John Kuthe wrote:
>John Kuthe wrote:
>> I sure hope it turns out good!
>>
>> I just made an eggnog flavored ganache to make Eggnog Truffles. 2.5lbs
>> of dark (65% cocoa) chocolate, a little less than 2 cups of egg nog,
>> 3/4 stick of butter and a little less than 1 tsp nutmeg. I have it
>> chilling now. I tasted a bit, and it tastes too dark/bitterish!
>>
>> Dunno how this is gonna work out. I'm using 65% Organic Free Trade
>> chocolate from chocoley.com this year. It's my new favorite chocolate.
>> I'm fearing that it may be too dark (too much cocoa) for sweet candy.
>> But I made this batch of ganache, so I'm gonna see how it works out.
>>
>> John Kuthe...
>
>In thinking about it, I think I may have discovered what white
>chocolate is good for. Making a ganache and thus truffles of more
>subtley flavored things! Like egg nog. Plus a recipe I looked up on
>the Internet for Egg Nog Truffles included dark rum, which not having
>any I noted in my mind to try some other time.

You may want to try this:
Soft Torrone
(Italian Christmas Nougat)

1 cup honey
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 pound almonds,
shelled and blanched
1/2 pound hazelnuts,
shelled and lightly toasted
1 teaspoon candied orange peel, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind


Place the honey in top of double boiler over boiling water for 1 to
1-1/2 hours, until honey is caramelized. Stir the honey frequently.
Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add to honey, mixing well. The
mixture will be foamy white. Combine sugar with 2 tablespoons of water
in small saucepan and let boil, without stirring, until caramelized.
Add caramelized sugar to honey mixture a little at a time, mixing
well. Cook mixture a little longer until it reaches the hard ball
stage. (A small drop turns hard when placed in a cup of cold water.)
Add nuts, candied orange peel and grated lemon rind. Mix well and
quickly before it hardens.

Immediately pour mixture two inches deep into two or three (depending
on size) loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Let cool 20 minutes.
Remove from pans and cut each slab into rectangular bars. You may make
one cut lengthwise down the center forming two torrone rectangles or
slice crosswise to make five or six smaller torrone bars. Wrap each
bar in aluminum foil or waxed paper and store at room temperature in
an airtight container. It keeps for a long time if wrapped well.

To serve, cut the torrone bar into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thin slices.
Serve with coffee or tea following a holiday meal.

Note:
Traditional torrone is sandwiched between two pieces of ostia or thin
sheets of unleavened wheat bread. Ostia is often called "wafer." I've
omitted this ingredient in the recipe, as it's hard-to-find. The
torrone I made was fine without it. But, if you can find "wafer" or
ostia at an Italian market, you may want to use it. In that case, you
would place a sheet of wafer on the bottom of each loaf pan before
pouring torrone mixture. Then top the torrone with another sheet of
wafer.

Recipe adapted from The Talisman Italian Cook Book by Ada Boni. Crown,
1950.
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Here's another:

• Traditional Cinder Toffee •

You will need:-
A heavy based pan
Golden Treacle
1kg of granulated sugar
1½ pints of water
Bicarbonate of soda
3 medium sized baking tins
A wooden spoon
A sugar thermometer
Add the sugar and water to the pan, bring to the boil, gently
stirring. Meanwhile take your three baking tins and lightly sprinkle
the bases with bicarbonate of soda. Next add four tablespoons of
golden treacle to the pan and heat to around 150°C. Finally pour equal
amounts of the syrup into each tin and stir lightly for a few seconds.
Leave the baking tins in a cool place over night. Next morning you
should have a well risen honeycombed Cinder toffee.
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