2paw

Friday Food: Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells

The recipe is from the Winter 2012 Family Circle. I was able to find some large pasta shells in the posh deli, but they were only 6-7cm long I am pretty sure the ones in the magazine were truly giant and at least twice as big. I was grateful for what I found!!

Other than that, the ingredients are staples. I would have liked more of the tomato sauce, but that's just me. I like tomatoes.

I have re-ordered the instructions, as when I followed theirs I had to do some boring waiting for the zucchini to cool.

I made half the recipe and it filled 24 shells, each with a heaped teaspoon of the mixture. The whole recipe would have made 48, a huge amount I think to serve four people. I rather think this is a side dish and so I ate mine with some baked chicken. It would be nice with a lemony* green salad too.

 

Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells    serves 4

• 2 tbspn olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 600g zucchini, trimmed, peeled and grated
• 400g giant pasta shells
  
• 800g tin chopped tomatoes
• pinch caster sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 400g piece of fresh ricotta
• zest of a lemon
• 100g Parmesan cheese, grated

 

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and add the grated zucchini and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Place in a sieve and press out the excess moisture. Set aside to cool.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water. Cook for 6-7 minutes. The pasta I bought said to cook it for 13 minutes, so I think you should cook whichever pasta you have for half the recommended time. Drain in a colander and rinse twice in cold water. The pasta should all be cold. Separate if necessary and set aside.

Make the tomato sauce by putting the remaining oil and garlic in a pan over a medium heat and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and sugar and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken. Pour into the base of a large baking dish or casserole. Mine is 24 x 24 cm.

Now preheat the oven to 210*C (190*C fan forced).

Beat the ricotta with a fork or spoon until it is smooth and then add the lemon zest and half of the parmesan cheese and mix well again. Fold in the zucchini.

 

Stuff each pasta shell with a heaped teaspoon of the ricotta mixture and place on the bed of tomato sauce. Top with the remaining half of the Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. The pasta will be golden and the sauce bubbling.

Serve immediately. I added a little more pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Delicious!!

* I believe I think almost every dish can be improved with the addition of lemon!!!!

Friday Food: Basic Chocolate Cake

This cake recipe is from the June BH&G magazine. The recipe in the magazine is incomplete. It doesn't say what to do with some of the ingredients and whether to add them or not. I used my initiative and the cake was fine. On TV last night they showed the cake being made and my instincts were correct. I do wonder though, that the man used his mix master to beat in the dry ingredients and chocolate/cocoa. I always fold them in gently by hand to make the cake as light as possible.

This is a very good cake. It smells nice and chocolaty and tastes great.

I had no golden caster sugar, so I substituted 1/2 cup of the caster sugar for brown sugar. I used hazelnut meal instead of almond meal. Note that there are two amounts of butter: one for melting with chocolate and one for creaming with the sugar.

On TV they showed the cake with a chocolate ganache topping, vanilla frosting and fresh berries and then as a layered cake filled with coffee frosting and grated chocolate.

 

Basic Chocolate Cake  serves 10-12

• 200g good dark chocolate, chopped
• 75g unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 2/3 cup very hot water
• 1 1/2 cups raw or golden caster sugar
• 175g unsalted butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 tspn vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• cream and extra grated chocolate to serve (I used a Flake)

Preheat the oven to 160*C and grease and line a 23cm cake tin. My tin was not very high so I made sure the baking paper extended above the rim.

Melt the chocolate and 75g of butter either in the microwave or in a glass bowl over a pan of just simmering water. Just before it is properly melted, remove from the heat and stir till smooth and combined. Set aside to cool.

Mix the cocoa and hot water till smooth and allow to cool as well.

Cream the remain butter and sugar of your choice until it is pale, light and creamy. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl, you can see in the picture the original colour of the mixture before it was creamed.

