MAN ON WIRE

Man On Wire, Phillipe Petit

Isn't it funny how easily we get sucked into a vacuum-induced air pocket of whatever is going on in our lives at the moment, whether it's work, or worries about finances, family or relationships. A tunnel vision so singular and consuming that it's to the complete exclusion of anything else going on in your life, and there's nothing you can do but helplessly watch your house of cards crumble around you. You continually put off what needs doing today, clumping everything onto one long 'To Do' list that you promise yourself you'll get to when you have a minute to call your own. And when you do manage to come up for air, for however briefly, you're scrambling to play catch up as you clean up the mess you managed to make of things. I've always been somewhat of an all or nothing sort of person. When I take on something it's with everything I am, all that I have, with a determination not to let anyone down lest somehow it reflects badly on me. But life, work, love - it's all a balancing act. Having the strength, stamina, and steadiness to stay the course even when falling, maybe even failing, with nothing to grasp onto, and a sheer drop below. You have to believe there will always be a net to catch you. If not by your own fierce determination alone, then from those who cheer us on despite their own fears, and maybe in spite of our reckless pursuits.

I've always had a strong work ethic, and am inclined to be a bit of a workaholic. When I'm on a project it's often to the exclusion of everything else. With a hundred and one things to juggle, to keep track of, there never seems to be an available second to take a call, pay a bill, hit the loo, or even take the next breath. But of course there's always time to hit the pause button despite the frenetic pace, the constant demands, and the long hours. Only I haven't figured out how. I only know how to steal time for myself between projects, between mouthfuls of food I inhale at my desk, or in the dead of night when I'm really too exhausted to think about anything but the tasks that need sorting, and doing the following morning. In a strange way, there's method to my madness. Most of what I've learned in life has been on the fly without anyone to train me, or show me the ropes. When you appear capable, folks just throw things at you. And out of necessity, you learn to cope, to figure it out. And it may start out as necessity, but it can easily evolve into a very bad habit. I've always prided myself in the ability to just dive in, and somehow come up swimming. But there's nothing quite like working under a master, someone who not only does his job extremely well but is willing to take you under his wing to teach you not just a new skill, but a more effective way of doing routine tasks. It takes a special kind of person to not only have the patience but the willingness to show you. And it's amazing to watch them tackle their work whole-heartedly, effectively, and intuitively. I realized long ago that it's never too late to learn new tricks if you have the willingness to open yourself up to new ideas. You can always benefit from another's knowledge or experience. I've never claimed to know everything, not even close, but I sincerely believe that willingness and follow-through, sprinkled with just the right amount of enthusiasm can accomplish anything. All of us are masters at something, and I hope that the next time someone show's an eagerness to learn from me that I pay back that enthusiasm by doing for them what others have done for me.

LOLLYGAGGING

I recently came across Pie Lollipops, bite-sized morsels in various flavors, with crinkled edges to hold in the delicious fillings. And in all fairness, since I blogged about cake pops yesterday I think these delicious portable delights deserve a spotlight all of their own.

Lollipop Pies

lollipop sticks

various fruits, for fillings

cinnamon & sugar, for flavoring

cornstarch, for thickening

1 7/8 inch (48mm) round cookie cooker

1 9-inch pastry dough

egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Make the filling (basic fruit pie filling recipe for one 9-inch pie). You can also used pre-made canned filling, or home-made jarred ones. For small jars of different flavored fillings specifically for these pie lollipops simply combine a cup of fruit, pitted, diced, or mashed with 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 2 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/8 tsp of spices.
3. Roll out your pie dough on a floured surface, or on plastic wrap. Dust the opposite with a dust of flour. This will make the dough easier to work with and move around. With a round cookie cutter cut out two circles for each pie, one for the bottom crust, and one for the top. You can make about 8 or 9 pops with 1 9-inch pie crust.
4. Place a stick in the center of your cut out. Using a teaspoon fill the pie center on top of the stick. Be careful as your filling is liquid, and will run. Carefully lay the second cut out on top, using the end of another stick to press the edges together.
5. Using the egg wash, brush the tops of the pies with egg white. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops start to brown. Cool on wire rack.
6. When completely cool you can bag these with small plastic treat bags and tie with ribbon to give as gifts.

