Oh, Fudge!

Do you have things that you have tried over and over and failed every time?  I have lots of things like that.  Like crocheting.  Turns into masses of knots.  Every.  Time.   Or like making bread.  That one took me years to figure out the trick is to.... have the right recipe!  :)  Thanks to a few friends, I am happy with my bread recipes and results now.  The other thing I have tried and failed at over and over is Fudge.  Capitalized.  Because nothing is worse than having fudge that is gritty.  Or tough.  Or plain old yucky.  Especially when the ingredients get a little expensive.  I have even tried the fail- proof recipes--- and had a friend who was a good cook come over and teach me.  But the second I tried it on my own.  Rubbery.  Chocolate is not supposed to be rubbery. 

I hate having things that I know I haven't been able to do, no matter how many times I try.  I am a firm believer that each one of us can do anything if we just set our  minds to it.  So, a few years back, I decided that was the year to learn how to make a decent loaf of wheat bread, white bread, and rolls.  Check.  The next year I tackled fudge.  I poured over the internet and printed off several recipes, all claiming to make creamy fudge.  I ignored the recipes I had already tried (ie. Rachel Ray's....sorry, but it turns into yucky rubber each time I make it.  I've had it when other people made it and it was great- I just personally haven't had luck with that recipe!).  And settled on one by Adrienne Petersen for my first attempt.  So, I tried it, and voila!  I was completely shocked.  For the first time (and I had tried many, many times previously), the fudge turned out perfectly!  Not just perfectly, but also with the right flavor and melt in your mouth texture and everything.  I knew my search for the right recipe was over.  Which had me giggling over the several recipes I didn't need to try- and over the fact that I had geared myself up, expecting another failure.  I am even more convinced that being a good cook is all in the right recipe!  :)  I have made the recipe several times since then (pretty much every Christmas), and it has turned out every time but the very last time when I accidentally added the butter to the cooking pan instead of to the bowl of chocolate.  It still turned out ok, just not melt in your mouth creamy--- more of a marshmallow chewy texture.  But, that was my fault for not following the recipe properly.  It does make a difference- imagine that!

I couldn't find the original site that I found the recipe on, but I did find a new link to her recipe: Adrienne's Fudge Recipe.  It was funny to see that her story on finding the perfect fudge recipe sounded so familiar!  I hope you like it! 

As for crocheting.........I'm still not ready to tackle that one again.  I'm ok with not being able to do it.  But it does bug me that I haven't been able to overcome that challenge.  So, maybe when I'm 80 and have nothing else to do I'll give it a try again! :)