Chewy Vanilla Caramels

I took this recipe from the foodie bride's blog. SHE is amazing as is this recipe. I plan to make additional flavors with this recipe as a basic recipe.

Fleur de Sel Caramels with Vanilla Bean
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces (at Christmas, I like to use the fancy European style butter)
1/2 tsp vanilla (I use homemade Tahitian vanilla)
1 vanilla bean pod, split and scraped
1 1/4 teaspoon Fleur de se (sea salt)l, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (can substitute light corn syrup)
1/4 cup water

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly butter parchment.

Bring cream, butter, vanilla, vanilla beans, pods, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Remove pods and carefully stir cream mixture into the caramel (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248 on thermometer.

Pour into baking pan and cool 30 minutes. Sprinkle another pinch or two of fleur de sel over the top of the caramel for a nice salty crunch and let sit until completely cooled.

Cut into 1-inch pieces. A butter knife works well--foodie bride used a buttered pizza cutter, but I didn't have very good control over the cuts so my first batch was very irregularly shaped. And then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Traditional Cranberry Relish (or cranberry goo as I like to call it)

I have never made cranberry relish in my life. In fact, I prefer the can shaped, red gel that slices super easy. However, this is also the first year that I will be hosting my entire family and it seems that some people like the real goo and not the can shaped stuff.

I got a few good ideas and decided to try to throw some thing together:



Gather together:

• 4 c. cranberries
• 1.5 c. water
• 2 c. sugar
• zest and juice from one orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp of ground cloves (or about 5 cloves--but you'll have to remove these later)
  
• 1 tsp of ground ginger

Add water, sugar and orange zest and juice. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Then add cranberries, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Bring to a rapid boil then simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick and allow to chill completely.



OMG! THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! However, I have to wait a few days until I get to add this very festive and delicious goo to my overloaded plate of turkey, mash potatoes and all the fixin's.

Homemade (Starbucks) mocha biscotti

Starbucks is giving out free samples of the new starbucks via instant coffee. So I wanted to make something with it. As it turns out, biscotti was up on the list. I have always heard that making biscotti is a two day event and it super hard to make. As it turns out, it's not hard and I made it in less than 2 hours--including the baking time. I found this recipe here. I made changes as I saw fit.

Gather together:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (Starbucks Mocha Via works amazingly well)
  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
  
• 1 egg yolk (to be brushed on the top of the huge biscuit before baking)
  
• 1 tablespoon water (added to egg yolk)
  

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and coffee granules in a bowl. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla with the last egg. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Roll out on to baking sheet with a dusted rolling pin in to a rectangle that is about 1 inch high. Beat egg yolk with water in a small bowl. Brush over the top loaf. (feel free to cut in half if you want shorter biscuits--leave room between them so they can bake propperly.)
   
3. Bake in the preheated oven until firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Cut loaf diagonally into 3/4 inch slices. Place each slice, cut-side up onto the baking sheet. Return to the oven and bake until the biscotti are dry, 10 to 15 minutes on each side. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

These worked out pretty well. I was surprised. These things are going on the christmas cookie list.

One bird in the Bush-One Bird in the City

While we haven't talked about changing the name of our blog, I thought I might want to point out that one of the birds has left the bush to have cooking adventures in the land of bourbon and horse racing. I think we have every intention of continuing to blog...Assuming Erin still decides to bake and I keep cooking.

And on another note, we got 2nd place again in the Beaver Round up bake off with our mini pumpkin cheesecakes. They were tasty and fun. We lost first to a cookie pizza :( Oh well. Erin always has next year.

Caramel Sauce

I've started to experimenting with caramel and caramel sauces. Occasionally, I will find pints of heavy cream for half price since they are about to expired or is expired. This brings the price down to 3.50 instead of $7 for a pint. But when I find them on sale I try to buy a couple and use ASAP. By far, the best thing to make is caramel sauce. It goes great on ice cream, pancakes, cake topping, and I've been told it goes great on baked salmon. (I haven't tried that, but I was told it was the best salmon ever.)

This is by far the easiest and best recipe. I ALWAYS double this recipe, but when I do , I cut the butter down from 12 Tbsp to 8Tbsp.

Gather together:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.

As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up a bit. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.



Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. Finish with some of your favorite salt (I used pink Himalayan Salt.


(Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Soft Pretzels

Due to the lack of sunlight and things to do, I watch tv...a lot of tv. Which translates in to a lot of food network. And one of my favorite shows to watch is Good Eats with Alton Brown. Once again, I was watching Alton (yea, we're on a first name basis) and he was making soft pretzels. He makes everything look so easy. And truth be told, it was. Aaron would have liked them to be skinner, but I thought they were pretty good. It was a fun way to ring in the new year.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

I served it with 3 types of mustard--cheap yellow, stone ground, sweet hot mustard.

Chinese BBQ Pork Buns

I have never in my life been in a dim sum restaurant. I have always wanted to go to one, but I haven't found one here in the bush and I never seem to get around to going to one when I am in a large city. So I was watching something about dim sum restaurants and they served bbq pork buns and I got pretty excited. I figured I could make those. I used this recipe and tweeked it a bit to fit my personal taste. The outcome was AMAZING!