Add the eggs one by one and the vanilla extract and then beat only till combined.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and almond meal. In a medium bowl fold in the creamed butter mixture and then add the cooled melted chocolate and butter and the cocoa.

Spoon into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes. Check it a little earlier as it is quite chocolaty and will easily catch on the bottom. It is cooked when a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Leave in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn the cake out onto a rack until it is completely cool.

Then serve and enjoy.

Friday Food: Chilli Beef Soup

It's all about the soup here.  Autumn is the perfect time for sipping a spicy rich broth. if you don't actually read the recipe before you decide to cook the soup, then you won't realise it needs 2 1/2 hours in a slow oven. So, this is a soup to simmer away all afternoon and eat for tea with some crusty bread. There's hardly any actual hands on cooking and it mostly potters along all by itself.

I used hot dried chilli rather than mild chilli powder: some like it hot. You can leave out the cannellini beans if you are so inclined. I was not.

I don't have a casserole that can cook on the stove top and then go into the oven, so I had to use a saucepan and then I transferred it to a 3 litre casserole dish. 

 

Chilli Beef Soup   serves 4

• 1 tbspn olive oil
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 brown onion, chopped
• 250g stewing steak (chuck or blade) diced
• 2 tspn mild chilli powder (or 1 tspn hot chilli flakes)
• 1/2 tspn ground cumin
• 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 5 cups beef stock
• 350g pumpkin, chopped into 1cm cubes
• 1 tbspn balsamic vinegar
• 400g tin cannellini beans
• parsley for decoration if you will

 

Preheat oven to 150*C (130 fan forced)

Heat the oil in your chosen pan to medium and fry the onion and garlic, stirring for 5 minutes to soften.

Increase the heat to high and add the beef, stirring and cooking for 5 minutes more.

Add the cumin and chilli and fry off for a further 2 minutes.

Now add the stock, tomatoes, pumpkin,

and balsamic vinegar.

Bring to the boil and then the soup goes into the oven for 2- 2 1/2 hours. Cover the top loosely with baking paper or foil. When the beef is tender, add the beans and a heat for 5-10 minutes more.

Season to taste and serve. This spicy soup freezes well and it is easy to double the recipe. It is a hearty soup and reasonably inexpensive.

 

Friday Food: Spiced Carrot and Lentil Soup

I felt the need for something vegetable-y, and the Winter Family Circle has some great vegetable and soup recipes. This soup is delectable and cheap. It cost 27 cents for the carrots and 32 cents for the lentils. I had coriander seeds, ground coriander and stock and just bought some sour cream and crusty bread. It's about 50 cents a serve I think. (I did have to buy a kilo of carrots and 375g of lentils)

I don't have a mortar and pestle so I just crushed the cooked coriander seeds with the back of a spoon. It was very easy.

This recipe serves two and it only took 35 minutes to prepare and cook. The recipe could be doubled or tripled and it would freeze very well.

 

Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup  serves 2

• 300 carrots, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup (60g) split red lentils, rinsed
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 tspn ground coriander
• salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any)
• 1/4 tspn coriander seeds
• 2 tbspn sour cream
• crusty bread, to serve

Bring the stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over a high heat.

Peel and top and tail the carrots. Chop roughly and add to the stock with the lentils and ground coriander.

Bring the stock back to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 25-30 minutes, until the carrots are soft.

Blend the soup until it is smooth and return it to the pan to keep hot.

Meanwhile, cook the coriander seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Crush and set aside.

Serve with a spoonful of sour cream, a sprinkle of the crushed coriander seeds and some crusty bread.

Friday Food: Easiest No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake

Yes indeedy, that's the name of the recipe in the June Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It takes about 30 minutes to make and then 2 hours freezing time and it is ready to eat.

Everyone at Sewing said it tasted very yummy!!!

Do not try and make chocolate adornments when you have the hiccoughs/hiccups. It results in very wobbly spoon-like creations. Never mind they still taste very chocolaty.

