Cooking Day

First there was Fudge making. Start with a big cooking pot on the stove. The Evaporated milk and sugar will boil a lot so use a big pot. Combine 4 1/2 cups of sugar with 1 can evaporated milk. Heat to the soft ball stage (Get a candy thermometer to make this work right) Soft ball stage is above 212 so the mixture will have to boil for a while to get it to the softball stage. When you have the sugar and milk at soft ball stage, turn off the heat and add 2 1/4 sticks of butter, 3 cups of chocolate chips and 3 cups of marshmallows. To make the taste come out right there is a 1/2 Teaspoon of salt but you could probably cut that to 1/4 for lower sodium. Pour this mixture into a mixing bowl and mix for 5 minutes. Somehow this helps the sugar not recrystallize and keeps the fudge creamy. After you have beat it for five minutes hand mix in 2 cups chopped nuts. Pour in a buttered 9X13 in pan and let cool. This is Mom B's Fudge and is the smoothest best fudge I have found. I mailed a package of this to my best Pal in Idaho.

Today I made my wild rice and chicken salad for tomorrow. I find that making it a day ahead lets the flavors combine to make a great light salad. If you can, start with a couple grilled chicken breasts or look for the chicken packages in the meat section at the store. I have plenty of hickory and I use it to add the smoky taste. I cook wild rice for almost an hour. Get one package and cook it to the directions on the package. Let it cool. In a large bowl, add one bunch of green onions (or scallions) with about half of the green stems. I cut them into 1/4 inch pieces. I put in one can of sliced water chestnuts and I find they should be cut up to about half of the sliced size. I add the smoked chicken (I will say two cups as a round measure). For the dressing I take a couple of bog glops of mayonnaise (OK, 4 tablespoons), add a tablespoon or two of Balsamic vinegar a little sugar and salt to taste. Pour over the mixture and top it with some plastic wrap. Leave overnight for best results. The day you serve it, I add a couple of cups of sliced red grapes (seedless of course) and a cup of cashews right before you serve it. If you are going to have left overs, sprinkle the cashews on the individual servings of salad right before you are to serve it.

Yes, I finished this right as it is time to go eat lunch. It is the leftovers from the dinner we had last night. Good eating...

MUD