Cinnabon Caramel Corn

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Veronica

I suppose I could get in trouble for putting a trademarked name into the title of this popcorn, but the truth is I’m just way too unimportant for Cinnabon to care what I do with their name. And if they tasted this popcorn, they’d probably consider it a compliment that their name had been ascribed to this tasty treat.

Does it taste like a Cinnabon? I have no idea. I think it does, but I’ve only had 1/4 of a single Cinnabon in my entire life, and that was four years ago and as far as I recall, it did not have pecans in it. I do know, however, that it reminds me of a cinnamon roll and it is crazy delicious and I just really like calling it Cinnabon Caramel Corn (versus the official name: “Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans and White Chocolate”–way too many syllables to pronounce when I could be stuffing my face with popcorn exactly eight syllables earlier.).

This would make a great food gift this holiday season and stays fresh in an airtight container for at least a week (based on reports from recievers of portions that were mailed). Ours did not survive more than an hour after it had cooled.

OK, fine. We ate half of it warm.

Cinnabon Caramel Corn
Recipe by Our Best Bites
(My notes are in parentheses. (I like parentheses.))

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a “natural” flavor that’s low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. (I personally divided the popcorn & nuts between two ginormous bowls, which I would recommend so you have room for lots of stirring.)

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a 2 liter capacity microwave safe bowl. Mix well. Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

Remove from microwave and add in vanilla and baking soda. Stir to combine. Mixture will foam and rise. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pecans and stir very well so everything is well coated.

Spread popcorn mixture onto a foil-lined jelly roll pan. (I had to use a jelly roll pan & a 9×13 pan–I think 2 jelly roll pans would be best.) Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (I thought the popcorn wasn’t quite crisp enough after it cooled and will try baking it 10-20 minutes longer next time. I usually bake caramel corn for an hour and found it odd this one only called for half the time.)

Remove from oven and spread out on a large piece of parchment, waxed paper, or foil.

Melt almond bark according to package instructions. Drizzle over popcorn mixture. (I dipped a fork in it and swirled it all over.) When almond bark is hardened and popcorn is cool, break into chunks and enjoy!

5 Comments

Posted in Candy, My Favorites, Sweets and tagged caramel corn, cinnabon, cinnamon, pecans, popcorn, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Veronica

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

THESE ARE SO GOOD!

Everyone likes Rice Krispies Treats, but browning the butter before making them really kicks these up a notch. I go through about 3 lbs of butter a week, so that probably counts as an obsession, but what I’m really obsessed with is browning it. I just LOVE the flavor of browned butter. I love the smell of it as it’s cooking. I love the look of it, with the dark brown specks (which also fleck these treats). I just love everything about it. So, naturally, I love these.

I made a double batch, and I’m glad I did b/c my husband and I ate half the recipe immediately, which left just enough to package up to ship out for gifts.

These are very simple, the only difference between it and the original recipe being that you add salt and brown the butter first, which just tacks on about 5 minutes to the prep time. (OK fine, that and the fact that there’s a LOT more butter in it…but I can’t complain about that!) These would be great for Christmas, all-occasion gifts, bake sales, potlucks, after-school snacks, after dinner treats, afternoon snacks, after-breakfast snacks, midnight snacks, “I just ate a tomato so I need to eat something unhealthy to balance out my diet” snacks….I think you get the picture.

I don’t, however, recommend doubling the recipe unless you have a lot of people to feed because, if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to stop eating them until they’re gone.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
From Smitten Kitchen, with slightly modified instructions

1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)

Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do.

When the butter takes on a nutty color and the solids have turned a chocolate-brown, stir in the salt & marshmallows. Turn off the heat once the marshmallows are melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the cereal. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.

Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends.

Veronica’s Notes: If you use salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe. If you use table salt, use a scant 1/4 teaspoon.

6 Comments

Posted in Brownies & Bars, My Favorites, Sweets and tagged brown butter, crispy, rice krispies, treats. Bookmark the permalink.

Buttery Beer Bread

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Veronica

I first posted a similar recipe in January, but am reposting this slightly revised version since I’ve made is so many times that I’ve had ample opportunity to improve it. I think I’ve got it to the point of perfection now.

I find this savory quick bread it to be just as good, if not better, than homemade yeast bread. It is a very simple recipe with just a few ingredients but I find it absolutely delicious. The beer gives it a yeasty flavor and the sugar lends a hint of sweetness and you just can’t go wrong with an entire stick of butter soaking in from all sides during the baking process. It creates a thick, buttery, and crunchy crust and the inside is soft and flavorful. It is divine.

