Halloween Treats, maybe a few Tricks also...

One of my favorite fall memories as a child was my mom making old fashioned candy apples. They were made with a tart apple (like Granny Smith, Honey Crisp or your favorite) and covered with a cinnamon flavored hard candy shell. I loved them! Making them at home now brings back warm memories of times with my mom. It's a tradition that hopefully is passed on with my own kids.

I also remember using that same candy recipe to make popcorn balls with one of my sisters. We didn't a lot together as kids, but I do remember her letting me help make candy popcorn balls. We'd flavor them and tint them the colors that went along with whatever holiday. I especially remember really buttering up my hands and making balls as fast as you could. 1. So you didn't burn your hands to bad. 2. So the candy didn't cool before you were finished.

I don't really remember who taught me how to make hard candy suckers and other treats. It could have been either of my sisters, my mom or grandma. I just know I love to make them! It's a matter of doing something different. Not many people make hard candy at home any more.

I don't recommend making this with younger children. The sugar mixture is very hot and will burn you badly. Take great care when working with it.

You will need a good heavy sauce pan. Medium size will do. When starting out do not try to double recipe. Best to work with one batch at a time till you get the hang of it. You will also need a candy thermometer. Calibrate your thermometer each time you use it. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Note temperature on thermometer when the water comes to a boil. If it is not at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, adjust recipe temperatures up or down to compensate for difference. At first it will seem to take for ever for the temperature to start rising. Watch it closely because it rises quickly once it hit 250 degrees. From there a matter of seconds can ruin your candy once it needs to be taken off the heat.

If you'd like to try any of these at home, they are all basically the same recipe:

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

3/4 cup water

1 dram of concentrated flavoring (abt 1 teaspoon)

or up to 1 tablespoon of regular extract

1+ drops of food coloring

(Powdered sugar for dusting finished suckers/candy only)

In a heavy sauce pan about medium sizes combine sugar, water and corn syrup. Stir till sugar dissolves. On medium heat bring to a boil. Once boiling do not stir. Add your candy thermometer. When temperature reaches 260 degrees Fahrenheit add coloring. Do not stir, the boiling will incorporate it. Let cook to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Take off heat immediately, remove thermometer and add flavoring. Stir. Either pour or dip depending on what your making. Let cool.

For apples:

You'll need anywhere from 6 to 10 apples per recipe depending on the size of the apple.

Wash and dry your apples. Make sure they are dry or your candy will weep. Especially around any openings. Remove stems. Insert ticks where the stem use to be. Set aside. Spray a cookie pan with non-stick spray or use a silpat liner (personally, I love my silpat liners for hard candy). Set next to where you will be dipping your apples.

When your candy mixture is done cooking, use the stick to hold the apple and dip them into the hot mixture. Gently shake off any excess (don't get it on you). Place on prepared cookie sheet to cool and set. Repeat with rest of apples.

For hard candy:

Place candy molds on a cookie sheet. Spray with not stick spray. Spray an extra for any left over candy. If you have a Silpat they work good for this also. Remember candy is really hot and will burn you and leave blisters if not careful.

Follow cooking directions as above. Pour hot candy into molds. If there is extra pour on to extra prepared sheet. As this cools I use mine to practice free form candy shapes :).

For Candy Coated Popcorn:

Pop 5 quarts of popcorn. I like to salt it for contrast in flavors. Put it in a roasting pan or spread it out on cookie sheets. Keep it warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven till ready to pour candy on it.

To the above recipe you'll also need:

2 1/2 tablespoons of butter

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tarter

1 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

Add everything except baking soda, flavoring and coloring to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Once boiling leave it alone and cook to 25o degree's Fahrenheit. Take off heat and add flavoring, coloring and baking soda stirring it in quickly but well. While it is till foamy pour onto warm pop corn stirring it gently with a sprayed spoon to coat all over.

Spread out on oiled cookies sheets to cool. Break apart when cool to eating size pieces. Or butter up hands and work quickly to make them into balls. Place on to oiled cookie sheets to cool. Wrap up in festive wrap to give away.

Funeral Potatoes...aka Potato Casserole

No, you don't have to wait for a funeral to eat these (thank goodness :). I think they got the name because of the likelihood of being found at the luncheon after a LDS funeral :). My brother loved these potatoes along with all the other funeral food. I really think that was the reason he went to funerals (just kidding). So when he past away a couple of years ago, we made sure there was all of his favorites, especial funeral potatoes.

They are actually a favorite of many of our family members. Hope you enjoy this recipe also. To make it a complete meal and not just a side, add cooked diced ham or chicken to it before heating. This is also a great food storage/pantry dish recipe. I can put this together with things I always have in my pantry. (IE. dehydrated potatoes, onions, canned meat, frozen butter and cheese, canned soup, salt and pepper, cereal.)


Funeral Potatoes (Aka potato casserole)

2 lbs. hash browns
1/2 cup melted butter
1 can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom, celery etc.)
1 pt. sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups grated cheddar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/4 cup melted butter

Grate cooked potatoes, thaw shredded hash browns or reconstitute dehydrated hash brown.

Combine butter, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chopped onion, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Mix into hash browns. Put into a 3 quart casserole dish.

Meanwhile in a medium sauté pan, on medium heat, melt butter and sauté cornflakes in it till golden brown. Sprinkle on top of casserole.

