Lick The Spoon

Fridge

2006-07-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

So, she now knows how to open the fridge all by herself. While it was cute the first time, the charm has worn off.....I am now finding refridgerated foods in odd places in the house. And they are no longer refridgerated.
This my friends is why I don't have time to post as often as I use to....

Ganache Love

2006-06-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

This. Cake. Makes. My. Knees. Weak.

I made this little darlin' for my friend Stephenie's surprise baby shower. It was supposed to be this cake minus the ball and chain and with a few baby birds around the picket fence. BUT.... the top cake didn't come out of her pan as planned and when I was trying to put the wings on the birds the lady bird's head fell off and it made me REALLY mad. So I said many unlady like words, wadded up all the fence slates (all 50 of them), threw the painstakingly crafted bluebirds away and just let the cake be ganached. Which honestly I think is quite beautiful. This was the first time I have worked with ganache and I am officially in love. Deep and profound love. I couldn't get enough of it. I just keep pouring on layer after layer after layer of this stuff..... and it never wavered.

The cake is from Kate Sullivan's book.... and I have to say it is giving Colette's Chocolate Bourbon cake a run for it's money. This cake is dense and very moist. It really is fabulous to cut and carve, but most of all it is delicious. I added a bit of orange extract to the batter to give it a little warmth....It has a really great taste. The cake is not at all too chocolately or sweet. It's mellow but not bland. Really good.... and with a thick layer of semi sweet ganache piled on top... it was fabulous. Only half the cake was eaten at the shower (thank god) so I ate the rest one forkful at a time. When things are really good that is the way I like to eat them... just one forkful at a time. It's my way of absolutely savoring every little bite.....

One Delicious Chocolate Cake (Kate Sullivan)

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 Â½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Â¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 ½ cups buttermilk, room temp
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups strong coffee

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour sides and bottoms of pans. Set pans aside.

In large bowl of mixer, stir together the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and soda. Stir in the sugar.

In small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix into the dry ingredients. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter and coffee. Divide batter evenly among pans.

Bake at 350 for around 50 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack.

Easy Foolproof Ganache

18 ozs semisweet chocolate chips
1 Â½ cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon liquor or flavoring (optional)

Heat cream until nearly boiling. Pour over chocolate chips, cover and let sit 10 minutes. Whisk chocolate and cream (and flavor if using) until well combined; dark, smooth and glossy.

Let sit at room temp until cooled. To thicken, beat with hand mixer for a few minutes. Also thickens over time as it sits.

Refrigerate in airtight container for up to a week. To restore to spreading or glazing consistency, heat and stir over double boiler for a few minutes until softened.

Peachy Keen

2006-06-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

Yum... Peaches are here. I bought this huge box of peaches from a little produce stand on the side of the road right outside of Athens, Alabama. Isom's orchards. They are really well flavored peaches.... rich and succulent. My husband ate 3 right when I got them home. As soon as I got home with them I immediately started searching the cookbooks to find that "perfect" peach recipe. After considering a peach trifle, peach upside down cake and a peach pavola I finally decided to try my h and (again) at a good old fashioned pie. As you may know, I have a serious pie crust handicap...... it's just something that no matter how much I try, I just can't get it right. I have tried several different pie crust recipes, but it always comes out wrong. Never flaky and crisp like promised. Never. And this one was no different.....

The filling, though, certainly made up for the cardboard like crust. Those tasty peaches married beautifully with the sugar and cinnamon.... and smelled oh so delicious as it was baking. I want to make this again but with a ready made pie crust.... I am so tired of ruining perfectly good pie fillings with my horric attempts at crust.

WHY CANT I GET IT RIGHT??! CAN SOME OF YOU PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS PROBLEM? DAMN THE PIE CRUST... AND DAMN MARTHA STEWART FOR MAKING IT ALL SEEM TOO EASY.....

Ahem.... sorry about that... a brief moment of crust induced insanity. Anyhow, as I was saying, this filling is really really good. But you know, I think it has a lot to do with the quality of peaches. So when you try it, make sure you have fresh juicy peaches with a strong flavor. Those pitiful little ones at the local grocery store won't make the cut....

Fresh Peach Pie

5 Â½ cups fresh peaches, sliced
1 cup sugar
Â¼ cup all purpose flour
Â½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan; set aside for syrup to form. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and let cook for 10 minutes or until peaches are tender. Remove from heat and add in butter and vanilla, stirring well.
Roll out half of your pastry and fit inside 9 inch pie plate. Spoon filling in.... Cover with other half of pastry and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 25 to 30 more minutes until crust is lovely and browned.

Ginger Love... SHF 19

2006-05-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

You know, there are times we all have in the kitchen when we stumble up on a recipe that sounds so good. And we make that recipe and damn, it's oh so good. Better than expected, delicious to the point of obsession, different and fresh.... and this, my friends, is one of those times and definatley one of those recipes.

I would love to thank Ruth at Once Upon a Feast for making me use ginger. I like ginger but don't use it very often and dear Lord... I dont know why! But all that will change.. because I have here a fine ginger recipe...... that you MUST try... especially since summer is upon us.

Ginger Ice Cream with Vanilla Bean and Maple Rum Bananas

Ice Cream
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh ginger
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar

Bananas
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup dark rum
5 bananas sliced

For Ice Cream
Bring first 4 ingredients to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and let steep 20 minutes or more. Bring mixture back to simmer over medium heat again. Strain into medium bowl.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar in large bowl until pale yellow. Gradually, whisk in hot milk mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium heat... pay close attention here and DO NOT, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LET THIS BOIL! Stir until mixture thickens and leaves a path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across, about 4 minutes. Strain custard into bowl and let chill for at least 2 hours. Process custard in ice cream machine. Transfer to covered container and freeze until firm.

For Bananas
Stir syrup and rum in skillet over medium heat. Add sliced bananas to mixture and heat through. Spoon over ginger ice cream and freak out at how good it all is.....

Mommy Dearest

2006-05-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies I know and love....

Strawberry Fields Forever

2006-05-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

Summer is officially here! The local strawberry man has his beautiful fresh strawberries for sale... $10.00 gets you a HUGE bucket of the red beauties to do with as you please. And I please a tart, please.

This insanely good tart is in the May '06 Everyday Food. There is not much to it, which is why I choose to make it. With all the buttercream lately I was craving something clean and naturally sweet. Somthing uncomplicated and easy.... I definatley found what I was looking for with this little beauty. This is such a fabulous summer dessert and I give a big "Hell Yeah" to the Everyday Food chef who came up with it (because we know Martha can't think of everything...).

Strawberry Tart
TART CRUST
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

FILLING

1 bar (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 to 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved
1/4 cup seedless red currant jelly

1. Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350°. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form (this may take up to 1 minute). Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.

2. With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 25 to 30 minutes, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan.

4. Make the filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan).

5. Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese.

6. In a small saucepan, heat jelly on medium-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

I am telling ya.. this one you have got to try. It's easy, quick and so freaking good.... We all had it after a dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatos. We finished off half of it between the 4 of us... then I accidently ate the rest of it around 2am.... DAMN IT! But each bite was one of those eye rolling, groaning with pleasure bites.... so so good.

Mixing Things Up

2006-05-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

So with all these food events, Darcy over at The Art of Drink decided it was time for a little drinkie drink. She has come up with a super cool drink related blogging event called Mixology Monday....because if there was ever a day that needed a drink related event it is Monday. Check her out and see if you can come up with a cool drink for May 8th....

The Wilton Rose

2006-04-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

So I know it says up there in the heading " No classes here......" but my mom talked me into taking a Wilton Cake Decorating class with her. Honestly I wasn't really that interested but my mom has always wanted to take one of those classes and I thought it would be fun to hang with her.... she is hilarious to be around. So she signed us up and bought a ridiculous amount of cake decorating supplies (some of which she left in a Hobby Lobby shopping cart after the second class... bless her heart) and off to school we went. The Wilton stuff is kinds cheesy to me...but I guess it is a good foundation for cake decorating. Actually decorating with buttercream scares the hell out of me..... it's not like fondant. With fondant once you sculpt something and let it dry it is pretty hard to destroy (unless you have a two year old around screaming "ohhhhh mommy... pretty cake") ....but with buttercream it always seems so delicate. And messy. And I have a hard time with those bags..... But mom and I went and learned all we could. I did get a better grip on my bags and learned to make a pretty shell pattern... but what I am now obsessed with is The Wilton Rose.

Ahhhhh The Wilton Rose.... The crowning glory of cake decorating. I practiced that rose for at least 5 hours the other day and literally came up with 4 roses. But once you get it, you get it. It's like riding a bike.... when you know it, it doesn't leave you. And you become dangerously obsessed with it, waking up at 4 am wondering if anyone would hear the KitchenAid whipping up a new batch of icing. Now I am spitting those things out like crazy and I become very protective of each one.... like a mother over her child. I think I am addicted.

There were no recipes provided in the class, except for the Wilton recipe for buttercream. It is insanely easy to whip up and tastes suprisingly delicious. I just used Kate Sullivan's 1234 buttercake for my cakes and again... easy to whip up....

Wilton Buttercream

1 cup Crisco
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water (or milk)
1 lb powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 tablespoon meringue powder
Pinch of salt

Cream the Crisco with the vanilla and water. Add in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Yields 3 cups.

Extreme Makeover.... Blog Edition

2006-04-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Pretty swanky, huh?? My homegirl Ali hooked me up! She is the superfabulous designer of the new and improved Lick the Spoon... and I could not be any happier! I feel inspired and excited about posting now! I have always envied all of you with great looking blogs and wanted a new look myself.... I just never knew how to go about it.... but now, now, now.... ahhhhhhhhh! I finally have a great looking blog....

Thank You Ali for all of your hard work! I love ya, girl!!

Please check out all of her work here and let her know if she can design for you!!

The Drunk Tank.... SHF 18

2006-04-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Why, you little bunch of drunk monkies!

The simple mention of liquor really draws a crowd, huh?

For this months SHF we had a whopping 41 entries from all around the world! Seems like there are plenty of drunken cooks out there with the motto "When in doubt, add more wine!" I was very impressed with all the varieties of alcohol used and more impressed with how much you all were willing to use! Some people used up to 2 cups!!

Grab some asprin, a lampshade and your favorite coozie...

Let's Get This Party Started!

