RECIPE: HOMEMADE CARAMEL CORN

When I was a kid, there was a caramel corn shop at our local mall. When you stepped out of a store, that buttery, sugary aroma from the cooked caramel would be soooo tempting- you’d eventually go get a bag. One of my friends worked there and gave me the recipe. I have made this recipe every fall for decades now- it is a fall tradition that I wanted to pass along to you! xo

BAKED CARAMEL CORN

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 quarts popped popcorn

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Spread out the popcorn in one even layer.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then boil without stirring, for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Gradually pour the hot caramel over the popped corn.

Bake for 1 hour, turning over the popcorn every 15 minutes. Cool completely and store in a covered container.

RECIPE: THE HONEY B COCKTAIL (B STANDS FOR BOURBON)

This cocktail is perfect for almost any occasion and any season. It's simple enough for an impromptu get-together at home, a tailgate party or even elegant enough for a wedding. In fact, I made this cocktail for the wedding of my sweet friends Jenna and John way back in 2014. The couple gifted their guests with small bottles of John’s family’s prized honey as a wedding favor. The secret to this cocktail is the beautiful local honey. If you can't get exquisite local honey like this, any honey will work but may not yield the glorious rich taste or color.

THE HONEY B

Makes 2-3 cocktails

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon, room temperature

4 tablespoons local honey

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup unsweetened tea

Dash of orange bitters (find at most good grocery stores in the "adult beverage" aisle)

DIRECTIONS:

In a cocktail shaker or pitcher, add the bourbon and the honey, one tablespoon at a time. Stir or shake well to dissolve the honey before you add the next tablespoon so it all dissolves. If you do this with chilled liquid, the honey will seize up and make it difficult to dissolve.

You may also heat the lemon juice slightly and dissolve the honey in that before mixing everything together.

Add the remaining ingredients. Serve over ice. You may also add a bit more of the tea and serve this as a warm cocktail.

DECORATING: EASY TO MAKE PUMPKIN PEOPLE FOR HALLOWEEN

Cool weather, football games, leaves just beginning to change--- it's finally fall. Fall is my favorite time of the year and while I don’t decorate as much as I once did, I love these pumpkin people my brother makes. They are absolutely one of my favorite Halloween decorations and you can craft them to look like any number of things. My friend loves cats so she makes hers look like little trick or treating kitties.

How to Make Pumpkin People for Halloween Decorating

You'll need three pumpkins in graduated sizes and a dowel, broomstick, stake, or piece of pipe or PVC for each pumpklin person plus "accessories" to dress them up. First, carve your favorite pumpkin face. Next, stack up your pumpkins to see how they fit together naturally. Next, drill a hole in the top of the bottom pumpkin and insert the dowel until it hits the bottom. Drill a hole in the top and bottom of the middle pumpkin and thread it onto the dowel. Last, drill a hole in the bottom of your carved pumpkin (the face) and place it on the top. Decorate with buttons, flowers, a hat, etc. FYI- I just made some of these and cheated a little and used carpet tape to stick the pumpkins together since I didn't have a drill handy and it worked great.