Making Homeade Holiday Treats

Still struggling for gift ideas? How about a homemade gift from your kitchen: English toffee, delicious and festively wrapped, is the perfect gift that won't get returned, says Amy Baker, who has perfected the recipe and technique.

We turned the tables on Baker—who frequently profiles local chefs and reviews restaurants for Patch—and interviewed her about her professional culinary experiences, cooking at home and life in Katonah. 

Patch: What's your earliest memory of working in a kitchen?

Amy Baker: Using my Easy-Bake Oven—I made cookies for my entire class at my Colorado preschool when I turned four. My mother taught me a lot, as did my Grandma O'Hara, who was a wheat farmer's wife in Kansas. She made all of their food from the family farm, and that has shaped the way I think about and cook food.

Patch: And when did you decide to cook professionally?

Baker: I was 25 years old and decide that working on Wall Street was not for me. I knew I didn't want to work in an office and was toying with the idea of becoming a nurse or going into cooking—and since I couldn't take the sight of blood, cooking it was. Though I suppose the sight of a bloody meat carcass doesn't bother me!

Patch: Did you have formal training or learn on the job?

Baker: Formal. I kept working and decided to attend the French Culinary Institute in downtown Manhattan. My boyfriend—now husband—Jamie Baker, was also in Manhattan so I wanted to stay in the city. I worked for David Bouley and did a pastry internship with Bill Yosses, who is now a pastry chef at the White House. After I finished the program, and a brief stint at the Loring Café in Minneapolis, we ended up Guam for two years. There I tasted foods from all over the world, while I cooked at the Hyatt Hotel for two years.

Patch: So how did you end up in Katonah?

Baker: Probably for the same reasons many people end up here—it's a great place to raise a family. After we went back to New York City, in the late 90s, I worked as a chef for Matthew Kenney at Mezze, but after having my first son, I started private catering from home for more flexible hours. As I got busier with my kids, I scaled back. I have taught cooking classes to students at Katonah Elementary School, and done more food writing. 

Patch: What's your cooking style or philosophy?

Baker: It centers on rustic cooking using high quality ingredients and spending time with family.

Patch: What are some of your favorite cookbooks?

There are 2 types of cookbooks in my 100+ library: 1) Celebrity Chef eye-candy publications, which are definitely a thrill to pore over, and the now dog-eared books which I consistently turn to for recipes and ideas.  Into the latter category fall both Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook andCookbook, Donna Hays The New Cook, and Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food. And I have probably read everything written by or about Julia Child and Elizabeth David—I am fascinated by these two pioneering and gutsy women of the food world.  

Patch: What are your favorite kitchen tools?

Baker: A Japanese chef's knife that I splurged during a visit to Tokyo while I was still in culinary school.  I find it much lighter and more comfortable than my German models. I also love my microplane zester for zesting and grating lemons, limes, ginger and parmigiana cheese, a Chilean Pomaire clay cookpot given to me by a chef friend, which produces the most unbelievably moist roast chicken. And my friends laugh that I use the 1970s-era Crock-Pot, but it gets a workout during the ski season. Makes the best beef short ribs in wine.

Patch: Do you prefer cookbooks or online recipe sites?

Baker: Both. They each serve a purpose for me. I like to go through cookbooks for ideas and insight, but I'm also an avid user of epicurious.com.  I love how you can search recipes by ratings on epicurious, and the reviews are both helpful and entertaining.  Other frequented sites include Jamie Oliver, Martha Stewart and Chowhound.  

For step-by-step video instructions on how to make Amy's English Toffee, watch the video. Here's the recipe:

Amy's English Toffee

1 ½ cups unsalted butter           

1 ½ cups sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt (kosher salt can be substituted)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 bag bittersweet chocolate chips, or 11 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate                

1 ½ cups chopped toasted pecans OR chopped pistachios

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the sugar and salt and bring to a boil, stirring with a heat resistant or wooden spoon, not metal. Turn the heat to medium, and add the vanilla extract.
2. Stir the toffee constantly but not vigorously to approximately 300°F on a candy thermometer. If the toffee separates it has not been stirred fast enough. To remedy separated toffee, mix it very fast until it combines.
3. Remove from heat and immediately pour on to a non-stick sheet pan. Spread with a spatula to an even thickness to cover the entire pan. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate pieces over the top and start spreading them with an offset spatula.  They will begin melting as you spread them.  Continue until they are completely melted and the chocolate is a smooth even layer.  Immediately sprinkle the chopped nuts over the chocolate.  Take a second sheet pan, or a saucepan and pressed down on top of the nuts to get them pressed into the chocolate a bit.  Don't press too hard, just enough to make sure they will stick.
4. Allow the toffee to cool.  Ideally, it needs at least 2-3 hours before serving.  More time is even better.  Store in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate.