Caramels

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cool Time: several hours
Dipping Time: 15 minutes per 20 candies

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: CI Bulletin Board (Pennie)

This recipe was discussed quite a bit on the CI bulletin boards, so I tried it shortly after Christmas. However, my thermometer went goofy and now stops working when it gets higher than 200 degrees, so I had to guess when they were done. I guessed wrong and took them off too early. These caramels were extremly soft (but still delicious.) My nephews enjoyed eating them with a spoon while they were cooling. After cooled, they were still spreading out.

So, I put in the refridge and cut with a knife after they were more solid. They seemed to start to seep back together, so I put in the freezer. After frozen, I cut on original cut lines and separated, then refroze. These were still delicious when eaten out of the freezer - you just needed to let it warm up in your mouth and they were perfect.

However, I came up with a better idea, and that was to dip in melted chocolate, to contain the droopy caramels, and it worked great! I stuck a toothpick in the frozen caramel, dipped it in chocolate, swirled around to cover, used a 2nd toothpick to get rid of any excess and used it to push candy off of 1st toothpick, then swirled chocolate quickly into the tiny hole. Because the caramels were frozen, the chocolate cooled quickly and was not droopy.

I even tried sprinkling a few with sea salt, and this was especially delicious, but it was slowing me down, so I didn't keep up with that. I will do that in the future though. These are really pretty and very delicious. The process is a little time consuming, but fun, so I think I will do this for something other than cookies next Christmas.


CARAMELS

5 pounds


1 lb. butter
2 lbs. brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 oz. Light Karo syrup
2 (15-oz.) cans Eagle Brand Sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract

Melt butter in a heavy 6-quart pan. Add brown sugar and salt. Stir in corn syrup, mixing well. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly. Cook over a medium heat until it reaches the firm ball stage (245 degrees). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 11” x 18” jellyroll pan. Cool, cut, and wrap in wax paper squares.

CHECK YOUR THERMOMETER before you start to make the caramels, by placing it in boiling water for a few minutes. It should register at 212 degrees, if it doesn’t then add or subtract accordingly.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 90 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: ?

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2005)

Recipe Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

These taste very good and the sauce was quite tasty with the gingersnaps added. But they are a lot of work, so I'm not sure that I would make them again, since it is kind of a simple meal. However, it does make quite a lot, so I have a lot of frozen leftovers, which may mean I do this recipe again sometime in the future.

If I do, I think I will try mixing the crumbled gingersnaps in with the sauce at the beginning. I found they clumped a bit on the top and it was too hard to redistribute without messing up the rolls.

Gougères

Prep Time: 27 minutes
Cook Time: 27-30 minutes
Cool Time: 10 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (December 2006)

These are good, but I feel like they need something else to be an appetizer. Next time, I would probably make smaller and then cut open and fill with something good. The nice thing is that they can be made ahead and frozen.

Pan Pizza

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Rise Time: 30 minutes
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2006)

This was the best pan pizza I have ever made for sure. It is similar to Pizza Hut, but less greasy. Actually, the recipe calls for 3 T of olive oil on the bottom of each pan, but I use 1.5 to 2, which I think is a perfect amount, for a tasty crispy crust, but not greasy.

This recipe makes 2 9" pizzas, which is nice for making two different kinds. I cheat and use Trader Joe's Pizza sauce, which I think it pretty good. I prep the other ingredients during the 2nd rise, which lasts 20 minutes. The entire pizza is done in 90 minutes, which is kind of amazing actually.

No Knead Bread 2.0

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Rise Time: 8-18 hours
Form Time: 5 minutes
2nd Rise: 2 hours
Bake Time: 45-50minutes

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2008)
Recipe:  Almost No-Knead Bread (Season 9)

This is an amazing recipe. It is some of the most delicious bread I have ever had, and I made it myself, with less than 10 minutes of effort! I will definitely be making this frequently in the future. It reminds me of my favorite Ciabatta bread from Trader Joe's, with a delicious crust, airy interior and a flavorful taste (but not sour, like sourdough, which is not my favorite.)

I never tried the original from the New York Times, and now I probably won't since I love this one so much. I didn't weigh my dough, and it was too sticky, but it didn't matter, because the dough filled the Dutch oven and didn't spread out too much.

Maple Sausage and Waffle Casserole

Prep Time: 27 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour to overnight
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rest Time: 5 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2005)

I love breakfast casseroles and this is no exception. (Although I did make this for dinner.) I will definitely think about making this next time Christmas morning is at my house, because it was easy to prepare and can be prepared the day before. I wasn't sure if I would love it, because of the maple flavorings, which I thought might make it too sweet, but it was very good. Using waffles is a little bit different, but worked well.

The prep time involved lots of waiting, so really this is pretty easy, just not quick. I used sausage links, and cooked them whole, and cut them later, so I wouldn't have to deal with cutting or breaking up the raw meat which can be a pain.

