Anyway, back to people with similar interests.  My friend Leah lives out here and in January I had the opportunity to stay with her and her family.  Best. Decision. Ever.  Her mom is a fantastic cook and Leah is quite the baker (their kitchen makes me swoon whenever I think about it).  So of course when I got an invite to Sunday dinner, I jumped at the chance (speaking of which, Leah, please send me your mom’s potato salad recipe!).  There was potato salad (duh), flank steak (yum!), corn on the cob (a summer staple) PLUS berry pie (are you starting to see why I like going to their house?).

Well post-dinner, we were teaching another friend how to make Ina Garten’s Fleur De Sel Caramels.  We had made them six months prior, so it was definitely time to break out the recipe again AND our signature logo.   Yes, we individually wrapped the caramels and put our initials on them too (they do teach us branding in business school). These caramels are delicious and everyone who has encountered them usually can’t stop at just one.

Ina Garten’s Fleur De Sel Caramels

(with some minor modifications)

• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp Fleur De Sel + extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking pan (or loaf pan) with parchment paper, then brush the paper lightly with oil, allowing the paper to drape over 2 sides.

In a deep saucepan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue to boil until the caramel is a warm golden brown color. Swirl the pan to mix.

In the meantime, bring the cream, butter, and 1 teaspoon fleur de sel to a simmer in a small pan over medium heat. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

When the caramelized sugar is the right color, slowly add the cream mixture to the caramel (it boils “violently” and is fun to watch). Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 °F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Very carefully pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate until firm.

When the caramels are cool, use the parchment paper to pry the sheet from the pan onto a cutting board.  Another differentiation.  They are too big if you roll them like Ina, so just cut into 1-inch squares, individually wrap in parchment and they are perfect to share with good company, provided they last that long.

This recipe is super easy and really good, although, I really really need to practice carving.  I didn’t think it was possible to kill a chicken twice until I attempted to slice this one.

Roasted Chicken

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Few springs of rosemary
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 5-6 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4-6 russet potatoes, cut into 2-inch cubes
• Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 °F.

Remove the chicken giblets, clean out the inside of the chicken (make sure to check both side because sometimes innards end up inside the neck-end as well) and rinse well with cold water.

Stuff the cavity with the rosemary, lemon halves, garlic, salt and pepper.  Then brush the outside of the chicken with butter and salt and pepper it.  Ina recommends tying the legs together, but I still don’t own any kitchen twine, so I skipped this step.

Next, put the chopped veggies into a roasting pan and toss with salt, pepper, olive oil and some the rosemary (I removed it from the stems in the pan).  Then mix around and spread evenly over the pan before putting the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours (approx 20 minutes per pound), or until the juices run clear.  Cover with aluminum foil and let it stand for at least 20 minutes.  Then have someone else carve it.