Do you see my "Unkymoods" icon on the left? It says today I feel "sick." (of course, if you're reading this a few days from now, it more than likely says something else... but trust me. today it says "sick") No, that's not a mis-click on my part. I chose it for a reason: I'm sick! Again! I FINALLY got rid of the cough from last month's cold last week, and woke up on Tuesday with another cold! Apparently I have a Secret Santa somewhere who saw fit to give me a cold as a belated Christmas present. Actually, I blame public transportation. Although I am obsessive about washing my hands, I guess you just can't always fight the germs that ride Boston's "T." Argh.
But anyway. I'm done whining.
In a mad flurry of activity on Sunday afternoon, before leaving for New Hampshire, I whipped up a little present for Kevin's relatives' dogs. Betty, a large, extremely sweet black-and-white mutt, belongs to Kevin's extremely sweet grandmother. Toby, a tiny, long-haired terrier/scottie/dachshund type dog (I've never thought to ask just what he is!) who's always turned up to 11, belongs to Kevin's uncle Mike (who's always turned up to 11!) and his family. Each dog received a just-the-right-size box of just-the-right-size homemade treats:
Dog Treats
(I copied this recipe out of one of my mom's magazines a couple of months ago... I'm sure it was "Woman's Day" or "Family Circle..." but I didn't write down which one it was!)
1-1/4 cups water
1-1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/4 tablespoons baking powder
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix water and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth.
Combine flours and baking powder in a separate bowl, then gradually stir into wet bowl. Knead dough by hand, adding small amounts of water if necessary.
Roll onto lightly floured surface. Cut with cookie cutter. Bake on cookie sheet 15 minutes. Cool several hours before storing.
These were very easy (and fun!) to make. The dough was so easy to work with... I didn't have to add any water as I kneaded it, and I didn't even have to flour the surface I rolled it out onto. The peanut butter made it oily enough to keep it from sticking to anything, but it wasn't a greasy dough. I never thought to buy a doggie bone cookie cutter, so I went with a winter/New England theme: mittens and leaves. Betty got the leaves and the big mittens, while Toby got a box of the little mittens, which were cut out from Betty's big mittens. They were a huge hit. And Mike had an odd little gleam in his eye when Kevin and I told him what's in the cookies... we suspect that he may have planned to try one when nobody was looking!
It's after 11pm, and I am exhausted, but I made a lot of truffles today. They are packaged ever so prettily and ready to be "gifted."
This year's menu:
Spicy Hot Chocolate (inspired by Jacques Torres' "Wicked Hot Chocolate," of course!)
Almond Joy
Apple Pie a la Mode
Cardamon Brown Sugar
Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee
Eggnog
Pictured above is the large box, which holds 35 truffles. I also did medium boxes, each holding 18, and "samplers" of 6. Final count: 6 batches of ganache to fill 3 samplers, 4 mediums, and 2 larges -- a total of 160 truffles (plus the few I ate!) in two days... each one individually hand scooped, rolled into a ball, and coated. Whew! I'll have to make some more on Sunday, mostly to finish up the ganache, and will give those out as late presents... but the bulk of the work is done.
Tomorrow evening I head for Boston to spend a couple days with Kevin. Unfortunately, he has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas day... the news quits for no man! But we will have all day Thursday together, plus Friday evening and Saturday morning. I'll be home late Saturday afternoon to spend the rest of Christmas day with my family. Then on Monday, Kev and I are off to Wolfeboro, NH, to have a late Christmas with some (or maybe all, depending on who shows up!) of his family. This interstate boyfriend/family thing is getting quite chaotic! But it's a good excuse to travel a lot. =)
My kitchen has become a chocolate factory for the week:
This is the aftermath of today, a day of ganache making and just a few test truffles. And don't you just love my yellow countertop, circa 1983? Trust me -- I didn't choose it. It came with the apartment!
It has become a tradition for me to make chocolate truffles for Kevin's family, and for a few close friends, for Christmas. This is my third year. I make six different flavors each year. Next year will probably turn into a "best of" assortment, but that's another story.
I will not divulge my secret formula, because maybe -- just maybe -- I will perfect said formula and you might see them on a store shelf near you someday, but I will share with you the basic ganache recipe that I like the most. I think it came from a coupon flyer in a weekend paper a couple of years ago!
Ghirardelli Chocolate Truffles
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Chips
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Coating:
1/3 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa or 3/4 cup finely chopped almonds or pecans
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from heat, and stir in the chocolate and butter. In a medium-sized skillet, bring 1/2" water to a slow simmer. Set the saucepan in the skillet over low heat. Stir mixture just until chocolate has completely melted. Remove from heat. Pour the chocolate mixture into a shallow bowl. Cool, cover, and refrigerate until firm, at least two hours. Pour the coating into a pie plate. Line an airtight container with waxed paper. Dip a melon baller or small spoon into a glass of warm water and quickly scrape across the surface of the chilled truffle mixture to form a rough 1" ball. Drop the ball into the coating. Repeat with the remaining truffle mixture. Gently shake the pie plate to coat the truffles evenly. Transfer truffles to the prepared container, separating layers with additional waxed paper. Cover tightly and refrigerate up to 2 weeks, or freeze up to 3 months. Makes 30 truffles.