Limoncello Cheesecake - Something So Clever
Vanilla Vodka Cheesecake Tartlets - Je Mange la Vanille
Gelled Sparkling Wine - Fork and Pint
Pousse Glace - The Art of Drink
Cocoa Red Wine Cupcakes - Music and Cats
Rum Poached Apple Crepes - Belly Timber
Russian Caravan Amaretto Truffles - The Sour Patch
Eaton Mess - Virtual Frolic
Overnight Honey Almond French Toast - Weekly Dish
Mango & Amaretto Ice Cream - Occasionally Christine
Banana Fosters with Irish Cream Mousse - The Serendipitous Chef
Ali Babas - Cream Puffs in Venice
Cerveza Negra Ginger Cake - The Edible Garden
Prosek Chocolates - Make Life Sweeter
Drunken Berry Trifle - Food for Thought
Ginger Rum Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce - Habeas Brulee
Sweet Potato Pie with Bourbon, Pecans and Maple Syrup - Slash Food
Formage Blanc with Bachelor Jam - 18th Century Cuisine
Frangelico Honey Panna Cotta - A Blithe Palate
Spirited Marble Cake - The Candied Quince
Asian Pears with Sherry Saffron Ice Cream - Toast Point
Almond Apricot Pound Cake with Amaretto - Dessert First
Baily's Irish Cream Cream Brulee - Hungry in Hogtown
Lemon Raspberry Syllabub - The Domestic Goddess
Red Plum Sorbet - Mekuno Cooking
Amaretto Tiramsu Cake - Umruhren Bitte
Gateau an Vin Blanc - O Delices
Red Wine Tart - English Patis
Grandma's Advoocat Pudding - Kuchenlatein
Mini Pear Cakes - The Golden Shrimp
Whisky Apples - The Old Foodie
Hazelnut Raisin Pound Cake - Culinary Adventures
Strawberry Minestrone and Lillet - La Tartine Gourmande
Bourbon Truffle Brownies - Vegaquarian
Zabaglione - Cook (almost) Anything Once
Midori Kanten Jelly - Sweet Pleasure
Grand Marnier Brownies - Laura Rebecca's Kitchen
Tres Leche Cake - You Gonna Eat All That

My SHF contributions this month are Chocolate Bourbon Baby Cakes with Bourbon Laced Strawberries.

The cake recipe originally comes from Colette Peters. The cakes are amazingly soft and moist and just the right hint of the Bourbon.

Chocolate Bourbon Baby Cakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 ¾ cups hot coffee
¼ cup bourbon
5 ozs unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 275 (yes, 275). Grease and flour baking tins. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine the hot coffee, bourbon and chocolate and butter in large covered metal bowl. Let stand until completely melted. Whisk together. Whisk in sugar and cool. Whisk in the flour mixture in two batches, then the eggs and vanilla.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes. Check after 30 to ensure even baking. Cool cakes completely on wire racks.

Bourbon Laced Strawberries

2 packages sweetened frozen strawberries
1 tablespoon bourbon

Defrost strawberries and mix in bourbon. Spoon over baby cakes and add a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Feeling Upside Down

2006-04-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have a seriously bad case of spring fever this year. It has been really really nice here in Alabama (evident by the lack of posts here) and Kathryn and I have been spending a lot of time outside playing. I am ready for the pool and for sunscreen and for flip flops... and for tropical flavored rum spiked drinks. When I get spring fever I tend to force my loved ones to eat grilled meats and veggies and sit outside on the patio furniture..... warm or not. I also start grocery shopping like it is summer... buying tropical fruits and popsicles. On one of my recent expeditions to Costco I convinced myself and my husband that I needed a case of mangos. " I've got several good recipes at home that call for mangos..." I said. Ahem... yeah. Several. After I get my case of beautiful mangos home I wonder... What in the hell am I going to do with all of these?! So I hit the books and a very unlikely gal came to my rescue... Ol' Martha.

Pineapple Mango Upside Down Cake

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
1 medium ripe pineapple, peeled and cut into thick slices
1 medium ripe mango
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x8 pan, line with parchment and butter parchment. Using a 1.5 inch cookie cutter, cut rounds out of the centers of the 4 pineapple slices. Finely chop the remainder of the pineapple to yield 1 cup. Place chopped fruit in mesh sieve to drain.

Cut the mango lengthwise and using the same 1.5 inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds to fit inside the pineapple. Finely chop the remaining mango to yield ½ cup and add to the sieve.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream 2 tablespoons of the butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Using a small offset spatula, evenly spread the butter mixture on the bottom of the pan. Place the pineapple rings in each corner of the pan and fit the mango rounds inside the pineapple.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of the electric mixer, beat the remaining stick of butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Turn mixer on low speed and add in the flour mixture in 2 parts alternating with the sour cream. Start with the flour mix and end with it as well.

Spread the drained chopped fruit over the top of the pineapple rings, making sure to fill in any gaps. Spread the cake batter evenly over the fruit. Pop that baby in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Invert cake onto serving platter and enjoy.

This is one Martha recipe that I can say comes out beautifully. The only substitutions I made were to use vanilla yogurt instead of the sour cream, simply because I didn't have any sour cream and I also used dark brown sugar instead of light for the same reason. The cake came out so delicious even with my messing with it.....

Try this for an after summer grilled dinner.... with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Delicious!!

Candy is Dandy.... But Liquor is Quicker!

2006-03-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

Oh how that is soooooo true!!

So it's my turn to host Sugar High Friday! I am really excited about it! As you all know the ever fabulous Jennifer at Domestic Goddess started this grand day of sugar induced comas for us all and for that I am eternally thankful!! I love love love me some sugar and this is such a great excuse to find new recipes that fit into the theme for the month! For 16 months now we have experimented with apples, spices, nuts, honey and citrus. We have used coffee, custard and of course the ying and yang of sweets: Dark and White Chocolate. We have tried our hands at puff pastry, pies and tarts and seducing our loved one(s). We have even dared to go low....

So what else is left, you may ask? Well..... Rum, Tequilla, Burbon, Whiskey, Gin, Vodka, Limoncello, Wine..... get my drift? This month's challenge is to liven up the party with a drunken dessert! No liquor or spirit is off limits.... but let's try to stay away from the ever popular rum cake....

Send me your entry by April 21st and look for the round up on April 23rd.

Cheers!

One Truly Terrible Tart

2006-03-14T05:57:00.000-08:00

So I don't really know who Damon Lee Fowler is but I can tell ya he ain't the King of Tarts. Not that he ever claimed to be.....

I bought his book "New Southern Kitchen" at a discount book store we have here in Huntsville. Lord, I love that place. I am constantly going in there to see what new they have.... they have good titles and fabulous prices. So when I saw the title of this book I had to have it. I mean come on... there is a biscuit on the COVER! That is serious food porn for us southern breed. ANYHOW... I am one of those people who likes to judge a book by it's cover...Literally. I don't like to look thru the book to see if there are any recipes that I might like.... oh no, I take it a face value and anticipate getting it home and devouring it like a sensational novel. I like to be surprised. Most of the time I am rewarded for my shallowness but sometimes it slaps me in the face and I close a book knowing I just wasted 12.99. So.... this was one of those books. After I went through the book I was left wondering what exactly was "new" and in some cases what was "southern". Of course I studied the dessert chapter like I was about to take a test on it and didn't really find anything interesting. Baked Peaches with Pecans, Baked Apples with Pecans, Banana Pudding (seriously), Chocolate Charlotte, and several variations on Shortcake and Macerated Strawberries. And this recipe for an Apple Tart with Shortbread Crust.

Gingered Apple Tart with Shortbread Crust

10 ounces (about 2 cups) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons extra fine white cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
2 lemons
6 large or 8 small tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 to 4 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
Nutmeg

Preheat your oven to 375. Make shortbread crust in food processor by combining dry ingredients and giving it a quick whirl to sift. Start adding in cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Turn out into 12 inch tart pan and press firmly. Prick lightly with a fork and pop into oven for about 10 minutes. Get on with the apple mixture.

Using a zester, cut the skin off both lemons into long strands. Cut lemon zests in half. Halve lemons and juice both into a non reactive bowl. Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 1/4 inch thick slices, adding them to the lemon juice to avoid discoloration. Arrange the drained apple slices in cooled tart case and add chopped ginger in as you go. Top apples with bourbon, sugar, lemon zest and nutmeg. Bake for about 40 minutes until apples are tender and golden brown on top. Serve warm with ice cream on the side.

Sounds simple, right? And it really was. Too simple. It was so simple that I was thinking to myself.. " There is no way this is going to come out well....." The problems started right away.... the bourbon and juices from the apples began to seep out the bottom of the tart pan causing a hellacious spot on the bottom of my stove that caused an insane amount of smoke. I swear, it was like a fog machine was on in there! Then the sugar and lemon zest on top didn't reach a golden brown.... it turned black, immediately. So that was lovely. And it seemed mushy, but who am I to judge while it is still in the oven. The timer dinged and out came the tart. With a hefty amount of liquid spilling out onto the floor, it was a mess. I let the thing cool for about an hour then *tried* to remove it from the tart pan in one piece. It did okay coming out, but the crust was too mushy to hold all the apples and their respective juice in and one of the sides collapsed. It was like a dam had broken.... apple juice and bourbon went flooding out onto my stove and I just sighed. "Screw it.....Kathryn, come on, let's get in the bathtub!" After Kat's bath I dished out some of this pitiful excuse for a tart to Art and myself with a side of Duce de Leche ice cream. The ice cream was good. The tart was terrible. The sugar did nothing to sweeten the apples and they were sour from the lemon juice. Every now and again a blackened piece of lemon zest would get stuck in our teeth and the chunks of ginger were completely out of place. The "crust" was pathetic. Not even a crust... more like a gritty, mushy, uneventful, soggy piece of cornbread. We both took a bite and agreed that it was indeed terrible. So.....Me and Damon Lee Fowler are not on speaking terms. God love that poor tart.

Life....not Food

2006-03-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

I think I am going through an ugly spell in my life. I am just funky these days. Let me run it down for you.... I seem to have developed a case of adult acne right in between my eyes. I got a facial a month ago and have been Clearsil's poster girl ever since. I have some sort of fungus on my right baby toe nail. So in addition to the dry and cracked heels that could double as heavy duty sand paper... I have a black baby toe. Nice. I just cut all of my hair cut off and now have to wear two little pigtails to keep it out of my face. And a headband.... I am hideous. I have only worn yoga pants, flip flops and a tee shirt with a sports bra(yields the LOVELY uni-boob) for the past month. And I still need to loose the last 20 pounds of baby weight...... Wait... She's two. Can I still call that baby weight??

UGH.

Let Them Eat Cake

2006-03-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back. Good lord... February was a crazy month for me. Kathryn and I stayed very busy this entire month... hence the feelings of abandonment you might have been having. I am glad to be back and glad to get back into a routine.... and back in the kitchen. It was so crazy around here this month I didn't even get to participate in Good Things. Bleh. But like I said, I am back so get ready for a dessert filled March!

One thing that kept me pretty busy all month was the planning of my baby girl's 2nd birthday party. Yes, I am one of THOSE moms that goes WAY overboard and gets crazy. My sister said " Can't Kathryn just have a normal party?" Uhhhhh.... no. I was pent up in a cubicle for TOO long and had WAY TOO MUCH creative energy to burn... so no normalcy here. Sorry.

My big contribution was of course the cake(s). Yes, plural. I know.... Why couldn't I have just made one simple little cake and left it at that? I told myself it was because I am trying to learn the "craft" and that I needed to make 3 cakes to practice. Okay, sure. That sounded good a week or so before the party.... but at 1 am on the night before I was cursing the damn things and wishing I could just run to Costco and pick up a sheet cake with some cute blue roses and her name spelled out in icing.

But I couldn't... and I would have been REALLY upset with myself if I had given up. The baking and covering the cakes was the easy part... and as you can see I didn't do any sort of elaborate decorating of the cakes .. the hard part was trying to figure out how to get them stacked in a crooked kind of way. I was trying to emulate this cake by Confetti Cakes... but I failed miserably. I was confident until I realized that I had already "glued" each cake to it's corresponding board just like Colette told me to... but then how was I going to get a support dowel thru the cake and the board? I know, it the solution sounds simple enough now, but when it's 10am the morning of the party(that starts at 1pm) rational problem solving is not something that comes swift. So I said screw it... we will have this one big present cake.. and we will have two smaller cakes that Kathryn can have with her candles on it.... Sounded good.

