Dad's Fudge Recipe From Clint

So I found Dad's fudge recipe and while I doubt it's the original it looks sufficiently beat up.

I have two stories that I remember relating to the fudge...

Making fudge with Dad was always an adventure, and always special. It was one of those special things that he did for us only after he and Mom split and it was a great way for us to bond with him in a new context. What I remember most about it probably comes from the very first time Dad made the fudge and how very hard it was to get the concoction to just the right temp. At first he eschewed the water drop test (drop a bit of the hot melty mass in a glass of water and if forms perfect little spheres then it's just right, if not ... not) and we ended up with fudge that was a gooey mess or the consistency was all wrong. How many batches did we waste because we didn't do that simple test? And even when we started doing that water drop test it was REALLY HARD to get the fudge just so ... I'm sure the crappy electric stove he had in his townhouse didn't help at all.

The second story isn't really about the fudge but I think of it every time I think about Dad's fudge.

When I was in 5th grade our class took a trip to Chaco Canyon in Northern NM. My teacher at the time, Mrs. Froehlich was very strict but also one of my favorites and her husband, Dr. Froehlich, was an Anthropologist (I liked them so much that over a decade later I made sure to take several of his classes at UNM).

Anyway, on the way back from that trip, we're cruising down this deeply rutted road in Dad's old orange and white Chevy pickup. Now I can't remember if what happened was while were in motion or maybe we had stopped for a break but one of the other student's Mom -- Carol White -- was attempting to share some toffee but we were in the high desert so it had all melted together. Dad offered her his super-sharp pocket knife and while she was trying to cut out some pieces of the toffee, she promptly stabbed the knife through the toffee, the paper plate, her jeans and deep into her thigh. Ouch.

As I recall, but this part is a bit murky, it was all OK with a few stitches - but wow!

Fudge and Pocket Knives, what weird things to associate in my memory!

Well, Dad has long since perfected the water drop test and the making of fudge so it's now a much sought-after holiday delectable!

The kicker? Dad told me recently that recipe comes from the back of Tollhouse chocolate bag.

The fudge is fantastic though and so many happy memories, from a difficult time, started with the fudge.

The Recipe:
4 Cups Sugar
1 Large Can of Evaporated Milk
1 Cup Margarine or Butter
12 oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 pint (approximately) Marshmallow Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup finely chopped nuts (walnuts are my favorite, but could be the nut of your choice)

Cut the butter into small cubes
Melt the sugar, evaporated milk and butter together to the softball stage (about 7 minutes, 45 seconds AFTER boiling reaches the middle of the pot)

STIR CONSTANTLY - no breaks!

Remove pan from heat and mix in the chocolate chips, marshmallow cream and vanilla.

Stir until well-mixed and add nuts (if desired).

Pour into a 9x12 baking dish and let cool.

Rhubarb Cake

Yesterday, my friend Sharon gave me a big batch of rhubarb, so I pulled out my 1973 copy of Putting Food By to find out about freezing some of it. This was the book I used to preserve everything from apples to zucchini back when we had a big vegetable garden and an orchard.

Inside were some interesting artifacts. For instance, from the April 1997 issues of The Atlantic, there was a long article by Corby Kummer on making marmalade, and on the back of the first page of the article there were three poems by one of my favorite poets, W.S. Merwin. There were recipes from Charlie's mom for making hot relish, pickled tomatoes, and chow-chow.

There were lists. Alison's shots. Registation UNM. And then so I wouldn't forget: UM registration. I don't remember who the Poehlman and Burdick people were.

On the other side was another pickle recipe. Linda knows the place, but who was Linda? Virgil Salce, I remember, was a farmer out in Corrales.

I used to pay the kids a nickel a bag for the fruit they picked in the orchard. We didn't always have a good apricot crop, but when we did, I made jam. In winter, it tasted like sunshine. If you decide to try this, "1 box" is probably one box of pectin.






Back to the rhubarb. Here is Sharon's recipe for the very good, very easy cake she made for yesterday's brunch. I was able to freeze enough to make 4 cakes!

Rhubarb Cake

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1 egg

1 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. rhubarb

Mix everything together.

Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan.

Sprinkle the top with 1/2 c. sugar.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Lemon Pie in Utrera

Gary sent this photo of Shirley and the Spanish lemon pie. If I knew how to post that as a comment to the previous post, I would do that, but I don't know how to do that, so I won't. Anyway, once again she won the Golden Spoon award for cooking in difficult circumstances.

Lemon Pie

If a well-used recipe card means love, then you know how much we love lemon pie!

This card, the oldest in Shirley's recipe box, reminds me of the time in Spain when we plucked lemons from a tree in the courtyard of our apartment building so that Mom could make pie. Our apartment was on the second floor, and we were hanging out the window and using a contraption on the end of a long pole to catch the lemons.

For Filling:

2 cups sugar 3 egg yolks

1/3 cup cornstarch 6 Tbsp lemon juice

2 cups hot water Grated rind of one lemon 

2 Tbsp butter

Mix sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add hot water and stir constantly. Place on low heat; after mixture begins to boil, cook for five minutes, stirring continuously. Slowly add some of mixture to well-beaten egg yolks and then add this egg yolk mixture back into pan and continue to cook for one minute. Add lemon juice and grated rind and butter, blending thoroughly. Cool filling before pouring into baked shell.

For meringue:

With wire whisk, beat 3 egg whites until stiff, gradually adding, a spoonful at a time, 9 Tbsp. sugar. Continue beating until sugar is thoroughly dissolved and the mixture forms stiff peaks. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Banana Brunch Bread

This recipe book, Come for Coffee in the Southwest, came to me from Aunt Dorothy. The book was put together by the women of the First Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque as a fundraiser for Menaul High School. All of the recipes are adjusted for 5000', but this is the recipe I use in Istanbul, so I guess it works everywhere. I also use olive oil instead of shortening, and that seems to work, too.

Let's try this..

Hello family!
I remember being young and going through mom's recipes. They were hand written or typed (on the typewriter back then) and our favorite ones were decorated with various drips or smears of ingredients. Recently, while looking for a really good biscochito recipe, I came across an original. The author had scanned in a hand written recipe from her grandmother that had been passed down forever, with all the drips and smears. http://gabrielaskitchen.com/2009/11/15/biscochitos/ The author had also translated the faded writing into something her readers could use to make the most amazing biscochitos. I know I personally have lost Dad's fudge recipe at least 4 times in the last 14 yrs and a few years ago Grammie sent out some ingredients and recipes for Christmas and those have disappeared sometime during the last 4-5 moves.  So, I thought we could try this to record all those family favorites and maybe share some new favorites.  If you have original hand written recipes it would be fun to scan them in....there's just something about a hand written recipe that makes things taste better.  Be patient with the setup on here...maybe Clint or Mom can help me with site set up so everyone can post...I'm just not that savvy. Also spread the word to our extended families...Thanks!
Ali