Short Order Home Fries

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2006)

This is a strange Christmas dish, but my family celebrated Christmas for the most part on Christmas Eve, and I had most of the day to myself, so I tried this recipe. It was good, but I probably should have let the potatoes brown a bit more. If I have extra Yukon Gold potatoes again in the future, I would make this, but probably wouldn't buy them for this recipe, unless I was making them for someone.

Spice Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 32-35 minutes
Cool Time: 2 hours
Frosting: 10 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2008)
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show (Season 9)

I really liked this, but I'm not sure if it was a hit with the rest of my family. I didn't get any positive comments. It is very flavorful, but I might have over baked it just a tiny bit.

I love the frosting on this, and it is similar to the Carrot Cake frosting but uses some of the spices from the cake instead of sour cream. It does take a little bit longer to make because of browning some butter and blooming the spices in it, but I think that bit of extra effort is worth it.

Chocolate Toffee Butter Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 90 minutes
Bake Time: 12-14 minutes
Decorating: 15-30 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2007)

I used dark brown sugar instead of light, and it made these cookies much darker, so they look quite different than the original. These are good, but I'm not sure how much I will make them, because they take a little bit more effort and don't necessarily taste better than cookies that take less effort. But they are a little different, so maybe.

Roasted Maple-Mustard Green Beans

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (November 2005)

These are delicious and easy. A good way to prepare supermarket green beans.

Sausage and Kale Soup

Prep Time: 23 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes (plus some during prep time)

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2004)

This is pretty easy. Much of the flavor comes from the broth and sausage. I never tried kale before Everyday Foods introduced it to me in some easy recipes like this. It is a good healthy ingredient, so I like this recipe.

Toffee (Marilyn's English Toffee)

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cool Time: 6-8 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Bulletin Board

I'm going to copy the recipe to here because I don't trust the CI bulletin board, and I don't want to lose this recipe. It is good!

My thermometer went crazy and stopped working so I had to eyeball it which was very scary, since I've never made candy before, let alone this recipe. Well, it worked OK, although I think I maybe should have let it get darker. I skipped the nuts on top but did put almonds in the middle.

I made a half recipe (which was good, since I ate the entire thing myself over less than a week). So, I'm not sure if my thicknesses were correct. But it all turned out OK.


MARILYN'S ENGLISH TOFFEE
English Toffee

1 lb unsalted butter
½ tea. table salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 tbsp. water
1 cup slivered almonds (do not use sliced almonds)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (chips are fine)
1½ -2 cups lightly toasted pecans (or walnuts), finely chopped

Melt ¾ of chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. When melted, stir in remaining chocolate and set aside. Line a large jelly roll or half-sheet pan with heavy-duty foil and butter the foil.

Melt the butter with the salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the water about halfway through this process.

After all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. Place a drop of mixture on wax paper; allow it to cool and rub it between your fingers to make sure it doesn’t feel grainy. If it does, continue to cook and test again. The mixture will probably be boiling at this point.

When sugar is dissolved, add the almonds, and increase the heat to medium high. Cook to the hard-crack stage, or about 310-320 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring often to keep the candy from burning on the bottom. When it’s done, it should be a medium-dark amber color and have a caramel aroma. The almonds should have a toasted color but they should not burn. This is the tricky part, as there’s a thin line between perfect and overdone, and to some extent it’s a matter of taste.

Remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. Be careful, this stuff is hot! Set the pan on a cooling rack. After 2-3 minutes, when toffee is just set, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, and press them in gently with a spatula or bottom of a glass to anchor them in the chocolate.

Allow the toffee to harden at least 6-8 hours—overnight is better. Break into pieces using a sharp pointed knife with a rigid blade, or you can use your hands. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Makes about 3 pounds.

Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours

Grade: B

Make Again: probably not

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2006)

This tasted good, but even with only making 2/3 of this recipe, my slow cooker (medium sized) was almost overflowing. I didn't really get a boil going, and I think it was because of being so full. I didn't LOVE the flavor, just liked it, and I think it was because of the wine I used - a cheaper Sauvignon Blanc. I think next time I'll try the Cook's Illustrated stovetop version.

Dirty Rice

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (October 2005)

This was good and since I have some other recipes that only call for 8 oz of ground pork (like this does) I will probably use this to use up the rest of the pork. I skipped the chicken livers, and don't think I missed them!

Huevos Rancheros

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2006)

I really liked the salsa and the eggs cooked in salsa, but the tortillas didn't do it for me, because they kind of got soggy and were hard to eat. I'd rather put everything in a rolled up tortilla. I will probably make the roasted tomatato salsa again though.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Christmas Baking

These are good, but I think I should give up the idea of making a coffee cake muffin and just make a regular coffee cake, which is easier to me. I hate putting that struedel on the top, it gets so messy. These ended up looking pale and not that pretty, so I probably would not make again.

Skillet Tuna Casserole

Total Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2005)

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

This was very tasty, but I am reluctant to use this recipe a lot just because it uses a lot of heavy cream (why it was so tasty, of course!) It was good and very easy. I replaced the mushrooms with some roasted red peppers, and that is a great sub. But I will use regular peppers instead of roasted, because the charred bits were unappetizing.