The (food)court is in session, and the judge is calling for five pounds of delicious fudge. This rich, chocolate treat takes less than 30-minutes, and can be made a variety of ways. Throw in chopped walnuts or pecans for a little crunch, or tweak the recipe and use white-chocolate. Either way, it?s a unanimous verdict: this stuff?s delicious.

You will need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 cups canned evaporated milk
• 1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 3 cups walnuts or pecans, chopped
• 5 dollars a day and plenty of take-out

You can also make white chocolate-coconut fudge, substituting white chocolate for the unsweetened chocolate and grated coconut for the cocoa.

Directions:

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, overlapping the sides; butter the foil and set aside.

2. Place chopped, unsweetened chocolate in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Combine the sugar, salt, corn syrup, evaporated milk, and cocoa in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

4. Stir the mixture together over low heat until dissolved, about 5 minutes.

5. Increase heat to medium and slowly bring the mixture to a boil.

6. Boil without stirring for 10 minutes, or until a candy thermometer reaches 232-234?F.

7. Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes before adding and stirring in the butter and vanilla with a wooden spoon.

8. Pour this hot mixture over the unsweetened chocolate and stir until smooth.

9. Continue stirring for 5-10 minutes until the fudge begins to lose its shininess.

10. Stir in the chopped nuts and scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.

11. Smooth out the top; cover and refrigerate until firm.

12. Summon your guests and serve (or better yet, serve a summons to our guests).

13. Sequester everyone until the kitchen is spotless.

Makes about 3 lbs.