TRUFFLES!

Well, it is indeed that time of year, when the minds of folks who cook focus on the following thought; "OH SHIT HOW AM I GOING TO GET IT ALL DONE?"
You know who you are, and you know what I'm talking about. If there are those of you out there who have everything planned out, down to the last bread crumb, I hate you . So does everyone else. Trust me, they do. The rest of us are somewhere in between a state of shock as to not having planned the things we said we'd plan, and in a state of total panic. And it all comes back to 'HOW THE HELL AM I GONNA GET IT ALL DONE?"
Well, this recipe MAY help. It's a godsend for those of us who like to make things for people. It is also a perfect thing to have on hand in case you just can't get to dessert and need "something." It is absurdly easy to do: let's say ten minutes of work here. It makes a lot of goodies: let's say 100. And frankly, when I made them, I thought "The hell with the Xmas cookies, I'm just going to do this."
Well, that's not going to happen, but the reaction to these big boys has been so uniformly positive. People have stopped talking - people who haven't stopped talking since they were born. People who don't like chocolate are eating them. World peace has been achieved.

OK, the last one isn't true. But just maybe, if instead people gave each other chocolate truffles.

I know, I know, I know. Don't say it. Instead, buy some chocolate and condensed milk and make these. Seriously, do. You will be so glad you did.

Here's what you need: two pounds of extremely good quality bittersweet chocolate. I recently stumbled onto little disks of Callebaut chocolate, which saves the problem of chopping the chocolate, reducing the time of preparation to about 7 minutes if you have them. You also need two cans of condensed milk. If you happen to have access to condensed goat's milk, by all means use it, and you'll be making a Latino version. Finally, you need a stick of unsalted butter, and if you want a flavoring ingredient, a tablespoon of that.

Here's how you do it. Put the chocolate, the condensed milk, and the butter, into a pot. Bring it to a simmer, stirring, and let it all melt together . Take it off the heat.

Get a baking sheet with parchment paper on it, and pour it out. Smooth it with a spatula.

You're done. Almost. But the hard stuff IS done. I SWEAR, it is. Now you let this sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours, to firm up.

After that, get another sheet of parchment, and turn over the baking sheet, so that the chocolate block falls on it. Start cutting, or spooning it, into hefty teaspoon size pieces. Have a bowl with cocoa powder, and another tray handy. Cover your hands with cocoa. Roll the bits of chocolate to balls - don't worry about geometric perfection - and dip them in cocoa. Then put them aside on the clean tray. Keep on keepin' on, until the chocolate is done.

NOW you truly are done. Taste one. See what I mean? These will keep in a dry tin, separated by sheets of paper, for an eternity, but they won't last that long. Even if you only eat one a night, they'll be gone in 3 months, and you'll have to make them again.

SUE - stop asking your mom to make the sweets. Come on , girlfriend, YOU can make this one. Stop making fun of my nasty looking leeks and make some truffles. The holidays are here remember...