No more failure candy

If you were around me the week before Thanksgiving, you probably heard me complain about my candy making skills quite a bit. I was all set to show you how I can make candy like a pro (not that I've ever done it before, but I own a candy thermometer now, so look out world, here I come). I made a caramel base and poured it into a pan and waited for it to set. And set it did - like a freaking rock. Needless to say, I was crushed.

I tried to call it toffee and play it off (if I've learned anything from Top Chef, it's that you have to pretend that you meant to do whatever your dish ended up as all along - don't say "oh, I meant to do this but I failed." The judges hate that), but deep down, I knew that I had failed to made caramels successfully. They tasted like failure. Deep depressing failure. I tried to salvage them. I covered them in chocolate and nuts and broke it into pieces. But the pieces were too thick to happily bite through. I ended up smashing all the pieces with a hammer and baking them into cookies (which I called "failure cookies," but everyone seemed to like them anyways).

But if at first you don't succeed, try try again! So on Friday night, I decided to try again (I live a wild and crazy life here in New York City - I stay in on Friday nights and make caramels while I watch TV specials on Disney animation. I'm so cool). I made salted chocolate caramels - I found a recipe in an old issue of Gourmet magazine (RIP Gourmet). I figured that maybe the chocolate would help keep it from turning to bedrock. And it did!

Salted Chocolate Caramels - from Gourmet Magazine, 2006

2 cups heavy cream
10 1/2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped (I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips - no chopping)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt such as Maldon (Becky gave me some as a wedding present! Yay!)
Vegetable oil for greasing

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch straight-sided square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment (I just used one big piece. I'm lazy and economical).

Bring cream just to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, then reduce heat to low and add chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then stir until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat.

Bring sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt to a boil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, uncovered, without stirring but gently swirling pan occasionally, until sugar is deep golden, about 10 minutes. Tilt pan and carefully pour in chocolate mixture (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously).


Continue to boil over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 255°F on thermometer, about 15 minutes (my candy thermometer said I was only at 175 degrees, but last time I cooked caramel, it got to "245" but then set like a rock. So I didn't bother following the directions this time. I think my thermometer is defective). Add butter, stirring until completely melted, then immediately pour into lined baking pan (do not scrape any caramel clinging to bottom or side of saucepan). Let caramel stand 10 minutes, then sprinkle evenly with sea salt. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours.


Carefully invert caramel onto a clean, dry cutting board, then peel off parchment. Turn caramel salt side up. Lightly oil blade of a large heavy knife and cut into 1-inch squares.

Note: The caramels are very very soft. I was so happy I could cut them but they were actually almost too soft. After the two hours, I put them in the freezer for awhile to get it to more of a cuttable consistency. They are still soft now, but tasty! Next time, maybe I'll try to bump up the temperature a little more.

But they worked! Here they all, all wrapped up next to my "Don't Mess with Texas" mug (a present from Meredith).


And here's one perfect little square.


Be prepared to get some of these for Xmas presents! I can't eat all these by myself.

I love butchers

If you know me, you might know that I am a huge Julie Powell fan. She wrote Julie and Julia (did you see that movie? I love Meryl) and basically does what I do - she cooks, she blogs, she eats too much butter and has a very wonderful husband who is very well fed, but sometimes driven crazy by his wife. So when I heard that she had written a new book called Cleaving, I went right to the store and bought it (it came out on Tuesday but I didn't finish it until last night - I think that shows tremendous restraint on my part).

It's a little darker than her last book (okay, a lot darker). She writes about her affair (poor husband) and her world travels and most importantly, her apprenticeship at a butcher shop in Kingston, NY. If you don't like to read about animals getting methodically cut to bits and women cheating on their very nice husbands, don't read this book. But if you can handle all that, I enjoyed it a lot.

But this is not a book review! It's a cooking blog. All this was to say, I was inspired to go to my local butcher shop today and get some beef stew meat for dinner. The butcher cut it into nice chunks for me. If you only ever buy meat from the grocery store, get out and try a butcher immediately. It tastes better. That's all you need to know.


Here's how to make a lazy beef stew -

Season your meat with salt and pepper. You could also use other seasonings - I threw some Trader Joe's 21 spice salute or something on it for variety. Brown it in a few tablespoons of hot oil (I used olive oil) and remove to a plate.

Brown some vegetables in the oil - I threw in whatever was in my fridge - onions, carrots, garlic, celeriac (kind of like celery, but looks like a potato), and an apple (I have so many apples).

Pour in some red wine (not too much, about a cup or so) and bring it to a boil, scraping up all the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

Add the meat back into the pot, enough beef stock (or chicken stock or water - whatever you have) and some root vegetables (you know potatoes and such - I added some potatoes and sweet potatoes, cut into chunks). I added some tomato paste as well, but normally I'd add some canned tomatoes. But I ran out of those. Whoops.

Bring the whole thing to a boil, then turn the heat down and cover the pot. Simmer for an hour or so. Taste it to see if needs more salt or pepper. Eat on the couch while watching Parks and Recreation.

I get your message loud and clear

So, I was in California last week. It was beautiful weather, good food and constant berating about how I don't blog enough. I get it! Someone is actually reading. I will update - now.

I've had this one in the works for awhile. Some of you may know that I grew up with hippie vegetarians. This meant that while we ate a lot of tofu and salad and pesto pasta (my brother and sister's favorite food at various times), we never had things like pot roast or meatloaf. The first time I ever ate meatloaf I was 25 years old and I made it myself. It was a classic recipe and I didn't care for it - the flavor of ketchup was too strong and it seemed like a weird flashback from the '50's.

