The Key to Brittles...

Remember that Homeycomb Brittle from the November Martha Stewart Living that I made a few weeks ago? Remember how I said it needed something extra? I've got the answer. A second batch of this stuff came out totally different and much more delicious. Something I'd think of making a holiday staple. The only problem is that I got impatient and chilled the chocolate covered bits in the fridge - a big no-no when it comes to milk chocolate. It makes it spotty. It doesn't taste any different but it doesn't look as nice for gift giving.

Let's go ahead and jump to the nitty gritty.

To make brittles, you need a candy thermometer. You can buy a nice one for $10 at Bed Bath & Beyond, or you can get a cheap one at the dollar store. I just upgraded from the dollar store one to the nice one. Why, you ask? The grip on the cheap one wasn't holding onto the side of the pan, and the thermometer bottom is not supposed to touch the bottom of the pan or it gives a false reading and your candies won't come out right. The nice one has a built in "cage" that prevents the thermometer from touching the bottom.

Another key thing about making brittles is patience. This honeycomb brittle is about the reverse from my family's famous peanut brittle - honeycomb brittle has a short cook time and a long dry time, and our peanut brittle has a long cook time and a short dry time. But the reason patience is key is not because you have to wait for it to dry/set/harden, though that is difficult. The reason patience is so important is because you CAN NOT leave it alone for even one minute unattended or it could ruin the whole batch. I'm quite serious.

My first batch of honeycomb brittle was good - a scorched honey taste - burned sugar flavor. But it wasn't great. The second batch I thought I'd play around with. I re-read Martha's directions and then made a few adjustments, and I think I did the right thing.

In the first batch I made, being used to cooking peanut brittle, I was constantly stirring to get it to 300°F. I think that's what gave it the scorched flavor. You see, the more you stir, the more surface area hits the boiling sugar and cools the mixture. When I didn't stir (as per Martha's directions) the mixture hit 300°F in almost record time and the brittle has a really rounded, deliciously mellow flavor.

I also decided that the brittle really needed to be covered in chocolate, and boy was that a good decision!!!! SO good it hurts.

This brittle will have people falling on their knees asking for more! Your kitchen will be acclaimed and people will want your home-made gifts of deliciousness every year. Best part about this stuff - it's wicked cheap to make! So let's get to makin'!

Chocolate Covered Honeycomb Brittle

• 1 bag godiva MILK chocolate (Do not skimp on this, Godiva chocolates are perfect for baking and chocolate-coating. You absolutely don't want to get semi-sweet.)
• 1 1/2 C. white sugar
• 1/4 C. honey (I used the crystalized solidified honey that was in my pantry - Just melted it down a bit in the microwave until it came out of the bear. Perfect way to use up old honey!)
• 1/4 C. water
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1/4 Tsp. vanilla
• Wax paper
  

1. In a small dish, portion out baking soda and vanilla together. Put a silicon spatula next to the dish.
   
2. Find your largest baking sheet that has sides, and grease it thickly with butter. If you don't have butter (what????) use non-stick spray. The butter gives a better flavor, but it won't be the end of the world if you use spray.
   
3. Bring the sugar, honey and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly.
4. Put in the thermometer and turn down the heat to medium-high. It will likely get foamy and then become clear as it boils.
5. Cook, WITHOUT STIRRING, until the candy thermometer reads 300.
6. Remove from heat, and quickly stir in the baking soda and vanilla with the spatula, mixing until the mixture takes on a golden hue and foams up and you can't see bits of baking soda in the mixture.
7. Pour quickly onto a baking sheet and let it sit. Do not spread.
   
8. Let it cool for 45 minutes. Then break it apart into bite-sized pieces. Don't use your finger tips, but grip the pieces firmly in your hands and break with the heels of your palms for a cleaner break in the places that you want.
9. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt 1/2 a bag of the chocolate pieces on 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until melted.
   
10. Lay out wax paper.
    
11. Dip the honeycomb brittle in the chocolate mixture and lay out on the wax paper.
12. Patiently wait for it to dry and do not put it in the fridge.
13. Devour and make a second batch for gift-giving.
    

Note for storage: Store brittle in layers between wax paper in tins. Tupperwares do not work as well as tins and bad plastics can imbue smells and tastes into your food. If the gift isn't going to be given for a few days, place a sheet of wax or parchment paper over the tin and then seal the lid on top of it, and trim around it. You do not want to store brittles in with any other cookies or baked goods, because they will suck the moisture out of the other foods and become soft and gummy. Plastic baggies are OK for brittles that will be consumed in 1-2 days.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us....

Today I spent most of my day in the kitchen - cleaning and cooking. Mostly cleaning though. Now I'm pretty pooped and relatively determined that the first thing on my list to Santa this year will be a dish washer. You see, we don't have a dish washer. Well... we have one... it's from 1960 and doesn't work, though. We also don't have a garbage disposal. That's right, folks, we wash all of our dishes by hand and we can't throw whatever we want into the sink! So cooking is not just a matter of making dishes, but also one of CLEANING dishes. You have to think "how many times can I use this fork to mix this or that" while you bake. Or wonder whether the spatula REALLY needs to be thoroughly washed or if you can just give it a nice rinse with hot water. Because every dish you make you know you have to wash. It's quite tedious, really.

Usually Aj lets me off the hook - I clean, and he does dishes. But he didn't want to do the dishes last night and like a ninny I said it was OK. There were a lot of dishes!!! After about 3 hours of cleaning and cooking my back was tense and I was ready to sit down. But of course anything I didn't prep today would just mean I'd be waking up even earlier tomorrow. So cooking it was! Funny thing is, by the time I made it to dinner all I had energy for was heating up a can of Spaghettios... but I digress.

This blog is about recipes, right?! There's one dish I make every year. In my eyes, it's not Thanksgiving without Sweet Potato Casserole. Now a lot of people do crazy caramel pecan brown sugar streusel shenanigans, but for me it's the marshmallow topping! Yum!! This recipe was passed down to me from my father, and tweaked slightly. The photo is before topping is added, since I'm prepping in advance for baking it tomorrow. If you have a small family to feed, or want to make this on a regular weeknight, just halve the recipe, using 2 eggs instead of 3.


Sweet Potato Casserole

• 7-8 lbs peeled & cubed sweet potato, boiled until soft
• 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 C. White sugar
• 1/2 C. Light brown sugar
• 1 stick of butter, cut into 1tbsp chunks
• 3 Tbsp. Flour
• 1/2 tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. Cloves
• 1/8 tsp. Ground Ginger
• 1 Bag jumbo jet-puffed marshmallows
  

1. Mash together boiled potatoes and butter either by hand, or with an electric mixer, until creamy.
2. Add in flour, spices, and sugar and mix together.
3. Add in eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until creamy but slightly stiff. If potatoes won't stiffen, add a bit more flour.
4. Pour into a casserole dish and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cover with jumbo marshmallows, leaving small spaces in between each.
   
6. Return to oven for 5 minutes or until marshmallows are toasted.

I also made a pie tonight. Unfortunately, the ginger-snap crust became overcooked because the oven temperature fluctuates too high, and the pan was too close to the heating elements. Here is a photo of the pie before it went into the oven. Don't get me wrong, we're still going to eat it! It's just that the crust is a bit burned and we aren't sure we want to take it for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We might just eat the filling, which turned out delicious. I made the filling with pumpkin eggnog instead of the traditional cream or condensed milk. If it weren't for the burned crust, this pie would be DELICIOUS! I'll definitely have to try the recipe again and maybe I can post it when it's a little more tried and true!