Candy/Sweet of the Week: Fudge.
Fudge seems to be the candy of choice, since the "Winter Holidays" (to be politically correct) are approaching. I never really see or hear the word fudge unless it's around the Winter Holidays. (Except for when I was growing up, we would vacation in Michigan and they had a fudge store down the street from where we stayed - but that's another story). Now my friend Cindy makes fudge every year. Every year the demand for her fudge increases. (It's really yummy!). This year she had orders to fill a whopping 225 pounds of fudge. We usually get together once a month, so being a good friend, I offered to help Cindy make her fudge.
I show up at Cindy's house all ready to dig in and make fudge. Much to my surprise, Cindy thought I was joking. Let me set the record straight.....I don't really cook, so I guess I shouldn't have been shocked that Cindy thought I was kidding. (Just an FYI, I am learning how to cook and doing quite well. In fact, the last two meals I made for my significant other, he didn't smother with hot sauce!) Anyway, back to the fudge; Once Cindy got over the shock that I was actually going to be in her kitchen cooking I could have sworn I saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Eh, it was probably my imagination.
Our mission: To finish making the last 100 pounds of fudge.
We start by putting the ingredients into the pot and stirring. Timing the boiling point and stirring. Adding more ingredients and stirring some more. And stirring some more. Still stirring. Finally done. With the first batch that is. I think "This isn't so bad, actually it's quite easy, bring on the next batch."
The next is one is a peanut butter fudge. I jump in and start the process all over again. After lots of stirring, this batch is finally done. I want to taste it. Darn, I should have waited until it cooled. This could pose a challenge for stirring future batches with an injured finger.
Whew, it's getting warm in here.
On to the third batch which is a white fudge. (I did not realize how many kinds of fudge we had to make, Crunchy Peanutbutter Fudge, White Fudge with and without Macadamia Nuts. Heath Bar Fudge, Plain Fudge, Fudge with Walnuts, and the list keeps going.
Did I mention it's warm in here?
It's now about six hours later. I am tired, my arm feels as if it's about ready to fall off, and if it is possible, I think I "tried" too much of the fudge. We chug on like the little engine that could. Through sweat and tears (come on tears are from laughter -- you cannot hang out with friends and not laugh) and an hour and half later we have almost finished making our quota. Then it happened, the one thing we feared --we ran out of one of the ingredients. (I bet you thought I was going to say I started a fire. Shame on you). So with about 85 pounds done (actually 86 if you count the pound I ate ), we called it a day, ordered a pizza and watched a chick flick!
I went home tired, but satisfied that I have learned an art. Cindy slept well after the adrenaline wore off from worrying if I would burn down her house. The fudge was cooling nicely out on the porch.