For the second year in a row, I let my birthday slip past without my customary celebratory blog post. Last year’s blog post is sitting somewhere in WordPress purgatory, photographed, partially written, but never published. It was a lovely pesto pasta salad with green olives and mushrooms that we ate at the beach on a sunny April afternoon. It was good, but not that memorable.

This year, I just didn’t get around to making my birthday dessert in time. I still celebrated my birthday with the usual enthusiasm, but had to take a last-minute trip to Portugal that week. The dessert I had planned – Portuguese Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Salami – remained a plan. But it’s such a good dessert that I decided this was a “better late than never” situation. Plus, Trevor’s birthday is coming up on Friday so we have an excuse for having a fridge full of chocolate mousse.

This mousse is inspired by the Mercado de Ribeira, one of my favorite Lisbon haunts. Also known as the Time Out Market, it’s by no means a hidden spot. The concept is like an upscale food court, but all of the “stalls” are outposts of the best Lisbon restaurants and vendors. You can find tender grilled octopus doused in olive oil, bacalhau in all its forms, $5 wines, and rich eggy desserts. After 8pm it’s bustling with tourists and locals alike, and reserving a table requires some aggressive seat-saving. But it never fails to disappoint – the food is amazing, the vibe is energizing, and there’s something for everyone.

The chocolate mousse at Nos e Mais Bolos inside the market is amazing. It is rich and pudding-like and has bite-sized pieces of Portuguese Chocolate Salami as a topping. Don’t worry – there’s no meat in chocolate salami. The best way to describe it is as a no-bake fridge cookie. It’s made from cocoa powder, butter, a bit of rum or liquor, and chopped up cookies, then rolled into a log to look like salami. It’s a traditional dessert in Italy and Portugal, so common that I once found it in a vending machine in a 1,000 year old castle on top of a mountain. Really good hiking snack, by the way. It also takes chocolate mousse to the next level.

While researching mousse recipes, I stumbled upon something called “two ingredient chocolate mousse.” It’s an incredibly simple recipe by Heston Blumenthal, which requires nothing other than chocolate, water, and a bowl of ice. Because all Portuguese desserts are made primarily with a ton of eggs and a ton of sugar, I was pretty sure that this magical mousse could not be the answer. But I had to try it anyway, just to see. Because what if two ingredient mousse was really a thing? That would mean that I could have chocolate mousse at any time with only 10 minutes of effort. Dangerous, but also amazing.

So I made two batches of chocolate mousse. The first was the aforementioned two ingredient version. The second was a more traditional mousse, with eggs and butter and a touch of cream. The verdict? They were both really good. Different, but good. The super-simple mousse has a very pure, chocolaty taste and surprisingly creamy texture, but no richness. You want to use your very best chocolate for this, because it’s the only flavor. The mousse loaded up with eggs and butter and cream is obviously much richer, but doesn’t have that same purity. Tasted side by side, the winner kind of depends on my mood at that moment. But to be totally honest? I think most of the time I’ll prefer the two ingredient version. Crazy!

Whether you go the easy route or the rich route, the pieces of Portuguese Chocolate Salami on top add this amazing extra dimension. The chocolate salami is easy to make and super-chocolaty. It’s very rich – kind of the perfect thing to keep in the fridge at all times, as just a bite will satisfy an intense chocolate craving. As my trips to Lisbon are slowing down, I’m happy to have cracked one of my favorite dessert recipes at home. Now I just have about 8,000 pastries left to learn.

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Portuguese Chocolate Mousse with Chocolate Salami

Traditional Portuguese chocolate mousse served with crumbled “Chocolate Salami” – a sliceable chocolate fridge cookie. Inspired by the Chocolate Mousse at Nos e Mais Bolos.

Chocolate Salami recipe adapted from Easy Portuguese Recipes.

Note: this recipe is the traditional, rich mousse with eggs and cream. If you want to try the two-ingredient mousse, the recipe for that is below!

