Sea Salt Caramels

I've been obsessed with fancy schmancy salts for a couple of years now, so when I found this recipe for Fleur de Sel Caramels, I knew I had to try it.

I get my gourmet salts from The Meadow, in Portland, OR. Their tiny store is jam-packed with salts, wine, and chocolates, and their staff is knowledgeable and friendly. Their online store is easy to navigate as well. It happens that I had some Fleur de Sel on hand, but I imagine that you could substitute most mild, fine-grain sea salt varieties.

The recipe is easy to follow, though I was confused about the *boil the sugar, syrup, and water* step because it says to boil until the mixture is a light caramel color. I had a candy thermometer in the mixture, and the temp went far over the highest recommended temp for the later step, long before the mixture changed colors. After adding the cream/butter/salt, I boiled the mixture to the recommended temp and then poured it into the parchment-lined pan, and sprinkled it with some flake salt.

The caramels are totally delicious, but unfortunately, they're hard. Not too hard to eat, but they're definitely stick-to-the-teeth caramels, which is not what I had in mind (I was aiming for the soft, chocolate-covered salt caramels that made me swoon in Ventura last September).

However, though they're harder than I wanted them to be, the caramels are still yummy. I cut the batch into far more than 40 pieces, and coated them in chocolate (a 50/50 mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and chocolate almond bark, it makes for a nice coating). I did sprinkle a little salt on top of a few, but with salt in and on the caramels themselves, I didn't want overkill.

Next time, I'll stop boiling the mixture before it gets to 248 degrees, and maybe I won't worry about the sugar/syrup/water mixture changing colors. There will be a next time- I really want those soft caramels.

(Edited to add: Most of the reviews and comments with this recipe say that the caramels are soft and chewy. My candy thermometer is 30 years old, so it's probably not accurate any more. Most of my fudge recipes have boiling times, and I usually turn the heat off before the thermometer gets to soft ball stage, and the fudge is always creamy. So the hard caramels are likely not the fault of the recipe).

The Blue Screen of Death

Just last week, I mentioned to The Hub that I really should get an external hard drive for a backup. Hub, I said, My desktop computer (the one I use a good 6 hours a day, every day) is 9 years old, and it's running Windows XP, which isn't even supported by Microsoft any more. The computer runs very well, and it's been totally reliable (outside of the fact that the floppy drive gave out almost immediately, and the CD burner doesn't work any more) but time is going to run out eventually.

Of course, after I said this to my husband, I forgot all about it. The computer, on the other hand, chuckled evilly, and exactly three later, had a total meltdown.

Luckily, I am anal about backing up the really important stuff- all of my book and photo files have been saved in multiple places, and most of those files are also kept on my e-mail server, so I can access them from anywhere. Unfortunately, there were a few things that I didn't save anywhere else: all of the Adobe Illustrator original files (I do have the png and jpg versions but those won't allow me to work on them efficiently in Illustrator, which was on that computer too, come to think of it), all of my music (I was never able to connect the Zune to the laptop), and.... the paper doll scans. Well, I do have a backup of the paper doll scans, but I don't have a backup of the scans all resized and in a uniform format. Sigh.

So, there won't be any Thursday Tabs until I get a new desktop computer. If I am very lucky (and if the Blue Screen of Death involved something other than total file corruption), Chuck and The Nerd Herd will be able to transfer my old files to the new hard drive (otherwise, I'll have to do the resizing and uniforming all over again, and I just don't have time for that now). So for the time being, I'm suspending the paper doll uploads, unless anyone out there has sets they'd like to share with everyone. e-mail me if you have sets you'd like to share.

In the meantime, I still have the laptop (and the mini that I use when I travel) so I'm not computerless (which, quite frankly, would drive me around the bend. Addicted, I am).

In the non-computer-disaster portion of my life: I haven't been in the mood to decorate yet (I can't remember the last time my trees weren't up by Thanksgiving),  but I have been doing some baking/candy making. I've made Vanilla Heath Bar Fudge, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Fudge, and Mocha Fudge (no, they're not low-carb... shame on me). Yesterday I made these:

No, that's not a tray of disembodied breasts... These are carrot cakeballs. Not so pretty, but very tasty.

And I'm making progress on the mitered square hat (though I've spent more time sewing lately than knitting, but I still can't show you the sewn projects).

Maybe Santa will bring me a new computer...

Before I buckle down

Before the nose hits the grindstone, I made progress on the Mitered Square Hat:

I've finished the brim, and have picked up the stitches for the crown. I'll work four rounds of stockinette, and then begin the decreases. The bottom edge is nice and even, so I won't add a border unless I need some more length.

On the stove last night: Fannie Farmer Fudge, with an experimental Sea Salt version. Oh my.... sprinkle the buttered pan with a very light amount of salt- not a coating- and then pour the hot fudge on top of it. If you've had salt chocolate, use about that amount (just enough to taste but not enough to overwhelm- it may take a bit of experimentation to find the right balance). And use a mild granulated white salt, not flavored or smoked. I went with Korean Isle Fleur de Sel from The Meadow, which may not be available online. This will substitute nicely.

p.s. no, it's not a low-carb recipe...