Over the Top After School Snack

Once upon a time in the Land of St. Honore', Miguel opened the front door and smiled. His mom was working at home today and she must have decided to take a break and make an after school snack for him.

For some reason when you stood in the front hall you could always smell what was baking in the oven. Today he smelled popcorn!

Miguel loved popcorn and often had a bag of microwave popcorn after school. But today he also smelled sweetness and maybe toasted nuts, too.

Looking into the kitchen he immediately saw what smelled so good. A baking sheet was full of popcorn that had been mixed with a golden brown substance and he could see little dark red bits and what looked like chopped almonds. The aroma was heavenly.

Then his mom came out of the pantry, smiling when she saw him. He gave her a big hug and she hugged him back. They did the usual 'how was your day' 'fine' 'what's up' 'stuff'' greeting. Finally he couldn't wait any longer. "What's that in the pan?" he asked. Getting even she said, "Stuff", but relented and said, "Caramel Corn with Dried Cranberries and Almonds".

"Mmmpf" he said with a mouth full of the stuff.

After he swallowed he said, "That's great stuff! Sweet and crunchy and salty with the sweet tart of the cranberries and popcorn...who can hate popcorn?"

Turning into the pantry, she retrieved a big bowl and gave it to him to fill up.

"I have to go to the Post Office for work and Dad won't be home until later, so dinner is at 7...do you have homework?"

"Finished it on the bus" he said and headed for his room and the computer to IM hiis friends and enjoy this bowl of caramel corn. "Thanks for the awesome snack, Mom!"

(Elle's note: There will be more journeys to the imaginary Land of St. Honore', where baking is a birth right, than once a month for Daring Bakers. Writing little stories is too much fun to only do once a month. Besides, some folks have asked for more..silly people!)

In case you want to make this treat, which is a variation of Caramel Apple-Caramel Corn by Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, understand that it makes a lot. I made half her recipe and it still was enough for Sweetie and I to snack on it during two sessions of watching Net flick versions of the Rockford Files. Since they are set in California in the time period when I had just come to California, I'm enjoying the period decor and clothing as well as the snappy dialog. The obligatory car chase each episode is wearing thin, but we are getting to meet some of the regulars like Angel.

Be careful of the hot caramel. It can burn you badly.

I was making this after dinner and after working too much, so I had a brain fart and didn't make sure I had popcorn ready when I started the caramel. That meant turning the mixture off while I popped the corn and mixed in the dried fruit, nuts and caramel bits. By the time I got back to the caramel in the pot, it was hard to tell if the sugars had dissolved. I suspect that it would be better caramel if I cooked it all at once, paying more attention to the cooking stages. Even so, it was delicious! Your tummy will thank you if you stop at one good sized serving since it is deceptive...you can eat far too much without realizing it.

Hope you enjoyed Halloween. The jack o'lantern in the header was a collaboration between a niece and her 3 year old son. He started out wanting it to be a fierce fellow and ended with wanting it to be a smiling on. I think it is adorable, especially since they gave it to me to keep.

Caramel Corn with Dried Cranberries and Almonds

based on recipe by Peabody at Culinary Concoctions by Peabody - this is half the amount of hers

1 1/2 bags plain (not buttered) microwavable popcorn (about 8-9 cups depending on how much pops), popped, but you can also pop about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of plain popcorn in the microwave in a brown bag that you have added 1 T of oil to and folded the top tightly to seal.
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (if can’t find, use corn syrup, but I like Lyle’s way better…you can buy it on Amazon.com)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking soda
8 oz bag of caramels (unwrapped…because plastic doesn’t taste that good), chopped into fourths (yep, kind of a pain in the butt, but yummy) or equivalent of caramel baking bits (faster).
1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Line a baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mat. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 200F.

Put the popcorn into a large bowl. Add the dried cranberries, almonds and caramel pieces and toss with popcorn. Set aside.

In a large saucepan bring sugars, syrup, salt, and butter to a boil, over high heat. Boil until all the ingredients has dissolved and it is boiling away at you.

Add vanilla extract and baking soda and stir quickly. Be warned, it’s going to bubble up and get mad at you.

Pour the caramel over the popcorn mixture and mix thoroughly.

