English Toffee

I love toffee. Come on. Who doesn't love a crispy, buttery, sugary layer, topped with chocolate and nuts? Quality toffee gets a little expensive to buy, though. Why pay so much for something that's so easy to make yourself?

I think the scary thing for people about toffee (and other sugar-based candies) is the cooking element. Lots of people don't have candy thermometers (I don't) and what happens if it burns? Then you're stuck with a big, sugary mass and a smelly kitchen. But you can pull off this toffee in your own kitchen, and you don't even need any fancy tools or ingredients.

See? Everything here is probably something you have in your kitchen already.

In a large, nonstick pot, combine the butter and sugar.

Measure out some salt.

Pour in a little water.

Now turn the stove on medium-high. All your ingredients will start to melt together. Using a wooden spoon (or a heat-proof spatula), stir your sugar and butter mixture.

While this is an easy recipe, it's also one I recommend starting only if you know you've got the time to stir. You can't leave this alone for any period of time.

Once the sugar starts to boil, turn the temperature down to medium. Don't stop stirring!

At this point, set a timer for 30 minutes. Just stir, stir, stir.

Do you think your mixture is getting close to being done, but aren't sure? Here's a good way to test. Have a glass or bowl of cold water nearby. Carefully drop a bit of the mixture into the water. With a free hand, fish the candy out of the water.

This is what the mixture looked like after 25 minutes. It's at what they call the "soft ball" stage. The candy should be around 250F. When you take the candy out of the water, it should be firm but pliable.

What we're looking for is the "hard crack" stage, or around 290+F. At that point, the candy coming out of the water should be hard, brittle threads.

Just a few more minutes left...at this point, the candy is around 280F. If you dropped some into water at this point, it would turn into pliable threads.

Here we are, at just the right temperature! Can you see how the color has changed? It should smell deep and caramely.

Carefully pour your toffee onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Smooth the toffee across the whole pan, if necessary (and try to resist the urge to spread it by tipping the pan slightly. Use a spoon or a knife ... the pan is going to be really hot! Not that I know by experience or anything ...)

Let the toffee set for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle on your chocolate chips. The heat from the toffee will melt the chips.

I loved this part. It's kind of cool to see the half-melted chips! I like the tiny indents they make in the partially-cooled toffee too.

Use a spatula or knife to spread out the melted chocolate.

Sprinkle on your favorite nuts (I used sliced almonds) while the chocolate is still warm. Then set the toffee pan somewhere to cool.

It's around 30F here today--I just set the pan next to a cracked window, and the toffee cooled in no time.

Once the toffee is cooled, you'll want to break it into smaller pieces. I grabbed a butter knife and cut directly into the hard toffee.

The pressure from the knife broke off large chunks of toffee.

I would not, by the way, recommend this if your cookie sheets have any kind of nonstick finish or special coating on them. The knife could do some damage.

If you only have nonstick cookie sheets, I would suggest lining them with tinfoil before pouring on the toffee. Then, once the toffee has cooled, you can lift the tinfoil and the toffee should come right out.
Or, if you have a lot of counter space in your kitchen, you could just flip the cookie sheet over and bang on the back of it until the toffee pops out.

I'd also like to say, these pans are my favorite out of all the sheets and pans I own. I believe they're aluminum--our neighbor gave them to us a couple of years ago. They never stick, and they're light so I can bake butter cookies on them without worrying that they'll get too dark. They're lightweight, they don't warp, they're dishwasher safe, and because there's no finish, I can do things like press knife tips into them. 

By the way, don't throw away the toffee crumbs--save them and sprinkle them over ice cream, or mix them in with your coffee!

I put my toffee in cookie tins and candy boxes to share with friends and family. It makes a pretty (and delicious) gift! Make it for your special people and they'll be shocked and amazed to learn that you made it yourself! 

Recipe: English Toffee

2 c. unsalted butter
2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water

1 12-oz. bag chocolate chips
1/2-3/4 c. chopped nuts


In a large, nonstick pot, combine butter, sugar, salt, and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Once mixture reaching boiling, turn heat down to medium and set a timer for 30 minutes.

Continue stirring toffee until timer goes off (or mixture reaches hard crack stage/290F+). Pour mixture onto ungreased cookie sheet. Let sit for a couple of minutes.

