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By Root 698 0

every candy recipe out there specifies stirring the syrup with a wooden spoon. This is not so that we appear quant and grandmotherly at the range. It’s because metal is a very good conductor of heat. As soon as you go stirring with a big ole metal spoon, the heat right next to the metal will be absorbed by it. As it runs up to burn your hand, the temperature of the solution on the surface of the spoon will be reduced. That plus the physical agitation you’re providing is all the coaxing the sugar would need to begin crystallizing. That crystallization could rapidly move throughout the pan. Now you don’t have brittle, you have pralines. Should that happen, get the goo out immediately and deposit into small rounds on the Silpat. Once they cool, someone will eat them.

Application: Boiling

Place the 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil into a 10-inch sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and toast, keeping them in constant motion until they turn golden brown and begin to pop. If you stop shaking the pan, they’ll burn. Remove from heat, add the cinnamon, cayenne, and salt, and stir to combine. Set aside.

Lightly rub the sides of the saucier with vegetable oil. Add the sugar and water and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and cook for 5 minutes undisturbed. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking until the mixture turns an amber-brown color, approximately 15 to 25 minutes depending on your stovetop. Once the sugar is amber-brown, remove the pan from the heat and gently stir in all of the seeds with a wooden spoon. This will greatly reduce the temperature of the sugar so work quickly. As quickly as you can pour the mixture onto a sheet pan lined with a Silpat, spreading the mixture thin. Cool completely and then break into pieces.

A silicone impregnated fiberglass mat. It’s the most unsticky thing on the planet. If you don’t have one, try heavily greased parchment paper, but not wax paper (unless you like the flavor of crayons).

Yield: 4 cups brittle

Note: When sugar syrups turn brown it’s a sign that they have moved from hot, through searing, beyond lava-like, into the realm of napalm. So be careful.

Software:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus

extra for the saucier

1½ cups hulled pumpkin seeds

(these are the green ones)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups sugar

Hardware:

10-inch sauté pan

3 to 4 quart saucier with lid

Kitchen timer

Paper towel

Half sheet pan

Silpat to fit half sheet pan

Wooden spoon

Sugar Snap Peas with Spicy Lemon Dipping Sauce

Application: Blanching

First the peas. Bring 2 quarts of water and the salt to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan, covered, over high heat. Add the peas and cook uncovered for 2½ to 3 minutes. Drain the peas and immediately plunge into ice water. Drain and set aside. The actual time of course will depend on the peas. These aren’t big ole green beans, and few things are as awful as limp sugar snaps. So stay right with them as they cook.

Liquids in covered pans really do come to a boil much Faster than liquids that don’t.

Beans in covered pans really do brown quickly because of the buildup of assorted chemicals, such as acids that although released from the beans, can turn them drab as well.

Then the dip. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and tarragon. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Even if the dip is perfect and the peas are dead on, the dish will fail if the peas are wet. Once they’ve chilled down, dry them well or the dip just won’t stick…and that would be sad.

Yield: Appetizer for 6 to 8 people. (Personally, I can finish off a whole batch by myself.)

Software:

For the peas:

Heavy pinch kosher salt

12 ounces sugar snap peas,

trimmed and rinsed

(approximately 4 cups)

For the sauce:

⅔ cup mayonnaise

¾ cup sour cream

Zest from one lemon, chopped fine

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed

lemon juice