Adventures in candyland....

Last night we (Trudi, Marian, and I) made our first batches of candy for the season.  I had recipes for white chocolate peppermint fudge, almond roca, and peanut brittle and together we had all the necessary ingredients.  We had enough ingredients to make a double batch of fudge and 4 batches of almond roca as well as plenty of ingredients for peanut brittle.  I didn't have big preference and neither, it seems did Trudi.  However, Marian... well, perhaps you know the scene in Red Dwarf where Cat figures out how to use the food dispenser?  That was Marian...only her answer was "almond roca" instead of "fish".  So we made all four batches of almond roca and the fudge.

Candy can be tricky to make.  I grew up making these recipes with my grandmother and mother so I know the visual cues, which can be pretty important.  Marian made the first batch and we took it off the stove too soon so it ended up being kind of like pralines.



It had great flavor but not that dark toasted flavor you expect from almond roca.  While Marian was working on that Trudi put together the double batch of fudge.  Through a miscommunication, we mixed up the order of ingredients, which, it turns out, makes a difference.  Our fudge ended up cooking after all the ingredients were added and the pink from the starlight mints melted into the fudge. This made a rather pink fudge instead of a white fudge with starlight chunks.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the flavor though. The batch made two of these baking pans of fudge.



I made the second batch of almond roca and, remembering the visual cues (okay, it's dark enough now and any darker will taste burnt), pulled it off at the exact right time.  Confidence boosted, Marian suggested that we try making hazelnut roca and pulled a cube of margarine out of the freezer for the experiment.  It, perhaps, wasn't the right choice because from the beginning it didn't look right.  We ended up with some sort of completely tasteless hazelnut sludge with a skim of oil on top.



We think there was something off with that cube of margarine but we didn't test that theory by trying another batch with hazelnuts.

At that point, we each found our place in the kitchen.  It wasn't the usual order of things, and probably anyone could have taken any spot but the way it worked out,  I did the cooking, Trudi did the prep work, and Marian did the dishes. Usually, Marian is the cook and we all take turns with stirring, prep work, and dishes.  However, Marian has only made candy once before so she didn't have her usual level of experience to pull upon.

We made two more batches of almond roca which turned out nicely.  I usually burn at least one batch but I think I've figured out Marian's pan and stove in relation to this recipe and had good timing. (The pictures are blurry though)



We didn't get to the peanut brittle, so next week we will do it and cranberry sauce.  Wheee....I love these evenings together!