BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE - SAUCE ANGLAISE AU CARAMEL

There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.
- Alan Cohen

One cannot be a thinking and writing machine on a constant basis. Sometimes, both the brain and writer need to breathe a little fresh air and relax in order to be performant and productive again. This is why yours truly and her upstairs manager need a well-deserved rest from time to time.

The camera is much more than a recording apparatus, it is a medium via which messages reach us from another world.
- Orson Welles

Therefore, this Friday, I have decided to take it easy and let my food as well as Lenk (Bernese Oberland, Switzerland) pictures speak for themselves. Words are not always necessary and photography is another form of expression that can be used to communicate emotions, moods, sentiments and thoughts, so for now I'll let it do the "talking".

The color brown, I realized, is anything but nondescript. It comes in as many hues as there are colors of earth, with is commonly presumed infinite.
- Barbara Kingsolver

With my amber "Butterscotch Sauce"* and slate-chocolate chalet photos, the main theme of this post is the sensual, reflective and earthy color brown - in all its glory. It fits the season perfectly as November is literally dominated by a vast palette of hazelnut, fawn and ecru hues. At this period of the year, nature sheds it's warm and autumnal coat of crimson in order to adorn frigid and bleak shades of greyish-tawny. With each week passing and December approaching we are heading closer to winter, the dark and austere realm of death. Thus everything around us is starting to look desolate and landscapes become more and more monochrome. Nonetheless, we should not dispair, because there's beauty as well as hope to be found in decay and nothing lasts forever - endings always lead to new beginnings...

On that note, I will leave you with my motto of the day:
Feast your eyes, feed your soul, fill your stomach, learn to love those beautifully soothing and cool wood/soil/mud tones which are often disregarded, never despise the colder months for they have a (discreet) charm of their own and don't waste you breath on unrequired discourses!

* In a few weeks, you'll discover which festive dessert I prepared with this luscious sauce...

Butterscotch Sauce
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, November 2012.

Ingredients:
140ml Thick cream (35%)
130g Light brown sugar
40g Unsalted butter
2 1/2 Tsps Pure vanilla extract

Method:
1. In a medium small saucepan, add the cream, sugar, butter and vanilla extract.
2. Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until they are well-combined and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Over medium high heat, bring to a light boil.

4. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a bit (it should coat the back of a spoon).
5. Remove from the heat and let cool until lukewarm or completely.
6. Serve.

Remarks:

If you want your butterscotch sauce to have a stronger flavor, then replace the light brown sugar by dark brown sugar.
To add a little kick to your sauce, use salted butter instead of unsalted butter or incorporate 1-2 tablespoons whisky and add a pinch sea salt to the finished sauce and mix well.

Serving suggestions:
Butterscotch sauce is wonderful when served hot or cold over pudding, vanilla ice cream, pancakes/crêpes, fruits or cakes.

Sauce Anglaise Au Caramel
Recette par Rosa Mayland, Novembre 2012.
 
Ingrédients:
140ml de Crème épaisse (35%)
130g de Sucre brun clair mou
40g de Beurre non-salé
2 1/2 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure 

Méthode:
1. Dans une petite casserole, ajouter la crème, le sucre, le beurre et l'extrait de vanille.
2. Remuer tout en faisant chauffer à feu moyen pendant environ 5 minutes, ou jusqu'à complète dissolution du sucre.
3. A feu moyennement vif, porter le mélange à ébullition.

4. Réduire le feu à doux et laisser mijoter, à découvert, pendant environ 5 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que la sauce ait un peu épaissi (elle doit recouvrir le dos d'une cuillère).
5. Retirer du feu et laisser refroidir un peu ou complètement.
6. Servir.

Remarques:
Si vous voulez que votre sauce ait un goût plus prononcé de caramel, alors vous pouvez remplacer le sucre brun clair par du sucre brun foncé (mou).
Afin d'ajouter du peps à votre sauce, remplacer le beurre non-salé par du beurre salé ou incorporer 1-2 cuillères à soupe de whisky et ajouter une pincée de sel de mer une fois la cuisson finie et bien mélanger.

Suggestions de présentation:
Cette sauce caramel est merveilleuse lorsqu'elle est mangée chaude ou froide et servie avec du pouding, de la glace à la vanille, des fruits, des crêpes/pancakes ou des gâteaux.