As you may be able to tell the theme of the party was candy. My dad said "Who's Candy? Is that a new cartoon or something?" "Yeah dad... It's a new cartoon about strippers. The main character is Candy and her side kick is a rabbit named... well, Bunny. Strippers by day and crime fighting heroes by night. Kathryn just loves it....."

Ahem..So... candy was the theme. And boy did I have fun with that! It was like a candy shop exploded in there... It was fabulous. All the kids were walking around with these huge lollipops.. it was so sweet. We had candy and cupcakes and homemade marshmallows and soda pop and cake and cake and cake and some boring grown up food and a moonbounce! Holy crap we had a good time! After the kids got all hopped up on sugar they jumped unitl their little legs just wouldn't jump anymore! Then the adults got in and jumped until their little lungs just wouldn't breath anymore! It was great.....

Each layer of the cake was a different flavor. The bottom was Hummingbird Cake with cream cheese filling. The middle layer (or bottom layer of the smaller cakes) was lemon butter cake with raspberry and lemon curd buttercream filling. And the top layer was good ol' Chocolate with chocolate rum filling. And before you get your panties in a wad... I used imitation rum flavoring.. not real rum. So just calm down. The lemon butter cake was outstanding. I was so excited it came out. I mixed raspberry preservatives with vanilla buttercream for the filling in one layer and mixed lemon curd with vanilla buttercream for the other layer. It was soooooooooo good. Too good... as I get up in the middle of the night and sneak bites of the few leftover pieces. I only had a small bite of the chocolate cake but my mom and husband really loved it. And this is the same husband who does not like chocolate. I was stunned. So that recipe will absolutely become a staple in this house. I pulled the recipe off the Hershey's website and was surprised at how easy it was to work with. It carved very nice and stayed nice and moist. This is a great cake....I highly recommend!

Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

So y'all, that's my third attempt at rolled fondant. Here are the problems I had with this cake..... Please help me out!!

Building a tiered cake. Crooked.
Getting dried fondant to stick to dried fondant.
Working with thinned royal icing..... I think I added too much water.

The cake was supposed to have fondant "tissue" like the Confetti Cake but I couldn't get the dried pieces to stick the dried cake. I had made over 100 pieces of fondant tissue that I had to just throw away because I couldn't get it to work.... should I be using gum paste for things like that? What is the difference in fondant and gum paste?? Any help will be much appreciated!

Swimming in a Sea of Love

2006-02-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

When I was in college I worked in a flower shop. All through college I slung roses and answered phones. The shop was a great place to be.... it smelled fabulous, was always busy busy busy and was a haven for creative minds. Dawn, the lady that owns the shop is such a cool person. She has excellent taste, is extremely creative and is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She and her 3 daughters are like my family.... I have watched the girls grow up and become beautiful women and I am so proud of all of them.

As you can imagine Valentine's Day is THE day in the flower business. It is absolute insanity. Craziness beyond belief. I have been a part of Valentine's Day every year for 10 years now with the exception of VDay 04, when I was 5 days away from my due date... my cankles were swollen badly and my doctor told me there was NO WAY I was allowed out of the city limits. So I skipped that one but have been there cranking out dozens every year other than that. It always cracks me up when I tell people I go to work at a flower shop on Valentine's Day. They always say "Oh how fun! I bet that is a blast!" Well...... yes and no. I mean I love to be there all in the action again.... but come midnight when my poor little feet are throbbing, my fingers are bleeding and I can barely see straight.... I am ready to call it a day.

The preparation comes weeks before the big day.... all the ordering has to be done. This year it was over 3,000 roses. Red Roses. I have no idea how many colored roses were there. Then a week before the big day all the roses come in and they all have to be cut and stripped of their thorns. You may think there is some fancy machine that does this.... but no. Just some girls with a knife.... and many many band-aids. The roses have to be cut several times after that to keep them fresh. And again... 3,000 roses cut by hand. Vases have to be filled with water, ribbon has to be cut and the floor has to be filled with stuffed animals, balloons and candy. Then February 13th rolls around. That is when the action really starts. The phone is ringing ringing ringing off the hook... and we are up to our eyeballs in roses. We always use eucalyptus as a fill flower and our fingers all end up black and sticky from the "tar" that comes out the stem..... mixed in there is a little blood from the occasional thorn overlooked and of course from the knife nicks. Around 10pm or so we start taking arrangements up to the greenhouse where they will be put in sections according to where they are to be delivered. That is where the magnitude of Valentines Day is really seen. You walk up there and open the door to an absolute sea of roses. An occasional balloon pops up from the red, but mostly it is roses for as far as the eye can see. It's really cool..... It's just neat to know that you had a little part in all of it.

After we are done for the day/night on the 13th, we all stumble to bed bleary eyed, and dream of nothing but roses. Well.... all of us except Dawn. She barley sleeps getting up several times to check on the temperature of the coolers and the temperature in the greenhouse. She lives right next door to the shop so she runs over in her pajamas to check on it all.... This year it was a close call. It was really cold in Alabama and she had to put a heater in the greenhouse to keep the temperature above freezing. The propane tank actually started freezing up and there were a few tense moments..... but we all awoke to beautifully fresh roses. Not a frozen one in sight.

Now, the 14th really isn't such a bad day. We all have the feeling of having all the orders complete and all of the front coolers filled for walk ins. Anything we do that day is just sort of considered extra. We rarely answer the phone that day... which NEVER stops ringing. Not for a second. When we do answer the phone it is to break the news to the poor bastard on the line that we cannot take anymore deliveries but he is more than welcome to pick something up and take it with him. That never goes over well.... We usually take between 300-350 deliveries for that day.... With 3 vans that is around 100 deliveries per driver. They have to get them all out in 8 hours so it averages out to about 5 minutes per delivery..... crazy. But the drivers get it done! The day finally ends around 6pm... and we are relieved and exhausted but have a delirious sense of happiness. Another successful year over.....

Now, while we play cupids for the year, we eat like raging lunatics. Customers bring in cookies and cakes and we order pizzas and eat nearly anything that comes into the shop. We have to keep our strength up! So of course I had to make SEVERAL contributions this year. Here they are.....

Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup margarine, melted

Filling
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 cup water
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (room temperature!)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs (room temperature)
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Combine the raspberry preserves with 1/4 cup water in a medium microwave-safe bowl.
Heat for 1 1/2 minutes on high in your microwave.
Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds, and discard seeds.
Allow strained preserves to cool, then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later.
Measure 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers-- with the filling scraped out-- in a resealable plastic bag) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup melted margarine. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

Use an electric mixer to combine the softened cream cheese with the sugar, room temperature sour cream, and vanilla. Mix on the lowest setting for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs. Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 ounces of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust.
Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven.

Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool on a cooling rack.

When the cheesecake is completely cool, cover cheesecake with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to sit overnight.

The Holy Grail Brownies (from October 05)

1 2/3 cup soft unsalted butter

13 ounces of very fine chocolate

6 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350.

Line your brownie pan (13x9") with parchment paper. This is a little extra step but makes the brownie a breeze to get out of the pan....Melt the butter and chocolate together over medium-low heat. Let this cool a bit after melting. Mix together the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.

Measure the flour into another bowl along with the salt. Mix together the cooled chocolate/butter mixture and the eggs/sugar mixture. Add in the nuts. Mix in the flour and beat to combine smoothly and scrape into lined pan.Bake for 25 minutes and be vigilant. Brownies can go from delish to dry in about 2 minutes.... They will continue to cook a bit as they cool....

Orange Dream Cookies

2 Â¼ cups all purpose flour
Â¾ teaspoon baking powder
Â½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, soft
Â½ sup sugar
Â½ sup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until smooth. Add egg and mix well. Add the flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the orange zest and vanilla chips. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookies sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown.

A VERY VERY VERY Good Thing

2006-02-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

I just want to say that I am so very proud to be a part of the new website called Very Good Things. Ali from Something so Clever put it all together and it looks so very beautiful this month! Please head over to the site and check out all things Martha.
Thanks Ali for a really fabulous job!

Ginger and Spice and Everything Nice

2006-01-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

So here is my second attempt at Sugar Low Friday. I ended up making the Spiced Ginger Cake after all..... I used honey instead of granulated sugar. Well... I used one cup of honey for one cup of the sugar... I still used 1/2 cup regular sugar. And there was sugar in the glaze... but hey.... subbing SOME honey was a start. I did end up having fresh ginger after all.... I had forgotten that I had some in the freezer.

This is a lovely little cake. She's not an all out smack you in the face with her stunning good looks type... she is more the "she has a great personality" type. I followed the directions to the letter.... even letting the cake sit for a day so the flavors could "come together". I had a slice this morning and it is really nice with coffee. The ginger flavor is much more delicate that I thought it would be. It calls for a cup of chopped crystallized ginger so I figured the ginger flavor would be very pronounced, but it was subtle. Barely there and sweet.

Now, I am not really sure how the substitution of the honey for the sugar affected the cake texture since this is the first time I have made this.... but the cake was delicate and moist. I am sure the honey helped with the moistness as did the glaze... So maybe honey will become a permanent ingredient in this recipe....

Spiced Crystallized Ginger Cake
Before serving this cake, let it stand for a day, well wrapped, so the flavors can develop further. Then enjoy a slice with a cup of tea in the morning or with coffee after dinner.

For the cake:

3 cups cake flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (here is where I used 1 cup of honey)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 cup milk

1 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger, tossed with 1 Tbs. flour

For the glaze:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

1 Tbs. rum

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 350°F.

Grease and flour a rosette cake pan or a 9-by-13-inch cake pan.

To make the cake, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves; repeat until well blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating each addition until incorporated before adding more, until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes; stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the fresh ginger, vanilla and lemon zest. Reduce the speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour, until just blended and no lumps of flour remain. Then fold in the crystallized ginger. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are slightly higher than the center.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool the cake upright in the pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the granulated sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum.

Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper and remove the cake from the pan. (If using a 9-by-13-inch pan, keep the cake in the pan.) Generously brush the warm cake with the glaze. Let the cake cool to room temperature.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving. Serves 16.

2006-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

You know you are at the local white trash grocery store when the woman behind you is

In her pajamas.......... in public
Buying 3 jars of Stage 2 baby food
Buying a pregnancy test
Asking the cashier if they sell boxes of Philly Blunts

Ugh.

Low is the New High....

2006-01-27T14:17:00.000-08:00

Sugar Low Friday.... is it really the same? Grated my thighs let out a sigh of relief at the mention of Sugar Low as the theme.... but my mind, heart and tongue said... bleh. Is it possible to live in the realm of desserts without sugar and fat? I wasn't sure but I was going to find out... I thought of it as a challenge.... but then again me being in the kitchen is a challenge in it's self. I started by researching some methods of substituting honey for sugar. I had originally planned to get a head start on SHF this month and work on it last week... but that of course didn't happen. So here I am in the final hour wondering... do I have time to make this Spiced Crystallized Ginger Cake subbing out honey for the sugar.... All the ingredients have to be at room temp and I don't have any fresh ginger... Should I attempt this? Oh... why not. I will post on it tomorrow....