Chocolate Ripple biscuits are plain chocolate flavoured biscuits, they are not chocolate coated at all.

I didn't have any Frangelico, well no liqueur at all. Instead I added some vanilla extract. If the mixture needs a little more liquid you could add some cold coffee.

 

The Easiest No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake   serves 6-8

• 200-250g Chocolate Ripple biscuits
• 80g butter, melted
• 200g good dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbspn cocoa powder
• 60ml hazelnut liqueur
• 150ml thickened cream 
• 300g Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature
• 150g caster sugar
• 200g dark chocolate extra for decorating
• extra cocoa for dusting
• extra whipped cream for serving

Put the biscuits in your food processor, or in a zip lock bag, and make crumbs.

Add the melted butter and mix well.

Line a 20cm springform tin. I usually put the baking paper over the base and then clip it into the tin. It makes it easy to slide the finished cheesecake onto a plate. Press the biscuit mixture firmly into the tin and then refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the chopped chocolate in your microwave, or in a bowl over some simmering water. Set it aside for about 15 minutes to cool.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and then fold in the cocoa. Now add a little of the cream to the cooled chocolate and fold gently. Add half the remaining cream and then the rest. Fold gently till it is all combined.

Whip the caster sugar and cream cheese until the sugar is dissolved. I used the same bowl and beaters to save washing up. You can rub a little of the cream cheese between your fingers and it will not feel gritty: then it is ready. As before, fold a little cream cheese mixture into the chocolate and cream, then add more and continue to fold until it is well combined. Spread into the tin and smooth the top. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

Melt the extra chocolate then pour into a small jug. Line a tray with baking paper and then the recipe says to make long spoon-like shapes. Really, I think any shape would be fine. Mine are hiccough wobbly. Refrigerate till set.

Decorate* the cheesecake with the chocolate shapes.

Serve with extra cocoa and cream if you so desire.This cheesecake was transported in the car so I chose to forgo the extra cocoa and whipped cream.

 

*Hmm, there was a little giggling at my 'decorations'!!!

Friday Food: Tuscan Bean Soup

Every year Delicious Magazine has an Italian issue. I am not sure why they don't have Greek or Chinese or Indian, but there you go.  In spite of the warm and humid day, I decided to cook Italian soup from the May 2012 issue, because this soup can be frozen for up to two months for cooler days. It's low fat, vegetarian (not sure about the butter??) and I think gluten free!!!

I had fresh rosemary left from last week's recipe and I found some fresh thyme in the supermarket, but no Savoy cabbage. The other ingredients are pretty much pantry staples. The recipe calls for everything to be chopped 'roughly', but I erred on the 'nicely' side.

It says to serve with a dollop of good basil pesto and some crusty bread, neither of which I have!!!

So, the novelty of Friday Food actually on Friday and a quick and easy recipe for weekend lunch and the leftovers can be frozen.

 

Tuscan Bean Soup   serves 4

• 1 tbspn good olive oil
• 25g butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves chopped
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 litre good vegetable stock, heated
• 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 Savoy cabbage- discard outer leaves and core, sliced thinly

 

Heat the oil and butter over a medium heat and add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes. The vegetables will start to soften.

Next add the carrots, garlic and chopped herbs and cook for a further 5-10 minutes or until the carrots start to soften.

Pour in the tomatoes and heated stock and bring to the boil. Add the beans and cabbage and reduce the heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.

The soup is very tasty, but you could add some Italian sausage or chicken if you fancy something meatier.

Friday Food: Maggie Beer's Apple Pudding Cake

Today I cooked Apple Pudding Cake. I saw Maggie Beer making this on TV in an Easter Special from the Australian Women's Weekly, where the recipe appears. She certainly made it look fast and easy. It is not. This cake takes a good hour, at least, to get into the oven and then there's a syrup to make.

