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Come Party With Me: Tailgate - Menu

partysugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:00:01 -0700

Instead of serving dessert separate at my tailgate, I plan to serve it with the rest of the menu. Guests can enjoy a bite of sweetness with their savory nibbles. The dip theme will continue with this delectable white chocolate mascarpone dip. Served with fresh fruit, it's decadent, but not heavy. To get this lovely recipe - that also makes a great after-school snack for little ones, read more.

Fresh Fruit With Mascarpone and White Chocolate Dip
From Bon Appetit

Ingredients

6 ounces white chocolate
1 cup whipping cream
1 8-ounce marscapone cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh fruit, like strawberries, cheeries, peaches, and nectarines

Directions

Melt 6 ounces chopped white chocolate with 1/2 cup whipping cream in a medium metal bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Remove the bowl from water and let the chocolate cool to room temperature.
In another medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup whipping cream, one 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until blended and smooth. Fold melted chocolate into mascarpone.
Serve the dip with fresh fruit; strawberries and cherries are terrific with it, but peach and nectarine slices would also be fun.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups dip.

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Do You Know White Chocolate?

partysugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:00:59 -0700

Happy national white chocolate day! To celebrate this delicious day, I've put together a quiz that tests your white chocolate knowledge. Ready? Go!

Source

Take the quiz

Come Party With Me: My Half Birthday - Dessert

partysugar — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:13:19 -0800

At all of my parties I like to provide guests with a sweet treat even if it is only a small bite. At my half birthday - besides filling bowls with M&Ms which is signature to all my events - I will make one refreshing dessert: white chocolate and lime cheesecake bars.

Instead of cutting the bars into squares, I'll use a cookie cutter to cut out circles making mini cheesecakes. To emphasis the half theme, I will cut the circles in half and serve mini half cheesecakes! For the recipe, read more.

White Chocolate Lime Cheesecake Bars
From Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients

7 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped, plus white chocolate curls (optional garnish)
27 chocolate sandwich cookies (about 11 ounces)
2-4 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
Lime slices or lime twists (for garnish)

Directions

Line 8x8x2-inch square baking pan with foil, extending over all sides.
Stir chopped white chocolate in small metal bowl set over saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water.
Finely grind cookies in processor. Add 2 tablespoons melted white chocolate and 2 tablespoons melted butter blend until mixture clumps together, adding more melted butter as necessary to create a crust that will hold together.
Firmly press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Chill while making filling.
Beat whipping cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Beat cream cheese, sugar, lime juice, and lime peel in large bowl until smooth.
Beat in remaining melted white chocolate. Fold in whipped cream in 2 additions; spread over prepared crust.
Chill until filling is slightly firm, at least 2 hours.
Using foil as aid, lift cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 9 bars. Garnish with chocolate curls, if desired, and lime slices or twists.

Serves 9.

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Do You Like White Chocolate?

partysugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:02:31 -0800

Source

Yummy Link: Brandied Cranberry, White Chocolate Chip Cookies

partysugar — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:03:33 -0800

For a grownup, gourmet version of the classic chocolate chip cookie, add brandied cranberries and white chocolate. It sounds so scrumptious! This recipe has definitely made it to my must-bake-for-the-holidays list! - Simply Recipes

Recall Warning: Hamburger and White Chocolate

YumSugar — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:56:08 -0700

Looks like you better put your plans for white chocolate burgers on hold; your ingredients could be contaminated.

Last week over 21 million pounds of frozen hamburger were recalled due to an E. coli contamination. The Topps Meat company recalled packages with establishment number 9748 and sell-by-dates of Sept. 25, 2007 through Sept. 25, 2008. A full recall list is available at Topps's website.

If contaminated beef wasn't scary enough, Kraft just announced a recall on Baker's Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares due to a possible Salmonella contamination. The six-ounce boxes contain the UPC Code 0043000252200 and one of the following best when used by dates: 31 MAR 2008 XCZ, 01 APR 2008 XCZ, 02 APR 2008 XCZ, 03 APR 2008 XCZ. The recall only affects those boxes and no other varieties are impacted. If you have one of the contaminated boxes, you should throw it out. For more info call Kraft at 1-800-310-3704.

Scary times when chocolate isn't even safe!

Think You Know Candy Corn?

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:01:33 -0700

Hershey's has just released a new seasonal kiss flavor: Candy Corn. I saw some in the Halloween display at Target and picked them up for the office to try.

The first thing I noticed was the smell: an overpowering in your face butterscotch-caramel odor, or as YumJimmy put it, "it smells like old people candy." The smell should have been a hint, the candy is as overpowering as its odor. It's like an overly sweet white chocolate laced with butterscotch, heavy on the butter. I personally found them to be adorable, but way too sweet.

