Vanilla sugar

Vanilla sugar, originally uploaded by chrisfreeland2002.

So this is the easiest, tastiest way to dress up sugar, ever. Put sugar in an airtight container, bury a piece of vanilla bean in it, and store in a cool place away from direct light. From time to time, shake the container to stir up the contents. After a week or two you'll have vanilla flavored sugar, perfect for adding some oomph to coffee or dressing up whipped cream.

Trust me, you'll love this sugar. And it smells like heaven.

Chris Freeland
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com

Scharffen Snap Pie

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Snap Pie, originally uploaded by chrisfreeland2002.

My grandma used to make the best chocolate cream pie. My grandma made great pies period, but her chocolate was my favorite. I had been looking for a good chocolate cream pie recipe and found one in the Feb 2008 issue of Food & Wine - Chocolate Cream Pie. The whole point of the article was to take a dish and make 2 versions; one upscale, one down home. Hmm....what a novel concept. Their upscale chocolate cream dessert was a chocolate souffle with vanilla creme anglaise. Nice and all, but I wanted an upscale chocolate cream pie. So, I took the basic recipe and twisted it up a bit to make Scharffen (Berger Chocolate Cream Ginger) Snap Pie.

Follow the recipe, making the following additions and substitutions.

-Use ginger snaps instead of chocolate wafers in the crust. I think the combination of ginger & chocolate is really nice, and a bit unusual.

-Steep the whole milk used in the filling with a vanilla bean. Take a 2-3 inch section of vanilla bean and split it down the middle. Add it to the 2 cups whole milk in a pan. Bring just to a simmer, cover and steep off heat for 20 minutes. After steeping, remove the vanilla bean pod and scrape the tiny seeds into the milk and stir. Strain the milk to remove any solids and continue using in recipe as instructed.

-Use really good chocolate. I used Scharffen Berger, which is fantastic. There are really so many good chocolates on the market now that finding one isn't hard; finding one you like is...but what a fun taste-test!

-The recipe calls for 4 ounces semisweet and 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate. I used 2 ounces semisweet, 2 ounces bittersweet, and 1 ounce unsweetened. I threw in the bittersweet because I like a darker, stronger chocolate flavor.

The pie turned out really, really well. I'll definitely be making this one again.

Chris Freeland
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com

Vanilla Bean Caramels with Fleur de Sel

My mom has a killer recipe for Vanilla Caramels. They're really easy to make, and your friends will be so impressed. I took her traditional recipe and punched it up a bit by steeping a vanilla bean in the cream (so the caramels would have those gorgeous little brown flecks in vanilla bean ice cream) and by replacing the standard iodized salt with Fleur de sel. Oh, and I swapped out vanilla extract for a jigger of rum or bourbon - either one (but not both!) add a really mellow richness to the candy. If you want to make the traditional version, skip steeping the cream (and the vanilla bean entirely, making this a MUCH cheaper recipe), and substitute with the ingredients indicated in parenthesis below.


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup white syrup
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 tsp Fleur de sel (or 1/2 tsp standard iodized salt)
1 cup cream
1/2 of a long vanilla bean, split (or omit)
1 jigger of bourbon or rum (or 1 tsp of vanilla extract)
whole cashews, optional

In a small pan, bring cream just to simmer. Split the vanilla bean along its side and place in the cream. Cover and steep off heat for 20 minutes. Uncover and skim off any film that has formed on the cream. Remove the vanilla bean from the cream, and using a knife scrape the centers of each bean back into the cream, discarding the bean when done. Stir to spread the vanilla throughout the cream. Omit this entire step if making the traditional recipe.

Pour sugar, syrup, butter, Fleur de sel and cream into a medium saucepan. Cook, using a candy thermometer, to 248 degrees (firm ball stage), occasionally scraping down the sides of the pan with a wooden spoon - but resist the temptation to stir! Remove from heat and let cool slightly, 2-3 minutes. Slowly stir in bourbon/rum/vanilla. Pour into a buttered sheet pan for thin caramels or a 9x13 pan for thick caramels. Cool until starting to firm, 1-2 hrs. Cut into squares and wrap in waxed paper or candy wrappers. For a fun option, after cutting press a whole cashew into the caramel square and roll it into a delicious, cashew-centered ball of chewy goodness.

Chris Freeland
cfreeland27 (at) gmail.com