yesterday, i returned home from a great trip to visit my friends maggie and tanya in chicago and champaign illinois. it was a whirlwind trip, but it was great to reconnect with some of my oldest friends before coming home to hunker down for the holidays. it's funny. in my old career, the holidays were a time to slow down and spend time at home and with family. this year is going to be all about the food.

wes and i have amped up our catering biz by adding ready to eat meals for delivery or pick up to our repertoire, i'm cooking up a thanksgiving spread for a photo shoot tomorrow and the calendar is quickly filling with holiday parties and jobs. and while it is a little daunting now that i'm finally busy, it's exciting. a year of planning and working is finally starting to pay off. and i feel like i have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. 

so i want to share the joy. and one of the best ways i know how is with this salted caramel. it is the perfect sweet treat to have on hand during the holidays. you can drizzle it over ice cream or mix it in with your cream cheese frosting for an extra decadent cake. or if you are like me, you can just eat it straight off a spoon. your choice. 

salted caramel
serves: 1 cup
prep time: 2 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
cooling time: 20-30 minutes
total time: 1 hour
ingredients: 1 cup sugar. 4 tablespoons water. 2 tablespoons light corn syrup .5 cup heavy cream. 2 tablespoons butter. .5 teaspoon lemon juice. .5 teaspoon kosher salt. 

start by combining the sugar, water and the corn syrup in a large saucepan and stir it with a wooden spoon over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
stay patient.

it seams like it taking a really long time, but all of a sudden the liquid will look completely clear. be patient. should take between 7-10 minutes.

when the sugar has dissolved, cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
after the 3 minutes, remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high heat. bring the mixture to a rapid boil.

from this point, do not stir. instead, swirl the liquid around the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn. 

continue to cook the caramel until it turns into an even amber color. then remove it from the heat and let it stand for 30 seconds.

now, carefully pour the heavy cream into the caramel mixture. it will bubble up fast and is very hot.

gently whisk the mixture. 

add the butter, lemon juice and salt. whisk until combined.

allow the caramel to cool to room temperature. whisk every few minutes until completely cooled and you can move it into a storage container. about 20-30 minutes depending on how cool it is out. you can use immediately or store in the fridge for 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 6 months.

xo, a

salted caramel
serves: 1 cup
prep time: 2 minutes
cook time: 15 minutes
cooling time: 20-30 minutes
total time: 1 hour
ingredients: 1 cup sugar. 4 tablespoons water. 2 tablespoons light corn syrup .5 cup heavy cream. 2 tablespoons butter. .5 teaspoon lemon juice. .5 teaspoon kosher salt.
start by combining the sugar, water and the corn syrup in a large saucepan and stir it with a wooden spoon over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
stay patient.
it seams like it taking a really long time, but all of a sudden the liquid will look completely clear. be patient. should take between 7-10 minutes.
when the sugar has dissolved, cover the saucepan and let it cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
after the 3 minutes, remove the lid and increase the heat to medium-high heat. bring the mixture to a rapid boil.
from this point, do not stir. instead, swirl the liquid around the pan so that the caramel doesn’t burn.
continue to cook the caramel until it turns into an even amber color. then remove it from the heat and let it stand for 30 seconds.
now, carefully pour the heavy cream into the caramel mixture. it will bubble up fast and is very hot.
gently whisk the mixture. add the butter, lemon juice and salt.
whisk until combined.
allow the caramel to cool to room temperature. whisk every few minutes until completely cooled and you can move it into a storage container. about 20-30 minutes depending on how cool it is out. you can use immediately or store in the fridge for 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 6 months.

bom dia friends. (brasillian good morning and one of the only phrases i was able to nail.)

after 20 hours of travel, wes and i arrived home yesterday afternoon from what can only be described as an epic trip. 

sure, if my brother had come home with a gold medal i would have to come up with an even more enthusiastic word than epic, but i'm pretty ok with epic. 

watching joshua compete as an olympian was one of the great highlights of my life. until of course he scored his first olympic goal. and his second. and third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, you get the point. it was pretty spectacular watching him thrive and lead among the world's greatest players.

even though the team was unable to advance to medal rounds, his infectious optimism, never say die attitude and obvious leadership brought me to tears multiple times. he is a true athlete and leader, but most importantly, just an amazing guy. 

