Mamie Eisenhower's Fudge

I've seen Mamie's Fudge, Million Dollar Fudge, Crazy Mamie's Fudge, all sorts of names. There are also several different recipes under each name. After a bit of Internet research, seems that this particular recipe is Mamie Eisenhower's recipe, or is attributed to her. Where she got it from is anybody's guess. I found the recipe in a magazine several years back but it is also in the Eisenhower Archives (click here for their PDF and a quick way to print the recipe) as Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge. Mrs. Eisenhower's recipe quickly became popular after it was printed in several women's magazines and newspapers during her husband's presidency.



Mamie Eisenhower in her inaugural gown,
painted in 1953 by Thomas Stevens.
Public domain image via Flickr Commons



The story goes that President Eisenhower liked his wife's fudge so much that he called it her Million Dollar Fudge. Well, whatever, it's a pretty rootin' tootin' good fudge and sooo easy. No soft-ball stage, no beating until your arm goes numb.

Apparently, there was a Million Dollar Fudge recipe that circulated around in the mid-1900's the way the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe did a few years back. I'll quote from SkaarupFudge.com:

"Fantasy Fudge" is probably the world's most popular fudge recipe. The folklore (there are very few reliable historical references for fudge) goes something like this... A candy company named “See’s Candy” made a fortune selling a wonderfully rich and fluffy fudge. It contained a “secret” ingredient known only by those who made it. The secret ingredient turned out to be marshmallows. The Marshmallow Fluff company had a very similar recipe on the back of each jar of Fluff. When Kraft Foods introduced Marshmallow Creme (not “cream,” spelled wrong intentionally) it included an easy “Fantasy Fudge” recipe which was a cleaned up version of the Million Dollar Fudge Recipe and called for Kraft Marshmallow Creme.

 

Skaarup Fudge, by the way, has a eleventy-gillion fudge recipes plus plenty of good fudge-making tips and information. Check 'em out.

Mmmm, all this talk about fudge ....
 
 

 
 
 

So here's what you're going to need:

 

4 1/2 cups of sugar

A pinch of salt

2 tbsp butter

12 oz can of evaporated milk - not sweetened condensed (too sweet!) 

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips- not milk chocolate

12 oz German sweet chocolate

2 cups marshmallow cream

2 cups chopped nuts

Notes: If you cannot find sweet chocolate, you can substitute 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate plus 6 tbsp of sugar or 12 oz. of bittersweet chocolate (without the extra sugar). And of course the nuts are optional- I've made it both ways and personally prefer with nuts but I'm not allergic.

This is a pinch of salt, with my pincers. Seems like alot, doesn't it? My understanding is that a "dash" is 1/8 tsp. and a "pinch" is just a bit less than that.

Before you start--

Decide on your pan to cool the fudge. This recipe makes a fair amount of fudge and I've found that the 9x13 pan called for in the recipe makes really thick fudge, which can be hard to cut into small pieces. Instead of halving the recipe (heaven forbid) or splitting between two pans, I line a deep cookie sheet with foil and spray with oil. So much easier to cut into reasonably sized pieces.

First--

Place the sweet chocolate, chips, fluff, and nuts in a large, heat-proof bowl.

Second--

Place the sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt in a large saucepan.

Boil for 6 minutes, stirring frequently almost constantly.

I start the heat out on low so that the sugar doesn't scorch and turn it up a bit once it's nice and liquid-y, just to get the boil started. BUT, turn it back down again once it starts to boil or it could boil right up out of the pan and all over your stove. Trust me on that. Plus I've found that it still boils along at a pretty nice bubble even on the lowest heat.

Carefully pour the very hot sugar mixture into the bowl with the chocolate and stir it all up until the chocolate is completely melted.

Did I mention that this is very hot? I mix the fudge together in a stainless steel bowl so use a towel to keep from frying off my fingerprints. Purists will cringe and cry out that glass bowls are the only way to go but my stainless bowls have worked for the past several years. You'll also want to be sure to scrape the sides as you stir since the fudge will start to harden and crystallize on the bowl as it cools. Just don't scrap out all the hardened fudge when you're turning it into the pan or there will be grainy bits in your fudge.

Scoop out the fudge onto the cookie sheet. Smooth it as much as you can and then just set it aside to cool. If you're impatient you can stick it in the 'fridge.

When the fudge is firm, I place a large cutting board over the cookie sheet and flip it over onto the cutting board. Peel off the aluminum foil.

I spray a pizza cutter with PAM and use that to cut the fudge. Go slowly as it's easy to drive all over the fudge and end up with a wide variety of shapes and sizes but with a bit a caution this is a slick way to cut the fudge. I store the fudge in a Tupperware container with waxed paper between each layer of fudge.

There you go-- serve with milk and Christmas carols next to the tree.


Until next time---

Fruktsuppe - Norwegian Fruit Soup

Yes, Virginia, there is a Fruit Soup. And it's delicious.

