Some of man’s greatest discoveries have been made entirely by accident. If it weren’t for many of these mistakes, life would be very different for us. Take for instance Mrs. Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn. One day as she was making chocolate cookies she ran out of regular baker’s chocolate, so she substituted it with broken pieces of semi-sweet chocolate. She thought the pieces would melt and mix into the batter. They clearly did not, and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Happy accidents happen every day, and when that fated moment comes do we embrace the mistake for what it is or do we eliminate it?
I experienced my own happy accident a few days ago and while it was NOT a life changing - penicillin moment, it put a smile on my face. A month or so ago, I shared one of our family's favorite recipes, Hot Chocolate Pudding. It's good, it's real good. Last week as North Texas was experiencing another cold snap I decided to make a small pot of chocolate for the fam. And of course, as I'm adding ingredients into my small saucepan, I was clearly NOT paying attention. I placed it over the burning and began to stir and I notice how incredibly dark the liquid was. I kept looking at it thinking, 'something's not right', but did I stop to check into it? - no. I poured it into bowls and as Mr.P and E begin eating, they look up and ask, 'what did you do?' I took a bite and it was DIVINE, what did I do? I had used my high priced European dark chocolate instead of the regular cocoa. And with that simple mistake DARK Hot Chocolate Pudding was born and it's sinfully rich. Both versions are a must try, but being a lover of dark chocolate, I don't know if I can ever go back. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!
DARK HOT CHOCOLATE PUDDING
Most of the time I cut this recipe in half. It's more than plenty for two to three people.
Serves 4 to 6
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup flour
- 4 Tablespoons dark cocoa powder
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons good vanilla
WHAT TO DO
- Add dry ingredients to a saucepan; mix well.
- Slowly stir in milk to avoid lumps.
- Place over a medium-high heat and cook until thickened; stirring OFTEN. I don't leave the stove.
- Add butter and vanilla; stirring until butter melts.
- Serve hot!
I had read about Callebaut chocolate in Cook's Illustrated a few years back. They rated it number one in their blind taste test and I have never been disappointed in any of their findings. While we were in Paris this last year I came across Callebaut in a small exclusive market and SPLURGED, not knowing for sure if I would be able to get it through customs. As you can see, my little bag of chocolate gold made it safely home to Dallas and I use it sparingly!
ENJOY!
~THE DOMESTIC CURATOR~
RONDA
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