Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!
I am so excited for Thanksgiving! Mostly because Scott and I will be able to go home and spend some sweet and treasured time with our families. I’ll be able to see my dad’s new hybrid car, “ooh and aww” over the newly finished basement that my dad and brother worked so hard on together, and tease my little brother about asking an older girl to the high school winter formal. I will proceed to grill him on how he asked her (so far he’s refused to tell my mom), if she’s a nice girl, whether or not he likes her in a romantic way, if I would like her, and finally remind him that dirty dancing is not good and I expect him not to do it. I know, I am a tough older sister, but I feel like it’s my duty and my right. With the new basement came a new ping pong table, and I’m sure with my competitive family we’ll be having ping pong tournaments. The problem is multifold: 1) I’m not very good at ping pong, 2) I played collegiate varsity tennis and somehow people relate tennis and ping pong and expect me to be good, and 3) my brother plays all the time with friends and my mom, I’ve heard stories of my mom winning tournaments when she was younger, and my husband is naturally good at just about everything. Thus, I hope I can at least beat my dad, but even that is not guaranteed!

Another reason I am excited for Thanksgiving is because, for the first time, I will be bringing a dish to set next to all the others on the buffet table. My debut dish! I will join the ranks of the adults-who-bring-side-dishes. Though I was promoted from the “kids’ table” to the big, nicely decorated, “adult table” a few years back, I feel that what really signals that you are truly an “adult” is when you start to bring side dishes for the meal. Then you have “arrived” and are no longer in “transition.” What I’m going to bring for my debut dish is not your typical casserole (It is prettier than that!), instead it is a butternut squash and caramelized onion galette. What makes this dish particularly special to me is that it is with this dish that I learned to like butternut squash. Turns out that it is actually quite good and the dish as a whole is totally delicious! Since I learned to like butternut squash with this dish, I strongly believe that I can convert others as well and hope to do so on Thursday. So wish me luck as I try convince members of my non-squash eating family to give it a try!

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette
Adapted from a Smitten Kitchen recipe

The squash is presented in a wonderful, flaky pastry dough, surrounded with sweet, caramelized onions and salty, melted parmesan cheese, and sage (a holiday favorite) grounds the dish and gives relief to the palate from all the other rich flavors. I also like that the squash is cubed and roasted in the oven first, which is by far my favorite way to prepare and eat vegetables. To me they usually achieve their peak flavor using this method and the chances of me liking the vegetable increase greatly.

Serves 2 as a meal, 4 to 6 as a side
For the dough:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3-5 tbsp. ice water

For the Filling:
1 small butternut squash, about 1 to 1 ½ lbs.
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 large yellow onion
Pinch of sugar
Generous ¾ cup grated Parmesan, Fontina, or Feta depending on your preference and availability. I usually do parmesan because I always have it around.
1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh sage or a generous ½ tsp. dried

Assemble Pastry dough:
Place cubed butter in the freezer for ½ hour to get nice and cold. Place flour and salt in food processor bowl or a medium sized mixing bowl if you do not have a food processor. Place this bowl in the freezer too so it can be chilled. I have skipped putting the bowl with the flour in the freezer and used cubes of butter that I had frozen hours before and this turned out fine. The most important thing is to have the butter and water cold.
After a ½ an hour, add the butter to the flour and cut in with a pastry blender or a food processor until the butter is no larger than the size of small peas. Add lemon juice and 1 Tbsp. of ice water and mix. Continue to add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in between additions until the dough just starts to come together and “clump.” At this point you should stop adding water and transfer dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and pack into a disk, wrapping the plastic wrap around it as you go. Place disk into the refrigerator for 1 hour. Can be done a few days ahead of time.

Prepare filling:
Preheat oven to 375F. Peel butternut squash (I do this first with a serrated peeler to get the outer peeling off and then again for the second time with the peeler or a knife to remove the layer with the green “veins”) and cut in half widthwise so you have the bottom bulb half and the top narrow half. Cut both sections in half again, only lengthwise this time, and scoop the seeds out of the bottom halves. Cut squash into ½ inch dice and place on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with about 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and toss cubes together to evenly coat the cubes in the olive oil. Roast squash for about 30 minutes or until cubes are tender.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Slice the onion and add to the warm skillet. Sprinkle with ½ tsp. of salt and a pinch of sugar. Let onions cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. (On my stovetop I have to do medium heat, otherwise I’ll caramelize for an hour!)

