Spicy Caramel Corn

Salty, spicy sweet caramel corn with cayenne and cashews.

I watched a kid eating some of this caramel corn last night. An adult nearby was also having some. She warned the boy that it was a little spicy. After taking a couple mouthfuls, he told her no it wasn't. (At first, it is rich, buttery-caramely sweet.) She said that it was spicy you just had to give it a second. He had some more and adamantly told her no, no, it really wasn't spicy at all.

About 30 seconds into the conversation, he yelled, "Whoa! It got spicy!" And then he stopped eating the caramel corn. The adult just raised her eyebrows and continued to munch away. It was pretty funny.

I've made this recipe twice. Last night and last December. Somehow the batch from last December was better. I think it had to do with how long I let the caramel cook and the quality of my cayenne. For last night's batch, I was kind of in a hurry and I don't think I let the caramel caramelize long enough. The batch was still quite good, but it was not as memorable as I thought it should be.

The interesting thing about this recipe is, of course, the cayenne. There is something genius about taking regular, cloyingly sweet caramel corn and making it a little spicy. It is addicting. The spice level of your caramel corn will depend on your cayenne. Cayenne's spice level varies depending on how fresh it is. If you are anything like me, you don't know how old your cayenne is--it just seems like it's always been there on the spice shelf. I added 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to this most recent batch and it was just on this side of underwhelming.  Adjust your cayenne level depending on how spicy you like your snacks and how fresh your cayenne is.

Like many of my favorite recipes, I owe this one to Smitten Kitchen. Why does she always have the best recipes? I don't know how she does it.

Spicy Caramel Corn

 ~Print Recipe~

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil (feel free to use less!)
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 2 cups salted cashews or peanuts (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoons cayenne
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on how salty you like it)

1. Lightly coat 2 large heatproof spatulas, a very large mixing bowl (or 2 medium large bowls) and 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray. (I used parchment in addition to the spray on my baking sheets.)
2. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large pot with a lid. Add the popcorn kernels, cover, and shake the pot until kernels are coated in oil. As the popcorn pops, shake the pot to keep from burning. Transfer all fully popped popcorn to prepared bowl, leaving any un-popped kernels in the pot. Toss popcorn with nuts (optional).
3. In a very small bowl, stir baking soda and cayenne together.
4. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, for 10-14 minutes until the mixture is a golden yellow caramel.
5. With baking sheets at the ready, remove the caramel from the heat. Whisk in the baking soda and cayenne. The mixture will bubble up some!
6. Quickly pour the caramel over the popcorn and use the prepared spatulas to mix the caramel and popcorn/nuts until well coated.
7. Quickly spread the popcorn on your baking sheets, separating any big clumps. Cool to room temperature to serve. 

*I actually like this caramel corn best the next day. The texture improves! Good luck saving any, though, it goes fast.

Fruit and Nut Trail Mix

About a month ago, I decided to make my own trail mix. I kept my eye on nuts and dried fruit every time I went to a grocery store, looking for good deals. I slowly accumulated the ingredients I wanted to use and finally got everything together to make it today.

Now, I wasn't totally sure that this is a good idea. I mean, it's easy enough to get some pre-made trail mix from the store. But, most things are better homemade and this is no exception. You can control the ingredients, so you don't have to have any cheap filler---just all of your favorites. You can control how sweet or how salty it is. You can decide whether or not to include chocolate...


I started with raw almonds from the Chico's Farmer's Market, raw pecans and roasted cashews from Costco, and dried blueberries and dried cherries from Trader Joe's. I just roasted my raw nuts, then tossed everything together for a filling, portable snack. I even pre-packed some so that I can throw this in my purse to nibble on when I'm running errands.

Fruit and Nut Trail Mix

~Print Recipe~

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2 cups almonds
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1 1/2 cups cashews
• 3/4 dried blueberries
• 1 1/2 cups dried cherries, roughly chopped

1. If your nuts are already roasted, you can skip this step. If your nuts are raw: preheat your oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, drizzle nuts with olive oil and toss to coat. (I used 1 tablespoon of oil for 4 cups of nuts.) Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Cool on sheet.
2. In a large bow, mix together fruit and nuts. Taste to see if you want to add more of any ingredient for a different taste or texture combination. Enjoy!

Candied Espresso Pecans

On a whim one night not long ago, Mark and I invited some friends over for dinner. After the four of us finished off some homemade chips and slurped down the last of our tortilla soup, I realized I hadn't thought at all about dessert. While we were sitting at the table finishing some Pacificos, I flipped through my hodge podge recipe books--scraps I've cut out and collected from anywhere and everywhere. I was hoping to find something I could whip together quickly with ingredients I had on hand. Apparently most of the recipes I cut out are a little bit more on the elaborate side: almond-macaroon torte with chocolate frosting and orange compote, milk chocolate souffles with nougat whip, roasted pear tarte tatin with brown sugar-balsamic swirl ice cream (?!). Not going to happen.