For a fun and unique gift, package up the dry ingredients after sifting them together, attach baking instructions and include a can of beer if you wish.

BUTTERY BEER BREAD
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
I usually use self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt because it seems to taste better this way and is even easier to prepare!

3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12-oz) can beer
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×5* loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl and stir briefly with a whisk to combine everything. Pour beer over the flour mixture and stir in the beer with a spoon. The mixture will be thick but much more like batter than regular bread dough. Dump into the prepared pan and spread out as evenly as possible. Pour the melted butter or margarine over the top and bake for 1 hour. (The butter will run down the sides and underneath as it bakes.) Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for fifteen minutes, or as long as you can stand it, before serving. Best served fresh from the oven.

*Please do not use a smaller loaf pan, or the butter will overflow and make a huge smokey mess. If you don’t have a larger pan, then place a baking sheet below the pan to catch any butter overflow.

Recipe source: Recipe Rhapsody

18 Comments

Posted in Bread, My Favorites and tagged beer, Bread, buttery. Bookmark the permalink.

Killer Cranberry Sauce

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Veronica

This is my family’s favorite cranberry sauce. I should preface that with the fact that before I started serving this particular sauce, my Dad was the only one in the family that actually liked cranberry sauce. Now we all have to have it every Thanksgiving because skipping this sauce would be like skipping the turkey–it’s inconceivable.

Tart & sweet with a vibrant splash of orange flavor & the nutty crunch from toasted pecans…it is divine. And if you think that only adults with distinguished palates would enjoy it, then you haven’ t seen my three year old nephew dipping every piece of his turkey in it and refusing to eat the turkey any other way.

Do you serve cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving dinner? What is your favorite way to prepare it?

Killer Cranberry Sauce

1 navel orange
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 t grated fresh ginger
4 c cranberries
1/2 c toasted pecans, chopped*

Grate the orange peel from the orange and put into a large saucepan. Juice the orange and add the juice to the pan along with the sugar and ginger. Stir & simmer over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and cook until they pop & the mixture thickens–about five to ten minutes. Cool and store in the refrigerator. Stir in pecans just before serving. Serve cold.

*To toast the pecans, place them on a microwave-safe plate in a single layer. Microwave for one minute, stir, then zap for another minute or until fragrant.

10 Comments

Posted in Condiments & ETC., Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged cranberry sauce. Bookmark the permalink.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Rum Custard Sauce

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Veronica

I’ve previously mentioned my failed attempt at a brown butter pound cake. Wonderful flavor, but overbaked to the point that it was almost too dry to choke down. Well, after keeping it in the freezer for a month, I finally decided upon my method of recovery for the dried loaf (with some help from my friend, Laura). And Redbook magazine helped me with the recipe.

Using pound cake rather than bread worked well here, giving an almost creamy texture to the pudding, but I think it would be just as good with the brioche or challah.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Rum Custard Sauce

from Redbook magazine, November 2009

1 T unsalted butter
1 lb brioche or challah loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes (I used about 1 1/2 loaves brown butter pound cake)
4 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
1 c packed light-brown sugar
1 T pumpkin-pie spice
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 c dark rum
1/4 t salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Vanilla-rum custard sauce (recipe below)

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish with butter.

Bake bread cubes in a roasting pan, tossing several times, 15-20 minutes or until bread feels dry and slightly firm (I toasted mine 30 minutes–they were almost like croutons after cooling) . Transfer cubes to a large bowl. Turn off oven.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, cream, milk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, vanilla, rum, and salt. Add bread cubes, tossing to coat. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover; chill overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place baking dish in a roasting pan and pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of dish. (I didn’t do the water bath and it turned out fine.) Bake 50-55 minutes or until a knife tests clean (Mine was not done until 65 minutes). Let cool in pan on a wire rack until warm. Dust with confectioners’ sugar; serve with vanilla-rum custard sauce.

Makes 12 servings. Each serving: 401 calories, 22 g fat, 9 g protein, 43 g carb

Vanilla-Rum Custard Sauce
6 large egg yolks
6 T sugar
1 c heavy cream
1 c milk
1 T each vanilla extract and dark rum

In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar, about 3 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, heat cream and milk over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Slowly whisk cream mixture into yolk mixture; pour back into saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until sauce coats back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes or to 170 degrees F. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and rum. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Serve warm or cold.

