Homemade Caramel Sauce and Caramel Macchiato

My sister Joyce had made a unquestionably delectable homemade caramel sauce for our family gathering on Father's Day this year. It brought back memories of when I used to make a homemade caramel sauce way back in the 80's (right before the Fat Free era), but for the life of me I could not find my recipe. I had stopped making it long ago because I would end up eating it all myself or having to throw it all away. My two oldest children Daniel and Caitlyn were not much in to caramel at the time and the aforementioned unfortunate Fat Free craze more than likely drove me to its disposal all together.

The big hit with my family and friends was my caramel corn. My recipe while not terribly difficult was time consuming and most folks just wanted to buy it already made, or nuke in the microwave for a quick and simple version. I was fortunate enough to be granted this recipe in the early 80's while working as a preschool teacher. Our cook, Pat would make her caramel corn for us on special occasions and I adored it. It was so gooey in some places yet crunchy in others, and lets not forget that dreamy caramel flavor that was to die for. Sweet and buttery, one of my favorite flavor combinations. So I surreptitiously acquired the recipe from Pat. After a number of years it became my annual Christmas gift to my family and friends. I would actually get requests for the caramel corn throughout the year as well. Then about three years ago my hot air popper died and along with it my ambition to make carmel corn. Well, at least for the time being. We finally bought a new popcorn popper. Although my husband still contends that the old one, the one he has had since college (his glory years!!) still works fine. In my books anything that dies while you are in the middle of using it, is trash!! I need efficient appliances as my time is very limited; more so my patience!

Today I decided to trust my reliable resource, the internet for caramel sauce recipes to see if it enlightened me to my recipe of old. Haven't quite found it yet, but the family is loving the quest. The wonderful thing about homemade caramel sauce that most folks do not know is that it is relatively inexpensive to make, you can make it with simple ingredients that you may already have in your cupboard and fridge, and the taste is absolutely incredible. The first recipe is from the Food Network. This one was the first I tried and it was heavenly and only took about 15 minutes from start to finish. I got the second recipe off of "Simply Recipes". Many of the recipes that I found on my quest for the "BEST" caramel sauce required a ton of ingredients like cornstarch, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to name a few. What I found was that the fewer ingredients, obviously the easier, less expensive to make and they actually tasted better. Much more clean, rich, smooth and full flavored.

Many times I do not have a recipe at hand, or I don't own the particular cookbook I need for a recipe so I will use my internet resources. While I love my internet resources I don't rely on them completely. I glean my recipes from food shows, magazines; just about anywhere I see one that catches my eye, gives me a hunger pang, and sparks my passion for cooking.

Method 1:
Carmel Sauce Ice Cream Topping
Ingredients:
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Put the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan over low heat.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar turns a medium golden brown color, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Carefully and slowly add the cream and the vanilla.
Simmer until the caramel dissolves and mixes with the cream.
The sauce will be smooth and slightly thickened.

Serve warm or cool.
Add a little more cream before serving if it's too thick.
These satisfying recipes not only taste great, but are less expensive per serving. In addition most require only ingredients readily availabe at home, so you can have the toppings of your choice any time you need them.

Method 2:
Caramel Sauce Recipe

(Our family personal favorite!!)
1 cup of sugar
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.
Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.
As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.
Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big. (Check here for an explanation of why adding the cream makes the mixture bubble up so much.)
Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.

Makes a little over one cup of sauce. I store some in squirt bottles that I purchased at Smart and Final, for easy of pouring onto sundaes and into drinks. Bottle can be heated in a bath of hot water to loosen up the caramel a bit.