I followed the recipe religiously. I managed to find some verjuice and fresh rosemary, but after 40 minutes of cooking, the cake batter was still runny. I chipped a hole in the top and cooked it for another 15 minutes, and then I was worried it would burn so I just decided that was enough time. The cake sank quite a lot and it is not high or perky at all. I don't know what went awry. It tastes so nice, really unusual and fragrant, but there were so many steps and a lot of standing around watching liquid and sugar boil.

I changed the order I made the cake too, I did the apples before the caramel for the topping, as I was worried the caramel would burn before I finished slicing the apples.

Verjuice is the un-fermented juice of semi-ripe grapes and in this recipe I'd substitute a good apple juice and some lemon juice, other substitutes include white wine vinegar and sherry.

The magazine says that preparation and cooking time is 1 hour and 10 minutes, that means I should only have taken 30 minutes to get it all together and I did not. I was working really hard too. The recipe also says to preheat the oven before you begin cooking, but that is a waste of power, do it when you start beating the egg whites, it will be plenty of time!!!

I don't think this was my finest baking hour. You should only attempt this when you are in tip top form and have at least an hour or three to spare.

I am quite worn out now so I may not have edited very carefully. Please excuse any errors.

 

Maggie Beer's Apple Pudding    serves 10

Apple topping:

• 3 medium Pink Lady apples (450g)
• 1 1/2 cups verjuice
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 tbspn extra verjuice ( 8 teaspoons)
• a lemon

Pudding Batter:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 2/3 cup caster sugar (1/3 cup with the yolks, 1/3 cup with the whites)
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tspn baking powder
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup reserved juice from the apple topping

Syrup:

• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2/3 cup verjuice - only use 1/2 cup in the syrup to start with
• a sprig of rosemary

 

Grease and line extra well a 20cm cake tin, I used a springform tin, and bring the baking paper about 3cm above the edge of the tin.

Half fill a bowl with cold water and a decent squeeze of lemon juice. Don't peel the apples, quarter and core them and then cut into 2mm slices (1/12 of an inch??)

Put them into the bowl of lemony water and it will stop them going brown while you make the caramel.

Put the verjuice, sugar and rosemary for the apple topping into a pan on medium heat and stir gently till the sugar is dissolved. Then bring to the boil, add the drained apple slices and turn down to a simmer. Cook for 4-5 minutes, remove from the pan, along with 1/4 cup of the liquid to use in the cake batter.

It didn't say what to do with the rosemary, so I left it in the pan while I brought it back to the boil and reduced it until it was a golden caramel colour.  Have the extra 2 tbspn of verjuice ready and put the apple slices back into the pan and cook gently to add some colour. It's a fine line between adding colour and having the apple slices disintegrate slightly.

Remove the rosemary and add the extra verjuice to stop the caramel from going too brown, and then arrange the slices in the base of the tin. I arranged mine by plopping them in and smoothing them out. I didn't have the time or patience to arrange 100 or more thin slices. Set aside and now make the pudding/cake batter.

Separate the eggs, I usually put the whites in a nice clean ziplock bag, and then put 1/3 cup caster sugar with the yolks and beat until they are pale and creamy and the sugar is dissolved. This will take about 5 minutes.

Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to the reserved apple/verjuice from the apple topping. Fold the flour into the egg yolk mixture and then gently add the olive oil and juice. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200*C or 180* fan-forced.

Using very clean and dry beaters and bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form: when you lift the beaters out a peak forms in the egg whites but the end will flop over. Then add the other 1/3 cup caster sugar gradually as you whip it to make a glossy meringue. This will take at least five minutes before all the sugar is dissolved.

Very gently fold heaped spoonfuls of the meringue mixture into the pudding batter. It will be a light and fluffy mixture, and it almost filled the bowl I was using.

Pour the batter over the apple slices, smooth the top and cook for 35-40 minutes. Mine took 55 minutes and I am still not sure it was cooked. The only check Maggie gives is that the top will spring back when pressed. It did that at 40 minutes but I could see the batter underneath was not set.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then invert onto the serving plate.

