Experimenting With Caramel

I have a favorite recipe that calls for a bag of caramels mixed with evaporated milk.  For me, that was a bother - I rarely kept a bag of caramels in my pantry, I hated removing a zillion wrappers and melting the caramels with the milk was always a sticky mess.  Caramel is just sugar, cream and butter, so I wondered how hard it would to make from scratch.  The short answer?  Hard at first, but now I can make it faster than unwrapping and melting those store-bought caramels!

I've played with a few different caramel recipes for the better part three years.  Some use straight sugar, others mix it with water or corn syrup.  I don't keep corn syrup on hand.  I tried the straight sugar recipe (referred to as dry caramel) but it had hard lumps or was crumbly instead of being chewy.  (Yes, I managed to make caramel that wasn't gooey.)  It tasted good, but I was aggravated with the issues.  I tried mixing the sugar with water to make a syrup first (called a wet recipe), but wasn't happy with those results either.  It separated.  It didn't set right.  At least the failures were tasty and paired well with ice cream.

Noodle Bake

Noodle bake.  I bet this was one of the first dinners I learned how to make when I was a kid.  This is one of those recipes that has endless variations.  It's also one of those classic family recipes that has a method of less than 25 words.

The recipe I have below is the original (with a few more words), but is not necessarily what I make.  Rob pointed out I could no longer call it Sour Cream Noodle Bake since I never use sour cream.  So now I call it simply Noodle Bake.  Let's see - I've replaced the sour cream with plain yogurt, the hamburger with ground pork or turkey, and add whatever spice I have on hand, like Worcestershire sauce or blackening spices.  Can't hurt to swap in chopped onion or some peas.  One time we added in so much hot sauce or cayenne that it was almost too hot to eat. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I used to make this cake all the time.  Then I didn't for years.  I dug out the recipe last month when I needed to use up some sour cream.  The typewritten recipe I have is very terse, most of the method I had learned from watching my aunt.  I had forgotten a few of the tricks, like how to layer it in the bundt pan.  It looked funny, but was still delicious.

I made it again - just to make sure I remembered it all.  Maybe add a few more sentences to the instructions than:  Layer mixture/topping/mixture/topping in a 13x9" pan or bundt pan.  That way, if I don't make it for another five years, I'll still know what to do.

Looks much better this time.  Was a hit at Game Day.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yup - I found another recipe that has a name that's bigger than the food itself.  It's about time to make my candy corn bark and I always have extra pretzels.  So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give them a try.

The pretzels are salty enough - I'd probably skip adding any salt on top when making these again.  I had just run out of chunky peanut butter, so I added peanuts to the batter to help make up for that.

Not bad!  They are reminiscent of Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, which I love.  I'd certainly make these again.

Blueberry Cake

Newbury blueberries are little and flavorful.  They're perfect for baking and I recently received a four pound bucket of them.  Enough to make lots of blueberry cake.

I had to chuckle when I pulled out my recipe.  I copied this decades ago from my mother's recipes.  This must have been a recipe she wrote down and not out of a book, because the method was exceedingly terse.  "Fold whites" of course means you've beaten them first.  It never even mentions separating the eggs, it simply says to add yolks to the butter and sugar.  My recipe writing style is much the same - so I've tried to be more verbose here than usual. 

Mexican Beef Stew

A dinner recipe with chocolate in it:  sounds like my kind of meal, doesn't it?  Mexican beef stew has an interesting gravy that contains tomato, cinnamon, clove, chocolate, onion and garlic. 

This stew is a lot of work;  I only make it every couple of years or so.  I had red peppers on hand and stew beef was on sale so this recipe came to mind.  All the chopping and prep work is worth it.  It may look like regular stew, but it has way more flavor.  (The frozen - and now wilted - cilantro doesn't look the greatest, but I liked how it tasted in this, too.)

Yay for leftovers!  I'll get to enjoy it again without all the work.