In the mean time I did make a low sugar vanilla custard with crushed pineapple. It's nice and all but it just lacks something...... what is it?? Oh yeah... SUGAR! This recipe comes from a Weight Watchers cookbook I have had for a few years. I was on Weight Watchers for a few hours once and those hours coincided with a trip to the book store and a particularly bloated day.... so hence the purchase of the book. I have made one other thing out of the the book that was okay but really it just sits on the shelf and serves as a daily reminder that structured diets just don't work for me. And so the fat lives......and multiplies.

Weight Watchers Coconut Custard

* I didn't have any coconut extract that is why mine is vanilla.....

Makes 4 (very small) Servings

1 cup low fat milk
1/3 cup instant non fat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon coconut extract (or vanilla, rum, banana, etc)
2 eggs
Â½ teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 4 custard cups with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium saucepan combine the milk, dry milk, sugar and coconut extract; cook , stirring frequently, until the mixture boils and sugar dissolves.
In medium bowl, whisk the eggs until light; gradually pour the hot milk mixture and the vanilla. Pour into custard cups and sprinkle with coconut. Place the cups in a shallow posting pan; pour hot water half way up the cups. Bake until custards are set, about 20-25 minutes. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled.

Mocha Choka La La Yah Yah.....

2006-01-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

After 2 valiant, yet failed attempts at making a cake this weekend, I finally came out on top with this Mocha Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. This picture is horrific and does not do this baby justice. She looked much prettier in person..... but like me, photographs HORRIBLY. So forgive her ugly mugg.

Now, let's talk a little bit about the cake mistakes first...... Sponge Cake. Man, I tell ya... Sponge Cake is a high maintenance little priss. With the careful "folding in" of all those egg whites and the need for the cake to be in a metal pan UNGREASED.....something about the cake needing traction to "climb" up the sides of the pan.....WHEW! A lot of work.

So I made her batter and had a mini debate with myself on if I should put it in a non stick pan, like I REALLY ( and I mean REALLY) wanted to, or if I should follow the directions and pour the batter in a metal pan with no grease....aghhhhhh! "Okay okay... follow the damn directions, Chan. Just do what they say and everything will come out fine... Just fine. The directions are obviously there for a reason." So I poured the batter out of the non stick pan I had already had it in (I was resisting authority at first...) and into a vintage tart pan I found on eBay. It is the ONLY bakeware I have that is metal and not non stick. I popped her in the oven where she rose beautifully. Her color was fabulous , she sprang back to the touch and...... she was gloriously stuck to the pan. I mean she and that pan had become one... there was no seperating those two. I didn't even try...I mean who am I to come between a Sponge Cake and her Pan? So we just ate her straight out of the pan.. from the middle out. And she was DELICIOUS! I added in fresh orange zest when mixing the egg yolks and that little bit of zest really did add a beautiful hint of orange. I am absolutely going to try this one again and I am going to put her in a non stick pan.... I think this would be a fabulous cake to carve and decorate. She has a firm body and very very little crumb. I will post again on this one.

The second cake I made to make up for this one sticking to the pan was a horrid mess... not even worth talking about. She was ugly and dry with a deep hole in the middle. The edges were almost burned and her center was still a raw goopy mess. I just threw her away... horrible.

Now... On to the glorious cheesecake. I think I have the cheesecake down pat. If I have learned how to make anything these past few months I have learned the cheesecake. The basic cheesecake lessons I have learned are these:

All ingredients MUST be at room temperature. Let all the ingredients sit out for about 2 hours...
Baking in a water bath REALLY does keep the cake from cracking.
Slowly cool the cake....leave it in the oven with the door propped open with a wooden spoon for at least an hour.
DO NOT overmix. Again, DO NOT overmix. Mix all ingredients until just incorporated. I know the hand mixer makes you feel powerful... it is the power tool of the kitchen... but please for the sake of the cake...put it down.
Bake in a regular cake pan lined with parchment.... screw the springforms.

Those 5 little things really do make a huge difference in the way my cheesecakes come out. I mean, cheesecakes are no big deal to make. There are only a few ingredients and you can really get creative on flavoring them.... plus, hell... it's CHEESECAKE!

This one is Mocha with Chocolate Chips. I have never been a huge fan of mocha/coffee flavored things so I was a little skeptical when I was reading the recipe. But the picture of the cake sold me... I love love love anything with chocolate chips. The recipe is from The Whimiscal Bakehouse , a neat little cake deocrating book with some really good recipes. The recipe from the book calls for homemade chocolate cookies to be used for the crust but I was lazy and just used Nabisco Famous Wafers....

Here is the recipe:

CRUST:
3 cups chocolate cookies, crushed
¼ cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Crush cookies in food processor. Mix in sugar and butter. Stir until well combined. Press into 9” cake pan buttered and lined with parchment paper. Set aside.

FILLING:
2 ½ pounds cream cheese, at room temp
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon instant espresso
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs, at room temp
1 ¼ cups mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add in sugar. Meanwhile simmer cream. Remove from heat and dissolve espresso and vanilla. Add the espresso mixture to cream cheese and beat on low to incorporate. Add in 6 eggs one at a time, beating on low until just incorporated. Pour filling into the crust. Scatter chocolate chips on top and carefully swirl the chips in with a small knife.
Place tin into larger pan filled with hot water. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until cake is golden brown on top and set. Cool cheesecake in oven with heat turned off and door propped open for at least an hour. Let cool outside oven at least another hour. Cake can be then wrapped and placed in oven or freezer until ready to eat…..

Ohhh this is a tasty little cake. The mocha flavor is not too strong and even those who don't care for coffee will love this. Of course the chocolate chips melt beautifully in the cake and add just a hint of chocolate. So very delicious....

Happy Workers

2006-01-15T06:22:00.000-08:00

My sister helped host a baby shower for one of her friends, Amanda. Amanda is such a sweet girl and she absolutely cracks me up... I love being around her... so I wanted to help out as well. I volunteered myself as the cake girl.... suprise suprise! I figure the more I do these cakes for real events the better I will be.....My sister went through my (ever growing) collection of cake decorating books and settled in on baby cakes decorated with tiny fondant bees. Amanda is dressing her baby's room in bumble bees and these cakes went right along with the theme! To do one of these little cakes is really no big deal.. and it doesn't take long at all to whip out one of those little bees... but holy crap.. 30 of those little suckers took me a while. The most time consuming part was definitely the crumb coating.... That literally took me allllll daaaayyyy looongg.... I was so very sick of buttercream by the end of it. I was covered in buttercream....I had it in my hair, all over my hands, all over the table, my apron was stiff from it all, and I later found some in my ear..... I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT GOT THERE! Scary, really.

I was on top of my game for this one and made all the bees a few days in advance... I stored them in an air tight container and had to hide them from Kathryn. She, somehow knew they were going on top of cakes and associated them with cake from the start. She would climb on top of the table and just stare and them and say " MMMMMMmmmmm.... Cake. Oh Mommy, cake." I used a cake recipe from Colette Peters' Book Cakes to Dream On. She claims that it is a basic white cake, but my sister and I decided it was more of a caramel cake. The recipe I used calls for dark brown sugar, so that obviously is where the caramel flavor comes from. The cake bakes up well and carves up nicely when cold. I personally liked the taste of the hummingbird cake better but, as you know, had a hard time with the cream cheese frosting as a crumb coat. This cake I used was nice and the vanilla buttercream complimented it well...... and buttercream holds up MUCH better than the cream cheese frosting.

As you can tell by the photos I had an issue getting them all the same height... but I am sure I can fix that next go around. All in all, these little babies were... well... a piece of cake. Great for a novice beginner, like myself... and they make a cute display when all together....

Giada Disaster Caught on Tape

2006-01-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

My roommate from college, Sticks (we call her that because she is quite thin!), sent me this link. You have to check it out... so hilarious!

Giada Disaster

seven SEVEN sev/en 7

2006-01-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Miss Alicat at Something so DAMN Clever tagged Kat and I for the 7 meme....I accept! Kathryn's answers are in PINK....

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:

1. Live in Italy for a year.

2. Learn to fluently speak Spanish, so I can talk to my mother in law.

3. Publish a book of some sort.

4. Jump out of an airplane.

5. Own a business.

6. Grow fingernails.

7. Kat: Grow up to be a beautiful woman.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:

1. Wake up looking rested. I always look like ass on a cracker in the morning.

2. Paint anything without getting absolutely covered in paint. Seriously.

3. Cook without my flip flops on.

4. Stop biting my pitiful little nails... they are so sad. And ugly.

5. Be on time FOR ANYTHING...

6. Sleep with socks on.

7. Kat: Use the potty... for now.

Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging:

1. It keeps me motivated to keep baking when I feel like giving up.

2. Meeting all the coolie o's that like to cook like I do.

3. I love the tight knit community food bloggers have.....

4. Blogging is a great creative outlet for a kept wife such as myself.(Alicat)

5. Foodporn. Lots of foodporn. (Alicat)

Okay.... so I only have five....

Seven Things I Say Most Often:

1. Kathryn, stop.

2. Kathryn Maria.... STOP NOW.

3. Do you want to sit on the naughty chair?

4. I know, right?

5. Ellie, NO! Ellie STOP.. STOP ELLIE. Alright.... OUTSIDE ELLIE!

6. I'm running to the grocery store.

7. Kat: Oh wow mommy, cake!

Seven Books I Love:

1. Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls

2. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

3. White Oleander - Janet Fitch

4. Bridget Jones' Diary

5. Comfort Me With Apples - Ruth Reichl

6. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris

7. Kat: Where the Sidewalks End..... At bedtime.

Seven Movies/DVDs That I Watch Over and Over Again:

1. The Wiggles - Yummy Yummy

2. Finding Nemo

3. Shrek

4. Sesame Street -Let's Make Music

5. Dora - Super Babies

6. The Wiggles - Wiggly Safari

7. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Seven Bloggers I Want To Join In Too:

1. The Domestic Goddess

2. Lovescool

3. 101 Cookbooks

4. Buttercream and Roses

5. The Chubby Hubby

6. Sweetnicks

7. Running with Tweezers

My Little Clabber Girl

2006-01-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I am contemplating the world and my place in it, I wonder why it is that I love my kitchen so much. I wonder why it is that I feel the most comfortable in my kitchen. I wonder why, when I am bored (which, trust me, is not very often) I automatically go to the kitchen and start to cook..... without thinking. Then I start to wonder why it is that I love to cook so much. Is it an innate womanly instinct to feed my family? Is it the measuring and the sifting? Is it that I feel somewhat connected to the chef's whose recipes I copy, thinking if I can make crabcakes like Emeril, then I must be on the same level.... right? Wrong. I think it is just that I simply love the act of making something. From nothing.

And really more than anything I love this....

and this...

Kathryn has been promoted from Taste Tester to Official Kitchen Sidekick. I swear to God, I get all misty eyed when I see her rolling out dough and cutting out little stars with her cookie cutter. I could care less that the cornstarch mess will take me about 3 to 3 and a half days to clean up because it stretches from the kitchen all the way across the house to the bathroom. I just love to see her in the kitchen. I love that she wants to be in the kitchen..... and I love that she likes to get her hands dirty. I know, I know... she is a kid and what kid doesn't like to play in messy cornstarch.... but damnit she is my kid...and these are memories that she is making with me.... and I hope she remembers these times all of her life.... I know I will.

Okay, enough with the sappy kid crap.....but she really is the reason I am trying to learn all this....

Recipe Index

2006-01-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

The Recipe Index is currently being updated - Please check back another day!

