Chocolate with salt and other controversies

I never used to be big into the chocolate-covered pretzel thing until a few years ago. It just seemed...weird. Now, however, my palate has seen the light. Chocolate with a judicious amount of salt is a very good thing. It just seems to make sense. Add the sensory delight of something crunchy, and you have something very nice. I'm tempted to try Ferran Adria's toasted bread and bittersweet chocolate one of these days (February 2005 Food & Wine). A sliced baguette, bittersweet chocolate, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. That's it.

In the meantime, here's something I hallucinated last week for a card party Tim hosted yesterday.

Toffee Chocolate Pretzel Rods

1 bag 6 inch pretzel rods
1 Trader Joe's 'Pound Plus' dark chocolate bar
1 recipe toffee, without the nuts (adapted from the December/January 2005 'Taste of Home' magazine:

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons butter, divided
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 tablespoons water

Line a 13X9 pan with foil; coat the foil with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Butter the sides of a heavy saucepan with the two teaspoons of butter. Cube the remaining butter and place in pan with sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook and stir until mixture turns a golden brown and candy thermometer reaches 300F (hard crack stage). Pour into prepared pan without scraping, spread evenly and let stand at room temperature until cool, about one hour.

Melt chocolate in microwave on low, or double boiler. Have it ready for dipping in a long, deep container (the rectangular lid of a butter dish is perfect...this is what I use for biscotti). Break up the toffee and put in a heavy plastic Ziploc bag. Beat the living hell out of it with a meat mallet. When the toffee resembles brickle bits, stop. Line two large sheet pans with wax paper. Pour two lines of toffee bits on each sheet pan (no, Brooke, I'm not going to snort them...although I'll keep that idea in mind). Dip all but an inch or so of the pretzel rods in the chocolate. Lay across the lines of crushed toffee. Continue until pans are full, or you have as many as you want. Sprinkle more toffee bits on top of chocolate-covered pretzels. Place pans in a cool place until chocolate is completely set. Serve in heavy glass beer mugs.

ETA 11/17/09: Bring toffee ingredients up to temperature/cook SLOWLY. I did some reading online, and this prevents that greasy separation. It takes a long time, but the end product is definitely better.


Not much else going on around here. I guess it's time to undecorate the house. Yes, the tree is still up! I'll start putting Christmas stuff away today. Also our potted pine trees on the porch need to be transferred to the holes Tim dug for them in the back yard. Otherwise they will not survive the rest of the winter, but I'm hoping the severe cold snap we already had in December didn't get to them. Our little possum friend has plucked off all the red apples I used to decorate the trees, and happily munched them. I thought they hibernated in winter. This one sure isn't.

Next week I have a doctor's appointment to see what the hell is going on with my right elbow. From the small amount of reading on line I've done, it sounds like tennis elbow. They call it tennis elbow, but I think I'd like to rename it Christmas Elbow, Too Much Cooking Elbow, or Overeaters' Elbow, or Heavy Shopping Basket Elbow. This has been hurting since before Thanksgiving, and obviously something is still irritating it. Like living *G*. I notice it really feels better after I've crashed for 12 hours in bed. I'm guessing the doc is going to recommend a brace, anti-inflammatory (good old vitamin I) and to stop doing whatever is not letting the torn tendon heal. Doctor, it hurts when I do this. Well, stop doing it. I suppose I should be glad I only need to go to the doctor for annual physical exams and dumb stuff like this.

I haven't followed up yet on previous recommendations, but I have found some good books to read in the last few months. I've enjoyed a couple of Ken Follett novels, and I discovered I really do like John Grisham books. Very good. And Tim surprised me with a controversial little something for Christmas, Ann Coulter's 'How to Talk to a Liberal (if you must)'. What a scream. I expected the book to spontaneously combust when I brought it into work, or at least start smoking. I work with a number of lefties, and Genesee county tends to swing that way anyway. I have warned some friends not to touch it, they might get burned. If the stuff in this book is even half true...holy cow. I also wonder how it is this woman has avoided being shot in the street. I don't think I could have read this a few months ago. I think everyone had reached complete, sickening saturation with partisan politics and blue vs red mudslinging. Now, it's OK. I've laughed out loud quite a few times. She really does make some controversial, all-sweeping remarks that I don't necessarily agree with, but I'm enjoying the pleasant resonation I'm getting as I read. I'd like to read her other books now.