BUTTERY SALTED CARAMEL

I made my first cake when I was six. It was for my younger's brother birthday and it was a raw, sunken disaster. I remember feeling disappointed, not baking much after that, and envying my aunt's ability to bake a cake all the way through. Several years later found me cooking at my college's dining hall. It was my first exposure to the world of professional cooking and one that I would inhabit for five years before sliding into the pastry kitchen... Why pastry? It's alchemy. It's art. If I want to convey autumn on a plate, I'd have more fun doing it with pastry than with a hulking piece of roast beef. I love pastry because it's not the kind of cooking that many people have the patience for or are good at, but it's the kind of cooking that evokes strong feelings of comfort. One of the first tastes that we emerge from the womb and enjoy is sweetness. And folks, I love sweets! In my long-gone youth, I stashed packets of brown sugar in my purse to stave off the hunger pangs when Saturday..