Peanut Butter and Julie

Carnation's Famous Fudge

It happens at my grocery store, and I am willing to bet my KitchenAid stand mixer that it happens at your grocery store too.  Every year, no sooner has the store transferred all of the unwanted Halloween candy from the "seasonal" aisle to the bargain bin that the employees start erecting massive sculptures out of common holiday ingredients, which are conspicuously placed throughout the store.

The base of the sculpture is made out of something sturdy, such as 29-ounce cans of pumpkin or cranberry sauce.  On top (in no particular order) you'll find Chex cereal, alternating layers of brown and confectioner's sugar, marshmallows, chocolate chips, peppermint extract, etc., etc.  I guess that this monstrosity is meant to represent one-stop-shopping for the busy holiday cook.....except for the fact that no one dares to reach for a low-lying can of pumpkin, fearing that their selection might knock the sculpture down like a game of Jenga.

No holiday supermarket sculpture would be complete without a section composed out of Carnation Evaporated Milk, also known as "The Cooking Milk."  From creamy pumpkin pie to rich casseroles, evaporated milk is a pantry necessity for this time of year.  I was excited to open an email a few weeks ago from a Cassie, who works for the One2One Network representing the Carnation brand.  She generously offered to send me some free cans of Carnation Evaporated Milk and a gift card to cover the cost of ingredients so that I could experiment with a few recipes that feature evaporated milk and then blog about them.  As you can imagine, it didn't take a great deal of pondering for me to accept the offer. Hmmm.....let me see.....

The pondering came when I had to decide exactly which recipes I would prepare.  Cassie asked that I make one recipe from a holiday recipe booklet that she sent and also one of my own recipes.  The recipe booklet decision was tough enough.  Not only does it feature more commonly known recipes for baking with evaporated milk, but many savory ones as well.  Since it's available in regular, low-fat, and fat-free varieties, their evaporated milk can be substituted for the kind of milk that you normally use in your cooking.  Who knew?  I eventually settled on this extremely quick and easy fudge recipe.  Let me tell you, if you're in a pinch over the holiday season, this is the perfect homemade gift solution.  I mean, who doesn't love fudge?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Exactly.

As for my second recipe, well, I just couldn't narrow my decision down to one.  So I made two.  I know, I'm such an over-achiever.  Stop it.  You're making me blush.  Find out what I made in my next two posts (I'm sure the suspense is killing you.) Here are my extra tips for making this fast (and famous!) fudge:

• One of the great things about fudge recipes is their versatility.  With this recipe, you can substitute hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, or even peanuts for the walnuts/pecans.  Bittersweet chocolate can be replaced by semisweet, milk chocolate, or a combination of the two.  You can also used flavored chips, such as seasonal mint chocolate.  Try replacing the vanilla extract with almond, cherry, or coconut.  Mix in dried sour cherries, cranberries, or shredded coconut along with the nuts.
• The fudge will keep well, tightly covered and refrigerated, for 4-5 days.
• If your resulting fudge has a grainy or crumble texture, then you probably didn't stir it enough.  Stirring constantly ensures a smooth and rich treat.

Carnation Famous Fudge

Makes about 48 squares

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup Carnation Evaporated Milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil.  In a medium, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt.  Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Stir in the marshmallows, chocolate chips, nuts, and vanilla extract.  Stir the mixture vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted.  Pour into the prepared baking pan.  Refrigerate the pan for 2 hours or until firm.  Lift the fudge from the pan and remove the foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

Pumpkin-Caramel Flan with Ginger Spice Cookies

This is the second of the two recipes that I was asked to create and of the three that I ultimately decided to create. There were just too many ways for me to use the Carnation Evaporated Milk, and, try as I did, I couldn't narrow it down.  I'm really unskilled at the whole narrowing things down competency.  It's something that I need to work on.  In this case, however, the result was extra dessert--not necessarily a bad thing.

Prior to preparing this recipe, I'd never attempted to make flan.  Actually, I'd never even tried flan.  Personally, I don't find the word flan to sound that appetizing, and it can't really hold it's own on a menu next to the caramels and brulees of the world.  It sounds kind-of blah, no matter what one's approach is to the pronunciation of the "a".  Does it rhyme with "plan" or "yawn"?  I dunno.

