smitten kitchen

Not a chocolate lover? (Gasp!) Here’s my favorite vanilla dessert sauce cheat. Vanilla ice cream is made with milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Creme Anglaise is made with milk, cream, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Do you see where I am going with this? For a quick, delicious Cheater’s Creme Anglaise, melt a cup or so of your favorite vanilla ice cream in the fridge for a few hours, and tell nobody while you drizzle it over a dessert.

Now that you’ve got that chocolate dessert sauce down, here are ten ways to tweak it: Before the cream but after melting the chocolate into the syrup, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of almond or peppermint extract, 1 tablespoon of a liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, Chambord, Kahlua, Cointreau or even brandy or rum. For an extra kick, add 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules in with the chocolate chips, melting them together.

Here’s an easy chocolate dessert sauce everyone should have in their repertoire: Combine 1/4 cup corn syrup and 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips in a small saucepan over medium-low, stirring until smooth (about 4 to 5 minutes). Whisk in 3/4 cup heavy cream and serve right away or let cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Rewarm over low or in the microwave. Makes 1 1/2 cups. [Adapted]

Since we’ve been talking about messy counters today, it seems timely that I tell you about the one of the ten kitchen tools I cannot live without: the bench scraper, which I used to remove gummed-on grime, shove bits of flour under a stuck pie dough and to divide doughs, since it is out anyway. Cleaning counters doesn’t get any easier than this.

I can’t even say the words “maple syrup” without swooning–”mmmaaaple”–I love it that much. But did you know that global warming is having devastating effect on sugar makers in New England? I say it’s all the more reason to support these syrup producers, and banish that high-fructose corn syrup and artificial caramel colored stuff masquerading as “pancake syrup” once and for all. Fresh maple syrup keeps unopened in the fridge for three years, opened for one, and for less than five minutes after you discover this pie.