inspiration via luxaire

OBSCURA DAY

This Saturday on March 20th dedicate the day to expeditions, back-room tours and hidden treasures in your hometown. What exactly is Obscura Day you ask? An international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places initiated by Atlas Obscura, an online database that collects information on bizarre landmarks throughout the world. Atlas Obscura tout themselves as a 'compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities and esoterica.' In celebration of Obscura Day they have organized expeditions in different cities around the world. Check out their blog for expeditions in your city.

If you're in Los Angeles The Echo Park Time Travel Mart and Atlas Obscura are teaming up to lead a special bus tour of some of LA's most time-specific places. They plan on traveling back to the days of cane sugar sodas, panoramic paintings, and whimsical marionette performances. John Nese, soda aficionado and owner of Galco's Soda Pop Stop, will share some of his favorite bubbly beverages of yesteryear. Box lunches will be provided at Griffith Park's Old Zoo to picnic among the spirits of the apes and climb into abandoned animal cages from the 1930s.Travel from one extreme locale to another at the Velaslavasay Panorama, and trek into a 360-degree display of the arctic north and explore a carnivorous plant garden. Finally, witness a puppetry performance and backroom tour of Bob Baker's Marionette Theater, the longest-running of its kind in North America.The tour starts at 11:30 AM at the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, 1714 West Sunset Boulevard, 90026. Price is $30 which includes lunch. For more information click here.

You may be one of many Angeleno's who have driven past The Echo Park Time Travel Mart and wondered what it was - maybe just a bodega with a strange name, or a kitschy shop that sold gag gifts, or a head shop with smoke paraphernalia. I myself wandered in one day to solve the mystery of its unusual but intriguing name only to discover that it's one of eight chapters of 826 National, a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization created to assist students ages 6 to 18 with their writing skills. Neighborhood kids come in five days a week after school for one-on-one tutoring and writing workshops. The goal of the program is to help kids express their ideas effectively, creatively, and confidently in their own voices. The Time Travel Mart is also a convenient mart selling everything you'd need in a time warp, such as time-machine fuel, ray guns, a can of mastodon meat, or even a cup of joe. They also sell dinosaur eggs, a plethora of mustache disguises, and even Viking Odorant. Next time you're in the neighborhood, take a few minutes to see what this unusual but worthy place is about. You many even be convinced to volunteer your time to be a party of their mentoring or tutoring program.

DINOSAUR EGG CAKE POPS

Now as most of you know I normally only include pie or tart recipes in my blog but I couldn't resist including this recipe for "dinosaur egg" cake pops. Simply take yellow cake, shape into balls, dip into white chocolate or yellow colored chocolate, let dry, then sprinkle sanding sugar all over each one. For the final touch use food coloring spray mist to color spray each pop for a prehistoric look. Here's a step-by-step instructions for creating these delicious cake pops.

Step 1 - Gather your materials: 1 box of cake mix, lollipop sticks, 1 package chocolate bark (white chocolate or yellow colored chocolate), 1 can of cream cheese frosting (16 oz), sanding sugar, food coloring spray mist, and styrofoam block.

Step 2 - Bake your yellow cake following the instructions on the box. When the cake is cooled completely, crumble into a large bowl. Mix thoroughly with your can of frosting, a little at a time, until its consistency allows you to roll it into a ball.

Step 3 - Start rolling mixture into balls. Size is bakers choice but a melon-baller gadget might come in handy. Quarter sized balls are good. Lay them on wax paper on a cookie sheet. Cover with foil or plastic and stick them in the fridge to chill for several hours (you can speed up by sticking them in a freezer).

