Social interaction

Last night I hosted my knitting group’s weekly meeting. 

(I may have failed to mention that I joined a knitting group shortly after I moved back to Canberra? Probably I have, because I am possibly the world’s most pathetic knitting-group member. I miss easily half the meetings (I blame all the conference calls), and every time I do go, I am impressed anew at what a terrible knitter I am. In fact, the last meeting before this one, I gave up any pretense of knitting and brought my current embroidery project instead. Since my group is called a “stitch” group, I decided that counted.

(I possibly also haven’t mentioned previously about the embroidery.)

Anyway! Before last night, I hadn’t been to stitch in more than a month, what with school holidays and Auckland and solo parenting for the last 3 weeks, and I was missing it, and adult interaction in general. So I put my hand up to host, newbie/pathetic knitter status be damned, and tidied up the living room.

And baked, of course. The custom in our group is that the hostess provides tea and dessert for the other members, and I took the opportunity to embrace the craving for chocolate and coconut I’ve been having a lot constantly the last few weeks.

Recipe refinement

I realize I've now posted more than once about coconut clusters, but in adapting them into Easter nests, I made some refinements to the recipe that are worth noting:

1. In particular, I determined that a ratio of 2 parts chocolate to 1 part coconut (by weight) was optimal for getting the right balance flavor and texture. So, for the enormous crowd we were expecting, I used one 14-ounce (400g) bag of sweetened coconut, and about 28-30 ounces (800-850g) of dark chocolate.

2. When everything was mixed to my satisfaction, I scooped out lumps with my cookie scoop (like a mini ice-cream scoop, about 1 inch/2.54 cm across), dropped them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and let them cool for a bit.

3. Then, while they were still soft, I sprinkled them very lightly with kosher salt and pressed two jordan almonds into the top of each one.

Voila--Easter nests! A very, very rich and grownup version of my favorite Easter candy of childhood. It's so comforting to know I'll be able to have these next year, when I'm no longer 20 miles from a Russell Stover outlet (more like 9,000).

Grownup candy

As the stores fill up with Halloween stuff (really? already?), I am reminded once again of how I never eat candy bars anymore. And I wonder: when did they start tasting so awful? Were they always that bad, and I just had a less discriminating palate when I was younger? Or have they actually gotten worse?

Of course, I can’t answer those questions until someone drops by with a Tardis and I can zip back to 1976 to check. And I think it’s a bit soon to be starting down the Curmudgeon Way (“You kids today!”, etc.). Whatever the reason, the fact remains that most of the time I feel that candy bars aren’t worth the cash or the calories.

Gluten free

This seems to be the food trend for 2010 among people I know: well, if three people constitutes a trend, that is. But it has given me pause during this Boston stay, since I've been going for a lot of catch-up visits at other people's houses, and my go-to hostess gifts have mostly been cheesy nibbles or bread. At such a time, stymied by being unable to bake almost anything, isn't it heartening to remember that chocolate by itself is gluten-free, as well as (almost) universally beloved?

Coconut clusters
After requesting coconut-toasting tips on Twitter, all of which turned out to be variations of "Don't turn your back on it," I decided to give my slow cooker yet another challenge--which it handled brilliantly. This recipe was entirely based on what I had on hand, as you will see when you read further, and I will definitely be tweaking it when I make it again (which I will also definitely be doing). But it came out pretty fabulous for a first effort.

1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 bar (113 g/~4 oz) dark chocolate*

Lightly grease the inside of your slow cooker, and then turn to high. Dump in coconut and spread out across the bottom. Put lid on askew (this is to keep condensation from forming). Check and stir coconut every 10 minutes or so, until it is toasted a light brown (mine took about 30 minutes).** Remove and set aside.

Immediately drop chocolate into slow cooker. Replace lid askew, and allow to melt (since the slow cooker is already hot, this should be quick--say, 10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

When chocolate is melted, turn off slow cooker and remove lid. Dump in coconut and stir to coat completely with chocolate. Remove clusters with a teaspoon and place on parchment-lined tray. Leave in a cool place to set and harden.

Makes about 24 1-inch clusters.

* I didn't feel this was quite enough chocolate, so will probably increase next time.
** The coconut gets drier (of course) and thus crispier as it toasts, so I'm going to experiment with getting a balance of toasted and still-chewy coconut. I think this will be easier to do using the slow cooker method, since I had to move everything around to make sure it toasted evenly: if I don't, I'll get some texture variation.

Kitchen alchemy

I don't know what it is about some recipes. You stir a few perfectly straightforward ingredients together, slap the mixture in a pan, and bake it. You let it cool, cut it, and serve it to a random gathering of people. Women swoon. Men ask to marry you. Hell, women ask to marry you. Children smear it all over their faces. In very short order, you are left with nothing but an empty container and a circle of smiling people with chocolate in their teeth.

I've watched it happen with this one over and over again. My mother has been making these my whole life, and I've watched relatives gobble them up, friends embarrass themselves, and brothers-in-law swear they've only had two (not five) when they go for the last one. And it's not just a Boston thing: I swear there are still people in England who know me only as So-and-so's friend who brought those…things…to that party that time.

This weekend I was invited to a barbeque, and asked to bring a dessert, so I tried these out on an Australian contingent: partly because the recipe was about all I had the mental energy for, and partly out of curiosity to see if I would get the same reaction.

The result: the only reason I had those two available for picture-taking is because they wouldn't fit in the container that I took to the party.

Please try these and tell me if you get the same reaction. I'm always looking to broaden my data sample on just what it is about this recipe that drives people crazy.

Congo bars
Adapted from Rosie's Bakery All-Butter Fresh Cream Sugar-Packed No-Holds-Barred Baking Book
My mother's recipe uses Crisco, but I've found English and Australian vegetable shortening to be quite different in texture and density, and producing different results when used in baking. So I hunted down this version that uses butter, and now I like it even better, if that's possible. (Oh, and no, I don't know why they're called congo bars either. If you do, please enlighten us.)

1 1/3/280 g cups plain/all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
9 Tbsp (1 stick + 1 Tbsp)/125 g butter, softened
1 ¾ cups/350 g light brown sugar*
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup/120 g semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup/60 g coconut

Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease an 8 in x 8 in/20 cm x 20 cm square baking pan.

Blend dry ingredients and set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Add eggs, mix on high briefly (about 3-5 seconds), then on medium until well blended (about 7-10 seconds).

Add dry ingredients and mix on low until combined (8-10 seconds).

Fold in chocolate and coconut until thoroughly mixed through. Spread evenly in baking pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, or until it has a rich golden crust and the center has sunk. Cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Makes 25 1-inch bars.

* I use whatever kind of brown sugar I have on hand. It changes the texture somewhat, but they're pretty much always good.