Caramel

". . . Furthermore, it keeps for days. And," I wound up in the confident tones of the experienced teacher, "it's foolproof. Making a bad one is just about impossible. That's why those little French restaurants are forever offering creme renversee and why flan is on the menu wherever the Spanish influence raises its head. " With a flourish, I reversed the mold for the caramel custard, releasing the classic caramel sauce and revealing in its midst a grainy, semi-curdled opportunity to eat my own words.

My family knows it's fall when I begin lining our stovetop with aluminum foil. The glint and crinkle of those carefully placed sheets is a sure sign that I am readying the cooking chamber for Tarte Tatin. Not only is the classic French upside-down apple tart my autumnal ode to fruit, it is also my yearly tribute to the joy of messy cooking. Puffs of flour hover about me as I prepare the sugar-dough crust, and try to rekindle the magic of my rusty rolling pin moves. The acrid smell of vinegar and rock salt fills the air as I lovingly polish (also once a year)

The "sweetness of milk" has a tan these days, a tawny amber sheen that gives some Latin gusto to those old-school caramels. Dulce de leche. It rolls off the tongue as easily as it slides off the spoon. No wonder this classic Latin American treat (which translates to sweet of milk) has become the latest hot flavor to cross over into the mainstream. Haagen-Dazs, which in 1998 became the first major ice cream producer to stake a claim for dulce de leche in American freezer sections, says the super-rich caramel is now its second most popular flavor after vanilla.

Food and drink are not uncommon stage props. But in most theater productions, the actors don't actually eat and drink, so the food is often faked. Not so for the Arden Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole, which requires the actors to eat crème caramel, chocolate cake, apple torte, zucchini bread, and lemon squares in eight performances a week for nine weeks. The play by David Lindsay-Abaire, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for drama, tells the story of a couple fraught with grief after the loss of their young son. Becca, the distraught mother, who left her Sotheby's real estate job to be a full-time mom, bakes with a renewed fury to cope with her son's death.

Christina Verrelli, a 43-year-old Main Line mom, reshaped an old-fashioned pumpkin pie into an trendy "ravioli" dessert with a salted caramel whipped cream topping to win the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off and $1 million. "Oh my God, I'm over the moon," she said, still a little shocked, moments after she appeared on The Martha Stewart Show Tuesday morning from the contest in Orlando, Fla. "I'm in surreal land right now," she said in a phone interview. "It doesn't feel quite real yet. " When asked how she would spend the million dollars, Verelli, who lives in Devon with her husband, Louis, and two daughters, 7 and 9, said: "Well, college.

What's in a name? A flan by any other name would taste as sweet. Or would it? Well, it depends upon whom you're talking to. Order flan in a French restaurant and you are likely to receive a slice of a tart, sometimes layered with fruit and pastry cream; but it's just as likely to be a mixture of meat, cream and eggs. However, it will always be in pastry - unless it's a French country version of flan, called clafouti. This is a cross between custard and cake studded with fruit, usually sour cherries.

Yo, Chefs! I hope one of the chefs could solve this mystery for me. I have been making rice pudding for many years. (I am 78.) I have tried many recipes that have been excellent, but what is the secret for keeping the rice tender after the pudding is refrigerated to be eaten later, or the next day? The rice pudding also dries out a little and is never as creamy as the first day. Josephine Capizzi Dear Mrs. Capizzi, You had the very same question I had to struggle with recently.

What I thought was just a little mouth surgery with a local anesthetic kept me whiny and groggy and even a bit mean for more than a week. Even though I looked fine, I was somewhat off my feed, so to speak. It's not just that it hurt to eat; it was that I was somehow more tired than I had expected, and it took me a few days to figure out what tasted good. But what I craved was custard. Custard has fallen out of favor with those overzealous health gurus who scorn eggs and whole milk.

Low fat, full flavor Less fat, less sodium, but no less flavor or good potato-chip crunch. Why weren't EatSmart Lightly Salted chips by Snyders of Hanover the standard for potato chips all along? We prefer them plain, but the French Onion flavor revives taste memories of the '60s and the sour cream/onion-soup-mix dip so popular then. The Sweet Barbecue version was a bit too sweet and gritty with seasoning. Bottle of goodness Made with non-homogenized organic milk from grass-fed cows, this European-style yogurt has been voted "America's Best" by the American Cheese Society for the last two years.

  Bourbon collectors anticipating Woodford Reserve's annual Master's Collection, an annual experimental whiskey series, get a spicy surprise with the sixth edition - a half-bottle pair of pot-still 100 percent ryes aged in two kinds of barrels, one old, one new. These are 92.4-proof sippers, not blenders, in part because they're the nation's only triple-distilled ryes, according to Woodford's master distiller who says...