Cheesecakes
Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake

Tarts

Cakes
Pineapple Mango Upside Down Cake

Fondant Cakes

Cookies & Brownies
The Holy Grail Brownies
Orange Dream Cookies

Ice Creams

Other Confections

2005-12-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

As you may have read in a previous post, I have acquired the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook and plan to work my way through it Julie/Julia style....I have made several things from the book, but am saving them to post on a new site I am a co-author on called Good Things. Ali over at Something So Clever is the master planner on Good Things and she ask me to be a part of it.....I was thrilled and decided that my contribution would be to bake EVERYTHING in the MS Baking Handbook. Gulp. Easier said than done ....and once I sat down and really started taking in all that was ahead of me... I developed an ulcer. Good Lord. I have to make a 3 tiered wedding cake, roulade, angel food cake, goat cheese frosting, homemade puff pastry, eclaires, a dizzying array of breads and cookies and a nectarine tart that literally scares the hell out of me. It says in the description that this nectarine tart is easy to make but I beg to differ when looking at the picture. But I promised my Alicat that I would do this and damnit I am going to do it...... If it takes me 5 years... I am going to make EVERYTHING in this book. Every single little frosting, simple syrup and lemon curd that MS thinks is EASY..... even if it kills me. And you get to be there...... laughing the whole way.

Sooooo.... like I said earlier I have made several things from the MSBH and honestly they have all turned out like.... crap. I started to think that maybe this book wasn't all that .... then I looked back on all the desserts that I have made these past 5 months and realized... ummmm.... no, it's me. I'm just not too good at the dessert thing. But I am learning and have made things I would have NEVER thought I would have made.... Case in point: The Carrot Ginger Cake. This weeks dessert experiment... Martha style.

This is not just any old carrot cake.... oh no. This is Carrot Ginger cake with toasted pecans and an orange laced cream cheese frosting topped off with tiny marzipan replicas of carrots pulled fresh from the garden.....I followed this recipe word for word. I got a new Salter scale for Christmas and used it to weigh out my carrots to the exact weight the recipe called for. Okay, well I say I followed it word for word... but I did have to sub powdered ginger for fresh ginger only because I had already been to the grocery store and thought I was cool with the ginger I had stored away in the freezer. I thought you could save ginger in the freezer.... but when it came time to grate it, it was literally mush. Gross mush. So I had no choice but to use powdered ginger...... but other than that I went word by word. The cake part went well and it came out of the oven golden brown at exactley the time Martha said it would. The orange cream cheese frosting whipped up beautifully and tasted amazing. And lastly the marzipan was a blast. Oh I tell ya... I am really becoming addicted to this cake decorating, molding stuff out of sugar thing....I had a good time making those little carrots. The were so very easy and I was suprised out how realistic they looked.... especially once they were dusted with the chocolate cookie "dirt". I made it for my mother in law's birthday and it really was a hit... The cake tasted great (finally) and the little carrots were a huge hit... especially with the kids. Martha has once again inched her way into my little heart and I guess I will keep her around....for a while.

Carrot Ginger Cake

Unsalted butter, for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 cup (3 ounces) pecan halves
1 pound large carrots, peeled
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 375°. Butter two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Dust pans with flour, and tap out any excess. Set pans aside. Spread pecans in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan, and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 7 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and let stand until completely cool. Reduce temperature to 300°. Finely chop pecans, and set aside.

Using the smallest holes (less than 1/4 inch in diameter) of a box grater, grate carrots, yielding 2 1/2 cups. Place carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil, and ginger in a large bowl; whisk until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Using a rubber spatula, fold the flour mixture into the carrot mixture until combined. Fold in the toasted pecans.

Divide batter between the two cake pans, and bake until a cake tester inserted into the middles comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove pans from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack; let stand until completely cool.

Using a serrated knife, trim tops of the cakes so surfaces are level. Slice each layer in half horizontally. Place a layer on a cake stand or cardboard round, and spread 3/4 cup frosting over top. Place a second cake layer on top, and spread with another 3/4 cup frosting. Repeat with third layer and another 3/4 cup frosting. Place last cake layer on top, and spread the remaining frosting over the top and the sides of the assembled cake. Transfer to refrigerator, and chill 3 to 4 hours.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eight-ounce bars cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
Pinch of salt

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, and beat until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add the remaining ingredients, and beat 5 minutes more. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days

Cookbook Must Haves

2005-12-23T06:29:00.000-08:00

I was going through the cookbook section of overstock.com and came across a few that we all need to add to our collections! If any of you have any of these please let me know... give us a review!

StarTrek Cookbook

"Neelix from Star Trek: Voyager joins forces with New York Times bestselling author William J. Birnes to throw open the vaults of interstellar haute cuisine, revealing for the first time the secret preparation techniques behind a variety of exotic dishes and drinks."

Sounds fabulous. I am sure this is the height of Mr. Birnes writing career. Interstellar haute cuisine.... Coming to a town near you.....

Booty Food

"A Date by Date, Course-By-Course, Nibble-By-Nibble Guide to Cultivating Love and Passion Through Food"

Sex and food... goes hand in *ahem* hand, right? But the title of this book makes me think of 59 cent cheese Krystals at 2am.

The Best Fryer Cookbook Ever

"From crispy appetizers and snacks to sizzling meats to vegetables, grains, and potatoes to appetizing fried desserts, The Best Fryer Cookbook Ever delves into the how and why of deep frying. It covers the best -- and potentially healthiest -- oils to use, correct temperatures and frying times, technical tips, and helpful hints for using the deep fryer, safety guidelines, and even the gamut of deep-fryer makes and models now on the market. With Phyllis Kohn's professional and easy-to-follow instructions, plus a kitchen-tested lineup of delectable recipes, everyone will welcome deep frying back into their home, especially when they learn how deep-fried food often absorbs far less fat than shallow frying."

A staple in every southern kitchen.

The I Can't Chew Cookbook

"When a medical condition forced his wife to eat only soft foods, the author developed 200 recipes that were soft, nutritious, and delicious. Containing recipes for soups, main dishes, vegetables, and desserts, this unique cookbook will help non-chewers fully enjoy their meals."

Ummmm... okay. There really is a cookbook for everyone! The title cracks me up.

The Pink Panther Cocktail Party

"No bachelor pad, lounge, or luau is complete without a cocktail, and this handy hipster's recipe book includes five dozen of them, each inspired by everyone's favorite cool cat, the Pink Panther. Also includes colorful retro artwork by the infamous Shag and a bonus CD with video clips and songs."

If I were still single and went to a "bachelor pad" that had this book on the shelf, I think I would turn around and walk straight out. If your man has to lean to be cool from the Pink Panther... there is something SERIOUSLY wrong.

How to Microwave: The Cook's guide to the Best Microwave Practice

I couldn't find a description for this book anywhere. But I think the title says it all. I love the phrase " best microwave practice". I mean, do we really need a microwave how to?

Star Wars Cookbook II

"Provides step-by-step instructions for creating healthy snacks, main courses, and deserts including Darth double dogs, Bubble City Salad, Boss Nass Broccoli, and Opee's sea crunch."

Good God... this is version 2.

Karma Cookbook

"Boy George has joined forces with his great friend and macrobiotic mentor, Dragana G. Brown, to offer up dozens of mouth-watering recipes that will tantalise your taste buds and boost your immune system."

That's it... I am writing a cookbook.

The Magic of Jello

"Foods with Cult Followings.What's more entertaining than a shimmering, jiggling bowl of Jell-O? For a century kids and grownups alike have enjoyed the sweet flavors of the humble, packaged gelatins and puddings. The Magic of Jell-O: 100 New and Favorite Recipes Celebrating 100 Years of Fun with Jell-O pays tribute to the staying power of this versatile treat. The brilliant color photos and tempting recipes will draw anyone in, whether for a brief trip down memory lane or a serious investigation. "Berry Blue Shooting Stars," "Wiggly Banana Splits" and a "Watermelon Pit Parfait" are as much fun to make as to consume. More mature palates will appreciate "Easy Tiramisu" with coffee liqueur, or the sinful "Cappuccino Cups." Birthdays and Halloween are just two of the occasions celebrated in this confection of a cookbook. "

Okay I think I might actually want this book! I REALLY want to make that 7 layered thing on the front....

MiniMart A La Carte

"Anyone can savor the flavor of convenience with Mini-Mart Ã la Carte, a hilarious guide to simple and scrumptious cooking using just those ingredients found on the shelves of the corner store. Victoria Traig, co-author of Judaikitsch, and her intrepid, taste-testing boyfriend, have scoured their local stop-and-shop, crafting culinary delights from the treasures found there. Canned meat to squeezable cheese, relish packets to frozen slushees, the ingredients in these tantalizing recipes amount to much, much more than just the sum of their parts. With tasty recipes for delectable appetizers like Sardines Rockefeller and Notzoh Ball Soup, hearty entrees like SPAM Wellington and Fish Sticks Amandine, and sweet finishes like Banana Nicole Smith and Twinkie Surprise, guests will be lowering their brow, but not their wow. So, forget the Zone, cancel the trip to South Beach, and chow down on some real food, mini-mart style."

I personally would love to have a copy of this in the glove box of my 1992 Geo Metro..... for pit stops.

Spam: A Biography

"In this history of the all-American pork-in-a-can product known as Spam, the author praises Spam for saving the Russian Army during World War II and for bestowing upon the world such award-winning recipes as Spam Fritters and Spam Cheesecake."

Okay I want to know what award the Spam Cheesecake won. Seriously.

So it seems everyone, including those with intolerances, allergies, serious medical conditions, those that are pregnant, in love, in a hurry, health conscious, overweight, lazy, vegan, vegetarian, lactovegan, and ovovegan have a cookbook dedicated to them. It seems everyone from Treckies to Boy George can write a cookbook. It seems every type of food had been covered: Jewish, Mexican, Southern, Cuban, Lebanesee, Indian, food from North Carolina, from New Orleans, food from Oregon, Washington, Florida, and Montana. We have it all.... There is NOTHING that has not been covered by a cookbook. Nothing.

Marshmallow Fellow

2005-12-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Homemade marshmallows. I don't know, I kinda felt a little snooty and foodie elitist while I was making them. I mean, WHO, besides Martha makes homemade marshmallows? Marshmallows from the market cost what 1.50 a bag... Right? So WHY would anyone go through the mess and trouble of making them from scratch....... I'll tell you why, because they are damn good. Damn good. And they are somewhat of a novelty. " Oh look honey... She MADE marshmallows. How...... very interesting."

I have had the Martha (of course, who else!) recipe for a while now in my " to try" folder and decided that the holiday baskets needed them this year. They were, suprisingly, very very easy to make. I has some sort of weird idea that they were just going to be one of the hardest things I have ever made... and they were not that at all. I am not sure why we don't all make these more often. They blow the supermarket bags away. I think it is because no one really has a tangible idea of what in the hell a marshmallow is made of.... Then Kraft has to go and get all high tech on us by using the term " Jet Puffed" on the bag. What is jet puffed? That conjures up all kind of weird images in my head.... And all those images pertain to weird and expensive equipment that I will never own. Some that hasn't even been invented yet!
But trust me.. If I can make them you absolutely can make them. They are fun , actually! And people really are intrigued by them. Here is the recipe I used... Cut them into neat little shapes, color them, flavor them as you wish... just don't come back here and tell me that you have Jet Puffed.