Portuguese-Style Chicken Bean Bacon Soup

I googled chicken and bean soup recipes the other night.  I had 10 ounces of defrosted chicken left over from another recipe and a couple of cups of cooked navy beans.  They needed to be used in something soon.

I found a few recipes that looked promising.  This Portuguese-style soup had the most ingredients I had on hand: onion, celery, bacon, broth, cheese (along with the chicken and beans, of course).  I had to skip the shallots and I threw in a bit of carrot.  Not a whole lot of spice, mostly onion and garlic for flavor.  The addition of cayenne caught my attention.

I had to modify the recipe a bit, since my beans were already cooked and the chicken was raw. Then I misread the last bit of the recipe and stirred the cheese into the pot rather than garnishing each bowl.  Worked fine as far as I'm concerned, although I had to scrape some off the bottom of the pot when putting away the leftovers.

The soup was quite tasty.  Of course, it's hard to go wrong with bacon.  This recipe will go on my keeper list.

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

I really like oatmeal cookies and bars - I think it's the texture.  I first made these bars late last year.  I was drawn to them because the chocolate layer wasn't made with sweetened condensed milk.  And yet, look at that fudgey center!  The original recipe had more chocolate than oatmeal and they were really thick.  So my version uses a different pan and <gasp!> reduces some of the chocolate layer.  I know!  How could I even contemplate doing that?!?!  So feel free to ignore my recipe and head right over to the original.

But I wasn't done with my tinkering.  Since I cut out some sugar, I wanted to boost the flavor.  I added some cinnamon and coffee to it.  I used salted butter, so I skipped adding any to the recipe and opted for sprinkling a little sea salt on top just before baking.  My bars ended up with a soft mocha center and a crisp crumbly cinnamon-y crust and topping.  Not bad.  I like it.  Maybe you will, too.

One Pot Meals - Alfredo and Florentine

Only one pan to clean after dinner

I bookmarked a few one-pot meals a while back and tried them out.  Two of them passed the initial test.  I made them again last week.  They're fast, easy and really quite tasty for a slap-together meal.

The first was a cheater Alfredo (which I don't have pictured - sorry if that's misleading).  I cooked up a half-batch both times I made it (because how often do I have over 6 cups of milk on hand?).  This dish will never be confused with real Alfredo - it's missing so much fat.  Still, not bad.  And easy.  And one pan.  I recommend giving it a try.  It's a good base - you could probably add anything to it.

Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Or in my case, this is Nearly Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake; I'm sure my chocolate chips aren't vegan.  Regardless, this cake is yummy.  The original says it serves six?  Hmmm... maybe.

I'm not sure how I stumbled across this recipe, but the photo must have caught my eye with it's rich, dark chocolate.  I looked through the ingredients and thought:  I have most of that on hand and it looked easy to make.

I don't have almond butter, but have had luck using almond meal as a replacement, so I did that again.  Although I didn't process it long enough to become true almond butter consistency, the cake was still moist and dense.  I may try skipping the food processor next time and add the almond meal like flour.  If you try that, tell me!

Bacon Cheddar Whatever Quiche

We intermittently visit Seven Stars Bakery on Saturday mornings as part of our weekly grocery shopping routine.  I'm a sucker for their ginger biscuits; we both like the little mini quiches, too.

It kind of blends in with the counter top

They've recently swapped out the ham and cheddar quiche for bacon and potato.  Rob didn't find it as satisfying, and on Sunday morning he was hankering for bacon cheddar quiche.  Could I make one?

Sure, why not?

I've never made a quiche before.  I read through three or four recipes online for bacon-cheddar quiche and cobbled a recipe together.  As recipes go, it's kind of like pizza:  start with the crust and a base, then throw whatever you want in it.  I found some mushrooms in the fridge, so we added those, too.

