This was an easy fudge to make, not really any different than most cooked versions. There was an interesting taste difference though. It is not as sweet as most other recipes we have made and the sour cream certainly adds a unique flavor. Although there is plenty of sugar to make it sweet it did not comes across as the primary component. And aside from the cocoa powder there is no chocolate or butter, as in many other fudge recipes.

The process takes about an hour between preparing the ingredients, cooking and stiring.

Method

Add all ingredients except for the vanilla to a heavy sauce pot. We usually use an All Clad 2 quart candy pot with a digital thermometer. Place on medium heat and bring to a boil while stirring to incorporate all the ingredients.

Once the mixture has come to a boil lower the heat slightly and add the thermometer until it comes to 238° F.

This will take a while. Give it at least 30 minutes. If you put the heat up higher it might burn.

As soon as it hits 238° F take it off the heat and stir with a wood spoon and add the vanilla. It will take a while to stir and as the fudge cools it will become thicker.

After a few minutes (5-7) pour into an 8 x 8 inch buttered pan and cool for a few hours. You can score the fudge as soon as you pour it into the pan to make it easier for cutting later.

Place some plastic wrap over the fudge. Lasts about a week.

Picked up the interesting Purple Cauliflower from the local Farmers Market.

This bread features a pretty dark rye crumb flavored with a fair share of nutty hazelnuts. The result is a flavorful bread that is very nice sliced thinly and topped with some butter and an aged cheese.

If you’re looking for a bread that has a nice crust and would be a good choice served with a soup dish or pasta, as well as just with some butter and cheese for breakfast, then this would be ideal. This bread features a pretty dense crumb with an intense rye flavor which is enhanced even further with the addition of whole hazelnuts. The amount of nuts is pretty high, however then you’re sure to get a good amount of hazelnuts in every slice. The dough is quite wet and would be a bit tricky to knead by hand, therefore it would be recommended to use a mixer.

If you’re not that passionate about rye, then you could easily substitute part of it for extra bread flour, or replace it with whole wheat for a slightly sweater, rounder taste.

Ingredients:

Method:

Combine water, bread flour and rye flour in the mixer bowl. Let hydrate for 10 minutes, then add the starter and the salt and work the dough in the mixer on medium for about 12 minutes. When the dough has developed some nice gluten (it won’t be fully developed since the rye content is pretty high), add the hazelnuts and combine on low for another minute or two. Let the dough rise in an oiled bowl covered with oiled plastic wrap for about two hours. Fold the dough in the bowl once during that time.

Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for a day or two, whatever fits your schedule. (You could also skip this step and simply let it rise for another hour before baking.)

About two – three hours before you want to bake, bring the dough out and let it come to room temperature. About 30 minutes before the bread is going in the oven empty the bowl and shape a round or a longer loaf on a piece of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap until it’s ready to bake.

Bring the bread in a 450 degree oven on a bread stone along with some ice cubes to create some steam. After about 15 min lower to 400 degrees, and bake the bread altogether for about 50 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 200 degrees.

Let cool on a baking rack and ideally let rest for at least an hour before you cut into it.

If you are tired of making boring white long-grain rice like we were then you might like this flavorful version using chicken fat and white wine. The method we used is similar to that which you would use to make a risotto but with normal white rice. It will not be creamy like a risotto but it will have as much flavor.

We started this process because we were frying chicken thighs and wanted to save a few dishes so using the same 12 inch fry pan made the rice taste better and we did not have to use a sauce pot seperately.

After frying the chicken there was a lot of fat, we removed all but about 3 tablespoons of chicken fat and then sauteed 1 large yellow onion with a small dice. Add a little kosher salt (1 teaspoon) and cook for a few minutes on medium-high heat. The chicken left a great fond and the onions picked that up great. We then deglazed with a little white wine and covered for a few minutes.

We then added 1 cup of standard white long-grain rice. We never use instant so that is not an option, it will not come out the same.

Mix the onions, wine and fat with the rice. The rice will begin to pick up all the flavor as it cooks. Add about 1 cup of water, or chicken stock and stir. Cover for about 10 minutes and stir again. We added a little more white wine along the way and just looked to see if more water was needed. This will take about 30 minutes. Just add more liquid as necessary. After 30 minutes we added about 3 cups of liquid. This process requires more liquid than if you just used a pot and added 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice.

The point is that you should taste the rice along the way, see how much more liquid you need and choose any spices you want. Basically the chicken fat and the fond from the pan adds a lot of flavor that a pot would not give.

You could always add frozen peas or carrots at the end and make it a meal. We always love to add hot sausage and cheese. But then it might be too much like a risotto.

Granda Padano is a dry aged Italian cheese similar to parmigiano-reggiano in look but milder in taste. This cheese is usually somewhat expensive but you can find it found around $8/lbs.

It is sharper than imitation American dry aged cheeses and has a less waxy texture. This cheese is usually aged at least 18 months before being packaged.