Norwegian Fruit Soup is a warm soup based on dried fruits. Yes, I meant to say "warm." There are as many recipes for Fruit Soup as there are Norwegian families. But ours is the right one! Just kidding. Some of the recipes seem strange and unappetizing to me, that's true, but it's mainly because I've never tried them. Some recipes look as though they might be as good as our family's recipe.

I could go on about how each recipe springs from a distinct region of Norway, just as  does the Bunad-





by knitting iris via Flickr Creative Commons

(Uffda! This woman looks so much like my mother!)



-the traditional Norwegian folk wear- and hearken back for centuries, recalling thousands of years of family and tradition in each particular fjord and valley. But I would be serving you a load of svin skitt. Pardon my Norwegian. Simply put, there are many "right" recipes for Fruktsuppe. I am skeptical, however, of the true Norwegian-ness (that's an old word I just made up) of the recipes that call for things like pineapple, fresh mango, and canned fruit cocktail. These soups are probably delicious but those ingredients were most likely not available on the fjord in the dead of winter way back when. I'm just sayin' ...

This recipe comes from my Aunt and is a Christmas Eve staple at our house. Let's get busy.

Aunt Tante's Fruit Soup

(Tante is Norwegian for "aunt". Since I generally do not use real given names here in the Jungle, we'll go with tante).

You will need:

1/2 lb pitted prunes

1 cup raisins

1 orange

1 lemon

4 tbsp Tapioca

1/4 lb. dried apricots

3 apples

3/4 cup sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 can tart red cherries, with liquid

Notes on ingredients: Tante's recipe says to use 2 tbsp large pearl tapioca and 2 tbsp of small pearl. I was only able to find the small pearl Tapioca this year so 4 tbsp of small it is.

The small is pictured above on the left. Large pearl Tapioca is way cool and is what is used in Pearl Milk/Bubble Tea/etc. Instant tapioca is shown on the right above. It's crushed and I suppose would do in an absolute emergency but I've never used it so can't give a first hand testimony.

Let's get busy---

Start this recipe in the evening the day before you plan to serve it.

Snip the prunes and apricots in half, three's at the most. I don't have a picture of the snipped prunes I'm willing to share as they didn't look very appetizing. Just couldn't get a good picture of snipped prunes but they will be about the same size as the apricots.

Slice the lemon and orange into thin slices. Don't peel them. You can cut the little belly button thing off the lemon if you want.

Put the prunes, apricots, lemon, orange, raisins, tapioca, sugar, and cinnamon stick in a large pot such as a Dutch oven.

Add just enough water to cover the fruit and stir it up just enough to dissolve the sugar. Put the lid on the pot and...

... go away. Let the soup sit unheated and undisturbed overnight.

The next day, core and slice the apples, leaving the skin intact.

Add the apple to the pot along with 2 cups of water. Cook until the fruit is soft, about 1/2 an hour.

Add the canned cherries and their liquid last and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Notes about heating and progression through the recipe: You can finish off the soup in the morning, turn the heat off, and let it sit until you're ready to serve- just gently warm it up again. Or you can let it sit all day and finish the soup off about 1/2 an hour or so before you plan to serve it. It doesn't really matter.

This soup is meant to be served warm. For some reason, we always serve ours in small crystal cups. I have no explanation for that other than it was what Mom had available after all the other food was dished up and so the tradition was born. It's also good eaten right out of the pot, just don't let anyone see you doing so.

Yes, you can eat it cold if you would like but you really should try it warm first. Warm is our family's preference, even for leftovers.

Yes, it's good, warm or cold, with a nice vanilla ice cream.

Until next time, wishing you ...

Paula Deen Is Trying To Kill Us



from PaulaDeen.com

Isn't she so sweet and cute, all smiles and southern charm?

NO- don't be fooled! I don't care how much she looks like my friend Cheryl, Paula Deen is trying to kill us.

But what a way to go.

I came across her recipe for classic pumpkin pie on the Food Network website while looking for pumpkin roll filling recipes. This pie is full of fat and sugar and, of course, butter.

Even though every ancestor in my family tree for the past three generations to whom I am biologically related had, if not died from, heart disease,

and even though every single one of them rolled over in their graves and shouted,

"No! Don't do it!",

I made it anyway. Come on, I'll show you.

You need a whole slew of ingredients:

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger, optional (but I used it)
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping (I had spray in the 'frig so that's what I used)



Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

I used the pie crust already in the aluminum pan so this part skips the directions for getting the dough into your pie pan. I did cover the raw crust with aluminum foil, fill with a 1 lb bag of beans, and baked it for 20 minutes. (This part is different from our serial killer Paula's directions but you can work it out for yourself. It's just pie crust). There's a thick black bean stew experiment chugging away in the crock pot even as we speak and if it turns out I'll share it with you. Anyway...

