A Twist on the Caramel Apple w/ Brandy Caramel & Ice Cream

Hope you had a fantastic Halloween! Nicole found this Apple Ice Creams with Brandy Caramel recipe, and it was delicious!!

 

This caramel was pretty good! I'd definitely make it again.

 

Apple Ice Creams with Brandy Caramel RECIPE

25g butter (we used about half a block of butter...close enough)
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup golden syrup (we used regular pancake syrup)
¼ cup cold water
pinch salt
1x tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
2 Tbsp brandy
apples
ice cream
chopped nuts (we used almonds)

(1) Place butter in a saucepan & melt gently
(2) Add brown sugar, golden syrup, water & salt
(3) Heat gently at first & stir constantly as sugar dissolves
(4) Bring to boil, still stirring, until mixture bubbles like crazy
(5) Reduce heat & add condensed milk, vanilla & brandy
(6) Stir until it’s nicely combined & a good caramel color & then take it off the heat
(7) Cut top bit off the apple & scoop out the inside stuff
(8) Fill apple with a scoop or two of ice cream, & drizzle with the warm caramel (if caramel has thickened, just gently heat it again or add one more dash of brandy)
(9) Top with chopped nuts and serve!

Lemon Drop Jello Shots!

These are just awesome. I was going to just bring these potato wedges to a Halloween party, but then I found this on Food Gawker and couldn't resist. Here is the link to the recipe. My friends loved the idea and said that they tasted good. They're basically just lemon Jell-o mix, water, & vodka, but they look really cool. Scroll down for more ideas!

Before you slice them into little wedges, you refrigerate them like this:

Here are some other great ideas I'd love to try in the future:

(1) Strawberry margarita Jell-o shooters
(2) Caramel apple shots with real apples
(3) Candy corn Jell-o shots
(4) Watermelon lime Jell-o shots
(5) Pink lemonade Jell-o shots
(6) Strawberry Jell-o shots in mini chocolate bowls

Aren't those creative and pretty? I've gotta make these either for or with my cousin, Ashley, who loves Jell-o.

 LEMON DROP JELL-O SHOTS RECIPE

(1) Empty out the citrus of your choice to create a little cup
(2) Juice citrus first to make pulp removal easier (I shoulda done this). Save extracted juice for later recipes.
(3) Use either a grapefruit knife to hollow out the citrus or turn them inside out & dig deeply into the pith until you catch the thin membrane holding the pulp and then peel back. * Make sure to completely clean out your citrus or the pulp will show in the wedges*
(4) Make Jell-O according to the instructions on the box & then reduce the cold water portion by ¼ cup & replace with your chilled drink mix (I just added vodka)
(5) Place emptied citrus into muffin pan holes
(6) Pour mixture into emptied citrus & chill overnight or for at least a couple of hours (maybe 3?)
(7) Use a sharp, straight edge knife to cut into wedges to avoid leaving track marks

 *Note: I used one 6-oz box of lemon-flavored Jell-o and used a little less than 1/4 cup of vodka 'cause I was afraid of making them too strong.

Garlicky Baked Fries/Wedges

Oh my goodness I love potatoes. Blake and I both said that if we had to choose between RICE and POTATOES, we'd choose potatoes. And yes, we are both Japanese. Crazy, I know. I love both, but potatoes are just sooo awesome. Anyway, my Cal friend, Erin, introduced me to Food Gawker recently (I don't know how I didn't know about that until recently!!), and I went NUTS and wanted to make everything (well, everything that wasn't made of crab and stuff I hate)! Here's one of the recipes I made because it seemed easy and I just love potatoes and garlic. I saw the recipe here, but the recipe is here from The Purple Foodie.

GARLICKY BAKED FRIES/WEDGES RECIPE
Adapted from The Purple Foodie's recipe.

* Changes or decisions I made (when there were options):
- used big garlic cloves
- used cornstarch
- used regular salt (no sea salt when I'm in R-side)
- used regular black pepper
- used garlic salt instead of garlic powder (I didn't adjust the salt and just hoped it wouldn't be too salty, and it wasn't as far as I could tell)
- used chili powder instead of cayenne

I guess I made a lot of changes. I'm sure if you make a few changes to this basic recipe below, it'll still turn out delicious. Maybe add some parmesan...add MORE garlic (haha)...use seasoning salt...etc. You don't have to make it spicy with the cayenne or chili powder either, of course.

8 garlic cloves, minced (I used big cloves!)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour (I chose cornstarch)
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (I used regular salt)
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (I used regular pepper)
½ tsp garlic powder (I used 1/4 tsp garlic salt)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used ~1/8 tsp chili powder)

1. Preheat oven to 225°C/440° F
2. Combine garlic & oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant (~1 minute)
3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving garlic in the bowl) to the baking dish, coating it well
4. Add potatoes to bowl with garlic mixture & toss to coat
5. Wrap bowl tightly in plastic wrap & microwave on high power until potatoes are translucent around the edges (3 to 6 minutes), shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking
6. Combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, & cayenne in a small bowl & sprinkle over  hot potatoes & toss well to coat
7. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet & bake, turning once, until deep golden brown & crisp (30 to 40 minutes)
   
   Optional: Serve with ketchup, mayo, or sour cream, or whatever you want!

Spencer's Restaurant - Bakersfield, CA

Spencer's Restaurant
10437 Rosedale Hwy
Bakersfield, CA 93312

I love diners...and fast service, low prices, delicious food, and friendly service. Go here if you want that too and you happen to be in Bakersfield. Blake recommended this place to my parents and me, and it was perfect!

I got meatloaf (is it weird that I love meatloaf and always have?) with mashed potatoes and fried okra. This was my first time trying fried asparagus, and it was goood. I still love it in stir-fry dishes though!

 

My chicken & dumplings soup (so good!):

 I also love cornbread. This had the perfect grainy, firm-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside texture:

 My dinner came with a pie or cobbler, so I chose this cobbler but gave it to Blake. He said it was good, and it smelled awesome!