Step 4 - Melt the chocolate in the microwave per directions on the package (you can also use candy coating, just follow directions) until the right consistency to dip balls. ONLY melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time as it cools quickly and starts to thicken. It's easier to work with when hot. Most recommended heating for 30 second intervals at a time and stirring in between. You can also do the double boiler method.

Step 5 - Take the cake balls from the fridge. Dip your lollipop stick in the melted chocolate before inserting them half to three-quarters way in each cake ball. Put the balls with sticks back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. When chocolate has cooled and the sticks hold in the cake balls, then dip the newly-sticked cake pops into the melted chocolate, rotating to ensure even coverage. Stand the dipped pops into styrofoam block you've already poked holes into and let drip-dry for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 6 - Once dry decorate your pop by rolling it in sanding sugar and spraying with food coloring spray mist until the cake pops resemble dinosaur eggs. When completely dry, cover the lollipops with small plastic treat bags and tie with a ribbon.

original idea from bellabaker

SAINT PATTY'S DAY

Usually when we think of Saint Patrick's Day we think of shamrocks, wearing green (or risk getting pinched), parades, overindulging in green beer, and little dancing leprechauns (which could be the result of the green beer.) Officially, this annual holiday is named after Saint Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland. It started as a Catholic holiday, then became an official feast day in the early 1600's, and eventually evolved into a celebration of Ireland's culture.

Speaking of shamrocks... when my brother and I were kids my mom sometimes took us to Bingo with her. Before she went into the game hall, she'd sit us down in a patch of clovers and tell us that for every four-leafed clover we found she'd reward us with a dollar. In a kid's mind it seemed an easy enough feat, and a quick way to get rich. I remember how shocked she'd be when we brought her a carefully plucked four-leafed clover from the field of three-leafed ones (even if we had to split one leaf to make four). It was only as I got older that I realized the task which she'd made into a game was just a ploy to keep us occupied and out of her hair while she played Bingo. Oh mom... (sigh).

NO SMALL POTATOES

What's more Irish than potato? The following recipe was taken from the book "Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping" published by Buckeye Publishing Company Minneapolis, in 1877.

Boil either Irish or sweet potatoes until well done, mash and rub through a sieve; to a pint of pulp, add three pints of sweet milk, tablespoon of melted butter, teacup of sugar, three eggs, pinch of salt, and nutmeg or lemon to flavor. Use rich paste for under crust.

Or another version...

Irish Potato Pie

3 eggs

2 cups half-and-half or light cream

2 cups mashed potatoes (whipped smooth with no lumps)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp Irish Whiskey, brandy, or sherry (optional)

1 unbaked 10-inch deep-dish pie shell with high fluted edge

toasted slivered almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Stir in the half-and-half or cream, potatoes, sugar, vanilla, salt, and liquor. Beat well until smooth.
3. Cover the fluted edge of the pie shell with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Pour the filling into the shell and sprinkle with nutmeg.
4. Place on the center rack and bake 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle almonds around the outer edge and dust with additional nutmeg.
6. Serve at room temperature; store in fridge.

SUPERHERO

Because sometimes we all need to feel like a superhero.

via flickr

NUTS FOR NUTS

Who doesn't love Pop-Tarts? A brand of flat, rectangular, pre-baked toaster pastries most of us grew up eating, and still indulge in occasionally. Or Nutella? A hazelnut-based sweet spread from the Italian company Ferrero. Nutella is a modified form of gianduja, a sweet chocolate containing about 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin by Caffarel in 1852. It takes its name from Gianduja, a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese, the Italian region where hazelnut confectionery is common. The recipe for Nutella was developed in 1949 by Pietro Ferrero who owned a patisserie in Alba and originally called "Supercrema". It was later revamped and renamed "Nutella" in 1963. It became an instant success.

