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January 3, 2008

MatzoToffee Brittle

So I got the bright idea to be ambitious the Eve of Christmas Eve and make a load of treats.  Why?  I dunno…perhaps there was crack slipped into my coffee. Perhaps I thought that the only way to relieve all the stress & pressure of the holiday season was to bake?   Who knows….

Before I got the bright idea to make truffles, I was surfing the net (as usual) and found this recipe for Matzo Toffee Brittle that peaked my interest. Toffee+Matzos+Chocolate+Almond slices means a match made in heaven for this bean.

While I was buying all the supplies for the truffles (everything found PERFECTLY at Trader Joe’s-thank you). I COULD NOT for the life of me get a hold of a package of matzos.  I went to 6 different grocery stores….NOTHING.  The section where they were supposed to be in each store was completely empty. What?!?  And the one store I found them in had only Onion flavoring. Bleh. I didn’t think that would work.

Then I made my truffles…and couldn’t stop thinking about the matzos.  It was stuck in my brain.  I was SOO determined to make that recipe that the night before the Eve of Christmas Eve (whoa, complicated) I went out to Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck as we call it) to see if my good karma would reward me.  YES!  They were there.  Thank You!!  I bought two packages… Why?  In case of an earthquake I guess.  No-it’s really cuz the freak in me was thinking-what will I do I wanna make these again and I can’t find them?????

So here they are/were:

plate for neighbors

They are light, crunchy, flakey, yummy and… everything else that ends in Y that’s a good adjective.

mmmmm matzo toffee brittle

The only hard part was waiting until they were completely done.  I was to anxious to see if they would work out.   Phew!  They did. Disaster diverted.  All is right with the world.  That will teach me to try a last minute recipe.  (Doubtful— I know I will continue to do so.)

Oh yeah…and notice the toffee undersides…..

matzo toffee brittle

now here’s the recipe:

Matzo Toffee Brittle:

-3 1/2 sheets unsalted matzos
-1cup unsalted butter
-1cup firmly packed light brown sugar
-1cup semisweet chocolate morsels
-1/3cup finely chopped toasted slivered almonds

1. Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with nonstick aluminum foil. Arrange matzos in prepared pan, breaking as necessary to fit and completely cover bottom of pan.

2. Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Carefully pour mixture evenly over matzos in pan, and spread over matzos.

3. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. (Mixture will start to bubble at about 10 minutes. Continue to bake to 15 minutes.) Carefully remove pan from oven to a wire rack. (Mixture will still be bubbly.) Let stand 1 minute at room temperature or until no longer bubbly. Sprinkle top evenly with morsels; let stand 1 minute or until morsels soften. Spread morsels over brittle. Sprinkle with almonds; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Place pan in refrigerator; chill 30 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Break into about 20 pieces. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week in refrigerator.

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January 2, 2008

silence is golden

whew! the holiday season has passed. It feels good to not have all of these social events looming

in the past few days we:

-had Casey’s family over for another Patriots victory

– finally got to see juno (LOVED it!!)

how we spent part of saturday

-spent a rainy morning with my hubby at breakfast:

making a modern breakfast

thanks for your help, spoon this is a breakfast *sandwich*

took one of my last self portraits of 2007 in the rain:

i just ate a massive breakfast.

enjoyed the quiet in the house with the kitty fats:

fuzzy lighting

took a long shower to decompress:

the air smells good outside

Celebrated the New Year with the family & Lobsters:

my mom is up to no good

we all wore these awesome glasses:

2008, ducktail

lobsters!

mom makes a really good linguine with clams:

linguini with clams

garlic breads!

had too much wine…and took some blurry photos…..

blurries

too much wine for me.

pshhhhhh

and now I’m off to crunch numbers….and contemplate all my resolutions/goals for the New Year. Headache is still present…and now I have the sniffles. Oh! and I had a whole bottle of water spill in my bag this morning. Isn’t that the biggest suck?

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January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

happy new year!!!

Let’s hope the hangover is over when I wake up tomorrow morning. Let’s make 2008 kick ass!

