Hagel’s Neighborhood

I have several adult friends that LOVE Rice Krispy Treats, you know the ones with melted marshmallows and margarine mixed with Rice Krispy Cereal? Well, I'm not quite a fan of the Rice Krispy Treat, I think they taste overly sweet with a plastic-like texture, so when I saw this recipe on the SmittenKitchen blog for a more "sophisticated crispy treat" I had to try it out! The key update on the old classic is in the browning of the butter before adding the marshmallows. Brown butter takes on a rich almost nutty flavor that is very distinctive and appealing. Add in a little coarse salt and you've taken lowly rice crispy treats and made Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats! I have to say, my Dad hates marshmallows and rice crispy treats....but he loved these! I bet you will too. Here is how you make them:
You can find the entire recipe for Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats here. Start by buttering an 8x8 inch pan or you can do like I did and line the entire pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam for super easy cleanup. Set the pan aside.

In a large pot melt a stick of butter on medium-low heat stirring frequently making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. The butter will become foamy and then start to get golden brown. Watch the butter carefully and stir constantly because it goes from golden to burned quickly! When the butter looks nice and golden brown remove from the heat and quickly stir in the 10 oz. of marshmallows until they become all melted and smooth. Add in 6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt or you can use coarse kosher salt like I did. Mix well to coat and spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Using a oiled spatula (or you can just spray some Pam on your hands like i did) press the mixture evenly into the pan. Make sure to press down very firmly as this will help ensure that your treats don't fall apart when you try to cut them. Let the treats cool completely in the pan. When cool, remove from pan and cut into small squares. To package mine for gift giving I simply cut some small squares of colored wax paper and placed in between the treats. I wrapped them up tightly in plastic wrap, taped the ends together and tied with a ribbon and added a tag. Easy and fun!

This is another commission I am working on for a local park. Eventually it will consist of a mated pair of Gambel's Quail on skates with a tower of acrobatic chicks balanced on their backs. Silly? Yes. But it should be pretty keen. There will be another male quail with one or two chicks skating at the opposite end of the park.
This quail may undergo a gender change (involving the removal of the topknot feather). I'm still considering...

These cute little candy bites are a recipe that I found in the fun cookbook entitled "You Made That Dessert?" by Beth Lipton. The recipe calls for only four ingredients to make around 35 tasty candies. The candies are sweet and crunchy with a nice peanut butter butterscotch flavor. I added a little sea salt topping to mine for some extra flavor. The recipe is pretty basic and calls for rolling the candies into little balls. I decided to take it a step further and dress them up a little by using a candy mold and some melted chocolate. I think they turned out nice and would make a fun gift! Here is how you can make your own candies: You can find the basic recipe here.  After you crush the cornflakes, add them to the melted peanut butter and butterscotch chips and mix in some vanilla extract. I used an organic unsweetened peanut butter because I wanted a true peanut flavor and not a whole lot of sugar as the butterscotch chips are very sweet! After the mixture is well combined set aside. Because I wanted my candies to have a more uniform shape I used this handy-dandy plastic candy mold that i got at the hobby store for around $2. I wanted to use up the left over candy melts from my caramel apple post, so i melted the chocolate in a squeeze bottle and poured a little into the mold. Next I used a small paint brush to brush the chocolate up the sides. The chocolate filled mold went into the fridge for 5 minutes to set. When set, I scooped out a small mound of peanut butter butterscotch mixture into the mold and then topped it with more melted chocolate. I sprinkled a little sea salt over the top of the chocolate and chilled the candies again for around 15 minutes. When completely chilled I popped the candies out of the mold and drizzled a little melted white chocolate across the tops. I placed the finished candies  into individual mini-muffin cups that I found at the grocery store (73 cups for 99¢) and set them into a box for gift giving. You can also by-pass the chocolate and just scoop some of the peanut butter-butterscotch mixture directly into the molds and top with some chocolate sprinkles. Chill and unmold. Or even skip the mold by rolling the peanut butter-butterscotch mixture into small balls and then rolling the balls in chocolate sprinkles or chopped salted peanuts! Voila, you've got lots of yummy candies for you and your friends!

 The Flying Spaghetti Monster appeared upon the prow and led us through a maze of reefs upon moonlit waters, his noodley appendanges touching us all! He was greatly pleased to find our swarthy crew of Pastafarian sea pirates, and ran our pursuing Corsican enemies upon hidden shoals. We came about and loosed a volley of cannon fire, snapping their main mast and opening them amidships to the shark infested waters. A fierce and bloody struggle was avoided, when they offered up their greatest and only treasure: the fairest lady of Atlantis- Elizabeth. FSM pronounced us as "Fork and Spoon before a great Pastafarian feast", then he threw a great meat ball around the moon, and catching it again, created a high tide that carried us far and away.
Here we are at our nuptials, where the FSM did bid me to inspect the wondrous booty, and know his blessings.

