Tag: chocolate

Hawaiian night has come and gone.  And so now I must post about the adventure.  Here is how finding a recipe for Hawaiian night went.  Hrm, well this recipe says it is Hawaiian, but that doesn't mean it really is Hawaiian.  Maybe they just put some coconut and pineapple in it and now they "believe" it is Hawaiian. Really, there are a lot of recipes like that.  So, I spent much time researching via the internet.  I found several plan a luau sites that were full of all sorts of recipes.  They proved to be very useful for finding ideas.

For my dish I chose Butter Mochi.  I love mochi ice cream balls. (Oooh! I just found a recipe for making your own at home.  I so have to try this. Sorry, back to this post now.)  So I thought that baked Mochi would probably be just as yummy.  The first hurdle to hop over was what recipe to use for Butter Mochi.  There are about 100 different ways to make Baked Mochi including recipes that add  flaked coconut or chocolate, not to mention the varying versions of just a Butter Mochi recipe.  Some recipes were calling for blocks of butter while others were only calling for 1 stick (or 1/2 cup butter).  I have only this evening come to conclude that when these people wrote their recipes they really weren't speaking of 1lb blocks of butter but simply 1/4lb sticks.  This is where being specific in writing a recipe comes in handy :)

And now for the recipe I choose after many, many hours of reading recipe after recipe.   Sumocat's Butter Mochi.  I did not stray from his recipe except in the pan I baked it in which means the temperature had to be adjusted accordingly. I used a glass baking dish and not a metal pan so I reduced the oven temperature to 325 degrees.  I chose to use a high quality butter (vs choosing a store brand) since butter is playing a star role in this recipe.    

I loved the end result this produced.  It has a wonderful butter flavor to it.  I was worried about over cooking.  I could have left it in the oven for about 5 minutes longer allowing the center to cook more without any threat of burning.  

The interesting part of this dish is that everyone bites into it expecting something completely different than what it is.  Mochi is a chewy product. People think it is going to be cakey or brownie like and it is not that at all.  So many will be confused by the texture and then be turned off of the dish all together, which really is a shame because I find it to be super delicious.  Ah well, more for me!

We've known for bazillions of years that wine is subjective, but it's interesting to learn that white chocolate goes well with caviar, that Slim Jims are made of mechanically separated chicken, that there's a drink made of bird's nest, or that you can eat fish poop. I feel a bit patriotic about my regional specialty, but then again, that's pretty normal, in a world where disgusting vegetarian clones of the already amorphous chicken nugget is sold outside of the endless army of chicken restaurants that all want to look the same. It can be cheaper to make your own breakfast foods, not to mention healthier in a day and age where butter flavoring gets abused and trans fats take all the blame.

These went over really well. They were super easy to make and are great for a party because you can make them ahead of time. Being that I don't eat chocolate, I experimented with a few of them using carob in place of the chocolate. I am used to the bittersweet taste of the carob and felt that it worked nicely, but Savory's wife didn't find them as yummy being that she is not accustomed to the flavor. However, she was all over the chocolate ones.

8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped,
3/4 cup chopped and toasted pecans
20 sheets phyllo dough (14 in by 9 in)

Melt chocolate in the microwave. Stir in pecans.

Lightly brush on sheet of phyllo with butter, place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with butter. Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out. Cut the two layered sheets into three 14 in by 3 in strips.

Place a heaping teaspoonful of chocolate mixture in the lower corner of phyllo strip. Fold dough over filling, forming a triangle. Fold the triangle up, then fold the triangle over, forming another triangle. (Note: if you used to play "football" with a little paper triangle and finger goals you will know exactly how to fold up these little triangles). Repeat with remaining strips of dough and remaining sheets of phyllo.

Place triangles on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Yield:30 servings.

Hello Edible Unknown and happy new year! Unlike the other contributors here at the EU, I don't cook. I do however bake. Yes, if one could live by desserts alone all would be well, but since one can not I have my own personal chef (aka: Tele, my husband). I will do my best to contribute desserts that are easy and crowd pleasing.

The first recipe I have for you is a family tradition. My aunts got the recipe in 4H club while in elementary school. They require no baking and are great for kids to make. I took the recipe while I was in high school and modified it just a tad. I eat only white chocolate and so I found a way to still enjoy Eskimo cookies. I love these cookies rock hard straight from the fridge, others prefer them softened out on a tray for a while. It's a personal preference thing. Either way everyone will love these and be asking you for the recipe. Enjoy!

Eskimo Cookies

• 4 cups oatmeal (quick cooking oats provide the best consistency)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp water
• 2 oz Ghiradelli White Chocolate Baking Bar (or Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate, for the chocolate lovers)
• Powdered sugar

Combine oatmeal, sugar, butter, vanilla and water until mixed thoroughly.
Melt the baking chocolate in the microwave.
Pour over the oatmeal mixture and mix until the chocolate has been distributed evenly.
Roll into small balls and then roll in powdered sugar to coat.

Refrigerate for 2 -3 hrs before serving.

(Note: Sticking to the original recipe and making it easier for young children to make and mix you use 6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder instead of the 2 oz of baking bar.)