This is the last blog of 2023! OMG....I can't believe it. Tomorrow, if I do blog, will be considered my first blog of the new year!! So crazy!! If you're in America, the date is 123123 but that isn't for anyone else; we do write out dates differently here.
Anyway, the day was very lazy, just so beautiful in so many ways. I don't have plans to go overseas. I don't have plans to ring in the new year at some over-crowded venue such as Times Square, Princes Street, or even downtown OKC...nope, I'm just going to probably go to bed around 12:05 a.m. after I write to my three kids and say "Happy New Year, I love you" in text messages. To say I'm rather boring is probably rather accurate, but then again, I'm not with anyone special today, no reason to "ring in" anything other than just be happy with me! Just me and Jesus! (and my dog)
I decided to make fudge, which if you've never done it, will make you think twice about making it from scratch. Is it worth it? I don't know. It's cheaper, but it's not an easy thing to do really, not when you read all the things you have to do in order to make it set up correctly, and then behave itself. Mine didn't. I'll go into it, but it's funny how I even decided to do it.
I went shopping the other day with the thought of maybe doing it, but I thought to myself I won't need condensed milk. I think I saw three or four cans in the cupboard; I only need one. I remembered I only use condensed milk around the holidays when I make things such as fudge - - but I couldn't remember having done that in a few...wait...had it been a few years? Were those cans that old? Yep!! The youngest one was in 2016.
I threw out the six cans, not four, and I laughed myself silly over it. I found a recipe online that used actual milk and sugar, and even though I knew there would be an added step because of it, I thought I could handle it. I laugh now because I didn't really handle it. I fudged it. (LOL) No, really, I made the worst fudge, and you could even call it sludge!! I will not let that fact stop me from eating it - - nope, I am on a quest now.
I had dark chocolate chips, butter, sugar, half and half, vanilla, bourbon whiskey, cayenne pepper powder, and honey. Let me just tell you - - it's some hot mess. Yes, yes it is, but I enjoy every bit of it. I'll be eating on this thing for two weeks I'm sure, but that's OK too. I'll make the sacrifice. I'll make it happen; and when I do, I'll think of all those poor folks who have to share their fudge with others. No one is stepping up to the plate to share mine. No one.
I melted the chips in the butter, added the half and half, brought it to a boil, added vanilla, bourbon (the liquor is cooked out), and then the sugar, and finally, the honey, bourbon, and pepper. I stirred. I stirred a lot. I let it boil again, but apparently, I didn't let it stir long enough. I poured it into a lightly greased 9x9 glass pan and put it in the fridge. When it hadn't set in 3 hours, I poured it all back into the pot, brought it to a boil again, and this time, I stirred it for 18-20 full minutes, just like the recipe said...at a boil.
I did the whole "soft ball" test, where you drop a tidbit into a bit of water to see if it balls up. To my surprise it did. There we go. I let it set for 2 minutes, poured it back into the cleaned out re-greased 9x9 pan, and put it back into the fridge to set - - but it just sort of thickened. It really never did what everyone else's fudge does. I had to use d fork to pry it out of the pan because using a knife only made the sticky mess you can imagine that it made. Yes, the fork is the choice utensil at this point.
After a few bites I decided that even if no one else was brave enough to join me, I'll be happy as a clam just digging into it, pulling it out, sucking the sludgy goo sediment all the way to the silver prongs of my handy-dandy fork. I'm 100% OK not sharing it; no really, it's not that difficult of a task to just be the only person willing or present to indulge. I'm pretty sure it pairs well with just about anything I decide to eat with it. I may try to ice my popped corn chips with it. I may try to spread it on toast. I may just spoon it out if I think a fork isn't sufficient for my needs. I am not above trying new methods.
Trust me when I say that fudge is not the easiest thing to make. I've been having "kitchen" issues lately with my oven not baking evenly, and some of my cookies coming out browner on the bottom than they do on the top! Not a happy camper! I gave the oven a rest and took it to the stove today, and this happened. I believe it is a fitting way to leave the year 2023 behind and to look forward to making things happen in 2024. I don't care what the world dishes out to me, I'm going to take it, make it mine, and turn it around doing what I need to do until it suits my fancy!
Bring it 2024...I'll put a fork in you! You're done!
Photo Credit: ME.
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