Candy Challenge 2015 -- ???

Of all the recipes that I post here at WITK, the ones that I enjoy the most are the candy recipes. Perhaps it's because I'm a scientist at heart and I love playing with boiling sugar. The difference of a few degrees in temperature of your sugar syrup will take you from a soft nougat to a hard caramel. The creative options for candy are endless. Sweet, salty, savory. Everything goes with chocolate.

After taking a break from candy making, I want to start bringing it back to the blog. I think the best way to do this is to challenge myself with a goal. My goal is to complete every single recipe in the cookbook - Chocolates and Confections, by the Culinary Institute of America. It will likely take longer than 1 year, as there are more than 150 recipes in this cookbook. At least I have a head start from the 2011 Candy Challenge, I've already made 12 of the recipes!

Truffles and Chocolates
Black Forest Truffles
White Chocolate Truffles
Sesame-Ginger Truffles
Dark Chocolate Liqueur Truffles
Coffee Truffles
Gianduja Truffles
Coconut-Lime Truffles
Honey-Lavendar Truffles
Green Tea Truffles
Milk Chocolate Liqueur Truffles
Orange Truffles
T'ings
Mint Meltaways
Chocolate-Dipped Anything
Peppermint Bark
Bark

Brittles, Toffees, and Taffies
Hardy Candy
Candy-Coated Fruits
Candy-Coated Apples
Peanut Brittle - Completed - July 27, 2011
Pecan Buttercrunch
English Toffee
Chocolate Taffy - Completed - August 27, 2011
Molasses Taffy
Saltwater Taffy
Peanut Butter Taffy - Completed - February 12, 2013
Soft Caramels
Caramel Apples

Fudge, Fondant, and Pralines
Chocolate Fudge
Vanilla Fudge
Root Beer Float Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Maple Fudge
Penuche
Firefudge
Creamsicle Fudge - DONE
Fondant
Mint Patties
Cherry Cordials
Rock Candy
Pecan Pralines - Completed - July 24, 2012

Marshmallow, Nougat, and Jellies
Marshmallows - Vanilla-Honey Marshmallow - Completed March 26, 2015
Divinity
Chocolate Nougat - Completed - May 6, 2011
Peanut Butter Nougat - Completed - September 16, 2011
Nougat Torrone
Turkish Delight
Sponge Candy - Completed - May 12, 2012
Pectin Jellies
Agar Jellies
Citrus Confit
Chocolate-Coated Confit

Nuts!
Marzipan
Cherry-Almond Marzipan
Tropical Marzipan Squares
Walnut Marzipan
Toasted Hazelnut Squares
Pistachio Squares
Basic Gianduja
Layered Gianduja
Amigos
Buckeyes - Completed - June 6, 2011
Rochers
Almond Dragees
Chili Pecans
Caramel Corn
Coconut Joys - Completed - June 14, 2011
Turtles

Chocolate Molds and Cups
Buttercreams - Completed - April 12, 2011
Molded Cherry Cordials
Peanut Butter Bombs
Belle Helene
Black Pearls
Gianduja Molds
Dish of Dulce
Lattes
Passions

Layers of Flavors
Kitchen Sink Bars - Completed - August 29, 2011
Marshamels
Nutty Bars
PB&J Bars
Peanut Butter Goodness
Cocomels - Completed - November 7, 2013


Here's to mastering candy and chocolate once and for all! Are there any recipes on this list that you would like to see me tackle first?

Anyone want to join me on this journey? I promise to pair it up with an exercise routine, or a fool proof way to pawn off your treats on others!

2015 Challenge - Junk at Home!

It's a new year and that means it's time for a new Wilde Challenge! I failed miserably at my 2014 challenge. I only wound up cooking from 19/115 of my cookbooks. And... I bought a few more cookbooks this year. Maybe this will just be an ongoing personal challenge.  

I think my failure was for three reasons. 1. I was traveling for about 1/3 of the year and didn't cook very much during my heavy travel times. 2. We moved house and our kitchen was a huge mess for about a month and a half. 3. This challenge wasn't very exciting! I really enjoyed my Homemade 2012 challenge because I had specific goals and really fun food items to make.

I polled my all of you on Facebook and asked "What are your favorite junk foods?" I decided to go with a similar format as the 2012 challenge this year and have scheduled some pretty fun and tasty junk food challenges for 2015!

January 16 - Wheat Thins - Parmesan Crackers

January 30 - Cheez Whiz - Spray Cheese!

February 13 - Girl Scout Samoas (aka Caramel Delights) - Dark Chocolate - Salted Caramel Samoas

February 27 - Twinkies - Gourmet Snack Cakes

March 13 - Cadbury Creme Eggs - Half-Shell Creme Eggs

March 27 - Jelly Beans - Attempted 3 times! So many failures...

