Mini Elvis Sandwich Bites

I had an idea the other day. My boyfriend and I recently moved, which means a housewarming party is in order. A party! With appetizers and snacks and treats and drinks (oh, the drinks!) and all sorts of fun things to plan in the summer. As I was milling about my kitchen, I was trying to come up with some sort of creative mini snack delight. I was in the middle of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I know, real mature, ML) and I was thinking about mini PB&Js. Seems cute! But not very exciting. Eventually the mini PB&J idea changed to a mini Elvis sandwich idea.

What's an Elvis sandwich? Traditionally it's a sandwich of peanut butter, banana, honey and bacon... sort of. The inclusion of either bacon or honey is up for grabs. Some places include both. Some places include just honey. I like to think bacon is also a crucial part of that combination, but you will find places that tend to forget that tasty little element. But I digress. So my thinking is, what if this was a mini open-faced Elvis?

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A slice of baguette, toasted. Schmeared with delicious sweet and salty peanut butter. A slice of banana sits on top, then a piece of candied bacon, and then a drizzle (or glob, as in the illustration) of honey and perhaps a sprinkling of sea salt. The order could change, depending on what will hold together best. And the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of chopped pieces of candied bacon instead of a slice, but I was just too lazy to redraw that. Overall, what do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? I probably need to give this a test drive before making a whole slew of them. Although, maybe that's just my excuse to make them sooner. :-)

Ginger Meyer Lemon Bars

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Meyer lemons. What's the deal? I'll tell you what the deal is—they're delicious. The little special lemons are a hybrid of a lemon and an orange. They're small, juicy, and sweeter than your usual lemon. Over the past few years they've become the little darling of the culinary world. They're not necessarily that easy to come by either, at least, not if you're going to your regular grocery store in Columbus. They tend to be a specialty item, offered for a brief time, and also kind of pricy.

That all changed two weeks ago when I walked into my Kroger one fateful Wednesday. There was a produce fixture full of bags of meyer lemons... for $1.25 per bag. Each bag contained 6. Um, hello? This is amazing! I grabbed a bag. Then turned around for a second bag. Then went back later for the 3rd. That's right. Three bags of glorious little meyer lemons in my grasp for whatever baking project I see fit. Oh, sweet glory be.

The decision was hard. What do I do? What should I make? I considered limoncello, but since that involves the lemon peel, meyer lemons don't really get me anywhere on this. Do I make a tart? Sounds reasonable enough. But wait... I could also make LEMON BARS. I don't make them very often. Maybe once or twice a year, if I have time? I think it is the perfect opportunity. Meyer lemon bars... with a hint of ginger. Now doesn't that just sound delightful??

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I planned to try out a recipe from The Craft of Baking. I've had this book for a little over a year and haven't dived nearly deep enough into it. While my usual lemon bar recipe is solidified (and awesome), I wanted to try something new. Research, you know? After reading the instructions for the crust, I gave up. Sort of. I settled on a crust from a Martha Stewart recipe, but kept The Craft of Baking's recipe for the lemon goo. Turns out, the crust in TCoB is made like pie dough—chilling, rolling, etc. Yeah, I didn't have time to mess with that. I wanted to do this in one Saturday afternoon in under 3 hours, including oven time.

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Martha's crust is divine. It's insanely buttery and rich, as opposed to crumbly and painfully sweet like most recipes. I used an 8x8 pan, for which I cut the crust recipe in half. Also, I replaced the wheat germ with cornmeal. I'm a sucker for cornmeal, and it seemed crazy enough to work. In the past I've done straight flour, which works also.

Now for the lemon goo. This recipe doesn't use much lemon juice, there's a good amount of sugar, and I used meyer lemons. What does that mean? They're not uber tart. They're pretty mellow for lemon bars, actually. I would've preferred a slightly larger pucker, but everyone else truly loved them. Also, you can vary the amount of fresh ginger—that's entirely up to you. I like a punch, so I lean more towards 1.5-2 grated tbsp. If you want just a little essence, I'd err towards 1 tbsp.