Gather together:

Dough:

• 2 cups warm water
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/4 cup oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 1 lb. BBQ pork (small pork roast cooked in the crock pot over night)
• 1/2 lb. Chinese Sausage (or just regular pork sausage)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons (diced) red onion
• 1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine (rice vinegar)
  
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce (or ketchup--I know it;'s not the same, but I have to make things work)

To make the dough add the warm water and the oil into a large bowl. Add in the sugar and the instant yeast. Add in the pastry flour; mix till smooth, add in a cup of all-purpose flour, mix till smooth. Add in salt and mix well. Add in another cup of flour, then mix, Pour about a 1/2 cup of flour on a flat surface. Pour out the dough onto the floured surface. Slowly add a light more flour. Knead the dough for 8 - 10 minutes, afterwards pour a little oil into a large bowl. Place the dough into the oiled bowl. Turn dough in the oil to lightly coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.


While the dough is rising you can make the filling. Pour the sesame oil into a large skillet. Add in the red onions and sauté for a minute or two. Add in the diced BBQ pork, mix and cook for a minute. Be sure to stir so the pork won't burn. Add in the Chinese sausage and cook for another minute, add in the Chinese white wine. Add in the soy sauce and the hoisin sauce, mix till well combined. Pour mixture onto a large plate to allow to cool.


After dough has risen, pour out onto a flat surface (try not to deflate the dough to much). Roll dough into a long rope. Cut dough with a sharp knife or dough cutter into about 20 - 24 pieces. Take each piece of dough and place onto the palm of your hand. Flatten out, trying to keep the dough the same thickness throughout the dough.
Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on top of the dough. Now, pinch closed. Turn dough seem side down and lightly squeeze dough to shape it into a ball. Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Mix the egg yolks and milk together. After the dough has risen, brush the glaze on top of each pork bun, allow to sit for 5 minutes then repeat. This will give the BBQ pork buns a beautiful shine. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 20 minutes or until the tops of the BBQ buns are lightly browned.

Coq au Vin for $78.88

Coq au Vin is a french term for braising chicken (or rooster) in wine and other tidbits like onions, mushrooms and pork fat. (Mmm..pork fat)

I recently watched the episode of Alton Brown making Coq au Vin. This was also shortly after watching Julie & Julia. I was inspired. Plus, I figured if anyone could make Coq au Vin the easy way it was Alton. Now, living in the bush has some ups, but when it comes to cooking there are a lot of downs. We just don't get every ingredient that we need and the ones we do need are fairly expensive. Needless to say, I had to make do with a $16 bottle of red wine, which was the cheapest available in town. I was also happy to learn there are no pearl onions in town since I really don't care for them. I substituted a large spanish onion. I thought I might try to put things in to perspective by adding the cost of the items. This is not a cheap dish anywhere since it has 2 bottles of wine in it, but I just thought I'd see what the total cost is.


Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 24 to 30 pearl onions (1 large onion $2.34)
  
• 4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 (5 to 7-pound) stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces ($11.50)
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (on hand)
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour(on hand)
  
• 2 tablespoons water (on hand)
  
• 6 ounces salt pork, slab bacon, or lardon, cubed (I used bacon 7.99)
  
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered (5.99)
  
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (on hand)
  
• 2 (750-ml) bottles red wine, preferably pinot noir ($32)
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (1.99)
  
• 1 medium onion, quartered ($2.34)
  
• 2 stalks celery, quartered (on hand)
  
• 2 medium carrots, quartered (4.99 a bag)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed (1 bulb 2.99)
  
• 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme (used dried-on hand)
  
• 1 bay leaf(on hand)
  
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth (6.75)

For a grand total of $78.88

Directions

Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. Remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. You should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. Set aside. (Again, I didn't use pearl onions, but I thought I'd leave the directions incase someone would want to.)

Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large (1 or 2-gallon) sealable plastic bag along with the flour. Shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.

Add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. Cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken into a 7 to 8-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.

Add the mushrooms to the same 12-inch saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the Dutch oven along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add all of the remaining wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.

Once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. Strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3. Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.

Cook’s Note: If the sauce is not thick enough at the end of reducing, you may add a mixture of equal parts butter and flour kneaded together. Start with 1 tablespoon of each. Whisk this into the sauce for 4 to 5 minutes and repeat, if necessary.

Ta-da! This is REALLY good. Aaron doesn't like thing that are cooked in wine so he was meh about the dish, but I REALLY enjoyed the sauce. The chicken was ok, but the sauce was amazing! There were leftovers, but I ate them at 2nd dinner at 11 at night. It was even better reheated hours later.

"Refried" Beans

There is nothing fried about these beans, actually, but they have that good refried bean taste to them. I didn't take a picture of this because we all know that refried beans are not pretty. This recipe was super easy and also tasty.

"Refried" Beans (from allrecipes.com with some adjustments)
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 c pinto beans, rinsed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
5 tsps salt
1/4 tsp cumin
9 cups water

1. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker, add water, stir to combine.
2. Cook on high for 6.5ish hours. Add more water if necessary. I had to add about a cup more water. If you lose more than a cup of water you need to turn down the heat. I did this for about an hour then turned it back up again.
3. Once the beans are cooked, strain them and reserve the liquid. Mash up the beans and add the liquid until you get the desired consistency. I didn't need to add any liquid.