Pecan Pralines, Chinese Winter Soup

Candy-making at home is a ritual that has all but disappeared, along with butter-churning and putting up preserves. It’s hard to figure out why: In 19th-Century America, home cooks made candy as easily as soup--and as often, as long as they could afford the sugar. Today, no one would think of stirring up a creamy batch of pecan pralines . . . unless they had eaten one made from this recipe. I wish I could get everyone to try it just once. They are easier to make than cookies, and they are excellent with a bowl of sliced bananas.

There’s no reason to be afraid of making candy. It’s simply sugar, liquid and sometimes flavoring, melted together and raised to a temperature high enough to solidify everything.

The degree to which the syrup is heated (and the liquid evaporates) dictates the final consistency of the candy: The higher the heat, the harder the candy. Between 234 degrees and 240 degrees, the sugar syrup solidifies but the candy remains creamy, like fudge. (If you cook the syrup past the proper point of readiness, you can add more liquid to the syrup and correct the mistake.) A bit higher on the scale--242 degrees to 268 degrees--and candy becomes firm and chewy, like caramel. At the highest point, 270 degrees to 310 degrees, most of the moisture has evaporated and the candy is hard and brittle like toffee.

A candy thermometer can give you confidence when you first make candy or sugar syrups, but I find the old-fashioned cold-water test so simple and reliable that I always use it instead. Have a small cup of cold water near the cooking syrup. When the syrup has subsided from its initial foaming and bubbling high in the pot and is approaching doneness (according to the time given on the recipe), test it by spooning out about a half teaspoon of syrup and dropping it into the cold water. Gently roll the syrup between your fingers under the water. If it holds together in a soft ball, it is ready to remove from the heat if you are making fudge-like candy. When the syrup is ready for caramel-type candy, the ball will be firm. If you are making toffee-type candy, continue cooking until a spoonful dropped in water becomes hard. This is a simple test that you will quickly understand when you try it.

A nicely balanced supper, giving your pralines the proper attention, would include a light, highly flavored soup--something like Chinese Winter Soup--with warm French rolls, a dessert of sliced, sugared bananas with a little cream on top, and a plate of these special pecan pralines. The candy stores well in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers, and they freeze perfectly.

PRALINES

2 1/3 cups light brown sugar, packed

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, left in small pieces

Combine brown sugar, whipping cream and salt in 3-quart or larger heavy-bottom saucepan. Stir syrup over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Let syrup come to boil without stirring. (Mixture will boil up, become foamy with large bubbles, then settle down with smaller bubbles and finally foam will subside.)

Cook without stirring until mixture reaches soft-ball stage (238 degrees on candy thermometer), about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove syrup from heat and stir in pecans. Let mixture sit about 10 minutes. Spread wax paper on counter.

Stir mixture about 2 minutes and drop by rounded tablespoons onto wax paper. Let cool completely, remove and store in airtight container between pieces of wax paper or freeze. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

CHINESE WINTER SOUP

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

1 cup small young spinach leaves, washed

2 tablespoons light or mild soy sauce

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chile oil or hot pepper sauce

1/2 pound tofu, finely diced

2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 green onion, finely chopped

Place chicken broth in saucepan. Add mushrooms and spinach and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Stir soy sauce, cider vinegar, pepper, sesame oil and chile oil in small bowl. Add to broth. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Add tofu and cornstarch dissolved in water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened. Serve hot, sprinkled with cilantro and green onion. Serve hot. Makes about 4 servings.