Mix squash, onions, cheese, and sage together in a bowl. Turn up the oven to 400F and take the pastry dough out of the fridge. On a floured surface roll out the dough keeping everything well floured to prevent sticking. Once the dough is about ¼ to 1/8 of an inch thick stop rolling and measure a 12 inch circle for the galette and cut off any excess dough. Save the excess dough wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a zip lock bag in the freezer for another galette or quiche. It will be good to use for at least a month. Transfer dough circle to an ungreased cookie sheet and spread filling over the dough leaving a 1 ½ inch border. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to turn “corners.” The center will be open. Bake until golden brown 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for five minutes, and then slide it onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges with a pizza cutter. This even tastes good at room temperature, so don’t fret if it cools off before your guests get to it.

Une Tarte Tatin

At last!!! I finally have an evening where I can write for my blog. It feels so good! I could talk about how overwhelmingly busy both Scott and I have been, but I am sick of thinking about it. In fact, right now I can easily think of several other things I maybe should be doing tonight, but I really don’t want to, which is why I’m going to stop that train of thought now.

It’s fall! This year I seem to love and appreciate fall more than ever. The trees with their vibrant rainbow of colors illuminated by the sun against a crisp, cool blue backdrop have given me much pleasure and induced prayers of praise and thanks. Sure, there was a time in early September when the first chill was felt in the morning air that I thought “Oh no, I am not ready for this! Soon I’ll be scrapping ice and freezing outside our garage door as I try to will it to unfreeze and open with exasperated yells and banging.” However, I soon realized how beautiful fall is, changed my attitude to appreciate the crisp air, and told myself not to worry about things I couldn’t control, like temperatures that make your snot freeze.

One thing that is starting to become a tradition for Scott and I is multiple trips to our local apple orchard, Wilson’s. The trips start already in August when the first apples ripen, with the Pristine variety leading the way, and they finish in late October with Winesaps. As we might not he here next year due to Scott starting residency, this post is for Wilson’s Apple Orchard, with all the memories it has given us these past four years it has become an essential part of our Autumn.

With the superfluity of apples pouring out of the fruit drawer of our fridge, you can imagine that there are many deliciously “homey” things that are made, such as apple crisp, applesauce, pork chops with apples, apple jelly, and apple pie. Each one brings a different flavor of fall that I relish. What I’m going to tell you about on this post however, is not what I would describe as “homey” or “comfort food,” unless of course, you are from France. Don’t worry though, just because it might not recall any memories of years past, or make you feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder, doesn’t mean it can’t warm your soul like comfort food and be drop-dead delish! It is Tarte Tatin and it is fabulous! A Tarte Tatin is an upside-down apple tart where the apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. I had Tarte Tatin when I lived in Paris,* but I must say I think the Tarte Tatin that I made was considerably better! I know, saying that is practically sacrilegious because I am not a French pastry chef, nor do I presume myself to be one, and yes, I do believe French pastries are the best in the world. But, plain and simple, the Tarte Tatin I made was better than the one I had in Paris. Perhaps it was the use of salted butter that composed the addictive sweet-salty caramel. Or maybe it’s cooking the caramel to a darker color that brings a full-bodied richness to the tart verses a lighter caramel that’s just too sweet. Whatever the reason, I think you too will love this Tarte Tatin.

Now, some people assume that because it’s French it’s fancy and thus difficult to make—it isn’t. The key to this recipe is to not be afraid. It may seem dicey at first to boil a stick of butter and a cup of sugar on high heat for 17 odd minutes, it did to me, and I thought for sure the caramel would bubble out of control, or burn, or at least not cook evenly, but it was fine. In fact, I found for most of the 17 minutes you don’t even need to pay attention to it. You will be just fine making this recipe, channel Julia Child and be fearless! Enjoy the process and you will most assuredly enjoy the result.

