Sprung At Last

Interests and Conflicts

by // Leave a Comment

Mid-December, I get an email from The Lawyer. It’s a link to a book about the significance of the written word to Jews throughout history, exactly the kind of nerdy thing my father and I can be found reading and discussing via skype. The Lawyer suggests that this might make a good Hanukah gift for my father.

I’m pretty sure he’s not going to bill me for this email, sent at 11:26 pm on a Saturday night.

I don’t think this is the time to explain to him that I’m only half-Jewish, and the wrong half at that, something my father has recently discussed at great length with his rabbi, and I imagine will continue to discuss because I don’t think either of them has moved much from their original opinions on the matter.

My father’s case would presumably not be bolstered by the fact that we exchange Christmas gifts, anyway. And although he lights candles each year on his Menorah, I didn’t manage to accomplish even that much this past Hanukah – after failing to find the right kind of candles at three different supermarkets, I gave up.

I can, and do, critique every bagel I eat, often at great length. I’m great with guilt, too.

That must count for something.

I wonder about the fact that every time I’ve spoken with The Lawyer recently, he inquires about my father. He hasn’t asked for my dad’s email address.

I wonder if that’s some sort of conflict of interest.

I finally settle on a reply email that simply thanks him for the information, and wishes him happy holidays. I do mention that I’m having a lovely holiday season, particularly as a lot of people have been taking me out for post-divorce celebratory drinks.

I receive no reply.

Simple French Toast Casserole

by // Leave a Comment

I should have been more on top of Christmas this year, but I wasn’t.

In years past, I’ve had lots of shopping to do: The Departed, his children, his extended family, my mother. All of them impossible to shop for, and rather disheartening too, given how many heartfelt gifts were greeted with either blank looks or sighs that said “It isn’t really what I wanted, and I needed you to know that in an indirect way so that you can’t accuse me of being rude or ungrateful.”

I’m too sensitive, you see.

This year, there was much less buying to do, but so much more socializing I spent my free moments in December catching up on my rest. Tinsel did not appear on our tree until December 23. We use photo-frame stocking hangers, but the frames for each of our new cats remains empty. There’s no star at the top of our too-tall tree that projects up into the skylight – because I sent the old star to The Departed with his stuff and then forgot to get a new one.

I’m still working on a Christmas gift for my father. I sent him gifts, yes, but the one I was making? I finished it on Christmas Eve, and unlike Amazon, I can’t manage the logistics of same-day delivery.

Early for next year, I say. Top that, Amazon.

It’s all very different. I used to be on top of Christmas and felt in control of it all, even with all the people and stuff involved. It was very pretty.

This year, Christmas feels chaotic and joyful.

One thing is the same as last year, though, and the year before that: Christmas breakfast. It’s good for any day, really, that you want something a little bit special and not a lot of work. I got the recipe from a Cooking Light cookbook
that I received for my 40th birthday, with came with heartfelt wishes from my girlfriend that I should “enjoy it along with my slowing metabolism.”

Needless to say, I modified away all the “light” elements of it. I’m sure it was fine before, but it’s fabulous and yummy now. The caramel sauce at the bottom of the pan turns into a vanilla-caramel syrup, so when you’re done baking it, just scoop out the french toast and spoon a bit of the pan syrup over it.

I couldn’t get a decent picture of it because we ate it all too fast. Yes, it serves six people. But, to be more precise, it serves one person, one dog, and one Yeti.

YetiGirl

Simple French Toast Casserole
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • ⅔ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
  • ¼ cup pecans (optional)
  • 1½ cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon grated orange rind
  • 5 large eggs
  • 6 slices French peasant bread
Instructions
  1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes or until bubbly and sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Pour sugar mixture into bottom of a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Chop pecans and scatter on top of sugar mixture. Set aside.
  2. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (through eggs) in a large shallow bowl; stir with a whisk. Dip bread slices in milk mixture; arrange bread slices over sugar mixture in dish. Pour any remaining egg mixture over bread slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350°, and bake for 30 minutes. To serve, dish out slices with a spatula and turn upside down (caramel side up). Serve with butter or dusted with powdered sugar or just as it is.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

 

Gingerbread Caramels

by // 12 Comments

The Child wants to give gifts to her teachers and friends. We do this – like most people – every year, distributing things on the day before winter break. In years past, we have gotten quite elaborate with teacher gifts, as The Child was fortunate to have a superb teacher – the same one for three years, in fact – and we couldn’t help but want to do something very special for her. I would have sent her to Hawaii if it was in my power and budget to do so.