April 10 - Cheese Popcorn

April 24 - Oreos - Classic Oreos

May 22 - Chipwich - Chocolate Cookies with Mint Ice Cream

June 19 - Sno-Balls - Classic Sno-Balls

July 17 - Girl Scout Thin Mints - Thin Mints (From 2013)

July 31 - Snickers with Homemade peanut butter nougat and from-scratch caramel!

September 25 - Donuts - Brownie Donuts with Peanut Butter Frosting

February 4, 2016 - Fritos - Fauxritos

February 18, 2016 - Moon Pies - Classic Vanilla Moon Pies

March 24, 2016 - Tootsie Roll Pops - Chocolate taffy coated in Grape Hard candy

April 14, 2016 - Coca Cola - Cherry Coke

To complete in 2017...

Cherry Poptarts

Nacho Cheese Doritos

Oatmeal Creme Pies

Orange Soda

Little Debbie Cakes

Hostess Apple fruit pie

Combos

Candy Canes

2014 Challenge #1 - Cook the Books!

With another year comes another challenge for the Wilde Kitchen.  I totally got off track with my 2013 challenge - Restaurant Wars - and still have a few tasks to complete.  Hopefully I'll be able to finish these in the first two months of the year, at the same time as beginning the first of my 2 challenges for this year.

A few weeks ago, during my unemployed ennui, I sat looking at my bookcase.  It is filled top to bottom with over one hundred cookbooks.  Covering all types of cuisine, so many different techniques and collected from countries around the world, my cookbooks don't get nearly enough use.  This year I want to change that.

With starting my new job, I realize that I won't have as much time to test and perfect new recipes. Why not that this time to enjoy these cookbooks that I have collected over the years!  My plan is to make at least one  new thing from each cookbook, before the end of the year.  You'll notice my cookbooks are organized not by cuisine type or alphabetically by author, but by rainbow color!  I won't be attacking them in any particular order, just as each book strikes my fancy! I should need to prepare at least two recipes a week to complete this challenge by the end of the year! (This assumes I don't add any cookbooks to my collection this year.  So unlikely.)

This is the first of two challenges for 2014.  This is more of a personal challenge, call it my New Years Resolution. Stay tuned next week for my big cooking challenge of the year!

The Little Paris Kitchen - Rachel Khoo - Asperges a la parisienne
Making Artisan Chocolates - Andrew Garrison Shotts
SprinkleBakes - Heather Baird - Neapolitan Cake
Sweet Confections - Nina Wanat
The SONO Baking Company Cookbook - John Barricelli - Apricot-Raspberry Cobblers
Small Plates & Sweet Treats - Aran Goyoaga
Recettes pour Mini-Cocottes - Jose Marechal
The New Food Processor Bible - Norene Gilletz
Flavors of Greece - Rosemary Barron
Scoop - Ellen Brown
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook - Deb Perelman - Harvest Chicken with Grapes, Olives & Rosemary
All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook - Whole Wheat Pasta with Cabbage & Leeks - February 14
Breakfast - Williams-Sonoma
Gelati & Sorbetti - Anna Prandoni (Italy)
Hot Chocolate - Michael Turback
Fat Witch Brownies - Patricia Helding - Hazelnut Cream Cheese Brownies
Verdura - Viana La Place
Marshmallows - Eileen Talanian
Hand-Crafted Candy Bars - Norris & Heeger
Pasta - Williams-Sonoma - Rigatoni with Pepperoni, mozzarella and arugula
The Bread Bakers Apprentice - Peter Reinhard - Portuguese Sweet Bread
New Complete Book of Breads - Bernard Clayton
The Sweet Book of Candy Making - Elizabeth LaBau
Cakes - Williams-Sonoma

Homemade Soda - Andrew Schloss
Marshmallow Madness! - Shauna Sever - S'mores Cupcakes
We Love Madelines - Miss Madeline
Gerard Mulot (patissier a Saint-Germain-des-Pres)
Nigella Express - Nigella Lawson - Bacony Chicken - January 27
Canning for a New Generation - Liana Krissoff
Smoothie Splash - Holly Jennings
Popsicles and Other Fruity Frozen Treats
Greatest Ever Indian
Giada at Home - Giada De Laurentiis
The Asian Cookbook
Frostings - Courtney Dial Whitmore
Greatest Ever Salads
D.I.Y. Delicious - Vanessa Barrington
Sapori di Sicilia
The New Alaska Cookbook
The Cookie Dough Cookbook - Lindsay Landis - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Stuffed Cupcakes - February 21
Dessert - Williams-Sonoma
Italian - Williams-Sonoma - Quiche with Sweet Peppers and Sausage
Decorating Cookies - Bridget Edwards
Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook - Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie - January 13
Cooky Book - Better Crocker
Pasta Sauces - Charles Bellissino
The King Arthur Flour Baking Companion