the only highlight of his team's early exit was that we got to spend a really good amount of time with him as we experienced what rio has to offer. beautiful landscape, delicious food and some of the most energetic and inviting people i've ever had the pleasure of meeting. plus, they really know how to party. 

wes and i even managed one night of partying that led into the wee morning hours. circa three am we were feeling pretty good and we coined our new anthem. "we're old, we can hang. we're old, we can hang." complete with raise the roof hand motions of course. 

rio had many highlights. we spent plenty of time at our favorite beach kiosk enjoying the stunning beaches and amazingly fresh seafood. christ the redeemer was so nice, we hiked it twice. we strolled and dinned the famed copacabana and ipanema beaches, browsed the sunday hippie market and spent a day at the stunning prainha beach just below a nature preserve. we even managed a dinner party for fifteen despite the challenges at the local market and severe lack of kitchen tools. 

i decided to give myself a much needed vacation while away since my plan is to grind hard from this moment through the end of the year, but i just couldn't resist shooting one dish in our beautiful brasillian treehouse. 

despite the challenges of the local markets, eggs, bread and avocado were easy to come by. and while poached eggs may seem overwhelming, wes taught me the perfect trick to make perfectly poached eggs a snap. 

poached eggs + avocado toast
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
total time: 15 minutes
ingredients: 4 large slices sourdough toast (we were only able to find mini loaves so i used a few pieces to equal 1 piece). 2 large avocados, halved and sliced. 4 eggs, cracked into individual small bowls or cups. juice of 1 lime. 1 tsp salt. .25 tsp pepper. 

start by bringing 2 medium sized pots of water to a boil. you do not want to over crowd your pots, so if you want to eat at one time you will need two pots. divide .5 tsp of salt between the two pots of water. 

while your water is coming to a boil, toast your bread. you can do so by toasting it to your desired doneness (i prefer lightly browned) in a toaster or in a 375 f oven for 5-7 minutes. if you are toasting your toast in the oven or toaster oven, make sure to flip the bread halfway through so it is toasted evenly. 

once your water has come to a boil, use a spoon to create a whirlpool in each pot. once the water is swirling, pour in one egg at a time. once you have two eggs in a pot, turn off the heat, cover and set the time for 5 minutes.

as your eggs are poaching, set out a piece of toast on each plate. 

spread .25 of the avocado slices onto each piece of toast. season the avocado with half the remaining salt and pepper and squeeze a bit of lime juice on the avocado. 

when the 5 minute timer goes off, using a slotted spoon, remove each egg from the water back into its own dish. 

after all the eggs have been retrieved, gently top each toast with a poached egg. season the eggs with the last of the salt and pepper and serve hot. 

xoxo
a

poached eggs + avocado toast
serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
total time: 15 minutes
ingredients: 4 large slices sourdough toast (we were only able to find mini loaves so i used a few pieces to equal 1 piece). 2 large avocados, halved and sliced. 4 eggs, cracked into individual small bowls or cups. juice of 1 lime. 1 tsp salt. .25 tsp pepper.
start by bringing 2 medium sized pots of water to a boil. you do not want to over crowd your pots, so if you want to eat at one time you will need two pots. divide .5 tsp of salt between the two pots of water.
while your water is coming to a boil, toast your bread. you can do so by toasting it to your desired doneness (i prefer lightly browned) in a toaster or in a 375 f oven for 5-7 minutes. if you are toasting your toast in the oven or toaster oven, make sure to flip the bread halfway through so it is toasted evenly.
once your water has come to a boil, use a spoon to create a whirlpool in each pot. once the water is swirling, pour in one egg at a time. once you have two eggs in a pot, turn off the heat, cover and set the time for 5 minutes.
as your eggs are poaching, set out a piece of toast on each plate.
spread .25 of the avocado slices onto each piece of toast. season the avocado with half the remaining salt and pepper and squeeze a bit of lime juice on the avocado.
when the 5 minute timer goes off, using a slotted spoon, remove each egg from the water back into its own dish.
after all the eggs have been retrieved, gently top each toast with a poached egg. season the eggs with the last of the salt and pepper and serve hot.