Thanksgiving Prep and Some Chocolate Heaven

I don't know about you, but for us, the holidays mean houseguests.  For Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law are coming to stay, and they LOVE chocolate.  It must be genetic or something, because my husband is a chocoholic too.  When I saw this recipe, I knew my husband would swoon over this, so, as I said in my last post, when I made this and he loved it, I felt like it would be wrong to not share it with you guys, as well as our family when they visit.

As promised, here's the amazing chocolate pudding recipe from my Nigella Express cookbook (pg 311).  Best part?  The whole shabang, including the whipped cream, takes less than ten minutes to make.  And yes, you can eat it hot!

Budino Di Cioccolato

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup cocoa
2 Tablespoons boiling water
2 egg yolks
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

1. Put the kettle on to boil water, and warm the milk and cream together either in a saucepan or the microwave.
2. Put the sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sift in the cocoa.  Add the 2 tablespoons of boiling water and whisk to a paste.
3. Then whisk in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, followed by the warmed milk and cream, then the vanilla extract.
4. Scrape down the sides of your pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture thickens- if it helps, think of a consistency like mayonnaise.
5. Take off the heat and whisk in the finely chopped chocolate before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses each with a yield of about 2/3 of a cup.
6. Cover the tops of the cups with plastic wrap laying it directly on the pudding to stop a skin from forming, and then refrigerate once they are cooler.  Make sure they are not still fridge-cold when you serve them.  You can add a blog of cream on top if you like.

I made a bit of whipped cream for this.
Here's how you make it:

Whipped Cream

Pour some heavy cream into a bowl (a half cup or so- you don't have to be exact).  Grab your trusty mini whisk and whisk your cream until you start to see the swirls stay in the cream, and you can make soft peaks (kind of like when you're making meringue, but not quite as thick).  You don't want to overbeat it, otherwise you'll have butter instead of whipped cream.  Whisk in a splash of vanilla and touch of sugar (I didn't want to have it too sweet since the dessert is so decadent) and you're ready to top your pudding!

I hope that everyone has an amazing holiday!  Try to remember that it's your family, and even if they make you crazy, they're just happy that they don't have to deal with the stress of cooking!

*Tips on how to not go crazy on Thanksgiving:

• Use the Good Eats Turkey Recipe.  It really is the best one.  It shortens your cook time.  It makes a juicy turkey, and it really is simple to make.
• If you're like me, and you get on a Martha Stewart bender, give someone in your life permission to stop you if you're going too far.  Kyle stopped me from making brie and chive biscuits and a few other things because he knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the time with family, and let's be real, that's what this entire day should be about.  It shouldn't just be me sweating in the kitchen!
• If your family has something that you make, that you can make with your eyes closed, then make it.  Even if Martha Stewart's celery root potato mash looks amazing, if you make the best mashed potatoes ever, don't reinvent the wheel when you've got a million things to do.
• The trick to getting everything out warm is this.  First, the things that you cook on the cooktop should either be reheated on the cooktop about five minutes before the turkey is done.  The turkey is going to need time to rest, so when you take out the turkey, you can pop in the things that you need to bake (mac and cheese, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and if you're making rolls, make them last).  Also, remember that you can cook most things in the casserole on the stovetop, and that they can set in the casserole dish in the oven quickly if most of the work is done for you.  (For instance, I think canned green beans are gross, so I use fresh ones for my casserole, and cook them in cream of chicken soup with fresh herbs.  Then I pop it in the oven with the onions on top so that it gets yummy crispy golden brown.)
• Before you cook one thing, make an ingredient list of EVERYTHING you're making.  Make sure you have everything you need so that you don't have to run around like a maniac and stress yourself out.  (I've done this, it stunk, I'm sure you've done it too.  Save yourself the trouble and really list out your recipes.)
• Designate a "cocktail maker".  I don't even mean for everyone else, I mean for you!  We're having wine and hot toddy's at our Thanksgiving, and my husband is on call to keep my toddy's coming!  If you don't drink, that's fine, just make sure you have someone to help you out when you need it- be it an errand runner, water glass filler, baby watcher...  You may be Superchef, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a minion, I mean assistant, for the day.

Happy gobbling!