Midlife Crises

Last week, I celebrated another birthday. It was a birthday that might mean I have officially hit middle age. It was also a birthday celebrated with multiple groups of friends and multiple dinners out, and some of the best blackened steaks, fettuccine, and bang bang shrimp I have had in some time. I also hit it big with home-canned pasta sauce, homemade wine, lots of silly cards, coffee, and purple hair.

Yep. I trudged into my first week of middle age with a midlife crisis that resulted in purple highlights framing my face.

As I have been busy catching up with canning tomatoes from the garden (and a large haul provided by friends), I have been wearing my hair up more often than not, and the purple isn't that visible. However, when I take the time to style and wear my hair down, I am often caught off guard when I pass a mirror and catch a glimpse. I. Have. Purple. Hair. It has to be a midlife crisis.

The drama hasn't been limited to just my brunette locks, I also had to mess with the recipe for a pan of Blondies. Friends were married the weekend before my birthday, and I helped with the wedding rehearsal supper. They had chosen a simple cookout menu and requested brownies and blondies for desserts.

Just like my hair, I couldn't leave those blondies alone. Chocolate chip bars were too simple. Butterscotch chips alone made them too sweet. And while white chocolate chips added some visual interest, they were also boring. Would it be a crisis to mix it up with ALL THE CHIPS? Well...maybe the crisis of middle aged spread after eating the entire pan.

Midlife Crisis Blondies

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but if you prefer a sweeter bar, milk chocolate would be good.)

1-1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

1-1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.
Line a 17x12 (half sheet) pan with parchment paper and coat any surface not covered by the paper (edges) with cooking spray.
Beat the softened butter with the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and extract and combine well.
Gradually, stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add the chips to the batter.
Spread in the prepared pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
Cool in pan completely before cutting. (4 dozen bars)

And...just in case you were curious about what a middle aged woman looks like with purple hair...

I Heart NY - NYC, volume 3

On our last day in New York City, we spent the morning at the 9/11 Memorial. This tribute is extremely powerful and moving. There really are no words for the weight of the sadness that hits as one reads the names etched in bronze around the reflecting pools of each life lost. We all watched in horror a those planes struck and the towers fell. Walking on those grounds and gazing into the ponds and waterfalls, one feels a great responsibility to honor those fallen, to be a better person, and to never forget.

The rest of the day was spent wandering and eating. Eating and wandering. We walked blocks and blocks and stopped anywhere that looked appealing. A drink here. An appetizer there. A dessert in another place. A spinach pie from a deli. A warming cup of cappuccino. We nibbled through restaurants, and diners, and delis, and bakeries. We sampled anything that caught our fancy, and even though our bites were small, by the time our feet were tired and we were ready to head back to the hotel, my tummy was so full I thought I might burst. It was incredible. The best. I want to go back and do it again. Right now. Right.Now. I heart New York.

One of the places we stopped was Amy's Bread. After our slightly disappointing dinners, I was looking for one thing to really love. One outstanding food needed to stand out for this trip, and I found it at this bakery. Salted Butterscotch Cashew Bars rocked. Totally. Completely. We bought one and split it as we walked the few blocks to another stop. Immediately, I wanted more...even though I was rapidly reaching my full button. We dissected the flavors and debated the ingredients. When we got back to the hotel, I did an online search for the recipe. I was in love.

These sweet, salty, chewy, nutty bars of perfection would be an excellent treat for your Valentine (since that day is rapidly approaching). Or, if Cupid hasn't hit you, just make a pan for yourself. Don't eat them all in one sitting, though. Salted Butterscotch Cashew Bars are rich. Deliciously rich. Deliciously divine. I heart Salted Butterscotch Cashew Bars.

