Candied Orange Peels - And a BSI Announcement and Give Away!

Did you ever eat those jellied orange slices as a kid???  Of course you have, and now, you can make them yourself.  A little on the "OMG, HOW MUCH SUGAR???" side.  But, that's what Halloween is all about...


Rather than eating a big batch of these all at once, it is best to use these as accents...

Like making your pumpkin look hairy!


But first, Do you all know about BSI???  Stands for "BLOGGER SECRET INGREDIENT"!


Here's the deal...

BSI stands for Blogger Secret Ingredient.  Each week a new host picks an ingredient and anyone (food blogger or not) can submit a recipe.  The contests starts on a Monday, and recipes need to be submitted by Sunday night of that week.  Then the next day the host chooses a winner and picks someone to host next weeks contest.

It is up to each weeks host to deem what the prize will be.  It will be up to the discretion of each host .

And this week, it's my turn to host, pick an ingredient and provide a prize!  And I have an idea for an ingredient we all have in our refrigerator right now... Leftovers.


OK, I am an empty nester.  I cook mostly just for my wife and myself.  We have leftovers coming out our... um, out our refrigerator.  I am becoming a bit of a pro at looking at a dish in the fridge and deciding what I can make from the leftovers.  This mornings waffles can become tonights savory bread pudding (just add caramelized onions and olives and the makings of a sweet bread pudding without the sugar).  Or how about just last week...

On Monday, I made a Green Onion-Cilantro sauce to go with some shrimp and grits.  The sauce was terrific, but I had a cup left over.  So, on Tuesday, I made some Green Onion-Cilantro dinner rolls.  But, I still had about 2 TBS left.  I just added that to some sour cream, and made a Green Onion-Cilantro Chip Dip.


That's a good use for leftovers... Each dish, related, but unrecognizable from the other.  Be creative, be a cook, don't just warm up yesterday's leftovers and serve the same dish two days in a row.  Consider what you can do with this week's BSI - Leftovers. 


Email me your link with the original dish, and what you did with the leftovers.  Send them before SUNDAY of this week (BSI is a weekly contest).  On Monday, I will do a round up and announce the winner... My Email address is YearontheGrill@yahoo.com


And the winner gets a leftover from me...



I chose walking as my exercise.  It is @2 hours, 7 mile walk for me to go to the grocery store.  I make that walk 4 times a week.  I also use that time to catch up on my reading... Books on CD, loaded into my iPod makes the walk easier and faster.  Something I look forward to.


I found a copy of Julie Powell's second book (Any of you remember Julie and Julia???).  I was intrigued by the idea of what happens to "one of us" when they hit the blogger lottery.  Book deal, movie deal, thin person playing them in the movie... Who could ask for more?  Cleaving takes up just as all her blog dreams come true.


It was a controversial book, in a perfect world, Cleaving would have happened first and Julie & Julia would have redeemed her.  But the world (and Julie Powell) are not perfect.  But, the rest of the story will wait for the lucky winner of this weeks BSI.  So, to be clear, winner will get a used (but perfect condition) copy of the audio version of Cleaving by Julie Powell.  The copy is a book on CD. 9 CD's, about 9 hours (a weeks worth) of walking.





OK, back to the orange peels... (adapted from a post at Greetings.CA)




2 Oranges
1 cups Sugar, plus 1/2 cup for coating
1 cup Water

• Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe (LEFTOVERS!!!). 
• Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. 
• Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. (Test kitchen liked the texture of a 3 time blanch best, it also mellowed the bitterness. But it is a matter of preference.) Remove the orange peels from the pan.
• Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes
• (If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.) Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. 
• Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. 
• Drain the peels, (save the syrup for ice tea.) Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Return to the sugar to store.

And the LEFTOVER syrup is amazing as a sweetener in a pitcher of iced tea!
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