Caramel Popcorn

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and they were packaged so beautifully that I decided to put together care packages for friends. In my care packages I had caramel popcorn, fall cookies, and pumpkin bread. They all raved about the popcorn and the other baked goodies.

If there is a fall treat that should be a staple in your house it is definitely this caramel popcorn. I've always been a fan of Crunch and Munch but this is so much better. There's nothing like fresh popcorn and homemade caramel to completely shatter the store bought crap.

Ingredients:

Popcorn (preferred method)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup light corn syrup

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Pop popcorn using whatever method you prefer. I was short on time so I just used microwave popcorn. Place the popped popcorn in two large bowls. There needs to be plenty of room to toss the popcorn in the caramel. It's also helpful to have an extra pair of hands.

Preheat the oven to 250° F.

For the caramel, melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, mix in the corn syrup, brown sugar and salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and let it come to a boil while stirring frequently. Once the mixture reaches a boil, let it continue to boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove the mixture from the heat, stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract. The caramel will become very bubbly.

Pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn in the bowls and toss to coat thoroughly. Spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray and spread the popcorn evenly onto the baking sheets. Bake for about 50 minutes, removing from the oven to toss/stir every 10 minutes. After 40 minutes, test a cooled piece of popcorn. If it is not completely crispy, bake for 10 minutes more. The best way to tell if it's too mushy is when you eat it, it will stick to your teeth something awful. If it's sticking to your teeth, continue baking. Once it's crisp, remove the baking sheets to a wire rack and allow popcorn to cool completely before serving or packaging.

Adapted from: Annie's Eats as seen on Christie's Corner

Fall Cookies

I was on my way to the grocery store today and while I was stopped at a light I glanced over and noticed there was a tree with leaves that were starting to change. I felt a tinge of sadness that Summer is ending and the weather is just beginning to get ever so slightly cooler but I also felt a bit excited that the trees are going to start having leaves in beautiful shades of red and orange. This inspired me to take a stab at decorating some cookies.

I bought these fall leaf and acorn cookies about a month ago while I was impulse shopping at Michael's. I wasn't planning to use them until October but when you get inspired you have to roll with it right. I was little nervous since this is my first time working with royal icing. I'm a food blog junky so I've seen tons of decorated cookies that I just love and have always been too intimidated to try this myself. After doing a lot of research on how to decorate using royal icing, I finally bit the bullet and went for it. I think these are just ok for a first timer. I just need to practice, practice, practice so that maybe I can send cookies to friends at Christmas.

Now lets get down to the important stuff, the taste. I really liked this recipe. When you bite into it's soft and chewy which is one of the main things I look for in a cookie. I'm definitely more of a soft chewy girl than a crisp crunchy girl. After noticing the texture, I immediately took note of the nice lemon flavor from the zest and then you're hit at the end with this awesome almond flavor that really finishes it beautifully. Overall, I give this recipe two big beefy fingered thumbs up.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour, all-purpose

1 tsp Baking powder

1 egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 sticks Butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup Sugar

1/4 tsp Lemon zest

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Lightly beat the egg with the vanilla and almond extracts.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and salt on medium until smooth. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the sugar then add the lemon zest. Beat on medium until fluffy. With the mixer running, pour in the egg mixture and continue beating until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and mix until incorporated.

Lightly knead the dough to form a ball and press into a disk. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and preheat the over to 375 degrees. If you chilled your dough overnight, it will need to sit at room temperature for about half an hour to slightly soften. On a very lightly floured sheet of wax paper (I used my pastry mat) with a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut dough with floured cookie cutters. Reroll the scraps and use that too. Thou shall not waste cookie dough is the 11th commandment.

Bake the cookies for 5-9 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, until they no longer look wet on top. Try not to let the bottoms brown, except for a little around the edges. Let the cookies rest for a couple of minutes before placing them on the cooling racks. If you move them too fast they will break. Trust me on this one.

Decorate as desired. I used royal icing to decorate these cookies.

Royal icing:

4 cups Powdered Sugar

2 tbsp Meringue Powder

5 tbsp Water

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until the sheen has disappeared and it looks a bit dull. Transfer to airtight containers. This is the consistency you will need to outline your cookies. Mix in a bit of coloring gel to the icing and put what you need into piping bags. Pipe the outline on each cookie and let the icing set. I left mine for about an hour.

