Caramel Squares

I accomplished a big milestone today: as of this morning, I've officially lost the 15 pounds I desperately wanted/needed to since Christmas.  And it only took 5 months.  Ha.  (Baby steps, people.)  I've also decided to make a bold move this month: in order to ATTEMPT to lose another 5 or so pounds before our beach vacations in June, I'm...going to try to give up alcohol until the end of May.  Or at least cut way back.  I know - you can't believe it and neither can I.  But choosing between carbs, sweets, or booze, I chose stupidly choose this.  It might last 2 days but God willing I can DO IT!  Starting after Istanbul.

So how am I celebrating my 15 pound weight loss and my decision to give up booze?  By making Caramel Squares!  I've seen versions of these pups floating around Pinterest but never really experienced their greatness until I moved to Dublin.  Now they're everywhere, in coffee shops and bakeries and cafes, and after trying one when we moved here, I've never looked back.  They're like...my favorite thing here.  While I've never made them for fear of bingeing on the entire tray as I'm prone to do, I've decided to play with fire, make them, and get them the hell out of the house to Drew's office before any real damage is done.

These heavenly creations consist of three layers of happiness: shortbread, thick gooey caramel, and a chocolately top layer.  They're also called Caramel Slices and Millionaire Bars.

Let's begin.  The cast of super healthy characters: heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, milk chocolate, flour, butter, and what turned out to be unsuccessful caramel sauce (so I made it myself with sugar, water, and cream).

Start out with two softened sticks of butter...

...and add a cup of sugar.

Cream those together and then add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.  Mix it all up. 

Then add 2 cups of all purpose flour and combine.  

And try not to eat it when it's fully mixed.

Prep a 9x13 inch baking dish lined with foil with some cooking spray.

And press the dough in an even layer into the bottom of the dish.

Prick the dough with a fork all over it to keep the bubbles out and what not.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 350°F, until the shortbread is golden brown and yummy looking.

As I mentioned, I bought some Carnation Brand "Caramel Sauce" that was supposed to be just like the real deal, but it so wasn't.  Big waste.  So I had to make the caramel myself.  It was a little labor intensive and scary but I'm actually glad I did it this way because it was pretty damn good.

Start by combining 1/4 cup of water with 1 cup of granulated sugar over medium heat.  Stir it up until the sugar dissolves into the water.

When that's done, turn the heat up to HIGH and bring it up to a boil, but don't stir it.

You'll watch it bubble up, swirling the sauce pan around (and brushing down the sides if you need to), until it starts to turn light brown/amber in color after about 5 minutes.  Watch it when this happens because you don't want it to get too dark and burn!

Meanwhile, measure 1/4 cup of heavy cream....

...take the bubbling caramel off the heat, and pour in the heavy cream.  It'll bubble up like crazy and you'll think you're starting a fire or something bad but just wait!  It's all part of the process.

Stir it up.  And stir a tablespoon or two of butter in there too.  (Hey, the recipe called for it.)

Let it cool slightly, and then pour it on top of your cooled shortbread layer.

Spread it out and put it in the fridge to firm up!

I also sprinkled a very thin layer of sea salt over the caramel because....there's nothing better.  Let's be real.  

While THAT'S cooling, time for the chocolate layer!  I bought a couple bars of good old fashioned Irish milk chocolate and put them in the microwave in 30 second increments to melt.

And after the caramel has firmed up, just pour that chocolate all over the caramel and smooth it out!

Ohhh baby yeah.  Then put that in the fridge to firm up again for about 30 minutes.

After that, there's one final test of patience: take them out of the fridge, let them sit at room temp for another 5-10, and THEN you can cut them.  (It prevents the shortbread from crumbling as much.)

At this point, it was night and I didn't have any natural light in my kitchen anymore.  But they still look damn good if I do say so myself, and they tasted even better.

Pretty darn rich but pretty darn good.

I managed to get a couple out of the pan before we locked them up for Drew's trip to the office today, and evidently his coworkers really liked them too.  Success!!