Chicken - Williams-Sonoma
The New Spanish Table - Anya Von Bremzen
Great Grenada Recipes
The South Beach Diet Cookbook - Arthur Agatston
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day - Hertzberg & Francois
Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home - Jeni Britton Bauer
Cookbook of Healthy Mediterranean Cuisine
Jamba Juice Power
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Handheld Pies - Billingsley & Wharton
The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook - Arthur Agatston
Bisquick II Cookbook
A Taste of the Caribbean - Angela Spenceley
The Ultimate Candy Cookbook - Bruce Weinstein
Il Formaggio in Cucina - Sapori Da Riscoprire
Don't Stop the Cook - A Complete Guide to Caribbean Food Recipes
The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook - Flax & Rosenfield
Best Cookies Cookbook - Peanut Butter Macaroon Bars
Asian - Williams-Sonoma
The Bread Bible - Beth Hensperger
Pie in the Sky - Susan G. Purdy
Food From my Frontier - Ree Drummond - Rigatoni & Chicken Meatballs - January 2015
Giada's Family Dinners - Giada De Laurentiis - Chicken Florentine
Waffles - Dorie Greenspan
Laduree - Sucre
The Ultimate Smoothie Cook - Cherie Calbom
Macarons - Cecil Cannone
Chia - Wayne Coates

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics - Ina Garten
The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook
The CIA New Book of Soups - Cream of Tomato Soup with Rice - January 2015
The CIA Vegetables
Classico - Italian Foods to Savor
Vegetables - Williams-Sonoma
Salad - Williams-Sonoma
Pasta Sauces - Lindy Wildsmith
The Complete Magnolia Bakery - Torey & Appel - Banana Pudding - February 7
660 Curries - Raghavan Iyer
Mad About Macarons - Jill Colonna
La Tartine Gourmande - Beatrice Peltre - Potato, spinach & asparagus Quiche with Cumin
French Fries - Zac Williams
Cupcakes! - Elinor Klivanis
Classic Snacks - Casey Barber
Giada's Kitchen - Giada De Laurentiis
Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook - Hensperger & Kaufman - Chicken Cacciatore
Everyday Pasta - Giada De Laurentiis
Dutch Cooking Today
Muffins - Williams-Sonoma
Smoothies & Summer Drinks
The Ultimate Ice Cream Book - Bruce Weinstein
The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book - Bruce Weinstein
The Food of Thailand - A Journey for Food Lovers

Essentials of Baking - Williams-Sonoma
Bonbon & Bonbons - Peche Mignon
The Homemade Pantry - Alanal Chernila
Muffins - Tantalizing Recipes for Delicious Muffins
Macarons - Christophe Felder
Charred & Scruffed - Adam Perry Lang
Best of the Best from New England
Momofuku Milk Bar - Christina Tosi - Corn Cookies - January 8
Cabane a Sucre de Cochon - Martin Picard
Artisan Cheese Making at Home - Mary Karlin
Grill It! - Bobby Flay - Smokey Baked Chicken Wings - January 2015
Wagamama Cookbook - Hugo Arnold
Bluephies New American Cookbook - Bill Horzuesky
New York - Williams-Sonoma - Polenta Crostini with Mushrooms
Breakfast for Dinner - Landis & Hackbarth

2013 Challenge!

Happy December 27th everyone!  I hope that you have made it through the holiday season without any major kitchen catastrophes.  I got to spend a few days in the original Wilde Kitchen, my parents home.  We baked dessert, prepared a French toast casserole and waited for five pounds of stollen dough to rise. 

I'm back in my adopted (for now!) state of New Jersey and enjoying some much needed time off.  Boyfriend still has work this week, which means I have run of the entire kitchen for the whole day.  I've been using this time to fight off the last of the bronchitis that I picked up a while back and make plans for next year.

This year was the year of Why Bother.  My 2012 challenge had me making some of the things that I would usually only buy from the grocery store.  We had fun making bagels and nut butters and had a little less fun with homemade coconut milk and potato chips.

Now that 2012 is winding down, it's time to starting thinking about 2013 and the challenges that await.  Due to my recent streak of bad luck in the cold/flu department, I have three Why Bother challenges that have been pushed into the new year.  Once these are completed, we begin the new 2013 challenge, Restaurant Wars! 

See it up there in the header?  This coming year is all about recreating the restaurant experience in your own kitchen.  Boyfriend and I will be eating out and then heading home to make it ourselves.  I still need your input!  I've filled in the first few weeks of challenges with restaurants that popular, nationally reaching and near my apartment.  I need your help to finish scheduling the rest of the year!

Do you have a favorite restaurant or dish that you would like to see featured in the Wilde Kitchen?  Drop me a message either here or on the 2013 challenge page.  Let's have a delicious year, at home.