Stir Crazy: Last chance for Field to Fork dinner; 2 crunchy sweet treats

Last week I wrote about an event for a good cause: The annual Field to Fork dinner on July 18. This is a final reminder.

The five-course meal will be prepared by five area chefs and held at Bellecourt Manor in Belleville. Plus, there will be live music and silent and live auctions. The event benefits land conservation through HeartLands Conservancy, a group that has been around since 1989 and is headquartered in Mascoutah. One of its goals is to connect people with local food sources.

Tickets are $70 (or $500 per table of eight) for Conservancy members; $90 ($650 per table) for non-members. They are required in advance. Purchase them at www.HeartLandsConservancy.org/field-to-fork.

KUDOS: The Wine Tap in downtown Belleville has earned an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine.

HIT SNACK: Oh my, I couldn’t get enough of a snack a friend brought for a Saturday-night party. We always hope Sharon Russell, of Mascoutah, will bring her famous cookies, and she did. (She brought her husband, Mike, too.) But she also brought a sweet caramel Chex Mix concoction that had all of us grabbing handfuls. Then, when it came time for late-night ice cream sundaes, we used it as topping, too. Goes really well with hot fudge!

Sharon said it’s a recipe she originally used on popcorn. This recipe from the cereal people has the same ingredients. Bet it will be a hit for you, too.

In large microwavable bowl, place cereals.

In a 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on high about 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 6 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after every minute, just until cereal begins to brown.

Cool 5 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool; break into bite-size pieces. Store in airtight container. Makes 20 servings.

STAY COOL DESSERT: This frozen no-bake cake is so easy to make, you can have it sitting in the freezer in 10 minutes, and ready to eat in 2 hours. One thing I would change, though, is using a box of granola bars. I’m sure they are being used because the recipe is from Nature Valley.

Check to see if just buying a box of generic plain breakfast granola is cheaper. If you go this route, you will need 1 1/2 cups of the granola/butter/sugar mixture.

1 box crunchy granola bars

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups whipped topping

1 (16-ounce) container marshmallow fluff

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup thick hot fudge sauce (or chocolate hazelnut spread, such as Nutella)

Place granola/bars in a food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and sugar; pulse to combine. Should have 1 1/2 cups.

Pour 3/4 cup crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Press flat.

In a stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment, mix together whipped topping, marshmallow fluff and softened cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Spoon half of this mixture on top of the crumb crust in the baking dish. Spread hot fudge sauce on top of this layer, then layer with remaining marshmallow fluff and top with remaining crumb crust.

Cover with tin foil or plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 2 hours until frozen. Serve by slicing into squares.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 8:22 AM with the headline "Stir Crazy: Last chance for Field to Fork dinner; 2 crunchy sweet treats."