Getting brittle in my old age ...

I really don’t have a sweet tooth, but over Thanksgiving weekend I found myself assigned to making desserts – specifically tarte tatin. I became slightly obsessed with this apple-caramel mixture, but after trying several different versions, I think I got it down (although not in the way that the Tatin sisters, who invented the recipe, would appreciate, or describe as authentic).

But that’s another story. The first step in making a tarte tatin is making the caramel. Which leads me to brittles. As a kid, I loved peanut brittle, but it almost always involved a stick-to-your-teeth residue that wasn’t particularly pleasant. But watching the caramel bubble up for the tarte tatin, and throwing in some almonds, inspired me to explore the world of brittles. (Guess what friends are getting for the holidays.)

I’m amazed at how quick and easy they are to make. I use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, although I think a non-stick skillet could work equally well. I start with a little (maybe 1/4 cup) of water, and about a cup of sugar, and about 2 tbsp butter, over relatively high heat.

Swirl until all the sugar is dissolved. A little (i.e. 1 tbsp.) of lemon juice can help counteract what could otherwise be a super-sweet product. Lemon zest (or any citrus zest, for that matter) can also be a welcome addition.

Once it gets bubbly all over, throw in and swirl about 1 tbsp of baking powder – that’ll make the product lighter, and avoid the stickiness of other, commercial brittles. Once the caramel turns light tan, add the nuts. In this case, I used ginko nuts (I take ginko extract every day, but I forget what it’s for), but I’ve also made more traditional versions with peanuts, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (and my stash of sesame seeds is quivering).

Keep it on the heat until it’s a medium brown – about the color of light walnut (the heartwood, not the sapwood).


Then turn it out onto parchment, and cover it with another sheet of parchment.


Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it’s relatively flat, and let it cool.


Once cool, you should be able to break it into shards, which you can package up and give away, or just expose your true glutton self and consume the whole thing immediately.

NR706,

That brittle looks wonderful...if I hadn't just lost a filling eating taffy I'd consider making some.

Hammond

I agreed, looks wonderful.

I fell in love with the Cacahuates while in Oaxaca a mixture of chile de arbol, spanish peanuts and garlic (whole unpeeled cloves) all deep fried and mixed together. At the bars, they offered limes to be squeezed over the plate.

Trader Joes Lime Chilli cashews are also a hit with me.

Just leaves me wondering if a lime peanut garlic brittle is in my future

Two brittle-related stories:

I had made General Tso's Chicken from a Trib recipe, and had a lot of extra sauce. A little boiling, a little peanuts, and it made a fantastic brittle. A second attempt to duplicate without first creating the whole dish resulted in failure (tasty, but not solid).

One of my all-time favorite childhood tastes is the glazed pecans that were sold at (I think) the Carson Pirie Scott candy counters. They were one of my mother's faves and few indulgences, and the few she'd share were wonderful. I miss department store candy counters with the scents of roasting nuts. The mall nut kiosks seem to focus on the cinnamon-glazed crud that gives you tooth-breaking candy over soggy nuts.

Please let me know your favorite peanut brittle recipe (or alternative nut/brittle sugar confection). I tend to favor brittle that is a little easier to chew, but will try any item on offer.

Years ago the "French" farmers market at Nettlehorst School (Broadway & Melrose) used to feature an Amish booth (from Indiana, I assume) that sold no-stick peanut brittle. It was heavenly. Like Jim, I'm not a fan of chewier brittles, so if anyone has a recipe (or a source) for similar no-stick brittle I'd love it.

Here's an old thread about making brittles.

Hi,

Second prize at 2011 Family Heirloom Recipe contest at the Illinois State Fair was a peanut brittle.

You can also order it from:

RGW Candy Company
1865 2200th Street
Atlanta, IL
217/648-2069 or 309/824-2492

If you are heading on I-55 toward Springfield, there is an Atlanta exit south of Bloomington-Normal. They are situated minutes away from this exit, though my linked-to post has instructions. I suggest calling in advance to make sure someone is there.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Second prize at 2011 Family Heirloom Recipe contest at the Illinois State Fair was a peanut brittle.

You can also order it from:

RGW Candy Company
1865 2200th Street
Atlanta, IL
217/648-2069 or 309/824-2492

If you are heading on I-55 toward Springfield, there is an Atlanta exit south of Bloomington-Normal. They are situated minutes away from this exit, though my linked-to post has instructions. I suggest calling in advance to make sure someone is there.