But then! I came across this Italian version of meatloaf from the Gourmet Cookbook (one of my favorites - Ruth Reichl is my idol). It was amazing! It's like a giant meatball with hints of lemon and fresh parsley. It was tricky but I've already made it again since I took these pictures.

Polpettone! From the Gourmet Cookbook

4-6 slices Italian bread, crusts discarded (I used garlic focaccia - it had roasted garlic cloves in it and was amazing)
1 cup whole milk
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground veal (I've also used 2 pounds of turkey instead of red meat. Works great)
2 eggs, beaten
3 oz thin sliced pancetta, chopped
3/4 cup grated parmesan (use the good stuff - if you use the kind in the green Kraft can, I will come to your house and cry)
1/3 cup chopped parsley (flat leaf!)
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cup dry wine wine (I've been using "honey moon" from Trader Joe's - it rocks)

So! Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Soak the bread in milk for 10 minutes.

Combine the meat, eggs, pancetta, cheese, parsley, zest, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Squeeze the bread (one handful at a time) to remove the excess milk - not all of it, just some and chop it, then add it to the meat.

Mix it up! Use your hands until it's combined but try not to overmix it. Make it into a weird football shape.


Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat. Brown the football shaped meat mixture on all sides. You may have to use two spatulas to flip it - this thing is big. Transfer it to a plate. Mine broke into pieces and I cried, then mushed it back together. So the meatloaf is now on a plate and the skillet is full of yummy brown bits and fat and stuff.


Pour the wine in the skillet and bring it to a boil for a minute.


Stir and scrape the pan so that all the brown bits get unstuck to the bottom. Return the meatloaf to the skillet (mine broke again and I cried again. Zack said it would still taste good and that I should calm down. He was right). Bake the meatloaf in the skillet for about 45 minutes.



Transfer the meatloaf to a plate again! It's worth it, I promise. Cover it with foil (loosely) for about 10 minutes.

Pour the pan juices through a fine mesh sieve (this would normally scare me off - but I did it!) into a small bowl. Cut the meatloaf into slices and serve with the pan juices.


I served it with mashed potatoes and roasted fennel and sauteed watercress. I went a little overboard, but it was a really nice meal. You should make it! I messed it up a bunch of times and it turned out great. Plus, the second time I made it, it was much easier.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry I've been out of touch - I've got lots of pics waiting - Italian meatloaf and homemade applesauce and sweet potato latkes! I'll get to it soon, I promise.


Have a great turkey day!

Eat your vegetables

I wasn't going to post anything, but I was dicing up this butternut squash -


- and damn, it smells good. It's almost citrus-y and sweet and the color is so gorgeous. I've been reading Marcella Hazan's memoir (you know, the Italian cooking lady on PBS with the lame arm? Anyone?) and she talks about how Italians don't eat vegetables because they're good for you or because the government says so, but because they taste so good (the vegetables grown in Italy, not the crap you get in American supermarkets - I'm paraphrasing here, but that's the general idea).

If you're so inspired, go get a locally grown butternut squash and make this. It's delicious, I promise. And watch PBS.

A legendary soup

You may have heard me talk about how much I love Julie Powell (the author of Julie and Julia). In her book, she talks about making Julia Child's Potage Parmentier (that's potato leek soup for you non-French speakers) and how great it is. So I figured I should give it a try. I realized I had five leeks and a bag of yellow potatoes in my fridge, so this seemed like a good day to go for it.


It is very simple (so says Julie Powell), which doesn't mean easy. You have to peel a bunch of potatoes (about 1 pound) and then slice or dice them up. Then you slice the same amount of leeks and wash them really well in a colander (mine were from my CSA box and were completely covered in dirt).

Then throw them in a pot with 2 quarts of water (or chicken broth - I did a mix of both) and one Tbs of salt - simmer them over moderate heat for about 45 minutes, partially covered (I balanced the pot lid over one side of the pot and my little espresso maker - I am such a professional). Once the vegetables are tender, it's time to blend them up.

Julia asks that you don't use a food processor or a blender - she wants you to use a food mill or a fork. I did just get a food mill (another wedding present - woot!) but I was too lazy to set it up. My immersion blender just called out to me, "Lena! Use me! I am so easy to use and already out of the box!" So I pureed about half of it with the immersion blender and left some chunks of potato in tact (as a sort of compromise with the ghost of Julia Child). Then I adjusted the seasoning and adding some cream (Julia says! She wanted me to add 6 Tbs, but I added about half that in deference to my girlish figure).


It's good - very filling, but it's not a wow. It's kind of bland for my taste - but it would be a good first course type thing - just not a whole meal.

I can't stop eating these

When I got a brand new oven, one of the first things I thought was "Score! Now I can make those candied pecans that Bryn makes for me!" I love these things. They are addictive. I just keep popping them in my mouth, but you can also use them in a salad (Bryn uses them in salad with blue cheese, pear, avocado, green onion and an oil and vinaigrette dressing - which is great).

Candied Pecans - adapted from Bryn Kahn


Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 lb whole pecan halves
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix together sugar, salt and cinnamon and set aside (normally in baking, I skip this step. But I did it this time because it's important to get the sweet/savory taste correct).
3. Beat egg white and water together until just frothy, not stiff (I just used a whisk and beat it a few times by hand. It's easy - don't let it scare you). Add pecans and stir until well coated. Add sugar mixture, mixing pecans until well coated.
4. Spread evenly onto a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and separate pecans as they cool. Store in a tightly closed container.

Eat until your mouth feels weird from eating too many nuts. That is an unintentionally dirty sentence. My subconscious mind is in the gutter.