It smelled delicious as it was baking.  Looked pretty when it came out of the oven, too.  And it was as tasty as it looked and smelled.  The recipe made about 5-6 servings.  I bet I could adjust it to make a couple of mini-quiches instead (although the leftovers reheated nicely).  I know I'll be asked to make this again!

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

When I first saw these cookies, I immediately thought of Do-si-dos.  As a kid, I'd open them up and eat the filling first (or save it for last, because it was the best part of the cookie).  My second thought was - I bet these would be good half dipped in chocolate.  I decided to test that thought.

I had committed to making the recipe before I realized I was low on powdered sugar.  So I made a half batch - which was 19½ sandwich cookies.  Trust me, that half a cookie got the full measure of filling.  Yum!

I don't know if it was because I skimped on sugar or that I used whole wheat flour, but my cookies ended up a whole lot puffier than the ones pictured.  I will need to flatten them a bit, or somehow compensate when I make these again.  It's rather comical - one needs to be able to take a big bite to eat these.  But they rapidly disappeared, so it was a challenge we both accomplished.

Ginger Nut Clusters

Years ago my cousin gave me Chocolate (Practical Cooking) as an Easter present.  Several recipes in the book were earmarked to try for candy making.  Uh-huh.  I'm still not sure who the true recipient was of that gift.  Still - I've really liked most of the recipes including one savory stew (yes, with chocolate!).  There are still several recipes I want to try - one of these days I'll get to them.  But I think this one recipe for Ginger Nut Clusters was worth the book.  It was everyone's favorite from the first time we tried it.

On the surface, it's a strange combination:  graham crackers, cashews (we swapped out the original macadamia nuts), candied ginger and white chocolate, dipped in dark chocolate.  There's a lot of different texture and the unexpected zing of the candied ginger.  They're easy to make, and their lumpy asymmetrical shape is pleasing change next to all the round truffles.  I am torn between inhaling these or hording them after Easter.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I attended a Tea on Sunday.  I brought both a savory and a sweet dish.  I have no photos of my savory dish (which has now moved from Try Soon to Keeper folder).  The sweet was also a keeper.  It's a lovely gluten-free and dairy free cookie - perfect for a couple of my friends' diet restrictions.  It has great texture (didn't feel gluten free!) and a nice flavor.  I was asked for the recipe. 

I like my cookies slightly undercooked so they're chewy.  I discovered these cookies are naturally soft.  The first tray I took out at 9 minutes.  The cookies were done, but ended up a little sticky.  The second tray went in a full 12 minutes (and could have even gone in a bit longer).  These had better integrity and still weren't too crispy.  The whole batch of cookies flattened quite a bit - next time I'll chill them slightly before baking them.

Oatmeal Chocolate Ginger Cookies

One of the candies we make for Easter are called ginger nut clusters.  The candied ginger in them can have a kick.  So when I first saw these oatmeal cookies with the candied ginger, I was intrigued.

I made them last weekend.  Even though they have more than a half cup of candied ginger, the cookies are very mellow.  Not at all like the candies.  It's the oatmeal?  Maybe the baking?  Did they need more chocolate?  Not what I expected.  I wasn't sure if I'd keep the recipe when I brought the cookies to a party.  And snap!  just like that they disappeared.

I've taste-tested a few more and decided to keep the recipe.  They're wonderfully chewy, have a nice flavor.  Not the hit I had anticipated, but they're interesting.  A few things:  I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips which are big; I should have chopped them a bit so they were more evenly distributed in the cookies.  And I don't care, I'm adding more than ⅓ cup of chocolate next time, too!  Some of the candied ginger clumped together; I'll have to make sure they're broken apart.  Lastly, the original recipe had several different options for baking the cookies.  I will definitely chill them first, because I like fatter cookies.

Evil Bars

Yes, that's the name.  Originally they had some name like chocolate raspberry shortbread bars.  Descriptive, but long.  Then I brought a batch into work.  A coworker stopped by my desk with a big smile on her face and said, "These bars are evil!"

