Espresso Caramels

Wow. It has been a LONG time since I posted. I probably lost all of my loyal followers, (I still love you guys).
My first attempt at making caramel candies. They turned out fabulous. I'm honestly not all that into caramels, but these had me going back for seconds!
From Heidi's 101cookbooks.com recipe, which I will re-post here and add my own tips.

Ingredients:
1 c. honey
1 tsp. espresso grounds
1/2 tsp sea salt or fleur de sel
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Add all ingredients to a medium All-Clad 4 qt. saucepan. Bring cream and espresso to a bubbling. Once bubbling around the edges, add honey. Boil. Then, reduce to a "simmer"- medium low heat depending on your stove, stirring constantly. I have a gas stove and the number dial was in-between 2-3 to get the simmer. Heidi's recipe says 15-20 minutes, but you need MUCH longer than that.
You must get the mixture to 250 using a candy thermometer. It took me over an hour. Use the hard ball test to see if the caramel is done, place a teaspoon of the hot mixture in a glass/bowl of cold water. If the caramel congeals and you can ball it up, it is done.
Once done, pour the hot mixture into a glass/ceramic pyrex with parchment or a Silpat. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to have the caramel cool and set a bit. Then, remove from fridge and roll out using a rolling pin to desired thickness.
I used parchment to individually wrap each candy, after slicing them into candy rolls.

Leland Palmer cocktail

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 cup hot water
* 3 cups freshly brewed jasmine tea, cooled
* 3/4 cup gin
* 3/4 cup limoncello*
* 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
* 1 cup chilled club soda
* Ice cubes
* 6 lemon slices (for garnish)

*
*Limoncello, a lemon-flavored liqueur, can be found at many supermarkets, at Trader Joe's markets, and at liquor stores.

Preparation

*
Stir honey and 1/2 cup hot water in small bowl until honey dissolves. Cool completely.
*
Combine honey water, jasmine tea, gin, limoncello, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice in large pitcher. Add club soda and stir to blend.
*
Fill six 1-pint mason jars or 6 tall glasses with ice cubes. Divide tea mixture among jars; top each with lemon slice.


Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/06/the_leland_palmer#ixzz0oVn2fQKE

Easy Crepes!

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

Combine flour, sugar, salt.

In small bowl, mix eggs, milk and melted butter. Pour mixture all at once into dry ingredients. Beat until mixture is smooth. Cover and let stand about 2 hours.

Brush frying pan with melted butter and heat. Pour (or ladle) a small amount of the batter into pan and turn pan quickly so that batter covers bottom completely. Cook until undersurface is golden brown, about 1 minute, depending on thickness of crepe and size of pan. Turn and brown other side, about 1 minute, depending.

If desired, fill with fresh or canned sliced peaches or berries, and homemade whipped cream (with a touch of vanilla in the cream), or just plain with real maple syrup. Roll up and serve immediately. Can be refrigerated and stored for a short time, or frozen, as well - be sure to separate stored crepes with wax paper and wrap well in foil.