 |
|
 | |
Your search included grants for culinary-cooking 888 384 9608government help for hobbies-crafts 800 306 0873 |
 |
|
| Cooking Tips |
|
|
|
|
Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party--How to Host Your Own
Want a unique party idea for your child's birthday-or even her next weekend sleepover with friends? Try hosting your own taffy pull. It can get pretty messy, but kids absolutely love it. Just follow these steps to minimize the mess . . . and maximize the fun! 1. Stock up on supplies. If you don't already own basic candymaking tools, stocking up is pretty easy. You'll need a medium-size saucepan (3 or 4 quarts) with a heavy bottom and straight sides. You'll also need a long-handled wooden spoon, a pastry brush (used to brush off any crystals that might form), and a good candy thermometer with a metal clamp that attaches to the side of your saucepan. Next, go shopping for taffy ingredients. For the recipe in this article, you'll need to pick up the following: sugar, corn syrup, salt, unsalted butter, flavoring extracts (vanilla, raspberry, and lemon), food coloring (red and yellow work nicely), flour, wax paper, and candy wrappers. 2. Prepare your kitchen. If you resign yourself to the fact that this party is going to get messy, you'll be in the right mindset to just relax and let the kids have fun. Still, there are a few simple steps you can take to minimize the mess. First, lay down several painter's cloths, taping the edges to protect every inch of your floor. Next, sprinkle a light layer of flour over the painter's cloths-this will help keep everyone's shoes from sticking to the cloths when the inevitable spills occur. Finally, tape down some wax paper over the table or countertop where you plan to start your taffy pull. 3. Make your favorite taffy recipe. The process of making taffy can be a little tricky for young ones. I suggest making the taffy yourself, and after the candy has cooled, call in the kids to start the pulling. Here's a classic recipe for saltwater taffy. Try it! 3/4 cup water Measure 2 cups sugar, l 1/4 cups corn syrup, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt into a saucepan and blend well with a wooden spoon. Place over low heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring continuously. Increase the heat and do not stir during the rest of the cooking. Wash the sides of the pan with a brush or fork covered with muslin and dipped in water, using an upward motion. This will prevent the formation of crystals which might cause the candy to sugar. After the syrup boils put in the candy thermometer, and when the thermometer registers 265 degrees, remove candy from heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir very gently. Divide the taffy into three parts; you'll add different flavors and coloring to each one during the pulling process. 4. Prepare the little ones. First, have everyone wash his or her hands with lots of soap and warm water. Then, let them grease their hands generously with a stick of unsalted butter to prevent the fresh taffy from sticking to fingers. Don't use vegetable oil or margarine for this step-the flavor when mixed with taffy isn't nearly as good as real butter. 5. Let the pulling begin! Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, it's time to start pulling. Instruct your partygoers to use only their fingertips to lift the edges of the warm, flowing candy up, and then to pull out about 12 inches. Then, they'll quickly fold the taffy back from the one hand to the other, catching the center, and then pulling again. If you're adding food coloring and flavoring, pause briefly after a few pulls to add a drop or two to the mixture, folding the mixture over on the color and flavor. Try using raspberry flavor with red coloring, lemon flavor with yellow coloring, and vanilla flavor with no coloring. Continue to pull until the color and flavor are thoroughly mixed in. 6. Wrap it up. When your taffy is very hard to pull and holds its shape when laid out on a platter, it's ready to cut into pieces. Rub a pair of kitchen scissors with unsalted butter, and then cut the hardened taffy into bite-size pieces. Have the kids wrap the pieces in candy wrappers, twisting each end. (You can also use wax paper or colored plastic wrap.) Now you can fill small baggies with the taffy, and send each child home with their own homemade party favor! *********************************************************** http://www.CandyMakingSecrets.com/
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
6 Steps to Grill the Perfect Steak There's nothing better than a nicely grilled juicy steak. Working with Eggs Bad eggs are rare but they do occur. Crack eggs into a separate bowl before mixing with other ingredients. If the egg is bad it will have an unmistakeable odor. Two for One Dinners: Beans If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night. There are a six articles in this series, today we are going to look at what you can do with beans. Eat your Veggies! Simple Cooking Methods Vegetables add colour, taste, texture and bulk to our daily diet. There are dozens of different vegetables that can be prepared in literally hundreds of ways. So what's best? Troubleshooting Cookies If your cookies are too tough . . . You may have used too much flour or a flour with too high of a protein content. Unless you want a chewy cookie, do not use bread flour. Check your measurements--the cookies may not have enough fat or the amount of sugar may be wrong. Prepare the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes Would you like to prepare the best Garlic Mashed Potatoes that you enjoy at your favorite restaurant, but have no idea where to start to achieve that wonderful and delightful flavor? There are a variety of ways to create the best garlic mashed potatoes that you have ever tasted but when it comes down to which way is best is according to your own taste buds. Cool Summertime Cooking Summertime--and the living is easy! But the kitchen is hot!! It's time for some cool cooking recipes and tips! How to cut a cake Have you ever wondered how to cut a cake? I have had a lot of practice. When I turned 16 and requested a Spider Man sheet cake I busily honed my cake cutting skills by making concentric rectangles and then served up the master piece. My family all refused to eat stating lack of presentation skills. Since that time my skills have, thankfully, been refined. Here are tips to cutting a round layer cake. 6 Tips for Perfect Homemade Hard Candy There's nothing better than the juicy, flavorful hard candy from your local gourmet candy shop . . . unless you make it yourself, that is! Making perfect hard candy at home is easier than you think. You just need the right tools, a few simple ingredients, and your imagination. 