Martha Monday: Orange Jack O'Lanterns

Here's a cute and easy idea for a healthy Halloween treat.  Cut the top off an orange.  Scoop out the insides.  Carve a face.  Fill with sorbet.  (I used Blood Orange sorbet.  Sounds creepy.  But wouldn't green sorbet be even creepier?)  Serve.

My kids loved these little jack o'lanterns.  They scooped the frozen treat right out and then wanted to display them in the window.  They are still there waiting to attract bugs.  But how can you get rid of something so very cute?

Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn

Cracker Jack.  Move over.

Boy scout popcorn.  Get out of town.

There's a new kid in town.  Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn.

I'm addicted to the stuff.  I can't stop making it.  I can't stop eating it.

If you like caramel corn, you've got to try this.  The peanut butter is subtle.  Subtle enough to make you take another bite and another and another just to figure out what makes this caramel corn sooooooo good!

Peanut Butter Caramel Popcorn
Adapted from Cooking Light


Ingredients:
3 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup popcorn kernels
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2.  Line a roasting pan with parchment paper.  Spray paper and pan with cooking spray.
3.  Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat.  Add a few kernels of popcorn.  When the kernels start to pop add the rest of the kernels.  Cover.  Cook, shaking frequently, until popping slows to one every 3-4 seconds.  Remove from heat.  Let it cool.  Once cool separate the popped corn from the unpopped kernels so no one breaks their teeth eating your caramel corn.
4.  Combine sugar, syrup, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth.
5.  Drizzle peanut butter mixture over popcorn.  Toss well.  Spread mixture out onto prepared roasting pan.  Bake at 250 for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool completely and break up with fingers into bite-sized pieces.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Croissants!

Late again.

I'm finally getting around to posting my September Daring Baker Challenge.  And, yes, I made them late too.  Let me just tell you.  Croissants are NOT something you want to make when you are in a hurry.  I know this because I rushed through the whole process and was rewarded with small, skinny, leaden croissants.  They didn't taste too bad hot from the oven.  As soon as they cooled, though, I just wanted to throw them away.

I don't think I started out too badly.  I made the yeasted dough, let it rise twice, filled it with butter, and did multiple turns.  The problem started when I wanted to form  the croissants.  It was 10:00 at night and I just wanted to get them done.  So, when the dough started snapping back like a rubber band I started to manhandle it.  Under the hot lights and with all that rolling and growling the butter melted.  All those beautiful laminated layers of dough, butter, dough, butter became one big blob of greasy dough.  Needless to say my croissants were less than perfect.

Oh well.  On to the next challenge . . .

Martha Monday: Baked Apple Wedges

Apple season is here!  I wanted to make an apple recipe that celebrated the season but, honestly, I didn't want to make a cake or a pie.  I've been overloading with baked goods and sweets lately so I wanted to make a healthy treat out of my apples.  Therefore, for this Monday's Martha challenge I asked people to make these Baked Apple Wedges.

First of all, this is vintage Martha.  It hails from the early 90's.  Perhaps that's why it was just so-so.  The gist of the recipe is that you grind up some oats, brown sugar, spices, and almonds.  Then you dip peeled and cored apple wedges into an egg wash, roll them in the oat mixture and bake for 30 minutes.  Strangely, Martha has you scatter brown sugar on your baking sheet to prepare it for the apples.  This part seemed weird to me so I nixed it.  Instead I put parchment paper on my baking sheet.

As for the final product, they were OK.  My sons liked them but not in a gluttonous way.  I expected more crunch from the coating.  Perhaps if I'd sprayed them with cooking spray?  My apples got really tender and creamy though.  Martha has you use Macintosh apples which I've always hated because they are so soft and mealy.  But that was to their advantage as they needed little cooking time to get tender.  I served them with a scoop of Dulce de Leche Frozen Yogurt and, really, the yogurt was the star in this dessert.

So, all in all, an interesting recipe but not one I'd make again.  Sorry guys.