Honey Butter Caramels

My husband married the right person. He loves food and I love to cook and bake. So about a month ago our world (just our food world) came crashing down when we started to read up on some the effects of wheat & other grains, low-fat milk, sugar and some oils on our bodies. So we decided to greatly reduce our family's intake of those things. Ben immediately cut out Pepsi which he used to drink all day and we began to eat gluten-free foods. Our biggest hurdle was sugar. We love sugar but it is in everything. So we started to replace sugar with honey in most uses and agave nectar in baking. Its been interesting and we are still learning more everyday.

So, with fall finally here, and lots of fresh apples in the house, I started thinking about caramel. We love caramel. But its sugar, sugar and more sugar. So I sought out to find a honey caramel recipe. I Pinterested it (Googling is so last year! ;D) and got two pins. The first pin was a honey caramel recipe (Yay!) and the second was a hair color. Here is the recipe I started with. I pretty much followed the recipe to the T, except for two things.

First, once I was 'simmering' my honey/cream mixture, I turned the heat to medium. You definitely have to stay with the pot and stir it with a wooden spoon or else it will bubble over. Also, do this when you have 20-30 minutes to yourself. (There's no leaving once you've started. Got it???)

Second, once the mixture was up to 255-260 degrees, I didn't put it in an ice bath. Instead, I mixed in a stick of butter. Before I started cooking, I prepped a 9" x 6" pan with butter. I then cut that stick into about tablespoon thick slices. When the mixture was done boiling, I stirred in the butter, one slice at a time, making sure the first slice was dissolved before adding another.

Finally, I poured the mixture in my prepared pan and allowed them to cool on the counter. Then once, cool, I placed them into the fridge.

According to my family, they are very sweet and they are but aren't caramels supposed to be? I love them. They have the same perfect texture as sugar-based butter caramels but with that added floral flavor of honey.

I plan on trying this recipe with agave nectar and orange blossom honey in the near future. I'll let you know how that goes.

Honey Butter Caramels

Original Recipe from Love at First Bite Honey Caramel Apples

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used kosher and the original recipe calls for sea salt.)
1 cup Honey
1 stick butter

In a pot, bring cream and salt to low simmer. You want to see small bubbles around the perimeter of the pot.

Stir in honey and bring mixture to a boil. Turn heat down and continue to cook mixture to a temp of 255-260. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. (Believe it or not, I don't have a wooden spoon. I used two bamboo chopsticks.)

Once temp is reached, take pot off the heat and add butter, slice by slice, making sure first slice is dissolved before adding another.

Pour into pan and cool.

Easy! - French Toast Cinnamon Rolls

Elijah has been wanting cinnamon rolls all week. You know, the ones in the can. Well, I haven't been to the store and I certainly don't have time with three munchkins on a Saturday morning to be making fresh. So I was looking around my kitchen to see what I had. No puff pastry. No crescent rolls. Hmm. Well, I have hot dog buns . . . and thus, they were born.


French Toast Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 6


6 Hot Dog Buns
Butter


Custard Ingredients
1 Egg
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Allspice
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 6 compartments of a muffin pan with butter.

Beat the egg in a bowl. Add in rest of custard ingredients and beat with a fork or whisk for one minute. Tear a hot dog bun in half along its hinge. Put the bottom half in custard crust side down. Flip and put inside in custard. (Note: You'll want to let the crust side sit in the custard a little longer than the inside.) Place the other half of bun in custard in the same manner. Roll the bottom half around itself. Roll the top half around the bottom half roll and place your roll into your muffin pan.
Repeat with the rest of the buns. Sprinkle on some cinnamon before baking.

Bake for 15 minutes or until outside its crusty and golden. Remove and let sit for a few minutes.

I served my French Toast Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese icing. Here's the recipe.

Erica's Quick Cream Cheese Icing

4 oz Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Butter
about 3 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

If you can bring your cream cheese and butter to room temperature, in advance, that is preferred. If not, cut both into chunks, then microwave about 20-30 seconds to soften. The butter may melt some and that's okay. Microwave until you can mix them together. Once mixed, add powdered sugar to desired thickness. Add vanilla and salt and mix thoroughly.

Enjoy!

Barbecue Pulled Pork

Ok, so it's been a while . . . sorry.

This is the teaser photo! :D

I must start off by saying this is not a time-tested recipe. It was my first run, actually, and it turned out well. If/when I try it again, I will comment on how it goes.

I love barbecue - pork, chicken - whatever (almost). So I decided to try my hand at some barbecue pulled pork. It turned out quite well, indeed, and, actually, now that I'm drooling just thinking about it, we might just have it again tomorrow. :D

I like to cook with pork tenderloin. I've found that it's generally fail-proof, cheap and delish! I usually buy mine from Meijer ( Just FYI, there are two in the bag! :D) or Sam's Club if I have room in my freezer. For this recipe, I used one tenderloin and it probably would have been enough for four adult sandwiches or three adults and two kids. Also, another thing to note, I only had two cups each of chicken stock and cola, so I used another two cups of water, just to get 6 cups of liquid. You could split the 6 cups any way or want. One other thing to plan with this entree is your supporting dishes. I suggest coleslaw and plain kettle chips. I'll post my recipe for coleslaw later this week. (Really, I will!)