Spread out evenly onto prepared baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Your caramels will melt, but will firm back up as they cool, don’t panic. Enjoy.

(If you don’t want to do the baking method, and you own a candy thermometer, you can skip the oven step by bringing the caramel mixture up to 300F while it is boiling [right before you add the vanilla and baking soda]. This method allows for the caramel bits to stay their shape better. )

I'm sure that you can figure out other goodies to go in the mix instead or or in addition to the cranberries and nuts (or dried apples). Go wild! This recipe can take it.

Taking Apart Shortcakes for a Birthday

If anyone should be given a dessert for her birthday, it's Peabody. Her blog, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, has inspired hundreds of others to bake sweets and bake often. Sugar, butter and cream are no strangers to her. If you don't believe me, go check out her blog!
As she has mentioned in a comment on this very blog, I'm a nut about birthdays. That's my excuse for this post :)

I've been wanting to make madeleines for a while and it became a very strong urge once I had a copy of Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From my home to yours, as inspiration. Last week I finally purchased a madeleine pan and today I'm making Classic Madeleines from another Dorie book, Paris Sweets. These tender cookies are actually like little cakes. They have the distinctive shell shape and a sweet, buttery flavor with a bit of zing from the citrus zests I used. Next time I'll probably use a little less batter. Sweetie had a hard time to not eat every last one of them. They were that good.

Since it's berry season, and since madeleines are really just tiny sponge cakes, today's dessert is a deconstruction of Strawberry Shortcake. If you don't have strawberries, look for ripe seasonal berries. This would also be good with raspberries, blueberries, ollalaberries, marionberries, gooseberries...you get the idea. I used locally grown strawberries that were so ripe they were almost falling apart. When it's strawberry season, you have to have shortcake (or something like it) with lots of whipped cream, at least once.

Here is how to make Deconstructed Strawberry Shortcake:


1. Bake the madeleines using the recipe below or your favorite madeleine recipe. I used both lemon and lime zest to go with the berries.



2. Take a pint of fresh strawberries, wash and hull them, then slice in half if small or slice in 1/4 inch slices if larger. If not really ripe, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, stir, and let sit for 10 -15 minutes. Save a few good looking strawberries for garnish.



3. Whip some heavy cream with a little sugar until soft peaks form. ) I started with about a cup of whipping cream) Divide in half. Fold the strawberries into half. Put the rest into a piping bag with a star tip.



4. In dessert bowls or wine glasses, spoon a generous portion of the cream and berry mixture. Take 4 mini madeleines or two large ones and push them down into the cream and berry mixture. Garnish each serving with a whoosh of piped whipped cream and one strawberry on top. (This can be refrigerated for a short time, but is better served right away.)
   
   
   Classic Madeleines
   From Paris Sweets by Dorie Greenspan, adapted from patisserie Lerch
   
   ¾ cup all-purpose flour
   ½ teaspoon double-acting baking powder
   2 large eggs, at room temperature
   ½ cup sugar
   Grated zest of one lemon (I used zest from half a lemon and two key limes)
   2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
   5 tablespoons (2 ½ ounces), unsalted butter, melted and cooled
   
   Sift together the flour and baking powder and keep close at hand. Working in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until they thicken and lighten in color, 2 – 4 minutes. Beat in the citrus zest and vanilla. Switch to a large rubber spatula and gently fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the melted butter. Cover the batter with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal, and chill for at least 3 hours, preferably longer – chilling helps the batter develop its characteristic crown, known as the hump or bump. (The batter can be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.)
   
   Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If your Madeleine pan is NOT nonstick, generously butter it, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. If the pan is nonstick, you still might want to give it an insurance coating of butter and flour. If it is silicone, do nothing. No matter what kind of pan you have, place it on a baking sheet for easy transportability.
   
   Divide the batter among the molds, filling them almost to the top. Don’t worry about smoothing the batter; it will even out as it bakes.
   
   Bake large madeleines for 11 – 13 minutes, small ones for 8 – 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and golden and spring back when touched. Pull the pan from the oven and remove the cookies either by rapping the pan against the counter (the madeleines should drop out) or gently running a butter knife around the edges of the cookies. Allow them to cool on a cooling rack .They can be served ever so slightly warm or at room temperature.
   
