All dressed up and nowhere to go

I love vacation time--especially the kind where I get to stay home.  Sure, it's fun to go places and visit people, but traveling can also be stressful.  I'm ready for a break from stress.  It's nice to be able to hang out and relax, and maybe catch up on a few things.  Jamie's vacation time can roll over, but mine is the use-it-or-lose-it variety.  So you can bet I'm going to use it, even if it means staying home by myself.  To be honest, being on my own isn't bad. =)  Brianna is in school, and Jamie is at work.  Gillian stayed home with me yesterday and will probably do that again later in the week, but that's okay.  One child at home with me is peaceful--both would be another story.

Knowing that I had a whole week ahead of me with plenty of time to spend in the kitchen, I was completely lazy this past weekend.  I cooked dinner on Sunday, but that was about it.  But that was okay, since I'd actually made this week's TWD recipe over a week ahead of time.  Anne of Anne Strawberry picked Classic Brownies as this week's selection.  That was perfect, since I needed something to pack in lunches last week.  Only one problem--we managed to polish off the brownies without me taking any pictures of them.  Oops.

So yesterday morning, I set out to make them again.  I actually started off my day by turning a whole bunch of raspberries (I love Costco) into raspberry sauce.  Then I made the brownies.  It's an easy recipe--one bowl, and whisk and a spoon are all you need.  I skipped the nuts and put in chocolate chips instead, since I don't care for nuts in my brownies (and B's school has requested no peanuts or tree nuts if possible, due to a student with a severe allergy).  I baked the brownies for 30 minutes, and was quite happy with the fudgy texture.  Next up was ice cream, since there wasn't any at all in the freezer.  I made vanilla bean (with a splash of rum), figuring it would go nicely with another TWD recipe that I plan to make this week.  Once I was done with that, I realized that I had all the makings of a fabulous brownie sundae.  I also figured a sundae would be a way to make the brownies more photogenic.  And my children now think I'm the best mom ever. =)

The verdict?  We really enjoyed these brownies, both plain and dressed up.  While they don't quite displace my all-time favorite, they are very high on my list.  It certainly wasn't a hardship to make them twice, and I'm sure we'll be making them again.  I'd like to try the recipe with other mix-ins, like peanut butter chips (just for eating at home).  

If you'd like to try these for yourself, head over to Anne's blog for the recipe.  To see how everyone else played around with these brownies, check out this week's Links.  

Sundae Sunday - Nuts about caramel

So what do you think makes a sundae a sundae?  Is it just having sauce on ice cream?  Is it adding whipped cream?  Is it the cherry on top?  Well, I have all of those today, so there's no doubt in my mind that this is a sundae. =)  I don't eat sundaes much.  I usually eat a single scoop of ice cream, plain, in a small bowl or ramekin.  Eating a small amount means I can get away with eating ice cream more often.  Occasionally I'll put some chocolate or caramel sauce on top.  But whipped cream?  Never.  And cherries?  I don't even like them. Jamie got to eat the one on this sundae; he's the one who bought the cherries in the first place, so I can make him some ice cream with roasted cherries.

But since this is Sundae Sunday, I went all out.  At the base is a waffle bowl, made from the same recipe as my cones, but sandwiched between a couple small bowls to give it shape.  The ice cream is salty caramel with pecan pralines.  (You can also find the salty caramel ice cream recipe in this Bon Appetit blog post. Thanks, Mike!)  It's topped with a sinfully sweet butterscotch sauce and topped with softly whipped cream and a cherry.

I added the pralines to the ice cream because I wanted something that wasn't too plain, and I thought they would be good with the caramel ice cream.  Initially, I was thinking of using hot fudge or some other chocolate sauce for the topping, but then I decided that I wanted to stick with the caramel theme.  Regular caramel sauce seemed too obvious; I wanted something with a little more character.  I consulted my bookshelf on Eat Your Books, looking for butterscotch sauce.  I was a bit surprised when it pointed me to my copy of Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman.  But sure enough, there was a butterscotch recipe in there.  Butter, dark brown sugar, cream, salt, vanilla, and the intriguing ingredient of cider vinegar were fairly quickly combined into a delicious topping.  As for the whipped cream, I made it by hand--I've finally learned that the best way to do that is to use a large bowl and my big balloon whisk, even for a relatively small amount of cream.  The whipping goes fast that way, and I can easily stop before the cream gets over-whipped.

The verdict?  Wow.  This sundae was totally decadent, and completely delicious.  I let the caramel for the ice cream get a little too dark, so the ice cream wasn't very sweet.  But that was okay with the pralines and sauce, both of which were quite sweet.  I don't usually go for nuts in my ice cream, but I like how the pecans were crunchy, while the praline coating melted into the ice cream.  The butterscotch sauce was wonderful--the additions of vinegar and salt really gave it an excellent flavor.

Butterscotch Sauce
(adapted from Ratio by Michael Ruhlman)


55 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
115 grams (4 ounces, or a packed half cup) dark brown sugar
115 grams (4 ounces, or half a cup) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Place the butter and brown sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Cook for 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until the sugar has completed melted into the butter and the mixture is thick and bubbly.  Remove the pan from the head and whisk in the cream.  Let the mixture cool slightly--about 5 minutes--then whisk in the vanilla, vinegar and salt.  Makes about a cup.

For more info on making the butterscotch sauce, check out this article from Shuna Fish Lydon, with great how-to photos.

And be sure to check back later this week for my Sundae Sunday round-up!