:::Lemon Bar Filling:::

Adapted from "Little Lemon Bars," The Craft of Baking

4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (approx. 3 lemons), strained

1-2 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

Prepared your crust and bake as directed (again—follow Martha's recipe, but cut the crust amount in half for your 8x8 pan). Start blending the filling ingredients. Juice your lemons and strain the juice to get rid of the pulp. Zest two lemons (use two of the fruits you just juiced), then grate your ginger. If you want a strong ginger kick, go for 2 tbsp. If you want it milder, use just 1 tbsp. TIP: You can keep fresh ginger in the freezer. You don't even need to thaw it if you're going to grate it—you can just pull it out and grate as needed. I don't know about you, but I can't go through an entire piece of ginger root before it goes bad. The freezing tip (from Melissa D'Arabian of Food Network) is a big ingredients and money saver! Next, blend the juice, zest, and ginger into the eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together, then pour into the egg mixture. Mix until just combined.

The crust should be baked until lightly golden. Pour the lemon bar filling onto the baked crust, then pop back into the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350°. The top should be firm to the touch when finished. Transfer to a cooling rack, cool completely, then sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

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I still have about 8 lemons left in my refrigerator. I've been using them randomly—in cocktails, or just as straight juice added to mug of hot water (I'm telling you—healthy and tasty!). But what to do with those last few? A tart? Pancakes? Oh, the possibilities!

Senate Restaurant: Cincinnati, OH

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I may live in Columbus, but I graduated from the University of Cincinnati. It's funny how young professionals are always assumed to be OSU grads in this town. I'm a Bearcat through and through, and proud of my 5 years in "The 'Nati" (My degree—graphic design—is a 5 year program, like many majors at UC). I don't hang out in Cincy that much anymore, but every now and then I miss the energetic areas around campus, Clifton, Hyde Park, Mt. Adams... but Over-the-Rhine? Scary, dude. It's the kind of place you maybe have to drive through once in awhile, but you don't really make a habit of staying. For those of you unfamiliar, OTR is a historic neighborhood in central Cincinnati. According to Wikipedia, "It is believed to be the largest, most intact urban historic district in the United States…Its architectural significance has been compared to the French Quarter in New Orleans, the historic districts of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, and Greenwich Village in New York City. Besides being a historic district, the neighborhood has an arts community that is unparalleled within Cincinnati." Impressive, right? It's the kind of thing that would make a native proud. Unfortunately, it's also—literally—one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country.

I found out a few months ago that Over-the-Rhine (or OTR for short) has been turning over a new leaf for quite awhile now. The entire neighborhood isn't completely reformed, but there's a newly rebranded strip near downtown, OTR Gateway, that's revitalizing the area. It's a little bit like the Short North in Columbus—a series of boutiques, businesses, cafes, restaurants and bars that breathe new life into both OTR and downtown. My interest was piqued when I saw a friend "like" a certain restaurant on Facebook. "What is this Senate place she likes?? Hmmm…" Senate. A little restaurant located at 1212 Vine St. that has a creative, intriguing menu, and had me tugging my boyfriend's arm saying "Can we go? Can we? Pleeeeeease?????" I've been dreaming of this for months. Like six months, at least. Luckily, we were able to make a visit during the holidays. Hallelujiah!

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First, take a look at this menu. Are you into food? Do you consider yourself kind of a "foodie?" I thought so. Seriously—truffle fries? Duck fat fries?? I'm dying here. Those hot dogs? We have Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace here in Cbus, but I will take these gourmet versions over anything on that menu any day. And warm pretzel beignets?! I don't know how beignets and pretzels can be combined in one bite but I am more than willing to give it a whirl.

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Upon arrival, I will honestly say that this strip of OTR was not sketchy. That was the question of the night—will we be safe? Is it shady? While I won't guarantee it (I know better than that), I will say that the Gateway strip seemed pretty solid. Just make sure you're not alone, okay? And bonus—there's a public parking lot located next to the restaurant so you don't have to walk several blocks into the "bad parts" of the neighborhood. We got there at 6 pm since they don't take reservations, and the place became packed while we were there.

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I started with the Lucy Lou cocktail (limoncello, St. Germaine, lemon juice, and cremant) and George (the BF) had something called "Applecrack," I think. It's not on the menu online, but I do remember it contained rum and… other liquor. Both were excellent. The Lucy Lou was a perfect balance of sweet and sour—not the kind that makes your face twitch and teeth curl.

