Carrie Lee’s Chocolate Sauce

Carrie Lee’s Chocolate Sauce

Although some in my family guard this recipe like the Crown Jewels, the truth is that my grandmother, Carrie Lee Mathers Schwartz, found it on the back of a bag of Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate chips likely sometime in the 1950s. Carrie Lee was a formidable woman from the Texas Panhandle who often was stern and controlling, but luckily happened to have an intense love of sweets. She made this every time we visited her in her adopted state of Colorado. And from an early age, I secretly thought of this chocolate sauce as my prize for enduring often painful, tense, mostly quiet, dare I say, utterly WASPy, family meals. It’s not fancy or refined, but it is most definitely the essence of sweet comfort food. So, while we are all “sheltering in place” and perhaps some of us are indulging in a little emotional eating (no judgment!), I thought that this “prize” of mine might be worth sharing. The only thing I have changed in the recipe is adding a pinch of salt which I believe just makes the sauce all the better.

How I Cook

How I Cook

Long, long before COVID-19, or as I refer to it BC (Before Corona), I began thinking about writing this post. It’s not meant to tell people what to do, but rather just a document that captures how I cook. It’s basically my guiding rules, equipment, 

Apple Galette

Apple Galette

I’ve been making this apple galette for over twenty years. The recipe is from a cookbook entitled, Jacques Pepin’s Table. I’ve modified it a bit over the years to make it a little easier to remember. Basically, it’s 1 cup flour, 1/2 stick butter, 1 or 2 apples (depending), and a little honey and cinnamon. It’s been served at countless dinner parties, birthdays, anniversaries — just because — and most recently to help someone ease a broken heart. About 10 years Doug was at a conference and to break the ice they asked everyone their favorite food. He replied that it was my apple galette. Later it was revealed that the question really wasn’t about the food at all, but about who made the food and how you felt about them. Kinda sweet, right?