Experimenting in the Kitchen

I have quite a bit of fresh herbs I rescued from my herb garden before it got too cold. Lots of lemon thyme (love it so much more than standard), mint, Oregano, and a bit of basil. I have no clue what to do with most of it now that it's sitting in my refrigerator. Today I decided to experiment a bit with the mint just for fun. This is what I came up with:

Creamy Mint Risotto

2 c Arborio rice

2 T butter

1/2 sweet onion, like Walla Walla or Vidalia, chopped fine
5 c chicken broth (aprox. 3 cans if that's what you use)
4 t finely chopped mint leaves
1/4 c Romano cheese
1/2 c sour cream

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Cook until onion is soft. Add rice and cook stirring until edges of rice turn translucent. Begin adding chicken broth. Start with 1 c. and stir until the broth is absorbed into the rice. Add rest of chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time, cooking until broth is absorbed between each addition. Cook until all broth is absorbed and the rice is soft and creamy. Reduce heat to low. Stir in mint and cheese then add sour cream.

I garnished mine with a mint sprig because I've got plenty, and served it with pork chops. I think it would also be good with chicken flavored with a mild marinade. Risotto can be heavy and rich, but the mint lightens the dish as a background note. It was very good. Let me know if you try it and like it.

Unusual ingredient

Ever had Jello cookies? When I was a kid, one of my aunts brought a cookie recipe with her when she came to visit. The official name was "Pastel Cookies" and they were pastel colored spritz cookies. I remember them, though, by their secret ingredient, you guessed it, Jello.

The Jello gives them a fruity tartness and a fun color. I imagine they were invented in the 50's or 60's back when Jello had it's heyday and everyone was trying to invent a new Jello recipe. My favorite flavor is strawberry, but lime and orange are both good. Just about any Jello flavor will work, although you'll get a better lemon cookie with a standard spritz recipe and lemon extract.

I had forgotten about these for years until last week when Libby requested I make "pink cookies." She had never had pastel cookies before; she just loves pink. Her favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry only because it's pink. Anyway, I dug through my recipe box and couldn't find the official recipe. I called my mom, but she was no help, having throw the recipe out after giving me her cookie press. In desperation, I turned to my new old copy of James Beard's American Cookery (purchased at a second hand store for all of 50 cents.) I took his recipe for spritz cookies and adapted it. It's a fun cookie that kids love. The bright colors make them perfect for a baby shower or a wedding shower, just change the flavor to match the theme. These are slightly more tough than I like a spritz cookie to be (I blame the gelatin), but the novelty of the Jello makes up for it.

Pastel Cookies:
1 c butter
1/3 c white sugar
1 package Jello (not sugar free!)
1 egg or 3 egg yolks
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/2 c flour
1/8 t salt (unless using salted butter. Keep in mind Jello has salt in it)

Cream the butter until very light and fluffy. Cream in the sugar and Jello gradually, and continue beating until very light. Beat in the egg and flavoring. Sift the flour with the salt and add to the mixture. Do not over beat. Press through a cookie press onto cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees until the bottom of the cookies turn light tan. The edges will be dry and starting to color as well. Be careful not to over bake. Remove from pan immediately and cool before eating. These cookies are actually best if given a day to rest and mellow before eating. Makes 6-7 dozen depending on cookie shape.

The Cheesecakes

The recipes for the cheesecakes were requested by some of the guests at the party, and since I spent the morning typing them up, I'd thought I'd post them here. The recipes are long because the instructions are very detailed, so don't freak. These are worth it. The Lemon curd cheesecake is quite possibly the best cheesecake I've ever eaten. I Did the New York cheesecake with the chocolate marble version. Also fantastic. These are so creamy and perfectly balanced. Neither is too heavy or thick. If you are trying to lose weight you may want to forget this post.

The Lemon Curd cheesecake is from a special issue magazine called "Desserts from America's Top Chefs." It's a Meredith publication so it should be availible anywhere. There are several really, really good recipes in it if you want to just buy it for yourself. The New York cheesecake is from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. If you buy this one for yourself you have to try the black bean soup and the chicken parmesean.

Lemon Curd Cheesecake
crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 9 crackers)
3 T sugar
1/ 8 t kosher salt
5 T unsalted butter, melted
filling:
2 1/2 8 oz packages regular cream cheese
1/2 c + 2 T sugar
3 T flour
pinch of salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolks
1/2 c sour cream

unsalted butter, melted for the pan
Lemon Curd

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the center of the oven. Prepare a 9" springform pan by cutting a parchment circle to fit the pan bottom.

2. For the crust: Combine the graham crackers crumbs, sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Stir in the 5 T melted butter with a fork until well combined. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool the crust in the pan on a wire rack.

3. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese at medium-low speed in an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment about 2 minutes, until creamy. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add all the remaining sugar, then the flour, and finally the pinch of salt. With a spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl and the paddle twice.

