Sunday, November 09, 2008

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!).


16 comments:

  1. Your little dog is so cute in the snow.He must have been chasing something under there, I had a good laugh watching him frolicking around. You did a very good job photographing him, and he looked at the camera a few times so you propably prompted him to keep going. He sure had lot of fun, and so did I. Here in the East we had 60 degrees today, and
    I planted money flower seeds for next spring.Rita

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  2. Oh.my.god. Did you use natural peanut butter for that? That looks really yummy.

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  3. too freakin cute :) i loved how it started with gus looking at you very still, then all the sudden busted out! and that pudding, *swoon*

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  4. Cute video, and your pudding looks delicious!

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  5. Wow--you actually got a lot of snow! In Minneapolis we didn't have any that actually stuck to the ground...just little flurries that melted when they hit something. The dogs are SO cute!

    Courtney

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  6. hahahahahaha~ what's Gus going to do when the snowfall is TALLER than him??

    i *heart* chocolate & peanut butter!

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  7. bookmarking this one!

    one of my favorite breakfasts is chocolate peanut butter oatmeal--the consistency reminds me of pudding, especially when I'm scraping the bowl at the end, when there aren't any oats left. of course, I don't eat it too often, but it's wonderful for days when I don't think I'll get much of a lunch break--very filling.

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  8. Gus is adorable. He looks like he was tracking something in the snow.

    Those puddings cups looks divine.

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  9. Gus is just so cute in the snow!! I loved the way he was all still and quiet and then suddenly went crazy!! I wonder what he will do when the snow depth gets to be taller than he is!!

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  10. Too precious. I love watching dogs play in the snow. Bailey always acts like a puppy in the snow, especially with the first snow of the season.

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  11. Thanks - Gus appreciates all the notes... he was a little unsure about his craziness being shown in a movie, but he loves the attention.

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  12. Wow - I can't believe how much snow you guys got! We barely had a dusting in St. Paul. I'm sure the dogs loved it. :)

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  13. Everytime you post a picture of Gus I call my partner over and we both get all gooey looking at the cute pictures. I love your snow dogs! We live in Australia so no snow dogs around here unfortunately!

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  14. Your dog is SO cute! The pudding looks pretty good too!

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  15. I tried the pudding last night when we had guests over, and it was a hit! We had enough left over for two more servings for tonight, and I've been thinking about it all day!

    I topped it off with a bit of whipped cream and crushed peanuts and love it!

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  16. Elisabeth - I know... and we are just a few miles away too!

    Jacqui - Well... I'm sure the pups would love to take at trip!

    Amy - Thanks!

    Kelly - Fantastic... thanks for the feedback!

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