Oreo Mint fudge *beta testing

One of my favorite ice cream flavors is Mint Chocolate chip. I had for some years thought about trying to develop a fudge recipe that recreates this flavor combo and the texture combo of hard bits of chocolate in smooth and creamy mint ice cream. I started by googling mint chocolate chip fudge but to no avail. This meant I would have to just guess and experiment.

My first big obstacle was trying to accomplish the texture difference between the fudge base and the mixed in chocolate. I thought for sure that this was going to ground the whole project and just before I declared it impossible my fiancee just says "why don' t you just use oreos".  Well that took care of my main hurdle and now it was time to start experimenting.

My first version came out so bad I am too embarrassed to post a recipe or pic of the it. This is my revised recipe and it was at least edible though it had some flaws that are noted below.


Note this is a triple recipe of what is considered normal size but this size is the size that works best in my fudge pot.
6 cups sugar
3 cups cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tea salt
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 tbl  of mint flavoring (mix of spearmint and peppermint)
6 drops of green food coloring
10 oreos worth of cookie parts without the center cream
In a heavy saucepan combine cream butter and corn syrup over medium-high heat.
when butter is melted lower temperature to medium and add 6 cups of sugar
stir until boiling starts
remove stirring spoon and either wash and dry or use new spoon
wash sides of pan with water using small paint brush to remove any sugar crystals
put thermometer in syrup
cook until 237
once there remove from heat leave in thermometer
let cook without disturbing until it is about 150 degrees
while cooling prepare dish the fudge will be pored into by lining it with aluminum foil
Mix together food coloring vanilla and mint.
When cool add vanilla, mint oreos and food coloring. Stir vigorously until it looses its shine then immediately turn out into waiting pan
Let cool for 1 hour.

Now the notes of what went wrong.
First the cream wanted to boil over and I had to do everything I could to try and prevent it.
Second The oreo bits were too small and not quite enough of them.
Third was fudge was too soft and loose need to lower fat content to have a firmer fudge.

Notes of good things
Amount of flavorings pretty good
good amount of creaminess in fudge

What will try next time
increase oreos to 15 oreos worth
decrease amount of overall fat in end product I will try to substitute out some cream
decrease amount of corn syrup to increase how hard the fudge sets up.


Don't worry this is not the end It is only the beginning. I have lots more experimentation with this recipe to do.

Zea's Copycat part III

Now it is finally time for the entree! And it is Zea's famous pepper jelly spinach salad. I started with going by the local grocer and picking up a bottle of Zea's pepper jelly vinaigrette. The bottle includes the recipe on back. This makes the shopping trip a little easier but I found still the most difficult part. There a lot ingredients in this recipe that I did not keep on hand. (I do now just for this recipe)
3-4 entree sized salads

6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons roasted pecans
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbles (for garnish)
5 kalamata olives (for garnish)
8 oz of grilled chicken.
I altered the recipe by leaving out the olives and cheese and adding the chicken.



I started by grilling and then slicing the chicken. Then I turned my attention to the pecans and sesame seeds. I found the toasting and roasting was critical to get the right flavor. After that it is just assembly. Add everything together except the Spinach leaves. Leave them separate. Otherwise they will wilt and become a mess I would suggest mix and toss only what you will eat in one sitting. I like my dressing mixture warm and the leaves to be nice and cool. The dressing mixture can last about a week in the fridge just microwave it to warm and mix with leaves for leftovers.