Salted Butterscotch Cashew Bars

(from Amy Sherber, The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread 

and the James Beard Foundation)

Crust:

2 2/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cold

1 1/8 cups light brown sugar, packed

Topping:

1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips (this is the rough measurement of a package of butterscotch chips)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons water

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups cashew pieces, roasted and salted

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Line a 12 x 17-inch sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Grease lightly with softened butter.
To make the crust, cut the butter into the flour, alternating with the brown sugar, using a pastry blender to form a coarse meal. (Alternatively, use a food processor fitted with a metal blade.)
The dough will be a little crumbly but will almost form a ball.
Spread the crust evenly in the bottom of greased pan, patting in gently.
Be careful not to pack it down too much or the crust will become tough.
Bake it for 5 minutes then prick the dough lightly with a fork all over, and return the pan to the oven and bake for about 10 more minutes.
The crust should be slightly browned and soft to the touch.
Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool for several minutes.(Cooling is important, as the hot topping will destroy a warm crust.) Do not turn off the oven.
To make the topping, melt the butterscotch chips, corn syrup, butter, water, and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chips have melted completely and the topping has just begun to simmer, about 5 minutes.
Stir the cashew pieces into the hot topping and spread it evenly over the baked crust.
Bake again for 11 to 15 minutes, or until the surface is brown and very bubbly.
Allow the bars to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. (Yield: 25 bars)

Fridge Friday, Episode 13: Black Friday

It is Fridge Friday on the day after Thanksgiving. Oh boy, are you in for a treat.

My fridge is stuffed with leftovers. I don't think another Gladware container could fit inside. Yesterday, we had a full dinner of turkey (I brined with a recipe from Martha Stewart and roasted with a recipe from The Angry Chef), Herbed Sausage Dressing, Spinach Whipped Mashed Potatoes, Giblet Gravy, Roasted Butternut Squash with Shallots, Green Beans tossed with Bacon and Caramelized Red Onion, Potato Rolls, and since I was the only one at the table that really likes cranberries, a can of jellied Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce (I secretly...or maybe not so secretly...LOVE this stuff.). Gobble. Gobble.

But, it isn't those leftovers that I am going to focus on for this special Black Friday Fridge Friday. I am going to give you a two-for-one post and share recipes for the 2 pies that are precariously balanced above the other goodies on the shelves. The star desserts on the table for our Thanksgiving feast were a Browned Butter Butterscotch Pie and an Apple-Cranberry Pie. (The Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake was not far behind in the ratings...I am just saving it for another blog post.) As different as night and day, one dessert is creamy and rich and almost has the heavenly flavor of homemade caramels; the other is tart and crisp and begs for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Gobble. Gobble.

Apple-Cranberry Pie

(adapted from Bake at 350)

pastry for a double-crust pie (use your favorite recipe or *gasp* Pillsbury)

4-6 Granny Smith apples (I actually used 4 Granny Smith and 2 Honeycrisp)

2 cups fresh cranberries

zest of one orange (I forgot to buy oranges & used grapefruit zest...really good.)

1 egg white, beaten

1 1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed

Preheat oven to 425.
Line the bottom of a pie plate with the bottom crust.
Brush lightly with beaten egg white.
Peel, slice, and core the apples.
Toss apples with the cranberries.
Combine the sugar, flour, salt, and citrus zest and toss with the fruit.
Pile the fruit mixture into the bottom crust.
Cover with top crust, crimp, and vent as you wish. (I went for a lattice crust to show off the pretty red of the cranberries.)
Brush top crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with a dusting of sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350.
Bake for additional 40-50 minutes.
(I had to foil my crimped edges after about 30 minutes to keep from over-browning.)
Serve with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Browned Butter Butterscotch Pie

(adapted from The Kitchn) 

pastry for a single-crust pie, baked (again, use your favorite recipe or Pillsbury, if that is what rocks your boat) 

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk.)
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon bourbon whiskey (Although the flavor isn't prominent in the pie, chose something you would sip.)

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 
Cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally, approximately 10 minutes. 
Add brown sugar to butter and cook until sugar is completely melted into a paste.
Combine milks and pour into the sugar mixture. 
Bring to a simmer and stir until smooth and sugar is completely dissolved.
In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, and salt. 
Ladle 1/ 2 cup of the milk/butter/sugar mixture into the cornstarch mixture and whisk until smooth. 
Pour the smooth cornstarch mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. 
Cook for approximately one minute, until just thickened.
Ladle 1/2 cup hot milk/butter/sugar mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly.
Combine with mixture back in the saucepan. 
Cook for approximately 30 seconds to one minute, and then remove from heat. 
Stir in whiskey. 
Pour into baked pie crust.
Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding in order to prevent a skin from forming. 
Chill overnight, or until firm. 
Serve topped with whipped cream (homemade is best).