Jo's Candies - Dark Salted Caramels, Pumpkin Spice Toffee Corn, Pumpkin Spice Bark, & Dark and Milk Chocolate Grahams

Jo's Candies
Website here.
Small batches of chocolate since 1946.
That's not their slogan, and they did not tell me to advertise for them. I just love spreading the word when I find excellent food, which is the whole point of this blog. I am very picky when it comes to chocolate (among other things), and these are SO good. I absolutely loved the chocolate grahams and dark chocolate caramels...and the popcorn and pumpkin bark were pretty good too, although I wouldn't say that I absolutely loved them. Definitely good quality. Check out their delicious-looking products here. I want to try their S'mores Cookies, Peppermint Crunch, and English Toffee Nuggets. Oh my goodness.

First, the pumpkin ones. I am a huge fan of pumpkin and pumpkin-flavored things. Usually I'm a pumpkin snob and only like products with actual pumpkin in them that truly taste like pumpkin, but I'd say that those "pumpkin spice flavored" Hershey's Kisses and these two products below are good enough to feature here. The bark even reminds me of those Hershey's Kisses. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of very fancy sweet popcorn, but this popcorn was good. I do wish it had more of a pumpkin flavor, but that's the pumpkin snob in me being picky. I bet most sweet popcorn fans would love this. Note: There's no actual pumpkin listed as an ingredient in either of these products.

The Jo's Candies website mentions that their Chocolate Grahams are popular, so I was excited to try them. I was definitely not disappointed. Delicious. They are generous with the chocolate, so these are wonderful for chocolate lovers.

My favorite = the dark chocolate graham crackers. SO WONDERFUL and rich and thick. I love dark chocolate so much. I am eating one right now. My friend ate two or thee of the milk chocolate ones the other night.

Here's part of a milk chocolate graham:

I love these dark salted caramels too.

 

So where can you find Jo's Candies? My friend gave me the pumpkin spice bark and bought it from World Market. Here's what the company website says about where to find their items:

"Our chocolate covered grahams are our most popular item and they can be found at a variety of upscale gourmet markets across the United States. Dayton-Hudson, Dean & Deluca, Eli's and The Vinegar Factory, Oakville Grocery, Dragers, Bristol Farms, Admiral Thrift, QFC (both in the Pacific Northwest) Zupans, and Norm Thompson (mailorder), and a host of other specialty catalog companies.

"Our chocolate graham crackers are available at Border's Cafe, Caribou Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea, Diedrich, Gloria Jeans, Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus, Tully's and thousands of other coffee bars."

Garlic & Herb Roasted Potatoes [and Butternut Squash & Acorn Squash]

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. That guy is awesome and is so hilarious with his humming and enthusiasm for food. I found the recipe here and have used it three times now. My only complaint is that it is VERY difficult skinning and cutting up the two types of squash. It is such a workout and can be dangerous if you don't use the knives carefully.

The acorn squash is on the left, and the butternut squash is on the right. I didn't end up using the entire butternut squash because it was huge and I got tired of chopping it.

Inside the butternut squash (such a pretty color!):

Inside the acorn squash (with the seeds taken out):

The raw ingredients all in a bowl:

The fresh thyme & rosemary:

Pre-roasting:

Butternut squash seeds (YUM!!):

Acorn squash seeds (YUM TOO!):

All of the seeds mixed together and cooked in the oven with olive oil and salt (very similar to pumpkin seeds, but I was able to eat the shells of these seeds):

RECIPE (here):

• 2 1/2 pounds assorted small potatoes, such as fingerling, Yukon Gold or red Bliss, scrubbed (I just cut russet potatoes into chunks)
• 1 acorn squash, peeled & cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 3 cups butternut squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
(2) Put potatoes & squash in a large bowl & toss with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, & salt and pepper to coat well
(3) Transfer vegetables to a large baking sheet & spread into a single layer, keeping any leftover oil from the bowl
(4) Roast vegetables until tender, turning every 10 minutes with a long-handled spoon (about 45 minutes to 1 hour)
(5) Remove from oven & add as much leftover oil to vegetables as desired
(6) Season to taste & serve immediately

French Quarter Beignets!

Michelle F found the Paula Deen recipe here on Food Network's site. Not too difficult...just time-consuming and fattyyyy, which is what makes these good.
Michelle, Lisa, Catherine, Chris, and I made powdered sugar beignets, chocolate beignets, & cinnamon and sugar beignets. Everyone I asked said the cinnamon & sugar ones were the best. They were basically like chopped up churros.

The dough:

 

We used large plastic bags to coat the dough in powdered sugar. You just have to wait a few seconds after the dough has cooked so that you don't burn a hole in the bag.

 We experimented with different shapes:

RECIPE (found here - supposed to make 3 dozen, but we ended up with way more):

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups bread flour - read directions carefully
• 1/4 cup shortening
• Nonstick spray
• Oil, for deep-frying
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

(1) Mix water, sugar, & yeast in a large bowl & let sit for 10 min
(2) In another bowl, beat eggs, salt & evaporated milk together
(3) Mix egg mixture to yeast mixture
(4) In a separate bowl, measure bread flour.
(5) Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding remaining flour
(6) Remove dough from bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface, & knead until smooth
(7) Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray
(8) Put dough into bowl & cover with plastic wrap or a towel
(9) Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours. We gave it about 1.5 hrs 'cause it was in direct sunlight. Two hours is a looong time to wait.
(10) Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F
(11) Add confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside
(12) Roll dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness & cut into 1-inch squares
(13) Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become golden.
(14) Once beignets are fried, drain for a few seconds on paper towels and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar
(15) Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly

Oregon Growers & Shippers Pumpkin Butter

IT'S PUMPKIN SEASON!!!

Melissa gave me this pumpkin butter from World Market (LOVE that place!), and it is delicious! It's basically like a more liquid-y form of jam (rather than goopy or gelatinous) and feels like applesauce rather than actual butter. It tastes like pumpkin though--thank goodness! I hate when pumpkin things don't taste like pumpkin! Check out the ingredients below. That short list made me happy (pumpkin puree, sugar, spices, & citric acid).

So far I've only tried it on a raisin bagel with real butter. Excellent.

 

The simple ingredients (a plus because they didn't mess up the glorious pumpkin taste with
nasty weird things):