Candy Dish Blog

Turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey pot pie, turkey and waffles, refried turkey, turkey a la king, turkey stir fry, turkey, turkey, turkey. All these leftovers are a lot to swallow, aren’t they?

Janet over at Dying for Chocolate has some great recipes that will allow us to use those pesky leftovers in new, inventive ways through the assistance of our old friend chocolate. The one the really grabbed my eye was a chocolate mashed potato cake. Check it out:

1 1/2 cup self rising flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz. organic fair-trade dark chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cooked mashed potatoes (make sure they weren’t seasoned)

Cream butter and sugar with potatoes. Then add melted chocolate or cocoa. Add beaten eggs alternately with flour and salt. Pour in milk and mix well. Grease 9 inch square pan. Pour mixture into pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Top will be firm and spring to the touch when cooked. Let cake cool and turn onto wire rack. Frost with a good chocolate ganache when completely cooled.

A “good” chocolate ganache? Is there another type? Thanks, Janet – you are a lifesaver!

Leftovers by Tiffany Bridge.

We wish you a happy Thanksgiving full of family and fun. But while slapping a savory cocoa rub all up on your turkey and beating those white chocolate mashed potatoes, or maybe just in the midst of enjoying the feast, let’s all think about what we are thankful for, in addition to the bounteous treasures laid out before us. I asked the NCA staff to tell me what they are thankful for. Here is what they said:

Alison: I am thankful for my family’s health, my daughters’ smiles, and a little bit of candy every day. I think all 3 may be related.

Tori: I am thankful for my wonderful family, friends and fiancé & being able to buy my first house.

Laura: I am very thankful to no longer be in graduate school and to no longer live in Baltimore. (Editor’s note: I assure you, Baltimore fans, that this is because she works in DC, which is waaaay too far to commute.)

Jenn: Before becoming a mother, life was about me — my dreams and accomplishments. Watching my child learn, grow and smile fulfills me like nothing else. Now I have something that is so much more than my own life.

Grace: I’m truly thankful for His many blessings – a new home, a fiancé’s homecoming from Iraq and a new start of a family life.

Kristin: This Thanksgiving I am thankful for: my wonderful, loving and supportive family and friends; my health and the health of those close to me (*get better soon Grandpa!); my job, and my co-workers who have been very helpful since I started at NCA; my new Mini Cooper S Convertible; yoga; music – which helps to get me through whatever mood I’m in; the Twilight series – and Robert Pattinson’s parents, for having their son…; and of course, all of our NCA Members – thank you for supporting our association, and for making the delicious products that I enjoy so much!

Theresa: I’m thankful for my wonderful husband, spell check, and the little white centers of Carmel Creams!

Linda: I am thankful for a lot of things, including living in this great nation and having access to amazing heath care technology. But above all this year I am thankful that my wonderful son-in-law, (loving husband to my daughter, and amazing father to my three precious grandchildren) got a great job, after having his days cut back. It has made me more understanding of the real tragedy it is to not have work and the blessing it is to have a good job.

Carl: I am thankful for the many mercies and blessings bestowed upon me, for having such great friends and family members and mostly I’m just glad to have another day ahead of me. Such a blessed life I never imagined I would have. But Theresa is spot on about the Caramel Creams!

And that last singular circumstance arousing my curiosity, I am pretty sure what my mid-afternoon snack will be. Mostly, those of us who write the Candy Dish Blog are thankful to have such great fans and readers. Remember – go Team Candy!

Bre Pettis’ Vegan Paper Turkey by Bre Pettis (who else?).

How about some fun chocolate cupcakes for Thanksgiving? Seems like a nice dessert for the kids, as well as a craft to keep those little hands busy when they want to help in the kitchen. Take a look:

Let’s see. You got your chocolate cupcakes, you got your candy corn, and you got your little candy-based googly eye things. I know you have a whole mess of candy corn leftover from Halloween. That’s the only bit of this that might be hard to do. Also the eyes, I guess, but you can find some candy discs in the baking aisle or else just use icing.

Looks like a fun thing for the young ones to do.

Turkey Cupcake by Bisayan lady.

If chocolate can’t be incorporated into Thanksgiving, then I am not sure what this country has come to. Check out this recipe I stumbled onto:

3 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 ounce white chocolate, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 dashes hot red pepper sauce, such as Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cup fat-free milk

Directions:
Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cool water to a depth of 2 inches, and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Drain in a colander set in the sink and return the potatoes to the pan.

Add the white chocolate to the still-hot potatoes; stir until the white chocolate starts to melt. Stir in the salt and hot red pepper sauce.

Use an electric mixer at medium-low speed to mash the potatoes slightly. Pour in the milk and continue mixing until creamy, about 1 minute. Serve at once.

If that’s not good, I don’t know what is. What chocolate treats will you have at your festive board?

Mashed Potatoes by sweetbeetandgreenbean.

Oh my goodness. Check out some of these great chocolate decorations! These folks have a lot more talent than I do. Amazing work! What’s going to decorate your table?

1. It looks like a half football with fins on top. What’s not to love?

2. Chocolate Miniature Village or Chocolate Birdhouses or Chocolate Something Else. I am guessing that chocolate birds, like last year’s suggestion of chocolate turkey, don’t really live here, as they would have to peck their way through the chocolate yumminess that is blocking the windows.

3. I am not sure what this is but it’s beautiful and graceful and mouth-watering.

4. Chocolate Buddha. Mmm – sacrelicious!

5. And finally – the masterpiece. It looks like a hot mess but really it’s very intricately done. If I ever make something like this, the kitchen will be in such tatters that I will just move instead of cleaning up.

Okay – this wasn’t my idea. I am not recommending this, as I am not a health professional and as such do not know if this really does make worlds collide. Take this all with a grain of salt or a dah of seasoning. Discussing Belgian chocolatier Dominique Persoone’s recent flavor combinations, Miriam Wolf of Chow writes:

The bad boy of confectionary seems to have made an impression on Paris Chocolate Show-goers with his chocolates flavored with cauliflower and his…wait for it…chocolate biscuits encrusted with chicken skin. Take that, you bacon-candy addicts.

Chicken and chocolate. If you have gone that far, why not try turkey?

What do you think – are worlds colliding too much, bridging the gap between savory and sweet?

Happy Thanksgiving!

What Thanksgiving confections are you enjoying today? No, football does not count.