10 Smoky Tips To BBQ Food Safely Cooking outdoors was once only a summer activity shared with family and friends. Now more than half of Americans say they are cooking outdoors year round. Use these simple guidelines for grilling food safely to prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying and causing food-borne illness. Save Money ? The Crock Way Saving money ? is something we would all like to do. Whether you are struggling to manage day to day or earning a six figure salary, saving is something we all think about. There is one thing we can all save on. The one thing we all do, every day, several times a day. We all ? Eat!. And food these days can be so expensive. It is quite easy to go to the grocers and spend your entire weeks pay just on food. Meat especially can put a hole in anyone's budget. After a long day at work, the last thing you want is to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen preparing dinner. So the quick option is often just to fry or grill up some steak. But this is expensive. And frying those cheaper cuts of meat ? ugh! You have heard the old saying 'tough as old boots'. They end up so tough, that even if you do manage to eat them; you will be lucky not to chip a tooth or dislocate a jaw; both of which cost even more. How about if you could save money on your food bill and save hours in the kitchen at the same time? Well the solution for you is . . . the Crock Pot. It allows you to turn those cheap meat cuts into not only edible, but absolutely delicious meals. And, does it all, while you are at work. This is not some new gimmicky thing you see in info-commercials on late night television. This is a real kitchen appliance that has been around since the early 1970's. It uses low heat and a slow cooking method which tenderizes the meat. Just put the vegetables and meat in the pot in the morning on the way to work and come home to the delightful aroma of dinner ready in the evening. Save money - the cheapest meat cuts are the best ones to use, they are full of flavour and appreciate the long cooking time. Happy Crock Cooking Lisa ? "The Crock Cook" Modifying Your Recipes, More or Less You just found that great recipe that you have been trying to find for over year. And now you're dancing around your kitchen in glee! Eating Healthy with a Meat Grinder While it may be surprising, owning your own meat grinder can help you in your pursuit to live a healthier life. According to the USDA, the average American in 2000 consumed 300 more calories than the average American in 1985, a 12% increase, including a 24% increase of fat calories. The average daily fat intake was 81.4 grams and saturated fat intake was 27.9 grams in 2000 (ers.usda.gov/briefing/consumption). Americans are consuming too much fat, especially saturated fat. What You Need in a Gourmet Kitchen The best way to decide what you need in your kitchen is to first decide what it is you are going to be cooking in there. The best suggestion I ever heard on this matter is to find five dishes you really love. The dishes you like to find on menus at restaurants. The next thing you want to do is learn to prepare those dishes to your standards. This is going to take some time, and some research, but I promise you it is well worth the effort. Cooking Lobster at Home Lobster has always be one of those extravagant meals which few people ever try because of the high cost. With restaurants paying thirty dollars a pound, by the time they put their markup on it, you're easily paying sixty dollars for a ten ounce tail. This high cost leaves lobster dinners for the well-to do or at least only for special occasions. But, this doesn't have to be. Must Haves for Any At-Home Chef With the holidays on their way soon, many people will be beefing up kitchens to handle the increased demand for 'fit for a king' meals. Not being a professional Chef shouldn't stop you from being able to cook like one. But, you'll need the right tools to create those tantalizing dishes. Read on and find out the five tools that no kitchen cook should be without. Bread in the Woods We really like fresh bread while we're camping. There is something about bread products that just seems especially good in the woods. Maybe it's the fresh air; maybe it's the appetites that we work up in the woods. Season Your Pans for Non Stick Cooking Nothing is more frustrating than trying to cook a delicious meal and having it stick to the bottom of the pan. A well season or cured pan will make cooking more fun, easier to clean and create better tasting food. There is a saying in the restaurant business; Hot pan ? Cold oil. Meaning never put the oil in a cold pan and then heat it up. By heating the pan first and then adding the oil, then immediately the food, you'll have much less sticking. Furthermore if you season the pan when you first purchase it, you will have even better results. Making Homemade Pasta for Dinner Tonight Homemade pasta cooked al dente (to the teeth), is a chewy and light treat. Here are the simple steps to making fresh pasta for dinner tonight. Preparing Lobster Tails Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. A great meal of lobster tails might seem like a gourmet feast to your guests, but they are actually quite easy to prepare. Add a little sprig of garnish and a fancy side dish and you're sure to impress even your mother in law.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 | Free Government Grants 888 384 9608