All of this candy corn coloring got me wondering about candy corn in general. So I looked up a few things and put it all together in a fun quiz! Think you know candy corn?

Take the quiz

Celebrate Love With White Chocolate Bread Pudding

partysugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:13:45 -0800

Although it may be hard to believe, there are some people in this world who don't like chocolate! Megan37 recently asked me what she could make her boyfriend for Valentine's Day since he doesn't eat chocolate or nuts. Luckily, he eats white chocolate (which is not actually chocolate because it has no cocoa) and there are lots of options for delicious and seductive desserts. My personal favorite is white chocolate bread pudding. It's simple, warm, comforting, and scrumptiously sweet. To make this for your dearest, read more

White Chocolate Bread Pudding
From Food and Wine magazine

For the bread pudding:
One 24-inch baguette, ends trimmed, bread cut into 1-inch slices
4 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
15 ounces white chocolate, broken into small pieces
3 large eggs
12 large egg yolks
For the white chocolate sauce:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, broken into small pieces

Make the bread pudding: Preheat the oven to 275°.
Stand the bread slices on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until dry but not browned. Transfer the bread to a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish in an even layer.
Increase the oven temperature to 350°.
In a large saucepan, heat the cream with the milk and sugar until hot but not steaming.
Remove from the heat, add the white chocolate and stir until melted.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks. In a slow, thin stream, whisk the hot cream into the eggs until smooth.
Pour the custard over the bread and let stand until soggy, about 20 minutes. Press the bread into the custard occasionally.
Cover the pudding with foil and bake for 1 hour.
Remove the foil; bake for 20 minutes longer, or until golden and puffed. Let cool for at least 20 minutes.
Make the white chocolate sauce: Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the white chocolate and stir until completely smooth.
Cut the bread pudding into squares and serve warm, with the white chocolate sauce.

Serves 12-16.

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Know Your Chocolates

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:15:16 -0800

You're working on your latest baking project and you've headed to the baking aisle to pick up all of your ingredients. You look at the chocolates and see semisweet, bittersweet, milk, white, unsweetened. The choices can be overwhelming, but what's the difference? Is bittersweet sweeter than semisweet? Is white chocolate even chocolate? How can chocolate be unsweetened? If any of these questions have ever crossed your mind, you're not alone. To check out my mini-chocolate primer, read more

Let me start by talking about cacao percentage. Cacao percentage is the amount of cacao to sugar. So a bar that is 75 percent cacao contains 25 percent sugar. The higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate. Fran Bigelow (a great chocolatier based out of Seattle) has stated, "If the cacao percentage dips below 50 percent, that chocolate bar contains more sugar than cacao, meaning less chocolate flavor-a sacrilege as far as I'm concerned." I would definitely have to agree with her, bring on the chocolate flavor!

Now that you've got basic cacao percentage understanding in your back pocket, let's talk about the different kinds of chocolate.

Dark Chocolate
Any chocolate that contains very little to no milk solids (less than 12 percent) and at least 35 percent cacao content.

Bittersweet Chocolate
A dark chocolate that has a cacao content of 50-99 percent (it is usually more like 65-80 percent). It's darker with a strong flavor. The higher the content, the stronger the flavor.

Semisweet Chocolate
Also a dark chocolate, but with a lower cacao content than bittersweet (35-50 percent). Some consider it the "gateway" dark chocolate as it has a more accessible creamy flavor than bittersweet.

Sweet Chocolate
A dark chocolate that contains very little cacao content (15-35 percent).

Milk Chocolate
Any chocolate that contains more than 12 percent milk or milk solids is considered milk chocolate. The cacao content tends to be 33-45 percent.

White Chocolate
White chocolate is actually a bit of a misnomer, as it contains no chocolate (cacao solids) at all. Contains 20 percent cacao butter.

Unsweetened Chocolate
This bar contains 100 percent cacao and has no sugar added. It's not meant to be eaten plain - believe me, as a kid my dad left some on the counter and I thought it would be great to sneak some. Let's just say I learned not to take things off the counter without knowing what it was first.

I hope that helps some of the chocolate confusion, if you'd like to learn more, then check out this great chocolate explanation from Fran Bigelow.

Yummy Link: Black and White Chocolate Cake

partysugar — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:18:31 -0800

According to Fab, black and white are a hot combination right now. In the food world, black and white - as in chocolate and vanilla - never go out of style. Peabody proves this with her to-die-for rendition of black and white chocolate cake. - Culinary Concoctions by Peabody