Interestingly, Scott and I found that the tart got even better a few days after baking it. I’m not sure if this was because it had time to sit longer or if it was because it was repeatedly re-heated in our oven each successive night we ate it and it became further caramelized. So, if you want to make this a few days out from when you will serve it, by all means do! Store it in your fridge and warm it in a 200F oven about 15 minutes before serving.

Tarte Tatin
I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and they cite Joy of Cooking for the recipe, however it is not in my edition, therefore I am citing both Smitten Kitchen and Joy of Cooking.

For the dough
½ cup (1 stick) of salted butter cut into cubes and chilled in the freezer (I was naughty here and used a butter blend with canola oil to be “healthier” because it’s asking a lot of me to put two sticks of butter into a recipe that you could argue only has 8 servings. This substitution worked fine so feel free.)**
1½ cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
3 to 6 tablespoons ice water

For the apples
7 flavorful, crisp, and juicy apples such as Fuji, Gala, Jonathon, McIntosh
½ cup salted butter (1 stick)**
1 cup sugar

Special equipment: A skillet that is 7-8 inches across the bottom and 10-11 inches across the top.

To prepare the dough:
Use a food processor if you have one, it really is your best friend for all pastry dough. If you don’t have one, mix ingredients as directed and cut in butter and water by hand. Mix flour and sugar (and salt if you’re using unsalted butter) in the food processor fitted with blade attachment. Then, detach the bowl from the food processor and put it, blade and all, in the freezer. Finally, put 1/3 cup ice water in the refrigerator. Chill everything for 20 minutes. This will ensure everything is nice and cold for perfect pastry dough. While everything is chilling I recommend peeling, coring, and quartering the apples.

Once everything is cold add the cubes of butter to the dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal with small, pea-sized pebbles of butter. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing in between additions. When the dough starts to come together in a hunk, stop adding water. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and form the dough into a ball with your hands. Try not to handle too much as the warmth of your hands could melt the butter. Flour the top of the dough and roll out into a 10 to 11 inch circle depending how big the top of your pan is. As you roll it out, constantly turn the dough to make sure it’s not sticking to the counter and always roll away from you. Add more flour underneath the dough if necessary. Once the dough is to the desired size, roll half of the dough up on the rolling pin, lift and transfer to a floured baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

For the apples: Preheat oven to 375˚F
Peel, core, and quarter the apples.
Over low heat in a heavy, ovenproof skillet (I just used my normal nonstick and it did fine) measuring 7-8 inches across the bottom and 10 to 11 across the top, melt the butter. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. With the butter/sugar mixture distributed evenly over the bottom of the pan arrange the apple quarters in the pan. First make a circle around the edge of the pan placing the apples on their sides with one quarter cupping the next fitting as many in as possible. Then fill in the middle as best you can. The apples will shrink when cooking so make sure you’ve got them in tight. Keep at least one extra apple quarter on hand in case you need to fill a gap once the apples have shrunk. While the added apple won’t be quite as caramelized, don’t worry, the added apple will cook through during the baking process and no one will notice.

Put the pan back on the stove on high heat and let ‘r rip! 10 to 12 minutes later you should have nicely cooked apples enrobed in a beautiful caramel that has just changed in color from golden to dark amber. Oh yummy! There is no need to stir or mix during this time, if one area of the pan is developing a dark caramel a lot faster than the other side, slide the dark caramel half of the pan off of the heat holding the pan so the lighter half remains on the heat until it catches up in color. Remove from heat. One-by-one with the tip of a sharp knife, poke the apples in the “back” and turn them over keeping them in their original places. Add an extra apple quarter now if necessary. Return the skillet to high heat once more and let cook for another five minutes. (If caramel starts to smoke take it off of the heat.) Remove the pan from the heat and place the crust on top of the pan carefully tucking the edges under. In order to not burn your fingers I recommend using the handle end of a spatula or spoon.

