She Cooks | Rocky Mountain Woman

Archive for the ‘She Cooks’ Category

Chocolate Chocolate

Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on February 3, 2012 – 7:05 am -

I’ve been cyber stalking “Food for Thought” for a while now and have decided to try and join in on the fun. I may not be able to link every time there is a party, but I’m going to do my best! The book today is Chocolate Chocolate The True Story of Two Sisters, Tons of Treats, and the Little Shop That Could. So this week I am linking at http://foodforthoughtediblebooks.blogspot.com/

I downloaded this book to my IPAD last Sunday morning and read the entire thing before dinner! It was a snowy, nasty day in the mountains and I couldn’t have picked a better way to spend a Sunday than with Frances and Ginger, two sisters who open a candy shop.

The story line revolves around the death of their father and their commitment to honor his memory and keep their family close. A premature death is always a traumatic experience and this one was no exception. Their loving family unit was rocked to its core by the death of the patriarch and I could feel their pain in their words. Instead of retreating from the world and living on their small inheritance, they decide to take a gamble and open a business. The passion that they had for life was just not going to be denied and they found their therapy in food, specifically chocolate. I can relate to that!

They not only started a profitable business, but formed a little family that revolved around the shop. As a proud member of a non-biological family, I know first hand how healing that can be. Sometimes we find comfort in the places we least expect it.

Actually, I found comfort in reading about their trials with the dishonest contractor who made their life miserable. If you want to read about my adventures with my very own contractor, click on “She Builds” on the right!

So the long and short of it was that I devoured this book in one sitting with two cups of tea! I am not crazy for chocolate or candy in general, so I struggled a bit to decide what to make in honor of the book. I poured over my recipes and couldn’t find anything. I have all kinds of savory, salty crunchy type goodies, but no sweet ones. In desperation, I pulled out my Mom’s recipe box and there it was! Mamie Eisenhower Fudge!

When I was little my Mom made this quite frequently and it is everything fudge should be without needing a candy thermometer. It was famous when it came out and I think every housewife in America made this fudge at some point during the 50′s. Mamie was a beloved First Lady, with the emphasis on “Lady”. I remember my mother reading everything she could find about her. She was known for being a good cook which is an unusual trait in a modern day first lady!

Her recipe for “Million Dollar Fudge” makes 4 pounds of fudge! I could really hurt myself with that amount of fudge around, so I halved the recipe. Here it is:

2 1/4 cups sugar
1 T butter
pinch salt
6 oz evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans (I left the pecans out)
1/2 pint marshmallow cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
6 ounces German’s Sweet chocolate

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat bring the sugar, salt

butter

evaporated milk

to a boil, let boil for six minutes, stirring occasionally

in the meantime, put the marshmallow cream (it gets all puffy up here because of the altitude) in a bowl

break up the chocolate on top of the cream

when the sugar/milk solution is done boiling, pour it immediately on top the chocolate and cream

stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the cream is all mixed in

pour into a dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and let sit until it sets up

lovely! Making this was a sweet way to remember my sweet Mom and pay homage to Mamie, Frances & Ginger all at the same time.

HOMEMADE POTATO CHIPS

Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on January 11, 2012 – 1:02 pm -

Umm…yeah…these seriously rock..

Start by slicing a whole lot of potatoes in a food processor. You can do it by hand, but you are going to want A LOT of sliced potatoes…

Rinse the slices thoroughly with cold water then let drain and pat dry with paper towels

Heat oil in a deep fryer or in a dutch oven to 350 degrees

Cook the potatoes in batches until brown and crispy

and then remove with a spoon and place on paper towels to drain

sprinkle with Kosher salt while they are still warm and greasy

slice a bunch of green onions

spread the green onions and a whole lotta crumbled blue cheese over the still warm potatoes

Did I mention that these are seriously good/bad? oh yeah…

Print This Recipe

This post is in honor of the letter “H” and part of Jenny Matlock’s Alphabet Thursday. For more hip “h” posts, please click here http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/

GINGER COOKIES

Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on January 4, 2012 – 1:02 pm -

This post is in honor of the letter “G” and part of Jenny Matlock’s Alphabet Thursday. For more gorgeous “G” posts, please click here http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/
So, these are so good that when I bring them to parties, people say under their breath, “hmmm….are these THE cookies?” And if someone overhears me answer “yes”, the word is out and they are gone in about 10 minutes!

Don’t let the Crisco throw you for a loop, these aren’t every day cookies that you make on the weekend and then gobble up. If you made these on a regular basis, you would not be doing your waistline any favors, but they are the perfect special occasion cookie! I make them a lot when I cater because people don’t care about calories much when they are at a wedding….

That being said, I also have to apologize for the prevalence of “mixer action shots” in this recipe. I just can’t seem to help myself!

Ingredient list:

2 cups flour
1 T ginger
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup shortening (regular Crisco is the best)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
granulated sugar

Start by sifting the flour, ginger