Pralines, por favor?

[Audeo]

Tis nearing the season to start clearing the hoarded larders and make short tons of candy again. I'm particularly fond of pralines and would enjoy seeing your favorites of these, which I understand also vary across our continent. Top on my list are:

Buttermilk Pralines

3 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Butter 2 large cookie sheets and line them with waxed paper, and set aside.

In a heavy, tall-sided saucepan, run a stick of butter around the inside of the pan about four inches above the bottom to create a 2-inch wide, light “ring” of butter. (This will help keep the mixture from climbing too high, as well as to help prevent the formation of crystals on the side of the pan during boiling.)

Combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, baking soda and salt in the saucepan and place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar completely dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer.

Attach your candy thermometer and raise the heat to medium, bringing the mixture to a rolling boil without stirring. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally, until the mixture reaches 260 degrees (F) (hard ball stage).

Remove from heat and add the vanilla and pecans. Stir gently and slowly just until the pecans are coated. (Too much stirring can cause the candy to crystallize and become grainy, although still darned delicious.)

Drop tablespoonsful of the candy onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving space between each for spreading. Let the candy sit at room temperature until it is cool and firm (about 2-3 hours).

Peel the candies off the waxed paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

 

[marmalady]

I may have to do some of these this year, considering Charleston is one of the 'homes' of pralines!

Do you have a recipe for chocolate ones? There's a candy store in Chaz that has THE most divine ones - the chocolate punch is to die for!

 

[Catseye]

I may have to do some of these this year, considering Charleston is one of the 'homes' of pralines!

Do you have a recipe for chocolate ones? There's a candy store in Chaz that has THE most divine ones - the chocolate punch is to die for!

GRRRR ... I tried making pralines, and they came out all cloudy, with the little trapped bubbles. And the texture was grainy. I know it was cuz I messed up the temperature or something. Or wait, am I thinking of penuche? :roll:

Marmalady, here's Paul Prudhomme's recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pralines: http://www.recipesource.com/desserts/candy/00/rec0065.html.

You're a Charlestonian? Some years ago, a friend gifted me with a cookbook called 'Best of the Best from South Carolina: Selected Recipes from South Carolina's Favorite Cookbooks' and boy, they aren't kidding. It's a wonderful cookbook. It's got stuff like Charleston Gumbo, Charleston Shrimp Bake, and Charleston Shrimp Breakfast. The Charleston Shrimp Breakfast calls for 'fresh white or brown creek shrimp'. I'm like: Eh? White or brown creek shrimp? You mean shrimp ain't just shrimp? The first instruction is this: 'Pick and devein shrimp while still raw. If freshly caught, head them and refrigerate for about an hour to make shelling a bit easier.' There's an instruction we don't see much here in the land-locked Blue Ridge.

Then there's a recipe for Coffee Sundae Pie, that looks sooo scrumptious. And Daufuskie Freeze, and Smothered Steak Daufuskie and Various Other Things Daufuskie ... and Shoofly Coffee Cake, Broiled Crappie with Sweet-and-Sour Dressing, Fulton Plantation Apricot Pound Cake and Cornbread with Collard Greens and Caroline Trifle and Huckleberry Pudding and Schooner Steaks and Miss Lucy's Coconut Cake, Pecan Pilaf, Mrs. Strom Thurmond's Watermelon Pie and Tidalholm Seafood Chowder and --

And WHY AM I HAVING BUNLESS HOTDOGS FOR SUPPER???

 

[marmalady]

LOL, Catseye! Yes, Charleston is becoming quite the restaurant town! It's always been known for its food - as a major port city, even in the 1700 and 1800's, the spice route and imports made the Charleston diet a little more 'kicked up'! Add to that the wonderful recipes from the Gullah people, descendents of the slaves who brought with them things like okra, and peanuts, and you just have some plain good cookin!

'Creek shrimp' are the shrimp that are found in the many marshes and small waterways that thread their way around the coastline here. Most everyone who lives close to the ocean has in their garage a shrimp cast net, and a crab pot, to catch their own supply. 'Heading' shrimp is one of those rather nasty tasks that not many folks know about, lol! And the little suckers sting!

The other thing that Charleston is known for is its love of 'adult beverages'; sign on a T-shirt in the tourist part of town -

"Charleston is a drinking town with a historic problem'!

TY for Paul's recipe! He's one of the classics, and I love his books!

