Pecan Pralines, Ya'll

It's time to practice your best southern drawl.  You may wish to embody Paula Dean, but this recipe actually stems from the Taste of Home Cookbook (p 578) given to me by my Mom-a-la, Cindy.  I had a hankering for these and an excess of pecans so I gave them a try. 

I love to experiment in the kitchen and try new things.  I'm not afraid of spending hours cooking, as long as it's on a weekend (and as long as my wonderful hubby will both sample and help clean up, which he always does).  Luckily, these don't take hours to prepare and received rave reviews.  They literally melt in your mouth and have a lovely carmel flavor.

First things first, Mise en place:

You will need the following ingredients:

3 C packed Brown Sugar
     (I used a combination of light and dark as I was running out of light)
1 C Heavy Whipping Cream
2 T Light Corn Syrup
1/4 t Salt

You'll combine the above and add the below as it cools.

1/4 C Butter (cut into little pats)
1 & 1/4 t Vanilla Extract (or other flavor of choice like coffee, rum, etc)
2 C chopped Pecans (or whatever nut you dig)

Prepare your cooling area.  I used Silipads or Silicone mats so I didn't need additional lubricant.  You could use a buttered baking sheet or parchment paper.  I don't recommend wax paper (though Taste of Home book uses it) as hot things tend to melt and then absorb the flavor of wax.  Not tasty. 

As you're going to be cooking over some high heat you want a really heavy bottomed pan.  One that is large enough to accept the growth of the boiling sugars.  So larger than you think you need, but it's more about the height of the sides than the width of the pot.

Some folks use their eye to judge when the sugar is the right temperature.  Some use the drop of lava in water method to determine if the candy has reached the soft-ball stage.  I use a handy dandy thermometer and take the culinary napalm off the heat when the temp has reached 234 degrees F.  You can stir occasionally if you like to fuss over your cooking.  I used a silicone coated wisk when I was getting the first group of ingredients incorporated.  After the sugars start to boil, I'm not so sure stirring is needed as the boil is quite aggressive.

So, you've reached 234 degrees F and can take the pot off the heat.  Drop in the butter, but don't stir.  Just let it melt and allow the temperature to drop to 150 degrees F.  At that temperature the liquid is still dangerous, so be careful not to get any on your skin.  Thankfully it is water soluable, so don't worry too much if there are drips on the counter at the moment...  It will take about 35 minutes to cool.

Stir in the vanilla and the Pecans and stir with your favorite wooden spoon.  Why wood?  Because wood has an amazing quality which allows it to absorb amazing amounts of heat, but not return it to the sugar.  This helps the candy to cool.  You're looking to stir for about 5 - 7 minutes. 

The instructions said you still want the product to be glossy.  This I found to be an awkward instruction as the product starts out glossy, so it doesn't really tell me when to stop.  I may have stopped stirring too early, but the pralines I dipped first just took longer to set.  They all turned out, so just stir until you are really really tired of stirring and the sugar is still shiny.  If it starts to fog or become dull, it will be harder to dip and you may end up with waste.

Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the candy, making sure you get a fair amount of the nuts in each praline.  They will spread a little so leave about an inch of space between each praline.

Let stand until set.  You'll know when they are done as they will easily peel off the parchment.  They will have also become cloudy and opaque.  In my experiment the last ones dipped finished first.  I think it was the additional stirring from scooping them out of the pan.  The first ones took practically overnight to set up which makes me think I whimped out and didn't stir as long as needed.  However, with patience they were delicious. 

I shared them with my co-workers and Tim who all remarked that they melt in your mouth.  They are meant to be eaten slow and enjoyed.  With a nice hot mug of coffee I think they would be glorious.

Beef, Sweet Potato, & Spinach Turnovers

I recently started a magazing subscription to "Real Simple". I enjoy the simplicity of their magazine and took advantage of one of their recipes which we thoroughly enjoyed. The filling is very simple and easy to modify to suit your tastes. I made some changes and will share with you what worked and what might not have worked as well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cover a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with foil, parchement paper or a silicone mat (no wax paper in the oven, please).

For the filling:

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• (We try and use the leanest available, could use any ground meat)
• 1 medium Sweet Potato - Grated
• (I hate it when the recipe uses a measurement as vague as "medium", but since this isn't baking whatever size you have on hand is fine, too much in the mix just means you'll end up making more turnovers than originally planned)
• 2 C Baby Spinach
• (You could use a 1 lb box of frozen, thawed and drained spinach, or any other dark leafy green such as Chard)
• 2 Cloves chopped garlic
• (I cheat and use the pre-chopped garlic, when it is an additive and not the main player, this is fine to do)
• 1/2 C Grated Cheddar
• (Another point of flexibility as you could use any cheese, Swiss, Mozzarella, Goat Cheese...)
• (Recipe called for 1 & 1/2 C Cheese, but this seemed too oily in the final product)
• Kosher Salt & Pepper to taste

Time Savers:
- Pre-Chopped Garlic

- Pre-washed and bagged Spinach

- Pre-Shredded Cheddar

Begin by assembling your ingredients. The French call this "Mise en place" which literally translates to "everything in its place". Having all of your ingredients prepped will make cooking a lot easier. You will also be saved of the pain of starting a recipe only to find you don't have everything you need. Knowing ahead of time that you need to make substitutions allows them to be nicely integrated into the final product.  I'd also suggest beginning by reading through the entire recipe before you launch into action.