Bake the tart in to oven until the top of the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 35 minutes.*** Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Once cooled, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Place a large plate or a serving platter upside-down on top of the pan. Pump yourself up a bit for this next part; rehearse in your mind what you need to do. (Now, if you know are not terribly coordinated I suggest getting a more coordinated person to do this next step for you.) Place one hand on the plate and grab the handle of the pan with your other hand and flip the pan upside-down holding the plate tight to the pan. The plate should now be right-side-up. Wear oven mitts for this part, the pan could still be quite hot! Hopefully you’ll hear a soft “thud” from the tart releasing itself from the pan and falling on the plate. If not, knock on the bottom of the pan to loosen it. Slowly lift up the pan to reveal your beautiful tart! If there are any apple pieces left behind in the pan just put them back where they are supposed to be, no harm done. I recommend serving this with vanilla ice cream, it is oh so good!

* Goodness that sounds posh! I was really only in Paris for four months, France for five; does that count as living there???
**If you are using unsalted butter add ¼ tsp salt for every stick of butter.*** So I did a risky thing here, but it worked. I was concerned that I had cooked the apples too much because it took me longer to get the amber caramel color (I was timid about using high heat) and was worried that if I baked the tart for 25 minutes my apples would turn to mush. Thus, I baked the tart for 20 minutes and then turned on the broiler, leaving the tart on the middle rack of the oven, to “bake” the top of the crust. If you’re worried about your apples you can be the judge on whether or not you wan

Tomato Parmesan and Mozzarella Tart

Ok, so here it is! What I promised you in my last post!! It is a Tomato Parmesan and Mozzarella Tart. It is, like I mentioned before, one of the best things I’ve made to date. I have been scheming of ways to give myself an excuse to make it again! True, I could just make it again considering we almost ate the whole thing in one sitting anyway (and it isn’t exactly health food mind you). It was just so darn good we could barely get ourselves to stop to eat the rest of our supper! But the excuse I’m looking for to make this tart again is company, or a coworker potluck. You see I want to make this for someone else just to see the delight on their face after they take a bite. It would make me so happy. I would give my guest a huge smile that would communicate, “I know, it is gooood” (as Julia Child says in Julie and Julia), and then promptly take a big bite myself and join them in the silent savoring of the tart.

The crust of this tart is flaky (thank you butter) and when you bake it you may just swoon in front of your oven because the smell of the Parmesan cheese melting and baking in that crust is something else. The tart shell is then layered with sautéed garlic, bread crumbs to soak up the tomato juices, more parmesan, sliced tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella and then baked again until the mozzarella is browned and blistered on top. The tart would be delicious served just like this, but I took it one step further and made a balsamic syrup which I drizzled over the top of the tart. I know you wouldn’t think of a tart as “finger-licking-good,” but it was. We truly did lick our fingers too! (We abandoned our silverware after the first bite in favor of the more efficient method of eating with our hands. Hey, when something is this good you might be too impatient to eat with silverware too.) The sweetness of the tomatoes, with the sautéed garlic, herby basil, salty parmesan, mild, melted mozzarella, and the tangy-sweet balsamic syrup all came together and complimented each other so well. We gobbled down as much of that tart as we could, along with the rest of our supper, and when we couldn’t eat anymore without being completely gluttonous, we sat back and admired the remaining tart for awhile, recapitulating just how tasty it really was, discussing why we thought it was so good, and acknowledging how lucky I was to be eating it for my lunch the next day.

And now, without further ado, the recipe:

Tomato Parmesan and Mozzarella Tart
A few notes:

• Ok, I know what some of you may be thinking, "Make a tart crust?? I am no pastry chef and doesn't that take a lot of work?" but on the contrary, you do not have to be anywhere close to being a pastry chef to make a good tart crust and it takes a maximum of five minutes hands on time to make the dough. An extra bonus is that any extra dough you have left after fitting it in the pan can be rolled up into a ball and frozen to make another tart crust later.


• While I loved the smell of the parmesan baking in the tart crust, I would say that if you're on a budget it is not necessary. I tasted the parmesan in the filling of the tart much more.


• If you want, this tart can be a meal all on its own. You don't need any other accompanying food.

