Crunch

By -
This is a homemade Toffee-Popcorn-Nut recipe that my parents made without fail for every Christmas.

Me?

Well ... Dallas is so much more humid and I run out of time and ... ok, look, I'm not going to lie, especially with Santa checking that list. It's just that I will always put the other recipes first and by the time that I am nerved to deal with molten hot sugar, Christmas is upon us and we have more cookies than we can ever eat. "Why make more sweets?" I tell myself.

Also, truth be told, the humid weather does have something to do with it as well. I want it crunchy and chewy ... not soft and sticky. That ain't easy to achieve unless the Crunch is made only a day or two before Christmas, just when the time crunch really takes hold on my schedule.

Now that I have all that avoidance out of the way, I have to say that this is the popcorn that ruined me for any other toffee popcorn experience. Seriously. Nothing else stands up to that chewy, buttery, crunchy combination.

You know, this year I actually may make it. I can't stand to think of the girls never having this delicious stuff. Yep. I'm doing it for the girls. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Crunch

Step 1:
2 quarts popped corn
1-1/3 cups pecans
2/3 cup almonds
Mix popped corn and nuts on a jelly roll sheet (cookie sheet with edges).

Step 2:
1-1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Combine in a 1½ quart pan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes or until mixture turns a light caramel color.

Step 3:
1 teaspoon vanilla
Remove caramel from heat, mix in vanilla and pour over corn and nut mix. Stir to coat well; spread out to dry. Break apart and store in tightly covered container. Makes about 2 pounds.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amaretti

By -
Image
I kicked off our Christmas cookie season by whipping up a batch of Amaretti. Absurdly simple, these are some of my favorites ... basically meringue cookies with ground almonds mixed in. They were made much easier by the fact that I found Almond Meal at the Central Market so I didn't have to grind the almonds in the food processor. I also saw Pecan Meal and Hazelnut Meal there and am now wondering how those would work in variations. I'm not usually fond of meringues but love these so they had to go into the freezer ASAP otherwise we wouldn't have had many left. This recipe came from my mother and I'm not sure what cookbook it came from. However, it is not too different from other such recipes I've seen ... except it is a great deal simpler than some. Step 1: 2 large egg whites 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon almond extract Beat egg whites until foamy, gradually beat in sugar and almond extract. Continue beating for several minutes until whites form very stiff, sh
Read more

Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes

By -
These are from Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking and they will completely revolutionize the image that springs into your head when someone says "fish cake." They are fresh, lively, and absolutely delicious. Notes: we made this with tuna canned in water and they seemed rather dry. Later I realized that tuna packed in oil is much more common and would be a better choice both for moisture and (possibly) to help hold them together better. We couldn't find the kaffir lime leaves and, behold, the dish was delicious without them! Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes 1 pound good-quality tinned tuna (we used four 6-ounce cans) 6 tinned water chestnuts, drained and finely sliced 3 green onions, trimmed and sliced 1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated 3 tablespoons chopped coriander 1 red chili, seeded and finely chopped 3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped (rehydrated for 5 minutes in boiling water if dried) 2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce 2 eggs, beaten Vegetable oil, for fryi
Read more

Curried Cream of Chicken Soup

By -
This is from The Silver Palate Cookbook. It is simple, delicious, and a touch out of the ordinary, both because of the curry flavor and the "cream" method which calls for half-and-half but is just as good with regular milk! Step 1: 6 tablespoons butter (I use 2 tablespoons) 2 cups minced onions 2 carrots, peeled and chopped Cook over low heat, covered, until tender. Step 2: 2 tablespoons curry powder 5 cups chicken stock 6 parsley sprigs 1 chicken, quartered ½ cup rice Salt and pepper to taste Add all. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer until chicken is done. Cool chicken in stock. Remove meat from bones and dice it. Step 3: 1 cup half and half (I use milk, either whole or 2%, depending on what I've got around) 10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted Remove fat from broth. Strain soup through strainer. Put solids and 1 cup stock in food processor and puree. Return to pot and add milk. Stir in reserved stock until
Read more