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Salami:

• 1 stick (4 oz.) salted butter
• 1/2 cup (4 oz.) granulated sugar
• 6 TBS (1 1/2 oz.) dark, high-quality cocoa powder, such as Valhrona
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 TBS port wine, rum, or fruity liqueur
• 7 oz. biscotti or vanilla wafer cookies
• powdered sugar for coating

For the Chocolate Mousse:

• 2 TBS butter
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 TBS port wine or rum
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 4 large eggs, separated

Instructions

1. To make the chocolate salami: melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add approximately half of the the sugar and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly. Continue to cook for 1 minute longer, whisking the whole time – mixture should be smooth. Remove from the heat.
2. Place the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a medium, heat-proof bowl, and whisk until thick and creamy, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the hot cocoa mixture, whisking the egg yolks vigorously as you do so. Stir in the port wine or rum and whisk to combine. Mixture should be thick, smooth, and glossy.
3. Cut the cookies into small pieces using a serrated knife. Add the cookies to the warm chocolate mixture and stir gently to thoroughly combine. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Once cool, place a sheet of wax paper on the counter. Scrape the mixture onto the wax paper and shape it into a log roughly 8 inches long. If the mixture is too runny to do this, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before shaping into a log. Wrap the log in waxed paper and then again and tinfoil. Place in the fridge and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. To make the chocolate mousse: add the butter, chocolate chips, port wine or rum, and heavy cream to a medium metal bowl or double boiler. Bring a small pot of water to a simmer – the bowl should fit snugly on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the top of the water. Place the metal bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula. As soon as the chocolate mixture is fully melted, remove it from the heat. The chocolate should be thick and glossy.
5. In a medium, heatproof bowl, vigorously whisk the egg yolks for 30 seconds, then pour the hot chocolate into the egg yolks, whisking as you do so. Beat thoroughly to combine. Mixture should be thick but run freely from the whisk when lifted. Set chocolate aside and let cool to room temperature.
6. Use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to beat the egg whites until they form soft, shiny peaks. Add half of the beaten egg whites to the cooled chocolate mixture and use a spatula to gently fold the two together. Repeat with the remaining egg whites, doing your best not to deflate the whites. When the two mixtures are fully combined, pour the mousse into four wine glasses or coupe glasses. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
7. To serve, cut the chocolate salami into slices, then cut the slices into cubes. Place on top of each glass of chocolate mousse. Serve chilled.

Magic Two-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

This incredible chocolate mousse has only two ingredients – chocolate and water – with a deep chocolate taste and a smooth, fluffy texture.

Recipe by Heston Blumenthal via Eat Live Run.

Note: this recipes is all about the chocolate you use, so use the good stuff. If you don’t love the flavor of the chocolate, you won’t love the flavor of the mousse. If the mousse becomes grainy as you whip it, return it to the heat and re-melt, then try again.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 2
• Category: Dessert

Ingredients

• 4.5 oz of bittersweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate, the best you can afford
• 1/2 cup water
• ice

Instructions

1. Fill a large metal bowl with ice and cold water and set aside.
2. Place the chopped chocolate and the water in a metal bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a simmer – the bowl should fit snugly on top of the pot without the bottom of the bowl touching the top of the water. Place the metal bowl over the simmering water and melt the chocolate, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula. The water should get incorporated into the chocolate as you stir. As soon as the chocolate mixture is smooth and fully melted, remove it from the heat. Place the bowl with the chocolate in the bowl with the ice water, and whisk the chocolate constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until the chocolate has thickened slightly and the color has become a bit more pale.
3. Divide the mousse into 2 wine glasses or ramekins and chill for at least 30 minutes, then serve.

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A little while ago, Graeter’s reached out to me I’d asked if I was interested in trying out their new ice cream flavors – three new “A Little Less Indulgent” varieties, and four new gelatos. To be perfectly honest, I’d never heard of Graeter’s – they’re more of a midwestern brand and we have plenty of great creameries in New England – but I said yes anyways, because, well, I really love ice cream. Like, more than most people, I think. I didn’t make any commitment to writing about the new flavors, but after my first few bites, I knew I would have to share, because it would have been a crime not to. It’s really good stuff. I’m a particular fan of the Salted Caramel Truffle Gelato, which I savored two spoonfuls at a time, straight out of the pint, every night for a good two weeks. It’s fabulously soft and creamy and richly flavored, and although I’m not sure I could swallow the $10/pint cost of ordering it online, if I ever see some in a store near me, I’m stocking up immediately.