 

[Catseye]

'Creek shrimp' are the shrimp that are found in the many marshes and small waterways that thread their way around the coastline here. Most everyone who lives close to the ocean has in their garage a shrimp cast net, and a crab pot, to catch their own supply. 'Heading' shrimp is one of those rather nasty tasks that not many folks know about, lol! And the little suckers sting!

Shrimp sting? Really? How, exactly? Boy, the things I'm learning in here ...

I dig about heading shrimp. Transplanted urbanite that I am, I never saw an unheaded shrimp in my life. But I don't get why unheaded shrimp are not more widely available, since as I understand it (from Paul P), the head holds all the flavor. Although, judging from the unheaded crawfish I've seen in the supermarket, they ain't the most appealing things in the world ...

Get it? Appealing? Peel? Gawd, I kill myself sometimes.

 

[AllenOK]

I've been lucky enough to get some head-on shrimp, previously frozen, from a Chinese grocery store, of all places!

They have a spine of sorts that protrudes forward, from between the eyes. I'd hate to be "stung" by them!

 

[marmalady]

They do have that 'spiney' thing on the head, but also the long 'feelers' have a 'sting' to them; they're kind of rough, and if you run your hand along them they can actually 'sting'. Sorry, Catseye, I didn't mean 'sting' like a bee - meant sting like ow!

My guess is that you don't find head on shrimp more readily is because of the 'eww' factor!

If you can get some tho, be sure to save the heads (you can freeze 'em in milk cartons), because they make a wonderful stock.

 

[Audeo]

If you can get some tho, be sure to save the heads (you can freeze 'em in milk cartons), because they make a wonderful stock.

Yes, ma'am, they do! Nasty little stinkers, though!

Marmalady, I was kinda hoping that you had one from Charleston so I could compare it to mine -- it's a lot safer that way!!! But I'll give you mine and it's a good one. I use evaporated milk in lieu of cream, which really makes these pralines melt-in-your-mouth creamy.

Catseye, if your pralines are grainy, it is likely from bring the mixture to a boil before all the sugar is dissolved. You might try lowering your heat to medium when first combining the ingredients and stirring constantly until it reaches a full boil, then raising the temp to medium-high to continue cooking to final temp. Since you're fighting the crystalization process in making these, cooling down the mixture before beating is also critical.

Chocolate Pralines

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups pecans (halves or chopped)
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside.

Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Into the saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar and evaporated milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to dissolve sugars, until the mixture begins to boil. Attach your candy thermometer to the pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally (I stir every 4-5 minutes) until the candy reaches 234 degrees (F).

NOTE: The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Reaching the soft-ball stage (234 degrees) will take 15-18 minutes, altitude dependent.

Remove the pan from heat and add the butter and chopped chocolate. DO NOT STIR! Set the candy aside on a wire rack to cool, undisturbed and without stirring, until the thermometer registers 150 degrees (F). This will take about half an hour. You can allow it to cool as low as 125 degrees, but you will need to reheat the mixture if it falls below that.

After cooling to 150 degrees, remove the thermometer from the pan and immediately stir in the pecans. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the candy is just beginning to thicken, but it still glossy. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Working quickly, drop from a teaspoon onto the waxed paper, the store in an airtight container at room temperature.

If the candy becomes too stiff to drop, you can stir in a few DROPS of boiling water and stir to incorporate, but do this a few drops (4-5) at a time to avoid ruining the stuff.

 

[Catseye]

Audeo -- Many thanks for your advice on how to fix my grainy pralines. I've put a note in my dessert folder.

 

[choclatechef]

Audeo, I love pralines! Stealthily adding this version of pralines to my collection of praline recipes..... :twisted:

 

[marmalady]

Lemme go peruse my Charleston cookbooks, Audeo - I'm sure I can find something!

 

[Audeo]

Whew! Charleston Girl is coming to my rescue!

Thanks, marmalady! I'd love to compare!

 

[marmalady]

Okay - this is from 'Party Receipts'; the newest cookbook put out by the Charleston Junior League; some of you may know their first one, which has been out forever, and is a staple here in kitchens! "Charleston Receipts"

Party Pralines

Yield - about 40 pralines

2 cups light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light cream
1tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups chopped pecans

In a large saucepan, combine the sugars, cream and corn syrup; bring to a boil and continue cooking til mixture reaches soft ball stage, 238F on a candy thermometer.

