I am very much looking forward to fall and winter. This summer has been just awful……so sweaty, yucky hot. Horrible. I want to cook the things that you cook in the cooler months…..chili, soups, stew, pumpkin bread…..which I just happened to bake Sunday. (tomorrows post) Even though it wasn’t that cool outside, there was a breeze!!! That was good enough for me. Ha! I just had to make the pumpkin bread!!
The other thing that I like making in the cooler months, are caramel apples. Although, they are good any time of the year. To make it easier to eat, I make the caramel sauce and then cut up my apple into slices, for easy dipping. Buttery, rich, creamy, sweet, gooey, sticky caramel. M-m-m-m-m-m. This stuff is just so decadent. You will LOVE, LOVE….you will moan and smile and want to just slurp up every last drop. I use it for apples and pears, on ice cream, in my coffee, on pound cake, on pretzels and brownies……..and just scooped with a spoon, right out of the jar. It makes great gifts too. Just sprinkle a little salt on top and it is the best salted caramel. I don’t like things that are overly sweet….and this stuff is on the sweet side…..but once in a while ya just gotta indulge.

Caramel Sauce/Dip

1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
1 tblsp corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla, rum, bourbon, whatever….optional
2 tblsp butter
¼ tsp kosher or sea salt, optional

In a large pan, add the sugar, water, corn syrup and bring to boil over medium high heat. Gently whisk till sugar looks dissolved. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes +/- until it turns amber colored. Watch it and don’t let it burn. You can gently swirl the pan a couple of times, but try not to let the mixture get on the sides of the pan. You dont want little sugar crystals to form. Once your mixture gets to an amber color, Turn off the heat and add the cream and butter.  Stand back because the mixture will bubble up!! add vanilla. Whisk till sauce is smooth. Transfer to a glass heatproof container like a measuring cup. It makes it easier to pour into cute jars. Let it cool and it will thicken as it cools. Put lids on the jars and it will keep for at least a month. If your mixture gets too thick once cooled, just add a little water or hot cream…and stir. That is it!!! Easy right??

Chicken wings are a fun thing to eat. They’re a bit messy, but they are so yummy. I have made this particular recipe dozens of times and I love them. They are sticky and messy so be sure to have lots of clean wipes ready. I make mine pretty spicy, but you sure don’t have to. They are just as good without the heat. Well, not really, but………..
Enjoy!

Asian Sticky Spicy Chicken Wings

for 14 wings:

4 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1 tablespoon of ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Clean and pat dry chicken wings. Lay them in a shallow baking pan and roast them for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix all of the ingredients  together and set aside. Remove wings from oven and drain off any juices or fat. Coat wings with the sauce.  Put wings back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. If you like them a little crispy, place under broiler for just a minute or so. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn.  Remove from oven and allow to set for a few minutes. Remove wings from sheet and scoop out all of the sauce and pour over the chicken. I sprinkle them with some scallions just for some pizazz. Very messy…..you will want to lick your fingers, but ewwwwww, that’s so yucky and rude. Don’t do that……:)

I think most people like Chocolate Cream Pie. It’s another one of those comfort type foods, right? Which leads me to this………I heard someone on television recently talking about comfort food. They were saying that they just don’t agree that there are any REAL comfort foods….that it is only an excuse for us to eat what we shouldn’t be eating. Well I say Bulls*!# to that! Am I right?? If you eat something that you really enjoy and it brings you that AHHHHHHHHHHH feeling….if it takes you to a calm, wonderful place, maybe back to a good childhood memory….if it just makes you feel good when nothing else can….isn’t that comfort food? The nerve!!!!! This guy probably eats nothing but wheat grass and dry puffy rice cakes!

I asked around and these are some foods that bring people comfort…

Mac n cheese
Fried chicken and masho tatoes
Biscuits and gravy
Chicken and dumplings
Noodle soup
Ice cream
Wine
Clam chowder in a bread bowl
Chicken wings

Oh my. Anyway, I got way off subject here. Hahahahaha. This post is about chocolate cream pie. I think THAT should fall under the comfort food category too. Today, I brought in individual chocolate cream pies in a cup, to the office gang. A crumbly chocolate cookie crust, with rich, silky chocolate pudding, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with cookie crumbs. M-m-m-m-mm-m-m. So creamy and yummy. Of course you could make a big ol pie, but it’s kinda fun to have your very own little “pie” in a cup. Sometimes I make these in little mason jars. It’s a nice little gift. However you prefer your pie, just do it!

Chocolate Cream Pie

This stuff is so GOOOOOD. Tangy and delicious. It’s great with crackers or chips or even on top of a baked potato. It’s super simple to whip up too. If you like blue cheese, you just gotta make this. You better make a big  bowl of it though. It disappears quickly. Be sure to use a good blue cheese so that the flavor really comes through the sour cream.  I used sour cream, but you could use yogurt I suppose…..BLEKH, hate the stuff. I much prefer sour cream! If you don’t like blue cheese, try some feta cheese. That is good too.

Blue Cheese Dip

2 cups of sour cream
2 tablespoons of minced green onion
3 tablespoons of minced red onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese (a good quality)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve with crackers, chips, veggies.

I love Mexican food. I love chipotle peppers, which are smoked jalapenos in a wonderful rich, smoky red sauce called adobo sauce.  They are pretty hot and can be used in oh so many ways! I have tried a few recipes for Chipotle Cream Sauce, but they all seemed pretty bland to me. I love things with big and bold flavors…..my coffee, my wine, my spices, my wine, my cheese and oh….yes….my wine!

I thought of my friend Bill when I made this dish. He too loves Mexican food. He loves spicy. This is a dish for you Bill C. So I do hope you and Linda will make this.

So, I made it with chicken, but I have also had it with shrimp and I think that is my favorite. I served it with cilantro rice and some flour tortillas. Ya just gotta have the tortilla to scoop up that chipotle cream sauce. My mouth was on fire the entire time that I was eating this and I was gulping massive amounts of water, but it was so tasty. If you aren’t into heat, you may just want to use 1 chipotle instead of the 5 that I used. Whew…..SPICY. OH, and have an antacid ready!  hahahahah. Enjoy!!!

Chipotle Cream Sauce

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 medium size can of chicken stock
1-5 canned chipotle chilis (in adobo sauce) I used 5
1 cup sour cream
4 oz of softened cream cheese
Salt and pepper
1 chicken or vegetable boullion cube
Juice of 2 limes

In a skillet, cook the garlic and chipotles with the adobo sauce just for about 1 minute. Add the broth, bouillion cube, lime juice, salt and pepper and cream cheese. Still till cream cheese is melted. Add the sour cream and stir till smooth. Let it cook at a low temp for about 20 minutes.

At this point, add chicken or shrimp. Or, simply serve it over some fish, or some fried tortilla chips, or eggs! Serve with rice. I just made regular white rice but added cilantro and a clove of garlic.

This sauce is good with:

Pasta
Chips
Veggies
Over eggs
Fish
Tossed with boiled potatoes
Poured over cake JUST KIDDING….just seeing if you’re paying attention!