Makes 2 1/2 cups. Each (1 T) serving: 42 cal, 3 g fat, 1 g protein, 2 g carb

3 Comments

Posted in Bread, Sweets and tagged bread pudding, custard sauce, pumpkin, rum, vanilla. Bookmark the permalink.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Veronica

I have been baking a lot of pumpkin desserts this fall, and nearly every one calls for pumpkin pie spice. I’ve never bought pumpkin pie spice in my life because I keep all the separate spices on hand. If this is your situation as well, here’s a quick recipe for mixing a small batch of your own pumpkin pie spice blend. If you want to make a larger batch, just double/triple/quadruple the measurements accordingly.

Pumpkin Pie Spice
Makes about 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon allspice

Mix all spices and store in an air-tight container.

3 Comments

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Kielbasa & Northern White Bean Soup

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Veronica

If I sit too long at the computer desk, my right hand extended and clicking away, it gets so cold that I can make Dennis gasp by sneaking it under his shirt and tucking it under his arm (I love to do this). I’ve broken out my box of winter clothes in storage and swapped them for the summer clothes that were in my drawers. (This is a habit I inherited from my mother, which comes in handy since we have a small house and don’t have room for even my meager amount of clothes.)

Currently, I’m wearing fuzzy Frosty the Snowman pajama pants, thermal underwear, and my right hand is very cold.

Do you know what these signs indicate? Yup, it’s officially soup weather!

This one is delicious(!) & nutritious so you can’t go wrong with it. I subbed butter beans for the northern white beans but I woudln’t recommend it. Go with the northern. And check out the original blog to see how beautiful this soup can look if you have a good camera, camera skills, are a better cook, and used the right kind of beans.

I’m compelled to explain that my broth is murky b/c I only had beef broth on hand, and the beans are hiding b/c I only used 1 can. You can kind of see hints of them if you look hard enough.

Kielbasa & Northern White Bean Soup

Adapted from Cooking, Dunkin Style

Olive Oil
1 package of turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/4″ rounds
2 cans northern white beans, drained & rinsed
1 (32-oz) carton chicken broth
1/2 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
5 medium carrots, diced
2 cups shredded cabbage (optional–I just happened to have some leftover from the moo shu noodles)
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Rosemary and Thyme to taste
1/2 a bag of SpinachPlace 2 tbl olive oil in your soup pot and saute the sausage until caramelized, remove and set aside.

Place the vegetables into the pan, adding more oil if needed and saute till the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes)

Add your sausage back in, then the beans, cabbage and chicken stock.

Add the bay leaf, salt, pepper, dash of thyme and some rosemary.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the carrots are crisp-tender. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

3 Comments

Posted in Lighter Fare, Soups & Stews and tagged kielbasa, northern white bean, soup. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey-Garlic Wings

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Veronica

When I needed a recipe for wings so I could make them for Den’s potluck at work, my friend Marina pulled through for me with this one. I used a 4 lb bag of frozen wings and increased the sauce accordingly and as you can see, it still wasn’t enough to fill my [old school 1980’s] crockpot. So if you’re needing to make enough for a large crowd, I’d suggest doubling the recipe….and then making it twice. Believe me, they will go fast.

Honey Garlic Wings

2 1/2 lb. wings, trimmed and separated
1/2 c soy sauce
3 Tbsp. honey
3/4 c water
4 large garlic cloves
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger

Combine soy sauce, honey and water in a small bowl. Heat wok and add a little oil. When hot, add garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for a second or two. Add wings and stir-fry until nicely browned, adding more oil if needed. Add soy sauce mixture and turn heat down to simmer. Cover and cook 20 to 25 minutes or until wings are cooked through. Stir occasionally. Remove lid and turn heat up to high. Cook wings, stirring all the while, until sauce is reduced enough to glaze wings.

Recipe courtesy of Marina C.

Veronica’s Notes:I ended up with so much sauce in the pan that the wings basically boiled in it until done. To keep from overcooking them, I removed them with a slotted spoon and continued simmering the sauce until it was cooked down enough I could put the wings back in and glaze them. I don’t know if my chicken was extra juicy and that caused the overabundance of sauce, but just thought I’d warn you. I think I will try leaving out the water next time.

2 Comments

Posted in Snacks & Appetizers and tagged garlic, honey, wings. Bookmark the permalink.

Dulce de Leche Apple Pie

Posted on November 14, 2009 by Veronica

On average, I save about five recipes a day. Each is saved with full intention of making it ASAP, but most are forgotten by the following day when I’ve found five or twenty more recipes that I just HAVE to try right away. It’s a never-ending cycle.

