Rocky road

Recently I used a gift card to buy some wonderful cooking utensils recently, including the ramekins, a meat thermometer, and a candy thermometer. I have been needing the thermometers lately. I don't want to kill me or Dave with meat-related food poisoning, and I also have no idea how to make candy without the thermometer. I hear you can test the candy to see if it's at different stages (thread, ball, crack, etc.), but I'm not good at that. Plus those all sound like drug-related terms.

So I decided to test out my candy thermometer on a recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, and I remember that I really wanted to try out a recipe for rocky road. However, once I looked at the recipe, I realized I wouldn't need a candy thermometer - I only needed to melt the chocolate. Whatever.

It was really easy - just mix marshmallows and nuts, then pour melted chocolate and mix. The recipe didn't specify a type of nut, so I did a mix of almonds and walnuts.

After that, I put it in the fridge and cut it up into chunks:


And then I got to eat the scraps from the pan. But that wasn't enough for me, so I ate a piece. Ohhhh man, it is good.

Anyway, next time I make candy, I intend to make a recipe that actually requires me to use the candy thermometer. I see some neat things in this chapter, including:

• Old-time fudge
• Southern pralines
• Caramel apples
• Nut brittle
• Cream cheese mints
  

The caramel apples look especially awesome for fall. Can't wait to bust out my thermometer!