Here is a sweet, spicy and crunchy Halloween snack sure to please: Sweet & Spicy Popcorn Crunch! This easy to make caramel corn gets its spicy kick from a full 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper added to a sweet caramel syrup that gets poured over a big bowl of freshly popped popcorn and salted peanuts before baking in the oven until nicely crisped, browned and crunchy. The resulting popcorn crunch is delightfully addictive with its unusual crisp caramelized sweet/spicy flavor. To make this recipe really easy, use microwave popcorn! I used around 2 1/2 packages of buttered PopSecret Microwave Popcorn. The butter and extra salt in the microwave popcorn give the finished caramel crunch an even better flavor. Here is how you can make yours: You can find the full recipe for Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Crunch here. If you are using microwave popcorn, go ahead and pop up about 3 bags. Pour 2 1/2 bags worth of popped corn (minus the uncooked kernels) and 1 cup salted peanuts into a large bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and line two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper. In a medium pot over medium heat melt together the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Stir occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the heat up to medium-high and continue to cook until golden brown and bubbly. Swirl the pot occasionally so the syrup doesn't burn, this should take around 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the salt and cayenne pepper then immediately pour mixture over the popcorn and stir to incorporate. Try to cover as much of the popcorn with the syrup as possible. Divide the popcorn evenly between the two baking sheets and bake for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the baked popcorn cool before breaking apart into crunchy pieces. Put into a big bowl, grab a blanket and turn on the spooky movies. Happy Halloween Everyone & Thanks For Checking Out My Blog!

Caramel Apples- the quintessential Halloween party treat. Flash-back to lots of sticky caramel stuck in little teeth and apple juice dripping down little chins. Lots of fun then but how to recreate that idea with a more grown-up twist for now? Hmmm....how about Caramel Apples with Bourbon Laced Caramel, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and for an extra spicy/salty kick: crushed Wasabi Peas and chopped Wasabi Almonds?! These are seriously good: the wasabi peas and almonds are the perfect spicy and salty compliment to the sweet white and dark chocolate while a touch of bourbon adds a little extra smoky flavor element to the buttery caramel before crunching down into the tart, crisp, juicy apple. Don't you just want one now? Here is how you can make your own:
This recipe will make approximately six small-medium sized caramel apples. You will need:
• 22 oz. (2 bags) Kraft Premium Caramel Bits (or 22 oz. of regular caramels unwrapped)
• 2 Tbls. of bourbon & 2 Tbls. water (or you can just use 4 Tbls. water)
• 6 small-medium sized apples, all appoximately the same size and shape
• 6 sticks (some bags of caramel will come with sticks/can also find at hobby shops)
• white chocolate candy melts or white chocolate
• dark chocolate candy melts or dark chocolate
• wasabi peas (can be found at Trader Joe's)
• wasabi almonds

Choose apples that are relatively small as they are easier to coat in the caramel. I used bright green Granny Smith apples because of their crisp tart flavor/texture and relatively uniform shape and smaller size.
Start by washing the apples really well in warm water with some vinegar added. The vinegar helps remove the wax found on the outside of the apples. If you leave the wax on the apples the caramel will slide right off! After scrubbing the apples remove the stems and dry them thoroughly. Using your sticks, carefully skewer each apple thru the stem end going down an inch into the apple to secure. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment or silpat, set aside. Make sure you have room set aside in your fridge for this sheet pan! Mix together the 2 Tbls. of bourbon and 2 Tbls. water with the 22 oz. of Caramel Bits into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula or spoon until the caramel is smooth and melted. Hold an apple by the stick over the melted caramel and coat with the caramel by spooning over the apple letting the excess drip off back into the pan. Transfer the coated apple to the lined 1/2 sheet pan. Repeat process with remaining apples then place pan of apples in fridge to chill for 30 minutes to an hour. While the apples are chilling, crush the wasabi peas to a fine crumb using a food processor. I wanted to go for the texture of Shake-N-Bake so I made mine as fine as possible. Place the finely crushed wasabi peas in a wide shallow bowl. Using the food processor again, chop the almonds until they are fairly fine. Place the chopped almonds in a wide shallow bowl and mix with some of the crushed wasabi peas. (Of course you can always keep your peas and almonds chunky if you prefer!) Set bowls aside. When the apples have finished chilling, place the white chocolate candy melts into the top pan of a double boiler set over medium low heat- try not to let the water boil. Alternatively you can melt them in the microwave, following the instructions on the bag. When the white chocolate has become smooth and melted, remove the caramel apples from the fridge. Holding the apple by the stick, quickly pour the chocolate over the apple using a spoon. You will notice that the chocolate will start to melt the caramel. Just keep working quickly and transfer the apple back onto the 1/2 sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining apples and place pan into fridge for a minute or two  to lightly set the chocolate. Remove from fridge. Holding the apple by the stick roll/press it into the wasabi peas and/or almonds going all around the sides, about half way up the apple. Repeat with remaining apples. When finished, place the apples back into the fridge for another 20-30 minutes. While the apples are chilling, melt the dark chocolate melts in the top bowl of the double boiler (or use the microwave) until smooth and melted. I poured the melted chocolate into a large squeeze bottle to drizzle over the tops of the apples but you could easily just use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the apples. Remove apples from the fridge and drizzle the dark chocolate over the tops of the apples letting it run down the sides of the apple. Sprinkle chocolate with remaining crushed wasabi peas and almonds. Place apples back into the fridge to chill completely. When apples are finished chilling you can either serve them (they cut easier when left out to room temperature for a little while) or you can bag them up for gift giving or party favors. I made a "leaf" tag for my apples and tied each bag with a bright orange ribbon. For even more tips and ideas for caramel apples check out this great site: King Arthur Bakers. Whatever flavors you decide to use, everyone will love these caramel apples!

While I was out of the country two public art commissions came through for me! I made this small mobile last week to play around with some of the concerns that will arise at full scale. The finished form will be 30'x28'x10' and hang in the glass lobby of a new library (the library will be finished next September- they have just poured the foundation...) The disks will be Himalayan Salt Stone inscribed with consonants, and the cubes will be industrial Salt Block, ie salt licks, inscribed with vowels. My next step is to place a small order of salt stone and begin playing with a few hanging methods.
The second commission is for a local neighborhood park- I'll run a post on that soon...