Sixth Post

 

I'm sorry if my last blog sounded a little mopey. I like to be complemented on my cooking, and I was rather angry that nobody liked my food. I can't say I had that problem yesterday though. 

My cousins Jake and Molly just graduated, and it is tradition that my family host a huge party before they pack them off for collage. Which means food. So, naturally, I baked Milk Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Shortbread Cookies, Black and White Macaroons, Cherry and White Chocolate Brownies, and Mendiants.

Just above the recipe for Mendiants there is a note:"These grown up candies were originally created for Christmas in homage to the colors of the robes of the monastic order. Don't let the color stop you, though-choose fruits and nuts that you like, and experiment with other flavor combinations. This recipe is simply a guide." Mendiants are made by dropping a teaspoon full of 60% Cacao Bittersweet chocolate (or milk or white chocolate if you prefer something sweeter. Dark chocolate is only 15-34% cocoa) and then placing a toasted almond, a piece of dried apricot, and a chunk of crystalized ginger. I split my dried apricots in half and each ginger in fourths, using only a strip of apricot and two chunks of ginger per Mendiant. I was really happy with the way they turned out. My uncle claimed that he wanted to hide the whole platter in his car.  I had made a double batch and still there were only two left at the end of the night.

Next came the brownies. The dried cherries in them failed to make an impression on some of the younger kids, but these are hardly meant to be a children's cupcake. Still, they were MIA by the end of the night. I did make a few changes. One of the ingredients is kirsch, a kind of fruit brandy (for taste, the alcohol is boiled out). I used regular brandy, borrowed from my grandpa, because kirsch is rather expensive for something that will never be used again. I don't think the brownies suffered too much. I had planned to make two other types of brownie, but I ran out of time, and we already had several desserts.

The Macaroons got the most attention. A woman even asked me for the recipe. This surprised me, actually. I don't like coconut, and I assumed that few did. I never actually tried them myself. The macaroons were meringues, with a lot of coconut and chocolate chips folded in. Not something I would make for myself, but pretty and perfect for a gathering like this.

Last came the shortbread cookies. They were rather plain, so they didn't get too much attention, but most of them were eaten. As  was making them I was having flashbacks of the Chocolate Checkerboards (remember the cookies that puddled on the tray then burned), but in fact they turned out rather nice. The taste is similar to that of the Chocolate Mexican Wedding Cookies. If I make this recipe again, I will make the Dipped Chocolate Sandwich Cookies it suggests as a variation.

I also made Milk Chocolate Truffles, not so different from the Dark Chocolate Truffles I had made before. They were easier to make the second time, and they were also gone after the party.

Thankfully I can skip my birthday this year, because my cousins wedding rehearsal is on the 12th! I will probably be baking those brownies that I wanted to earlier, and hopefully a cheesecake. Thanks for reading!