What did intrigue me about flan is that it is essentially a pie without a crust.  I've never been much of a pie person mostly because of the crust.  There's usually just too much of it, and it's often doughy, crumbly, or, to coin a term from the preceding paragraph, blah.  I am much more partial to a flavorful filling, which gives the pie its personality.

For those of you who might miss the presence of a crust, I supplemented the flan with a simple Ginger Spice Cookie, meant to mimic the taste and texture of a gingersnap cookie crust.  Eat it separately or crumble it on top.  Either way, it serves as a perfect partner to this smooth and spiced, caramel topped flan. Here are a few extra tips for making this fantastic fall-flavored flan (try saying that 10 times fast!):

• Although the recipe says to prepare the flan in one souffle dish, I actually did it in individual creme brulee dishes.  In retrospect, these were too shallow (as noted in the photos!), so next time I will opt for deeper individual ramekins. 
• If preparing individually-sized flan, the baking time decreases to 35-40 minutes.
• The flan can be prepared one day in advance.  Chill it overnight covered loosely with plastic wrap.
• The cookie dough can be prepared 3-4 days in advance and chilled, tightly covered.  The baked cookies will keep, covered, at room temperature for 2-3 days, or you can wrap them and freeze them for up to 2 weeks.
• A great use for any leftover cookies would be to turn them into a pie or tart crust.  Grind them in a food processor, toss them with a few tablespoons of butter, and press them into a pie/tart pan.  Proceed as you would with any other cookie crumb crust.

Pumpkin-Caramel Flan with Ginger Spice Cookies

For the flan

Serves 8-10

2 cups sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 1/3 cups Carnation evaporated milk

5 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons tequila

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.  Heat a 2-qt souffle dish on a sheet pan in the middle of the oven.

Place 1 cup of the the sugar in a heavy medium saucepan oven medium low heat.  Cook the sugar, stirring with a fork, until it is melted and golden brown.  Continue to cook the caramel without stirring, swirling the pan, until the caramel is deep golden, 3-4 minutes.  Immediately remove the hot dish from the oven and pour the caramel into the dish, tilting it to cover the bottom and the sides.  Set the dish aside.

Scald the whole milk and the evaporated milk in a saucepan; remove from the heat.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs with the remaining cup of sugar until smooth and creamy.  Beat in the salt, pumpkin puree, tequila, and spices.  Gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while the mixer is running until well combined. 

Pour the custard over the caramel in the dish.  Set the dish in a hot water bath with the water coming halfway up the sides of the dish.  Lower the oven temperature to 350F degrees.  Bake the flan until it is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center emerges clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.  Carefully remove the dish from the water and transfer it to a rack to cool.  Chill the flan, covered, until very cold, about 6 hours.

Unmold the flan:  Run a knife around the flan to loosen the sides.  Wiggle the dish from side to side until the flan moves freely in the dish.  Carefully invert the flan onto a serving dish.  The caramel should pour out over and around it.  Cut the flan into wedges and serve with the ginger spice cookies.

For the cookies

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

1/2 pound butter, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1/3 cup honey

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Turbinado Sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Mix in the honey.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until combined.  Gather the dough into a ball and transfer it to a sheet of plastic wrap.  Flatten the dough into a disk and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Pour about 1 cup of the turbinado sugar into a shallow dish.  Roll the dough into 1-inch (approximately) balls, and roll them in the sugar.  Transfer the balls to the prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart.  Flatten the balls slightly with the palm of your hand (or the bottom of a glass.)  Working with one sheet at a time, bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, until they are golden brown and cracked on top.  Repeat baking process with the rest of the dough.  Cool completely.

 

Butterscotch Cinnamon Swirl Scones

And finally, this is the third of my trio of Carnation Evaporated Milk inspired recipes and, apparently, my dog Fenway's favorite of the three.  You would think that after last year's Great Donut Caper, when Fenway gobbled a dozen or so freshly-made cappuccino donuts off of my kitchen counter while my back was turned, I would be more careful.  You would think that after last Thanksgiving's Case of the Missing Date-Walnut Loaf, when I found a very mysterious crumb-dusted piece of plastic wrap on the kitchen floor, I would be more careful.  Yes, Fenway actually unwrapped the loaf of bread and ate it.  He's that good.  You would think that after both of these events, I would have learned to be more careful.