Now add water to the icing left in the bowl, a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency of syrup. Now flood the cookies using a squeeze bottle and a toothpick to get it to the edges.

Adapted from: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (cookies); Annie's Eats (royal icing)

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

I've been making this dish for a while now and it has never let me down. I happened upon this recipe many years ago in a Southern Living Cookbook at my mother's house. It sounded so good that the book jumped in my car and insisted on going home with me, unbeknownst to my mother of course. The first time I made it was for my roommates at the time and they loved it. I've since made for countless others and of course my husband. It's always delicious and I can vary the spicyness (is that a word?) depending on who I'm making it for. And how can you go wrong with pasta and shrimp. I've never tried it with other seafood but I would love to make it one day with scallops. It's also great with whole wheat pasta. I'm typically not a fan of whole wheat pasta because of the consistency and I swear it has an odd taste but this recipes has such powerful flavors that even I can't taste whole wheatiness of whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients:
8 oz Fettuccine
1 lb Fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp butter
1/4 C Chopped green onions
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 C Whipping cream
1/4 C Dry white wine
1/3 C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes (I use much less)
1/3 C Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package or if you're feeling really courageous cook fresh pasta.

Peel and devein shrimp and set aside

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the green onions and garlic. Saute until tender and fragrant. Stir in the cajun seasoning and cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute.

Stir in the shrimp and whipping cream. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the wine and simmer for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the pasta, Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Toss gently until thoroughly heated. Now sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.



Adapted from: Southern Living Cookbook

Gingery Glazed Asian Ribs

I stumbled upon this recipe almost a year ago but for some reason I waited until the summer to try it. Call me odd but I think ribs are a summer food so I rarely cook them in the winter. This certainly a recipe for year round cooking since you don't need to grill them. Not to mention these ribs are tender and tasty and melt in you mouth. I'm starting to think I must love all things ginger because I'm finding I tend to gravitate towards recipes with fresh ginger.

As you can tell from the picture, this is a very saucey rib. I'm not a big fan of ribs with rub and no sauce. There's something about licking your fingers and having sauce on your chin that just melts my butter. I feel the same way about BBQ chicken. What can I say...I'm a sauce girl.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Baby back ribs (about 2 racks)

Black pepper

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Ginger, grated

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Sushi Rice

Kosher Salt

2 Scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic; spoon half of the glaze over the ribs. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the ribs are tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
After the ribs have been cooking for 20 minutes, combine the rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork before serving.

Heat the broiler. Spoon off and discard all but 1/2 cup of the rib pan drippings. Cut the racks of ribs into individual ribs, return to the roasting pan, and brush with the remaining glaze. Broil until just beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the ribs over the rice, drizzle with any cooking juices, and sprinkle with the scallions. Enjoy!

Smacznego!

Adapted from: Real Simple

Overnight French Toast

Ingredients:

French Toast:

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

Powdered sugar

Maple Syrup:

2 cups Maple syrup

1 cup Chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

French Toast:

Spread the butter over the bottom of large baking pan. Place the bread in the pan in a single layer. Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread and turn each slice to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning or evening if you like breakfast for dinner, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the french bread mixture for 10 minutes. Turn the bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. Now you can place a slice or two on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar or you can eat it directly out of the dish. This is called the Shanda method. Either way make sure you serve it immediately with the Maple-Walnut Syrup and if you're my friend Di you will literally lick your plate clean.

¡Buen apetito!

Adapted from: Epicurious

Honey Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp Instant yeast

1 cup Warm water (105-115 degrees)

1/4 cup Honey

3 tbsp Canola oil

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

4 cups Bread flour

Vegetable cooking spray

2 tbsp Butter, melted

2 tbsp Honey

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Switch to the dough hook and with the mixer on low speed, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Continue kneading on low speed for about 8 minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in the warm area until doubled in bulk about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide into 10-12 equal size pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place into a round, lightly greased 9-inch round baking dish, spacing equally. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through. Let them cool slightly before serving if you can wait that long. Enjoy!

L-ikla t-tajba

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Hot Crab Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup Mayonnaise

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp Ground mustard

1 pound Lump crab meat

1/4 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream, mayo, old bay and ground mustard in a medium bowl. Add crab meat and toss. Make sure you toss gently so as not to break apart the beautiful lump meat.

Spread the mixture in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle a little old bay on top but be careful not to add too much as the dip will become very salty.

Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet!

Adapted from: Old Bay