2 1/2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Let it stand 30 minutes.

Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a small heavy saucepan; place over low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Wash down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals. Clip on a candy thermometer; raise heat to high. Cook syrup without stirring until it reaches 244 degrees (firm-ball stage). Immediately remove pan from heat.

With mixer on low speed, slowly and carefully pour syrup into the softened gelatin. Increase speed to high; beat until mixture is very thick and white and has almost tripled in volume, about 15 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to incorporate.

Generously dust an 8 x 12-inch glass baking pan with confectioners' sugar. Pour marshmallow mixture into pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar; let stand overnight, uncovered, to dry out. Cut into shapes.

Insane in the Membrane, Part II

2005-12-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Something happened yesterday.... Something great. I am not sure exactly what it was , maybe it was sheer determination to prove all the ones who had doubt wrong, maybe it was all the prayers to the cake gods, maybe it was just luck.... What ever it was it was great. I freaking pulled it off... The Farm Tractor cake was conquered.

This was so much fun. It's sculpture... But with sugarpaste. I worked for 6 hours straight on it and the hours felt like minutes! With each step I would say to myself... "I can't believe I am pulling this off. I can not believe I am doing this...."

Shaping the cake was no problem at all. The Hummingbird cake was nice and chilled and sliced up very well. This is a very very dense cake but it produced a lot of crumbs! I thought at first that I might be in trouble with all the crumbs but I did a fairly decent job of getting them all cleaned off. The cream cheese icing as a crumbcoat was a bad idea, I think. It never did dry like buttercream does so the fondant gives a bit when touched. I don't like that it does that. I want the cake to feel firm and solid.... There is no risk of it collapsing, but it still doesn't seem "firm" enough.

Another problem I had was coaxing the blue fondant onto the tractor body. Those square edges gave me a very hard time. In the book the tractor is smooth and perfect and the corners are smoothed over beautifully..... Mine wanted to fold over like Christmas wrapping paper. I had no idea what to do with them... and I had to act fast because the fondant was starting to dry. At first I had them flare out but quickly changed my mind. It looked stupid. I ended up pinching the corners together and trimming of the excess. Then I couldn't figure out how to make the seam go away. Anyone know how to do this?? I think the seams look really bad... but I figure the more I do it the better it will get.....

The rest of the sculpting really went great. Having an art background had finally paid off! That sculpture class I hated my senior year of college is finally making sense! The farmer's body went well... as did his face, nose, ears, eyes, arms and hands. The tires were a breeze... just cut out with biscuit cutters and embellished a little bit with pattern..... One issue I did have was being messy with the sugar glue. I had some idea that powdered sugar, merigure powder and water would dry clear..... why did I think that??? !!! It obviously does not dry clear.... it dries very white. Very white and very hard. So something I definitely learned for next time is EASY with the sugar glue.... and I need to be cleaner. And EASY with the freaking powdered sugar! Holy crap I had that stuff everywhere! Powdered sugar loves to settle into any and ever crack in fondant and it is a pain to get out.....

I really did have so much fun doing this and plan to make many more. I learned a lot from this first cake.... On what cake to use, what icing to NOT use, what to go easy on and what to add in. I learned that if you actually read the instructions things will turn out how they say they will turn out. I have to say I am pretty proud of this.... and I would have always dreamed about making one of these and saying "one day one day" had it not been for my best friend in the whole world... Stephie.

*** I am begging you all to please give me hints and tips on rolled fondant! Please email me anything you can and also some great sites to look at as well!! ***

Food Blog Awards Nominations

2005-12-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Okay kiddies... get your nominations in by this Friday, December 16, for your favorite food blogs. There are all sorts of categories. So nominate your little hearts out!

Thanks to Ali for nominating Lick the Spoon for a few categories!
Cheers!

Insane in the Membrane

2005-12-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

So my best friend in the whole world has just been declared mentally insane. I wish I could help her and I wish there is something I could do to for her.... but there is nothing. Honestly, I never saw it coming.... the breaking point, you ask? She asked me to make her (firstborn) son's FIRST birthday cake. Yeah.. I know. Sad, huh? God bless her soul.
I, of course, had a fleeting moment of insanity ( and WAY too much confidence) and exclaimed "YES! I CAN DO IT!I WOULD BE HONORED! " Actually I am very honored that she has enough confidence in me to do this... for the FIRST BIRTHDAY!Especially since she is a regular reader here..... God love her.
But she is insane. And so am I.
Here is the cake I am faced with.....

We will go through this together day by day. I have just started on the cake portion of it.... Hummingbird Cake.... I will get started on the fondant stuff this week. Stay tuned.. this will be an interesting week. Please pray to the cake gods and ask them to help me..... please.

Hummingbird Cake

3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. can crushed pineapple with juice
2 c. banana, chopped
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil and stir only until moistened. DO NOT BEAT. Stir in vanilla, pineapple, and banana. Pour into greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

* I left out the pecans since this is a cake for children....

Desserts that make ya' go Ewwwhhhhhh

2005-11-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

They were so bad... I didn't even feel compelled to photograph them. Thanksgiving Day dessert disasters. I planned well.... meant well.... thought all was well until the moment of truth. The slicing and serving.

Damn it. The Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake was requested by my husband. He NEVER requests anything so when he asked me to make this cheesecake I was honored in some weird way. It was like he was entrusting this beautiful ending to his Thanksgiving to me.... like he really believed in my ability to make dessert. He trusted me..... and you guessed it. I screwed it up. Royally. The cheesecake damnation began from the start. I couldn't match up the springforms I have. It was like none of the bottoms fit the tops... and I really wanted to bake it with the bottom upside down so I could get the cheesecake off the pan without much trouble.... but again I couldn't get it to fit right side up, much less upside down. So I gave up and worked with the "frame" a while bending it and finally getting the bottom to fit... sort of. Good enough. The gingersnap and graham cracker crust went okay ( I mean how hard is it to screw up crushed crackers and butter) then came the filling. " Beat 1 cup cold heavy cream until soft peaks form. Place whipped cream into fridge to chill..." got it. No problem there. I popped the cream in the fridge and got on with the rest of it... no problems. Pretty easy, run of the mill cheesecake stuff. Cream cheese, eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and some spices.... easy pleasey. I poured the cheesecake filling into the pan... ran it a hot bath and into the oven it went..... and I literally said out loud "Well, that was TOO easy. I mean come on...." Then about 10 minutes later I opened the fridge to grab some tea when.... Shit! There was the whipped cream that was supposed to be "folded into the pumpkin cream cheese mixture" sitting there... in the fridge. And the pumpkin cream cheese mixture was baking away in the oven. No no no no no no no no NO NO NO!!!! Not now... not this dessert. Not THE requested Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake... please no. But... yes.
I did the unthinkable.... I actually pulled the baking cheesecake out of the oven and mixed the cold whipped cream in. I know. But I was trying to make this thing perfect and ... well, hell.. edible. I left it alone for the rest of the hour and when the timer went "ding" I did the old "let's test the cheesecake to see if it's done" test. I banged a wooden spoon against the side of the springform to check for firmness on the sides and slight jiggle in the middle. The sides were good... but the center was more than a slight jiggle.... but I figured it was okay because they always say "The cheesecake will continue to cook......" blah blah blah.... Well, this one didn't I find out later. Later when it counts. I let the baby cool... wrapped her in plastic wrap and popped her in the freezer.... to chill until Thursday....
Thursday comes and I have the unusual sense of being on top of things. I take the cheesecake out of the freezer to thaw and get on with the rest of my assigned Thanksgiving foods.... Dinner goes well. The usuals show up..... Turkey, Smoked Ham, Cornbread Dressing, Aunt Faye Salad, Fruit Salad, Sourdough Rolls, Sweet Potatoes, Deviled Eggs, Cranberry Relish, and Sweet Tea. Everything really was delicious. Then comes dessert time... WOO HOO... my time to shine. " Let's cut into that cheesecake shall we?" " Oh yes, let's!" The first cut told a story I didn't want to hear.... " I think this is still raw... I don't think it's done in the middle." " The cheesecake it not done!" " Is it safe to eat raw cheesecake?" " I guess we will have to eat it with a spoon" Even my soon to be two year old who can barely talk said "Cheesecake bad mommy."

My dear husband did try and console me with " It's really good... just a little under done." Yes, honey... it was a little underdone.... just a little.....

Good Grief...Paula Deen!

2005-11-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

Well... I do declare! I have fallen in love with Miss Paula Deen! My friend Stephanie and I went to Birmingham, Alabama last night to attend a benefit to support Hanna Home in Shelby County. Hanna Home is a wonderful and life changing program for battered women and children. This home gives women and children a safe haven from domestic abuse and provides them with a graduated program to get them back out into society... safely. Paula donated her time on the 17th and all of the money went directly to Hanna Home.... and from what I could see, a lot of money was raised!!
Some of the women and older kids were there sitting on the first rows and I don't think Paula knew that. One of the girls stood up and thanked Paula for all that she was doing to help with Hanna Home and all of the sudden Paula said " You live at Hanna Home, don't you?" The girl replied "yes" and Paula gave her the biggest hug and cried so hard she couldn't speak. It was really very touching. Paula's heart is a big as a Georgia cotton field.....

Now, there were many tears but I have to say there was much more laughter! Paula Deen is a very funny lady. And very southern! She comes bouncing out on stage after a sweet introduction by the governor's wife, kicks her shoes off, takes a big ol' sip from her Taco Bell cup and says "Hey Y'all!" She is joined on stage by Birmingham's famed Chef Clayton and the she starts the cooking demo by saying "Listen y'all.... Chef Clayton and I can't teach you to cook. If y'all came here tonight expectin' to learn how to cook, y'all goin' to be disappointed!" She told us that she was probably no better of a cook than most of us in the audience.... that she just happened to make a living at it. "It's nothing to be scared of, y'all. It's just food. It's just food. If it doesn't turn out then just feed it to the dogs.... "

The cooking demo didn't quite go ever as well as I think Chef Clayton wanted! Paula turned the mike over to the crowd and answered questions and mingled out in the audience the whole night. She has us rolling with laughter telling stories of her childhood and flirting with every man she could! She listened to stories from audience members and gave out hugs, kisses and lots of photo opps. Paula is just a regular ol' Georgia gal that happened to make it in the culinary world... What you see is what you get with her... She holds nothing back. Her one liners are great... A 15 year old boy stood up and told Paula that he taught a cooking class to his homeschool group and wanted to know if she had any advice for him or his students. She said " Yeah. Go to medical school and cook on the weekends!" The crowd roared in laughter!

While Stephanie and I were traveling down to Birmingham, Steph said " You have to see this recipe I pulled out of Food and Wine..... It's a recipe for Krispy Kreme bread pudding." " You are kidding!" I screamed. " Daddy loves Krispy Kreme and he REALLY loves bread pudding... I have to copy that recipe and make it! He is going to freak..." We left the conversation at that and traveled on to Birmingham..... Well, Paula makes her way over to our area when she was out in the audience and a lady stands up and tells Paula that she has never laughed so hard as when Paula did the segment at Krispy Kreme and was eating the doughnuts hot, right off the conveyer belt! And that she loved the Krispy Kreme bread pudding recipe...... Stephanie's eyes grew as big a saucers and she ripped that folded up Food and Wine page out of her bag. "Oh. My. God. I cannot believe we were just talking about this recipe on the way down here, not KNOWING it was hers! This is WEIRD!" She whispered. " No kidding... this is freaky!" Paula comes very close to us and without thinking I scream "Miz Paula!" "Yes baby?" says Paula Deen. " My friend here just pulled this recipe out of Food and Wine and it is a recipe for YOUR Krispy Kreme bread pudding!!" Paula thought it was hilarious that her recipe was in Food and Wine and had no idea they had published it. The credit for the recipe goes to someone else in the magazine... but we all know only a Southern Girl could come up with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, heavy cream, 10 eggs and 2 cups of milk! I had to make this recipe straight away!

