BACON CANDY

An apology to my healthy and/or vegetarian friends..... I go a little crazy this time of year for holiday gluttony. Of course, I still crave veg, fresh fruit, and simple soups, but every December I totally let loose cooking and gobbling up sweet treats, buttery polentas, creamy pastas, and beefy stews. I really can't help myself.

I've been itching to experiment with Bacon Candy ever since I saw a recipe in Canal House No. 1 and another one from Adrianna, who serves her candied bacon crumbled on top of ice cream - hell ya. I mean how can you go wrong serving up sweet, salty, crunchy bacon!

Want to have friends over for cocktails and a tasty nibble? This bacon could be your hero.  I imagine it would also make an awesome addition to a weekend brunch. It's outrageous. Don't you think you might just have to try bacon candy for yourself?

CHOCOLATE BARK WITH CARAMELIZED MARCONA ALMONDS

Wow! Is it just me or are the holidays gaining on us like a freight train?  I am still in denial and keep casually telling myself there must still be weeks and weeks to get ready. I may not have done much holiday shopping yet, but I have gotten some cooking in. Last weekend the kids and I made peppermint bark - an old favorite in our house - and we tried out this new bark recipe that I am in love with.

Keeping life simple and sane around the holiday is a huge goal for me. How can we all have fun and not get stressed? This kind of recipe makes me so happy not only because it tastes delish, but it also takes very little time and the kids love to help. Here's a recipe that once again proves that just a few really good ingredients mixed together can make for damned good eats.


Marcona almonds + Caramel + Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt = Happiness


Don't forget to share....This bark makes an awesome gift.


INGREDIENTS  from Bon Appetit December 2011
(printable recipe)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup roasted Marcona almonds (not in oil)
• 1 pound high quality dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), chopped (or chocolate chips will work)
• flaky sea salt, like Maldon

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place sugar and water in a small heavy bottomed sauce-pan. Place pan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar crystals have completely dissolved. (You don't want the sugar to burn until all the crystals have broken down.)Then, bring to a boil, continue stirring occasionally, and cook for a few minutes until you get that nice deep amber color. Take the pan off heat and immediately whisk in butter.

Toss Marcona almonds into the caramel and stir to coat. Spread out gooey caramelized almonds onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let cool and then break up/or chop the bigger clusters. Set aside 1/4 of the almonds for garnish.

Slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler. (This can mean simply placing a metal mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water.) When chocolate is completely melted, add 3/4 of the caramelized almonds and stir quickly to coat. Pour the chocolate/almond mixture back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread out the chocolate so that the nuts are only one layer thick. Sprinkle the remaining almonds and flaky sea salt over the top of the chocolate.

Refrigerate for 3 hours. Break apart the hardened bark, and you are ready to go.

Keep chilled.

Wishing you peaceful, healthy, and cozy holidays! xo E

RUSTIC APPLE TART

Simple pleasures. This is what it's all about for me these days. When P, the kids, and I were on the road last year, slowness was our theme. Action and adventure does not describe our travel style - we had tons of family time and savored it deeply. I really believe the serenity of our time away added years back onto my life.

I am trying to figure out ways to integrate this attitude into our American lives. Lilah still finds great happiness in imaginary play and collecting twigs and flowers. Otis now goes to our local middle school and only gets in the car once in while.  Paul and I are trying to limit our commitments and spend lots of time at home enjoying our kids. Little things.

What does this have to do with food? In our family, where much of life revolves around eating, this means taking time to harvest blackberries and picking apples with friends on their bucolic land in West Sonoma County.

Rach and Justin invited a slew of us to spend the day with them. It was true Indian summer. The leaves had started falling, a bit of crispness cooled the air while still being warm enough for kids to swim, pluck juicy concord grapes from the vine, and pick apples... Life is good.

I like how uncomplicated this apple tart is - just apples on buttery pastry with a sprinkle of sugar. Simple pleasure. But I also enjoyed gussying this apple tart up a little bit with a drizzle with Homemade Caramel Sauce and voila .... Caramel Apple Tart, anyone?

INGREDIENTS adapted from David Tanis' Platter of Figs
(printable recipe)

• 1/2 recipe flaky pastry dough
• 2-3 pounds apples 
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar 
• Homemade Caramel Sauce (optional, but highly recommended)

Prepare your dough as per the instructions here. A couple of notes:

First, you only need half of the recipe for the pastry dough for this recipe. Have fun making a tart of your choice with the other half.

Second, please don't roll the dough too thin or the edges get pretty charred before the apples can cook all the way. (Tanis suggests rolling the dough into a 16x11 inch rectangle. I had more success when I made a thicker 11x6 inch oval of dough.)

Place the rolled out dough (on a parchment-lined baking sheet) into the fridge while you prep your apples.

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel and core apples and slice them thin. Take the prepared dough from the fridge. Lay the apples on the dough in long layered rows. ( If you aren't going to serve your tart until later, Tanis suggests covering the prepared tart in the fridge for up to 8 hours.)

Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over the apples and pastry. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender.

We found the tart to be most delicious when served warm and drizzled with caramel sauce. When we ate the leftovers, we'd quickly warm up a slice in the oven before noshing.

Enjoy!

What else is cooking?

• Monika's awesome short film about making apple tart
• Emma's quince and apple pie
• Adrianna's spiced apple chips
• Caitlin's pear tart

PALM SUGAR SYRUP

It is so good to be back in Bali. We four are truly happy here. The kids are in a fun school nearby. We have a little glass-walled bungalow overlooking a vast expanse of rice fields. Life is sweet.