This one, however, has been stuck in my head ever since I read it on Laura’s blog two months ago. It is not one I forgot, but continued thinking, imagining, and fantasizing about. So when I unexpectedly got the day off on Thursday, I immediately knew how I would spend some of my free time. Making. This. Pie.

It was worth the wait and all the anticipation. Honestly, it’s the best apple pie I’ve ever had–even better than the apple pie that has won me local acclaim and an order for 15 of them to serve as the groom’s “cake” at a wedding. Grandma Ople’s Apple Pie is killer, but this one tops it. And it’s easier to put together, so that makes it a definite winner.

Personally, I don’t taste the dulce de leche in the pie itself so I like to drizzle dulce de leche over the top to enhance the flavor.

Dulce de Leche Apple Pie
from The Cooking Photographer, with some modifications

Double crust for 9” pie (I always use this recipe)
Egg white for brushing dough (reserve the yolk in a separate dish)
5 cups peeled and sliced mixed apples (I used 2 small Jonathan, 1 large Rome and 1 Granny Smith)
¼ cup dulce de leche
2 Tablespoons apple cider
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon of butter for dotting pie
Additional dulce de leche for drizzling (optional)
9” Pyrex pie dish, not the 9 1/2″ deep dish

1. Place the oven rack on the lower 3rd of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Make sure the cornstarch is well mixed in so you don’t get cornstarch lumps in your pie.

3. In a large bowl toss together the apples with dulce de leche, apple cider, and vanilla extract. Add the dry mixture and toss to combine. Set aside.

4. Roll out one of the discs of pie dough and line a 9” Pyrex pie dish with the bottom crust, then brush with the egg white. (Keep the remaining egg white for later use.) Add the filling and spread out evenly. Dot the mixture with little bits of butter here and there.

6. Roll out the other dough disc & cover with the top crust. Cut it slightly wider than the edge of the bottom crust, then tuck the edges under before fluting.

7. Mix the egg yolk with the remaining egg white & brush over the crust. Poke a few holes in the crust for venting or cut out decorations.

8. Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the temperature to 375 degrees, cover crust edges with a pie shield*, and bake for another 30 minutes or until crust is golden on the bottom and no longer wet and raw looking.

9. Remove the pie from the oven and set on a cooling rack for several hours to set up the filling.

10. If desired, you may drizzle dulce de leche over the top of the pie shortly before serving. Don’t do it too far in advance or the dulce de leche will dry out and get hard. To drizzle it, warm the dulce de leche and either put it in a pastry bag or a ziploc bag and snip a small hole from the tip. Then just sweep the bag back and forth over the pie while you squeeze the bag.

*There is no need for a pie shield if using the recipe for crust in the link above. It doesn’t burn easily. Also, I only needed to cook my pie 45 minutes before the crust looked done, so I removed it and the apples were soft & perfect.

8 Comments

Posted in Pie and tagged apple pie, dulce de leche. Bookmark the permalink.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Veronica

Look at this photo. Just look at it.

I’m not going to tell you what it looks like to me because I don’t want to bias you against this dish any more than you already have been by looking at the ugly thing.

All I have to say is, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. The most delicious apples I’ve ever had were hand-picked in an organic orchard and were quite pathetic to look at, and sometimes a shiny red apple has a rotten core. Things aren’t always how they appear.

This casserole is one of those things. I guarantee the flavor totally makes up for the lack of eye appeal. It’s got the layered concept of a lasagna, but with ingredients more akin to creamy chicken enchiladas. Incidentally, it doesn’t taste like either of those things. It tastes like King Ranch Chicken Casserole and you’ll just have to make it to taste it for yourself and discover that beauty can be found in flavor, even if it isn’t present visually.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Adapted from Homesick Texan

Ingredients:
2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 t cumin
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t salt
10 (6”) corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 (10.5 oz) can of cream of mushroom soup (fat-free is fine)
1 (10.5 oz) can of cream of chicken soup (fat-free is fine)
1 (14.5 oz) can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. of chile powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. (My 9×13 dish fit this perfectly.)

Cook the chicken breasts in a skillet over medium heat with either water or a little oil. Sprinkle half the cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt on one side and put the other half on when you turn them. Once cooked through, shred and set aside.

Combine soups, Ro-Tel tomatoes and chile powder; blend until smooth.

Place a layer of tortillas in the casserole dish, then half the chicken, onion, bell pepper, cheese & sauce. Repeat layers with the remaining half of everything, except end with the cheese on top.