If you want to make the syrup, gentle stir the sugar, rosemary sprig and 1/2 cup of verjuice ( keep the rest for a caramel emergency: I had one) over a medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved and then bring to the boil and cook until it is a dark caramel. Remove from the heat add the rest of the verjuice to stop the caramel cooking and take out the rosemary sprig.

Pour the syrup over the cake and serve with thick cream.

Friday Food: Easter Egg Slice

This was very easy to make, the most difficult step was unwrapping all the mini Easter eggs. Oh and feeling very poorly when I succumbed to the call of two caramel filled Easter eggs and then had to have two cups of ginger tea and a rest in bed all afternoon. Damn you, Caramel Easter Eggs.

This is from the Food in a Flash section of Aprils BH&G, though the making might be flashy, it does need a lengthy refrigeration, so it's not something to whip up and eat straight away.

The recipe says to use caramel filled eggs, but I went with the mini solid eggs. The slice is very rich and a small square with a plain egg seems right to me: but what would I know??? It says it makes 12 slices, but that seems a tad too rich, even for Easter.

This particular slice hasn't been refrigerated overnight as yet and so it seems a little soft, but it is meant to set as it rests in the tin. I used a 26 x 18cm slice tin, but you could use a larger tin, in fact next time I will. The chocolate layer will be thinner and I think that will work well.

 

Easter Egg Slice  makes up to 30 pieces

For the base:

• 200g shortbread biscuits
• 90g butter, melted

For the chocolate topping:

• 400g good dark chocolate, chopped
• 300ml pouring cream
• 2 tbspn golden syrup (40ml)
• 80g pistachio nuts (optional)
• 25 caramel filled eggs,/30 solid mini eggs

Start with the chocolate topping. Place the chocolate, cream, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over a low heat and melt gently, stirring often. I took the pan off the stove and it finished melting away from the heat. Add the chopped pistachios here if you want to. Leave it to cool for 10 - 15 minutes while you make the base.

Crush the biscuits in a processor or pop them in a bag and whack them with a rolling pin. Put them in a bowl, make a well in the centre and add the melted butter. Mix well. Grease and line the slice tin and then press the biscuit mixture into the base. I used a fork and then the base of a glass. It will be covered with chocolate anyway. Freeze for 5 minutes.

Unwrap all the eggs. Pour the cooled chocolate topping over the base and then arrange the eggs, or just scatter them randomly. I must have mine in nice orderly rows and columns.

Refrigerate overnight and then cut with a knife dipped in hot water. I think this really does need to be kept in the fridge.

A Bunny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

I saw some Bunnies and the kind blogger at JustAnotherhangUp emailed me the pattern, she will if you ask her too!! I made the Bunnies for Lucy and Zoe. In some rather good news, a bone marrow match has been found so Zoe and her family will be off to The Mainland later in the month for a transplant. We cannot thank the people who donate blood, bone marrow or their organs, enough. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Peri Naughty and Lorelai Gilmore have still not quite come to terms with the demise of Daylight Saving this year. Round about 6pm they have now decided to play rough and rowdy rebel games, play biting each others ears and legs and then jumping on the bed!! I had to shut the hall door and be cross. Well, I cannot be too cross because they are so cute when they play.

At the dam the hut that was vandalised is being rebuilt and now they have reinforcing struts. They may or may not be reinforcing struts, as I know less than nothing about building, but it sounds reasonable, doesn't it??

A few days go I spied some inordinately cute biscuits on Toni's blog. I was inspired to have a go at making some myself. I used a double batch of Nigella's Cut-Out Biscuit dough and then just tried to bunnify the 43 oval biscuits. The dough needs to rest for an hour or so in the fridge, so I think that anyone pushed for time could use Milk Arrowroot biscuits as they are the perfect shape. I had a go at outlining with icing and then flooding with a runnier mix and I bought a pen that writes edibly on icing. I feel very cake decoratory!!!