Shred the Sweet Potato in your food processor. I used the 4mm blade. If you wash the skin well you can forgoe the peeling and benefit by the extra nutrients and fiber in the skin. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a stand-up cheese grater on the largest sized holes.

Brown the ground meat in a large high-sided skillet until no pink remains. Then toss in the Sweet Potato and Spinach. You want the spinach to just wilt. Don't overcook as the filling will have time in the oven as well. If you have substituted a heartier green such as Kale, you will need to pre-cook before adding to the filling to prevent excess chewiness. Season the filling with Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper.

Place the cheese in a large bowl. Once the leaves are barely wilted, combine with the cheese and toss thouroughly to combine. Take a taste at this point to ensure the seasoning is to your liking. Adjust as needed.

The filling will continue to cook while it waits patiently for you to prepare the crust. The original recipe called for Puff Pastry, but I had Phyllo on hand and had been dying to use it. Be sure to thaw either, overnight in the fridge to ensure it is ready for this recipe.

 

For the Crust:

• 8 oz Frozen Phyllo Dough - thawed in fridge overnight
• (Or 1 package of Puff Pastry also thawed)
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter - melted
• Pastry or silicone brush

Phyllo Dough has a definite stigma attached to it. That it is difficult to work with and not worth the trouble. Well, this was my first time working with it, so I have some tips.

Phyllo Tips

- Thaw overnight in the fridge, not on the counter to avoid excess moisture

- Keep the sheets together as they will keep each other moist

- Lightly butter each sheet

- Don't over-fill to prevent ruptures

The Phyllo Dough I used was rolled around a thin plastic sheet. If you don't use the entire package, save that sheet and store the unused sheets in the same manner. Rolling prevents seams or folds which encourage cracking. If you have a sheet that is torn, not to fear, you can still use it. Just make the torn sheet one of the inside ones.  Re-freezing the sheets is fine as long as you store them well and prevent frost from collecting on the sheets.  This would produce excess sogginess when it is time to re-thaw for their next use.

My Phyllo sheets were about the size of a letter piece of paper, so I didn't trim them. Lay out the first sheet and brush lightly with the butter. Lay the next sheet on top and brush again with butter. You will be using four (4) sheets per square (turnover).

After all four (4) sheets have been lightly buttered, take a #20 scoop, or a 1/4 C measurer to dish out the filling. You don't want to over fill the product as it will burst through the paper thin layers and no longer be considered a hand friendly food. And we all enjoy eating with our hands, right?

This part is so easy you won't even need to use those Summers working the Gap experience to do. If you placed the filling in the middle of the sheets, take the right edge and fold over the filling, flattening it gently. Lightly brush with butter and take the left edge and fold over. Lightly brush the bottom edge with butter and fold the excess toward the filling. Lightly brush the top edge with butter and fold the excess toward the filling. Be gentle to not spring a leak.

Remember that lined cookie sheet pan you set aside earlier? Time to put that puppy in play. Lay your folded pockets evenly on the sheet giving them room between each for even browning. Brush the tops lightly with butter to encourage browning.

Bake at 375 F in your pre-heated oven for 25 - 35 minutes or until desired browning has occured. Since the filling is hot and cooked, you are mainly doing this for the benefit of the phyllo. If you are using the Puff Pastry, please check the package instructions for time and temperature. I'm not sure how that product differs.

You will likely want to let these cool slightly. Or the roof of your mouth will punish you with blisters. The phyllo experiment satisfied me more than Tim who enjoyed the filling, but would like me to try the puff pastry next time. I think the Phyllo was too flakey for his tastes. I, who enjoyed eating brussel sprouts growing up mainly because I could dissect them one leaf at a time, rather enjoyed the individual flakey layers of the Phyllo. Thankfully the leftovers I can have all to myself.

 

Leftovers

If you made more than you could consume in one meal, you can save the leftovers. While Phyllo doesn't really enjoy being kept in the fridge and shows you its displeasure by getting all soggy, this generally can be remedied with proper reheating methods. As I haven't enjoyed the leftovers yet, here's my plan of attack...

I want to use a two step method.  Mainly as I feel this method is office-friendly as I plan to use the leftovers for lunches.

First, give the square a shot in the microwave. This will allow you to heat the inside without over-browning the crust.

Second, in a pre-heated 375 or 400 degree oven, or a toaster oven, on a piece of foil, heat to desired crispness. The higher temperature might allow for the most rapid crisping without over browning. I'll let you know how it turns out.