts on your behalf.

I have never skied before. I am more of a staybythefiredrinkinghotcocoa kind of gal. It is way to cold out there to enjoy anything. There is no way on God’s white green earth that I am going to strap boards to my feet so I can go flying down a hill 20 miles an hour, 10º air blasting my face, with little sticks to make me go faster, only to go up and do it again. Nope.

Pass the hot chocolate.

Have you ever skied? Do you like it?

Deodorant.

Now I know everyone uses it, at least I hope everyone uses it.   Please raise your hands if your Sure!  The girl and I are going through a trial phase of our deodorant using.  We have tried the spray, and now the solid.  I really don’t want to move on to roll-on because, lets face it, roll-ons are sticky, gloppy, and gooey.   Blech!

We both have our favorites.  I like one, she likes the other.   I want to know which you like best.

So!

Which do you prefer, spray, roll on, or solid?   Deodorant, or antiperspirant?   Scented?  Unscented?   Do you go au natural?  Do you use baking soda?  Baby powder?

I.  must.  know.

This coming weekend, the boy will be going with our youth group on the annual ski trip.

In January, he bought himself a hat to wear on the trip, and with that purchase, began the slow journey to total, uncontained fervor.

About 2 weeks after that, Aldi carried snow board pants and jackets. We looked at them, because he had been using a pair of Superman’s old Air Force flight pants and coat, but the pants were beginning to fall apart, and they just weren’t ‘cool’ enough to go skiing in. (major eye rollage here) I told him that I couldn’t afford them, but secretly I was going to get them for him. I purchased them a week and a half later, laid them on his bed, and the excitement began to build in earnest.

When the boy has been given a gift, and it is something that he is really excited about, he uses/wears it all. the. time.

Yes internets, a hat and coat do make the man.

He was so excited about this coat that he begged me to let him and the girl walk to the library. He had to ‘make sure that it was good in the cold and wind’. (can we get some more eyes a rolling?) Later that night he tried to wear the ski pants to bed.

Last week, he purchased himself a pair of OTG (over the glasses) Ski goggles.

They came in the other day.

He wore them all day.

When I went downstairs to read some scriptures with him before bed, there he lay, all covered up…wearing those goggles.

Yes, my friends, the excitement has reached a fevered pitch here in the house of Chocolate. Saturday he is leaving, and things around here can get back to normal. Whatever that is.

There is nothing like the sun shining on a cold winter day.

Makes you just want to let it all hang out.

Oh…to be a cat.

I so wanted to be funny, but my brain died this morning.  Sorry.   I will be performing all sorts of rescue attempts today.