Tart Crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter diced into cubes

3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 2 teaspoons water

1) In a food processor, or a large bowl, combine the flour, grated parmesan, and salt. If using a food processor blitz a couple of times until crumbly and pea-size pieces form. (If using a bowl, use a fork, pastry blender, or two knives for the traditional "cut in" method until the crumbly pea-size pieces form.)

2) Add a tablespoon of water at a time just until the dough comes together. You do not want to add too much water and you do not want to over mix because then you will loose your little chunks of butter which create the "flakiness" of the tart.

3) Once your dough has come together form it into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for thirty minutes. This step is important so your pastry doesn't shrink/shrink unevenly once in the oven. It also helps with the flaky factor as well.

4) Preheat oven to 450F

5) After 30 minutes roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, reflouring as needed, always rolling away from yourself and turning the dough as you go. Roll until it is 1/4 of an inch thick, fold dough in half, lift up, place into tart pan, unfold, and press into the pan being careful not to stretch the dough. Trim off the excess dough, prick the dough on the bottom of the tart pan with a fork, cover dough with aluminum foil or parchment paper and place pie weights/dried beans/rice on top.

6) Bake crust for 18-20 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove crust from oven and brush with egg white wash while still warm. (This wash will help prevent, a little, the crust from becoming soggy from the tomatoes.) Set aside to cool.

Tomato Parmesan and Mozzarella Tart

2 Tbls olive oil

3 large ripe tomatoes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbls minced garlic

3 Tbls fine, dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)

1/3 grated parmesan

1/4 cup chiffonade (cut ribbons) of fresh basil

6 oz. of fresh mozzarella, sliced into rounds

Heat oven to 350F

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over low heat. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes and try to get rid of as many tomato juices and seeds along the way as you can to prevent a soggy crust. Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Once the oil is heated add the minced garlic and saute slowly for 5-8 minutes until garlic turns a light golden color.

While garlic sautés grate the Parmesan and slice the mozzarella. When garlic is done, spread it over the bottom of the tart followed by the bread crumbs and parmesan sprinkled over top.

Arrange the tomato slices over the tart, sprinkle basil over top, and finally top it all with the sliced mozzarella. Bake for 35-40 minutes until tomatoes are wilted and mozzarella is browned and blistered in spots. Drizzle balsamic syrup over top (if using) with a spoon and serve!!!

Balsamic Syrup

3 Tbls balsamic vineagar

1 Tbls of water

1 Tbls sugar

Pinch of corn starch

Combine all in a small sauce pan and heat over medium to medium high heat so a good simmer is established and the vinegar reduces to half the volume and becomes thick. Take off the heat and set aside until ready to use. Tip! Make sure you have the vent fan on over the stove top because the vinegar has a biting smell!

Check this out!

Hey guys,

Soon I'm going to share with you one of the most delicoius things I have made to date. First though, I wanted to let you know about my most recent post on my Reflections blog. It is essentially my friend Casey's lastest update in Tanzania. It is miraculous, literally! If you want to get a glimpse of the amazing power of God, you've got to check this out! I pray that you will be encouraged by it and moved to pray for those in Tanzania. So head on over there and be enlightened and in awe.

Be Blessed,

Whitney

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Perfectly made, homemade, caramel sauce, let your mind wrap around these words. I believe I have made such a thing; it was dark amber in color, rich, sweet, but with depth, tasting almost smokey, but not burnt, and totally delicious. A few weeks ago, I set out to make my first-ever caramel sauce for David Lebovitz's Chocolate Covered Salted-Peanut Caramels for a wine and cheese party my friends were hosting. Thanks to a lot of research on the internet, I was able to boost my confidence level on caramel making from very little, to semi-confident. As I patiently, carefully, and nervously made the caramel, I rehearsed the instructions I had read online in my head over and over again There was one moment where I was quite anxious because I felt like I was in the simple syrup stage forever and it wasn't turning golden brown, but I told myself "Just wait Whitney, don't you go messing this up yet!" After a bit of nervous pacing in front of the stove, I noticed a slight golden brown and the syrup becoming more viscous. "Hallelujah!" I thought, and breathed a sigh of relief. From there, the golden brown quickly became amber, and with a whisk of cream my luscious caramel came into being, and I, was speechless. I had done it! When Scott came home from work, I was so excited to tell him about my triumph. I jumped up and down in front of him as he took his shoes off, begging him to let me show him what I'd done right then. I was like a little kid who begs their parents to come watch them do a cartwheel, or some other trick, that they've just figured out how to do and can't wait to show them and hear their exclamations. Well, now you too can have this same feeling, yes you can and I'm going to show you how.

