Recipe: Perfect Pralines

For a while, I was perfecting my praline recipe. Trust me when I say, there is a lot of importance not only to ingredients, but to the process. The devil is in the details here! But I have come up with a simple and perfect pecan praline recipe. If you follow closely, it is fool-proof!

These are so good that I sold them for a while at farmer’s markets and for gifts or holiday catering. I sill cater them or gift wrap them currently. Even so, it is really hard not to make myself a batch every now and then.

          

But I love sharing recipes, and I hope you can enjoy making these at home as much as I do. If you want to give it a whirl, the best method is to watch the video below- as being able to visualize the stages is important.
Good luck and please let me know how they turn out!

INGREDIENTS

– 1 1/2 cups sugar
-3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
-1/2 cup milk (I use skim, but you can use any fat percentage)
-6 tablespoons butter
-1/8 salt
-1/2 cup chopped pecans
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-dash imitation butter flavor

DIRECTIONS

1. Prep:
a. Chop pecans and toast pecans on medium heat on a dry skillet until
browned. Set aside.
b. Lay out a large sheet of wax paper.
c. Get a glass of cold water, at least 1/2 cup for testing the “readiness” of the
pralines later on, as seen in video.
2.  Add sugar, brown sugar, salt, 1/2 cup milk, and butter. Heat on medium heat
until it comes to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Once at a rolling boil, stir constantly for 3 minutes, or until mixture reaches
238°, or once it is in a “soft ball” stage.  (See video for testing tip)
4. Once ready, remove from the heat. Add the pecans, vanilla extract, and
imitation butter extract.
5. Stir constantly until mixture is thicker and you can hear a “gritty” sound (as
explained in video).
6. Once ready, use a spoon to lay dollops onto the wax paper. Do this quickly,
because they dry quickly!
7. Let cool and enjoy!

Perfect Pralines

Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, cajun, creole

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk I use skim, but you can use any fat percentage
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • dash imitation butter flavor

Instructions
 

  • Prep: Chop pecans and toast pecans on medium heat on a dry skillet until browned. Set aside.
  • Prep: Lay out a large sheet of wax paper.
  • Prep: Get a glass of cold water, at least 1/2 cup for testing the "readiness" of thepralines later on, as seen in video.
  • Add sugar, brown sugar, salt, 1/2 cup milk, and butter. Heat on medium heatuntil it comes to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally.
  • Once at a rolling boil, stir constantly for 3 minutes, or until mixture reaches238°, or once it is in a "soft ball" stage.  (See video for testing tip)
  • Once ready, remove from the heat. Add the pecans, vanilla extract, and imitation butter extract.
  • Stir constantly until mixture is thicker and you can hear a "gritty" sound (as explained in video).
  • Once ready, use a spoon to lay dollops onto the wax paper. Do this quickly, because they dry quickly!
  • Let cool and enjoy!
Keyword pecan, pralines, perfect pralines, recipe, amy westerman,

Food Review: Att’s Asian Cuisine in Clarksville

Drew and I go camping once a year at a friend’s place around Clarksville. Last year, we had enough time to grab dinner before we arrived and I found this place online that had some Thai, as well as Chinese and a mix of other Asian cuisines, hence the name. We gave it a shot and loved it.
This year, we made it a point to stop by at some point. So, on a rainy Saturday, we headed into town for lunch there. Here’s a review including everything we have tried on both occasions.

ENVIRONMENT

I’ll be honest, Att’s isn’t pretty. It isn’t in a beautiful part of town. But as soon as you park, you can smell it. And oh man, whatever the kitchen is pumping out, you know it is going to be good.

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The inside isn’t much better. It is a large restaurant, with booths all around and tables in the middle. There’s a small lunch buffet (at least on Saturdays) at the front of the room. While this picture looks like no one is there, mostly all of the booths were full. Again, it’s a little lack-luster, but don’t let that turn you away.

MENU

They have their full menu linked HERE on their Facebook page.  It has an arrangement of typical appetizers (egg rolls, crab ragoons, chicken satay), then the menu is separated into certain styles of food: Thai salads and sounds, Thai noodles, fried rice, Thai curries, Thai entrees, Chinese dishes, Asian noodle soups, and Laotian dishes. I know…it’s interesting. Though, across the board, everything is pretty cheap, at least very affordable.

THE FOOD

I must say at first that we did look at the small lunch buffet before sitting down. It looked like it consisted mostly of Chinese food, though one curry was in attendance. However, it looked a little dried out, and no one in the restaurant at the time was eating it…..so, we stuck to the menu.

Tom Kah Kai soup with tofu, $7.50
Description: Coconut milk, straw mushrooms, baby corn, kaffir lime leaf, galangal root, onion, lemon grass, tomatoes, and cilantro.

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I love a great, sweet, tom kha kai soup. While the broth was perfectly sweet and savory all at once, definitely one of the best broths I’ve tried, I wasn’t pleased with the tofu in it. It wasn’t seared first, so the texture was very off-putting, but that’s just me.  However, the veggies inside were cooked perfectly and there were plenty of mushrooms.  I would definitely get this again, and every time, but with chicken or beef instead.

Tom Kah Kai soup with tofu, $6.95
Description: Sliced meat, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, mixed with dressing on a bed of lettuce.

OH MY GAH. This was the BEST Thai beef salad I have ever had in my life, and I’ve had plenty.  (Sorry, Mike’s Cafe, you’re knocked down to the second best Thai beef salad now.) It was beautiful and bright and large (and only $7!!!). The beef was perfectly cooked, no chewy pieces here. The veggies were finely chopped so it was easy to eat. There were so many extra veggies, too. Not just a plate full of iceburg.  The dressing was perfectly sweet and tangy and light. This is my favorite salad in the world….for now.

Massamum Curry with Beef, $7.95
Description: Sauteed sweet curry in coconut milk with potatoes, onions, and peanuts.

We also got this dish last year with tofu:

This massamum curry is very good! It is sweet with a little heat and a great peanut flavor. We got it last year with tofu. The tofu was seared and very enjoyable, but this year we got it with beef. I prefer it with beef, it gives it a slightly more meaty taste, plus they cooked their beef slices perfectly….again.
*You also get a side of rice with the curry dishes and the soups.

Pad Thai, $7.50
Description: Stir fried thinrice noodle with eggs, grounds peanuts, bean sprouts, and green onions in Chef’s special sauce.

This was a LOT of pad thai for $7.50. The tofu was seared perfectly, there were plenty of veggies to break up the noodle texture. However, I don’t think there was one peanut in that whole dish. It definitely was missing that flavor. We ordered it a heat level of 3/5, but it was not spicy in the least. We ended up having to add a lot of condiments to make it flavorful. Needless to say, we didn’t end up getting the pad thai on our second visit.

OVERALL

I love this place. Anytime I know I’ll be coming through Clarksville, I will stop. I will get that beef salad, for sure. I will try to branch out and get something new everytime, but don’t touch my beef salad.
Also, the service is really great here. Everyone is nice and attentive and make you feel welcome.
So, whenever you’re on I-40, passing through Clarksville, do yourself a favor and try Att’s. Then let me know what you thought!