Day Three Hundred Forty Eight: Nutty About Chocolate

On Monday I made Martha's Dark Chocolate Nut Clusters to include in my birthday favor bags.  They are a handful of almonds held together with rich, dark chocolate.  Sweet and salty. Perfect for late-night snacking.

First you melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  I'd like to point out that I followed the chocolate-melting guidelines and my chocolate melted beautifully.

Ta-da!

(Note:  I was so excited the chocolate melted correctly, I did a little dance for the stovetop.)

To make the nut clusters, just drop a few teaspoons of this yummy chocolate on a non-stick surface.  Drop a few almonds on the chocolate base and finish by drizzling with more chocolate on top.  Put in the refrigerator to harden.

The result is not only pretty, but so good, you'll find them hard to keep out of your mouth.

Day Three Hundred Forty Seven: Not-Your-Usual Tuna Salad

Since I was trying to be very healthy and low-cal, Sunday I made Martha's Tuna, Avocado and Romaine Salad.  In addition to the named ingredients, it also has sliced radishes and a vinaigrette made with Dijon mustard.  It uses canned tuna, which makes the recipe ridiculously easy. My avocados were actually labeled with a "ripe" sticker to make sure the buyer was aware they were ready to eat.

I call this Salad for Dummies.  

Very good, especially when slathered with enough of this yummy Dijon dressing to drown a tuna.

That's still healthy, right?

Day Three Hundred Forty Six: Personalized Gift Tags

Friday is my birthday and my husband has set up a little dinner with a few friends.  Like us, they all have children and I know it is a sacrifice of time and money to celebrate with me.  As a thank-you, I'm going to make each of them a little basket of goodies to enjoy after the party.  

I'll be showing you what I make for the snacks later in the week, but I started last week by making personalized tags for each gift.  I used Martha's clip art from a wedding favor idea and had a personalized stamp made.  It has a vintage car on the top and says "Snacks for the Road" underneath.  

I stamped the design on a 4-inch square card stock.  In pink.  Because it's all about me.

They are really too cute.  I can't wait to attach them to the gift boxes.

Day Three Hundred Forty Five: Dressing Surprise

Over the weekend I made Martha's Flank Steak and Arugula Salad.  The meat makes my husband happy, and the salad makes my waistline happy.  How often do you get to mix red meat with salad greens?  So I admit, flank steak isn't a favorite cut of mine, but this one is well-seasoned and definitely worth a try.

The thing about this salad is the dressing. I loved it, but you may be surprised to hear what's inside it.   Are you sitting down?

Balsamic vinegar and Salsa.  That's all.

I used our favorite roasted chipotle salsa and mixed in the balsamic.  It was spicy and full of flavor.  About knocked me off my rocker it was so good.  Well, I wasn't actually sitting on a rocker, but if I were, I'm pretty sure I would have lost my balance.  Nearly.

Day Three Hundred Forty Four: Chocolate Happens

After my success with the chocolate fondue on Tuesday, I decided to make my husband Martha's Chocolate-Covered Strawberries.  I figured it couldn't be very hard to melt chocolate and dip strawberries into it.

Chopped nuts for garnish?  Check:

Gorgeous strawberries, ready for dipping?  Check:

Rock hard chocolate? Check:

You might be wondering..."Isn't that chocolate supposed to be melted?"  Why yes, clever person, it should be.  But the longer I melted the chocolate in the double boiler, the harder it became.  I practically had to chisel it out of the bowl when I was done.

Needless to say no strawberries were dipped into chocolate that night. (Sorry, honey.)

The next day I did a little internet research and found out that making one of the following mistakes will cause your melted chocolate to "seize":  1) heating the chocolate over too high of heat, or  2) allowing steam/moisture from the double boiler to get into the chocolate.

I'm pretty sure I didn't do one of these things.  I positive I did both.

I've always been a bit of an over-achiever.

Day Three Hundred Forty Three: Chocolate Fun-due

As a little treat for my kids I made Martha's Chocolate Fondue on Tuesday.  I had not thought of it before, but what could be more fun for kids than dipping fruit into melted chocolate?  That has to rank up there with making your own ice cream sundae.

Fondue is simple enough to do:  just melt chocolate with heavy cream. It turns into a lovely, glossy chocolate-y dip.  I served a few spoonfuls with some dried peaches, strawberries and marshmallows.  The kids were overjoyed at the prospect.

If you try this at home, fair warning:  It took about four minutes for my middle daughter to be completely covered in chocolate....and she's usually a pretty pristine eater.

In addition to nearly ruining a darn cute cardigan, she also managed a pretty impressive chocolate mustache.  She was so covered with chocolate that afterward, I undressed her and hosed her off in the shower.

The kids found the whole chocolate business very entertaining.

Day Three Hundred Forty Two: Hugs and Kisses Anyway

For my son's Kindergarten class, I decided to make Martha's X and O's Cupcakes for Valentine's Day.  They look like this:

They are simple cupcakes and icing with those little round cinnamon candies in the shape of little X's and O's. I  was impressed with my decision:  cupcakes, icing AND candy?  What Kindergartener wouldn't be tickled pink?

I happened to buy the cinnamon candies first and let my six-year old try them. Like most kids his age, he has an loose, almost liberal policy on candy:  he never declines it.  He liked the cinnamon candies so much he nearly gagged on them.

I think his candy policy is more conservative now.

So, I bagged the X's and O's and made Martha's Chocolate Cupcakes instead.  I tinted the icing pink and piped it onto the cute, if less clever, chocolate cupcakes.

I didn't hear any complaints when the empty cupcake platter arrived home that afternoon.  I think they were a hit.