New Pantry - Part 1

Get a load of these two knuckleheads. Truth be known, they're not really knuckleheads, they're family (aren't they cute?!). They do renovation and construction work, so I asked them if they would come for a visit and build me a pantry.

Guess what... they did!!!

For 4 years, this space was home to my rolltop desk, but from the first day I stepped foot into this kitchen, I envisioned a wide pantry on this wall. See that tiny little broom closet on the right? Well, the contractor who built my house thought it would be a sufficient pantry. It probably would be sufficient for some families, but I cook big for our brood, so I found this broom-closet-in-disguise to be grossly inadequate, not to mention very difficult to get things in and out of because it's so deep and narrow.

So here we go... this project took a weekend, which included spending several hours at the hardware store buying all the supplies, frequently stopping for meals, watching a little TV here and there, taking a nap or two, and going out for dinner one evening because the kitchen was filled with drywall dust (gasping... need air... help.....).

There was no rush. They gave up their weekend to come to my house, so I wanted them to take their time.

First stop, Lowe's. Men aren't supposed to enjoy shopping, but I think these two were having a pretty good time!

Finally, after waiting 4 looooong years, it was really starting to happen... I was giddy with anticipation!

Whoo-hoo... it's coming along... looking good!!!

WIDE doors - happy, happy!!

Hooray - the doors are installed. Now we need drywall.

I like drywall!

Can you see the door knobs? I worried we wouldn't find ones that matched the existing doors, but we did.

Hooray!!! Can you see me doing cartwheels??? All it needs now is a little paint and some shelving. Stay tuned!

Update... the pantry is complete - click here to see.

Okay you two... ya done good!

Hey, while you guys are still here, what do you think about the possibility of maybe installing some beadboard in the guest bathroom...

Caramel Sauce

There was an ice cream party at the kid's school today and each family was supposed to send in one ice cream topping. I had a feeling a lot of the kids would bring chocolate syrup, but didn't think anyone would bring caramel sauce, so I decided to whip up a batch - no recipe, I just winged it.

I started by melting 1 stick of unsalted butter (8 tablespoons), 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan.

I heated it over a medium flame until it reached a nice color and it started to smell kind of carmel-y. I also transferred the sugar/butter mixture into a larger pan because I remembered caramel bubbles up violently when liquid is added, and I planned to add cream in the next step.

I added about 3/4 cup of heavy cream and stirred well. Note: I usually let it get a bit darker before I add the cream, but I needed to get this out the door fast, so I finished it a bit on the light side. I knew the kids would love it no matter what, and they surely did... there was only a drizzle in the bottom of the jar at the end of the party.

Then I turned off the heat and added 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract; stir, stir, stir...

I let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes before pouring into jars. As you can see, this step can be a bit messy, so I filled the jars over a lined sheet tray.

After a quick clean-up, I added the lid and wasn't pleased with the appearance of this reused maraschino cherry jar, so....

I jazzed the jar up a little with gold ribbon and a couple of squares of recycled star tissue paper, which made for a much more pleasant presentation. I don't usually recycle tissue paper, but this one was too cute to throw away - glad I saved it.

Caramel Sauce

makes 1 1/2 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (be sure to use the good stuff)

Directions

1. Melt butter, sugar, and salt together in a large sauce pan.

2. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until desired color is achieved.

3. Remove from heat and stir in cream.

4. Cool for a couple of minutes before adding pure vanilla extract; stir to combine. Enjoy!