Caramel Sauce

So I posted on Facebook about this sauce and it really is soooo good. Like amazingly good. Like sneak bites in the middle of the night good. Like so good I don't feel guilty bout pouring it directly into my mouth good. Okay I do feel guilty, just not guilty enough to not do it. =D I think you get the idea.

I will not lie. This not an original recipe by me. I stole it from Ina Garten. Wait...can you steal something that a person posts online with the intention of people using it?? Hmmm....  I GOT this from Ina Garten's Food Network site. I am a Food Network junkie. There are many cooks that I love (Anne Burrell, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Nigella Lawson, Ina) and some that I wouldn't be sad to be stranded on a deserted island with (Robert Irvine). ;)  It's okay, my husband knows I think he's hot.

Anyway, Ina Garten is one of my favorites. She doesn't pretend that her food is a snap. She's realistic about how sometimes her food takes a long time. She doesn't claim that it will be so fast,  but forget to tell you about the 3 1/2 hours of prep work that is magically done through the beauty that is TV editing.

Okay. Enough with my love of all things Food Network. This is why you came to this post: The recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. 

Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer).  Gently swirl the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! [Her recipe says about 5 to 7 minutes. It is never that quick on my stove. It's really more like 20. So make sure you are watching it carefully.] 

Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

My husband likes the sauce thicker than this recipe makes. so I use 1 cup of cream and let it simmer for a little longer. But that's just me. I would make this recipe as written first, then change it. Caramel can really go from fabulous to horrid in such a short time. And burnt caramel = sad.