Not Quite As Planned

I knew it was a bad sign when my immersion blender started smoking.  And an even worse sign that it blew up in my face.  I ignored the signs and proceeded with my Oreo balls.  I got the recipe from a girl at work.  She explained that you put a bag of Oreos in the food processor and chop them up.  Then mix them with a block of cream cheese and roll into little balls.  Put the balls in the fridge for at least an hour to chill.  Then melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, and using a toothpick, dip the balls in the chocolate.  Place the deserts on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to cool in the fridge or freezer and voila, you have Oreo balls.  Sounds easy enough.  Here is what Oreo balls are supposed to look like...

image from Better Homes and Garden

Here is what mine looked like.

This one's pretty.

Maybe it's because I couldn't melt the chocolate.  The first bag of chips ended up like this.  

You may think the brown is milk chocolate, but it's not.  It's all white chocolate.  Why was it so hard for me to melt chocolate chips?  In a microwave?  I tried the second bag on the stove and then again in the microwave with a slightly better result, but nowhere near the smooth and creamy melted chocolate I had envisioned.  The balls would just crumble and stick when I tried to coat them in the non-smooth, non-creamy melted chocolate.  I just received confirmation that they taste ok though.  Colin's going back for #2.  

Oh well.  On to my next venture with the tried and true chocolate chess pie.  I'm responsible for desert tomorrow at my mother-in-law's and don't want to disappoint.  At least I've done this one before.  The recipe is said to be that of the famed Angus Barn.  I have made this numerous times, but can never recreate the deliciousness that is the Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie.  They must not tell all their secrets.

Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. light corn syrup
• 3 eggs - lightly beaten
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 1 deep dish pie shell - I'm sure they make theirs from scratch

Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler or microwave (I had much better luck with the microwave melting this go round).  

Whisk or spoon remaining ingredients and blend into cooled butter/chocolate mixture and turn into pie shell.  Bake at 350 for about an hour or until set.

Oh and sorry for my lack of VIC Special research.  From now until Christmas we'll be cleaning out the freezer...

Lofty Aspirations

Last night I had big plans.  We were going to have a fire, take the Christmas card picture, I was going to make soup and Colin was going to fry oysters.  Had the fire, made the soup , fried the oysters, and attempted to take the Christmas card pic...  

Brought Colin into the room, 

and managed to get Otis to lie down,

but this one would not sit still.

Otis really wanted his picture taken, but 

 Colin thought it would be more fun to throw the mistletoe.

At least the soup was a success,

so here's the recipe for it.  Colin's sister forwarded it to me on Sunday saying it was great.  She added a 1/2 lb. of browned ground sausage, a dash of worcestershire, and doubled the broth by using 4 cups of vegetable broth and 4 cups of chicken broth.  I did the same, but forgot the worcestershire, and it was extremely tasty.  I also needed 5 leeks to make the 1 1/2 cups chopped instead of the 2 mentioned in the recipe.  I added the browned sausage to the pot after putting in the rosemary, garlic and mushrooms.  It went especially well with a grilled pimento cheese today at lunch.  Baby bella mushrooms and 32 oz. chicken and vegetable stocks are on VIC special, so I guess it qualifies for the blog.

Barley Stew with Leeks, Mushrooms, and Greens

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (about 2 small stalks; white and pale green parts only)

1 8-ounce container sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

1 cup pearl barley

4 cups (or more) vegetable broth

1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces), trimmed, center stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped (about 8 cups packed)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until leeks begin to soften, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; increase heat to medium-high and saute until mushrooms soften and begin to brown, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice; stir 1 minute. Add barley and 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until barley is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add kale; stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Cover and simmer until kale and barley are tender, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed for desired stew consistency, about 10 minutes.

Bon Appétit

December 2009