Nutella Pop Tarts

Simply take your favorite Pate Brisee or All Butter Tart Crust recipe and roll it out more thinly than you would for a pie. You can cut the dough into small rectangles or use a biscuit cutter to make circles. Put a nice sized dollop of Nutella on half the circles or rectangles then top the filled piece with another rectangle or circle of dough. Seal the edges by pressing firmly with a fork.

Make an egg wash with 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or half-half, beaten together with a fork.

Place the "pop tarts" on a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet. Brush the egg wash on the little gems. Place baking sheet in preheated 375° oven. Bake about 20 minutes or until pastries are golden brown.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Pâte Brisée

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar (increase to 3 tsp sugar if for sweet recipe)

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes

2 1/2 - 3 tbsp ice water

1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar. In a food processor or using pastry cutter, sprinkle in the butter cubes over the flour and pulse a few times with processor, or cut butter into the flour with a pastry cutter.
2. When the mixture resembles a coarse meal, drizzle water into the processor while running, or sprinkle the water over the flour and mix until dough comes together. Make sure it's not too wet.
3. Knead together just a couple of times, careful not to overwork the dough. Pat into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour before rolling out.

recipe via kcrw food blog

SOMEONE ELSE'S SONG

I can't tell you anything you don't already know.

I keep on trying, I should just let it go.

I keep on singing, you're eyes they just roll.

It sounds like someone else's song from along time ago.

You already know the story and the chords are just the same.

You already know I love you, and I sound like whats-his-name.

But you can't stop me, I want you to know.

I know it sounds like someone else's song from along time ago.

"Someone Else's Song" - Wilco

TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA

THE KOOL-AID WINO

When I was a child I had a friend who became a Kool-Aid wino as the result of a rupture. He was a member of a very large and poor German family. All the older children in the family had to work in the fields during the summer, picking beans for two-and-one-half cents a pound to keep the family going. Everyone worked except my friend who couldn't because he was ruptured. There was no money for an operation. There wasn't even enough money to buy him a truss. So he stayed home and became a Kool-Aid wino. One morning in August I went over to his house. He was still in bed. He looked up at me from underneath a tattered revolution of old blankets. He had never slept under a sheet in his life.

"Did you bring the nickel you promised?" he asked.

"Yeah, " I said. "It's here in my pocket. "

"Good. "

He hopped out of bed and he was already dressed. He had told me once that he never took off his clothes when he went to bed.

"Why bother?" he had said. "You're only going to get up, anyway. Be prepared for it. You're not fooling anyone by taking your clothes off when you go to bed."

He went into the kitchen, stepping around the littlest children, whose wet diapers were in various stages of anarchy. He made his breakfast: a slice of homemade bread covered with Karo syrup and peanut butter.

"Let's go," he said.

We left the house with him still eating the sandwich. The store was three blocks away, on the other side of a field covered with heavy yellow grass. There were many pheasants in the field. Fat with summer they barely flew away when we came up to them.

"Hello, " said the grocer. He was bald with a red birthmark on his head. The birthmark looked just like an old car parked on his head. He automatically reached for a package of grape Kool-Aid and put it on the counter.

"Five cents."

"He's got it, " my friend said.

I reached into my pocket and gave the nickel to the grocer. He nodded and the old red car wobbled back and forth on the road as if the driverwere having an epileptic seizure. We left. My friend led the way across the field. One of the pheasants didn't even bother to fly. He ran across the field in front of us like a feathered pig. When we got back to my friend's house the ceremony began. To him the making of Kool-Aid was a romance and a ceremony. It had to be performed in an exact manner and with dignity. First he got a gallon jar and we went around to the side of the house where the water spigot thrust itself out of the ground like the finger of a saint, surrounded by a mud puddle. He opened the Kool-Aid and dumped it into the jar. Putting the jar under the spigot, he turned the water on. The water spit, splashed and guzzled out of the spigot. He was careful to see that the jar did not overflow and the precious Kool-Aid spill out onto the ground. When the jar was full he turned the water off with a sudden but delicate motion like a famous brain surgeon removing a disordered portion of the imagination. Then he screwed the lid tightly onto the top of the jar and gave it a good shake. The first part of the ceremony was over. Like the inspired priest of an exotic cult, he had performed the first part of the ceremony well. His mother came around the side of the house and said in a voice filled with sand and string, "When are you going to do the dishes? . . . Huh?"

