Salted Whiskey Caramels

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I saw these on Pinterest and I thought, oh yum. And how perfectly fathers day-ish, if we go back in time to where the men came home from work, loosened their ties and took off the suit jacket, settling in for a whiskey on the rocks while the women finished up dinner (it's true that I've watched too much Mad Men). I really enjoy making candy and so I thought I'd give these a go as part of my father's day gifts this year. Caramels are not for the faint of heart nor those without candy thermometers. I was without the latter which is why the first batch failed and the second was still a bit soft. Nonetheless they got rave reviews and I think the small bite of whiskey makes these special. I like the taste of whiskey but if you do not, I don't think I would leave it out since candy making is an exact science. On her blog she has other flavors of caramels that look totally scrumptious as well. 

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One day I will have the perfect weekend where I can spend the whole day in the kitchen testing and baking and then taking perfect pictures but until that happens I will settle for sometimes having to use my phone and editing later and generally running around like a fool.

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We had Witt's family over for dinner Saturday night and we had a really lovely night under the trees with steak and mashed potatoes, creamed peas and caeser salad with shrimp cocktail and cheeses for appetizers. We sat at the table and talked until it got so dark we had to slowly make our way inside.

Sunday we went to my parents where my mom and sister planned a grilled hot dog bar with every kind of hot dog you could imagine. I had a delicious thyme, gouda and caramelized onion topped hotdog and we sat around the table toasting my dad, with Mary in Puerto Rico in real time in the window seal on Lauren's phone. That was so crazy. 

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My dad has held our family together through so much over the years with such strength and dignity. As my sister Mary said in her tribute, he was the rock we all relied on when my grandfather passed away even though it was his grief as well. He has always protected and sacrificed for us, often staying at jobs he didn't like to support us and working late hours, passing up promotions that would mean he would have to travel and be away from us for long periods of time. He has loved me through belly button rings and high school drama, through tattoos and moving to Paris and he embraced Witt right away, becoming good friends and supporting our marriage. One thing about my dad is that he is always quietly in the background, working hard and never for recognition, like the time he drove 45 minutes to clean the carpets in my old apartment I was moving out of, leaving drenched in sweat and never thinking anything of doing it for me. I am thankful for him.

Salted Whiskey Caramels by SoHowsItTaste makes 64 caramels

I do not like using waxed paper for candy. It always sticks to the candy and then its impossible to get off. I don't know if you have a solution for this or never have this problem, but I didn't use the waxed paper and I was able to just grease the pan and get the candy out in one large square. I also wrapped my candies in plastic wrap for the same reason. Parchment may work better. I modified one part of these directions that were left out of the original. Use a candy thermometer for best results :)

ingredients:

5 tbsp. butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 oz. (1/4 cup) whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. kosher (coarse) salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
up to 1 tbsp. kosher (coarse) salt, for sprinkling (you may not need the entire tablespoon)

directions:

1. Line 9-inch square pan with parchment or wax paper, allowing the paper to drape over two sides; spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat butter, heavy whipping cream, whiskey, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. In 3-quart saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. Boil until sugar turns a warm golden brown.

4. When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes,  stirring, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Pour caramel into pan; cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with up to 1 tablespoon salt; cool completely.

5. Cut into squares; wrap individually in parchment paper.

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The Graduates

The Little Brick House hosted another fun party on the lawn last Saturday for the graduates in the family. 

I don''t want to wear a path in the grass on this blog with the parties on the lawn but I liked so many of the pictures my sister, Cate, took that I had to do a post.  

I cropped and tweaked but they are lovely the way they are which is why Cate is majoring in photography next fall. She is so talented!

I have a huge extended family so we are always looking for large spaces to get together. Our yard was perfect and we all had plenty of space to hang out, eat and celebrate.

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Maddie, Lucy, Abbie, Lydia and Maggie.

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Nan being all lovely.

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I saw this on Pinterest, cropping brown paper bags and stamping the sides. A good way to serve chips. I used my favorite stamps, Family and So Thankful. I love stamps!

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Hannah.

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Roses from the rose garden.

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Maddie and Ashley.

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Thorpe being cool.

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Abbie and Nan.

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Gift and sharing time.

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Abbie painted these amazing portraits of Maddie and Cate!

I remember graduating from high school and how exciting it was. Even though as the years went by my major changed a trillion times, I switched from school to school, took a year off to live in Paris, friends changed and left, new friends took my heart, boys came and went, life got complicated and thrilling at the same time and new things were around every corner, I remember at graduation it seemed so simple. 