Sprinkle chocolate chips over hot toffee. Once chips have melted, use a knife or spatula to spread chocolate all over toffee. Sprinkle melted chocolate with nuts.

Once toffee and chocolate have fully cooled, break toffee into smaller pieces.

Tangy Baconated Brussels Sprouts

Still think you don't like brussels sprouts? Did I not convince you with Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts? Well, here's a second shot. These sprouts end up more like a hot cole slaw, studded with bacon and flavored with dijon mustard, maple syrup, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. These are by far the best brussels sprouts I have ever eaten. Even Mr. Kim Chee admits that he loves them.

I'd guess that everything pictured here is something you have in your own kitchen.

The first thing you want to do is cut your bacon into thick chunks and get them started in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp, remove the bacon and save the fat.

While your bacon is cooking, multitask by cutting your onion in quarters. Cut two of the quarters into thin slices.

Toss the onions into the bacon fat.

See all those little yummy bits? That's bacon. Use a spoon to scrape up all the bits.

Continue to multitask by trimming the ends and old leaves off your sprouts. Cut the sprouts in half.

Then slice the sprouts, like you did the onions. Throw the sprouts in with the softening onions.

Once your sprouts have wilted, add a can of chicken broth. The broth will deglaze the rest of the bacon drippings from the pan and help your sprouts wilt down even more.

Add a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Add some maple, too, for a little sweetness.

Grab a spoon and scoop yourself a big tablespoonful of dijon mustard. I used the grainy kind, but if you have the smooth kind, that would be fine too.

Let everything simmer for at least 15 minutes so the flavors can come together.

Add your bacon back in.
















Your family won't know what hit them. Seriously, I could eat a bowl full of these sprouts for dinner and be satisfied! Try them today, and you will be a convert forever.

Recipe: Tangy Baconated Brussels Sprouts
6 slices thick-sliced bacon, roughly chopped

1/2 onion, sliced
3/4-1 lb. brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced

1 can chicken broth
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. dijon mustard


In a large pan, render bacon over medium heat. When bacon is crisp, remove from pan.

In the same pan, cook onion until slightly softened. Add brussels sprouts and saute for about 5 minutes.

Pour chicken broth into pan, scraping any bits of bacon off the pan's bottom. Add cider vinegar, maple syrup, and dijon mustard. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes.

Add bacon back into pan; stir. Serve.

Slow Cooked Korean Short Ribs

One of my favorite Korean dishes is kalbi--thinly sliced short ribs. This cut differs from how you usually see short ribs. They're either cut several ribs across, about half an inch thick and with several pieces of bone in them, or they're cut butterflied, like the picture on the left. And they're grilled.








We got a package of short ribs in our CSA package this month, but I was running into problems. I usually braise short ribs with red wine, but it was Sunday and we had no wine in the house. So I thought, well, I'll make them Korean style then. But we were out of propane! What to do?

Well, I wasn't letting a little detail like no propane stop me from making something good. I decided to put the crock pot in charge. It turned out to be a good decision!

The sauce for my short ribs started with a cup of soy sauce.

For sweetness, I added brown sugar and honey. I measured them both in the same measuring cup.

Sesame oil was next. Have I mentioned how much I love sesame oil? Because I do. A lot.

Three green onions (aka scallions) got added.

Then came the garlic.

I used the flat side of my knife to smash the garlic cloves. It made removing the garlic's papery coating easier. If your garlic didn't get a good enough smash the first time around, give it another one before adding it to the slow cooker.

Koreans love garlic. Don't be afraid, though--even though it's a lot, there wasn't an overpowering garlic taste. Cooking everything for so long really helps mellow the garlic bite.

I turned the crock pot on high and let the sugar and honey heat up a little. Everything got a nice layer of pepper and then was stirred together.

The short ribs came next. I placed them in horizontally. If you have as many short ribs as I did, you might need to do some cutting to get things to fit.

You'll probably have an easier time than I did. Usually short ribs purchased from the store are cut into individual ribs. These weren't, so they were a little bulkier.

After the short ribs were added, I poured in just enough water to reach halfway up the ribs. Just to keep things moist.

I also gave the ribs a good coat of ground pepper.

Let things go in the slow cooker for at least 5-6 hours at low heat. Here they are after a few hours.

Here they are, fully done. The meat should fall off the bones.















 I served mine with rice and Man Du. Give your slow cooker a break from regular Pot Roast and introduce your family to the taste of Korea!

