Thursday, July 23, 2009

Why? Why do this?

Marty S. (I have changed her name....you'll know exactly who I am talking about as you continue reading) has truly lost her mind with this one. Below you will find a recipe for "S'mores Squares", a traditional and delightful campfire snack that usually takes about 30 seconds to prepare, however, Marty has somehow managed to create a S'mores recipe that requires a full 24 hour preparation. And it only makes 9 pieces! Bitch is outta her mind.....my comments in red.

Hmmm. They do look like a Good Thing.

(Makes 9)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 packages unflavored gelatin
3 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 6 tablespoons room temperature, plus more for pan
so now you have to wait for some of the butter to get to room temp. that takes about 6 hours.
14 graham crackers, crushed to yield 1 1/2 cups crumbs
an annoying process, crushing graham crackers. i have done it and it's not that easy believe it or not
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
of course they have to be in 1/2" pieces. cut them into 1/4" 0r 3/4" pieces and the whole thing is ruined, RUINED I TELL YOU.

Directions
-Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with vegetable oil. Cut a piece of parchment or wax paper large enough to cover the bottom of the dish and to overhang the longer sides. Place the parchment in dish, brush with oil, and set dish aside.
-Pour 3/4 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer, and sprinkle gelatin on top. Let stand 5 minutes.
-Place 3 cups granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Set saucepan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Insert a candy thermometer, and cook until mixture reaches soft-ball stage (238 degrees, about 9 minutes).
JFC. (for those who don't know what JFC is, it is a very bad thing to say, for example, you would never say it to a Priest. It has to do with he who was born on Christmas Eve and then instead of his real middle name, which I believe is Horatio, you add the 'F' word.) So there, JFC MARTY, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? 238 degrees!?!? REALLY? 9 MINUTES??? Not 10? JFC.
-Using the whisk attachment, beat hot syrup into gelatin on low speed. Gradually increasing speed to high, beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. 12 minutes. TWELVE Beat in vanilla. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish, and smooth the surface with an offset spatula. I don't have an offset spatula. I have a spatula spatula! Set dish aside, uncovered, until marshmallow becomes firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. insert Final Jeopardy song here. i would opt for overnight, as so far I have waited for the butter to come to room temp, and if I were making this, it's probably 9:00 at night now
-Place 1 cup confectioners’ sugar in a fine strainer a 'fine' strainer. a 'fine' one. gimmeabreak, and sift onto a clean work surface. and this is where I would stop everything to clean my worksurface Invert large marshmallow onto the sugar-coated surface, and peel off the parchment paper. Lightly brush a sharp knife with vegetable oil, and cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, and roll marshmallows in sugar to coat. Set aside. you know she wanted to add something like "set aside for 13 minutes and 42 seconds"
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch-square baking pan with melted butter. In a large bowl, combine graham-cracker crumbs, 7 tablespoons melted butter, and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Using your hands, press mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Transfer pan to oven, and bake until the crust has set, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
-Bring a medium saucepan of water to a simmer. In a medium heat-proof bowl, combine chocolate with remaining 6 tablespoons butter. Set the bowl over the simmering water, and stir until chocolate and butter have melted. Pour chocolate mixture over cooled graham-cracker crust. Using an offset spatula (note to self: ask for an offset spatula for your birthday), spread chocolate mixture into an even layer. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
-Preheat the broiler. Cut chocolate crust into nine 3-inch squares. Top each square with a marshmallow, and place assembled s’mores under the broiler just until marshmallows turn golden brown, about 20 seconds. Serve immediately.
So all that work for 9 s'mores squares.
MY S'MORES RECIPE:
Buy Marshmallows
Buy Graham Crackers
Buy Hershey Bars
Place Marshmallow on top of Graham Cracker and put in microwave. No plate needed. Microwave on high for 20 seconds. In the meantime, place three Hershey segments onto another Graham Cracker. When the microwave goes "DING!" marry the two sides. Pop in mouth and gobble down. But do so quietly so boyfriend in living room doesn't know what you are doing. Repeat process at least two more times. Deny ever making s'mores if boyfriend asks.

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