4. Switch to the whisk attachment and continue mixing, adding the vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whip in the eggs one at a time, then add the yolk, scrapping the bowl and whisking at least twice. Continue to whip on low speed, adding the sour cream. Whip until well blended. Do not overbeat. The batter should be light and airy.

5. Brush the sides of the springform pan with melted butter. Wrap the outside of the pan tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure there are no holes in the foil. Pour the filling into the pan. Place the spring form pain in a large roasting pan and pour enough hot tap water into the roasting pan so that it comes about halfway up the edge of the springform pan. Place pans carefully in the oven and bake until the filling is just set, about 45 to 60 minutes. (A 1" area at the center of the cheesecake should jiggle slightly when the cheesecake is done. Do not test with a knife; it will crack the cake.) Immediately remove the pan from the water and remove the foil. Place pan on a wire rack and cool 15 minutes. Using a sharp, small knife, loosen cake from edges of pan; cool 30 minutes more. Remove side from pan. Cool cheesecake to room temperature. Loosely cover cheesecake and chill overnight.

6. About 2 to 3 hours before serving, remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator. Replace side of springform pan. Warm the Lemon Curd until it is pourable and spread it evenly over the surface of the cheesecake, tilting it from side to side to form an even layer. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. To serve, remove wrap and pan side. Slide the cake still on the parchment paper, onto a serving plate.
Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Lemon Curd:
1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 large egg yolks
1 c sugar
4 t lemon zest
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine the lemon juice, egg yolks, and sugar in a nonreactive bowl. Whisk until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a heavy nonreactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until hot, 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture should begin to thicken as the temperature increases. Once thick (it should coat the back of the spoon), reduce the heat and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the curd into a bowl. Stir in the lemon zest and butter with a wire whisk until the butter has completely melted. Cool slightly before using. The curd can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 1 week. Warm over a double boiler or in microwave briefly to return to liquid form. It will set up again when chilled.


New York Cheesecake

crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 T unsalted butter, melted
1 T sugar

Filling:
2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, cut into rough 1 inch chunks and softened
1 1/2 c sugar
1/8 t salt
1/3 c sour cream
2 t lemon juice
2 t vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 T unsalted butter, melted
For the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix the graham crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together, then pour into a 10" springform pan (9" works. ) Press the crumbs firmly into an even layer using the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

2. For the filling: Meanwhile, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until softened, 1 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beaters thoroughly.

3. Beat in half of the sugar and the salt and until incorporated, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla until incorporated, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks until incorporated, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs 2 at a time, until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed, 1 to 3 minutes.

4. Being careful not to disturb the baked crust, brush the sides of the springform pan with the melted butter. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 10 minutes.

5. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the cheesecake, reads about 150 degrees, about 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

6. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and run a paring knife around the edge of the cake. Let cool until barely warm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, running a paring knife around the edge of the cake every hour or so. Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.

7. To unmold the cheesecake, wrap a wet, hot kitchen towel around the springform pan and let sit for 1 minute. Remove the sides of the pan. Let the cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.

Marble Cheesecake Variation:
Before baking cheesecake: Whisk 1/4 cup boiling heavy cream and 5 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped, together until melted and smooth. Let cool completely. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate randomly over the top of the batter. Using a knife, swirl the chocolate into the cheesecake batter, creating an attractive marbled pattern.

You're going to love me today

I really don't have anything to say today, so I'm going to post a recipe that everybody asks me for. It's not my recipe, but I make it often. Yes, it's a cookie. This stuff is so good, I actually ran across a woman who seems to be making a living selling them over the internet. You can choose milk or dark chocolate and pay her an astronomical sum for six cookies. Granted, these are expensive to make, but not that expensive. Plan on a pan costing you just over $5, depending on the price of butter in your area. The measurements are a bit strange because they were converted from metric, so there's lots of "generous" in the recipe. Don't worry about it. It's ok for the measurements to be a bit inexact; this recipe has the latitude for it. The original recipe calls for golden superfine sugar, but since that's pretty impossible to find in the middle of nowhere, I substitute brown sugar with very good results.

Chocolate Carmel Shortbread (aka Twix cookies):
1 cup butter
generous 2 cups flour
generous 1/2 cup light brown sugar
12 oz chocolate, either milk or dark depending on your taste

caramel:
3/4 c butter
generous 1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 T light corn syrup
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you want, line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. (I never do. it just protects your pan from the knife and makes it slightly easier to get the cookies out.) Process the sugar, butter, and flour in a food processor until it starts to bind together. (stand mixer will work fine) Press into the prepared pan and level the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

while the crust is baking, make the caramel. Place the caramel ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan. Heat gently until the sugar has melted (I use medium heat.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring, until very thick. Pour over shortbread and let chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until firm.

Melt the chocolate and let cool, then spread over the caramel. Let chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until set. These are easier to cut if they are at room temperature, so you can let them sit out for a bit before you cut them. Once the chocolate is set, they don't really need to be refrigerated any more. Be sure to cut them into small pieces because it's a very rich cookie. I usually do 42 (6x8) small cookies.

