Chocolate Pudding

Don't you hate it when you buy an entire bottle of whole milk, use a cup or two, then have it go bad before you can find another thing to do with it? I do. I really do.
I had three cups of whole milk that was expiring in two days, so I googled "how to use up whole milk". Thankfully, The Thrifty Mama has a whole page on what to make when your milk is about to go bad.

Chocolate Pudding (from The Thrifty Mama)
Makes 1 large or 6 individual puddings

Ingredients:

3 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cornstarch

My friend thought my presentation was boring.

1/3-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pinch of salt (optional, but recommended)

Instructions:

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together until completely smooth.

Pour remaining 2-1/2 cups milk and sugar in a medium saucepan.

Slowly whisk in cornstarch mixture and salt.

Cook over low heat, whisking to prevent lumps from forming.

When milk mixture starts to thicken, add chocolate chips.

Stir until chips are completely melted and pudding is smooth and thick.

Pour into one large or 6 individual ramekins; allow to cool.

Stir, then place plastic wrap on top and press to pudding.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours for ramekins or 3 hours for one bowl.

I've never really liked pudding until now. This had a nice texture, although there were some lumps the next day. It had a mild chocolate flavor and wasn't too sweet. You can make it more sweet by using a full half cup. It's definitely better than any other pudding I've had. (Just because I didn't like pudding doesn't mean I'd never had it. I was a kid, you know. I went to summer camp.) It's surprisingly easy to make as well. It was made in a flash and it was gone in a flash... This was made when my brother was getting his wisdom teeth out. He was very appreciative; it's hard to eat anything besides pudding when your face is swollen like a chipmunk.

Unfortunately, he couldn't have the nuts leftover from Gianduja. 

Coconut-Chocolate Haystacks

It's been so hot this summer. And as if that isn't bad enough, we're out of chocolate-chip cookies. Oh, the horror! I started browsing Martha Stewart's website for no-bake recipes and found these. Strictly speaking, they aren't no-bake, since you have to toast the coconut, but I got around that by using the toaster oven. You can also use a skillet; just watch the coconut very closely.


Chocolate-Coconut Haystacks (from marthastewart.com):
Makes 18-20, depending on how much of the coconut you eat

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

3-3/4 ounces (106.310712 grams) semi-sweet chocolate
5 drops almond or vanilla extract


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using small baking pan, use convection oven. (The coconut won't be in a single layer, so it would take longer to toast in a normal oven.)
Place coconut onto baking sheet in a single layer (unless using small pan) and put into oven.

Toast for about 10 minutes until golden, stirring occasionally.

Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Combine chocolate, coconut, and almond extract in medium bowl; stir until well-combined.

Place mixture by tablespoons onto parchment-covered baking sheet.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Store in fridge.

These are absolutely delicious. Crisp and crunchy, the coconut isn't overwhelmed by the chocolate. It still shines out. They'll keep for quite a while in the fridge, but I never found out exactly how long they'll stay fresh. They got eaten too fast. No one seemed to miss the almond extract that the original recipe called for. (We didn't have it, so I used vanilla instead.) Though the original recipe claimed to make 20, I wound up with 18 because... Well, you know how much I like cookie batter. The same principle applied here.
Oh well.

Gianduja (Hazelnut-Chocolate) Gelato

I'm a terrible person. I used my brother's wisdom tooth extraction as an excuse to make ice cream. But hey, can you really blame me? A new ice cream maker, a book full of recipes...

What's a girl to do?

Gianduja Gelato (adapted from The Perfect Scoop)

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups hazelnuts

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup sugar

That's my friend in the background. 

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

4 ounces high-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped

5 large egg yolks

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup throughly chilled Aunt Mona's Fudge Sauce (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread hazelnuts in even layer on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until insides are golden brown, stirring once or twice during toasting. Allow to cool, then rub between two towels to remove skins. After, remove as many remaining skins as possible with your fingers.

Place nuts in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Food processor: The lazy man's chef knife.

Warm whole milk with 1 cup heavy cream and all the sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir.

Once warm, remove from heat and add hazelnuts.

Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Set up an ice bath–cover bottom of a large bowl with ice cubes and pour water in until they are just floating. Set aside.

Place milk chocolate in a large bowl; heat remaining cup of cream until it just begins to boil and pour over chocolate.

Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.

Pour hazelnut milk through a mesh strainer into milk chocolate mixture.

Squeeze hazelnuts to extract as much liquid as possible.

Throw nuts away, eat them, or save them to swirl into the ice cream.

My friend and I kept munching on the nuts. They *ahem* were very good.

Whisk egg yolks in a separate medium bowl and pour the hazelnut-chocolate mixture in, whisking constantly.

These we did not snack on.

Pour mixture back into saucepan, scraping bowl with a spatula, and place over medium heat.

Stir constantly with a heatproof spatula, scraping bottom, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.

If you run a finger through the custard on the back of the spoon, the edges of the line shouldn't run together.

Add vanilla. Place a strainer in a bowl over the ice bath.

Pour mixture through strainer ice bath and stir until cool.

Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Spoon finished ice cream into container with fudge sauce.

There are no pictures of it being served. It was gone too fast.

If you're complaining that it's difficult to make Gianduja Gelato, really, it should be a lot harder to make something so delicious. Words cannot describe how marvelous it is, but I have to try. This gelato is so rich and creamy and tastes like hazelnuts, but better. The hazelnut and milk chocolate combined to create a wonderful new flavor. Since the milk chocolate isn't very pronounced in the gelato, the fudge adds a perfect note of chocolate to it. It does harden in the freezer, but it was still scoopable even after two days in the cold. Everyone in my family said it was good enough to sell in an ice cream shop.
I might.