I decided to share this delicious new discovery with you in the form of a sundae. I mean, if the ice cream is “A Little Less Indulgent,” that just means you have an excuse to douse it in caramel sauce, right? This sauce is inspired by a dinner we had recently at Oleana, a Middle Eastern mezze restaurant in Cambridge that’s nearly impossible to get a reservation at (at least by Boston standards). We had a lot of delicious dishes that night, but the most memorable one for me was the dessert: Turkish-style Profiteroles with Sesame Cashew Caramel and Sesame Halva. It was amazing, and I couldn’t get over how addictive the sesame caramel sauce was, so I wanted to try making it at home. It ended up coming out just how I wanted to, so now I might have to make caramel this way all the time. Adding tahini to the caramel makes it that much more unctuous and satisfying, and it cuts the sweetness with its deep savory flavor. But as much as I love the sauce, I think the real star of the show might have been the Salted Sesame Butter Brittle, which I decided to make at the last minute to add crunch, and more sesame flavor. It’s a Ming Tsai recipe, and Ming Tsai is pretty much infallible in my eyes – this recipe was no exception. I was a little concerned by how opaque and soft the caramel mixture looked at first, and how long it took to color, but as soon as I bit into the hardened candy I knew I never should have doubted. It’s more like sesame toffee, really, and I made myself a little bit sick I ate so much of it. Lesson learned. Maybe. All together – the ice cream, the tahini caramel, the sesame butter brittle – it was a solidly delicious dessert.

In other news, my blog is going through some growing pains this week – I’m finally biting the bullet and switching over to WordPress.org – so bear with me as I make some changes. Hopefully I’ll be able to unveil a flashy new custom design in a few weeks, but until then be warned that it might be a bit messy. And, as I think through how my content might evolve, I would love to hear if there are recipes or post types that you’ve enjoyed more than others! Shoot me an email or leave a note in the comments and I’ll be super grateful.

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Disclaimer: I received a sample of Graeter’s ice cream free of charge, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Tahini Caramel and Sesame Brittle Sundae

• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 TBS crumbled Salted Sesame Butter Brittle (recipe below)
• 2 TBS Tahini Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

1. Assemble. Serve.

Salted Sesame Butter Brittle

Recipe from Ming Tsai. Makes 3 cups of brittle pieces.

• 3/4 c. white sesame seeds
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• sea salt

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Add the butter and the sugar to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Melt over medium heat. Stir just to combine once melted, then stop stirring, and cook until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in toasted sesame seeds until well mixed, then pour caramel out onto lined baking sheet. Spread the caramel to 1/8 – 1/4 inch thickness using the back of a wooden spoon. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over the top of the hot brittle. Let cool completely, then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Tahini Caramel Sauce

Inspired by Oleana. Makes 1 cup.

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. heavy cream
• 2 TBS tahini

1. Pour the sugar into an even layer in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the sugar begins to melt and turn amber. At this point, gently stir the melted parts into the un-melted sugar a little bit at a time. If the sugar clumps, stop stirring for a minute to let it melt.
2. As soon as all the sugar is melted and amber brown, carefully add a little bit of the heavy cream, stirring as you do so – the cream will make the caramel bubble up violently. One bubbling subsides, add the rest of the cream in a slow stream, stirring as you do, and stopping if it bubbles up too high. Stir until caramel and cream are fully mixed, then remove from heat. Add tahini and stir until it is melted. Let cool slightly, then serve.

The post Graeter’s New Flavors // Tahini Caramel and Sesame Brittle Sundae appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m writing this to you from way up over Canada, en route to Seattle for the 2013 International Food Blogger Conference, better known as IFBC. I’m pretty excited – four days of wining and dining, schmoozing with other bloggers and food professionals, and hopefully learning a ton from the speakers and break-out sessions. Not to mention, I’ll get to explore Seattle and hang out with my baby brother, who just moved here last month. It’s gonna be good.

I’ll be tweeting and instagramming from all the events (take that as an invitation or a warning, whichever you prefer), and when I get back I’ll be sure to write a few posts to share what we learned (and ate) at the conference. In the meantime, I want to direct your attention over to Cake Journal, where I’m sharing these sinful chocolate-toffee cookies with caramel centers. They’re a riff on my favorite double-chocolate cookie, amped up with toffee bits and homemade caramel. They’ll pretty much satisfy any chocolate craving. I may be contributing more original dessert recipes to Cake Journal in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Oh, and if any of you will be attending IFBC, shoot me a note! I’d love to say hi. Also, I’ll have some time to explore (and eat!) on my own – any recommendations for Seattle favorites would be welcome. And if you’re not going to be in Seattle, I hope you have a fantastic weekend. Talk to you soon!