   Never keep them more than a day (although stale ones can be dunked in tea), but do store them when cooled in an airtight container. Since the batter will keep in the fridge a few days, the best bet is to freshly bake the number of cookies you will need, then bake some more the next day to enjoy.
   
   Happy Birthday Peabody! Hope this year is the best ever for you. Elle

Happy Birthday Peabody!

When we were sitting at lunch in Seattle in June, Peabody, of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, mentioned that she loves bread pudding. When I was trying to think of what to make for her birthday, I remembered that I had this great recipe from the stone ages…well 1971 actually, but close enough. My friend Gale was active in her church and they did a lot of pot lucks. She said that this was her favorite thing to bring and when she didn’t bring it, she got grief.

What makes this bread pudding a stand out is the dark red cherries. A can is about 14 or 15 oz., but you can substitute about a cup to 1 ¼ cup of fresh, pitted cherries if you want to. I used some drained cherries from a jar that I bought when I went to Hatam’s with Anna of Anna’s Cool Finds. I suspect that a cup or so of any stone fruit or even berries in season would work well with this bread pudding. Peabody, hope that you find this to be a fun birthday gift…just wish you were here to have some.

Gale’s Bread Pudding with Cherries
A recipe from 1971, from a Fredicksburg, Maryland friend

4 cups dry bread cubes
3 cups milk, scalded
1 tablespoon butter
4 slightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can dark red cherries, drained

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt the butter in the milk. Add a little of the milk to the beaten eggs, then add eggs to rest of milk. Stir in the sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla.
3) Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the egg/milk mixture over, stir gently, and let sit 15 minutes.
4) Butter a large baking pan. A deep one will give a softer center, a shallower one will give more crispy crust. Gently stir drained cherries into bread mixture and pour into baking pan.
5) Bake in a pan of hot water until firm, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Happy Birthday Peabody
bread pudding
cherries
pot lucks

Seattle On My Mind

If you've not had the experience of missing a grown son or daughter who have moved to another state or country, you might not understand why Seattle has been on my mind a lot since Christmas.

After she graduated from college, Sweetie and I were lucky to have our daughter living near by, no more than 40 minutes when she lived south of here, and that luck held for over four years. Even when she was in the LA area, it seemed like we could go visit easily. When she moved to Seattle last summer we drove there together and I really knew just how far away she was. I also found out that I really enjoy Seattle and find it to be a very comfortable place to be.

We did get to visit with her at Christmas, but each of us had a cold during that time, which put a damper on much activity. She has come here a couple of times, too.

A little over a week ago we were again in Seattle. The weather was nice a couple of the days, and rained the others so we knew we were in the right city. There were decorated pigs around the downtown area, and construction going all over, so we knew it was summer. Lots of people walking and biking. The food was wonderful no matter where we ate...surely Seattle.

It's difficult to decide what was the best. The cupcakes and coffee at Cupcake Royale were great. The breakfasts at the 5 Spot in Queen Anne filled me right up. Dinner at the Santa Fe Cafe' with a chef friend of hers brought some very rich dishes from New Mexico.


Probably the most enjoyable was the linguine dish pictured above, with fresh Copper River salmon, that I enjoyed at Cutters near Elliott Bay when I had the pleasure of meeting Peabody of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

It may have been the freshness of the ingredients, or the lightness of the cream sauce, or the deft hand the chef had with the herbs, but it was probably that I thoroughly enjoyed talking and laughing with Peabody. As you may have gathered if you've read her blog, she is very knowledgeable about baking but modest about it, fun, witty, and she holds strong opinions. My kind of woman! Her photographs are also stunning. I was lucky because she brought me a small loaf of her grandma's bannana bread (which was perfect for eating while waiting for our delayed flight that evening) and a delicious lightly spiced cake with blackberry jam. Thank you Peabody!

So now I've had a little daughter time and I feel much better. I'm naturally biased, but I think she is beautiful, smart, a dynamic sales person and a great friend.

So now you can be jealous that I spent time in lovely Seattle, ate great food, had daughter time and spent a wonderful afternoon with Peabody. And I can be jealous that y'all have had time to cook and bake and blog about it. Heehee.