Fleur De Sel Caramels

From Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!, by Sur La Table, and Rick Rodgers

Makes 36 Caramels

Salt is usually considered a savory flavor, but it is often sneaked into caramel desserts where it acts to heighten the interplay between bitter and sweet. A pinch of crunchy sea salt flakes on each caramel identifies it as an out-of-the-ordinary candy experience.

• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon, plus more for topping
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan. Line the bottom and 4 sides of the pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to overhang the rim on all sides by about 2 inches. (The overhang will be used as “handles” to remove the caramel slab from the pan.)

2. In a saucepan, bring the cream, butter, and salt to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often until the butter melts. Remove from the heat.

3. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring just until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil without stirring, occasionally swirling the pan by its handle and wiping down any sugar crystals that form on the sides with a natural bristle brush dipped in cold water, for about 6 minutes, or until the syrup is dark golden brown—about the color of a new penny. The syrup should have a slightly acrid aroma, and a whiff of smoke should rise from the surface.

4. Gradually and carefully add the hot cream mixture—it will bubble up—to the caramel. When the bubbles subside, clip a candy thermometer to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often to avoid scorching, until the temperature reaches 245° to 250°F (firm-ball stage). Remove the heat and stir in the vanilla.

5. Pour into the prepared pan. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let stand until tepid, about 30 minutes.

6. Using an oiled chef’s knife, score the top of the candy into 36 equal portions. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of salt into the center of each portion, and press with your finger to help it adhere. Let cool completely, 3 to 4 hours.

7. Lift up the paper handles to remove the caramel slab in a single piece. Peel away the parchment paper. Using the oiled knife, cut the caramel through the scores into 36 individual pieces. Wrap each caramel in a square of waxed paper, twisting the ends to seal. The caramels can be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week.

Tips for Caramels

• Do not stir the syrup until the butter and cream are added.
• Wash down any crystals that form on the inside of the saucepan with a natural-bristle brush dipped in cold water.
• Judge caramel by color and aroma, not with a candy thermometer.
• Add vanilla extract to hot mixtures after they are finished cooking.

Panfried Skirt Steaks with Red Wine Béarnaise Sauce

From Tips Cooks Love: Over 500 Tips, Techniques, and Shortcuts That Will Make You a Better Cook!, by Sur La Table, and Rick Rodgers

Serves 4

Skirt steak is one of the most flavorful cuts and can be quickly panfried in a skillet on the stove top. The sophisticated and easy béarnaise sauce—it’s made in a blender—gives the steak a nice touch of class. When you cook the steak, be sure to turn on the range hood to avoid smoking up the kitchen.

• 4 (7-ounce) skirt steaks
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

RED WINE BÉARNAISE SAUCE
• ¼ cup hearty red wine, such as Cabernet-Shiraz blend
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• Kosher salt

Trim a few pieces of fat from the steaks and reserve. Mix together the salt and pepper, and season the steaks all over with the mixture. Let the steaks stand at room temperature while you make the sauce.

To make the béarnaise sauce, combine the wine, vinegar, shallots, tarragon, and coarsely ground pepper in a small, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much flavor as possible. Reserve the solids in the sieve.

Put the egg yolks and strained wine mixture in a blender. In a saucepan, bring the butter to a boil over medium heat. Pour the hot butter into a heatproof glass measuring cup. Skim the foam off the surface of the butter. With the blender running, slowly add the hot butter through the hole in the lid, leaving the milk solids in the measuring cup. It should take about 1 minute to add the butter. Then uncover the blender, add the reserved solids in the sieve, re-cover, and pulse just to combine. Season with salt. Transfer to the top part of a double boiler and keep warm for up to 30 minutes. (Or transfer the sauce to a warmed widemouthed Thermos and keep warm for up to 2 hours.)

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the reserved beef fat and use tongs to wipe a thin coating of fat over the entire bottom of the skillet. Remove and discard the fat. Add the steaks and cook, turning once, for about 5 minutes total for medium-rare, or until they are nicely browned on both sides and feel somewhat resilient when pressed in the center.

Transfer each steak to a dinner plate. Spoon the sauce into a serving bowl. Serve the steaks hot, and pass the sauce at the table.

Tips for Skirt Steak with Béarnaise Sauce

• A cast-iron skillet creates a beautiful crust on steaks.
• Grease the skillet with some of the beef fat.
• Keep béarnaise sauce warm in a double boiler or in a widemouthed Thermos.
• Use a nonreactive saucepan to cook the acidic ingredients for the sauce.