Grandma Betty's Eclairs

Yesterday I had a girls' night with some good friends. On the menu was cookout food, mojitos, and of course dessert. And as you all know my motto: "If it ain't chocolate, it ain't dessert." It was chocolate. Eclairs drizzled with dark chocolate to be exact.

This recipe comes from Yasmina's Grandma Betty. These are not the eclairs you get in the freezer section! These exlairs are the size of muffins. They taste deliciously homemade.

We started off with an egg dough that rises in the oven, then cut the top off after they cool. We filled them with vanilla pudding mixed with heavy cream. (You can use any flavor pudding mix; cheesecake, pistachio, CHOCOLATE.) This pudding was good enough to eat right from the bowl. I would know. I had a spoonful when we were filling them just to make sure it was okay. Don't worry. I double checked. We filled them with as much pudding as would fill in the little big pastries.

Lastly and most importantly we melted dark chocolate in a double boiler and dolloped, dipped, and drizzled the eclairs! So much fun to make and even more fun to eat. Thanks Jazzy and Grandma Betty!

Hazy, Hot, and Handels!

Ladies and gentlemen we have arrived to the dog days of summer. It is hot. It is humid, and that can only mean one thing - Ice cream season!

Anthony and I needed an ice cream fix today. We were tired of the traditional Bruster's or Dairy Queen (I'm not hating; I love their ice cream; I just wanted a change.) so Anthony found Handel's Homemade Ice Cream in West Mifflin, a measly 2 miles from our new home. This quaint little shop happens to be open year-round for those of us who don't just crave ice cream in the summer.

When Anthony and I arrived it was hard to make a decision due to the fact that they have over 100 different menu options. The flavors themselves were all tempting. We had to inquire about the flavor "spouse in my house." It is a vanilla malt base with caramel swirl and peanut butter filled pretzels. um yum!

Anthony chose a black raspberry waffle cone. I (duh) opted for the chocolate peanut butter brownie. IT WAS DELISH! Although it is hard ice cream it was so soft - and not just because of the heat. It didn't have an icy texture like a lot of hard ice creams; this was very smooth and delicious. I even liked Anthony's and I'm not usually one for fruity ice cream.

Certainly gets the Chocolate Emergency seal of approval!