The Child started middle school this year, though, and what that means – apart from more homework – is that she now has eight teachers, an advisor, and assorted other school staff that she considers to be gift-worthy. She wants to give something to the head of school, she tells me, because sometimes he joins her gaggle of girls at lunch in the cafeteria. You get the idea. It’s a long list.

I ask her what she had in mind to give people, and as I’m headed out to Costco, she tells me: Gift cards. For everyone.

Everyone like Starbucks, she says. Do that.

I actually consider this a viable option until I spend a half-hour wandering the gift-card section at Costco and discover there’s not one gift-card bundle available at all for Starbucks, or for less than $25 per card for anything else.

I come home and suggest to The Child that maybe it’s better if we make something. She likes that idea and remembers the Spiced Apple Cider Caramels I made last year.

My class loved them and my teacher did too, she says. All my teachers this year will love them.

It’s a great plan, and I pick up some heavy cream and plan to make the caramels the day before, so they’ll be fresh. There’s only one small hitch: The recipe was from another blog, and it isn’t there anymore. I’m sure I printed it out, but I can’t find it, and I don’t have tons of time.

If only Google could search my house for me.

I find another recipe for Spiced Apple Cider caramels, but it seems, I don’t know – off. So I search Pinterest for “caramels” to see what appears that looks workable and doesn’t involve another trip to the store. Someone has pinned a Martha Stewart recipe for Gingerbread Caramels, which sound delightful and seasonal and involve four cups of heavy cream – which I have, but, really Martha? – as well as a vast amount of corn syrup, which I don’t.

This time, Google is more helpful, and I find this recipe for Gingerbread Caramels on Good Life Eats. The recipe was simple enough, and the caramels were soft and chewy with the perfect notes of molasses, ginger, and warming spices. It was hard to send them all off to school, but send them I did, in little baggies trimmed with Christmas paper.

I’ve made some minor adjustments to the original recipe, giving the exact spice quantities I used; my cooking times also varied from those originally stated, but what’s important with candy-making isn’t the time, but the temperature.

I learned the temperature lesson when I made a batch of the Spiced Apple Cider caramels from the new recipe. It indicated cooking the syrup to a temperature of 255 degrees, resulting in a too-hard candy, which was also unfortunately a bit too sugary-sweet.

I finally found the original Spiced Apple Cider Caramel recipe buried under a pile of recipes I’ve been meaning to try. I’d blame the Elf on the Shelf for hiding it there, but I don’t have one, as far as I know. They kind of scare me, and it’s not like I need any help misplacing things.

Happy Holidays, everyone. Thank you for joining me this year!

Gingerbread Caramels

Gingerbread Caramels
 
Print
Author:
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups heavy cream
  • 8 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon allspice
  • ⅛ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
  2. Bring cream and butter to a simmer in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
  3. Pre-measure the spices and salt out into a small bowl. Pre-measure the vanilla into another small bowl. You will need to access these ingredients very quickly at the end of the recipe.
  4. Combine the sugar, molasses, and water in a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until all of the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is a deep amber color.
  5. Turn heat to low. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up). Return heat to medium to medium-high and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel temperature registers no higher than 248°F on thermometer. Turn off the heat and immediately whisk in the vanilla, salt and spices. Pour into prepared pan.
  6. Once the mixture has cooled slightly but is still tacky to the touch, sprinkle the tops very lightly with additional kosher salt, if desired.
  7. Allow the caramels to completely cool before cutting. Wrap in squares of parchment or wax paper.
Notes
There are lots of suggestions out there for how to make cutting caramels easier. Here are mine: 1) sharpen your knife, then 2) run your knife under very hot water before each cut.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe

 

This is my contribution to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Why not swing by and see what other sweet treats await? There are no calories if you just read. I hope.

About Me

If you’re just jumping in, you might have some questions, which I’ve tried to answer here.

Legalese

Legal information is here
Web Analytics