"Soon, " he said.

"Well, you better, " she said.

When she left. it was as if she had never been there at all. The second part of the ceremony began with him carrying the jar Very carefully to an abandoned chicken house in the back. "The dishes can wait, " he said to me. Bertrand Russell could not have stated it better. He opened the chicken house door and we went in. The place was littered with half-rotten comic books. They were like fruit under a tree. In the corner was an old mattress and beside the mattress were four quart jars. He took the gallon jar over to them, and filled them carefully not spilling a drop. He screwed their caps on tightly and was now ready for a day's drinking. You're supposed to make only two quarts of Kool-Aid from a package, but he always made a gallon, so his Kool-Aid was a mere shadow of its desired potency. And you're supposed to add a cup of sugar to every package of Kool-Aid, but he never put any sugar in his Kool-Aid because there wasn't any sugar to put in it. He created his own Kool-Aid reality and was able to illuminate himself by it.

Trout Fishing in America is a novella published in 1967 and written by Beat novelist and poet Richard Brautigan. It's an abstract book without any clear central storyline but one filled with exaggerations, surrealistic fantasies, substance-induced reveries, and personal mythologies. The book isn't really about anything, rather it's a series of anecdotes broken into chapters, with the same characters often reappearing from story to story. The phrase "Trout Fishing in America" is used in multiple ways: the title of the book, a character, a hotel, a sixth-grade prank, the act of fishing itself, a modifier, a state of mind, and so forth. Brautigan uses the theme of trout fishing as a point of departure for thinly veiled and often comical critiques of mainstream American society and culture.

I was first introduced to Richard Brautigan's work in college after I came across an old Rolling Stone interview with him. I've carried the ripped pages of that article around with me all these years. At university I had a friend named Trout who briefly dated my roommate. From the beginning I was fascinated with his name. I figured his parents must have been hippies, or a fan of Brautigan's, but just the same he lived up to that name. Trout was odd, slightly eccentric, but incredibly charismatic. I never forgot him or his name, and later used it for a Walter Mitty-esqe character I developed for a kid's show. And just to prove he wasn't the odd man out, in 1994 a teenager legally changed his name to "Trout Fishing in America", and about the same time NPR reported on a young couple who had given their son the same name.

TALKING SMACK

Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins and his wife Kitty in Hastings, Nebraska. As an amateur chemist, Perkins conducted experiments in his mother's kitchen to develop and invent several products including a remedy to kick the tobacco habit called Nix-O-Tine. Another one of his products was a concentrated drink mix called Fruit Smack, that like Jell-O came in six different flavors. To reduce shipping costs, Perkins figured out a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack so the remaining powder could be repackaged in small envelopes. This powder was first renamed Kool-Ade, and then Kool-Aid. Perkins eventually sold Kool-Aid to General Foods in 1953.

Kool-Aid Pie

1 14-oz can of condensed sweetened milk

1 package of your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid

1 small container of Cool Whip

1 prepared graham cracker pie crust

1. In a mixing bowl, pour in the condensed milk. Using a rubber spatula to get all the contents of the can. Empty the packet of Kool-Aid into the condensed milk. Mix thoroughly.
2. Next add the Cool Whip and again mix thoroughly. It is very important to add this ingredient last as the thick batter will began to set.
3. Pour batter into prepared pie crust. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