Apparently, I haven't.

Yesterday, it happened again.  I had decided to whip up a batch of a favorite scone recipe, one that happens to call for evaporated milk instead of the usual buttermilk, half and half, or exceedingly rich whipping cream.  Because these scones are decadent enough, thanks to the addition of a butterscotch cinnamon swirl, I didn't feel the need to add one of these heavier options, so the Carnation Low-fat Evaporated Milk was a perfect fit.  Who knew that it would work so beautifully in scones?

Anyhow, there I was, bustling away in the kitchen: chopping, blending, kneading, rolling.....you know the drill.  Most of the time when I am cooking or baking, the dogs can be found in the adjacent family room, perched on their respective couches (We swore that we would never let the dogs climb on the couches.  Yeah, that lasted about a minute-and-a-half.)  I used to think that they were sleeping, but now I am beginning to suspect that they are not as....er....simple minded as they may appear.  I think that they are watching my every move, plotting and planning the perfect strategy to snatch whatever it is that Julie is working on, should she place it a bit too close to the edge of the counter when she leaves the room.

I thought that the scones were safe, but evidently a few years of practice has elevated Fenway to major league status in the food-swiping department.  When I came downstairs from the treadmill, the batch was a mere shadow of itself, two whole scones and a few fragments remaining.  Fenway regarded me with a look that said "What are you looking at me for?", as he licked crumbs from his snout.  Drats, foiled again!

I guess that I can't blame the kid though.  These are really hard to resist. Here are a few extra tips for making the rich and flaky spiced scones:

• The scone dough can be prepared in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated overnight.  It can also be frozen for up to one week.  Thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.
• Scones are best eaten the day that they are baked (so they don't turn into "stones!")  If eating them on the second day, warm them in the oven, loosely wrapped in foil.
• You can also try this recipe using other varieties of baking chips, such as cinnamon, peanut butter, chocolate, or white chocolate.  You can also try the various flavors of Hershey's Kisses that are now on the market (such as pumpkin spice.)

Butterscotch Cinnamon Swirl Scones

Makes 12 scones

Ingredients:

For the "swirl"

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the Dough

2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), chilled and cut into cubes

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup Carnation Evaporated Milk

For the topping

1 egg white

Turbinado sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw)

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Prepare the swirl:  Place the butterscotch chips, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon in the work bowl of a food processor.  Process the mixture until it is well blended; set aside.

Prepare the dough:  Wipe out the bowl of the processor.  Place both flours, the sugar, baking powder, and salt into the bowl.  Pulse the mixture to blend.  Sprinkle the butter over the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, and evaporated milk.  Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together.  Turn the mixture out onto a floured work surface and knead it until it comes together.  Press the cinnamon swirl mixture into the dough until it starts to look marbleized.

Pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 squares or, using a round cutter, cut it into circles.  Place the scones on the prepared baking sheets.  Brush the top of each scone with the egg white and then sprinkle each with some of the sugar.

Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, until the bottoms are browned and the tops are lightly golden.

Double Maple Cranberry Muffins

Eric and I just returned from a trip to Napa Valley.  Yes, that's right.  For those of you who are keeping track, I have been to the lovely California Wine Country twice in two months.  This happened by a complete coincidence, as our most recent trip was planned long before I was invited to compete in last month's burger cook-off.  Even so, I did suggest to Eric that I could remain up in Napa, you know, just in case I would need to be up there again next month.  Could happen.

Last week's trip was part of an event held every five years by Eric's family, celebrating their various birthdays and anniversaries, all of which seem to fall in October and November.  This year, they decided to hold the party over a long weekend in the San Francisco Bay area, so Eric and I decided to extend the trip by spending a few days in Sonoma and Napa.  I'm not really a quick-weekend-trip kinda girl anyhow.  They are never truly relaxing since you are barely settled into your new digs before you need to think about printing out your boarding pass to go home.  No thank-you.