Cover casserole and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Hilda's Gordito

Growing up in Las Vegas there has always been those restaurants that as a local, you loved. Most of the ones I grew up with are no longer around. Wimpy's, Hilda's, Papa Gars, Alpine Village. They are just a few of the places that were great, but for one reason or another are now gone, along with their recipes. For years my oldest sister has been 'cloning' some of our favorite recipes from these long ago restaurants. This one is from Hilda's. Hilda retired, sold her restaurant and the new owners didn't pan out. The Gordito that Hilda made was amazing. It was a family favorite. We've never found anywhere that comes close to the same thing.

So for any of you Hilda Gordito fan's out their. This is as close to the original as you can get!


Gordito
(These used to be served by Hilda’s in North Las Vegas. I think they may have been a little hotter, so I sometimes add a bit of cayenne to the mixture.)


2 pounds lean ground beef
1 can (4 ounce) green chilies, diced
1 can (16 ounce) tomatoes, run through food processor
2 cups re-fried beans
2 cups pinto beans, cooked
1 large bottle taco sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
9 corn tortillas
1 pound Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
2 green onions, sliced
lard for softening tortillas
3 pie plates

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic, drain. Add the tomatoes, taco sauce, re-fried beans, pinto beans, and green chilies. Mix and let simmer 15 minutes. Put enough of the meat mixture in the bottom of a pie plate to keep tortilla from sticking while baking. Cook tortillas in lard a little more than just softening, drain on paper towels. Place on top of meat mixture in pie plate and add more meat mixture to top of tortilla to cover. Add some shredded cheese to cover. Continue to layer ending with meat and cheese on top. Do this with all three pie plates. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Top with sliced green onions.

Dry Ice Rootbeer

One of my favorite memories as a kid was when my Uncle Vern would make Dry-Ice Root beer. It was usually at family reunions, work picnics, or church ones. I just remember loving the taste of the root beer and the cool foggy smoke that came out of the container.

My mom would also use dry ice for drinks at Halloween to make them look spooky! It was sooooo cool as a kid. My own kids love when I make it. Their is just something about dry-ice root beer that makes it special and taste yummy. Maybe it's just because it's a special treat or that something else. Who knows. I wanted to share it with you, in case you wanted to make it for your little witches and goblins this Halloween.




4 pounds of sugar (you could probably use Splenda for a sugar free version)
4 gallons of water
1 bottle (2 fl oz) of Root beer Concentrate (McCormick makes it that I know of)
4 pounds of dry ice (I know several grocery stores in our area carry it)

In a large Gott cooler (at least a 6 gallon 10 preferable) add sugar, water and the bottle of Root beer Concentrate (this is not the same as Root beer extract, the concentrate is for making root beer). Mix together well.

Add the dry ice. DO NOT touch the dry ice with your bare hands or any other skin parts. It will burn you! Cover the cooler with the lid by just setting it on top. DO NOT cap the cooler or screw the top on. It will explode (Boy Scouts, dry-ice bombs, you get the picture...another story). You should see the foggy smoke creeping out of the top. Let it set for at least an hour.

Serve and enjoy! Pour it right out of the Gott cooler spigot into cups.


Nummie!

Why you don't leave a cake unattended

You know that cake I was practicing on a couple of days ago? The one on the day when nothing was going right? Well it seems that it was not destined to be completed. I decided to finish it up today. I covered it with fondant and was preparing to do the rest when I had to go in the other room for just a minute. While I was gone the cutest little two year old...



decided she was going to help me finish the cake on
her own by "squishing it..."






It is probably a good thing it was only a practice
cake. I was doing it just for fun to try out a
couple of techniques. While I was working
at the island in the kitchen with more fondant
she had her chair up their also and was working
on her own fondant. I guess this is her budding
caker coming out ;)

Ugh I'm going to bed and starting again tomorrow!

Have you ever had one of those days, when NOTHING you do or make turns out right?
That was my day. Everything took twice as long to accomplish. Then I'd realize I forgot something. So, I'd have to do it again or back track to get something I forgot.

I decided to make a chicken/potato bowl for dinner. My batter slides off my chicken and cooks on its own. My gravy turned out just plain weird. My potatoes where on the dry side and the veggies tasted off. It was edible, but not my best meal ever. I hate when that happens. DH didn't even complain... I think he could tell I had one of those days!

Then I went to ice a cake. The filling which should have been all snuggled in the cake came oozing out! After a while I was just like "I'm done". Maybe tomorrow will be a better kitchen day :P.

Happy Birthday Laura!

One of my daughters best friends since elementary
school likes to help me in the kitchen. She likes to
make cakes and candy with me. So while her mom
was out of town this weekend, she wanted to make
her a birthday cake. She decided on the colors and
polka-dot design. We had a lot of fun doing this cake
together.

The Cake is Lemon with a lemon curd filling. It was glazed
with the lemon curd-lemon butter-cream frosting. We
then covered it with a Satin Ice -vanilla fondant with an
little lemon added to it.

Cookies and Bars

Cookies and Bars that are supper Nummie!

Candy, Candy, Candy

I'm really bad about remembering to take pictures of my candy. Here are a few of the ones I made and actually remembered :)!

Cakes, Cakes, Cakes!

A few of my cakes I remembered to take pictures of...

In the beginning there was sugar...

I love playing in the kitchen. I love to bake, create and cook in general. In my quest for the perfect recipe, the perfect treat, the perfect technique, I've come across some good and not-so-good places to look. I decided to make this blog to share what I've learned. To give others what they may be looking for or a resources they didn't know about. Also a place show some the work I've done so far (and remembered to take pictures).

I'm by far not professional. I'm always learning and trying to become better. I enjoy what I do. If you have questions, or comments, please leave them. If you have a great recipe you'd like to share please do. I'll post them.

My quest is to help others along their own paths and further mine. Hope you enjoy what I post and show.