Recipe: Slow Cooked Korean Short Ribs

1 c. soy sauce
1/8 c. packed brown sugar
1/8 c. honey
1/4 c. sesame oil
5-6 cloves garlic, smashed
3 green onions, roughly chopped
2-3 lbs. beef short ribs
pepper, for flavor
1/2 c. water

In a crock pot, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and green onions. Turn crock pot on low and stir well.

Add short ribs and pepper. Add enough water to go halfway up short ribs.

Cook over low heat for 5-6 hours or until beef is tender and falling off the bone. Serve over rice.

Grandma B's Cream Puff Dessert

Sorry for no post on Monday--I've been sick (again! Second time this month!) But I'm back and with a killer recipe.

Back in the day, when Mr. Kim Chee and I would head to his family's house for the holidays, we could always expect that someone would bring the cream puff dessert. While Mr. Kim Chee tells me that it's not necessarily a Christmas-related dish, I always remember having it at Christmas. It's a relatively quick dessert to make (made even simpler if you use premade ingredients like Cool Whip and readymade chocolate syrup rather than making your own) and it's something you don't see every day.

The base of this dessert is a simple cream puff (or, if you want to get fancy, choux) dough. The dough starts with water and butter in a sauce pot.

Once the water and butter are boiling, you add flour.

Stir the flour in until a dough forms.

It should form into a ball of dough.

Remove the pot from the heat and add four eggs, one at a time. Beat really well after each addition--you want to make sure the eggs are fully incorporated, and you want to stir vigorously to avoid your eggs from scrambling.

Here's what the dough should look like after all the eggs are added.

Turn the dough out onto a well-greased cookie sheet (or jelly roll pan.) Spread the dough out on the sheet. The dough is a bit sticky--using a wet spatula helps. If the dough starts to stick again, just run the spatula or spoon under the faucet for another second to re-wet it.

All spread out.

Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Like this!

If your dough puffs up in places, just press the bubbles back down. Now set the dough aside and get to work on the topping!

I made the whipped cream first. I poured a cup of heavy cream into my mixing bowl.

The original recipe used Cool Whip, which you can certainly use if you like. I find Cool Whip makes my tummy feel funny, so I try to avoid it when possible, but I know Mr. Kim Chee could finish off a tub of Cool Whip by himself if left to his own devices.

Give your cream a whipping. When it starts to thicken, sprinkle in a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar to sweeten things up.

A teaspoon of vanilla would be nice too.

Whip until the cream has very stiff peaks. Which I am afraid to say I didn't take a picture of. But I like to overwhip a bit--better to overwhip a little than underwhip, in this case.

Set the cream in another bowl so you can re-use the mixing bowl. Toss in a brick of softened cream cheese.

Give the cream cheese a quick whip, just to spread it out a little in the bowl.

Now for some Jello. I used two small packages of instant vanilla.

Pour the pudding in with the cream cheese. Beat them around a bit.

Some milk will thin things out.

All mixed up!

Be sure to follow the instructions on the back of the pudding when whipping--you want to make sure you stir long enough to make sure your pudding thickens up.

Spread the pudding mixture over your cooled cream puff base. It will seem like a lot, but the more, the better!

I like to leave a little of the cream puff showing along the edges.

Now top the pudding with the whipped cream. You can see how stiffly I beat it here.

I like how all the layers look.
















Top your assembled dessert with some Chocolate Syrup For Your Sweetie and you're all set! Take this to your next potluck or party and people will be raving for the recipe!

Recipe: Grandma B's Cream Puff Dessert

Cream puff base:
1 c. water
1 stick butter
1 c. flour
4 eggs

Whipped cream:
1 c. whipping cream
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Pudding layer:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 small (3.8 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding
4 c. milk


For cream puffs: In a medium sauce pot, combine water and butter. Bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, sprinkle in flour and stir until the dough forms a ball.

Remove dough from heat. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour and spread the dough out onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.


For whipped cream: Pour whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until cream starts to thicken. Sprinkle in sugar and add vanilla. Whip cream until very stiff. Move cream to a different bowl and re-use mixing bowl.


For pudding layer: Whip cream cheese briefly in the mixing bowl. Add pudding mix and beat together. Add milk gradually until all the milk is added.

Top cream puff base with pudding. Top pudding with whipped cream. Top entire dessert with chocolate syrup. Enjoy!