I'll make these when I get back and you can all see how delicious this Irish/UK staple truly is. 

We're off to Istanbul tomorrow, and providing we don't get tear gassed and water bombed at the protests going on right now (awesome), I'll be back on Monday with some pics.  Cheers!

Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie

It's feels like a year since I've done a food post, so let's get back to it!

I'm a fan of making things I've never made before, and if the Irish people can inspire me, all the better.  So...I decided to make this delicious and hearty Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie for this cold season ahead.

In truth, I made this last September.  It was still turning cold though, so it counts!  I geared up to make it early and have it on the table for Drew when he got home, but then I got sidetracked by an old friend who Facebook messaged me while sitting at an airport in the Middle East awaiting his flight home to end his deployment!  I then kept forgetting to upload the pictures and put it on the blog, so I'm doing it now.  I only wish I could make this at the moment...but alas, there's no one here to eat it with me.  So maybe I'll make it in a month when Drew's done working.

Anyway, let's cook!

The Cast of Characters: celery, carrots, ground beef, butter, garlic, red wine, potatoes, onions, sharp cheddar, milk, salt, pepper, thyme, and tomato paste, which I forgot to capture in the picture.  The recipe didn't call for it, but I also added some worcestershire sauce to the mix.

 Scrub and cut your potatoes into large chunks...

Hmm.  These look a little suspect.  But I just bought them! 

And cover them in water.  

Salt those pups and bring it up to a rolling boil to get them nice and tender.

After that, peel and chop up some large carrots.

Now it's time to brown the ground beef!  You know how to do this - hot pan, stir it up until it's not pink, drain it if it needs it, and set it aside.

Done!  Voila.

Chop up some celery...

...and a very large onion.

And add all the veggies to the pot and let 'em cook!

Add your chopped garlic too.

(I always double the amount of garlic the recipe tells me to, because I like it.  Is that bad?  Now people might not want to eat what I make them, knowing this.)

Now add in 1/4 cup flour...

And a tablespoon or two of tomato paste...

...and stir to combine!

The potatoes are done!  Drew came home and took a picture of me with the hot pot.

Weirdo.

 Drain those potatoes, and while they're draining, add the ground beef to the vegetable mixture.

Now it's time for the "large glass of red wine"...

...and 850 ml (about 3.5 cups) of beef stock.

And the worcestershire sauce!  (About 2-3 tablespoons, depending on how you like the flava!)

Oh, and the dried thyme.  (1/2 teaspoon, but I just toss it in there.)

Now for the taters!  Finish draining them, and add in...

...a shit ton of butter...

...a load of sharp cheddar (but save some for the top!)...

...and smoosh them all up! 

Oh man, this stuff is GOOD.  Add some nutmeg to it too if you're feeling nutty.

Look!  My beef and veg mixture has thickened up and it's simmering there in it's heavenly sauce.  Yummmmm.

You can then pour it into your favorite baking dish (though I'll tell you that a square or rectangle one will make for easier cutting/serving/picture-taking).

This is the bottom of my dutch oven.  Disaster.  I always have to go to great lengths to remove this junk.

You'll then top it with your buttery, cheddary mash!

Go ahead and add some more cheese and butter to the top of your masterpiece, to take it to the next level.

Ohhhh baby yeah.

 Bake at 450° for 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  And happy.

Ooooo la la.

See, the picture below doesn't showcase my masterpiece like a perfectly square piece of pie would, but...you get the idea.

It was hearty, it was warm, and above all, it was SCRUMPTIOUS...all week long.  Yay!

As I do, which might bug people, I did my Shepherd's Pie research and actually combined two of the recipes.  One was from Martha Stewart (I know, not very Irish), and one was with the BBC (also not Irish but more so than Martha!)  The BBC recipe had a lot more flavorings (wine, worcestershire, beef stock) than Martha's, but I used the basic method that she described in hers.  So if you feel inclined to make this popular pub dinner (and I feel like most of you should, seeing the weather all over the US SUCKS right now), you can find Martha's recipe here and the BBC recipe here.  

Cheers!