Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the sixteenth day of the month is "Instruction."
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Last weekend I was in Michigan for a graduation party (I KNOW. You guys are sick of hearing about it. But I have to keep repeating it in case there's someone reading these entries out of order or they are new to the blog) and for a good portion of the celebration I kept to the kitchen where I did what the hostess told me to do.
When I arrived on Saturday morning, one of the kids (look, she's a sophomore in college, but she's A KID) had just finished burning some chocolate in the microwave. For ease of telling this story, let's call her Alice because that's what I called her in Tuesday's post. The graduate had requested a chocolate fountain to dip desserts into, but the chocolate fountain required a lot of melted chocolate before it would be anything other than a chocolate pool. ANYWAY. The hostess of the party did not have time for this superfluous chocolate fountain, so I swooped in to help.
I immediately started up an improvised double boiler and started chattering nonstop about how there are actual kitchen appliances that people PAY FOR that do the same thing, but why would you if you can just use a saucepan and a bowl? Alice watched me in absolute puzzlement before doing a Google search to see if something could be done with the burned chocolate (look, don't tell Alice, but I threw it into the trash the second she wasn't looking). Then, once the water was gently simmering, I talked about how this was the only way to really melt chocolate and keep it all shiny and smooth.
Her reaction:
NOTE: While Alice was melting chocolate, I mixed all the fruit for the fruit salad, made a roux for the mac & cheese, got the mac & cheese in the oven, and figured out how set up the table so that the power strip would be able to power all the crock pots. Poor Alice. She was slaving over chocolate for the better part of an hour.
I had to anonymize Alice a bit because she didn't ask for me to share this story, but she was so OVER me by the time she had melted approximately eight zillion bags of cheap chocolate. But look how SMOOTH that chocolate is. She's also a delightful young lady who did get that chocolate fountain working.
Have you taught a young person a useful skill recently? Did they appreciate it?
HA. The look on Alice's face is priceless. To be fair, melting chocolate is wildly tedious. It sounds like you were such a fantastic help at this party! You did so much!
ReplyDeleteShe such a good little actress. When I asked her to pretend to be upset, she did this pose and we laughed and laughed.
DeleteHer face.🤣🤣🤣
ReplyDeleteThis is the only way I know how to melt chocolate.
Well, technically you CAN melt it in the microwave. It's just super hard because you have to check it every five seconds or it will burn!
DeleteIt's lucky you were there! Otherwise there would have been no chocolate fountain, and that would have been very sad. This, by the way, is how I always melt chocolate- an improvised double boiler.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could see a picture of the chocolate fountain!
Honestly, the chocolate fountain was so messy. There was chocolate everywhere in the room where the chocolate fountain was. It was popular with the teens, though, so maybe worth it? There's no photo of it, though, because I literally was too busy to stop and get one!
DeleteOne picture is worth a thousand EEEWs.
ReplyDeleteYou were like Martha Stewart On Steroids in that party kitchen.
The hostess was the real Martha Stewart. I was just one of her lackeys!
DeleteSue has a Breton brittle Christmas recipe which calls for melting with the crackers etc in a flat pan, but then she let's it harden, so it certainly is nothing like the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI use the improvised double boiler to make peanut butter balls, so I knew it would work. I just didn't realize it would take quite so much time!
DeleteLove the look on Alice's face! have I taught a young adult a skill?... I teach high school so the last of the last skills was... Self-compassion? An individual wasn't happy about the final grade and was beating themselves up.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how much of an educator's job is to teach people emotional regulation and life skills beyond the content of math/reading/government/etc. Good for you for doing that!
DeleteSo we do actually have a double boiler, but I use the base pan of the double boiler quite a bit so consider it a good purchase! how I melt the chocolate depends. I often will melt it in the microwave but only when it's a small amount, like when I made the chocolate choc chips recipes from the ATK GF cookbook - and they tell me to melt it in the microwave so I follow their lead. But I have used a double boiler quite a bit, too! I've also used a make shift one, but I much prefer using the actual double boiler because then the top pan holding the melting stuff stays in place where as, depending on the set up, a bowl can move around or be hard to hold onto as the bowl gets warm! But Phil would tell you that we absolutely do NOT need a double boiler (although with 60% of the kitchen stuff I own) - but he does not bake or cook much!
ReplyDeleteOh, I absolutely believe a real-life double boiler is better than a makeshift one. I have just never used one and honestly can't imagine how it would be helpful in my person kitchen. I do think it would have made Alice's life easier because she could have melted a lot more at once, but how often does a person actually operate a chocolate fountain? I think my husband and Phil are probably on the same page about a lot of single-use kitchen appliance - they're not always the best use of space, but sometime they are!
DeleteOooh chocolate fountain! Very fun.
ReplyDeleteVery fun. And very messy!
DeleteHaha. That's funny... but yes, a very useful skill! :)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how often Alice does things in the kitchen, but she'll be all set on this skill in the future. Ha!
DeleteThat's a very important skill to pass on! I don't think I have been around anyone younger than me to teach anything to! I taught someone to paint this week but they're older LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt's so much fun to be around young people because everything is new to them! I really felt that excitement from them. It's good to be a teacher!
DeleteA very useful life skill to teach someone! I have melted chocolate before (both in a microwave and in a saucepan) and it is quite the tedious process. I am sure I have (hopefully?) taught my nephews some things but I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Maybe how to play all the games we play?!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I teach my nieces and nephews much when I see them, to be honest! I have to do better about this!
DeleteI don't own a double boiler but good grief, I can't imagine melting chocolate for a chocolate fountain (that's a LOT of chocolate!) in the microwave. Alice's face is *priceless*, though. I have shot my mother that look on many occasions. :)
ReplyDeleteYou were an AMAZING kitchen helper. Seriously, go you. I hope the person hosting the event was relieved by your presence!
Alice's face is so expressive! I did cover her eyes, but the death stare she was shooting was also amazing. I adore her.
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