I am something of a foodie. I love good food (maybe too much) but more than that I love preparing good food for others, and learning new techniques that help me make my food better. Cooking most meals is one aspect of being an at-home dad that I took to like a monkey takes to bananas.

So, I’ve decided I’ll be having Foodie Fridays on here. Sometimes I’ll post a recipe, sometimes just more general tips and tricks… we’ll see how it goes.

To start things off I thought I’d share a super easy fudge recipe I picked up that actually snagged me an unexpected award not too long ago, when I entered it into a contest on short notice. It’s perfect for taking to the playground to bribe moms into letting your kid play with theirs. This stuff is seriously so easy to make I wondered if I am going to destroy some of the mystique about it, but I figure what the heck. I just finished making a double-batch for a par-tay tonight, so it’s on the brain anyhow. This is adapted from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.

So, without further ado…

Chris’ Award-Winning 15-Minute Toasted Almond Chocolate Fudge

INGREDIENTS

• 16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine (chocolate chips/morsels will work)
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• contents of one vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped *nuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1. It’s a good idea to prep your pan first, so get a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and fold it so it will fit securely into bottom and up and over two opposing sides of an 8 or 9-inch-square baking pan.  Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. You are essentially creating a “sling” to help remove the fudge later.
2. Toss chocolate, baking soda, and salt in heatproof bowl until baking soda is evenly distributed. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, then set the bowl over saucepan containing 2 cups simmering water (creating a double boiler). Stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is **almost fully melted and few small pieces remain, 2 to 4 minutes.
3. Remove bowl from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in nuts. Transfer fudge to prepared pan and spread in even layer with spatula. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove fudge from pan using foil and cut into squares.
4. Share!

NOTES

* You can use any nuts in this recipe — I prefer toasted almonds, but walnuts or pecans would also be great.
** Make sure to remove the fudge from the double boiler before the chocolate is fully melted. If the chocolate stays in the double boiler too long, there is the possibility of the chocolate separating and producing a greasy fudge.