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

1 1/2 dozen glazed doughnuts, cut into sixths
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
10 large egg yolks
2 large whole eggs
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 250Â°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the doughnut pieces on baking sheets and bake for about 30 minutes, until dry on the outside and semi firm in the center. Raise the oven temperature to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk 2 cups of the cream with the milk, egg yolks, whole eggs and condensed milk. Add the doughnut pieces and let soak until the pieces are softened, about 1 hour; stir every 15 minutes.
Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spoon the doughnut mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil. Set the dish in a roasting pan and add enough water to the pan to reach halfway up the side of the baking dish. Bake the bread pudding for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for about 20 minutes longer, or until the bread pudding is set.
Preheat the broiler. Broil the bread pudding for about 3 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Let cool for 30 minutes. Take insulin shot.....and enjoy.

Stephanie and I had a great time..... We were able to fight our way to the stage after the show was over and I managed to get our books signed. I also purchased a signed Ladies Auxiliary apron! Steph and I decided that we are going to take up stalking famous chefs and food personalities..... next on our list is Alton. He lives in Atlanta, ya know.....

Until next time I leave you with another Paulaism...."Get some South in your mouth!"

Martha Madness

2005-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

Well.... I received the new Martha Stewart Baking Handbook in the mail the other day. I have read all the way through it... taking it to bed with me each night and devouring it like a sensational novel. I have read through each and every recipe and have come to conclusion that I must bake my way throughout this entire book. Yeah I know, just call me Julie.... well, on second thought, don't. Please.
A couple of other blogging bakers and I have decided to start a full out Martha madness blog... called Good Things. Alicat of Something So Clever is the mastermind behind this project and has been working hard to put the site together..... I have decided that for my contribution to Good Things I am going to bake every single little recipe in Martha's new book and post on all of them... I will also be testing out the Martha Stewart Kids stuff on Kathryn and reporting on that as well. I think it is going to be a neat "project" and I hope after this is all over I will have a good grasp of baking.... If anything maybe I will once and for all learn how to bake a MOIST cake....
Speaking of moist cakes.... here is one that was not. at all. so dry we almost choked on it.

Marble Cake with White Chocolate Glaze p65
1 Stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water

Preheat the oven to 350 and generously butter a 9x5 loaf pan. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.... set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Set aside one third of the batter.

In a bowl mix together the cocoa and the boiling water to form a thick paste. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved batter and still until well combined.

Spoon the batters into the prepared pan in two layers, alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter to simulate a checkerboard pattern. To create the marbling, run a table knife through the batters in a swirling motion. Careful not to get crazy with this... too much "swirling" and it won't look as beautiful.

Bake, rotating the pan half way through, until cake tester come out clean, about 40-50 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Pour glaze over and serve.

White Chocolate Glaze p65
3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
2 1/4 ounces best quality white chocolate

In a small bowl, whik together the confectioners sugar and milk. The mixture should have the consistency of thin sour cream. Add in the melted and cooled chocolate and whisk until glaze is smooth. If it is too thin, add more sugar... if it is too thick, add more milk. Use immediately.

Now this is a pretty little darlin' and I was thrilled at the beauty of it when it came out of the oven. Even my jaded husband commented on how nice it looked. It smelled unbelievable and I knew it was going to be delicious. I was so damn sure that I decied to take it to a a friends house for after dinner dessert. I had to make the glaze on location but it is really a simple glaze so that was no big deal. We all finished up dinner and dove straight into the marble cake.... only to find the water had been drained out. Ouch.. this was a bad cake. A very bad cake.
Here is what I think went wrong......
1. I used special dark cocoa for the paste and the chocolate batter was just too.... chocolate-y. Too bitter.
2. I had a major brain fart and for SOME REASON forgot all about adding in the buttermilk until after I was completley done with the mixing and just happened to see it sitting there in it's measuring cup, poised and ready. The recipe called for the flour and buttermilk to be added in alternating stages... ending with the flour. Well, that didn't happen this time.... the buttermilk, all the buttermilk, went in at the very end.
3. I baked it too long. As usual.

Someone please make this and let me know how it comes out. Learn from my mistakes and give me the verdict on this little baby....

Banana Rama

2005-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

I think I have a serious crush on the banana...(get your mind out of the gutter, kids) because I seem to be making something banana flavored everytime I turn around. Last week I made two batches of banana walnut chocolate chip rum raisin bread. Good lord I love that bread... It is just so decedent. Here is a link to the post featuring that recipe.

This week's banana recipe is from the More from Magnolia cookbook. It is Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Now I have to say that I was really surprised I pulled this one off. I was running low on time and smack dab in the middle of teaching my sister how to make Veal Marsala, and for some unknown reason I thought "Hey, I think I will whip up some sort of cake... and use these bananas." The bananas were literally on the verge of decomposition. But I swear, black bananas make the best bread. I won't even think of using them until they at least have gnats circling them. So I peeled my black bananas, dug out the sure enough rotten parts and mashed them to a pulp. I covered that up, killed a few gnats and got on with the veal. After the veal was simmering away and my sister finished up dinner, I made the rest of the batter and popped the batter in the oven. The cakes came out surpisingly light springy and the perfect shade of golden brown. They did, of course, have the ugly hump on top like they always do... but I am getting all "professional" these days and actually leveling cakes. I nearly sliced my finger off in the leveling process, but I did end up with a sound layer cake, so if I had lost a finger it wouldn't have been in vain.

The cream cheese white chocolate icing was a breeze. I melted my white chocolate only to see afterwards that I was NOT to use baking chocolate.... I was supposed to use a fine white chocolate.... but it was near midnight and baking chocolate seemed just fine. So I melted and creamed and blended and ta da..... icing. I do wish I had let the icing cool off a bit and let it thicken up .... it seemed too liquid-y when I was spreading it on.... but again, it was midnight and it was time to end this cake adventure.

Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Cake
3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ cups VERY ripe bananas
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325.
Grease and flour two 9” cake pans, then line with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the bananas. Add half the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and then the second half of the dry ingredients, mixing well. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes….

Icing
1 pound cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces white chocolate (such as Lindt…. Do not use baking chocolate… although we all know I did) melted and cooled to lukewarm temperature.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until nice and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla and beat well. Add in the melted chocolate and mix well… Use immediately or store covered, at room temp for up to 4 hours.

Assembly:
Let the cake layers cool to room temp, level, and ice between the layers of cake, then ice the top and sides and enjoy getting fat…….

Finger Food

2005-10-31T18:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Happy Halloween!

This is my absolute favorite time of year... here in Alabama the weather is nice. It is cool in the mornings and warms up to around 65-70 during the day and back to cool (almost cold) each night. Our leaves are beginning to turn and the holidays on the way!! But I have to say that I am a kid at heart and I love to dress up (still) for Halloween. We all had to dress up today where I work and everyone looked fabulous. There were several 50's girls, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a scarecrow, Winnie the Poo, a cute little cat, The Tooth Fairy (which is hilarious since we work in an orthodontics office), our doctor was a zombie goule and I was the Wicked Witch of the West ( a witch with a western flair)....We all had a great time.

I stumbled across this recipe for these really cool finger cookies on epicurious.com. The recipe is really super easy and they look so hilarious. I made these on Saturday night when we went to a friends house to watch Shaun of the Dead ( one of the funniest movies I have seen in a while...) and they went over so well that I decided to make them to set on the reception desk at our office today. The set up looked really cute.... And suprisingly they taste really good. Most "novelty" cookies have that fake vanilla taste, but these have a sweet little butter/vanilla flavor that is so nice and simple. The dough is so easy to mix up and double as needed and would also freeze well......When you mix this up, don't be alarmed if the dough feels too dry... it will soften up with the warmth of you hands....

Cookie Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 tablepoons Icing Glue (see below)

Icing Glue Ingredients

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon water

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and beat until completely mixed.
4. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
6. With your hands, roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a finger shape for each cookie. If the dough gets sticky and hard to work with, put it back in the refrigerator for a little while. Place fingers on an ungreased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.
7. Use a butter knife to make knuckle marks on the finger cookies. Slightly flatten the front of the finger to create a nail.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes, until fingers are slightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, prepare the Icing Glue. Mix together powdered sugar and water in a small bowl until the consistency is similar to that of a paste.
9. Attach almond slice fingernails to the tips of the fingers with Icing Glue. Let glue dry for about 30 minutes.

Makes about 50 fingers.

The Dark Side

2005-10-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

This month's Sugar High Friday is hosted by the very fabulous Kelli at LOVESCOOL. The secret ingredient is Dark Chocolate. When I learned dark chocolate was the thing to use this month I casually mentioned it to my husband. " This month's SHF is on Dark Chocolate... I think I am going to do something out of the cookbook you gave me awhile back....." . " Ugh. Chocolate AGAIN?" *eyes rolling* " What do you mean AGAIN? I haven't participated in a chocolate SHF, yet..." " I know, but you are always making chocolate stuff and I have to be honest with you.......I really don't care for chocolate."
silence.
crickets chirping.
silence.
more silence.
" WHAT? Did you just say YOU DON'T CARE FOR CHOCOLATE??? What the... how can someone not care for chocolate?"
" I just don't baby... I don't know why."

So.... I dropped the issue and had a fleeting thought of " Why did I marry this man??" But that thought quickly vanished when he flashed that handsome smile of his and said " But I do love all the other stuff you make...."
My challenge had been set.... I had to create something that I could trick him into eating that he would love that had dark chocolate in it....This was going to be fun. I wanted to use the Death By Chocolate cookbook he bought me a few years back when he was on a business trip. All (but one) of the recipes were too chocolate-ey and obvious. I decided on Dark Chocolate Honey Almond Crunch. The name kind of sounds hokey, but the recipe sounded delish. It called for rum and we all know how I feel about rum and cooking.....

The final product is like peanut brittle but with almonds and chocolate and I must say it is quite good.
Even my husband agrees.....and agrees and agrees and agrees.........

4 cups sliced almonds
1/4 cup honey ( I used Lyle's)
6 oz unsalted butter
8 oz dark chocolate-chopped into 1/4" pcs
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
4 oz semisweet chocolate-chopped into 1/4" pcs
1/4 cup Myer's Dark rum

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast 2 cups of almonds on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the almonds from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer the almonds to a large dish or other suitable container and set aside until needed.

Melt the butter in a 2 1/2-qt saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly as it melts so it does not simmer or boil. As soon as the butter is completely melted, add the sugar, water, rum, and honey. Increase the heat to medium high. Heat the mixture to a temperature of 220 degrees, stirring constantly. Add the untoasted almonds and continue to heat and stir until the mixture reaches a temperature of 225 degrees.

