Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration & German Chocolate Pie

The first "gadget" I would like to review is Paula Deen's Chocolate Celebration Magazine. Cookbook, cooking magazines and other recipe sources are an important gadget in my kitchen. I may not always follow the recipes exactly, but they give me ideas and some instructions. My mother didn't teach me to cook. It wasn't until I was married that I learned that I could cook and that I loved it. I learned how long to cook a lasagna. meatloaf and lots of other main dishes that most of you know how long to cook, what ingredients to add as a binder and other stuff like that.
I bought this magazine at Walmart, but you can also get it on Amazon here. I love watching Paula Deen on Food Network. I love baking and making desserts and Paula has been an inspiration to my baking. This magazine is totally worth the $8.99! I bought the magazine before we moved out of our old house and into our new house so I didn't get to try any receipes until this week. During the move, I read the articles and picked out the recipes I wanted to try first. One of my favorite parts of the magazine (after the recipes of course) is the section towards teh back called "Exploring Chocolate Hideaways." There are several chocolate "destinations" in this section. My favortie has to be Cocoa Cottage B&B in Whitehall, Michigan. Hopefully some day I will be able to visit that B&B and write a review on it. After reading about it in Paula's magazine, I can already tell it's going to be a VERY positive review!
Some of the recipes include: Chocolate Spiced Pork Chops, Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball, Chocolate Bread,Turtle Popcorn, Chocolate Mashmallows and tons more. The first recipe I tried was German Chocolate Pie on page 36. I am so glad I tried this one first! I LOVE German Chocolate! I made it for the monthly birthday potluck at my office (that's where I try out most of my experiemtns) and luckily not a lot of people showed up and I was able to sneak out almost half of the pie before it was gone. In the recipe it tells you 2 different times to whisk in the eggs. I did it the second time because I think it was a typo being in there twice. I think whisking them in the first time would work fine, too. I'll type the recipe in exactly how it is in the magazine and you choose how you want to do it and let me know what you think. If you like German Chocolate, I promise you won't be dissapointed!!!

German Chocolate Pie

Makes 1 (9-inch) pie

1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crust
1 (4-ounce) bar German's sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. On a lightly floured surface, unroll pie crust. Roll pastry into a 12-inch circle. Press pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, crimping edges, if desired.
3. In a large bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Microwave on High in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, or until choclate is melted and smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes. Whisk in eggs. Add sugar, corn syrup, an vanilla, whisking to combine. Whisk in eggs. Stir in pecans and coconut. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until center is set, covering pie with heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent excess browingin if necessary. Cool completely. Cut into wedges to serve.

This is really good with icecream - Butter Pecan icecream to be exact. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have!!