The Things I Do for My Family...

17/12/2012

Bonjour mes amis!

We're getting so excited for Christmas around here.  Ms. Emerald has arrived, and the rest of the family will be on their way shortly...

So, being the Mother I am...
and the way I like to please my kids...
and make the things they like to eat (even though they're grown)...

I figured I better make some treats they like.  Now remember...we are celebrating Christmas this year in a Country rich in chocolate...and what did I decide to make first?

FUDGE!!!

No one makes Fudge here...to my knowledge...

But...my Baby Sister always makes the Best Fudge, and the Recipe she uses is in one of the Cookbooks I own, so I have begun making this recipe, too...FABULOUS FUDGE!  Well, of course, I'm here in France and didn't bring the recipe with me...so I called my sis...and she emailed it to me.  I'll share it with you in a minute...

But first, let me tell you about my woes of trying to make Fudge in a Country that really doesn't make Fudge.  Chocolate Chips are very expensive here, so I decided to just buy chocolate bars here.  The Chocolate aisle in the grocery store is Amazing...these people know how to make cakes and pastries with chocolate!  Anyway, one of my friends told me what to buy to substitute, but I also needed Marshmallows.  They don't really have mini-marshmallows here, as the recipe calls for, but I knew I could get large, campfire Marshmallows, because Jewelius likes some in his "Chocolat Chaud" (Hot Cocoa for all us Westerners...) and I had already bought some recently, but those were essentially gone, so I got more when I bought the chocolate!  My sister warned me that this recipe does not work well with large, campfire Marshmallows.  Well,  I'm smart...I have a way around that!  I think I can just cut up the big ones and still make it.

I spent what felt like hours cutting up those STICKY Marshmallows and 2 1/2 of those large Chocolate Bars, so I could have 500 grams of Chocolate for the Recipe!  (If the large Marshmallows wouldn't melt, neither would a whole bar of chocolate...)  This Fudge will definitely qualify as "Home Made", because to me homemade often means...

It takes a long time to make!

After making my Fudge and setting it up (since it should not be cut for 24 hours!), I thought, Wow, I should have taken pics for a blog post.  Well, not too late, I can still do it...so I line up the two main ingredients (chocolate and marshmallows), and take a picture...

Take a good look at that Marshmallow picture.  These are Frootmallows (with fruit aroma), and I didn't notice this when I bought them!!!  It's all they had at the store that day!!!  Yes, they were pretty pastel colors, but I just thought it was the color, not a difference in the taste.  Uh oh!

Well, time will tell, if they taste okay.  Here's my finished product, but now we have to wait 24 hours!

Oh!  I didn't mention that when I was stirring up the ingredients, I set down one spoon to switch to a larger one, and the first almost fell, so I grabbed it...which wasn't a good idea...because the hot butter mixture was still REALLY HOT, and I burned myself in a small spot on my hand.  Poor me...

Goodness!  I must really LOVE my family to do this for them!

...and YES, I Do Really Love Them!

What difficult things do you do for your family just to make them happy?  This is a great time of year to spoil them, don't you think?

Before I forget...let me give you the awesome recipe!

Fabulous Fudge

4 1/2 c. sugar

18 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 c. evaporated milk

1 bag miniature marshmallows

1/2 lb. butter or margarine

2 c. nuts (optional)

1 Tbsp. vanilla

Mix in large mixing bowl the chocolate morsels, marshmallows and nuts.  Set aside.  

Cook sugar, evaporated milk and margarine over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Bring to a rolling boil and maintain for 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour heated mixture over chocolate, marshmallow, nut mixture and mix until

marshmallows are dissolved.  Before mixture gets stiff, pour into buttered 9 x 13 inch pan.

Allow to stand for 24 hours before cutting into squares.

Makes 5 pounds of fudge.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS!

Flash forward 24 hours...the Fudge came out great, and the "Frootmallows" didn't alter the flavor TOO MUCH!  Everyone's Happy!

Have a "Jewel" of a day...and a sweet one, too!

Jan