Chocolate Espresso Pudding

We had some friends over for an amazing night of food and drinks on the weekend. The company was fantastic, and while the girls made a chaotic mess in the kitchen, the boys were more than happy to clean it up...or at least they didn't complain! Knowing that dinner involved a lot of hands on cooking, I wanted to make sure to have dessert prepared in advance. This chocolate dessert was so easy to make, and so good!!!

Chocolate Espresso Pudding
- 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup 10% cream
- 3 tbsp hot espresso or very strong coffee
- 2 tbsp liquor (I used Kahlua) or coffee
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- whipping cream for garnish


In blender, finely chop chocolate and set aside.

In saucepan, bring cream to boil; remove from heat. Add hot espresso and liquor. With blender running, pour in hot cream mixture in thin stream until chocolate melts. Add eggs and whirl until smooth and well combined. Spoon into serving dishes. I used martini glasses. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, whip up some whipping cream with a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup. Garnish dessert with whipped cream and chocolates or fruit. I used fortune cookies since our dinner night was Asian themed.



We may have had one small amount of dessert left, and that disappeared before we made it out of the kitchen!

Sunday Night Dinner - Dad's Peameal Roast

My dad has been telling me about this great peameal roast he makes, but I've never been home to try it myself. Knowing how much Brent loves ham, I thought I would try my hand at it for dinner tonight. So I called my dad, and got him to talk me through his recipe. Oh, and really, this must be served with Scalloped Potatoes. I used Canadian Living's recipe, it's not posted online, so maybe I'll post it later this week.

Dad's Peameal Roast
- 1 peameal roast (found in the ham section of the grocery store)
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 6-10 clovesPreheat oven to 350F. Line small pan with tin foil. Place roast on rack on pan. Mix mustard, maple syrup and thyme together. Drizzle over ham, brushing to distribute. Save leftover sauce to brush on halfway through cooking. Place several cloves in ham.


Roast for about 1.5 hours. You can put this in at the same time as the potatoes. Halfway through brush with more sauce. Roast is ready when thermometer reads 170F. Let rest covered with foil for 10 minutes. This was a great meal for ham lovers, when there are only 2 or 4 people.

Sunday Night Dinner - Tofu with Udon Noodles

I love vegetables and tofu stir fried with noodles, and I'm always trying different kinds of noodles to go with my stir fries. Last week someone at work was eating Udon Noodles, and I thought to myself, well, I need to try those out. They are really easy to cook, simply drop into boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then add to stir fry. You can also use them in a broth dish as well. Very tasty!

Tofu with Udon Noodles
- Extra hard tofu, rinsed, patted dry and sliced
- 1 or 2 packs Udon Noodles
- 1-2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/3 cup of tamari
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1-2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- veggies (snow peas, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, celery and red peppers)
- sesame seeds for garnish


Mix ginger, tamari, sesame oil and vinegar in a bowl. Add tofu and toss. Let marinate for 15-30 minutes while you chop and prep the rest of the veggies.

In a large saucepan heat 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add a little ground ginger, fry for about 1 minute and then add tofu, reserving remaining marinade. Fry until crispy on each side. Add vegetables that take a bit longer to cook (carrots, red peppers, celery), cover and steam for a few minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook.



Meanwhile, cook Udon noodles according to package directions.

Add vegetable stock to remaining marinade, mix in cornstarch. Add this sauce to the pan, stirring to thicken. Add noodles and toss. Sprinkle sesame seeds on each serving.