Forget purse obsession, we will now discuss cake pan obsession

I did it. I bought another Williams-Sonoma cake pan. This one is a castle pan:

totally cute, isn't it? Because it's a castle, I actually have more uses for it than the train cake pan. I have two girls who love princesses and two kids who love Hogwarts. What Matt likes doesn't count because he's stuck with the train cake until he's 16 and the cost per use has dropped to a level that doesnt' make me cringe. (because I'm a weird person that figures costs per use on things. This is why I don't own a swiffer. I couldn't bring myself to sweep my floor if I knew it was going to cost me 50 cents a day.) anyway, that's what he gets for liking trains at a time when W-S made a pan for it.

Rilla had a birthday this week. This was how I justified the castle purchase, of course. I intended to make her a princess cake. It came out like this:

so yes, the designers at W-S do a much better job, but Rilla liked it. All the funky green is my attempt at landscaping. Now you know what my yard looks like, only with fewer flowers.

Sarah and I joked about making Joshua a Hogwarts cake in honor of book six. Lego Harry and Snape would be up at the top of the north tower and poor Dumbledore would be all splat at the bottom. I would, however, refrain from using red frosting for that. That would be just tasteless.

Monday Menu

another week, another menu.

Monday: pot roast
Tuesday: chicken with cream pan sauce
Wednesday: Spagetti
Thursday: BBQ beef sandwiches and potato salad
Friday: ??? (I'm hoping to squeeze in a date with my sweetie)

Saturday morning I leave for a vacation with my sisters. Steve and the kids stay here. I'm really looking forward to the trip. This is the first time my sisters and I have done a get a way like this and I don't see when we will do it again. This one will involve a day trip to the OR. coast as well.

Monday Menu Day

another week, another menu. (which I'm coming up with as I'm typing this, which is why I'm doing these menu posts in the first place.)

Monday: ravioli with alfredo
Tuesday: beef stir fry (didn't get made last week due to last minute schtuff.)
Wednesday: chicken enchiladas
Thursday: Steak and potatoes
Friday: Soup and fresh bread (still need to decide what kind.)
Saturday: leftovers, pick up night

now I just need to print this up and hang it on my fridge so I remember. ;)

What to do with cream

I was reading a blog called The Lazy Organizer a couple of months ago and she talked about how she oraganized her fridge. She mentioned that she buys heavy cream in small quantities because it always goes bad before she can use it all. I get that. I used to totally hoard my cream and only buy it for special occasions. These days, however, I buy it by the quart and go through nearly two quarts a month. I thought I would post a few things that I do with it just for fun.

1. There's always fudge, of course. It's nice to have the cream on hand for that at all times. Deserts in general tend to call for heavy cream, if only to just have fresh whipped cream for the top. Surprisingly, I don't use my cream for deserts and candy that often.

2. Alfredo. The only way to do it is with heavy cream. I have two recipes that I use and I choose which one depending on how much time I want to spend on it.

version 1: 6 T heavy cream, 2 T butter, 2/3 c parmesan cheese, 8 oz pasta

cook the pasta and drain. toss with the butter then add the cream and cheese and toss to coat. This is my quick, side dish recipe. I use it when I want dinner on the table fast and I don't want to fuss over it.

version 2: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 2 T butter, 1/4 t pepper, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/8 t nutmeg (optional) 9 oz pasta

bring 1 c of cream and the butter to a simmer over medium heat. reduce the heat to low ans simmer gently until the mixture reduces to 2/3 cup (12-15 minutes.) off the heat, stir in remaining cream, 1/2 t salt, and pepper. while the cream reduces, cook the pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente. reserve 1/4 c pasta water, then drain. Return the pasta to the pot and add the cream mixture, cheese and nutmeg. cook on low heat, tossing the pasta until the cheese is melted, the sauce coats the pasta, and the pasta is just al dente, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved pasta water (this keeps the sauce from congeling.) Serve in a heated bowl. This is the recipe I use when I am doing alfredo as my main dish. It takes a bit more fuss, but not a lot more time. I usually add grilled or pan fried chicken breast to this.

It's important to keep your butter the real thing and the parmesan the grated variety, not the powdered Kraft stuff. You can buy small triangles of Parmesan in the refrigerator case. It's usually right next to the Ricotta. It's not the best, but it's affordable and certainly better than the powder stuff. If you can get and can afford the good stuff, by all means, use it. I'll just sit here and be jealous. Traditionally, alfredo is used on fettuccini noodles. Their broad surface is perfect for the sauce to cling to. I find that bow tie noodles work well with this sauce, too, and they are easier for my little ones to eat.

