Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed, light brown sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
2 cup whole pecan halves
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
NOTE: Chocolate chips should be chilled.
Assemble all the ingredients and utensils before starting to cook.
(Measure out the chocolate chips and keep them refregerated until just
before needed.) You will need a large, heavy-bottomed aluminum pot or
skillet with deep sides, a long-handled metal whisk or spoon, 2 large
spoons (or an ice cream scoop with a manual release) and a very
lightly greased cookie sheet. Melt the butter in the pot over high
heat; add the sugars, milk, cream and chopped pecans. cook 5
minutes, whisking constantly. reduce heat to medium, and continue
cooking and whisking 10 minutes.
Add the pecan halves and continue whisking and cooking until done,
about 8 to 10 minutes. (If the mixture smokes excessively toward end
of cooking time, lower thge heat.) Stir in vanilla. then immediately
drop about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips into about one-sixth of the
batter. Stir quickly and just enough to cover some of the chips with
batter but not nenough to allow the chips to melt. Quickly drop the
chocolate mixture onto the cookie sheet by heaping spoonfuls, using
the second spoon to push the batter off the first (or use ice cream
scoop); each praline should be about 2 inches in diameter and 1/2
inch thick. repeat with remaining mixture, stirring briefly before
adding more chocolate chips. The cooled pralines should be light
brown, opaque, somewhat chunky and crumbly. LAGNIAPPE: To clean the
pot and utensils, boil water in the pot with the utensils in it. This
will melt the batter off. From Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen.
Servings: 24 servings
Chocolate Pecan Pralines - Prudhomme Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Chocolate; Dessert; Nut; Pecan
The History of Recipes
It is quite possible to follow the history of transcribed cooking instructions back into history, certainly as far back into history as ancient Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that is, mostly, these ancient recipes were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing meals.
Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a few scripts detailing recipes enjoyed by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, he recounts how the meals were separated into starters, main course and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. Additionally, he describes how the chefs of Roman times made use of many spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens like basil, mint and asafoetida. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices such as coriander, basil and rosemary. These new foods and tastes led to an increase in manuscripts on cookery, some of which are kept safe in private collections. The introduction of the TV brought us TV cooks and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Pecan Pralines Prudhomme recipe.
