Inside Out Caramel Apples

A fun twist (literally) on traditional caramel apples! So delicious, and so much easier to bite into!

Ingredients 3 large Granny Smith or Pink Lady apples* 1 large lemon 2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons light corn syrup (alternatively, maple syrup) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Chocolate sauce (optional)

Directions Cut your apples in half and use a melon baller to scoop out the insides, leaving the walls intact at about 1/2 to 1/4 inch thickness. Squeeze the juice from the lemon onto the apples and allow to set. This will keep them from turning brown right away.

In a sauce pan over high heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and corn syrup. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 230F, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, stir continually until it stops bubbling. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Using a paper towel, wipe your apples down, removing the lemon juice as much as possible. If the inside of your apple is too wet, the caramel wont stick. Pour the caramel into the hollowed out apples until just below the top.

Chill in the refrigerator until the caramel has set, about 20 minutes. Cut into slices** and drizzle with chocolate sauce if desired.

Storage: These don’t do well out of the refrigerator for very long. If you must keep them at room temperature, you might consider lying them on their sides, on a piece of parchment or wax paper. They will likely separate somewhat, but still taste good!

*Note: any firm, fairly dry baking apple will do. ** Note: I sprayed my knife with cooking spray (Pam) which helped with the slicing (if you don’t have cooking spray, wipe your knife with a bit of vegetable oil). Do NOT use a hot knife.

Patty P’s French Coffee Cake

Patty P’s French Coffee Cake

When I was growing up in Connecticut I knew it was Sunday or a holiday when this cake was brought out. My husband and my friend Leslie love this cake today.

• 2 stick unsalted butter
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• 5 whole eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 package vanilla Jello or Kroger pudding
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) or 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
•  Pam

Preheat oven to 350˚. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time beating well after each addition. In a large bowl whisk together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla pudding. Add dry mixture alternately with sour cream to the wet mixture. Add vanilla and almond extract.  In a small bowl mix nuts or oatmeal, brown sugar and cinnamon. Grease a tube pan or bundt pan with Pam. Pour half the batter into a pan. Put half of the topping over the batter. Finish with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon mixture. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (depends if it is a heavy pan or if your oven temperature is about right). Stick a skewer in to test if it is done or push gently with your hand. If it springs back it is done. Let it cool in the pan for an hour or more. Take out and wrap in foil or place on serving piece.

BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

I always used to ask”what are we having for breakfast on a Friday night.”  I always new it wold be something yummy but blueberry pancakes were my favorite…….My mother would melt the unsalted land o lakes  butter and heat up the  Vermont maple syrup.  Yes, I practically licked the plate …….

• 1/2-stick butter sliced into roughly tbsp portions or cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup cinnamon
• 2 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/2 stick butter sliced into roughly tbsp portions or cooking spray

Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs and butter.  Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.  Batter should be slightly lumpy.  Carefully fold the blueberries into the batter.  Batter may be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to twelve hours.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add a portion of butter or cooking spray to pan.  Use a 1/4 cup to drop batter into pan leaving at least two inches between pancakes.  Cook on first side until small bubbles on the upper surface start to pop and edges are smooth or set, about 2-3 minutes.  Using a spatula, turn the pancakes and cook on the second side until golden brown—the second side will not take as long to cook as the first.  It may be necessary to adjust the temperature to get a nice golden brown pancake that is cooked thoroughly,

Prepare The Perfect Steak

Start out by taking your steak out of the fridge a half an hour before you plan to prepare it. Plunking ice-cold meat onto a hot pan will get you a piece of pot roast rather than a nicely seared sirloin. Generously shower the meat with salt and pepper, shower, not sprinkle being the key word here (come on, you’ve seen chefs do it on the Food Network, so don’t be a spice wimp, really lay it on). Seasoning the steak beforehand means the spices will mingle with the juices of the meat as it cooks, resulting in a much fuller and satisfying flavor, so there is a method to this apparent salt-madness.

Preheat your pan over medium heat. A heavy-gauge pan works best, as the heat will be distributed over the surface evenly, without the hotspots that might scorch your meat. Pat the steak dry with paper towels and rub it all over with olive oil. This accomplishes two things. A steak with surface moisture will simply steam when it’s placed in a hot pan and the oil helps by transferring heat directly from the pan to the meat fibers (oil being a very efficient conductor of heat)

Now here is the part where people are going to look at you funny – start by standing the steak on it’s narrow side. That’s right, you’ll probably have to hold it up with tongs, but this step renders some of the beef fat while crisping it up at the same time. Brown all the fatty sides of the steak before laying it flat. Not only will the finished steak look more appetizing, but it’s now going to cook in its own flavorful fat, a rather perfect synthesis of meat methodology if you ask me.

Now that the steak is laying flat, let it cook on one side for about five minutes before turning it. Remember, you’re using medium heat here and caramelization, not carbonization, is what you are after. Occasionally tilt the pan, spoon up some of the rendered beef fat and baste the meat. After the steak has cooked for a full five minutes on each side, flip it frequently, about every minute, until it’s done to your likeness. Constant turning keeps the juices from congregating on the surface of the meat (juices that evaporate with an agonizing hiss as they hit the pan) and results in a juicer steak.

Remove the steak to a cooling or roasting rack, and poise a plate beneath to catch any juices. Simply plating the meat would result in the bottom steaming in its juices as it cools, and some of that precious caramelization that you’ve taken so many steps to achieve would be lost. Let the steak rest a good ten minutes before serving. Be sure to include any juices you’ve captured, and if deglazing a pan is in your repertoire, don’t forget the pan sauce.

Salmon With Soy-Honey And Wasabi Sauces

  Serves 4

For Salmon

• ½ cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 4 (6 oz) pieces salmon fillet

For Sauces

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons wasabi powder
• 1 tablespoon water

Marinate salmon:

Stir together mirin, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger in a shallow dish. Add fish, skin side up. Marinate covered, at room temperature 10 minutes. Preheat broiler.

Make sauces:

Boil soy sauce, honey, and lime juice in a small saucepan, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 4 minutes.

Stir together wasabi powder and water in a small bowl. Sauces can be made 2 hours ahead and kept, covered at room temperature.

Broil fish, skin side down, on oiled rack of a broiler pan or cookie sheet until fish is just cooked through, about 6 minutes or bake at 400˚ F for 10 minutes.

Serve salmon drizzled with sauces.

Maple Bacon Herb Cheese Crescents

• 1 package pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets
• 1-16 0z (1 pound) package bacon, cooked and crumbled
• ¾ cup herb cheese
• ¼ cup real maple syrup (not the fake stuff)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs water

Preheat oven to 4oo degrees.  Mix egg with water in a small bowl.  Mix together cheese with maple syrup in small a bowl.

Lay out thawed pastry.  Roll into 16-inch square.  Cut into 8 uniform rectangles and then into 16 triangles.  Spread each triangle with a thin layer of cheese mixture.  Put about a tablespoon of bacon in the middle of each triangle.  Starting at the wide end, roll each triangle up bending the edges in.  Place seam side down on baking tray.  Brush tops with egg.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Watermelon Refresher

Happy Watermelon Day! Here's the perfect refreshing sneaky to keep you cool on a warm summer day. It also tastes great virgin so feel free to make it for underage friends as well!   Lulu's Watermelon Refresher

• 1oz Sparkling wine
• 1 oz Vodka
• 1 oz fresh juiced Watermelon
• 1 oz limeade
• 1  oz Soda water

Put all ingredients in a ball jar.  Shake,shake,shake and pour over ice cubes or a big watermelon ice cube