The best part of going to a restaurant for me is not having to do dishes at the end of the evening. The second best thing is looking at the cheffy tricks that are used in plating.  I am only just now realizing that I so much look forward to seeing what those tricks are, and rather than just transferring a meal to a plate, I’m beginning to think about plating, and what I can put ON a plate to dress it up. For the heck of it, I made some brittle recently, crunched it into small pieces and added some micro greens on a salad I made for dinner. I enjoyed every single bite of that salad that had a few crumbs of that brittle. Try it. I think I’m beginning to understand the idea of zen.

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup
3 T. water
1 c. pine nuts (I always buy mine at Trader Joe’s — relatively inexpensive and fresh)
2T. unsalted butter (but honestly, I use whatever I have in the fridge)
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. ground white pepper

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook the mixture over high heat without stirring for about 10 minutes until it is boiling vigorously and turns a golden amber color, 235-240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
3. Stir in the pine nuts and butter, and heat to 295-300 degrees, stirring constantly.
4. Add the baking soda, which will cause the mixture to bubble up, and salt and pepper and pour the liquid immediately onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading it evenly about 1/4″ thick with an oiled spatula.
5. After the brittle cools for at least 15 minutes, break it into pieces, and store it in a covered container, if not using it all within a few hours.