3. My other favorite thing to do with cream is a pan sauce. Pan fry either pork chops or chicken breast in butter or olive oil (your choice and they each have their own flavor so work with whatever strikes your fancy that day.) remove the meat and set aside. Turn the heat to low. Stir into the pan 2 t flour, and 1/2-1t of your favorite herb (dried. if you have fresh it will be even better.) Oregono, basil, rosemerry, etc, all work very well. When the flour is mixed well with the oils and fat in the pan, add 2/3 c cream. Let the cream simmer up and reduce for a few minutes as you stir in the roux (that fat and flour mix already in the pan.) when it's thickened, pour it over your chicken or pork and serve. This is a very fast dish to make; less than five minutes after you pull the meat from the pan dinner is on the table. You choices of herb and fat change the dish, so you can shake it up and serve something different the next time you make it.

There are a few other things I do with cream, but for the most part, these three things cover it. I know that I don't have a huge readership, but I thought a few of these things might be helpful for someone. Have fun with it and get yourself some cream. ;)

Menu Planning

two posts in two days? I know! I'll bet you are feeling pretty darn lucky right now, aren't ya?

There's a food blog I read sometimes that posts the weeks menu every Monday. She's more foddie than I, so it's just mildly intresting to look and see what sort of things she'll be putting in front of her family that week. Mostly, I just think it's a great idea to get a menu up there.

Here's ours:
Monday: Skillet Lasagne
Tuesday: BBQ Beef Sandwiches (made with leftover roast)
Wednesday: Chicken Alfredo
Thurdsay: Beef Stir Fry
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Beef Roast

Now I just have to stick to it. ;)

the train cake

The end of November I was looking through a magazine's december issue. It had all these gift ideas in it of course. I ran across an image of the cutest train cake. Nine little cakes shaped like train cars made from a specialty cake pan. Darling. I took note.

This pan:


Matt loves trains. Matt would like a train cake for his birthday. I needed me a train cake pan. They sell them at Williams-Sonoma, so yeah, it's spendy. After some friends and I discussed how cute the pan was, I showed it to Steve, who agreed it was a cute pan and I could probably manage to find several uses for it.

That weekend I went shopping at the mall in the big city. The mall that just happens to have a W-S store. Since Steve's response to the train cake pan was positive, I decided to buy one. When I got home I was all excited to show my purchases and sheepishly added that I had gone shopping at W-S. "Do I need to take out a second mortgage?" asks my husband. I laughed and replied that no, I had just bought one thing. "not the cake pan." yes, the cake pan.

It seems that my sweet husband had bought it for me online that week for a Christmas present. Now I had two train cake pans. Steve took the one I bought back to the store.

I used the other one to make this for Matt for his birthday:

It's much cuter in person and with the white balance right on my camera. That's a double cake, one chocolate and one vanilla. (BTW, the recipe that came with the pan is fantastic, which is cool because I have a hard time finding recipes for scratch cakes that I like. ) The trains don't need a lot of frosting so it actually takes less time than decorating a traditional layer cake (and it looks better than the traditional layer cakes I always manage.)

The cake was a hit. Matt loved it and had a ball putting the M&M wheels on each car. I do have pictures of individual cars, but you won't be subjected to those unless you happen to be one of those unfortunates who is subjected to my scrapbooks.

adding to the candy repetoir--Penuche

I have no idea how to pronounce this (and a little help would be apreciated on that, lol), but it's good stuff. Penuche is a brown sugar fudge. It has the flavor of carmel and the texture of fudge. If you are a carmel lover, or if you have a hard time getting carmel to the right texture, this would be a great recipe to try.

If you've used my recipes before, you'll recognize this as a modification of my grandma's vanilla fudge recipe.

Penuche
3 T butter
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c lt corn syrup
1/2 t salt
1 c cream
1/2 c milk
2 t vanilla
1 c chopped nuts

If you like a less intese flavor, use 2 c white sugar and 1 c brown. To make the fudge: combine butter, sugar, karo, salt, cream, and milk in a 4 qt. heavy bottomed pan. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Cook and stir occasionally to stoft ball stage (236 degrees.) Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. add 1 t vanilla. Cool to luke warm (110 degrees) beat until it loses its gloss. knead in the nuts. Press into a 9x9 buttered cake pan. cut, then cool. makes about 1 1/2 lbs.

if you haven't made homemade candy before you may want to check out the full series in my sidebar (it's under the "what we're reading" section.) There are posts on many different kinds and lots of tips on how to get good results the first time you try. Have fun!

About that cookbook . . .

It seems my links are highlighted the wrong color. I left a link for you guys in my last entry so everyone could be sucked into the ATK (America's Test Kitchen) as much as I am. so here is a link you can see:

Cooking at Home with America's Test Kitchen

that's a link to Amazon where you can not only see the book you can read reviews and dump it in your cart imediately. This:

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

will be my next Amazon purchase, along with HP 1, because my copy is a paperback (hey, I bought it in '97, I had no idea how cool these books would be.) and currently lost.

The wedding was beautiful. I am exhasted. I will give details when I have pictures to go with them.

