This will be a cooking post. I had wanted some Running Commentary, or even a Pedestrian Post, but the weather is working against me. In desperation, I made some Chocolate Bark, just so I would have something to write about.
I got out my fancy double boiler (you know, frying pan of water with a pot in it), and set some dark chocolate chips to melt, adding a tablespoon of olive oil. The recipe also calls for some extract, almond or peppermint or something, but I didn’t have any so left it out and hoped for the best.
While it heated, I pulled out a baking dish and lined it with tin foil, which I sprayed with cooking spray. The recipe said “greased tin foil.” What I did was good enough, right?
Then I commenced to breaking up the candy canes. I forgot what a pain in the butt it is getting the plastic shrink wrap off those things! It comes off in pieces then the pieces stick to your hand when you try to throw them out. Grr! And I had not realized we were out of large plastic bags so pulled out a sandwich bag and looked for my metal meat pounder. Of course I could not find it (regular readers are not surprised either). I used the handle of my pizza cutter. Soon I had a baggy of large pieces of candy cane and candy cane powder. It would have to do.
By now the water was boiling and the chocolate was melting. I stirred it till the lumps were gone and poured it into the baking dish. That sure didn’t make much! Damn! I threw in some of the peppermint, almonds and raisins. Then I put the (fancy) double boiler back on and found my other bag of dark chocolate chips (I try to keep a spare of such things on hand in case of just such an emergency).
Two bags worth of chocolate looked good. I put in the rest of the candy cane remains, added more almonds and raisins and stirred. Spread it out as evenly as I could — no egregiously deep spots, no tinfoil showing through. After I had scraped the pot and cleaned up a little, I covered the baking dish and cleared a space for it in the refrigerator.
Tomorrow or much later tonight (Steven and I have a play to go to — preview of coming attractions), we will break or cut up the bark and taste test it. Whatever is left after taste testing I plan to take to my parents’ house for Christmas Eve, but I make no promises. For heavens’ sake: dark chocolate, almonds, raisins — I’m sure there’s even health benefits from candy canes, because, you know, peppermint tea — it’s practically health food!
Mohawk Valley Girl 