Narrowing down our choices was painful. Time to strategize! First thing's first. We ordered the Poutine for our appetizer. The Poutine is a plate of truffle fries topped with local cheese curds, braised short ribs, and a light gravy. Holy mother of pearl, they were awesome! The braised short rib shredded on top was AMAZING. So flavorful and tender. I have my weird taste aversion to cheese, so I took the melty cheese curds off my share (I know, I know) but I assure you, George (who loves his cheese) and I were both thoroughly in love. If they had just a plate of plain ol' braised short ribs, I would order it. Multiple times.

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The main course took a little more consideration. The Poutine was an easy choice, but our dinner?? Oy. Did you notice the Lobster BLT or the McBelly? Or the Wood-Grilled Sirloin that has MARROW BUTTER??? My God, why don't these people create a tasting menu so we don't have to make all these decisions??? We had to do it up right though. We had to get a hot dog. George ordered the special dog of the day, the Tijuana, which comprised of wood-grilled pork sausage topped with mole-braised pork belly, avocado & queso fresco.

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I opted for the Croque Madame: a beef hot dog topped with black forest ham, béchamel sauce, and a poached egg on a brioche bun. That's right—ooey gooey eggy deliciousness oozing all over one salty, tasty beef hot dog. Do I really need to tell you how splendid they both were? Or will you just assume they were delicious? Let's go with the latter.

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George ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese as a side, but we didn't quite realize how full we'd be. But like I said—it's our maiden Senate voyage! It's time to go all out! The side is plenty to share, and it had huge chunks of lobster. They don't skimp. It's worth it. We ended up taking it home with us though. We had to save room for dessert!

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Unlike dinner, dessert took no deliberation. One order of Warm Pretzel Beignets, please! They came with a Caramel Marscapone dipping sauce, which had me curious. I like caramel, but honestly I would prefer a warm chocolate ganache. This was perfect though. It was light, fluffy, and just a weeny bit sweet. And what exactly do they mean by "pretzel beignets?" A beignet (ben-YAY) in the US is basically fried dough (of the choux variety) sprinkled with sugar. Simple, but effective. And 100% delightful. The beignets came to us fresh from the kitchen in a paper bag, shaken by the chef. The little fried blobs are shaken in cinnamon, sugar, and crushed pretzel pieces. A-HA! So that's what they mean by "pretzel beignets." Fork, beignet, marscapone, dip in pretzel remnants, devour. Perfection.

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Have I talked your ear off enough? Are you tired of me? Probably. But take my word—Senate is worth a visit. And so is Cincinnati and the little strip of OTR Gateway, for that matter. And Senate, if you hear me, I want to give you a high-five. Your offering is creative and lived up to my high expectations. Now, will you open a location in Columbus, please? You'd have a strong following—now that I will guarantee!

Popsicle Explosion!

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I'm obsessed w/ cupcakes on a regular basis, but for summer time, I'm also obsessed w/ popsicles. Not just regular popsicles though. I could care less about those. I'm talking FANCY popsicles. GOURMET popsicles. Unique combinations and glorious flavor explosions in a colorful shell. It's fun, but sophisticated. It's a chance to experiment, but without serious commitment. It's easy enough to do, but an intricate and intriguing recipe process. The possibilities are ENDLESS!

These are the popsicles sitting in my freezer right now. Of course, they're sitting on a lovely tray and I tried my best to create a lovely photoshoot. But the assortment is quite varied. Here's the color chart:

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I might even be so wild as to post some recipes soon. What do you think? Would you be all for it?

Strawberry Cream Parfait

This is based on a recipe for a Strawberry Ricotta Parfait on Epicurious/from SELF Magazine.

Recently, my bf and I had dinner with some friends of ours. My mission was to bring dessert, but as it turned out, the week was extremely busy w/ late work nights in order to meet a big deadline that week (Hah, what else is new?). I can never make up my mind about what I really want to do for a recipe, which just added to the stress of "WHAT AM I GOING TO MAKE FOR FRIDAY NIGHT?!?!" Then it hit me. A PARFAIT OF SORTS! Yes! I can buy some pound cake, throw together some layers of goo, make it look pretty and voila! Dessert in less than an hour--I just need prep time.