Regards,

These links to the Greater Midwest Foodways Family Heritage Recipe contests are really addictive. I know you've posted some before but I really enjoyed this one. I'll have to try the peanut brittle recipe but that noodle recipe brings me back. Just the mention of the family reunions / potluck style get-togethers reminds me of my grandmother's small town and of course, food. It's great stuff. I have a recipe book from her town of 900 or so people, printed in 1976 and there is very little mention of things like noodles or beef/noodles. Maybe they thought that everyone already knew how to make them or that they were such an "ordinary" dish, so why bother? Another dish my grandmother made and never bothered to write down were her "hillbilly tacos." Sorry for the name but it was her name and she always referred to herself as a "hillbilly" (which she wasn't). She had spent some years in the Chicago area working in a factory with some Mexican-American women. They started talking about recipes and one woman must have shared a recipe for tacos - specifically tacos with ground meat and potatoes. Well, my grandmother must have thought about how she would re-create them at home, using her "everyday" ingredients and the tacos were born - probably sometime in the 1970's. It's a great cultural mash-up recipe. A filling of ground ham with potato hash browns, seasoned with taco seasoning and stuffed into hard taco shells. Take 3-4 shells, wrap them in foil and bake them for about 25-30 minutes. You grab a packet of tacos, place a half slice of American cheese and a little taco sauce and enjoy. They are one of the family favorites and I'll make them every once in a while for football games. You can use better ingredients and they may be "better" but not the same.

Anyway, sorry to detract from the post. I will try that Brittle recipe. Thanks again for sharing!

Tyrus,

I very much appreciate your thoughts on this contest. I absolutely thought of you when the chicken and noodles were presented last year.

Your grandmother's hillbilly taco's are pretty nifty use-what-you-have. Over our way to the Ohio State Fair last weekend, at stop at Carle's in Bycyrus (local pronunciation of the name is nothing like how it is spelled). I picked up a recipe for Ham Loaf. I tried some, too, from their hot food take-out table. They went a little heavy on the glaze or at least applied it after it sliced. I had a side of Bratwurst Noodle Casserole, too.

It is not too late to consider entering an heirloom recipe at the Minnesota State Fair:

Minnesota State Fair:
Competition: Sunday, August 19, check-in 8:00 – 11:00 am. Bring food cold, they will be reheated before judging.
Premium book, pages 39-40
Apply online, deadline is August 7th by 4:30 pm Central time.
Premiums sponsored in partnership with Feedstuffs FoodLink.com

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Second prize at 2011 Family Heirloom Recipe contest at the Illinois State Fair was a peanut brittle.

You can also order it from:

RGW Candy Company

Here's a batch of peanut brittle immediately after being "pulled" at RGW.



This was the effort of a bunch of first-timers; the product made by RGW looks better.

Cathy2 wrote:Over our way to the Ohio State Fair last weekend, at stop at Carle's in Bycyrus (local pronunciation of the name is nothing like how it is spelled). I picked up a recipe for Ham Loaf. I tried some, too, from their hot food take-out table. They went a little heavy on the glaze or at least applied it after it sliced. I had a side of Bratwurst Noodle Casserole, too.

It's actually spelled Bucyrus. We heard two different pronunciations from locals (or presumed locals). One was basically a bi-syllabic grunt with a strong Southern twang that I'll never reproduce. The other accented the first syllable. A third pronunciation, bew-SIGH-russ, is given by A Pronunciation Guide to Places in Ohio from Ohio University's Journalism School and is more in line with what I expected. A report on The Bratwurst Capital of America (also known as Bucyrus, Ohio) will be posted in another thread, with a photo of both the ham loaf and bratwurst noodle casserole.

Oh Rene! Bratwurst Noodle Cassarole! My heart doth swoon! Pls pls let me know when you post on that...

Geo

Geo wrote:Oh Rene! Bratwurst Noodle Cassarole! My heart doth swoon! Pls pls let me know when you post on that...

Hopefully, the Bucyrus bratwurst post will be up before too long (should be in the Beyond Chicagoland forum [edited to add: post is here]). Meanwhile, here's the recipe from Carle's to tide you over.



It's the sauerkraut that makes it special.

Carle's Bratwurst
"Since 1929"
1210 E Mansfield St
Bucyrus OH
419-562-7741
http://www.carlesbrats.com/