On this quest for the BEST caramel sauce you may think my family has gone caramel crazy. I would tend to agree. They can't think of enough ways to use the caramel sauce!! We have tried the old standard as a topping on an ice cream sundae, as a dip for apples (It is 1000 times better than the dipping sauce from McDonald's and much cheaper)and just dripping it into their mouths because it is that scrumptious! In the process we found some wonderful new recipes and are perfecting others. All in all, we have found a way to make something so simple and DE-lish so inexpensively. Moat recently our new favorite is our own concoction of frozen Caramel Macchiato's. We had three frozen caramel macchiato's for a fraction of the cost of one at Starbucks. FYI, macchiato means espresso topped with steamed milk in Italian.

Caramel Macchiato Recipe
From Recipezaar
If you've got an espresso/cappuccino machine you're well on your way to recreating a top-choice Starbucks coffee drink. For the caramel part, you can use any caramel sauce that you find in the grocery store near the ice cream toppings (or follow my recipes up above for some reall delicious and inexpensive caramel sauce). Pick your favorite. Just note that to make this recipe work best you'll only need 3 tablespoons of a richer caramel sauce (like the stuff Starbucks uses). For the vanilla syrup you can use the bottled syrups, such as those made by Torani, or just whip up a your own from scratch. By the way, if you want to find out just how expensive this drink can be you can pick up bottles of the authentic vanilla syrup and caramel sauce sold in Starbucks stores.

For 16 oz.
vanilla syrup
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
coffee
• 1/2 cup fresh espresso (preferably Italian roast)
• 8 ounces milk, steamed with foam
• 3-4 tablespoons caramel sauce
You can use vanilla syrup from a bottle (such as Torani) for the drink or make your own vanilla syrup. Making it yourself yields a ton, is quite simple, and is again much more budget friendly. And the uses for vanilla syrup are endless.

Vanilla Syrup Recipe:
Simply combine 2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then add 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Remove from heat and cool.
Store in a squirt bottle. (I purchased mine at Smart and Final in a package of six bottles for under $10.00).
To make your coffee drink, add two tablespoon of vanilla syrup to a 16-ounce glass.
Add 1/2 cup fresh brewed espresso followed by 8 ounces of steamed milk.
Add 3 to 4 tablespoons caramel sauce to the drink.
Stir before drinking.

Now if you would like this drink frozen you just have to wait for your coffee to cool, add ice, and the rest of the ingredients to a blender. Pour into tall glasses and top with a dollop of whipped cream and pour a little caramel sauce over the top for visual appeal. It is another ambrosial concoction.

Yet to be tried is dipping marshmallows into the caramel sauce. You know the ones I am talking about on the mall that cost about $3.00 each? Or how about the waxed paper wrapped ones at See's Candy? As my mind rambles on, I am hoping that you can see that the possibilities are limitless. Let your creativity take over and enjoy the exploration. Let me know what creations you come up with.

Chilies Relleno ~ Estilo puertorriqueño ~ Stuffed Chilies ~ Puerto Rican Style

When I was growing up my mother would always cook her special Puerto Rican dishes and in addition she would also try her hand at various cultural treats like roast turkey (American), lasagna and spaghetti (Italian), stir fry (Chinese), tacos (Mexican), etc. Although someone may have given her a recipe, my mom had her own style of cooking, and she would incorporate that into all of her dishes. Hence our change in titles of our recipes became Puerto Rican lasagna, Puerto Rican tacos, and so on. But in actuality there was no such thing as a Puerto Rican lasagna, or a Puerto Rican taco. As far as I know, they never existed in Puerto Rico, just in our kitchen in California.

