Happy 4th on the 7th! *Recipe added!*

Fun with Mark and Gina!

On the Uncle Mark swing!

Anson tried to give the goat a hug and got a friendly head-butt instead! Luckily he has a hard head!

Two little monkeys!


Fun with Auntie Amy and Uncle Andy

Inside one of the subway stations...

A favorite Atlanta eatery... the Varsity! Ella fell asleep as we were crossing the road to go here!

Centennial Olympic Park

Warm Chocolate Fondant

Hi all! We had a great week last week with lots of company! I look forward to summer because that is when we seem to have all our company! First we had Dusty's Uncle Mark and Aunt Gina visit from the Chicago area and then my sister Amy and her husband Andy from Orlando. Anson loves having company and is going through withdrawal today! :o)

On the 4th, we went to the zoo in the morning, the Penang restaurant in the evening, and had our own little fireworks show at night. It was fun! Then on Saturday we took the subway downtown to the Centennial Olympic Park, the Varsity, and then to the Lenox Mall and home again. It was a fun way to travel with company because we didn't have to take two cars everywhere and we could chat along the way! (I don't know why I didn't think of it before!)Saturday night I took advantage of having a professional chef in the house (Uncle Andy!) and we tried a Gordon Ramsay recipe for Hot Chocolate Fondant. It was warm, chocolatey, goodness! I guess that sums up our week. We had a great time and hope you did too!

Hot Chocolate Fondant

Serves 2

4 tbsp unsalted butter, plus extra to grease

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa to dust

2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate ( 60-70% cocoa solids) in pieces (Ghiradelli makes some)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/3 cup superfine sugar (Dixie makes extra fine)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

Heat oven to 325. Grease two large ramekins (3 inches in diameter) then dust liberally with cocoa.

Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in a small metal bowl set over a pan of hot water, then take off the heat and stir until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Using an electric whisk, whisk the whole egg, egg yolk, and sugar together until pale and thick, then incorporate the chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour over the mixture and gently fold in, using a large metal spoon.

Divide between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes.

Turn the chocolate fondants out onto warmed plates and serve immediately!

I doubled the recipe and it made five. I also baked mine on a metal pan which added 4 or 5 minutes to the baking time. Run a sharp knife around the ramekins before turning them out onto the plate. The inside should be hot and melted when you cut into it for your first bite! Yummy!

This recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay's cookbook entitled "Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy".

Let me know how yours turns out! :o)