Dogs in the snow... plus pudding!

Max was feeling a little left out since Gus got time on the blog a couple days ago... so to make him feel better, he want you to know he was also romping around outside in the snow!

Though, I'm sure he'll be pouting as soon as he realizes that we took a video of Gus out in his first big snow! This isn't the best video since it was taken with our camera and we don't have much in the way of video editing software, but it'll have to do (it make take a few seconds to load)! You can also watch it a little larger if you click on the movie itself.


Another week went speeding by my radar and with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, I expect the next few weeks will be a blur as well! We prepared 7 new recipes this week with the stand outs for us being the Ham and Pineapple Pizza, Butterscotch Finger Cakes and that Pancetta, French Lentil and Spinach Risotto.

Jeff's sweet tooth was being especially loud today (!), so to try and quell the noise, I thought a batch of this Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding would fit the bill. You've heard me talk about our fascination with the outrageous duo of chocolate and peanut butter, so it is any surprise that I just had to give this recipe a go?

The base for this pudding begins by heating together butter and creamy smooth peanut butter. Once those two rich ingredients had mingled and became one, a combination of chopped semi-sweet and dark chocolate were stirred in to melt. Milk is then added and left to heat up enough so bubbles begin to form where the milk hits the sides of the pan. While waiting for that to happen, a couple golden egg yolks are whisked together with granulated sugar to sweeten the pudding and cornstarch to thicken.

Rather than risking a pot of curdled eggs, a portion of the now chocolate-y milk is slowly whisked into the egg mixture to gently bring it up to temperature. This tempers them enough so you can pour them back into the pot without the worry of making scrambled eggs. Stirring constantly, the pot is placed back over the heat and allowed to cook for just a minute or two, until it thickens to a pudding-like consistency. I'm not one for warm pudding, so after pouring the pudding into ramekins, we slid the dishes into the refrigerator to chill out. I'll also confess to not grooving on that thick skin that can manifest on top, so I also cover them and press the plastic wrap onto the surface. However, if you do, leave them uncovered for awhile to let the skin form.

Because we had some leftover from Halloween and simply because we love them, we chopped up a couple peanut butter cups and added a piece or two on top before diving our spoons in. Smooth and creamy, we found there was enough power behind the peanut butter to still come through the rich chocolate flavor. We found that we really enjoyed how this pudding wasn't excessively sweet, but had just enough to enhance both the peanut butter and chocolate. While the chunks of peanut butter cups were not necessary and sent the cups of pudding over-the-top, you better believe we would do that again (and recommend you do the same!).

Recipes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding