The boy’s and I are a little excited that the NASCAR season is starting soon! We’ve been busy watching all of the Daytona coverage this week, and once again we are picking our favorites for 2009. I can’t wait for the Daytona 500, and the 2009 season too!
Do you have a favorite driver?
O.k., I couldn’t talk about it, without sharing the recipe. Milk Chocolate Ganache Dipped Strawberries are one of my favorite desserts, and with Valentine’s Day around the corner it is time to make a batch, or two, or maybe three…
Here is what you will need:
Let’s melt some chocolate. I’m using 1/3 of a bag of Milk Chocolate Chips. I like to use a double boiler to melt my chips, and I keep the temperature at med-low, but this is when my paranoia kicks in… If even one little drop of water makes its way into the melting chocolate it will harden and seize, so make sure that your kiddos have the water guns put away, and hope that it doesn’t start raining in your kitchen. If by some chance a sneaky little drop of water makes it in to the melting chocolate, add in a little (full fat) butter, keep it on the heat, and give it a good stir, that should make the chocolate nice and smooth again.
Now let’s add in the Heavy Whipping Cream. I use a 2:1 ratio Two parts chocolate to one part Heavy Cream. Keep it on the heat, and keep stirring until you get a nice and glossy Ganache. Then hang on, don’t eat it all just yet, the Ganache is way too hot to dive into.
Time to dip… Make sure your Strawberries are washed, and patted dry, so the Ganache will stick to the berries. Then dip away. I like to place mine on waxed paper, and then into the fridge to cool.
The Chocolate Ganache Dipped Strawberries should be kept refrigerated, and will probably be good for 2-3 days, but I kinda doubt that they will be in the fridge that long, they are way too tasty!
Hmmmm, what do you do if you have leftover Ganache? EAT IT!!! Eat it all. Eat it super quickly, get to it before your kiddos figure out what Ganache is made of, and they eat the whole bowl… Or you could always make Truffles!
Let your Ganache cool in the fridge for just a bit, and gather a few supplies. You’ll need Cocoa Powder, or Chopped Nuts, or even Powdered Sugar will work. I’m using Cocoa Powder and Red Sugar for mine. Set up an assembly line, and its time to make Truffles!
Roll a spoon full of Ganache into a ball, and then roll the ball into the Cocoa Powder/Sugar mixture, and then it is onto some waxed paper, and off to the fridge to chill. Keep these in the fridge in an air tight container, and enjoy! They are easy to make, and would make delicious homemade Valentine’s Day candy for your sweetie!
Yesterday Thade’s cough was getting worse, and by evening he had a full-blown cold, complete with a fever. Thanks to a few 28 Days Later coughs in my face from Thade, I’ve got the cold today, and I feel miserable. My sinuses hurt so bad, and Thade is still coughing. It looks like it is going to be a sicky weekend around our house.
Last week I had an awesome opportunity. I got to be a room Mom at Thade’s preschool for a party. I was so glad that I got to go along, and it was such a fun day. I was really impressed with Thade’s teachers. They do an amazing job working with the kids, and each of them truly love being teachers. The kids were so cute too, and I even got a few big hugs to say thanks for all of the teddy bears.
My hubby noticed something interesting in the newspaper, a local thrift shop was having a 50% off sale, and that sounded like a good deal to me. While Thade was busy at school, Dylan and I were having fun shopping for some good deals.
A find that I couldn’t pass up was the retro Brunswick Bowling bag, and purple marbled bowling ball. I picked both of them up for just $3.00. The bowling ball doesn’t quite fit my hand, I could always have it re-drilled, but the bag would make an awesome diaper bag in the mean time.
We walked through the store, and made our way to the dishes, and then I found one of my favorites on sale…
It is hard for me to resist clear glassware. I found this little candy dish for $1.00, and the crystal bowl was too good to pass up for $1.50.
I snapped up the 8 piece hostess set for $2.00.
The clear trays had to come home with me for just $.50 a piece.
I had a lot of fun shopping at the thrift store, and I’m so excited with my new (to me ) finds too. Now I just need to host an afternoon tea, so I can show off all of my new hostess dishes.