Sea Foam

I made Sea Foam, mostly as an experiment. Inspired by this conversation, I thought it could be a fun experiment. I love the simple chemistry of it. Somehow, somewhere, someone figured out how to combine a grade-school science project volcano with candy.  The recipe is so simple as well.

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon baking soda

Cook sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar to 300. Quickly stir in baking soda and pour into a buttered 9 by 9 pan. Wait for it to cool and break into chunks.

Lessons learned:

Mix really hard, really fast. I was surprised how quickly it processed.

REALLY butter the pan, if you want to get it out OK.

The finer density foam is a much better texture for eating.

I'm wondering what else I could make it with, other than dark corn syrup. Molasses? Honey? Maple Syrup? Pomegranate Molasses? And I know nothing about flavoring candies.

And yes, I know this is the most unhealthy food ever.

Tart Tatin

I made a Tart Tatin. While this is not the best photo, I love how you can see the steam from the hot caramel, and the ring of apple quarters is clearly visible. This is Jenn's favorite kind of dessert, because it isn't too sweet. I love the texture, the juice from the apples dissolves the hard caramel, and then sets as it cools with the apples' natural pectin. And I made it in my cast iron pan.

Fry up experiments

Because I have been obsessed with deep frying things, I have been looking for alternatives to french fries. I made yucca fries, but the payoff/workload ratio wasn't worth it, even for me. 

1. Peel the massive root. (Pain in the ass.)

2. Cut it into batons, avoiding the woody core. (Bigger pain in the ass.)

3. Blanch the batons, to remove any cyanide. (paranoia sets in, and I cooked them too long.)

4. Dry and then fry your batons.

When I got to the frying, I realized that it was purely for presentation. And because I had over blanched them, the fibers started to separate, and my nicely cut batons looked like fried hairy fingers. And I had missed some chunks of woody core, which are no fun to find in your mouth. I learned a lot, and would do it way better if I did it again, but I won't.

On the other hand, I made chickpea fries, which were awesome.

1. Cook chickpea flour and water into a thick porridge.

2. Spread porridge in a pan and leave in the fridge until it sets, a couple of hours. (this could easily be done the day before.)

3. Flip out of the pan and cut into batons. ( I used a pizza cutter)

4. Fry up!

Brown Sugar! Best substitution ever.

I hate buying brown sugar. I hate keeping it moist. I hate a box you can't fit a measuring cup into. I hate a brick in the pantry I can't instantly rehydrate.

I have a new plan. After seeing Alton do this, I realized, while I never use dark brown sugar, I could maybe make light. One pound sugar, 2 ounces black strap  molasses, let the food processor go to &#$@%* town. Voila! Light brown sugar! And the price comparison is absurd. The veil kept over my eyes by Domino was absurd. I keep it in  a zip-lock and can easily fit any size measuring scoop inside. Compact it through the bag with your hand and a perfect, packed, measured amount.

This totally makes me obsessed with substitutions. And baking math.  A few for you:

1 cup milk + 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar + 1/2 hour = 1 cup buttermilk.

7/8 cup of honey - 3 Tablespoons liquid(from the recipe) = 1 cup sugar

3/4 cup maple syrup - 3 Tablespoons liquid(from the recipe) = 1 cup sugar

21/4  Tablespoons = 1 large egg white (this is great as I freeze whites in one bin, and can defrost and measure out what I want) Buttercream was never easier.

1 cup of buttermilk and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda will rise one cup of flour. Hello, custom pancakes recipe!