For the filling, I beat the cream cheese in my stand mixer (not with a hand mixer as per Paula), then added in the pumpkin, beating until combined. Add the sugar and salt and beat some more. Add the eggs and yolks, half-and-half, and the melted butter.

Call your Cardiologist and make an appointment.

Beat just a bit more to combine. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger and beat until combined.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 50 minutes or until the center is set. I will interject that I made little aluminum foil collars to go around the pie crust so that it wouldn't burn, taking them off for the last 15 minutes.

Cool to room temperature.

Top each pie with whipped topping.

Or ice cream.

Always consider if ice cream is an option.

(I was out, alas, and the lime sherbet didn't seem right.)

It looks harmless enough, doesn't it? Is it good? Oh yes, it's good.

Paula's Killer Pumpkin Pie has a creamier taste and texture to it than the Libby's Pie recipe with which most of us are familiar.

I personally prefer a more dense pie with a stronger pumpkin taste but this is a pretty good pie and most likely none of your pumpkin pie-loving guests will object. We managed to choke it down.

Enjoy!

 (Hey, check out my RSS/Subscribe button feeder thingy near the top of the sidebar. I have no idea if it's working so give it a try and please let me know if there's trouble. I'll get my staff -haha- to fix it.)

Turkey Cookies From Outer Space. Or Some Where.

from Pillsbury.com

  

OK, yes-- I'm probably the last person in the world to see these cute little Turkey Cookies. Click on the link under the photo to go to Pillsbury's page for the instructions and recipes.

Anyway-- Zippy and I decided not to be the only people on the planet who missed the Turkey Cookie Boat so we gave it a go. Confession time- we used store bought sugar cookies instead of using the dough from Pillsbury. Sorry Pillsbury guys but time is limited and I didn't want a big flock of turkeys wandering around the house.

Even though I accidentally got gel frosting I think our little guys came out just fine.

Things were going along just fine and then our little turkeys got all Tom Selleck and grew moustaches.

Once that happened, things, um, progressed.

I ditched the legs and went spiky punk rocker.

The Zippster went all three-eyed alien.

Gloves off.

Just a couple of guys. They're certainly happy, aren't they.

Zippy's "Angry Penguin"

I named this guy Sputnick but couldn't tell you why. Of course it was an opportunity for an instant history lesson.

First satellite put into orbit, Russians, 1957. I know some of you kids are younger than I, so click here to visit NASA's history page- you'll learn all about it. We love history at our house.

Anyhoo- back to the issue at hand.......

Here we have my "Suspicious Guy" on the left and Zippy's "Saber Tooth Turkey" on the right.

After that, The Zip pretty much went for maximum sugar.

The "Bull's Eye Cookie" on the left, the "Exploding Daisy" on the right.

And the grand finale, Zippy's "Whirling Vortex of Doom".

Zippy observed that my cookies looked more calm than hers did. Guess I've already done the Whirling Vortex of Doom once in life- no need to revisit.

Silliness reigned at our house that afternoon and we had a good time giggling, which is what the whole thing was really about. Zippy looked at me, sugar crystals forming over her eyes, and said,

"I can't wait for Gingerbread Men."

Have a fun day.

Chicken Dip

I've always loved, and given a work out to, my big red crock pot. The past several weeks we've been without a source of gas for the stove (more on that in a few days) so the ol' crock pot has been doing extra duty. I was in a bit of a quandary when a recent family get together required my bringing a couple of dishes and someone had already signed up for veggie and fruit trays. Then I remembered this great dip recipe from a co-worker.

There are four basic ingredients plus an optional fifth:



2 large cans of chicken breast
1 cup of Ranch
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups of cheddar
Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste, optional
       (You could omit the Tabasco and use Jalapeno Ranch instead)



Rinse and drain the chicken breast. Using two forks, shred the chicken.

Put all of the ingredients into your crock pot and cook on high for 20 minutes. Stir frequently to get everything all nice and melty and mixed.

 



Big Red is a  3.5 quart capacity crock pot. That's kind of big for these amounts. I actually used my Dip Master (don't you love that name) which holds 1.5 quarts.


It just barely took all of the ingredients when I put them in cold but was a good size once everything melted. The Dip Master does not get as hot as quickly as a regular crock pot so I did have to nuke the ingredients to hurry things along. If you have a big honking crock pot you might want to look for a smaller one, a Dip Master, or even a fondue pot. I promise that this dip is worth it.

Once all the ingredients are all melty and bubbly, turn the crock pot to warm and serve with tortilla chips, crackers, veggies. It does need to stay in a warm crock pot or fondue pot as the dip will begin to firm up as it cools.



Next time I make this--- crabmeat.

Now let me warn you--- this is a very rich recipe. Even though it's not shown here (because I used what I had), I would strongly encourage low-fat ingredients. Yes, yes- some folks just don't care for the taste of low-fat ingredients. That's where the hot sauce comes in handy- gives it a bit of zing.

So get that crock pit warmed up and enjoy.

See ya next time.