I Blame my Brother

A couple of months ago, my brother who lives in California called me to get him a recipe. Said recipe was on the internet on a cooking website which I had to register for in order to get. Jared tends to call me whenever he needs something from the internet because he doesn't have a computer at home.

I didn't really think about the incident much until about three weeks later when I got a solicitation call from the website. It is associated with a magazine and a PBS cooking show, which of course means they have a "companion book" that goes with the series, because all the PBS cooking shows have one. This phone call offered to send it to me "risk free!" and a "free" trial issue of the magazine as well, just to see if I might like them. Isn't that nice? They caught me on a bad day. I was distracted by my kids and I was weak. I said yes, they could send it to me. I figured I'd get it here copy out the two recipes worth having and send it back.

The trick is when you have a plan like that you should never read the book. I read the book. They aren't getting it back. There's only one recipe in the book I don't plan on making and that's because it's fish and we don't eat fish around here. (Well the kids and I don't. Steve would like to but he has to suffer with a wife who can't even stand the smell of it cooking anymore.) We've tried several recipes now and each one has been fabulous. Steve's comment last night when I let him try the Orange Flavored Chicken was "wow . . . that's really bad. You should just let me eat it all." Silly boy. I wasn't falling for it because I had tried a piece myself before I let him try it. Oh and the recipes in the stupid magazine are just as good. And dang it, I want to subscribe to it too.

Now all the raving aside, the book and magazine make me giggle. This is the most Type A cooking I've encountered. I've never seen a recipe book that took so much pride in recording the process of perfecting a recipe. Each one comes with it's own little write up telling us that they tested fifteen different methods and this one is the perfect one. You musn't cook a pot roast with too much water or too little (and here's exactly what they mean by that.) Orange flavored chicken must have exactly two oranges. Pancakes are too eggy with two eggs. The scientific process of cooking is there in all it's obesessive glory. Most recipe books just give you the recipe, not Cook's Illustrated! They want you to know every single excruciating detail of creating the recipe.

Even though that's what makes me giggle, it's why I like the darn book so much. They do go to extremes to perfect a recipe. It is the best way to make teriyaki or pot roast or pork and the write ups help because it details exactly how they got those results and it makes getting the same results easier. (And also I tend to lean toward type A and I sercretly admire their thouroughness.) I also like them because the food is aproaching gormet good, but it's not even close to gormet expensive or gormet fussy. This stuff is within my budget to make and I'm pretty cheap with my food.

Which all means that when I see my brother today I can thank him for introducing me to this company. He's pretty lucky though, most people who get me to sign myself up for solicitations don't get off so easily.

Gotta Love Costco

We're standing in the baking aisle at Costco discussing which bag of chocolate chips to buy, the 3lb bag or the 10lb bag. I reached for the 10lb bag.

"Are you sure . . . " and Steve trailes off.

"You weren't about to ask me if I was sure if I could use 10lbs of chocolate chips were you?" I respond incredulously.

That's just a silly question. Any woman who can write a five paragraph essay on cookie baking can most definitely use 10lbs of chocolate chips. I thought he knew me better than that.

Carmels

Now carmels aren't my favorite thing to make. I have a harder time getting them the right consistency than I do anything else I make. perfection with carmels is difficult to attain. But when I do, it's heaven.

Recipe:
Short-cut Carmels
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

mix together everything but the vanilla into a heavy bottom saucepan (at least 3 quart size) and cook over medium heat stirring constantly. sweat the pan when the mixture begins to boil. Then add the candy thermometer and cook, stirring constantly, to 248 degrees. remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

for standard carmels just pour into a buttered, square cake pan. let cool and cut apart. (this will be a pain the neck). if giving away, wrap individual carmels in waxed paper.


good luck! this is my last candy post. it's been fun, but I'm ready to talk about my life again. aren't you all just lucky?

*Edit Dec 2007: Just for fun, I'd thought I'd post that the vanilla fudge recipe also makes a great carmel if you cook it to 240 degrees. Not too tough, not too soft. try it just for fun.

Making Truffles

truffles are one of those luxury things that makes me think of furs, diamonds, and women lounging around in dresses that say "we don't have to clean anything ever and you can tell this because of this dress that would be completely ruined if it got near the slightest bit of sweat or dust." For years, I thought of truffles as being difficult to make.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered the suckers are easier than fantasy fudge. seriously. The toughest part of the whole thing is tempering the egg yolk and a bit of patience and judicious use of your microwave will get you through that easily.

Truffles are traditionally rolled in cocoa powder. Buy some good stuff for this. Go name brand and a name that makes you go "oooooh." Preferably dutched cocoa. No idea what this means, but it makes it better. You can also roll them in candy sprinkles and chopped nuts. Make sure you have a different coating for each of the flavors you plan on making so it's easy to tell them apart. Also, make the coating work with the flavor. Mint probably isn't going to work with sprinkles but would be lovely with crushed peppermint or the cocoa.