I started with the most recent recipes and began flipping back to the beginning. Just before I gave up, I found a recipe for candied espresso walnuts. I had enough on hand to make it work---well, I subbed the pecans for the walnuts, obviously, but pecans are way better than walnuts anyway. That night I cut the recipe from 4 cups to 1 cup and made a few other adjustments. I threw this together in a grand total of about 15 minutes. One of our guests didn't even realize that I'd made them!

Candied Pecans

~Print Recipe~

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 packets of Starbucks VIA (or about 1 heaping tablespoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg white
• 2 cups pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray the sheet with non-stick spray).
2. In a small bowl, whisk sugar, VIA, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, whisk egg white until frothy. Add pecans to egg whites and toss to coat. Sprinkle VIA mixture over pecans and toss to coat.
3. Spread coated pecans on prepared sheet in a single layer. Bake 5 minutes. Use a spatula to stir the pecans, rearranging them in single layer. Bake for about 5 minutes more, or until pecans are dry to the touch.
4. Loosen pecans from the baking sheet. Cool on sheet, then enjoy!

Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Makes 2 cups.

Baked Tofu Bites

Baked tofu is one of my favorite things... but then again, I have a lot of favorite things. In college, I used to make sandwiches with slices of the thick baked tofu, onions, tomatoes and lettuce. The cool, savory density of the tofu was the best part. I could eat those sandwiches everyday. I could also eat baked tofu on its own---except, before I knew it, I was not living off of my student loans anymore and I had to reassess how much I was willing to pay for the things I wanted.

I suddenly realized that baked tofu is quite expensive--nearly $5 for two little pieces! The cheapest I've found it so far is at Trader Joe's for about $3.50. It occurred to me one day that this high cost was in fact rather odd, since plain old tofu is really cheap. I can buy a whole pound of it for just over a dollar. So, I thought, why don't I try to bake my own tofu and save a ton of money?

There are a number of recipes out there, but they all consist of marinating the tofu in your choice of flavorings and then baking tofu pieces in the oven. Easy! I made this version recently---a slight variation of an allrecipes.com recipe.

• 1 package firm tofu
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (or substitute some soy sauce for teriyaki)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1/2 teaspoon crushed raw garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• hot sauce to taste

1. Slice your tofu into 1/2 inch sections. With a towel, slightly press on the tofu until it releases any moisture. (You can leave a heavy plate on top of it for awhile, but I just use my hands.) Cut the slices into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients into a bowl (or directly into the container you will use to marinate the tofu). Add the tofu cubes and stir to coat.
3. Let marinate for at least 5 minutes, or up to over night.
4. Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with a non-stick spray (or next time I will try covering a baking sheet in foil--I'm still scrubbing the last pan) and arrange tofu in a single layer.
5. Bake tofu for 10 minutes and then toss the cubes, allowing a new surface of each one to touch the pan. Repeat every 10 minutes until tofu is golden and slightly cripsy on some sides---30 to 40 minutes.

*I think these taste the best cold. Be careful--once you are eating, it's hard to stop!

Homemade Kettle Corn

Making my own popcorn is my new favorite thing! It's so easy and delicious. You don't need any fancy equipment. I first made a batch with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels. After it popped, I topped it with melted butter and sprinkled it with salt and grated Parmesan cheese. Tasty, savory snack--goes well with good beer.

But, my heart really belongs to kettle corn. I found an easy recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little. I literally ate my first batch by myself, so watch out! It's that good. The website said that white sugar makes it taste like popcorn balls and brown sugar made it taste more like caramel corn. I use a little of both--packed into the same 1/4 measuring cup.

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (allrecipes called for 1/4 cup; the second time I made this, I used less and it was ok. I may try using an 1/8 cup or less next time.)
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
  
• Salt to taste

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot with a lid.
2. Add popcorn kernels, then add sugars and quickly stir--keeping the lid covering the pot as well as possible.
   
3. As the popcorn pops, shake your pot. A LOT. Every once in a while, I lift up the pot and flip it over to try to get the sugar as evenly coated as possible. Any sugar left on the bottom of the pot the whole time will burn.
4. Once popping slows to once every couple of seconds, remove from heat. Keep shaking until the popping stops. I'd recommend removing it a little earlier rather than later, as the sugar will burn quickly if left on too long.
5. Pour into a huge bowl and sprinkle with salt.
   

Muddy Buddies/Fudgy Wudgies

I have really fond memories of this snack. I didn't have it much, but when I did I insisted that we have it again--as soon as possible. Easy and delicious! Just try to stop eating it, I dare you.

• 9 cups rice Chex, or off-brand to save some $
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Measure out your rice cereal and set aside in a very large bowl (with high sides, if you can)
2. In a medium-sized microwaveable bowl, add chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.
3. While the chocolate mixture is microwaving, measure out your powdered sugar into a large freezer zip-lock bag.
4. Add vanilla to chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal and mix until well coated. Scoop the cereal into the freezer bag and shake, shake, shake.
5. Chill until ready to serve.