Click here for the cookie recipe.

Note: In order to received the discounted active blogger rate at IFBC, all participating bloggers were required to write three posts about their experience at the conference.

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So, Trevor. Happy Birthday, babe. It’s kind of crazy to think that I’ve already been around to celebrate your birthday with you five times. You should know that you’ve only gotten more awesome over those past five years. I still have as much fun with you as I did back when we used to flirt overtly at every possible opportunity – you know, frosting fights, chasing each other on the lawn, playing footsie in class, embarrassing stuff like that. And I still like the flirting, but now, you’re also my best friend. My favorite person to be with. I’m so excited about you, and about all our plans, and about all the things we haven’t planned that will take us by surprise. I’m going to stop, given that this is the internet equivalent of making out in a public park, but I love you. I tell you all the time but I really, really mean it. You are the best.

I’ve mentioned in previous years how much Trevor likes peanut butter desserts. Although he made me a fantastic cake this year, I went with something simpler, richer, and longer lasting – peanut butter fudge. This recipe, which is from Joy of Cooking via Brown-Eyed Baker, is super simple – it only takes ten minutes of stirring/measuring time, then you pop it in the fridge and it’s ready in an hour. That being said, it has two-and-a-half sticks of butter in it, so be careful. I’d give away as much of it as possible, after test-tasting all the crumbs and edge pieces, of course.

More like this…

Peanut Butter and Fluff Ice Cream

Oatmeal Scotchies

Classic Seven Layer Bars

Peanut Butter Fudge

Recipe from Joy of Cooking via Brown-Eyed Baker. Yields 64 1-inch-square pieces.

• 2 1/2 sticks butter (10 oz.)
• 1 1/4 c. smooth peanut butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted

1. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Place butter and peanut butter in a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from heat.
3. Stir the vanilla extract and powdered sugar into the hot peanut butter mixture until smooth and lump-free. It will be quite thick. Pour into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top to make it even. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the fudge, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Cut the chilled fudge into pieces and serve. Store at cool room temperature or in the fridge in an airtight container.

The post Happy Birthday, Trevor! // Peanut Butter Fudge appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Just wanted to quickly share a few photos of this year’s gingerbread creation: a to-scale model of the Zakim Bridge in Boston.  That’s just the kind of thing that happens when you have two civil engineering students who also love food.  Some of you may remember last year’s treehouse, and pre-blog, we did a Romanesque cathedral.  The annual gingerbread extravaganza is always driven by Trevor – he does the planning, the pattern, and the baking, while I’m more like a whiny little sibling who complains about there not being enough to decorate.  This year, I got my fun in by making Santa out of homemade marzipan.  I was going to do a gingerbread sleigh as well, but the bridge collapsed before I got around to it.  Sad day.  And good thing real bridges aren’t made out of gingerbread.  Trevor did the design and made the cable stays out of homemade candy canes, which was kind of a fun process – see pictures below.

I’m including a collection of links for the various pieces of this project, just in case anyone wants to start planning early for next year.  One suggestion I would have for the homemade marzipan is to sculpt it the day you make it – after a few days in the fridge it was oily and difficult to work with, hence the kind of scary looking Santa.  In other news, check out the new logo and the cookbook review section I’ve recently added – feedback on either is welcome.  I’m working on a few projects for the blog, including a two-week cleanse-diet-sort-of-thing, an article about our experience dabbling in cheesemaking, and recipes inspired by my new lemon tree, so expect lots of exciting and healthy recipes from me soon!

Click here for our gingerbread recipe.

See this recipe for homemade marzipan instructions and this article for tips on working with it.

Lastly, how to make your own candy canes!

The post Gingerbread 2011 – The Zakim Bridge appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Did you know sugarplums are a real thing?  That they’re more than just a name for a delightful fairy in The Nutcracker?  That you can make and eat and admire them and that they really are worthy of visions dancing in your head?  That they might actually be both the most Christmasy and the healthiest treat I’ve made for the holidays?  Yeah, me neither, at least until a week ago when I picked up a copy of Gourmet Gifts by Dinah Corley, and flipped to a page with tiny sparkly plum-resembling treats titled sugarplums.  And man am I glad to stand corrected, because these things are good.  But let’s back up a little.