There are lots of different flavors you can use for truffles. If you drink alcohol, you can use liqueurs, rum, brandy, whiskey, etc. as the flavoring. I don't drink alcohol so I prefer not to make rum balls. ;) I use flavoring extracts. Use a good brand, the cheap stuff can leave a bitter aftertaste. Try orange, vanilla, mint, butter nut (a McCormick flavoring that is wonderful!) maple, anything you think would work with chocolate.

You can also dip your flavored truffles in chocolate. This is what I prefer to do, because more chocolate can only be better, right? For instructions on melting and tempering chocolate try this link: chocolatemold.net Once your chocolate is melted and tempered drop your truffles into it one at a time and carefully fish them out with either a fork or a dipping chocolate fork (it's a fancy schmancy fork with teeny round tines made for fishing little truffle balls out of chocolate.) Set the truffles on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet. The cookie sheet is so you can pick them up and move them if you need to. If you happen to have a kitchen that is exactly the opposite of mine (which is to say the opposite of the size of a closet) and won't need to move them, just lay the waxed paper out on the couner. Let them set at room temperature. when the chocolate is completely set, you can put them in your fridge for a bit to harden up the chocolate some more.

the recipe (from BHG)
6 oz semisweet chocolate
1/4 butter
3 T whipping cream
1 beaten egg yolk, room temperature, or warmed slowly in a microwave set on LOW power (20 seconds at a time, stirring between each heating, until the yolk is just barely warm to the touch.)
3 T your choice of liqueur or other alcoholic beverage for flavor
or
1 t flavoring extract of your choice
12 oz chocolate for dipping
or
other coating stuff

in a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine semisweet chocolate, butter, and cream. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts (about 10 minutes.) take pan off heat. Gradually stir half the hot mixture into the egg yolk, I mean gradually in a thin trickle, stirring constantly. This is what I meant by tempering the egg yolk, btw. return the egg mixture to the pan. Cook and stir over medium heat untill the mixture is slightly thickened. Remove the saucepan from heat. (if you are doing more than one flavor from one batch, pour the mixture into two to three seperate mixing bowls before you add the flavoring.) Stir in your flavoring (please adjust this if you are doing more than one batch! use half or a 1/3 of the amount the recipe calls for depending on how many flavors you are making.) Pour the mixture into a small mixing bowl, cover and chill till completely cool and smooth, stirring occasionally (about an hour and a half.)
beat chilled mixture with an electric mixer (hand mixer is fine) on medium speed till slightly fluffy (about 2 minutes.) Chill again untill mixture holds it's shape. (1o to 15 minutes) Drop by well rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Chill till firm. if you want you can gently shape these into balls.

dip in chocolate or roll in coating whichever you decided to do. Let sit until set. store tightly covered ni a cool dry place for up to two weeks.


this are so lovely! have fun with them! you can give them away and get your friends thinking that you own dresses that never get dirty. ;)

Toffee

I Love Toffee! It's my favorite of the candies I make. I always eat way too much of it at Christmas time. Toffee is pretty easy to make but it does take longer than fudge. Well, my mom's toffee recipe is easy. there are some out there that are pretty finicky. Her secret? water.

You may notice that a lot of candies cooked to the crack stage call for water. It may seem strange, especially knowing that every bit of that water evaporates before the candy gets to temp so it's not even in your final product. Don't leave it out though. That water makes your candy take longer to get to temperature so the sugars have more time to disolve. When the candy takes longer to cook, it fails much less often. As a matter of fact, I've never had this toffee recipe sugar on me and I've been using it for over a decade. pretty good track record, wouldn't you say?

anyway, if you have a favorite candy recipe that tends to sugar when you don't hold your mouth right, try adding 1/4 to 1/2 c water into it. This will help the confection be a little less fussy with you. It won't affect the final product at all, except that it will come out right instead of grainy and inedible. ;) it's a good trick.

When making toffee, you can either leave it plain or add almonds. Slivered works best. Always use semi-sweet chocolate as well. It makes a perfect blend of bitter and sweet. You can add the almonds into the candy as soon as you remove it from heat, or you can sprinkle them into the bottom of the pan right after you butter it. (which you do before you even start the candy, remember.) I prefer my toffee plain, but my mom likes the almonds. If you are lucky enough to live in one of the western states that has a WinCo, buy your chocolate and almonds in their bulk foods section. Both are high quality and cheaper than you can get anywhere else. Heck, the big blocks of chocolate are Ghiradelli, and American chocolate doesn't get much better than that.

The recipe. Make this. You'll hate me. You won't be able to stay out of it.

English Toffee
2 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 c water
1 c butter
1 c marg (you can use a full pound of butter instead of the margarine/butter mix if you prefer)
about 1 c slivered almonds

mix all ingredients together and cook over med heat to 300 degrees. Stir continuously while cooking but do not scrap the sides of the pan. when hot enough, pour onto large, buttered jelly roll pan. Do not scrape the pan out! only pour out what comes easily out of the pan. Gently spread the candy out. let cool for a few minutes. then spread about 6oz of melted semi-sweet chocolate on top. Let cool until the chocolate is set. To serve, break into pieces with a butter knife.