SALTLY DOGS

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." - andré gide

alan villiers

sons of sinbad

Australian writer and photographer Andre Villiers grew up close to the docks and developed a lifelong love of the ocean. At aged 15 he went to sea as an apprentice on a barque in the Tasman Sea. After several years on many ships he eventually worked his way up to able-seaman. While recovering from a temporary injury, Villiers found work as a journalist for the Tasmanian newspaper Hobart Mercury. In 1929 he and fellow journalist Ronald Walker signed on with Grace Harwar, the last full-rigger in the Australian trade, and set sail for England. The voyage was a harrowing one: Walker was killed in an accident, the second mate had a breakdown, the ship was under-provisioned and the crew developed scurvy. Villiers filmed the entire experience in a documentary, and later wrote about it his book By Way of Cape Horn. He eventually completed a trilogy in which he hoped to complete "the picture which I set out to give of the graceful wind ships before the last of them departed." In 1934 Villiers purchased a sailing ship, renamed her the Joseph Conrad, and used it as a training vessel to build character and discipline in young budding sailors. He helped form the modern concept of sail training as a tool not to teach youth for a life at sea, but to use the sea to teach youth for life. In 1938 he began a study of the sailing culture in the far east, sailing to Zanzibar and back on a Arab dhow. He recorded his experiences in Sons of Sinbad.

ORANGE YOU GLAD

During long sailing voyages sailors often succumbed to scurvy, a deficiency in vitamin-C. Last week I tested a recipe recently posted on Food & Wine for Flaky Blood Orange Tart by Rustic Canyon's pastry chef Zoe Nathan. This rustic tart uses juicy blood oranges with a bit of sugar on a flaky, buttery crust. I've slightly modified the recipe to make the crust by hand and not with a food processor. This is my preferred method.

Flaky Blood Orange Tart

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick plus 1 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/4-inch pieces

3 tbsp ice water

8-10 blood oranges (about 5 ounces each)

1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 tbsp of water

Salted Caramel Sauce (recipe below), for serving

1. In a large bowl mix together flour, 2 tbsp of sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the 1/4-inch pieces of cold stick of butter using a pastry cutter until flour mixture begins to look like course meal. There should still be some pea-sized bits of butter in the mixture. Sprinkle in ice water a tablespoon at a time just until moistened crumbs form. Do not make too wet. Using cold hands knead the moistened crumbs together once or twice until dough starts coming together. Do not over handle dough. Pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for at least 1 hour.
2. On a floured work surface, or between two pieces of plastic, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper-lined flat cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes to chill.
3. Meanwhile, peel the blood oranges, removing all the bitter whit pith. It's a lot of work but worth the effort if you want a sweeter result. Thinly slice 2 of the oranges crosswise; remove the pits. Transfer the orange slices to a plate. Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut in between the membranes of the remaining oranges, releasing the sections into the sieve. Remove the pits and gently shake out as much juice as possible without mashing the sections; you will need 1 cup of sections. Reserve the orange juice for another use. *Note: if you don't get rid of the juice, the bottom of your tart will come out soggy.
4. Arrange the orange sections on the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the oranges. Using a paring knife thinly slice the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the oranges. Fold up the pastry edges over the oranges, leaving most of the oranges in the center uncovered. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with 1 tbsp of the sugar. Arrange the orange slices on top, leaving a 1-inch border of pastry all around. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar on top. Freeze the tart until solid, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
5. Preheat the oven 375° F and position a rack in the center. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake the tart directly from freezer (do not defrost) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is deeply browned. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the tart cool for 30 minutes. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the rack and let the tart cool completely. Serve with the Salted Caramel Sauce (see recipe below.)

Salted Caramel Sauce

1 cup of sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tbsp light corn syrup

3/4 cup heavy cream

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 tsp gray sea salt, crushed

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup and bring to boil. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals on the side of the pan. Boil over high heat until a deep amber caramel forms, about 6 minutes.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream, butter and salt. Let the caramel cool to room temperature.
3. The sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Re-warm before serving.