The name stuck.

Chocolate.  Pecans.  Raspberry jam.  All on a shortbread crust.  Hard to go wrong with that.  Rob tells me I should should add more jam.  Maybe.  I wonder how they'd taste if I mixed the jam right in with the chocolate ganache?

I have no idea where I got the recipe, I've had it for years.  It's a tried and true favorite:  easy to make, looks nice and most everyone loves them.

Evil can be good.

Brownie Batter Cookies

I bookmark a lot of recipes then lose track of them.  Every so often I run through my lists to see what grabs me.  Some recipes I try once and delete the bookmark; they're not bad, but don't come out as terrific looking as the original recipe looked or are more work than the end result is worth.  These guys are a delicious, wonderfully addictive little cookie; it is so hard to eat just one.

I've recently been swapping out regular flour in my recipes for either whole wheat or white whole wheat flour.  I've made the change to quick breads and adapting my pizza dough recipe.  This was the first cookie I tried with a full swap.  I suspect the original recipe may have been a little lighter and softer?  I'm not sure if it would matter.  These have nice texture, are chocolatey and delicious.  Worthy of my good chocolate chips.  I'm sure the extra vanilla and salt ramp up the flavor.  (I ended up cutting some of the salt; I felt it was too strong.)

Try it.  You'll like them.  They went pretty quickly at the Rehoboth dance.

Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler

I like cobblers and crumbles.  It's one of my favorite ways to cook up apples and peaches.  So I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for pumpkin cobbler.  The original post described it as a lava cake.  Yeah, I had to give this a try.

It's simple to make; don't even need to pull out the mixer.  At worst, if it's over baked, there's just less sauce.  I really like how it came out:  warm cake, gooey caramel sauce and crunchy nuts.  I made it for Christmas - it was a hit with everyone.  The cobbler is delicious on it's own, but even better with ice cream or whipped cream.  And it never hurts to throw a few chocolate chips on it. 

Of course I played with the recipe.  I liked the texture best using whole wheat flour (it was a prettier color, too).  Halving the recipe worked well, but making it smaller than that messed up the consistency.  There's a lot of sugar, so I tried cutting down the sugar (and water) of the topping.  I lost almost all the caramel sauce.  Sadness.  It worked better removing the sugar from the batter. 

Almond Buttercrunch

Goodness.  All these years and I never posted the recipe for my almond buttercrunch.  It's one of my most requested recipes, especially from anyone lucky enough to sample some.  I make this only twice a year.  It goes fast.  

I'm sharing the original recipe, as it was handed to me years (and years) ago.  Which, of course, is not exactly what I do.  I skip the chocolate chips and pecans in favor of dipping.  I find the single layer of chocolate flakes off (although it's a lot faster and easier to do).  Dipped buttercrunch makes a nicer presentation, but it's one of the reasons I make this so infrequently. 

I usually dip in dark chocolate; I think it goes great with the sweet buttercrunch.  This year's batch was mostly dipped in milk chocolate, which is Rob's favorite.  The buttercrunch is also good with white chocolate (reminds me of Sweet Sloops).  Yeah - it's kind of hard to go wrong with any kind of chocolate.

Apple Sausage Pie

This is one of those recipes that's more of a guideline than true step-by-step instructions.  The original version used breakfast sausage and instructions to mix everything together before spreading it in the crust.  I religiously followed this recipe for years before discovering I liked it better with hot Italian sausage.  I improved it again by layering the sausage and apples instead of mixing them (less mess!  even distribution!).  Sausage first, then apples, or occasionally vice versa.  Rob has modified it, too, by drizzling some maple syrup over his serving.

The last time I made this, I split it into three ready-to-bake containers rather than a single pie plate (it freezes really well to be baked later).  I skipped the bottom crust, opting use it all on top.  I loved all that crispy cheese crumble but there was a lot of liquid on the bottom.  Next time I'll put at least a little crust on the bottom.