Have fun with this one!

Fudge Making 101

There's a lot of "easy" fudge recipes out there. Things that mostly involve melting chocolate chips into marshmallow concoctions or condensed milk. This makes a rich candy but not fudge. It's never as creamy as the real thing.

When choosing a fudge recipe, the only two ingredients that really matter are cream and corn syrup. You must use real cream. Evaporated milk is purported as an adequate substitute in some circles, but it doesn't give good results. The milk sugars in evaporated milk are more condensed, which makes your fudge heavy and overly sweet. Stick with cream and real butter and you'll be much happier with the results. As for the corn syrup, it seems like such an insignificant thing, but it's important. It helps the sugars melt and keeps your fudge from being too fussy. A lot of fudge recipes only call for a couple of teaspoons (or none at all) and with that little of corn syrup your going to find yourself with fudge that only comes out right when the stars are aligned and you hold your mouth right. No fun. Stick with recipes that call for at least 2 T of light corn syrup. You'll have more consistant results. You can sometimes just increase the corn syrup to 2T if you need to without affecting the candy too much.

I use a chocolate fudge recipe that calls for cocoa powder. It's almost foolproof and easy. The best part about it is you never, ever stir it. nope. not once. Once you turn the heat on, you leave it alone. You may be tempted, thinking that mixture will never smooth out, that it will scorch. Nope. Leave it alone. Sweat the sides, put in the thermometer and pour it out into a mixing bowl as soon as it reaches 238. if you stir it, it sugars, without fail. If you don't stir it, it comes out great. Don't you love it?

When using a candy thermometer, make sure the tip is fully imersed in your candy but not touching the bottom of the pot. You will also want to pre warm it by putting it in a small pan of water and bringing it to a boil before you stick it in your hot candy. remember what happens when glass changes temperature quickly? Exactly.

A note about beating fudge. You can either use a stand mixer or beat it by hand. Don't try using a hand mixer. Even if you have a $90 Kitchen Aid hand mixer. Just don't. You'll burn it out. My mom has a stand mixer and prefers to beat it by hand anyway. It doesn't take long. Let the candy sit at room temperture in your mixing bowl until it reaches 110-120 degrees. (wash your candy thermometer and dry it before you put it back in the candy. There may be sugar clinging to it.) If your bowl is metal, you will be able to rest your hand on the side of the bowl; it will be hot to the touch but not burn. If you are using a stand mixer, use a low or medium setting and your flat paddle. If you are beating by hand, use a clean wooden spoon. Hold the bowl firmly to your chest and use a strong stirring motion. Keep going until the fudge begins to thicken and it loses it's gloss. If you are adding nuts, you add them now. mix those in and then scrape it out into a buttered dish. Pat it flat and let it cool for a few minutes to set.

If your fudge does not thicken even if you whip it for ages, you probably did not bring it up to a high enough temperature. You can cook it again. Put it in the pan with 1/2 to 1 c hot water and start over. If your fudge gets really dry and crumbly, you cooked it too long and you can't save it.

Now the part you've been waiting for: the recipes! Fudge comes in many flavors, chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, penuche (brown sugar,) opera, mint, etc. I'm posting three recipes that have become reliable staples in my recipe box.

My Grandmother's Chocolate Fudge
2 c sugar
1 T cocoa, rounded
2 T butter
2 T light Karo
3/4 c cream
1/4 c water

dump it all in a pot and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Do not stir! not at any point! it won't burn, I promise. cook over medium heat to 236 degrees. remove from heat and pour into mixing bowl. Do not scrape out the pan. Just pour out the stuff that comes easily and leave the rest. let cool to 120 degrees. add one 1 t vanilla. Beat until there is no gloss. add 1 c walnuts or pecans. pat into a square cake pan.

Grandma's Vanilla Fudge
3 T butter
3 c sugar
1/4 c lt corn syrup
1/2 t salt
1 c cream
1/2 c milk
2 t vanilla
1 c chopped nuts.

combine butter, sugar, karo, salt, cream, and milk in a 4 qt. heavy bottomed pan. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly until it boils. Cook and stir occasionally to stoft ball stage (236 degrees.) Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. add 1 t vanilla. Cool to luke warm (110 degrees) beat until it loses its gloss. knead in the nuts. Press into a 9x9 buttered cake pan. cut, then cool. makes about 1 1/2 lbs

Peanut Butter Fudge
2 c sugar
2 T butter
2 T light Karo
3/4 c cream
1/4 c water

dump it all in a pot and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Do not stir! not at any point! it won't burn, I promise cook over medium heat to 236 degrees. remove from heat and pour into mixing bowl. Do not scrape out the pan. Just pour out the stuff that comes easily and leave the rest. let cool to 120 degrees. add one 1 t vanilla and 3 T creamy peanut butter. Beat until there is no gloss. pat into a square cake pan.

