Chocolate has been a favorite, with kids and women, for centuries, with more than a few men enjoying the delicious dessert too! If you're a chocoholic, then chances are you came to this page in hopes of hunting down some delicious ideas for chocolate recipes. Well, you won't be disappointed.
Chocolate comes in many forms, including powdered, chips, and bars. With these simple forms, thousands of original chocolate recipes can be created. Chocolate bars, crunches, cookies, cakes, pies, and brownies all equal chocolate satisfaction.
One chocolate recipe that can be altered every which way is the chocolate cake. The basic packaged chocolate cake mix can serve as a platform for a chocolate dessert “made in heaven”. Combine Dutch-processed cocoa, sugar, a dab of butter and a little water to form a rich liquid to swirl through the prepared batter just before baking. The result is a sinfully rich cake fit for a Queen.
The same mixture also doubles as a rich glaze to drizzle on top of the finished cake. If a richer frosting is your desire, nothing beats one made with cocoa, butter and powdered sugar. Very simple, but as chocolate recipes go, a real winner. For the ultimate chocoholics delight, top the frosting with shavings of a chilled dark chocolate bar containing 70% cocoa. The high cocoa content produces a velvety, melt-in-your-mouth good taste, rich but not overwhelming, in the proper size!
Some chocolate recipes don't require a special occasion. A case in point is the brownie. For thick, dense, moist brownies, swirl some chocolate syrup through the batter just before baking. Another chocolate recipe trick uses chocolate chips stirred through the brownie batter. Ten minutes before they're done, sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. There's (almost) no such thing as too much chocolate, you know! By the way, do you know that recent studies have shown chocolate to be heart healthy? Yes, really!
If you want to promote your dessert as a “health food” to reluctant friends and family, add nuts. Cashews, pecans, and peanuts are all heart-healthy, due to high vitamin E content and antioxidant activity. Granola bars topped with chocolate are filling and healthy.
For a s'mores-like bar, melt marshmallow creme with a little butter, chocolate chips and nuts. Surpass the ordinary chocolate chip cookie with a chocolate cookie batter made with the addition of dutch-processed cocoa and sugar.
All of these chocolate recipe treats may be frozen, with the exception of frosted cakes and bars. When you find yourself craving chocolate, make a weekend of creative chocolate recipes! It's a good idea to write down the quantities and combinations of your additions for repeatable results. You and your fellow chocolatiers will applaud your artistry!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Chilli Sauce
Chilli Sauce
If you like your food hot and spicy, nothing will achieve this more than chilli sauce. The chilli pepper is the fruit of the capsicum plant and is cooked whole, ground into powder or made into a sauce. There are different varieties of peppers, each generating their own degree of heat. You can make your own sauce to your own requirements or buy prepared bottled sauce. Chilli is an essential ingredient of Tex-Mex cooking and is also used in some curry recipes.
Spicy condiments are a matter of personal taste, some people liking a mild accompaniment and others preferring the full blown pepper experience. Sweet Chilli Sauce is very popular and is a blend of chilli pepper, fruit and sugar. The sweetness gives a tasty contrast to the pepper. Another popular preparation is Tabasco Sauce, a hot sauce made from tabasco chillis, vinegar and salt. The flavor is enhanced by its maturation in oak barrels for three years and it's a best seller. The manufacturers are based in Louisiana but the brand name is in homage to the Mexican state. In addition to its use in cooking, it's an essential ingredient of the famous cocktail, Bloody Mary. There are some companies that put warnings on their labels, they are so hot and not for the faint hearted!
Making your own sauce is pretty straightforward and has the advantage of being in control of the strength of the chilli sauce. The general consensus is that green peppers are more suitable for chicken and pork and red peppers are better for beef. Fresh chillis are preferable but it's ok to use frozen. The basic recipe requires chillis, garlic, limejuice, salt, cumin, oil and water. If you want it extra spicy, you can add jalapenos, but take the seeds out. Use a food processor to blend it all together and use straight away or freeze for later.
If you handle raw chilli peppers, it's important to take care. Some of the hotter ones have even caused severe burns. Always wear gloves; you'll pay the price if some chilli rubs into a cut. Never touch your eyes or lips with fingers that have touched the pepper and wash your hands afterwards. If you want your chilli sauce to be fairly mild, there are some tricks to help that. Take out the seeds, the ribs and the fleshy interior. You may have to go through a trial and error period to achieve just the right blend for your own taste.
If you like your food hot and spicy, nothing will achieve this more than chilli sauce. The chilli pepper is the fruit of the capsicum plant and is cooked whole, ground into powder or made into a sauce. There are different varieties of peppers, each generating their own degree of heat. You can make your own sauce to your own requirements or buy prepared bottled sauce. Chilli is an essential ingredient of Tex-Mex cooking and is also used in some curry recipes.
Spicy condiments are a matter of personal taste, some people liking a mild accompaniment and others preferring the full blown pepper experience. Sweet Chilli Sauce is very popular and is a blend of chilli pepper, fruit and sugar. The sweetness gives a tasty contrast to the pepper. Another popular preparation is Tabasco Sauce, a hot sauce made from tabasco chillis, vinegar and salt. The flavor is enhanced by its maturation in oak barrels for three years and it's a best seller. The manufacturers are based in Louisiana but the brand name is in homage to the Mexican state. In addition to its use in cooking, it's an essential ingredient of the famous cocktail, Bloody Mary. There are some companies that put warnings on their labels, they are so hot and not for the faint hearted!
Making your own sauce is pretty straightforward and has the advantage of being in control of the strength of the chilli sauce. The general consensus is that green peppers are more suitable for chicken and pork and red peppers are better for beef. Fresh chillis are preferable but it's ok to use frozen. The basic recipe requires chillis, garlic, limejuice, salt, cumin, oil and water. If you want it extra spicy, you can add jalapenos, but take the seeds out. Use a food processor to blend it all together and use straight away or freeze for later.
If you handle raw chilli peppers, it's important to take care. Some of the hotter ones have even caused severe burns. Always wear gloves; you'll pay the price if some chilli rubs into a cut. Never touch your eyes or lips with fingers that have touched the pepper and wash your hands afterwards. If you want your chilli sauce to be fairly mild, there are some tricks to help that. Take out the seeds, the ribs and the fleshy interior. You may have to go through a trial and error period to achieve just the right blend for your own taste.
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