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December 27, 2007

happy holidays…..

the past week in photo form:

lunch with the family at greens:

view from my seat  greens restaurant, sf wine for lunch neat packaging eggplant & pepper pizza black bean chilli again with the bread! i ordered the sampler coconut marquis pine nut tart

dinner with my family at zuni:

dinner with family at zuni. worth quitting atkins over caesar salad anchovies seafoods bruschetta with cannelinni mash, mushrooms & oil roasted chicken with bread salad mmmmmm i ate like half of these effers. two hands! two hands! aftermath.  disgusting i know.  but so good! pecan cornmeal biscotti

finishing decorative touches around the house…..

glow and show your tackyness to our neighbors! the mantle at night

over-extending myself in the kitchen…..

overly ambitious.  my kitchen was a disaster last night. rugelach

last minute wrapping…

to: dad to: emma to: angie to: henry

-Christmas Eve dinner at my parents (too busy to take pics! sooo sad!)

-Christmas Day with the hubbie’s family

xmas dinner presentation the flowers horse gets pestered i'd sit here every night if i could

-Day after Christmas–family portraits taken at the beach…..

getting ready for the family portrait i wore converse! my ears are cold what are these called?

– dinner at my house with husband’s family (made two soups)

-made it to 100 posts on this blog!!!   (thank you for all your kind words & support!  It’s been fun!)

and……a lot of other stuff happened too…but we finally have some down time….and I have three new magazines to devour.

more soon….

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December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!

to: linda

Merry Christmas!  Wishing you all the best! 

May your Christmas be filled with sweets & goodies.

xoxoxox

Tracy

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December 22, 2007

Easy Peppermint Bark

I was in such a zone while making this, that I forgot to take pictures along the way!  When does that happen?  Oh holidays, I love you—but please hurry up and be over soon!

So here’s a peak of what they *looked* like:

the last of the peppermint bark

They are incredibly easy, light & tasty…..with the perfect crunch!

peppermint bark all packaged up

It’s like mixing a rice krispy treat with a candy cane!

Peppermint Bark


(makes about 35 pieces)

Recipe from Everyday Food

  • 1 pound white chocolate, chopped (do not use chips)
  • 2 cups puffed rice cereal
  • 1 bag (7.5 ounces) hard peppermint candies, unwrapped
  • Nonstick cooking spray


  1. Spray a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; line with a piece of waxed paper. Crush candies in a Ziploc bag—strain out the powder.
  2. Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in rice cereal.
  3. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; with a spatula, spread to edges of pan.
  4. Sprinkle with crushed candy; with a piece of waxed paper covering the entire surface, press in gently (paper prevents hands from sticking to candy and chocolate). Chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes (no longer, as candy will begin to soften).
  5. Peel waxed paper off. Break bark into 2-inch pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

They are just as good as those Trader Joe’s Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s!

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December 20, 2007

Make your own Truffles!

I can’t believe that Christmas is only a few days away.

I now have a pounding headache to prove it.   *joy*

I stayed up til midnight making these babies:

my loot

In this batch you will find…..

Peppermint Infused Truffles Rolled in Candy Cane Bits:

peppermint infused truffles with candy cane bits

Bourbon Infused Truffles rolled in Trader Joe’s Sweet & Spicy Pecans:

bourbon truffles with sweet/spicy pecan topping

and those same bourbon truffles rolled in Chopped Roasted Pistachios….

bourbon truffles with pistachio topping

Plain Truffles smothered in Cocoa Powder:

plain truffle with coccoa powder dusting

And something festive, cuz you know-it’s that time of year- or something:

plain truffle with festive sprinkles

ok so on with the recipe….

Chocolate Truffles

(Makes about 30)

Recipe from the back of Martha Stewart Treat Packaging

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate chopped
  • 3/4 cup  heavy cream
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter-unsalted & softened
  • 2 tablespoons of flavored liquor (optional)
  • 1-2 cups of the chopped topping of your choice

1. Heat chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture smooth. Remove from heat, add butter  and liquor/flavoring if your heart desires (do it).  Stir until butter is melted.

2. Pour mixture into an 8 inch square baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for about 2 hours.

3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a very small (about 1 inch diameter) ice cream scoop (or melon baller), drop balls of chocolate in whatever coating you wish.  Roll to coat.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to serve.  They keep for up to 2 weeks.

For the Bourbon Truffles, I poured in 2 heaping tablespoons of Maker’s Mark.

For the Peppermint Truffles, I poured in 2 heaping tablespoons of Peppermint Oil.

Each one of the Martha Stewart Boxes I bought fit 4:

inside truffle package

Adding something festive….

truffle central

Stay Tuned for the Peppermint Bark recipe!