Last weekend I went to my very first Boston Brunchers’ brunch.  The Boston Brunchers are a lovely group of food bloggers/writers/enthusiasts that get together once or twice a month to network and share blogging stories and, well, brunch.  Last weekend’s event was hosted by Harvard Common Press – a huge thanks to them for hosting and feeding us! – an independent publisher specializing in cookbooks and parenting books.  While there we ate brunch treats from several of their cookbooks (all delicious – especially the strata and the cranberry coffee cake), chatted each other up, and heard a presentation from the publishers themselves on the process of going from blog to cookbook.  The presentation was filled with new information for me, and convinced me to finally jump on the twitter bandwagon, something I’ve been avoiding for ages.  (Feel free to follow me @Kitchen_Door: I’ll be posting updates on great recipes I don’t have time to blog about, the upcoming gingerbread extravaganza, my beginner gardening attempts, learning to make homemade cheese, and more.  Rest assured that I’m highly opposed to constant communication as I think it can drive people insane, so I promise to use it in moderation.)  After the presentation, they announced that the cookbooks decorating the tables were a freebie for us bloggers – which was a bit like announcing to a candy store full of children that everything was free and then handing them paper bags.  Mild adult chaos.  Anyway, I snagged a copy of Gourmet Gifts, because it seemed seasonally appropriate and it had a pretty cover… and I usually judge books by their covers. Not kidding.

I’m cheating a little bit in posting this review as December’s cookbook of the month, since I’ve only made the sugarplums, and my self-imposed rule is to make at least three recipes from a book before allowing it into the ranks of the cookbook of the month club.  However, I really wanted to share these sugarplums before Christmas, because they’re just so pretty and delicious and … Christmasy!  With that noted, I’ll just give a preliminary review of the book, with updates to come as I explore it a bit more thoroughly.  So far I think the most valuable parts of this book for me are the decoration and delivery ideas – with every recipe comes detailed instructions for how to wrap and present that gift, and the ideas are really quite creative.  I bookmarked several pages just for photography and styling ideas – painting a cutting board with chalkboard paint and using it as a labeled cheeseboard?  Genius!  The recipes also seem very solid.  A few ideas are slightly worn out in the food blog world – spiced nuts, macarons, etc. – but most are novel and intriguing.  High on my list are the kumquat-cognac punch (if only it didn’t have a 6 week infusing time! Next year…), the rose petal vinegar, and the cute little cakes baked into eggshells.  There are ideas for all seasons, and many recipes for portable dishes that might be a great contribution to the next party you attend.  All in all I’m glad I grabbed it, and I’m looking forward to trying out a few more recipes.

And now it’s time to bring it back to the sugarplums, the first trial recipe from this book, which was a huge success.  The gist of the recipe is this: blend dried apricots, dates, figs, pistachios, Christmas spices, apricot jam and brandy to a sticky, chewy paste.  Let sit.  Shape into adorable little plums and roll in sanding sugar.  Pop into your mouth and be really, really surprised by how much you like them.  And how completely they taste of Christmas.  Easy and quick, these are definitely worth giving a try before the big day – especially since your guests will be impressed by how pretty they look on a platter.  Just be sure that your food processor is ready for a workout – I think this may have been the last straw for my little Ninja processor.

FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of Gourmet Gifts for free but was not asked to write this review, nor was I compensated for doing so.  All opinions are my own and reflect my honest impressions of the book.

Pistachio Sugarplums

Recipe adapted slightly from Gourmet Gifts by Dinah Corley.  Makes about 30 pieces.

• 2 c. pitted dates, chopped
• 1 c. shelled pistachio nuts
• 1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
• 1/2 c. dried figs, chopped
• 3 TBS brandy
• 2 TBS apricot jam
• 1/4 tsp orange oil, or 1 TBS dried orange peel
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground mace
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 30 whole cloves (for the stems!)
• 3/4 c. large crystal sugar (sanding or turbinado sugar)

1. Place all ingredients except whole cloves and sanding sugar in food processor and rapidly pulse until mixture is evenly ground and forms a sticky paste.  If your food processor is too small to do all this at once, process the dried fruit and nuts in batches, then add them all back in (each ingredient should shrink in volume as it is processed) with the remaining ingredients until they are evenly mixed and blended.  Knead the dough/paste for 2-3 minutes then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight.
2. Pull off tablespoon sized balls from the refrigerated dough and roll into small oval shapes between your hands (to resemble plums).  Roll in sanding sugar, then stick a whole clove into the end to make a stem.  Lay the sugarplums out on a baking sheet and allow to firm up in a cool, dry place overnight.  Store in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature.