Barbecue Pulled Pork

1 Pork Tenderloin, cut into large chunks
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
2 cups Cola
2 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Water
1 bottle Kraft Honey Barbecue sauce (And you thought I was making my own sauce! Ha!)

Cut and season the tenderloin and brown with olive oil in the bottom of a heavy pot. Once brown on all sides, add the liquids (not the barbecue sauce) and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for half an hour, keeping the liquids at a medium-low boil. Uncover, test your meat for tenderness and cook another 15 to 30 minutes uncovered. Add barbecue sauce and let look until desired sauce thickness is reached or about 15 minutes.

I served mine on pan toasted buns. (I learned that from my mommy!) Ooh! Bread and butter pickles would be great with this.

Enjoy!

This is the meat in the pot with all the liquids.

Vegetable Stock, Risotto and Trout Almondine

No pics, sorry. Next time . . . I hope.

Risotto

Note to self: Never let risotto sit.
Note to self: Always add flavor to a vegetable stock risotto.
Note to self: Maybe try a sweet version . . . sometime. Rice pudding anyone???

I've made risotto before so this wasn't a completely foreign concept. Some people say, "Risotto should always take exactly 21 minutes, if made correctly." Well, no. I don't think that all risottos always take 21 minutes. There are too many variables to contend with! One, how high is your flame, two, how much rice are we talking, and three, the chef. Anywho . . .

It was pretty good. I'm not much for veggie stock, so I should have added in more flavor or at least some parmesan. Oh, and I let it sit, after it was done to finish off my trout almondine and it got kinda gummy. (Note: Food on a burner, in a pan continues to cook. The only time food isn't cooking is when it's cold.) I quickly added some more veggie stock and heated it back up. The starchiness was a little on the high side for me, but I'll try it again after the Fast.

More later . . . . time to pick up the boys!

Ok, I'm back . . .6.5 hours later.

Trout Almondine

Not bad. Apparently, trout is in the salmon family. It's flesh looks a lot like salmon and it tastes like it, too, although it's a milder flavor. Any way . . . long story short. . . I used a pan that was too short and too much oil and lemon. Other than that, not bad.


Veggie Stock

Well, it's finished and in a pitcher for easy use. (;) kidneys!) We'll se how it turned out when I use it in a recipe soon.

A New Mission

Hello, I know its been awhile . . . but I am back with conviction. I am going to cook my way through the Culinary Institute of America's "The Professional Chef". The Professional Chef
Eventually I will get to the "Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft". Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft Here's where the plot thickens. I will first make each recipe strictly following the ingredients given, then, if not already, I will make a gluten-free version. With over 640 recipes, I should have plenty on my plate for a long time.

Since we are in the middle of Lent, these will be mostly vegetarian recipes until Pascha.

Tomorrow's four recipes:

Vegetable Stock: including Sachet d'Épices
Risotto
Glazed Carrots

If you follow this blog . . .

prepare thy self for a full inbox! Gluten free . . . . here I come!

Sugars And Chips

Hello again! For a few months I've been gluten free (minus a couple of days while in China. The best Italian food! Ah . . . how I miss you China.) Back to home. . .

So I've been adapting my recipes to the gluten free flour mixes that I use. I tried Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP Flour Mix for a wedding last year. It had various bean flours who's flavors don't lend themselves to deserts. Then you have to purchase a $12 bag of Zanthan Gum (in order to replicate the gluten) for the 1/4 tsp that you actually add to the recipe. I also found the flour to be grainy.

Recently, I found Beth's AP Gluten Free Baking Flour from Glutino. (Beth's Flour is about mid way down.)

This flour is remarkable! There isn't any graininess and the flavor is so mild. You really can't tell that your baked goods are gluten free. (And neither can your friends at the office! ;)

The only drawback is the price tag . . . I am not used to paying $4 for 2 cups of flour! And because it only comes with 2 cups of flour, you have to alter your recipe or buy two plus boxes. (That's when it starts to get expensive.)

Hopefully, someday I can figure out Beth's recipe so that I make my own flour. Its main components, potato starch and tapioca flour, are inexpensive and easy to find in bulk at our local co-op.

Anyway, to the cookies. This past week I worked on my sugar cookie recipe. The first recipe is the original. (I just realized I hadn't put it up. Sorry.) Then the second version is gluten free.

Erica's Original Sugar Cookies
Perfect for cut-outs or filled with Lemon Curd.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1/2 C Butter
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/3 C Sour Cream
3/4 C Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
3 C AP Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Salt

Blend wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients. Blend dry into wet gradually. Chill for at least 30 min.

Flour surface. Roll and cut. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.


The Gluten Free Sugar Cookie of Your dreams!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.


1/2 C Butter
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/3 C BUTTERMILK
3/4 C Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
2 C Beth's Gluten Free AP Flour
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Salt

Blend wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients. Blend dry into wet gradually. Chill for at least 30 min.

Flour surface. Roll and cut. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.



Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe contains margarine. You have two options.
a) Find a gluten free margarine and substitute.
b) Replace with butter.

Also, just replace the bread flour with gluten free flour. (You can add more flour for thicker cookies, if you have it around.)