If you are wondering what you can do with caramel, rest assured, there are many delightful concoctions that can be made with caramel and caramel sauce. My Chocolate-Covered Salted Peanut Caramels were delicious and a hit at the wine and cheese party. In fact, I think I might have to make them one of my Christmas traditions, something my future kids can always remember and count on at Christmas time. With the caramel left over from the chocolates, I made a caramel-topped rustic apple tart, which was also a treat! It had truly flaky crust, with tart apples tamed slightly by baking and the sweet caramel sauce. Inspired by the caramel apple, but so much better, and without the mess! This caramel sauce is great seductively drizzled over grilled pineapple, peaches, or nectarines with a cold scoop of ice cream alongside. Yumm. Or you could even make a caramel ice cream (or a salted caramel ice cream)! So, are you in? Ok then, let's go!

There are two types of caramel, dry and wet. Both caramels form a liquid in the end, but dry starts with only sugar in the pan which you melt, and wet has sugar and water in the pan and you start with forming a simple syrup of sorts. Today I will be explaining how to make a wet caramel, as I've heard it is less temperamental and it is the type that I made and had success with!

1. Tip number one is to have patience.


2. Keep your heat on a little above medium and no higher. This will help things to not cook too fast and too unevenly. Sugar burns very easily and once it's burned it's no good and should be tossed out.


3. Do not stir after the sugar has disolved. This was super tough for me because I'm a stirrer, especially when I get nervous about whether or not something is turning out! You don't want to stir because sugar crystals are rough and the more they collide into one another they more they stick and clump and you'll end up with a grainy caramel. Most likely some parts of your caramel will cook faster and begin to brown sooner than others, to ensure even cooking slowly tilt the pan from side to side to redistribute the cooked sugar.


4. The caramel will be hot and can splatter when you add the cream, so for precautions don't wear a nice shirt and maybe have long sleeves and gloves. A good idea is to place a strainer over the pan when you add the cream so the splatters will be blocked but the steam can escape.


5. Use a large sauce pan or skillet because when you add the cream it will bubble madly. The pan should also be the highest gauge of metal you have, often the more heavy a pan is the more evenly things cook. If your caramel is cooking evenly, then the less tilting of the pan you will have to do! Also, the lighter color of the pan (like stainless steel) the better, because then you can more easily see the color change. With my dark nonstick it was a little hard to distinguish the difference between the different colors/stages of caramel.


6. If you burn the caramel throw it out, there is no bringing it back. On David Lebovitz's blog he suggests adding more water to the pan and letting it simmer to release the caramel from the pan for easy clean up.

Homemade Caramel

Adapted from Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Caramel on David Lebovitz's blog.

1 cup (200g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (125 mL) water

1 Tbsp light corn syrup (or glucose)

1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (250 mL) heavy cream

3/4 cup (100g) chopped roasted salted peanuts (optional)

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and add to it the sugar, water corn syrup, and salt. Stir until the sugar has disolved. Try not to stir after this point. Let the mixture come to a bubble and watch it carefully as it starts to get larger, more "lazy" bubbles as this means it is getting more viscous (thicker) and is close to turning golden brown. While this is cooking warm the cream in a sauce pan or microwave so it is hot when it is to added to the caramel.

When you see your first patch of golden brown appear, slowly tilt the pan from one side and then to the other to let the caramel redistribute. Continue cooking, brushing down the sides of the pan with water if desired (not necessary but some sources say it's good to get the sugar crystals off the side of the pan). When you see your first amber-brown patch tilt the pan again so that part is redistributed and doesn't cook too fast and burn.

