This is a new fudge recipe from Hersey’s Cocoa Easy Baking. Also called “Jenn’s Birthday Fudge.”

3 cups Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
dash salt
1 2/3 cups (10 oz package) Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips, divided
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream

Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper or foil.

Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 cup peanut butter chips and vanilla extract. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Melt remaining 1 cup peanut butter chips with 1/2 cup whipping cream, stirring until thick and smooth. Spread over fudge.

Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge over onto cutting board; peel off paper or foil and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes about 2 pounds.

Here’s a step-by-step illustration of creating a menu.

Step 1: Choose a main dish. In this case, Chicken w/ Cider and Bacon Sauce, which is an American dish.

Step 2: Choose starch and veggies. Since this is an American dish, stick with potatoes and green beans or carrots.

Step 3: Look for common themes in the different dishes. Use common flavors to pull the meal together. Example: Cheddar & Cider Scallop Potatoes and Sautéed Green Beans With Bacon. Another option: Apple-Glazed Carrots With Bacon (though this may overkill the apple flavor).

Step 4: Use common flavors to determine drinks and dessert. Some options that could work: cinnamon apples with chocolate sauce and hot chocolate, apples with caramel sauce and hot cocoa or coffee with caramel, cinnamon apples and cinnamon-flavored coffee, or throw in something unexpected, like chocolate fudge and hot cocoa with peppermint sticks. Not everything has to be matchy-matchy.

Possible Menu:

Main dish: Chicken w/ Cider and Bacon Sauce
Starch: Cheddar & Cider Scallop Potatoes
Veggies: Sautéed Green Beans With Bacon
Drink: Hot chocolate w/ peppermint sticks
Dessert: Cinnamon Apples w/ Chocolate Sauce

Common Flavors:

bacon in the greens beans to bacon in the chicken
apple cider in the chicken to apple cider in the potatoes
cinnamon in the potatoes to cinnamon in the apple dessert
chocolate in the apple dessert to chocolate in the drink

Adding extras:

Now, add some extra pieces to the meal, like cheddar cheese bread or biscuits, sliced almonds in the green beans and/or sprinkled on top of the apples, cinnamon sticks as garnish, and add some mushrooms or carrots to the meal.

Creating a Menu

November 2nd, 2006

Planning a party or just want to cook something for dinner? Putting a menu together can be difficult, so I always break it down into three easy pieces:

1. Meat (poultry, beef, pork or fish)
2. Starch (tortillas, rice, pasta, potatoes)
3. Veggies (broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, etc)

First, choose your meat or main dish. Next, match your sides with the main dish you are going to prepare. Here’s a general guide, depending on the style of dish you want to make:

1. Asian: rice, broccoli, carrots, peppers
2. Italian: pasta, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots
3. Mexican: tortillas, tomatoes, peppers, corn
4. American: potatoes, green beans, carrots

With vegetables, make sure to add color and flavor to the plate. Try to imagine the overall look of the plate with all three key pieces. Think your favorite restaurant dish, how are the pieces combined?

Then it’s time to think about drinks and dessert. What beverages would go well with your meal? Generally, I stick to these basics: lemonade, iced tea, and wine, although, a good American dish goes well with a glass of cold milk. I don’t always serve dessert, but if I do it is usually one that I can make ahead of time, like cookies or fudge.

Now that you have decided on a meat, starch and veggie, look for common ingredients to tie everything together. Example: Citrus Chicken, Lemon Couscous and Spinach Salad. Why this works: the citrus in the chicken is complimented by the lemon in the couscous, as well as in iced tea w/ lemon or fruity sangria. The spinach salad adds color to the plate. Look for ways to tie the different dishes together, like adding orange slices to the spinach salad or topping the chicken and spinach with the chopped green onions that are used in the couscous.

Recipes are open to interpretation, so look for ways to add your own flavor to each dish. I’m not a big pepper person, but I love mushrooms. Mushrooms are rather universal in that they work in a variety of dishes, so I’ll add them in where I can. Starches don’t have to be boring. Instead of plain white rice, try brown rice or a wild & white rice mix. Look for tri-colored pastas to punch up the color of your meal. Use chicken or beef broth instead of water when preparing couscous.

Don’t neglect the table setting. Make sure condiments are out and ready to be used. Any time I serve Italian foods, I make sure there is parmesan or mozzarella cheese on the table. For Asian dishes, I put out soy sauce and chow mein noodles. For potatoes, make sure there is butter, salt and pepper on the table. For Mexican meals, set out sour cream, cheese, peppers and hot sauce. Those extra touches can make a meal very memorable.

Before you start to cook, determine how long each dish will take to prepare and to bake. Will you be able to prepare and cook your veggies while the main dish is baking? Will everything get done around the same time so nothing gets cold? Typically, I start my main dish, then my starch, then veggies and they all are ready at about the same time. Leave yourself little cushions of time to move from one dish to the next. While you have down time, like waiting for water to boil, help yourself out by setting the table or putting used dishes in the dishwasher. Pull your cold items out last so they are still chilled when everyone sits down to eat (it’s much easier to warm something up than to cool something down).

Lastly, look at the final touches like picking out some great music, lighting candles, and adding a festive table cloth. Clear clutter out of the dining area and make sure the area is not too warm from all the kitchen activity.

And if all else fails, you can always call out for pizza.

This great recipe pairs potatoes with the tasty combination of apple and cheddar cheese. It can be baked in a casserole or individual gratin dishes.

2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 pounds potatoes
cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Rinse potatoes well in lukewarm water, peel if desired, and slice thinly. Arrange half of potatoes in a shallow 3-quart dish and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Arrange remaining potatoes on top and set aside.

Place flour in medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Stir in cider, broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour the cider mixture over the potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and press potatoes with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, then mozzarella cheese. Top with cinnamon sugar. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let sit 10 minutes.

Try serving with apple wedges and cinnamon sticks as garnish.

Lemon-Poached Oranges

November 1st, 2006

4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup grated lemon rind (about 4 large lemons)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
7 navel oranges (about 4 pounds), peeled and cut crosswise into 4 slices

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large, heavy-duty saucepan. Add orange slices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes. Remove orange slices with a slotted spoon; place in a bowl.

Cook juice mixture over medium-high heat 15 minutes (until slightly syrupy). Pour over oranges. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Makes about 14 servings (serving size: 2 orange slices and about 1/4 cup syrup).

This is a great make-ahead dessert to serve with Citrus Chicken w/ Lemon Couscous. You can also use the leftover orange rinds for the marinade. If you have left over orange slices, add them to the spinach salad, iced tea, sangria or serve on the side as garnish to squeeze over the chicken.