Attack!

“What do we mean by the defeat of the enemy? Simply the destruction of his forces, whether by death, injury, or any other means — either completely or enough to make him stop fighting. . . . The complete or partial destruction of the enemy must be regarded as the sole object of all engagements. . . . Direct annihilation of the enemy’s forces must always be the dominant consideration.” — Carl von Clausewitz, On War, pp. 357-359.

I have been very busy launching an offensive attack on the Swiss. This weekend the fighting was intense on the battlefront. For this attack I chose to indulge in Crème au Nutella. If you would like to follow my lead, you can get the recipe for free from the oh so talented Ms. Tartelette. But I warn you, this is serious stuff. This recipe includes three of the deadliest weapons on the planet: dark chocolate, Nutella and heavy cream. Make sure you are able to handle your weapons before engaging in this type of warfare. We wouldn’t want the wrong side getting hurt.

I followed Tartelette’s advice and made this dish even deadlier with a layer of straight Nutella at the bottom of each dish.

When it came time to finally take a bite, I thought I had died and gone to chocolate heaven. Rich and creamy, each bite better than the last . . . sigh.

Today, a sneak attack was planned and executed. This attack was in homage to my bloggy friend Melanie, an Aussie gal living here in Japan.

If you have never had a Tim Tam, I am sorry, because you are missing out! This little piece of chocolate delight consists of some chocolate cream sandwiched between two delicate chocolate biscuits and then coated in creamy milk chocolate. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off the keyboard. My little pack of Tim Tams contained 2 cookies. I slowly savored the first cookie, and then did a “Tim Tam Slam” (aka, “Tim Tam Suck”) with the second, using my bev of choice, a small bowl of steamed milk.

This technique is explained as follows (thanks to the Arnott Co.):

1. Take a small bite from one corner of your Tim Tam.
2. Turn your Tim Tam around and take a bite from the opposite corner.
3. Insert one bitten corner of your Tim Tam into your beverage of choice.
4. Suck hard, drawing the liquid through the biscuit and into your mouth.
5. Quickly pop the rest of the Tim Tam into your mouth before it disintegrates.

C is definitely for Chocolate.