My mother, who I considered to be a culinary genius, told us that she did not even know how to boil and egg when she married my father at the age of 19. When I heard this I was totally shocked, as I had thought that my mother came out of the womb with her cuchara (spoon), and her olla (pot) lista para cocinar (ready to cook). Of course my dad will always tell you that he was the one that taught our mom how to cook; although he does not really know how to cook himself. But he says he would guide her with his finely tuned taste buds. "It needs a little bit more pepper, or too much salt," he would say to her. My mother was not always so receptive to my father's criticism.
Mom also let me in on a little secret that in the olds days it was a whole lot of trial and error. My mom said that at first she would burn the rice and just break down and cry. The only true lessons my mom received in cooking were from her aunts in New York. Mom lived with them for a time and became their little understudy. Who would have guessed?! Not I, that's for darn sure. My mother was an only child and both of her parents owned and ran a grocery store. As she was the only child, she was treated like a princess and not allowed to cook, or clean, etc. My Abuela (grandmother) would dress my mother up like a doll and was not allowed to get dirty in any way. While my mother grew up she said that had a lady in the neighborhood that would cook food for them and bring it to them when they arrived from work. either that or one of my mother's aunts would come and cook for them.

So long story short, I am not even sure that they have chilles relleno in Puerto Rico, but my mother used to make them for us and they were mouth watering and absolutely delectable. These are not hot chiles, they are sweet chiles that I am able to purchase at the Sunday Farmers Market under the freeway; Summertime only of course. They are unlike most chile rellenos not breaded or dipped in egg. So as I am making these today my daughter, Autumn, who loves to cook, says she is dying because the smell is so tantalizing. It was 3:30 p.m. and she couldn't wait for dinner. "Let's eat now!", she said. All I can tell you is that it smells like my mom's kitchen, and that, always brings me back home. It is a safe and comforting feeling.
Chiles Relleno ~
Estilo puertorriqueño ~
Stuffed Chiles ~ Puerto Rican Style
8 Pasilla Chiles (Long Green Chilies or Bell Peppers)
Picadillo (See recipe)
Mozzarella Cheese

Picadillo

Picadillo Recipe (Puerto Rican Style Ground Meat)
1 lb. ground pork (ground turkey or ground chicken will work too)
1 onion, diced
½ head of garlic, finely chopped
½ diced bell pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
!/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
green olives stuffed with pimentos
1 tsp. capers
1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper with olive oil in a large skillet. Add the ground meat and brown.. Add oregano, cilantro, olives and capers. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer then cover and cook for 15 minutes or so over low heat.

Make a slit with the tip of a paring knife in the pepper at the cap. Remove the seeds. Roast the chiles in a 450 degree until they are blackened on the outside. (This step is well worth your effort. It will make your house smell sumptuous Once roasted place the chiles in a ziplock bag and seal. Allow the chiles to steam and cool. Once they are cool the skin with be much easier to peel off. Once cooled fill with Picadillo mixture and grated mozzarella cheese. Line in a greased 9 x 13 pan or larger. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the top and place in a 400 degree oven until the top is golden brown. About 20 to 30 minutes.

Camp Celiac 2009

So after returning from our three week cross country trip from California to upstate New York and back we had a little over a week and then we were off to Camp Celiac at Camp Arroyo http://www.celiaccamp.com/ in Livermore, California. Camp Arroyo is part of The Taylor Family Foundation http://www.ttff.org/. Elaine Taylor who is the founder of this foundation is also a Celiac and understand the hardships that children with this disease face, created a week of Celiac camp. Camp Arroyo allows children with various disabilities to come for a week of camp for only a nominal $25.00 registration fee. As the camp runs solely on donations my husband and I volunteer as much as we can. It is not all work, it is so much fun!!

This camp while having tons of amenities of a REAL camp experience is based more on the food. Gluten-free food that is! Elaine Taylor hunts high and low to ensure that only the best gluten-free foods are prepared and served at Camp Celiac. Everything from French toast, waffles, pancakes, bagels, all of the bread you can eat, home made pizza, Pad Thai, ravioli's, chicken strips, lasagna, Caesar salad, a salad bar and sandwich bar at every lunch and dinner, chocolate souffles, cupcakes, ice cream on ice cream cones, brownies, birthday cake, cherry and apple pie to just name a few, were some of the delectable fare served at camp.

