Chocolate Glaze

Mr. Sideline Chef and I are about to celebrate our 4 year anniversary coming up on May 9. Our anniversary is the only holiday that I get overly emotional about and stress the importance to him about not forgetting. He in fact actually remembered the date this year all on his own. For a man who forgets his own father's exact birth date (he remembers it's around the tax filing deadline, haha) I was rather impressed and touched.

I don't know why I put so much importance on our anniversary. For example... Mother's Day. Overrated. I'm happy to be a mother everyday and don't need a special day. So why do I get so crazed over our anniversary when everyday with Mr. Sideline Chef is special? Can't put my finger on it. Plus throughout the year we do "just because" surprises which are more exciting than anticipating an actual day and forcing him to buy me a special present.

Maybe it's because I like to brag that we've been together for X amount of years. That must be it. The fact that we've found a way to live with each other's quirks and not kill each other in such a small living space after all these years.

With our anniversary date approaching and the lovey feeling so strong I decided that I wanted to make chocolate covered strawberries. Every time we are at the mall and we pass Godiva I can't help but drool over theirs. He'll always ask me if I want some but being as frugal as I am the answer is always the same, "No!" Actually, it's more like, "Hell no! Are you kidding me? I could make them for less!"

I didn't make the chocolate covered strawberries for our anniversary, per se, but they would be a perfect dessert for that night. Instead I made them as a special dessert surprise since I rarely make dessert. It will be a nice surprise after a Monday at work.

So simple to make! I made the chocolate glaze which is nothing more than melted chocolate chips with a little bit of vegetable shortening to add shine. Once the chocolate glaze was ready I dipped the strawberries into it and then placed them on wax paper and let them chill in the fridge to set. Did I mention how easy? And less than $10 to make!


Mandatory... Lick the bowl clean!!!



Chocolate Glaze

MyRecipes.com and Real Simple, December 2000

Makes 1 cup

Stars of the Show:

• 2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chip pieces - You could use the same amount of white chocolate chips if you prefer.
• 2 tsp vegetable shortening, optional

And Action:

Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate is completely melted, you can use it as a dip or drizzle it over the cookies. Chocolate covered strawberries are highly recommended or bananas and then sprinkled with chopped peanuts and then frozen. Yummy!

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calcium: 7mg
Calories: 102
Calories from fat: 1%
Carbohydrate: 13g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Fat: 6g
Fiber: 1g
Iron: 1mg
Protein: 1mg
Saturated fat: 4g
Sodium: 2mg

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Cream Cheese Roll with Powdered Sugar Glaze

Itty bitty and I have been down with a cold the past couple of days and I've had zero motivation to get in the kitchen and put something together. Even Paula Deen's English Peas joke of a recipe seemed like to much of a hassle. I woke up this morning missing the kitchen. The pile of dishes was a bit of an eye sore though but I made it through the chiseling off of food from the plates and scrubbing the counter tops from the science experiment that was beginning to grow. I only joke. Kinda.

Head congestion and all I made a Cream Cheese Braid Cream Cheese Roll. Oh hell. This is why the Pretend Chef shouldn't make anything more complicated than a cup of hot tea when she's sick. When will I ever learn to read a recipe through? 8 hours for the dough to chill, not understanding how to roll the dough after the filling was spread, marking the dough with Xs, and a powdered sugar glaze with no vanilla extract. So I fumbled a bit.

The 8 hours of chilling time for the dough proved to be the easiest part for me. The rolling of the dough made absolutely zero sense. I normally would have Googled a "how to" video but my motivation to do so just wasn't there. I couldn't even figure out how to score the Xs to get that braided look. Needless to say, what I ended up with was a roll with cream cheese filling that oozed out, a hot mess, and a powdered sugar glaze that had no flavor thanks to running out of vanilla extract.

The end result was surprising tasty and moist. Next time the glaze will taste better with the vanilla extract. The cream cheese provides a subtle tang while the dough and glaze provide a sweetness to balance out the "roll".

Cream Cheese Braid

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes 4 (12-inch) loaves

Stars of the Show for the Dough:

• 1 (8 oz) container sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 (1/4 oz) envelopes dry active yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

And Action:

Heat the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan until the butter melts stirring occasionally. Cool to 105° to 115°.

Combine yeast and warm water in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream mixture and eggs. Gradually stir in the flour. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

Divide the dough into fourths and turn out onto a heavily floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times.

Roll each portion into a 12x8-inch rectangle and spread each rectangle with one fourth of the Cream Cheese Filling (recipe below) leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Roll up starting starting at a long side, press the seam, and fold the edges under to seal. Place seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut 6 equally spaced Xs across the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm (85°), draft free place, for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Drizzle the warm leaves with the Powdered Sugar Glaze (recipe below).



Cream Cheese Filling

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes 2 1/2 cups

Stars of the Show:

• 2 (8 oz) containers cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

And Action:

Beat all ingredients in a mixer at medium speed until smooth.



Powdered Sugar Glaze

MyRecipes.com and Southern Living, December 1997

Makes about 1 cup



Stars of the Show:

• 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

And Action:

Stir all ingredients together.

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