Friday, October 31, 2008

Shae Day: Carmel Apples and Movies!

I cannot express how much fun Shae and I are having with Shae Day! I think it is my new favorite day of the week and I KNOW that it is hers. This week, mommy wanted to play it low key, so we rented a couple of movies and made home made carmel!!

I rented Kit Kitrededge: An All American Girl! I was planning to go and see it on my birthday this year, and when my birthday had come, they had taken the movie out of theatres 2 days before. I was a little sad, but knew that I would happily wait until it came out on video.

What a DARLING and UPSETTING film for me!! I loved it and it haunts me! You are all probably going "huh?" It is about a young girl who wants to be a reporter and her adventures just after the great depression. I cried through 3/4 of the film. It had an outstanding list of actors: Julia Ormond, Chris O'Donnel, Jane Krakowski, Joan Cusack, and Stanley Tucci (Morty to me!). So you ask "how could a cute story about an all american girl make you cry." I cried because it was getting a little too close to home and as if my family could be taking the next step to "selling eggs or wearing chicken feed dresses". The economy has been tough on our little family and I am so thankful for the budget and learning to value relationships rather than material things. This is another blog for another day, but I just want to say that it is a DARLING little movie for the ENTIRE family and I loved it! It emphasizes that it is people that matter and how you treat them that is of greatest worth.

I also rented a My Little Pony movie for Shae and she watched that while I made the carmel. Let me tell you about this carmel!!


IT IS TO DIE FOR!

All throughout my life, I watched my dad sit at the stove for over an hour and would gleefully cheer as the long wait would come to an end and we would have our homemade carmel. We are talking WWWAYYYY better than melting down the carmel cubes. This is from scratch, baby!

I had to borrow a thicker pan from my grandma to make it. Apparently even the right pan is needed for such a wonderous treat. She was telling me that this recipe was carried across the plains, hence it's simplicity to the recipe. I was told 2 different measures for one of the ingredients and went back and forth on who was right. During my cooking process, I followed my gut and what I remember watching my dad do and the carmel turned out perfect!!
I also experimented with the carmel this year and did the Apple Pie carmel apples and cow tails. Cow tails are pretzels dipped in carmel and then dipped again in milk chocolate. MMMMmmm....I am salivating just talking about it. It was a huge success and I was so pleased!! I was singing "Victory, Victory!" all through the house and Brian told me to not get too pompas about it! I just laughed because he had no idea how HUGE it was for me not to mess up a recipe. So Ladies, feast your eyes on the fruits of my labors:

The other tradition we have from my home was any leftover carmel is poured on to a plate or dish and we would slowly pick away at it! As you can see below, it starts immediately and is addicting. I smothered some of the leftover chocolate to see how it tasted. Will have to let you know.


It was so much fun to spend time with my daughter and make something from my past that we did around Halloweeen. I hope that she thinks of me stirring over the stove every year and when she grows up, she too will want to share this little treasure of a tradition with her children.

Ok, here is the recipe and you are going to die on how simple it is:

2 Cups of Sugar

2 Cups of Karo Syrup

1 Can of Evaporated Milk

1 Stick of Butter

Add sugar and karo syrup in pan on medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until brought to a boil. Add stick of butter and stir until boil. Slowly, add evaporated milk and stir until carmel has turned brown and makes a hard ball in a cold glass of water.

That is it! So easy! Happy Halloween Everyone!

6 comments:

Me said...

I have that same carmel recipe. My aunt gave it to me 9 years ago and she's been using it for as long as I can remember. She make carmels every year at christmas and hands them out to us-needless to say I always looked forward to them. I'm glad they all turned out. That look soooo good! I made the mistake of reading this before I ate, so I'm really hungry now-thanks!

Kristen said...

Those carmel apples look SO GOOD. I'm keeping your recipe and will definitely try it sometime soon. Yum!

Ann Marie said...

Yay! I'm also glad that the apple pie ones turned out so yummy!
I cryed a ton through Kit too. I will probably buy that one.
Thanks for the recipe! I will be trying this oneday!

Haley said...

I LOVE homemade caramel. Store bought caramel doesn't even taste the same.

Love your posts Suz!

Jenice Henrie said...

I got your message and shared it with your dad. He was very excited that you tried the receipe.

He is now making breads. We bought him a new mixer and he is making date-nut, banana-nut, and basic bread. We made rolls today and we are going to modify the receipe for sweetrolls.

We are giving the Dorsey's the products of our labor because there is no way that we need the extra calories. It is fun to cook--but very hot in the house. I pray the temp drops. Especially before Thanksgiving. Did you see how red my face was at Trunk or Treat?

JENNIFRO said...

Truly reading that made me insane! I would love to make it and love homemade caramel as much as anything!!!I hope I can do it without ruining it. I am amazed at how DELICIOSO all the stuff you made looks.....so professional! The movie sounds like a good recommendation, too. You are really making memories these days girl! Way to go Suzanne. I'm in Vegas and can't update anything yet. But it's fun catching up with you and others.......; )

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