Homemade Twix Bars

My kids love TWIX candy!  I thought I would share this...

adapted from Sherry Yard’s, “Desserts By The Yard”


Shortbread
5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground rice (rice processed in a spice grinder until it is able to pass through a fine sieve to remove chunks)

Make the Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-X-13-inch baking pan with pan spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.
In a large bowl  cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour, ground rice and salt and allow the dough to come together. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze it.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the ….

Caramel
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (Regular corn syrup is fine)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling over the caramel layer

Make the Caramel:
Combine the sugar, golden syrup, water, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water. You can use your hand or a pastry brush. Place the pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wipe down any stray sugar crystals that appear using a very clean and wet pastry brush. Do not stir from this point on. Keep an eye on the pan. The mixture will be very bubbly.
When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden brown insert a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When it reaches 300°F, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 1minute, or until the bubbles subside. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth, then whisk in the condensed milk. Add the salt (vanilla salt is very nice here if you have it) Whisk until smooth.
Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the caramel reaches 240°F. Remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread. While the caramel is warm sprinkle the surface with the best quality salt you have. Kosher is fine, Fleur de Sel is better, Maldon would be my preferred choice.
Allow to set. This will take about 2 hours.
Once the caramel layer has cooled prepare your …

Chocolate Glaze
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Bittersweet chocolate chips also work)
2 tablespoons butter
Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly – in 30 second intervals. Stir well after each interval.
Once completely melted pour over the caramel.  Using an offset spatula, smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer.
Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.

Cut into desired shape and size.
Serve.

Coffee-Charred Chipotle Flank Steak

The Secret Ingredient - Coffee: 

Coffee-Charred Chipotle Flank Steak 

Using coffee as a secret ingredient opens up a bitter, bitter world in the kitchen. In a good way. I have found, in experimenting with coffee, that it adds a flavor component not found in other ingredients. Coffee-bitter is a dry, matte flavor that adds such complexity and uniqueness to dishes. It is a delightful contrasting bitterness.


This flank steak is rubbed with chili for heat, sugar for sweetness, coffee for bitterness, pepper for spice, and salt. Together, with the char of a hot grill, the result is a juicy sliced steak with a complex and flavorful crust.  I added 1 chipotle in adobo sauce for some kick and smokiness.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons mild chili powder
• 1 flank steak, about 1 1/2 pounds
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced 

Procedures

1. Preheat gas grill to medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine sugar, espresso, black pepper, salt, chipotle in adobo sauce and chili powder. Rub steak all over with vegetable oil. Press spice mixture onto both sides of steak.
2. Cook on first side until well seared, about 8 minutes. Flip and cook until second side is seared and center of steak registers 135°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and allow meat to rest 10 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain, and serve.

Nutella Wontons

These turned out scrumptious!

Yield: 24 pieces, about 4 to 6 servings.
24 won ton wrappers (there is a gluten free Noy Soy wrapper brand available)
Nutella
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for garnish


Heat 4 cups of vegetable oil in a pot to 350 degrees. Make an egg wash using the water and the one egg by placing in a small bowl, and mixing well. Brush egg wash along two sides of the wonton and place about 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella into the center of the wonton wrapper. Seal wonton wrapper by folding the the sides together. Place a few into the into oil, do not crowd the pan. and allow this to brown on one side, and then gently turn over, this should take about 30-45 seconds on each side. When browned remove from oil and dust with either cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

Nutella Wontons are very easy to make, you can make Nutella wontons in just a few minutes. You may want to make a Sundae and place a few of these on the side of the ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Crawfish Etoufee

 

I cooked this and it turned out wonderful.  We like spice, so I added some jalapeno in there too...I also added some red and yellow pepper too...YUMMO!

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
• 1 pound peeled crawfish tails
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of cayenne
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions

Directions

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and saute until the vegetables are wilted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the crawfish, garlic, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the crawfish for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve the flour in the water. Add the crawfish mixture. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir until the mixture thickens, about 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley and green onions and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Serve over steamed rice.

How to create a Roux

 

In honor of the upcoming Mardi Gras...I make this to start my Etoufees :)  Yummy!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups vegetable oil
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.

For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter. Remove about 1 cup of the light colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for the Delmonico's Seafood Okra Gumbo.

For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready. Remove about 13/4 cups of the medium colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for Emeril's Country File Gumbo.

For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready. Remove all of the remaining dark roux from the pan and cool completely. Set aside for the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

NOTE: The timings for various shades of roux will vary depending on the cooktop as well as the amount of roux made. (A smaller amount will cook in much less time.) If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.

Make you own Creme Fraiche

Crème fraîche is the kind of cream you could happily eat off a spoon. It is sour cream’s French cousin, but it is richer than sour cream, its texture smoother, more velvety, and more like custard. When you buy crème fraîche at an outdoor market or from a neighborhood cheese shop in Paris, it is spooned from a crock into a small container and, in the process, falls languidly off the ladle. In terms of taste, crème fraîche is tangy the way sour cream is tangy, but its tang is more subtle, more refined. And, unlike sour cream, crème fraîche can be whipped into soft peaks and cooked without risk of curdling. It is one of milk’s minor miracles and is treated as such in Paris, where it is used often in a cake or tart recipe, piped into a rosette to top a mousse, spooned into a quenelle to finish a savory soup or a portion of sweet gateau, dolloped on top of a sundae, and, yes, eaten off a spoon in the privacy of one’s own kitchen when no one is looking.

The French take their crème fraîche seriously and Parisians will have a favorite merchant at the market from whom they’ll buy their week’s supply, or they’ll look for crème d’lsigny, the one crème fraîche to be awarded AOC, or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, status. (This crème fraîche is made from the same cream as AOC butter from Isigny.) While any recipe that calls for crème fraîche can be made with regular heavy cream (crème fleurette, in France), the results are superior—at least in the sensuousness department—when the crème is thick, slightly acidic crème fraîche.

Yield: 1 cup of crème fraîche

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 tablespoon buttermilk or yogurt

Directions

Unfortunately, crème fraîche is not easily found in the United States and what is available is often very expensive. However, crème fraîche can be made simply and reasonably at home. To make , pour theheavy cream into a clean jar, add thebuttermilk or yogurt, cover the jar tightly, and shake it for about a minute. Then just leave the jar on the counter for 12 to 24 hours, or until the crème fraîche thickens slightly. How quickly it thickens will depend on the temperature of the room—the warmer the room, the quicker the thickening action. When it has thickened, chill the crème fraîche in the refrigerator for a day before you use it. Crème fraîche can be kept covered in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks and (or but, depending on your taste) will get tangier and tangier day after day.

 

As see on Oprah...Food 101 with Michael Pollan

As see on Oprah...Food 101 with Michael Pollan

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The TRUTH about food!