You may notice the peanut butter recipe is very similar to the chocolate fudge recipe. That's because it's essentially the same thing sans chocolate with peanut butter added. I have been searching for a good peanut butter fudge recipe and found nothing, so I made my own ;)

Good luck with your fudge! I'd love to hear how it turns out for everybody! Please feel free to use these recipes as much as you like. Make some changes if you like. Stir broken peppermint pieces or mini marshmallows into the chocolate fudge, add unsalted peanuts to the peanut butter. Have fun with it. If you want to pass them on, refer your friend to my blog instead of just giving them a copy. thanks.

Let's talk candy

I know many people are intimidated by fudge and candy making in general. I grew up helping my mom do it. Over the last eight years, I've also done a lot all by myself. Every year for Christmas I give each member of my husband's family a two lb box of candy and cookies. I wish I could stop now, but they love it and look forward to getting it. And I can't give up that ego stroking that goes with all the praise, to be honest. Let me tell ya, them boxes are goooood. ;)

ok, so all this week, I'll be discussing candy making with a new kind of candy each day. Today we'll do just general candy making tips. Things you need to know before you start your first pan.

first off, you need a wooden spoon and a heavy bottom pan. the heaviest bottom pan in your cupboard. I use an old 4 qt pressure cooker. The best wooden spoon for candy making is the kind with the flat top. I use a wooden spatula, you know the kind that is flat with a slight angle at the top. You have to be able to keep the candy at the bottom of the pot moving so it doesn't scorch.

Now there's a trick to stirring. Keep it moving but don't splash up the sides of your pot. I use a fat figure eight that covers as much of the surface area of the bottom pot as possible. Once you feel something sticking to the bottom stir more over that spot, but do not scrape it up. this is scorched candy and you don't want that flavor getting through the whole batch. turn your stove down and be careful. Also, you never, ever want to scrape the sides of the pan when stirring. never. This can introduce sugar crystals into the candy which can make the entire batch sugar. bad. The stuff on the sides is also not cooked to the same temperature as the rest of the batch and that can cause problems.

always cook your candy at medium or medium low. you don't want it cooking too fast or the sugar doesn't have time to completely melt. basically, the two biggest hurdles in candy making are cooking to the right temperature and melting the sugar. if either one are done badly, you've got a mess.

I use a candy thermometer. If you have very little experience with candy making, you will want to get one. it makes the temperature part easy. be sure to test it in a small pan of boiling water before you use it. It should get to 212 degrees in boiling water. if it doesn't, make the necessary calculations and remember them. you will need to make that same adjustment with your candy.

Now, before you start a batch of candy, you want to have everything ready, your pan buttered, the mixing bowl ready if you are doing fudge, etc. once it reaches temperature, you don't have time to stop and get that done, because it will keep cooking in the pan after you've taken it from the heat and will get too hot which makes it too hard. I like to get all the ingredients into my pan before i turn on my stove top. This gets everything cooking together at the same temperature and means my cream won't scorch if I take too long hunting down the butter.

so you've got everything in the pot, start cooking it with the lid on the pan. The water that is evaporating from the candy will condense on the lid and sides of the pot and wash the sides down. this is called sweating the pan. When the candy starts boiling, remove the lid, start stirring and add your thermometer. it will take a bit, but keep an eye on your thermometer, especially as the confection gets close to temperature. Candy can take five minutes to go the last two degrees and then zip five more degrees over the right temp in thirty seconds. the second it reaches temp, pull your pot from the stove and pour it into your prepped pan (or mixing bowl for fudge.) Only pour out the stuff that comes easily, don't scrape the bottom or sides, just leave it alone. (if it bothers you to waste that much you can scrape this candy into a different bowl.) the candy at the bottom and sides of the pan is a different temperature than the rest and mixing it with the rest may cause your candy to sugar, so never scrape the sides! (I know I said it twice, it's important.)

let your confection cool and it should be perfect. Candy makes a great gift for friends. they'll love you and nick name you the new Martha.

tomorrow, old fashioned fudge. the kind that does not need marshmallow cream. you know, the good stuff.

Small House Construction

We made our gingerbread house tonight. Luckily, I decided to go with a kit this year so there were no tears or toppling walls or colapsing roofs. I'm not sure I'd actually want to eat this gingerbread as I really don't care to chip a tooth right now. I already owe my dentist too much money. But who eats gingerbread houses anyway? seriously? My kids had a ball making it but I think over time they may consider it closer to torture. It'll be this lovely house of candy which they can't eat, perched carefully above the tv, tempting them. all week.

we are already getting the "when can we eat it?" question. I said never. who wants to eat a gingerbread house after it's been sitting aroud getting dusty for three weeks? Not that I think my kids will care about that. I'm very afraid that when the time comes to throw it away, someone will sneak off with it so they can eat the candy and I'll only discover the miscreant by the blob of dried up frosting by their cheek and I'll have to say, "Self, there's frosting by your mouth. better hide it before the kids see you've been eating the house again."