The most amazing attribute of this Celiac Camp is that not only the children that participate have Celiac but the ALL of the counselors, and parent volunteers as well. You can't even imagine what a great experience this is for all involved. The children all become instant friends and they all look out for each other. There is no other place in the world where all of these children feel so much acceptance, and empathy.

This year at camp I was able to do a gluten-free cooking class for mostly the junior counselors, some campers, and parent volunteers. While the class was not one of my usual classes (because the attendants were primarily 19 years old and under and I did not actually have a kitchen) it was quite enjoyable. I served them three different kinds of cake: Black Forest, Carrot Chocolate Chunk, and Orange Pound Cake. I shared recipes and my philosophy on cooking and baking gluten-free.

Although everyone was exhausted, no one really wanted camp to end (except for Elaine's kitchen staff who were cooking and baking non-stop!). We ended our week with an awesome gluten-free vendor fair. We had over 16 gluten-free vendors. It was a taste treat for all of the senses!! We again had more food to sample and take home with us.

Click on this link to see photos and videos from camp: http://campceliacshutterfly.com/ .

CRAZY, CRAZY SUMMER!!!

Oh my gosh, it seems like forever since I have written anything in this blog! all I can say is that it has been a crazy, crazy summer (In a good way)!! Before summer even started we were busy with end of the school year things for both my husband, Michael and my daughter Autumn. Michael is a teacher and always has so many activities at the end of the school year. This was my Autumn's last year in elementary school. 6th grade, wow, time sure flies by. There were end of the school year parties, field trips, and a big graduation.

After Michael and Autumn finished school/work we head out on a cross country trek from California to upstate New York to visit our son Daniel, his wife Sarah and our grandson DJ. Daniel is stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York. He will be deploying for Iraq on October 1st, 2009. His first time since being in the Army. Along the way we stopped at many beautiful places. We stayed nine days visiting with our son and his family and seeing some of the many beautiful sights in upstate New York. Then we headed back to California, again making many more stops along the way.
Please check out our photo album, just click on the link: http://ourcrosscountrytrip2009.shutterfly.com/

But let me tell you first and foremost I would like to discuss the extremely high anxiety I had because my daughter and I are both Celiacs. Travel for Celiacs, even just short jaunts in your own hometown have to be planned out to the letter. We need to pack tons of food, and know where every restaurant (fast food, casual dining and fine dining) are located. Not to mention where every great bathroom is as well. So how do you do that in unfamiliar territory? The more I thought about the many states we would be driving through the more the fear and panic would take over. So I told myself, you can totally immobilize yourself, or you can be proactive. I decided go with the latter. I began researching each state that we would be driving through and expanded my search to all of the cities that we would be passing through to locate gluten-free restaurants and grocery stores that carried gluten-free items. Luckily for me I happened upon a great website called "The Gluten Free Registry". At their website you can click on the state and then it gives you a list of all of the cities that are registered with them. These registries are based on chefs, restaurants, grocery stores, health food stores and consumers who have written in with their sources of great gluten-free food. Again, not all restaurants have been completely examined, so be advised. We were 95% successful with their recommendations. I also contacted several of the local chapters of the Celiac Sprue Association and Celiac Disease Foundation for guidance on this same matter. It was well worth the effort. I had accumulated data for each state and printed a version for us to take on our trip. We were pleasantly surprised in most states as to the variety that we found and in some states we drove very quickly so we could avoid having to eat all together. All in all, we were very successful and we had a fantastic time. Albeit some of our days were too long (drive wise), but a lesson learned for my husband for next time. Yes, I am daring to say next time because it was absolutely incredible to see how beautiful and diverse our country truly is. I am ever proud to be an American!! It feel that is so easy to become complacent with our minute surroundings and never really grasp the wondrous world that we live in. So I say venture out, see the world if you dare! But don't let being Celiac hold you back. I will update with highlights from various states in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!!

Needless to say, I am so glad to be back home and in my own bed. Not to mention, having our own delicious home cooked food and the diversity of fresh produce that we have here in California.