Toffee Butter Crunch 1 cup butter or margarine 1 cup sugar 3 Tbsp water 1 Tbsp light corn syrup ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or toasted almonds ¾ cup semisweet chocolate pieces ½ cup finely chopped pecans or toasted almonds Butter sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat till sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boiling. Continue cooking to 290 degrees (soft-crack stage), stirring only as necessary to prevent sticking (mixture should boil gently over entire surface). Watch carefully after 280 degrees. Remove from heat. Quickly stir in ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or toasted almonds. Immediately turn mixture onto a buttered baking sheet. Wait for 2 to 3 minutes for candy surface to firm, then sprinkle with the semisweet chocolate pieces. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes. When chocolate pieces are softened, spread evenly over the hardened candy; sprinkle with ½ cup finely chopped pecans or toasted almonds. Chill till chocolate is firm; break into pieces. Makes about 1½ pounds. **Protect brittle from dampness by storing them in an airtight container.

Try this one, it's rich, but good! Flourless Chocolate Cake with Cassis ________________________________________ URL: http://www.RecipeCottage.com/cakes-chocolate/flourless-chocolate06.html ________________________________________ Flourless Chocolate Cassis cake with Creme Anglaise Serves 12 2 c half and half 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 1/3 c sugar 4 large egg yolks 10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 3/4 c unsalted butter 1/2 c creme de cassis 1/2 c cocoa powder 5 large eggs 1 c sugar 1/4 c whipping cream 6 tb plus 3/4 c creme de cassis liqueur 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped Bring half and half to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Whisk sugar and yolks in bowl. Gradually whisk in half and half mixture. Return to saucepan; stir over medium low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 5 minutes. (Do not boil) Strain sauce. Cover, Chill until cold, at least 4 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 9 inch springform pan with 2 3/4 inch high sides. Line bottom with parchment, Dust pan with flour, tap out excess. Melt chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly, whisk in cocoa and cassis. Using electric mixer beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until mixture lightens and triples in volume, about 6 minutes. Add chocolate-butter mixture and fold together. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until top forms crust and tester comes out with very moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Press down on crusty portion of cake to even. Release pan sides from cake. Turn out cake onto rack. Peel off parchment and cool completely. Icing Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Add chocolate and 6 tb cassis; Whisk until smooth. Let icing stand until cool but still spreadable, about 15 minutes. Place cake on plate. Ice top and sides. Chill 1 hour. Simmer 3/4 c cassis in heavy small saucepan until reduced to generous 1/2 c, about 5 minutes. Cool. Spoon creme anglaise onto plates forming pool. Spoon reduced cassis decoratively atop sauce and swirl with knife. Place 1 slice in center of each plate. Here's another one that we like, super easy too! Passover Flourless Chocolate Torte Makes 10 servings: 8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semi\-sweet chocolate, chopped (I used chips) 1 C. (2 sticks) unsalted kosher for Passover pareve (non\-dairy) margarine BUTTER IS FINE 8 large egg yolks 1 C. plus 1/3 C. sugar 5 large egg whites paper doily fresh raspberries (optional) raspberry sauce (see recipe) Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Line bottom of 9 inch springform pan w/ 2 3/4 inch high sides with parchment or wax paper. Stir chocolate and margarine in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool until lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until pale and very thick, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture in 2 additions and beat until well blended. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until whites are stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake torte until crust forms on top and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter and some moist crumbs still attached, about 55 minutes (top may crack). Run small sharp knife around torte to loosen. Cool in pan on rack (torte will fall and crack). Remove pan sides. Invert torte onto platter. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead and covered with cake dome and stored at room temperature.) Grind 1/3 cup sugar in blender until fine powder forms. Place doily atop torte. Sift ground sugar over doily; gently remove doily. Garnish torte with raspberries, if desired. Serve with raspberry sauce. ( I sprinkled powdered sugar over top instead of grinding my own.) Raspberry Sauce: 2 12oz. packages frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed with juices 1 C. sugar Puree raspberries with juices and sugar in processor until smooth. Transfer mixture to strainer set over bowl; press on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer. (can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated)

Jessica and Ann, I was thrilled to be able to do more this year. While I had to take breaks from the standing tasks and did what ever I could sitting down, last year at Christmas I was exhausted after walking from the dining table to the buffet area, putting some food on my plate and walking back to my chair. The most dramatic improvements happened after mid-June. It wasn't until then that I began to feel so much more like myself. I am very thankful to everyone who has helped and encouraged me. We had a lovely Christmas day - about 18 of us and tons of food, Christmas soup with endive, chicken, tiny meatballs and Parmesan croutons, salads, Italian roast beef, manicotti with home made crepes, lasagna, sausage and meatballs in sauce. And then the cookies! Proseco and a variety of red wines and coffee topped it all off. It was fun to share these pictures! I'm off to cardiac exercise, Lee

I tried the Chicken Tikka Masala on my last trip and have to say it was pretty darned tasty! I will be stocking up on that next trip. The pumpkin ice cream is really, really good but we bought the decadent chocolate ice cream....*swoon*. I enjoy a lot of their seasonal products and wish some of them would be regulars (that's right....put those truffles out all year round!!). My list of likes at TJ is pretty long (and some of it is on that Chowhound link). I only buy their frozen veggies any more (mostly haricort verts, roasted sweet corn, brocolli) and various frozen stuff (mushroom turnovers!!). There are definately some misses as well but I won't go into that here. Tastes are very personal.