Try This Tuesday

Alright Friends, a couple of things, then I'll jump into this week's T3. We have a house (YAY!). Josh is getting life organized and hoping to move all of our stuff in this weekend. I am still in Louisiana for the next few weeks (long story, job obligations, fear of puppies in a hotel room, etc...). I am still computer-less except for at work, but I wanted to take a few minutes during a break for this post. This brings me to the topic for this week, it may look familiar, but embrace it :)
From your comments on my last T3, I've decided that perhaps I should have started with a project which may feel a little more comfortable for more of you. Perhaps something in the kitchen? So, right now, today (and forevermore), even if you can't have me, you can have ganache. I can hear the squeals of excitement. Now, I know I've already (fairly recently) written a post about ganache. I know that I explained how to do it. Today, I will take you step by step (with pictures), and I would really really love for all of you to try it. I'm telling you... you will not regret it :) Ok, let's begin.
We're going to start with heavy (whipping) cream, and chocolate (you should really use the high-quality baking stuff and then chop it, but I go for the chips cause I'm lazy like that) (you can use any kind of chocolate that you want. I've used semi-sweet, dark, milk, and a mixture of milk and semi-sweet. They all turned out lovely). You will also need a spoon, a heat-proof bowl, and a pot.

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First, you're going to pour some chocolate chips into your heat-proof bowl. You can measure this or not, whatever suits your cooking style. The only thing to remember here is that you must have more chocolate than cream (you can do equal parts of each, but you cannot have more cream than chocolate).

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Next, you're going to pour your cream into your pot, and turn the heat on medium.

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Stir your cream until it just begins to try to boil. This won't take very long, just stir it until it starts looking bubbly.
At this point, take your cream and pour it over your chocolate.

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Some recipes call for you to let it sit for a few minutes at this stage. I like to take my pot, and rinse it out, then turn back to my mixture. You're just going to take your spoon and stir it until it's nice and creamy.

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At this point, it's probably a really nice liquid. You can use it just as it is if you want (pour it over a cake or brownies, and when it cools it'll make a nice glaze/icing). If you would prefer that it stiffen a little before you use it, cover it and put it in the fridge. I like to add a little extra step. Once it has cooled to the point of being a little chilly, I like to whip it. This makes it into a really great frosting. Just take a hand mixer, turn it on medium, and beat your ganache until it turns pale and little peaks start to form.

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My personal favorite use for this decadent treat is as a frosting for my Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies. It's amazing.

Now, go try it! I promise, you will not regret it :)