Monday, January 11, 2010

today







Last evening, around 9:30, David and I arrived home from having dinner with friends. As I walked up our icy path, I saw an object with a red ribbon wrapped around it placed just outside the front door. Taking a closer look, I realized a friend had been by to deliver her annual Christmas gift to us, a little late this year. There by the door sat a packet of notecards made from a collection of last year's nature photographs and her own hot fudge sauce in a small jar. I scooped them both up, admired the photos and put the jar on the counter, looking forward to that special time when I would taste its contents, and went to bed.

Today I took Calley to Mt Misery field for her favorite run and then went to the grocery store. What are the chances? Brigham's vanilla and coffee ice cream were on sale! I bought a quart of each. At home I brought in wood for the woodstove. Piled it neatly on the hearth.

Dog exercized, check. Groceries bought and put away, check. Wood in, check.
Now to taste the sauce. Heated in the microwave, poured over coffee ice cream, topped with a few frozen raspberries, it did not disappoint!
Soon, Eliza arrived home from work, filled a mug with ice cream and drizzled on the aromatic sauce. Truly a reward for enduring this never-ending cold weather. But the jar is almost empty now.

The hand written label indicated that this sauce was Ben and Jerry's recipe. A quick search on the web and I found it. Although sometimes it's best not to know the ingredients of the things we really love!



Ben & Jerry’s Original Hot Fudge Sauce

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently. Add the cocoa and whisk until it dissolves.

Using a slotted spoon, gradually stir in the sugar (the mixture should be the consistency of wet sand.) Cook over the simmering water, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Gradually stir in the milk and cream. Continue cooking and stirring for one hour, checking the water level in the double boiler and replenishing it when necessary.

When the fudge is completely smooth and the sugar is dissolved, the sauce is ready. Makes one quart. Keeps in the refrigerator for quite some time. Reheat as needed.

8 comments:

Sylvia Elmer said...

Wow. The key to a pregnant woman's heart. The pictures were enough to make me crave it, but the recipe will make it possible to eat it! :) Thanks for sharing!

Ruth Lizotte said...

Although sometimes it's best not to know the ingredients of the things we really love.

You're good!

How would one know that this lasts in the frig? Why would one ever leave it ...overnight even...in the frig. Yum! I'm on it! What a great way to brighten this dark, rainy day.

Ruth Lizotte said...

Perhaps fudge sauce is like your blog...if it sits in the frig for a while, it's enjoyed that much more by the recipients! Thanks for the new entry. I loved it!

Sylvia Elmer said...

Brad and I have been working hard to save money. We've cut out all extraneous and seemingly unnecessary expenses from our shopping list. This includes chips, ice cream, beer, etc.

After reading your blog earlier in the week, we made a deal that if we could make it to the weekend, I was allowed to buy ice cream and hot fudge sauce ingredients and he was allowed to buy a 6-pack of beer.

We just got back from the store with two kinds of ice cream (vanilla and coffee, of course) and all the ingredients necessary. He seems to have forgotten his end of the bargain. ;-)

Hot fudge sauce, here we come!

HSF said...

I expect this for our next writing time together. yummy !

Barbara said...

Sylvia, I wish I could arrive at your door in Davis,
California with all the ingredients at hand! I would sit down and enjoy each sweet bite with you. Hope the recipe actually works, I haven't made it yet. Let me know!

Barbara said...

Hetty, let's plan on it! Natalie would approve.
Chocolate as inspiration! Now if we can figure out a way to talk less and write more....

Sylvia Elmer said...

The recipe was excellent! It made a thicker, creamier hot fudge sauce than I'm used to making, which was delicious on ice cream. With two rainy days left for the weekend, we plan on eating many more helpings of it! It didn't take an hour for all the sugar to dissolve and, with the double boiler, there wasn't as much of a risk of burning if we accidentally forgot to "stir occasionally" for a little while. I'll make this again!