The caramel is done when it is all a dark amber-red-brown and has just started to smoke. Remove the pan from the heatimmediately and whisk in the hot cream in a slow steady stream. (If using a strainer, put it over the pot when you add the cream to prevent splatters.) Remember, the caramel will bubble vigorously when you add the cream so don't panic and think all is lost! Let the caramel cool until pourable, stir in the peanuts if desired, and enjoy it any way you want!

A topping to make things new again

Oh I feel it’s been so long since I’ve last blogged! I am sorry but Scott and I really have been on a whirlwind of busyness lately! Between weekend family vacations, hosting friends, traveling to see friends, taking time to serve others in need, Scott taking Step II of his medical Boards (tests you must take to get into residency), me taking on his normal household chores while he studied for the Boards, and all of our other normal stuff that we do, there has been no time for blogging! Actually, there would be time for blogging, as Scott points out, if I would stop cooking so much. But that wouldn’t be any fun now would it?

Tonight however, I have relented from cooking and type this while eating leftovers. Now though, I have the dilemma of which of my culinary creations during these last few weeks to tell you about. Seriously! Please don’t laugh. Just so you know, I have now sat here for a good ten minutes without typing a word because I don’t know what favorite thing I have made that I should tell you about on this post. Am I ridiculous? I hesitate to choose because if I do, then there’s a chance that I may never tell you about the rest, which, in my mind, deserve publicity as well. So I’ll start chronologically and show you pictures of the others and you can hold me accountable to be sure I tell you about the ones that look especially appealing to you. Deal? Ok, here goes.

Chocolate mint frozen yogurt (made with fresh mint! Nothing better!)

A traditional sourdough boule and a tomato basil sourdough baguette

Two to tango: a tangy tomato feta bruschetta that plays nicely off of a rich mushroom gruyere bruschetta that tastes almost as sinful as fondue!

Une tarte fine aux pommes avec du caramel: a rustic apple tart with some salted peanut caramel on top left over from making Chocolate-Covered Salted Peanut Caramel Cups.Fantastic!

All on the grill: grilled corn-on-the-cob, red peppers, zucchini, and summer squash salad tossed with a super tasty Thai inspired dressing consisting of Thai basil, soy sauce, lime, garlic, and rice wine vinegar.

The end all, be all of appetizers. I had this appetizer during my last week in France after staying there for five months. I can't say anymore about it just now because then this post will go on forever, or at least it will be twice as long as it is.

Now on to this post's recipe!



It’s really a sort of a condiment, but I find that term sort of degrading due to the immediate associations of mayo or ketchup and it is much more than that! Thus I will simply be calling it a “topping” because it’s not really a sauce or a dressing. It is a Greek style topping with feta, lemon, garlic, mint, and either Greek yogurt or mayonnaise depending on the consistency and tang you want, or, in my case, budget. ;) I first tried it atop broiled mahi mahi complete with thin slices of lemon and found it to be a flavorful, easy, new way to serve fish like mahi mahi or tilapia. The second time I made this topping I used it to top roasted red, purple, and yellow “banana” potatoes. Again it was delicious and again it was a tasty new way to eat an old standard.

Greek-style Topping

Makes about four servings

This truly is a versatile topping that will “spiffy up” any tired food staple. Try it on fish or potatoes like I did, or on chicken, lamb, and almost any vegetable that you would grill or roast. A Greek style hamburger complete with hummus or babaganoush, and cubes of tomatoes and cucumbers mixed with this topping would also be terrific. Of course, anything that is traditionally Greek, like falafel, would be great with this too!

• Originally inspired by Gourmet magazine's Greek-Style Mahi Mahi, June 2009
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• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use low-fat mayonnaise. You could also substitute Greek yogurt, creme fraiche, or even sour cream in a pinch)
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 3 tablespoons chopped mint*
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill (2 tsp. for dried) *
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 small clove of garlic grated or finely minced

Whisk all ingredients together, season with freshly ground pepper to taste, and you're done!

*Both of these herbs can be substituted with others like basil or thyme if you don't have mint or dill on hand.

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Granola

Be sure to check my Reflections blog as I've put up two recent posts on it!