I knew I wanted to do something like strawberry shortcake, and I already had some ricotta waiting for me in my fridge. After watching the Food Network as much as I do, you eventually figure out that as long as you have a few of the following--ricotta and/or marscapone, pound cake, chocolate and/or Nutella, and an alcohol of sorts--your possibilities for dessert are endless. Hah, it actually feels like a rather Taco Bell-type approach to dessert--same ingredients everytime, just a slightly different formation.

I used the Epicurious/SELF magazine recipe as my "base recipe," but altered it for my own taste. I get yelled at lot for this. I alter the recipe to my liking before even trying the pure form of the recipe. Baking/cooking is probably the one area in life I can actually be spontaneous! Hell, why not throw in a little extra alcohol? Some pudding maybe? Sure, sounds great! As I read in a recent issue of EveryDay with Rachael Ray, a young but wise culinary student said that a recipe is merely a template for you to use as a guide to make your own creation--edit as you wish (something to that affect, anyway).

AMEN, BROTHER.

Strawberry Cream Parfait (I renamed it since I altered it. I guess that's okay.)

• For the strawberry layer

4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced, or 1 cup frozen, sliced

(I totally used the frozen sweetened kind, due to lack of time and primo produce at my Kroger that evening)

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

1 tbsp rosewater

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch, to thicken mixture (optional)

1 tbsp cold water (for cornstarch only)

• For the cream layer:

15 ounces lowfat ricotta

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 snack-cup of vanilla pudding (yeah, those little things you ate as a kid. one of those)

Sugar, to taste (I used about 4 tbsp, the original recipe recommends only 2.)

• For the cake layer

2 tbsp spiced rum

2 tbsp juice from strawberries (if using frozen)

1 pound cake (Sara Lee from the frozen section is pretty good. Entenmann's is a close second.)

• Garnish: This could be mint leaves, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, etc. I used a single Nilla Wafer cookie to top each parfait.

4-6 cups/glasses in which to distribute the parfaits.

• Directions:

Prep the strawberries, whether that means washing/chopping/hulling or just thawing and draining. If using frozen berries, reserve the juice. If your natural strawberries have been in a container and have juices, you can use that as well. If not, don't worry about it. I chose to boil the strawberries for a few minutes to bring the ingredients together and to thicken the sauce. I probably would not have done this if I were using fresh berries, but since my berries were frozen and mushy anyway, it seemed like a good idea. Either way, mix all the ingredient for the strawberry layer together. If simmering, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp cold water until completely dissolved, then add to strawberry mixture and simmer until mixture thickens. Let cool.

Remember the strawberry juice you reserved? Now's the time to do something with it. Mix 2 tbsp of juice w/ 2 tbsp spiced rum (you could also use wine, champagne, Grand Marnier, triple sec, schnapps, you get the picture.) and get out your pastry brush.

Next, slice pound cake anywhere from .75" to 1" thick. Obviously, slice enough to allow at least one slice per serving. If your cups (and the pound cake!) allow for multiple slice, then power to you. I was working w/ short small glasses, so I only fit one slice. Also, make sure you trim the slice to fit in the cup. Alternatively, you could also crumble the cake and use that as a layer instead of using a solid piece.

Mix cream filling ingredients together, adding the sugar slowly and occasionally tasting (with a clean spoon!) in between additions to make sure you get the sweetness you prefer. Blend well, until nice and smooth.

Here comes the fun. LAYERING. The assembly order:

1. Strawberry mixture. Spoon into glass/cup.

2. Pound cake

3. Juice + Rum mixture. Brush this onto the cake--I recommend brushing each slice a few times.

4. Ricotta Cream mixture

5. Garnish.

The longer these sit, the better the flavors will blend together. Whatever you do, make sure you refrigerate this stuff until you eat it.

You might also have some stuff leftover, like the ricotta cream mixture. Refrigerate and use however you like. Perhaps as a base for a cannoli filling? Another parfait? A delightful dip for cookies/wafers/biscuits? Use your imagination. Be wild!