Christina Verrelli, a 43-year-old Main Line mom, reshaped an old-fashioned pumpkin pie into an trendy "ravioli" dessert with a salted caramel whipped cream topping to win the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off and $1 million. "Oh my God, I'm over the moon," she said, still a little shocked, moments after she appeared on The Martha Stewart Show Tuesday morning from the contest in Orlando, Fla. "I'm in surreal land right now," she said in a phone interview. "It doesn't feel quite real yet. " When asked how she would spend the million dollars, Verelli, who lives in Devon with her husband, Louis, and two daughters, 7 and 9, said: "Well, college.

  Bourbon collectors anticipating Woodford Reserve's annual Master's Collection, an annual experimental whiskey series, get a spicy surprise with the sixth edition - a half-bottle pair of pot-still 100 percent ryes aged in two kinds of barrels, one old, one new. These are 92.4-proof sippers, not blenders, in part because they're the nation's only triple-distilled ryes, according to Woodford's master distiller who says...

Like parenting a teenager, the making of caramelized onions involves patience, love, and a watchful eye. Both endeavors likely will make you cry, but the payoff is worth it. I know this about the onions; I am reassured about the other by mothers and fathers who have been there. Some with a reckless streak have taken the route of benign neglect for both tasks. I can't say whether that approach works in child-rearing, but loading a slow cooker with sliced onions and a few other ingredients and then walking away for up to eight hours produces a passable, but not excellent, product when compared to those produced by babysitting them on the stove for up to an hour.

NEW YORK - An apple a day may keep the doctor away. But when you put it in a Happy Meal, it might help keep regulators at bay, too. McDonald's on Tuesday said that it would add apple slices and reduce the portion of French fries in its children's meal boxes beginning this fall, effectively taking away consumers' current choice: either apples with caramel dip or fries as a Happy Meal side. The move by McDonald's, which has become a leader in moving from just burgers and fries to more nutritious fare like oatmeal and salads, comes as fast-food chains face intense scrutiny from health officials and others who blame the industry for childhood obesity and other health problems.

BACON CARAMEL 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 4 to 6 ounces smoky, thick-cut or slab bacon 2 ounces butter 1/4 cup heavy cream Dice the bacon into small, uniform pieces and begin to render the fat in a medium-size sauce pan over medium heat. This should take only a few minutes. The bacon will begin to get crispy. When it appears to have given up most of its fat, remove from the heat and strain the bacon through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the fat and the pieces separately.

Espresso Caramel Bars Makes 6 to 8 Servings 3. For the chocolate layer: Combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl and place over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the espresso powder. Pour the chocolate mixture over the caramel layer and smooth the edges with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with sea salt, if using.

Food and drink are not uncommon stage props. But in most theater productions, the actors don't actually eat and drink, so the food is often faked. Not so for the Arden Theatre Company's production of Rabbit Hole, which requires the actors to eat crème caramel, chocolate cake, apple torte, zucchini bread, and lemon squares in eight performances a week for nine weeks. The play by David Lindsay-Abaire, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for drama, tells the story of a couple fraught with grief after the loss of their young son. Becca, the distraught mother, who left her Sotheby's real estate job to be a full-time mom, bakes with a renewed fury to cope with her son's death.

Ice tubes These days, a BPA-free, refillable water bottle is a girl's best friend. And now: elongated ice cubes that fit handily in your bottle. The trays are stackable, dishwasher safe, and fit any bottle size. From artisan chocolatier Fran Bigelow of Seattle, this exquisite bar wraps rich dark chocolate around superior soft caramel and toasted almonds. Talk about an upscale Snickers bar! We also loved her spiced macadamia nuts, and, sigh , the smoked salt caramels. Renowned pastry chef Robert Bennett is now churning out his genius sorbets and gelatos at Classic Cake.

The young lady who sold us these bees said one repeat customer confesses they make her "knees go wobbly. " That's close to the typical reaction: The handcrafted bees are delicate shells of dark Valrhona ganache filled with oozy salted caramel and basswood honey from an upstate Pennsylvania farm. (Also, available in gift boxes: ladybugs filled with raspberry cream or garden mint.)   Recipes from over there Carolyn Quick Tillery is perhaps best known for her recipe-remembrance books on Southern and African-American cooking.

She brought the sundae out on a little tray. There were big scoops of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla, and an oozy river of creamy caramel. How could I resist? I did what any red-blooded American male would do. I dunked my big, cracked, calloused, smelly feet right into the gooey mess and began wiggling my toes. I was at the cloud-clinging Wintergarden Spa at the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. My spa options included standard sports massage and manicure, but I chose to treat the most abused and maltreated part of my body.