Remove pan from heat, add butter, vanilla, and pecans. Beat the mixture to cool (to speed the process, place the pan in a bowl of ice water).

Drop in heaping teaspoons onto waxed paper; if the mixture hardens too fast, reheat it and add some extra cream to soften it.

 

[mudbug]

In some ways I am a traitor to my people. Don't like pralines at all and cannot bring myself to suck dem heads.

Here's a praline recipe anyway. Only makes 12, so if you like them, double (or triple) the ingredients below. Audeo and other experts, I have no idea as to whether temps below are correct or not - just typing it as I read it.

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup breakfast cream (no clue how "breakfast cream" is diff from other types)
2 tablespoons butter

Dissolve sugar in cream and boil to the thread test (228F), stir occasionally. Add butter and pecans, cook until syrup reaches soft ball test (236F) and cool. Beat until thickened but not until it loses its gloss and drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased marble slab or double thickness of waxed paper. The candy will flatten out into large cakes.

 

[crewsk]

I wish I had a scanner so you could see this picture I'm looking at!! This is from my Southern Living 20th Edition Annuual Recipes Cookbook. I have not made any of these but this may be the year for me to try them!

Basic Pralines

Vegetable cooking spray
1 1/2C. sugar
3/4C. packed brown sugar
1/4C. plus 2Tbsp. butter
1/2C. milk
1 1/2C. chopped pecans

Lightly coat a few sheets of wax paper with cooking spray & set aside.

Combine 1 1/2C. sugar & remaining ingredients in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 220F.(You may need to lower the heat with a thinner saucepan, & rely on a candy thermometer instead of a timer.)

Remove from heat, & beat with a wooden spoon 4 to 6 minutes or just until mixture begins to thicken. Working rapidly, drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared wax paper; let stand until firm. Yield: 2 1/2 dozen.

Variations:

Orange Pralines: Add 2 1/2 to 3 Tbsp. Cointreau or other orange flavored liqueur before cooking.

Cafe au Lait Pralines: Add 1 1/2Tbsp. instant coffee granules before cooking.

Mocha Pralines: Add 1 1/2 to 2Tbsp instant coffee granules & 1/2C. simi-sweet chocolate morsels before cooking.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pralines: Add 1/C, simi-sweet chocolate morsels & 1/4C. creamy peanut butter before cooking.

Peanut Butter Pralines: Add 2Tbsp. creamy peanut butter brfore cooking & stir 1tsp. vanilla into cooked mixture before beating.

Chocolat-Mint Pralines: Add 5(1/2 ounce)chocolate covered peppermint patties before cooking.

Hot Spicy Pralines: Add 1/2tsp. ground red pepper before cooking.

Bourbon Pralines: Add 3Tbsp. bourbon before cooking.

Chocolate pralines: Add 2(1 ounce)squares unsweetened chocolate before cooking.

Vanilla Pralines: Stir 1tsp. vanilla extraact into cooked mixture before beating.

Joe Cahn
New Orleans School of Cooking &
General Store in Jax Brewery
New Orleans, Louisiana

 

[Audeo]

Nifty, nifty, nifty!
Neat, neat, neat!
The goodies this year...
Are going to be sweet, sweet, sweet!!

 

[buckytom]

bumping a really old thread. from shortly after i joined.

audeo was great, but she was the first member that left that i wondered why after apparently some b.s. excuse. who knows the real reason(s).

ok, so someone enlighten me. what's a praline candy, and how does it relate to shrimp?

i can certainly identify by being stung by shrimp when reaching into a pocket while using them for surfcasting. and i've heard of sugar coated nuts, but what am i missing?

i get the barely near connection to the word prawn, but us jt some historical linguical thing?

 

[Addie]

Good morning Tom. I am at a loss also. This is one thread that got lost confused along the way. I guess you have to be a Southerner to know what they are talking about.

 

[CraigC]

The best I can decribe a praline is it is like a soft version of a nut brittle that melts easily in your mouth. The only relation to shrimp would be stumbling down Bourbon St. after eating some BBQ shrimp, which you may or may not remember doing and having a praline or two for dessert. Of course lots of alcohol was probably involved.

 

[GotGarlic]

Check out catseye's long post that links to a praline recipe. She starts talking about cookbook of Charleston food and how she didn't know there were different types of shrimp. Then others start talking about shrimp. Just like many threads today that wander somewhat off topic.