Once I got over my jet lag, which sadly has gotten more and more tenacious as I get older, all I have wanted to do is dive into the local flavors. What are the most luscious and delectable local ingredients? Where are the best markets?  P has taken to waking up early for trips to our small daily village market. Everyone chuckles at him as the odd foreigner; he just keeps going and brings back fantastic goodies. Yes, we really dig rambutans, passion fruit, and mangosteens, but I promise not to share too many recipes using a bunch of obscure tropical ingredients that aren't available away from the equator - I want my travel finds to work in your home kitchens. 

The thing I really want to share with you today is my new love....palm (coconut) sugar! When we were first here late August, I fell for coconut sugar, its flavor dark, caramely, rich, and not-too-sweet. Now that we have a working kitchen, it has become my new favorite ingredient. Quick to melt, palm sugar is a great tool for bakers to have. And here in Asia it is used in both sweet and savory dishes.

Little did I  know that my new indulgence isn't so bad for you. I read up on palm sugar and found that it is low glycemic, high in iron, potassium, zinc, and a multitude of vitamins, etc. Turns out Palm Sugar is the new thing. Who knew?

Every morning we have rice flour pancakes (post coming soon, I promise) topped with yogurt and a drizzle of palm syrup. We use the syrup in a cocktail with Arak (a local Balinese spirit), lime, and mint. I also like to stir palm syrup into plain yogurt to achieve just the right sweetness.

If you try this palm syrup recipe at home, I'd love to hear what you think of the unusual and complex flavor and how you use it. I hope you love it as much as we do!

BROWN SUGAR CARAMEL CORN WITH FLEUR DE SEL

I'll fess up - these really are like Cracker Jacks. Maybe I just needed a little taste of Americana before our departure tomorrow.  Next stop - Bali!

This recipe was born from a serious jonze for caramel. Ever since I discovered how easy it is to do Homemade Caramel Sauce, we have been making it at least once a month. (And yes with this new habit, our waistlines have expanded.) Recently, we were in Sea Ranch with Rach and Justin when the craving for caramel kicked in. We were in a borrowed kitchen, with no Internet, no recipes, and no white sugar. Hmmmm.... we did have my memory (not always so good), brown sugar, butter, and cream so I got to work. We ended up with a rich and decadent brown sugar caramel that we drizzled over whiskey gelato. Gotta love being isolated from technology, while still being able to buy artisinal whiskey gelato at the local store!

We used the leftover sauce to make caramel corn for the kids and it was a huge success. Once I got home, I read up on caramel corn and found that brown sugar is a pretty standard ingredient. Who knew?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup popcorn kernels (approximately 5 quarts popped corn)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• generous pinch of fleur de sel
• 1 1/2 cups roasted salted peanuts

First pop your popcorn using whatever technique suits you. The kids always love using this old-fashioned popper.  I use a little canola oil in the popper along with a cup of corn. Here's Lilah at work...

When popcorn is done. Set aside.

Kids had to munch a bit on the plain popcorn.

Pear Tart Tatin

Pears and caramel.... yummmmmmm.


For Valentine's Day, I made a pear tart tatin for my mom and P. They loved it but I wasn't satisfied with the consistency of the caramel (too runny). I scratched that recipe and rethought the sugar/butter ratio and out came a rich, deep, sticky caramel, tender pears, and a dreamy, flaky crust. I am not exaggerating when I say... I think this is the best thing I've ever made.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 4 medium pears, peeled and sliced  
• 1/2 flaky pastry dough recipe (frozen puff pastry would also work well here)

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out dough into a large circle about 11 inches in diameter. Put back in fridge to keep chilled.

In a 9 inch cast iron skillet, heat sugar and butter over med high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until caramel thickens and becomes rich amber color. Take off heat and let cool.

Peel and slice pears, then arrange in a circular pattern over the top of the caramel.

Lay pastry dough over top of pears. Trim and tuck under excess dough. Slice a few vents into the dough to let the steam release during baking.

Bake 30-40 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Then use a knife to make sure that the dough is not stuck to the sides of the pan. Place a plate over the top of the pan. Flip the tart onto the plate. If any pear slices remain in the pan or are misplaced during the flip, just rearrange them while the tart is warm. Serve warm or at room temperature with a generous serving of whipped cream.

HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE

There's nothing like demystifying a treat like caramel sauce to make me feel invincible in the kitchen. For me, this simple recipe is a delicious revelation.

For years, we have bought caramel sauce at the store to drizzle over homemade sundaes. The other night I found a pint of vanilla ice cream in the freezer, but when I looked in the fridge for the caramel sauce there was none to be found. I automatically grabbed my purse to dash out to the local market to satisfy my craving. Then I reminded myself that cooking at home is usually easier, tastier, cheaper, and quicker than buying something at the store. I figured a tome like the Joy of Cooking would have plenty to say on the subject of caramel sauce, and it did. The recipe I found was simple and delectable - plus we already had all of the ingredients on-hand. Within minutes, and without stepping out in the rain or spending a penny, I was eating one of the best caramel sundaes I can remember.

INGREDIENTS
adapted from The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• pinch of salt (I added a few more pinches, because I like my caramel salted)

Place sugar in a small heavy sauce pan. Pour water evenly over the top. Turn stove top to medium-high heat. Hold sauce pan by the handle and swirl occasionally until sugar has dissolved. (Avoid letting sugar burn until completely dissolved.) Cover pan, turn heat to high, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove lid and continue to boil until syrup turns brown around the edges of the pan. Again grab the handle and swirl syrup occasionally until it turns a deep amber and begins to smoke.

Remove pan from heat. Add butter. Gently whisk, until all butter is mixed in.

Stir in cream.

If sauce become lumpy, set pan over low heat and stir until smooth then turn off heat again.

Stir in vanilla and salt.

Pour warm caramel over ice cream or slices of fresh pear. Or maybe even eat a spoonful just because you made it.