Lavender Caramels

Ok, so this blog might very well turn into just recipes and clothes I want to archive for future use instead of being anything interesting or useful to anyone else. Oh well, it's my blog.

Anyway, I wanted to make the Lavender Caramels with the recipe found in the latest Anthology issue. I love LOVE anything with lavender in it. They might be my favorite flowers too. I made these caramels for the first time and I was a little scared that you wouldn't really be able to taste the lavender in the caramel. Cuz I mean, lavender is expensive and I didn't want to waste it and not taste anything, but I was pleasantly mistaken! They are SO so so good. I'm giving these away as my Christmas treats this year so hopefully people like them as much as I do.


Lavender Caramels

Yields 128 (small) pieces

1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp dried lavender flowers
5 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/4 cups sugar

1. In a small saucepan, combine cream and lavender over medium-low heat. Once the cream begins to simmer, cover pan and turn off heat. Steep for 15 minutes, then strain out flowers with a fine mesh sieve. Add butter, vanilla, and salt and stir until butter is melted. Re-cover pan to keep warm; set aside.

2. In a second heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together sugar and corn syrup over medium heat; keep the sides of the pan as clean as possible. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and cover for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and attache a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Continue cooking without stirring until the syrup reaches 310 degrees.

3. Turn off the heat and stir in the creammixture until smooth. Return to medium heat and cook without stirring until the temperature drop to 248 degrees. If the mixture looks uneven, swirl the pan. Make sure the thermometer bulb is fully submerged in the mixture.

4. Once the caramel is at 248 degrees, stir it with a clean spoon until the mixture reaches 250 degrees. (You should have moderately firm caramel; 245 degrees will produce a softer caramel, and 255 degree will result in a very firm caramel.) Pour the caramel into a buttered, parchment-lined 8" square pan. When pouring, do not scrape the sides or bottom of the pan, which can result in a grainy texture.

5. Allow to cool completely, then turn out and cut into 1"x 1/2" rectangles. Wrap individually in wax paper and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.




(More pictures to come)

Apple- Orange Cranberry Dessert Squares

Ok, so these squares are amazing. I first got this recipe a long time ago from Williams-Sonoma when they were making it in the store and I fell in love and bought two jars of their relish on the spot! I was so excited... until I lost the recipe. I tried in earnest to try to find the recipe again to no avail. I had an extra bottle of relish I had no use for, so I just stored it in hopes of finding the recipe again. Which I did! I just happenstanced on WS making a variation of these squares and I couldn't believe my luck, apparently one of the workers had kept her copy from years back ! Bless her, she must be a kindred spirit of mine. Anyway, I'm posting this so I will never lose this again as well as to spread the good word. So try it! :)

First, you will need the New England Apple-Orange Cranberry Relish from Williams-Sonoma. The jars are a little pricey at $10.50 but it's totally worth it and they almost always go on sale for $4.99.

Apple- Orange Cranberry Dessert Squares

1 box of yellow cake mix

1 Jar Williams-Sonoma Apple-Orange Cranberry Relish

3 Eggs

1 T. Flour

1/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of butter

3 T. milk

1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix and set aside.

Mix remaining cake mix with 1/2 cup of melted butter and 1 egg. Press mixture lightly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Mix 1 jar of Williams-Sonoma Apple-Orange Cranberry Relish with 2 large eggs and 3 tablespoons of milk and pour over cake mixture in pan.

Mix to a crumble the 1 cup reserved cake mix with 1 tablespoon of flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of soft butter, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon- crumble over the top of the cranberry layer.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Cool & serve.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Heirarchy

I love working for my new company because they treat us little people well! Just check out the views from my new spot!

1. Fall leaves 2. Buildings out of my right window 3. Desk w/ orange stress ball 4.Downtown SLC view

Snow!

We had our first snow of the season on Friday night and it was beautiful the next morning! I was in love with the snow when I woke up, but that love quickly faded as the day progressed and I became aware of the reality of winter. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. (But it sure is pretty!)

1. Tree just outside of our apartment the morning after the first snowfall. I call this "Magestic Frost" haha jk

Date Night

This weekend was wonderful! Brendan took me out to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square for dinner before taking me to the Utah Symphony! Even better was they were playing Beethoven's 7th- which is one of my most favorite symphonies!! It was so amazing. Going to the Utah Symphony was also important to me because my great-grandfather (Papa) conducted the Utah Symphony his whole career and my mother was taught by him and played in it as well. It was so fun being somewhere where I knew my heritage existed! My family is still very musical, aside from myself, and I love how much music has influenced my life as well as my family's. Here are some of the pictures from the night:

1. Sculpture at the symphony hall 2. Bubba at the symphony 3. Little old me

Brendan and I were both curious about what the conductor was actually doing- seeing as neither of us are musically talented and had never before needed one. Here is an interesting video we found of my favorite movement of the symphony that shows all the different parts of the orchestra and how aware the conductor needs to be of each one. (Beware, this is a long clip, but totally worth it). It is really impressive. Respect, Papa.