An Iron Chef, I am not

But I sure can make some good dinosaur eggs!

I have just not had much luck in the kitchen lately. Frankly, I've been sucking ass! Last week it was the Three Cheese Baked Ziti (because my cheese had mold! grr!), and then today my Pea Soup just crapped out on me. I didn't do anything wrong either, but my peas decided to be extra liquidey, so we have Pea soup broth and ham. Not a nice tasty, chunky pea soup. *sigh*

The only thing that did work out well was the homemade Easter eggs I made with the kids. Originally I was going to make homemade Marshmallow eggs, but decided to make homemade Fondant eggs instead. They turned out ok, but if I could change anything, I would use a different extract for flavor, and not just plain vanilla.

I got the recipe for them on the "Baking" page of About.com. The kids and I tinted them green as follows, and then dipped them in chocolate. The chocolate pictures didn't turn out, so I'm sorry I can't show you what they looked like. I put the recipe at the bottom of the post.



And after we "shaped" them



As you can see, the kids and I have no concept as to what eggs look like! lol

I left them in the fridge overnight to firm up really well, and then this afternoon, we dipped them. I took about 1lb of melting chocolate, and one by one, gently dipped the bottom of each egg in the chocolate to coat it. Then we placed it on a cooling rack so the excess chocolate could drip off (the cooling rack was resting above a cookie sheet covered in wax paper). Then I took about a tablespoon of melted chocolate and spread/dripped it over each egg to cover the top.

The eggs looked really neat, and the kids loved them!



Ok, so I found ONE passable picture of the chocolate covered dinosaur eggs. If you want, you can decorate the tops with some melted, colored, chocolate as well. I didn't bother trying, because I didn't want to push my luck. Like I said above, I would use a different extract for flavor. I think if I make them again, orange would be a good one to try. Today I used vanilla, and I just wasn't very impressed with it. But at least the kids liked it, right?

Oh, and my tip to getting those eggs nice and green? It's my secret weapon: Wilton Leaf Green icing color. We don't use anything but Wilton gel food coloring now, nothing beats it.


Fondant Easter Eggs

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 pounds plus 2 cups powdered sugar
* assorted food flavorings (vanilla, almond, lemon, maple or peppermint extract)
* 1 pound chocolate and/or vanilla-flavored candy coating
* several different tubes of decorator frosting

Preparation:
In a large bowl, beat margarine and salt until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then 2 pounds powdered sugar until well blended. Divide into 4 equal portions. In medium bowls, tint each portion with a few drops food coloring; flavor each portion with 1/2 teaspoon desired flavoring. On a smooth surface, knead 1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar into each portion until smooth. Shape into 4 or 6 eggs. Place on baking sheets; cover and chill until firm, about 4 hours or overnight. Insert a 2-pronged fork into the bottom of each chilled egg. Dip into warm candy coating; let excess coating drip off. Place on waxed paper lined baking sheets; let stand or chill until firm. Decorate as desired with frosting. Store covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator. If using vanilla flavored candy coating, you may need to dip twice.

*I only used half a pound of chocolate because I tossed half the dough. I didn't have the patience to do the whole recipe"

I just wanted to add: our pea soup thickened up quite nicely. Not as thick as I would have liked, but it was still delicious! I bet it will be perfect for lunch tomorrow!