 

Bunnified Biscuits  makes about  24

• 90g softened butter
• 100g caster sugar ( I swapped a little for brown sugar)
• 1/2 tspn vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 200g plain flour
• 1/2 tspn baking powder
• pinch of salt

For the decorating:

• 500g ish of icing sugar mixture (it has cornflour added to help it set)
• lemon juice
• water
• pink food colouring
• mini pink marshmallows, halved horizontally
• edible ink writing-on-icing pen

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until it is pale and the sugar is dissolved, add the eggs one at a time, mixing very well.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and then add the creamed mixture. I folded it in at first with a spoon, but then it was just easier to use my hands.

When it comes together as a nice smooth dough, put it into a ziplock bag and refrigerate for about an hour.

When the hour is up, preheat the oven to 180*C and grease and line some trays.

Roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until it is about 5mm thick. Cut out egg shapes, my cutter is about 5cm long and leave space between them as they do spread a little.

Bake for 12 minutes or so, turning the trays and swapping shelves half way through. The biscuits are ready when they are golden brown around the edges. Cool on a rack.

Make a small amount of icing with about 100g of sifted icing sugar mixture and a little lemon juice. I made it reasonably stiff, used a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and piped an oval outline around the edge of the biscuits.

Then there is the waiting. There is quite a lot of waiting, for the icing to dry hard.

Make some more icing with about 200-250g of sifted icing sugar and lemon juice and pipe it sparingly into the biscuits, the little edge of icing acts as a dam. The spread the icing out to the edges very gently with a flat knife. Pop a tail onto the 'tail' end of the biscuit, I put the cut end of the marshmallow into the icing.

The there is more waiting. If you try to pipe ears on now they will sink into the white icing. Ask me how I know.....

I took the leftover white icing, added more icing sugar and one drop of pink food colouring and not knowing what I was really doing, piped 'ears' onto the bunnies.

Then I waited . At last I could draw on two little eyes.

They are not a patch on the gorgeous tiny bunnies,  but I think they are cute and sweet!!!

Sweets Dreams

Daylight Saving is over and we enjoyed the extra hour of sleep, though now Peri and Gilly follow me closely from 5pm onwards (which was 6pm last week) and try to make me feed them early. They think they are being deliberately starved for an extra hour.

Who can resist those big eyes?? I can.

I make them wait until the proper time for dinner!!!

Gilly loves Peri and sometimes, whether she is ready or not, decides to give her a big licky kiss!! Sometimes Peri is not quick enough to avoid the smooch!!!

I spent today properly sorting out and organising my embroidery threads: a job well done. It makes me very happy to see such order. Pity about the rest of the house!!

Today I made the fudge from the new BH&G magazine It really is as easy as the title suggests. I'm also half way through the Coconut Cherry Eggs from the Nestle site.

 

Easy Chocolate Fudge   makes 36 pieces

• 100g unsalted butter, cubed
• 200g dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup golden syrup
• 395g tin sweetened condensed milk
• 170g good dark or milk chocolate, chopped
• 2 tspn vanilla extract

Grease and line a 17 x 27cm slice tin with baking paper.

Put the butter, sugar, golden syrup and condensed milk in a large glass microwave-proof bowl.

Microwave on Med-Hi or 75% for 7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. I cooked for 4 minutes on 70% and another 4 on 80% as I can't actually do 75%. Be very careful, the bowl and the fudge will be volcanically hot by the end.

Add the chocolate and the vanilla and beat the fudge with a spoon until the chocolate is all melted and the fudge is smooth and glossy. Pour slowly into the tin and level out with a knife. Cool on the bench and then refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cut with a hot, sharp knife and keep in an airtight container. I found this cute material at The BSODL(tm) and I am thinking of using it somehow to decorate the nice crinkly cello bags.