The problem with Napa Valley is that, while it's incredibly picturesque and de-stressing, it also manages to be pretty harsh on the wallet.  Admittedly, on this particular trip, this was partially our fault.  O.K., maybe completely our fault.  You might recall from my previous post that I am a sucker when it comes to signing up for shiny new magazine offers when they arrive in the mail.  Twelve issues for just twelve bucks?  That's highway robbery--sign me up!  Well, apparently Eric and I possess a similar lack of self-control when it comes to signing up for wine clubs.  

Oh sure, we had a strategy.  Trust me, Eric always has a strategy.  We were just going to go in and do a tasting.  If we happened to like one of the wines, then we'd buy a bottle or two--but that's it.  Little did we know that virtually every winery now has a "wine club," something to entice winos wine aficionados to purchase anywhere from three to twelve bottles, which will be shipped to their home at a discounted rate on a quarterly basis.

Bottom line:  We visited five wineries.  We are now the proud new members of four wine clubs.  That's quite a resume.  And yes, we still bought a few bottles from the fifth winery.  No. Self. Control. What-so-ever.  It must have been this intoxicating view.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Truth be told, we don't even drink that much wine, so we either need to start doing some serial entertaining, or we're going to be pretty well stocked long after the Cabernet's recommended drinking date.  I'm not even sure where we're going to keep it all.  Hmmm.....maybe I should have thought of these points when we were being given "the pitch."  Might have saved us a few bucks.  My bad. 

Although we definitely racked up a large pile of frequent flier points on the trip, there were quite a few unexpected freebies that we enjoyed as well (cha-ching!)  Some of the wineries offered cheese pairings with their tasting, an area that I know very little about, but I thoroughly enjoy the learning process.  My new favorite cheese discovery: Point Reyes blue.  Try it with pears.  You'll like it. 

Our hotel offered a free nightly wine and cheese reception, not as if we needed more of either, but a nice touch none-the-less.  They also provided a wonderful breakfast spread, which was included with the room.  There's something about being on vacation that makes me feel like I can completely abandon my usual oatmeal or egg whites in lieu of a plate full of freshly-baked glazed and streuseled carbs.  So I do.  The best thing that I tried was a moist fresh cranberry spice muffin, which was drizzled with a tart lemon glaze.  Mmmmmm-mmmmm!  I was inspired to make a version of my own almost immediately after unpacking, but one that incorporates a walnut streusel and uses maple instead of lemon, perfect for November.  Here are a few extra tips for making mah-velous maple muffins:

• These muffins can be baked and then frozen, tightly sealed, for up to 2 weeks.  Glaze the muffins just before serving.  The glaze will not freeze well.
• The muffins will keep at room temperature, covered, for 2-3 days.  They are best eaten right after they have been glazed.
• For variations on this recipe, you can substitute chopped pecans or hazelnuts for the walnuts.  Add some chopped dried figs or chopped dried cherries along with the fresh cranberries (then they would be "Double Maple Double Cranberry Muffins"!)  You can also prepare the muffins without the streusel topping.
• Keep an eye on the muffin tops towards the end of the baking process.  If the streusel starts to become too dark, cover the tins loosely with foil for the remainder of the time.

Double Maple Cranberry Muffins

Makes 18-20 muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons maple extract

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen) roughly chopped

1 cup chopped walnuts

For the streusel

3/4 cup toasted walnuts

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, melted

For the glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2-3 tablespoons water or milk

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.  Line two muffin tins with 18 paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter with both sugars at medium speed until well combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Mix in the milk and the maple extract.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients at low speed until just combined.  Fold  in the cranberries and chopped nuts.  Using a 1/3 cup ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.

Prepare the streusel:  In a bowl, mix together the walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Add the melted butter and mix until moist clumps form.  Sprinkle the streusel evenly on top of the batter in the muffin cups, pressing lightly to adhere.

Bake the muffins for 18-24 minutes, until the tops are puffed and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean.  Set aside to cool while you prepare the glaze.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and the maple syrup.  Add enough water or milk to make a smooth glaze of drizzling consistency.  Remove the muffins from the tins and place them on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.  Drizzle the glaze over warm muffins and let set.