Adventures in Dessert Salsa

(first comes the blabber, so if you just want the recipes, scroll down a bit)

At work each year, we have several competitions. In October, we have the pumpkin-carving contest. In January, we have a chili cook-off. The pie-bake-off is always for the 4th of July (or rather, since we're in Columbus, the Red White & Boom event). But now it's early May, meaning Cinco de Mayo, meaning the SALSA CONTEST. The only problem w/ that is--I'm not a huge salsa connoisseur. Sure, I'll eat it, but i'm not CRAZY about it. I'm not huge on super spicy foods either--i'm kind of a wimp, unfortunately.

In the past I've been totally happy to not participate in the salsa contest--i just eat the stuff and vote. It's less stressful that way. Salsa making isn't my thing--whatevs. BUT THIS YEAR I had an epiphany... WHAT IF I MADE A DESSERT SALSA?!?! Dessert IS my thing....sort of. I'm not a pro, for sure, but i bake a hell of a lot (mostly cupcakes and french macarons) and i watch enough of the food network to believe that i have a decent understanding of the "dessert" concept. I thought "I'll give this a whirl. Why the hell not? What better time to try this out??"

I just had to decide on what I actually wanted to do! Chocolate? Fruit? This is gonna be on a tortilla chip after all. I couldn't make up my mind and I had two ideas. One w/ a spicy chocolate base, and one w/ a fruit base.

If you're familiar w/ Vosges Haut Chocolat (I'm obsessed) then you might know that they have chocolate covered tortilla chips. This made me pretty confident that a spicy chocolate "salsa" would work. However, salsa's got some chunk to it, so I needed some texture. That, however, wouldn't be hard to figure out.

The fruit one was a bit more of an experiment. I found this recipe from epicurean.com to get an idea of a fruit base. I decided to go w/ strawberries instead of raspberries though--cheaper and less seedy. I'm not into mass amounts of seeds. But besides the fruit I wanted a sauce to kind of "adhere" it. I figured I'd give it a go w/ a caramel glaze. So after a trip to kroger, it was time to get to work!!! Here we go.

1. Spicy Chocolate Dessert Salsa.
I wanted a chocolate sauce consistency, not just melted chocolate that'll harden a few minutes later. I used this recipe:

• 6 ounces water
• 4 1/4 ounces sugar
• 2 1/4 ounces corn syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces cocoa powder
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chips (the recipe calls for dark chocolate, but i think milk chocolate goes better w/ the salty-factor. i'm trusting Vosges on this one!)
  

First, heat the water. Add in the sugar and corn syrup and stir until the sugar's dissolved. Then add the cocoa powder and chocolate. I stirred it pretty constantly. After it's all combined, it's time to add the fun part.

• Heath Toffee Bits (not more chocolate--just the toffee)
• chopped/ground peanuts (whatever will come out of your food processor)
• zest of 1 orange
• lime juice
• cinnamon. LOTS
• hungarian paprika. LOTS
• chili powder. SERIOUSLY A LOT
• sea salt. not quite lots.

Adding the spices to the chocolate was surprising. Unfortunately, I didn't measure exactly. I'd sprinkle some in, taste it, then sprinkle some more, taste it again, and just keep dumping stuff in from there. It took a couple tablespoons, I'm willing to bet, but it also depends on the flavor you're going for. You can definitely detect the flavor of cinnamon and chili powder, but it's not overpowering. It may not hit you in the back of the throat, but it has a wonderful smokey flavor and hint of spice. It's quite good. I thought I added enough chili powder to give you a small hit of spice in the back of your throat, but after actually eating the salsa the next day, it wasn't very strong. That could be a good thing though--you can eat more of it before the spice builds up!

The citrus from the orange zest and lime juice added a nice tang. I probably added about a tablespoon of lime juice or just a little more. (again, i just squeezed straight out of my little lime-shaped thingy--no real measuring.) I also added some salt--everyone love the salty chocolate combo. I added probably a teaspoon's worth? I didn't want it to be too overpowering, just more of a hint.

All in all, the chocolate salsa had a very nice complexity to it!!! You could taste the chocolate and experience the crunch of the toffee and peanuts (which actually mystified many people, surprisingly), then you sensed the lime, then the spices. I was very happy w/ the way it turned out. The response was very good too--everyone seemed to really enjoy it. It didn't win or even place, but the positive response was enough. I had a lot of people say that they "just kept eating it and then had to stop themselves," which to me was just as good as winning. Mission #1 accomplished! I have some left, which means it'll be recycled into a lovely topping for cupcakes or brownies!!! Oh man that's gonna be GOOD.

2. Whiskey Caramel Fruit Salsa

• strawberries

• kiwi (peeled)

• peaches (peeled, or use frozen)

• pears (peeled)

For the strawberries and kiwi, I bought one of those larger-sized pre-cut/pre-peeled containers from Kroger, plus 2 or 3 extra kiwis. I used some frozen peaches I had in my freezer, probably the equivalent of 1 large peach to 1.5 peaches (it depends on your preference). Later in the process, I added 1/2 pear (add this right before it will be consumed, so the pear doesn't oxidize to brown yuck). Slice all that fruity goodness to small bits. Mix it all up in a bowl. Voila. Part 1 done. On to the glaze.

Whiskey Caramel Glaze
• 1 container caramel apple dip (I had this left from a party and I was dying to get rid of it)
• heavy cream (you'll only use a few ounces)
• corn syrup (again, a few ounces)
• Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey (approx 1/2 cup)
• Heath Toffee Bits (no chocolate--just the toffee. approx 3/4-1 cup)

Just like the chocolate salsa, this was a total experiment... meaning no actual measuring was done. I put the caramel glaze in a double-boiler--i figured this would heat it more evenly and i wouldn't have to worry about sugar burning, working quickly, etc.

First, I heated the caramel and added a little corn syrup. The corn syrup was to help thin it out, but maintain a sugary-glaze quality. Perhaps I didn't even need the corn syrup--i have no clue. It seemed like a good idea. But anyway, I probably added about 2 ounces. Then I added 3-4 ounces of heavy cream, also to help thin it out and make it a creamier caramel than what already existed. After that was all mixed together, I added Jack Daniels. You need to stir constantly (i found using a whisk most helpful instead of a spoon), b/c the cream tends to separate a bit when adding the Jack. I added enough Jack to taste, which probably was around 1/2 cup. You can add as much as you like--I find that the flavor of Whiskey is a nice addition to the creamy, sugary caramel. It adds a unique punch, especially when mixed with the fruit. Overall, you want to add enough corn syrup, heavy cream, and Jack Daniels to turn the caramel to a medium-thick liquid consistency so it doesn't congeal to a big nasty glob, especially when added to the fruit.

Add this mixture to the fruit slowly--perhaps a few tablespoons at a time--so you get the salsa-consistency you want. You may want lots of caramel, you may just want a little bit. I personally like more caramel b/c the fruit flavors are pretty strong. After you mix the caramel and fruit together, you need one more addition--THE HEATH TOFFEE BITS. They get lost easily, so I added somewhere between 3/4-1 cup. Seriously--the Heath adds great texture and flavor to each bite. However, that was when I was eating it straight up w/ a fork. It's a little different when eating it w/ tortilla chips.

The response to the caramel salsa was pretty good as well, but I think the chocolate went over better. When eating the caramel fruit salsa w/ tortilla chips, the Heath bits unfortunately weren't very noticeable--probs due to the crunchiness of the chip. However, the caramel fruit salsa (with the heath!) would be AWESOME with lots of other things... shortbread cookies? Ice cream?? Cheesecake?? Some sort of pudding pie??

So that was my adventure in Dessert Salsa creation. Sounds exciting, no? The overall process went pretty quickly so if time is a concern, I'd say 1 recipe will take you around an hour or less--it all depends on your kitchen skills.

If you're making these recipes ahead of time, I recommend keeping the caramel glaze separate from the fruit until the very last minute. B/c of refrigeration, the caramel will congeal so you'll have to heat it for a little bit to get it to thin back out. Can you imagine how gross that would be if the fruit were mixed in?? Heating the fruit w/ the caramel mixture??? Igh. I imagine it'd be kind of gross. Once the caramel is thinned out and added to the fruit though, it won't re-glob-ify as long as it doesn't experience any super cold temperatures.