Traverse City eats

I enjoyed one night free of meetings on my recent trip to Traverse City, Michigan. When I learned that Traverse City is one of the foodie havens of the Midwest, I decided to search for the best treats that Michigan has to offer.

I got an early introduction to Michigan's bounty in the "swag bag" I received at the meeting.  How cool is the bottle of honey from Michigan State University! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take it home with me, because I couldn't carry liquids in my carry-on bag.  So I settled for taking this picture so I could remember it.

My first stop was the famous Grand Traverse Pie Company.  These restaurants are all over Michigan, but this is the original.

I ordered a slice of blueberry-cherry crumble pie to go (sorry for the lousy photo under the hotel room lighting) and a sugar cookie with the most amazing icing!

 I also didn't want to leave Michigan without some cherries. I stopped at Cherry Republic in downtown Traverse City and bought a few bags of dried cherries, including a bag of white chocolate covered cherries. This bag didn't last long when I brought it home for my husband! (Thankfully, cherries aren't a liquid and I can pack them in my carry-on. LOL!)

I also bought a bottle of cherry root beer for the road.  Don't you love the label?

As if I didn't get enough sweets, I couldn't resist stopping at this ice cream shop on Traverse Bay for a scoop of cherry-chocolate ice cream.  It was easily the best treat I found in Traverse City.  And I loved the lakeside view!

Oh, and one more treat for the road.  I heard good things about Pop-Kie's Chicago-style popcorn, so I picked up a bag of dill pickle flavor.  Sounds strange, but I loved it!

As you can see, I packed a lot of food-related sightseeing in just a short trip!  But it was all the more memorable for it.

Iowa recipes: Caramel corn

I wasn't going to post this recipe. But my husband said I should go ahead and share it, even if it didn't turn out perfect.  He said it'll make my blog "more real."

To be fair, I don't think it was the recipe's fault.  It's a pretty standard caramel corn recipe, which I found in an old 4-H cookbook.  This caramel corn was very good, and my husband and I ended up eating the entire batch. But the texture wasn't right.  I think it has more to do with my inexperience with a candy thermometer than with the recipe.  The "caramel" on the popcorn crystallized when it cooled.  The flavor was excellent, but the texture wasn't as smooth as it should be.  (Does that make sense?)

Think I'm going to give this recipe another try this weekend.  I'll let you know if it turns out, and tell you what I did differently.  Do you have any advice for making caramel corn?  The recipe looks so simple; I just need to get over my fear of the candy thermometer!

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Caramel Corn

• 1 C. butter
• 2 C. sugar
• 1/2 C. dark corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 6 quarts unsalted popped popcorn.

Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Cook for 5 minutes or to 240 to 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, firm-ball stage, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Add the baking soda, beating well. Pour over the popped popcorn in a bowl, stirring to coat.

Spread on a  large baking sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 20 servings.