Category Archives: recipes

Eating, recipes

S-a-tur-day. Night.

We invited some people over for a Halloween party this evening. Only a pirate and a ninja showed up. It could have been awkward, but they set aside their differences and we had a very nice evening.

Oh, and people whose “moms were in town” or “had to work late” or “contracted Hantavirus“? You missed these:

CARAMEL-DIPPED APPLES
Making the caramel requires the use of a clip-on candy thermometer, which should be tested for accuracy before starting. Attach it to the side of a medium saucepan of water, and boil the water for three minutes. The thermometer should register 212 degrees if it doesn’t, take the difference into account when reading the temperature. 1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 chopsticks
12 medium Granny Smith apples
Assorted decorations (such as chopped nuts, dried apricots and dried cranberries, toffee bits, mini M&M’s and candy sprinkles)
Melted dark, milk and/or white chocolates
Whipping cream (if necessary)

Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.

Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236 degrees, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes. Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200 degrees, about 20 minutes.

While caramel cools, line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil. Push 1 chopstick into stem end of each apple. Set up decorations and melted chocolates.

Holding chopstick, dip 1 apple into 200 degrees caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple. Place coated apple on prepared foil. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (caramel will pool on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin.

Chill apples on sheets until caramel is partially set, about 15 minutes. Lift 1 apple from foil. Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple; return to foil. Repeat with remaining apples.

Firmly press decorations into caramel; return each apple to foil. Or dip caramel-coated apples into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then roll in nuts or candy. Or drizzle melted chocolate over caramel-coated apples and sprinkle with decorations.

Chill until decorations are set, about 1 hour. Cover; chill up to 1 week.

Bon Appetit, October 1999

Eating, recipes

Turkey burgers

I tried another Rachael Ray, New England Turkey Burgers with the Works, for dinner this evening. It got the thumbs-up.

New England Turkey Burgers with the Works
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 McIntosh apple-cored, quartered and finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs from the heart, finely chopped
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast
Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (a generous handful)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce-prepared or homemade
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 scallions, finely chopped
4 sandwich-size English muffins, preferably sourdough, fork-split
8 leaves Bibb lettuce

In a nonstick skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the apple, onion and celery; season with the poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Wipe the skillet clean and return it to the stove.

Preheat the broiler. Add the turkey and parsley to the apple mixture, season with salt and pepper and combine with a fork; form into four 4-inch patties. in the skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for about 6 minutes on each side, lowering the heat for the last 2 or 3 minutes.

While the burgers cook, mix the cranberry sauce, orange zest and scallions. Toast the English muffins under the broiler, then remove and spread lightly with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

Place the burgers on the buttered English muffin bottoms, and top with the lettuce, lots of cranberry relish and the buttered tops.

Eating, recipes

Rachael Ray tries to win me over

Tonight I made Thai Shrimp Noodle Pouches and No-Bake Granola Bars from the October 2006 issue of “Everyday with Rachael Ray.” I bought a copy of the magazine while we were at the beach, and I found at least seven recipes I wanted to try, which is pretty good for a single issue. That made me think I might want to subscribe. I think I’ll try a few more recipes first, though.

The noodle pouches were good, with a few caveats. The recipe says to break the noodles up into small pieces; I thought I had, but they apparently weren’t small enough. Some of them stayed crunchy. I didn’t have a red onion, so I used a standard-issue white onion. It was much too strong. Next time, I’ll use red. And probably a little less than the recipe calls for, because I’m not crazy about onion.

Thai Shrimp Noodle Pouches
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced, dark green slices set aside
1/2 red onion, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound frozen peeled baby shrimp, thawed
Two 3-ounce packages ramen noodles

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup water with the lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, white and light green scallion slices, onion and red pepper flakes. Add the shrimp and marinate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, break the ramen noodles into small pieces and divide evenly among the centers of four 16-inch-long sheets of heavy-duty foil. Top with equal amounts of the shrimp mixture. Pull up the sides of the foil and pour 1/3 cup water over each of the shrimp-and-noodle mounds. Crimp the sides of the foil to enclose, and transfer the pouches to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the shrimp and noodles are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to individual bowls and top with the dark green scallion slices.

I’m trying to be a proper housefrau, so I made the granola bars for Rockford’s lunch tomorrow. They were quite easy to make, but they’re not quite as easy to get out of the pan. It might be a little easier once they warm up a little. We’ll see.

Oh, and they’re really sweet.

The recipe included half a cup of raisins, too, but we’re currently raisinless.

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 cups granola
1 cup rice cereal, such as Rice Krispies
1/2 cup thin pretzel sticks
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar with the honey and butter. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add the granola, rice cereal, raisins and pretzels to the saucepan and fold the ingredients to evenly coat with the sauce. Transfer the granola mixture to a 9-by-13-inch ungreased baking pan and press firmly to evenly fill. Gently press the chocolate chips onto the top of the granola. Let the granola mixture set in the refrigerator until firm, about 15 minutes, then cut into 2 1/4-by 3-inch bars.