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like granola. Except, of course, the pickiest of eaters who can count all the things they eat on their fingers (my brother being one of these people, poor guy), they might say they don’t like granola. As for me, it’s one of my favorite foods. When I have fresh berries it is a “must” for my breakfast cereal. As far as yogurt goes, well, rather sadly I find I have a very hard time eating it now without granola. Often though, granola, while it may seem healthy with its oats and nuts, can actually be quite unhealthy thanks to the gobs of oil and sugary sweets used to coat the granola. This can be the case with both homemade granola as well as store bought that proclaims itself as “healthy” because it’s all natural or organic. Umm, no, as I found out, organic doesn’t mean limited amounts of sugar and fat. When I do find healthy granola in the grocery store, it usually costs around $5.00 for the smallest size box of cereal sold. Yikes! For a girl on a budget, that’s just no good! So what’s a girl to do? I resolved to make my own granola and make it healthier, cheaper, and better tasting than the rest.

Upon searching for granola recipes, I found that many called for brown sugar in addition to a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, honey, or molasses. Some recipes even use butter in place of oil, At least with oil you can choose a healthier oil like canola oil, (to see why canola oil is considered one of the healthiest cooking oils click here) but butter?? Yeesh, there is a time and place for butter, but granola is not one of them. In the end, I made up my own granola recipe that is healthy, a snap to make, and easier on the wallet. This allows me to have granola constantly on hand whenever I want it, which is pretty much everyday!

To make the granola I use conservative amounts of canola oil and honey. I chose honey because it is a natural, unrefined sweetener and it is cheaper than real maple syrup or agave nectar (also natural sweeteners). I use whole old-fashioned oats (as they bake up crispier and just plain look better than quick oats) and add wheat germ, what bran, and flax seeds (to see the health benefits of each, click on the words “wheat germ,” “wheat bran,” etc.) For nuts I use slivered almonds and pecans because those are what I usually have on hand, but by all means use walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds too. Nuts are great for protein of course, but don’t forget their other benefits; omega-3’s and large amounts of wide variety of vitamins (including antioxidants). In the end, my final product was just what I wanted: slightly crunchy, slightly sweet, with a great depth of flavor from the toasted nuts and oats--not to mention cheaper and healthier too!

Whitney’s Granola

I leave dried fruit out of my granola so it is more versatile for whatever use I want it for, but go ahead and add whatever dried fruits you want once the granola is toasted and done. I believe wheat germ, wheat bran, and flaxseed are all available in the health food section of most grocery stores. If they are not available in bulk, a common brand that sells them is Red Mill. This is an expensive up front cost, yes, but I’ve had my germ, bran, and flax for a year now and have made many large batches of granola with them. Make sure you store the bran, germ, and flax in the freezer so they do not spoil or go rancid.

Once the granola cools it develops a nice crispness but it will not “cluster” as there is not enough oil/butter and sugar coating it for this. If you would like your granola to do this I have read that you can add a bit of water (1Tbsp per 2 cups of oats) to it with the other liquid ingredients and squeeze the granola into clumps with your hands. This apparently gives you nice clusters as the water forms a “mortar” with the wheat germ. Let me know if this method works if you try it!

4 cups whole old-fashioned oats

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup wheat bran

¼ cup flaxseed

1/4 tsp. salt

¼ cup slivered almonds (or other nut of choice)

¼ cup pecans (or other nut of choice)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325F. In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, wheat germ, wheat bran, flaxseed, salt, slivered almonds, pecans, and cinnamon and mix so everything is evenly distributed. Then add the canola oil, honey, and vanilla extract and mix everything together so all the oats are evenly coated. Spread mixture onto a large, rimed cookie pan (12 x 17 inch) so it evenly covers the whole pan. Place into oven for 10 minutes. Take it out and stir granola around (trying not to spill some) redistributing it so the edges don’t get done too fast. Place back into oven for another 9-13 minutes depending on the heat of your oven and how thick the layer of granola is on your pan. You want it to be a nice golden brown but not burnt, just toasted. Be careful though, the granola can burn quite fast!

To make a double batch position the oven racks so that they divide the oven into thirds and use two cookie pans baking them at the same time. Rotate positions after 10 minutes and leave them in to finish baking slightly longer than if you were making a single batch.