The post Cookbook of the Month: Gourmet Gifts… and Sugarplums! appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

When Becky sent me an email with the subject line “big question,” I was fairly worried.  About what, I’m not entirely sure – it seemed unlikely that she was going to ask me to move in with her, give her money, or ask to take things to the next level.  Still, it was a little daunting.  So, when I opened the email (with faint trepidation) and found out that the big question was whether or not I would help her with a bake sale, I was relieved.  In my book, “bake sale?” is a very small, easily answered question, with the answer being “absolutely.”

Becky is working with an organization called Promise of Play to build a new playground at the Durham Crisis Response Center, a shelter and support center for victims of domestic and sexual abuse.  Although I’ve never really found my calling when it comes to service, I think this project is one of the coolest I’ve heard of.  The idea of kids having a safe, happy place to play while their parents attend meetings and therapy sessions really strikes a chord with me – I can’t imagine having been a kid without being surrounded by a feeling of safety and joy, and any opportunity to give a child without that privilege a brief sense of safety and fun is so important.  Additionally, the playground will be dedicated to the memory of my classmate Drew Everson, who passed away this fall.  Drew and I weren’t close friends, but we shared a class freshman year and always said “hi” to each other on the path.  The whole campus really struggled with his death, and with finding an appropriate way to remember him.  To me, at least, Drew embodied playfulness – he was always ready with a smile or a joke or to run off on an adventure with whoever would accompany him – and I can’t think of a more perfect way to remember him than by sharing the joy he seemed to experience so constantly through the simple act of play.

DPS and PlayTime2011 will be tabling on the plaza every day this week in order to try and meet their fundraising goal before the playground build next week.  (For more information on the build or to sign-up, see the PlayTime2011 Facebook page).  Which is where I come in.  Every day I hope to have 2 or 3 treats ready for the tabling crew, with all proceeds going to the playground.  I’m pretty excited about this, and no way was I sticking with chocolate chip cookies and brownies – so you should be excited too.  To start things off, on Monday there will be Snickerdoodle Cupcakes, Mini Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumbles, and these Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffles that you see all around.  I haven’t finished the cupcakes or the crumbles yet, so I won’t make any claims as to their deliciousness, but these truffles… they are really good.  Like, really really good.  Personally, I think they’re better than Reeses, and I really like Reeses.  In fact, for those of you who have ever been to Sweet Mimi’s… I think they’re as good as Wows.  Yep, I went there.  They’re a bit time consuming to make, but the final product is totally worth it – I’ve been having a hard time limiting myself to the one or two I’m allowed for quality control purposes.  Don’t believe me?  Try for yourself!  Come by the plaza Monday and snag one or two of these before I end up buying them all back.  And be sure to stop back throughout the week to see if I’ve come up with anything else worthwhile!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

Adapted from Food Network.  Makes about 70 truffles.

• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 c. smooth peanut butter
• 12 oz. white chocolate
• 18 oz. semisweet chocolate
• pretzels, sea salt, turbinado sugar, for decorating

1. Heat white chocolate just until melted.  Mix peanut butter and white chocolate in large bowl until smooth.  Set aside.
2. Scald cream over medium heat.  Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10, until chilled.  Mix chilled cream with peanut butter and white chocolate.  Cover and store filling in fridge for 24 hours.
3. Use a melon-baller or teaspoon to scoop out balls of the chilled filling.  Place in rows on a baking sheet.  Freeze baking sheet for 10 minutes, until balls are firm.  In the meantime, heat water in a large saucepan (filled 1/3 of the way) over low heat, then melt semi-sweet chocolate in a smaller saucepan over it (double boiler).  Heat chocolate just until melted, then remove from heat.  Dip chilled filling balls into chocolate, coating on all sides, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I used a toothpick to allow easy dipping.  Freeze coated truffles for 5 minutes to firm up, then remove from freezer.  Dab with a small bit of warm chocolate where you wish to roll in a topping – turbinado sugar and sea salt, crushed pretzel bits, or cocoa powder.  Store finished truffles in the refrigerator (or freezer) until you wish to serve.

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