Poker Perambulation

No, I'm not saying he's lazy.  I'm somewhat describing myself these days.  I used to cook a lot and was damn good at it.  Not as she-she as Astin but I could cook about anything.  One of the things – sweet tooth wise – I like is Carmel sauce.  So, today you get my evolved version. 

 I started out cooking something like Astin.   A bit over involved and abounding in pricey ingredients.  Nothing wrong with that unless you start to live though it.  He hasn't done that but he may be the last YUPPIE standing.

My original recipe for Carmel sauce was on the Gourmet magazine side.   Heavy cream.  It was damn good but real work.  That Smuckers stuff was crap along side it.  My recipe these days isn't as costly and I like it better.  Don't get me wrong.  The whole cream version had a nuance that only that can add.  But the bit of butter in this one adds a note of its own and the recipe is a whole lot easier to throw together instead of worry over that the whole cream will shoot things in the face.

So, without further adieu:

You start making a Carmel base, duh.  Put a cup of sugar in a saucepan with a pour spout.  Add enough water to slightly cover.  You can avoid the water like my original did but that makes more work – reference the title.

The mix doesn't need the constant work that the just sugar and whole cream does.  You can stir and do other things.  BTW, this is the spatula/spoon I use and it has replaced almost everything but the turner at the stove. It cheap and well designed – not a true spatula but damn useful.  Mine are yellow but what the hey...

OK, we go through about 3 stages of bubbles and a little color is starting to appear.  Don't burn it.  We are looking to get close to the color of a grocery bag.  You'll start seeing strand darker and toward burgundy.  Turn off the heat and splash a bit of water into the sugar.  Do it from the edge as live steam will come off.   The sugar mix needs diluting.  Left alone it would be a cross between peanut brittle and cement.  You don't need a lot of water here and when the steam dies off you stir.  You want a homogeneous mixture that can be stirred.  And after water to get that you're minutes away.

Throw in two tablespoons of butter.  Here is the mature richness that replace heavy creams richness.  Don't worry about burning or whatever.  The mix is going from scalding to time to taste in minutes.

OK, here is the 'secret' and lazy part.  Throw in two cans of sweetened condensed milk.  Stir. Done.  You have a pint and change of Carmel or butterscotch sauce. If you want the Gourmet comparison, the whole cream one is a flowery white German wine with higher notes.  Mine is a port or Madeira.

If you were expecting measurements, sorry. I use them for cakes and cookies but most recipes are one offs based on what's available.  At times that's sad when something really sings and you can't really ever duplicate it.  That the difference between the pros and the rest of us.

ADDENDUM:
Full Tilt is an annoying site.  My tables have held a lot more agros than I enjoy but the reason I put money on it was their offer of $100 bonus.  I've been clearing that and it is a bitch.  They have a really lousy algorithm.  To say it favors the house deserves repeated DUHHHHs along with Homeric head smacking.  I'm playing higher and clearing slower than I did on UB.  I find playing against UB's passives less challenging and more profitable.  You can beat the typical mix at FT.  It is just harder and more variance prone.

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