Recipe - Chocolate Pecan Pralines

1 One half Sticks unsalted butter
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Packed, light brown sugar
1 cup Milk
One half cup Heavy cream
1 cup Coarsely chopped pecans
2 cup Whole pecan halves
2 tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 One half cup Semisweet chocolate chips

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, heavybottomed aluminum pot or
skillet with deep sides, a longhandled 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 onesixth 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 One half 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.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini