I’m not much of a candy and sweets eater. I never have been and even my doctor told me that I have to have a tiny bit of sugar in my body…something about metabolism stuff. However, I love peanut brittle. When I say that I love it, that is an understatement. I’ll buy a package of it and sit reading a book and before I know it, it’s gone.
With Valentines day coming up, everyone knows that if they get me chocolate it goes to the kids or who ever else wants it. I can eat one little piece and that is it. If I get peanut brittle, it’s mine. I hide it, hoard it and am really selfish about it. Okay, in all honesty no one in my family likes it except my youngest son, so I will give him a piece or two…maybe if he’s good. lol!
I remember when I was growing up, my Nana used to make home made peanut brittle. She always warned me to sit at the table and not get underfoot as it was hot and dangerous to make. Course, my Nana worried about everything and anything and since she was Hungarian, I learned more “bad” sentences, or words of caution while she was cooking, that is good for a young kid to learn. I remember her preparing the big cooking table for the candy and bringing the concoction to a boil. In the meantime us kids were assigned to shell the peanuts and put them in a big bowl to be added to the hot syrup. I also remember the smell of the candy cooking, her pouring it all out then after it cooled, we could use the mallet and break it up for her.
I have a lot of fond memories of my Nana’s and my Mom’s kitchen, but my favorite is the making of peanut brittle. Now that I’m thinking of it all, since I have to go to the grocery store this afternoon, I am grabbing some. Of course it won’t be as good as my Nana’s, but hey…any peanut brittle will do now that I’m craving it! 