My life was a blank slate ready to be filled with my dreams and goals.  

It should be like it. And no matter what comes their way, these graduates are ready to take it on.

I'm excited for them!

BLT Pasta

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A thunderstorm was pounding on my windshield on the way home from work and when I got in the door it had stopped and the driveway was steamy and the air was humid. I like those summer storms. Tonight for dinner I was planning to make pasta alfredo because it's so easy and so few ingredients; cream, garlic, parm, pasta and salt and pepper, perfect for a Monday. But we were out of parmesan so instead I stared blankly in the fridge. I wanted to cook since we are doing pretty well saving for a house down payment (actually I really wanted to give up and go for chinese...). But we had bacon, cream and these really lovely tomatoes sitting on the counter so voila, BLT pasta. Except no lettuce but parsley from the garden. I made a garlic cream sauce with mozzarella cheese and then tossed whole wheat pasta with crumbled bacon, fresh tomato slices and parsley. It only took about 15 minutes and was really fresh and delicious with a red wine spritzer; a little tonic water, red wine and a splash of peach juice. 

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Yep, took my pot outside y'all.

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BLT Pasta ~ Serves 2-4

6-7 pieces of bacon, cooked and 2 tablespoons of bacon grease reserved
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
Whole wheat pasta, cooked (about 2/3 of the box)

In 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease, cook garlic over medium heat until fragrant but not browned. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until cooked down a small amount. Add salt and pepper and cheese. Stir until creamy and add to cooked pasta, toss. Add tomatoes, bacon pieces and parsley and toss lightly. Serve and Enjoy.

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Happy Monday!

And I tell you, babe, you're just enough for me ~ The Trip

Our Three Year Anniversary Trip
Asheville, NC

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Today is our three year anniversary!

When it's just the two of us there is no one else I'd rather be spending time with. 

I like this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche; "It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages." 

No matter that I leave bottle caps off of sodas until they go flat and rip tags off of clothes and then throw them on the floor, no matter that Witt leaves his dirty clothes in a pile outside of the bathroom door so that by the end of the week there are seven piles if I don't get them up, no matter how many ups and downs we've had these past three years, I'm so glad I'm married to him. Marriage has been the happiest years of my life so far.

 I think if you can live with someone else in a tiny one room house with a loft, a bed and two cats than you married the right person.

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For our anniversary we got away and there was so much to love about our trip. We went from my cousin's fabulous wedding in Charlotte to Chimney Rock, North Carolina and then onto Asheville, Montreat and Black Mountain, NC. 

Coming into the Chimney Rock area we stopped by the water and went to a flea market where I bought stamps with my name and one with merci beaucoup and a silver and turquoise pendent from local sellers. We walked along the bridge and the wind was breezy and the medallions on my sandals clanked like little bells up and down the boardwalk.

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Witt was so photogenic how could I not include all these photos of him.
We found our way to Chimney Rock where we took an elevator 26 flights of stairs to the top. Then we hiked a ways to exclamation point where you could look down on the rock. The weather was amazing. I can't even describe. It was warm and breezy and perfect. I am not much of a hiker (at all) but I enjoyed the climb and the view was beautiful.

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Chimney Rock was lovely, I'm glad we went and it was fun to do something Witt loves doing, being outdoors. The town of Chimney Rock was touristy and after a truly horrible lunch of I really think reheated hamburgers at Laura's House we drove to Asheville. We checked into the hotel and showered the hiking off and enjoying dirty olive martini's on that big hotel bed before dressing up a little to head downtown Asheville to eat at Pack's Tavern.

This is the cute pendent I got at the flea market. I think the martini inspired me to take selfies with my phone.

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I had a delicious southern fried chicken salad with a southwestern ranch and a super good spicy bloody mary. After dinner we walked around downtown in the street light for a while just enjoying the city which was bustling with memorial day eve activity. We found our way into a tiny dimly lit bar called Athena's with couches and a jack daniel special so we settled in and listened to the live music, a local musician that sang Bob Dylan, complete with the scratchy voice.

It was just perfect. Several hours into the night we headed back to the hotel and ate a light late night snack while we watched food network and then to bed.

The next day was just as good. We spent it in Asheville, Black Mountain and Montreat. I'll save that for here:

~

The Rest Of The Trip