Evenly divide the honey-almond mixture between the 2 baking sheets. Place the baking sheets on the top and middle shelves of the preheated oven and bake until the mixture is evenly caramelized, about 24 to 26 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom about halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.Combine the semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate pieces and evenly divide and sprinkle over the surface of the caramelized honey-almond mixture. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate throughout the mixture. Evenly divide and sprinkle the toasted almonds over the chocolate.

Place both baking sheets in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove the Chocolate Honey Almond Crunch from the freezer and break into irregular pieces. Store in a sealed plastic container in the freezer or refrigerator.

Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

2005-10-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

" These are a few of my favorite things....."

I got the idea to do a favorites list from 101 Cookbooks. Her site is incredibly beautiful and her photography is amazing. I have been thinking of creating a list like this ever since I saw hers.... so here is mine. These are the things I use daily in the kitchen ....

Nigella Measuring Cups

My husband bought the blue set for me for my birthday and I loved them so much I bought the white set off eBay. Unfortunately I dropped the 1/4 cup blue one and it chipped but I still use it for measuring dry ingredients. I love the simplicity of these and the are so sweet to look at. I have several of Nigella's kitchen pieces and I love all of them.

Parchment Paper

I am a recent convert to parchment paper. I use whenever I bake. Nothing sticks to this stuff... nothing. I don't ever have to grease a baking sheet these days. I have had this particular roll for a few months now and it just keeps going and going and going..... I purchased mine from Williams Sonoma, but I am sure you can get it anywhere.

Nigella Canisters

These two large bellied beauties house my sugar and flour. Those little doors of theirs are opened several times each day. They are simple, functional and beautiful to look at. And my husband gave them to me so that makes them even sweeter.

Measuring Spoons

I love measuring spoons. I am always looking for sleek beautiful spoons. I use several of the little silver spoons Kathryn received when she was born as teaspoons and half teaspoons. I also have a set of the Nigella measuring spoons that are just gorgeous. When they all hang together it looks like a little piece of sculpture.

Chef'n Spatulas

I have several Chef'n spatulas along with one spatula/tablespoon combo. I love them. I look for them all the time at discount stores like Marshalls or Tuesday Morning. They always have a few of these lurking around in the kitchen section. These particular spatulas feel really good in my hand and they are double ended for large or small pots. The bend and flex beautifully and resist stains. I want them all in every size and color!

Nielsen Massey Vanilla

You just can't beat this vanilla for the price. The vanilla flavor is clean,pure and not too over powering. For a long time I used Mexican vanilla and the strength and flavor was just too much. Everything I made tasted the same. Nielsen Massey Vanilla seems to have a smoothness to it and it allows the other flavors of the dish come out. I also love that I can find it here at my local Publix. This is the vanilla I use in everyday baking.

Cherry Pitter

I guess I am stretching it a bit when I say I use this daily.... but I did use it quite a bit in the summer time when cherries were at their peak and you could buy them fresh in the market. I would sit with a bit bowl in the living room floor and each time I would pit one Kathryn would sneak into the bowl and eat it... She would look at me smiling with the black red juice of fresh cherries all over her face. This is a handy little gadget. It really does a fabulous job at pitting cherries and also olives.

Lyle's Golden Syrup

Ahhhhh... Lyle's. This is such a gorgeous syrup. I use this in cakes to add moistness and in ice cream for flavor. I pour this over pancakes and English muffins. It has a delicious carmelized flavor that puts Aunt Jemima's to shame.

Citrus Reamer

We juice ALOT of limes and lemons around here. I, forever, squeezed by hand. Then I saw the light.... and it shone on this lovely little piece of carved wood. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this little gadget. The Citrus Reamer is something that everyone should have in the kitchen and bar area. This will get every ounce of juice out of a piece of fruit. This is fabulous for mixed drinks, for making fresh lemonade, for anything you need fresh juice for. And the best part is that it will only set you back a few bucks.

Reef Flip Flops

I know, right! I swear, these are the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. I CANNOT cook in anything else. I have to have these shoes on if I am in the kitchen. Even first thing in the morning... if I am getting up early to cook breakfast... I have to have these on. I have had them for several years and I think they have many many more cakes to bake with me!

Taste Tester

My little love bunny is always in the kitchen with me. She sits in her little high chair and colors and acts like my own personal taste tester. Mostly she licks the frosting off of everything but I figure that really is the best part... right?

Cajeta and Angelfood

2005-10-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time lately to devote to hardcore desserts like tarts, or layer cakes with homemade frosting.... but dinner just isn't dinner without dessert these days. So I have been on the look out for delicious sounding desserts that don't take half a day to make.
Last night my husband made delicious carne asada, Mexican rice, boracho beans, and tortillas... it was sooooo delicious! My family came over to eat with us.... we all love it when he cooks!! So I was in charge of dessert... as usual! I wanted to do something easy and quick and something NOT FLAN.... I have a great Mexican cookbook that I picked up during one of our visits to San Antonio called Los Barrios, A Family Cookbook. I have yet to make anything out of this cookbook... I feel a bit intimidated. Art's mother is such a wonderful cook... and believe me, I cannot compete with her homemade Mexican cooking! So I really don't even try! But I figured I would give a dessert a try...
I found a simple and delicious sounding recipe called Mango-Cajeta Angelfood Cake. The angelfood cake was store bought and the cajeta was as well... so nothing here is from scratch....
It was really delicious. I substituted strawberries for the mango because the mango I bought was not good... no taste what so ever. Such a shame that produce is as bad as it is in supermarkets. Anyhow the strawberries were a delightful partner with the cream caramel sauce and the walnuts. I think it would even be good with some great homemade chunky applesauce.

Here is the recipe....give it a whirl on your next Taco Night. It is so easy and quick... but doesn't taste that way at all!

Mango Cajeta Anglefood Cake

3/4 cup milk
2 cups cajeta or caramel sauce
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 prepared anglefood cake
2 cups diced mango or strawberries

Bring the milk to a boil in a large saucepan. Add in the cajeta, condensed milk, and walnuts. Stir until smooth and well mixed. Remove from heat.

Slice the angelfood cake and place on dessert plates. Spoon the sauce over the cake and top with mangos or strawberries.

White Trash

2005-10-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I did make those. And yeah I am actually blogging it.... Call me white trash, call me unsophisticated, call me simple.... Just don't call me crazy because you know deep down in your heart of hearts that you too have a deep appreciation for the simple beauty that is The Rice Krispies Treat.
I think Rice Krispies Treats were the first "dessert" I made as a child. When I was in college I would make mini batches of them in the microwave and would eat them straight out of the bowl... still warm and very very gooey.
I haven't made them in so long... and I am not really sure what possessed me to make them tonight... I was at the grocery and there were all the ingredients (all 2 of them) set up together and the craving hit me. I thought I may get creative with it and add in some other "gourmet" ingredients. But then I realized I was trying to turn them in to Britney Spears... White Trash with Money. So I said forget it and let them be the root showing, cut off shorts wearing, chain smoking little treats they were meant to be. I am actually going to post the recipe... just in case you are feeling a little red.

Rice Krispies Treats
3 tablespoons butter
1 bag marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add in the marshmallows and allow all the melt. Stir in the Rice Krispies. Press into a buttered glass dish. Makes 24 squares. Enjoy with a Bud Light.

Cheesecake... But Not Like That.

2005-10-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Nigella, Nigella, Nigella.
I take back the comparison to Donna Hay. I never had any true doubt, but I did wonder (only for a minute) if she could maybe possibly surpass you as a fabulous cook with a fabulous accent. But then... then... then.... Cheesecake Ice Cream. Holy Mary Mother of God.... this ice cream was heavenly. Smooth white velvet coolness with that distinct cheesecake flavor. Custard like and melting in your mouth before you can comprehend what had just happened and then... the taste. The beautiful authentic cheesecake flavor bursts into your mouth just as you take another bite... and the process starts over.

We drizzled slightly sweetened strawberries over the top with a sliver of graham cracker and that was all it needed.
For all of those out there who wonder if they should buy a Nigella book.... please do. Buy them all and read them like novels.

Cheesecake Ice Cream
3/4 cup whole milk (or half and half)
3/4 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese
half teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Heat the milk in a pan and while it is getting warm, beat together the sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and egg in a bowl. Wisk in the hot milk and pour the mixture into a clean pan and make custard. Cook until slightly bubbly and velvety... use your instinct. Pour into a bowl and let cool. While custard is cooling, beat the cream slightly (soft peaks) and juice half a lemon. Combine the cooled custard, whipped cream and lemon. Freeze following ice cream maker directions.

The Holy (Brownie) Grail....

2005-10-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Listen. I have tried and tried and tried all the brownies out there.... I have made them from a box, I have made them from a bag, I have made the from scratch and I have made them after a good shag.... and still I have not found THE brownie. How can something so simple and common be so elusive? I made the ArtPark brownies from Ruth Reichel's Tender at the Bone a week or so back and had very high hopes for them. Hmmmm..... I think maybe a half of one was eaten. It seems that brownies have a way of making it in to the hands of evil.... everyone thinks "I'll just make some brownies..." and we all end of having to eat chocolate flavored cardboard.... and sometimes the evil doer will try and FROST the brownie. What is this? Why do people do that? Aghk!

Brownies can easily become coingly sweet and are always cut too large. I do not want half the pan at one sitting... a nice little 3 bite morsel to savor and cherish is what it should be about. Chocolate should lick the tounge ever so delicately... not give you the smackdown. And yes, I think nuts should be involved in a brownie... a nice little crunch in the middle of a fudgy center.

I want a meaningful brownie... and this my friends, is it.

Nigella' s Brownies
1 2/3 cup soft unsalted butter
13 ounces of very fine chocolate
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350. Line your brownie pan (13x9") with parchment paper. This is a little extra step but makes the brownie a breeze to get out of the pan....

Melt the butter and chocolate together over medium-low heat. Let this cool a bit after melting. Mix together the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Measure the flour into another bowl along with the salt.

Mix together the cooled chocoalte/butter mixture and the eggs/sugar mixture. Add in the nuts. Mix in the flour and beat to combine smoothly and scrape into lined pan.

Bake for 25 minutes and be vigilant. Brownies can go from delish to dry in about 2 minutes.... They will continue to cook a bit as they cool....

Martha and Me....

2005-09-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

So did you see the new Martha Stewart show today?? If so.... I was on it. I didn't actually get to be there in person but they did use about 7 seconds of my video. I ended the beginning montage showing off what was supposed to be thick buttercream frosting that was the consistency of soup.
Pretty neat.... Although I really wanted to be on the show. Maybe they will do a desserts show and I can be on that!! Let's hope!

General Custard

2005-09-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

This month' s installment of Sugar High Friday is hosted by Simply Recipes and featured Custard as the theme. I have never done much with custard aside from the typical flan and even that was **gasp** from a box.... what can I say.... I am a cheater in the kitchen. At least I use to be... I make it all from scratch these days... down to the whipped cream. Homemade whipped cream is very very very delicious and sooooooo much better than the squirt can you get from the supermarket. And easy too... If I can make it anyone can! I had no idea what I wanted to do with custard this month. I scoured through all my cookbooks and found nothing I thought I could pull off. So as I type this I am wondering what sort of delirious state I was in when I decided on The Beehive Cake. This has definitely been the most challenging recipe thus far....

I have literally been working on this thing all afternoon/night long ( and edit: saturday morning, too!)!! I have had to make the cake dough THREE times in order to get it right. The custard part of it was pretty easy.. Although I did let it get too hot too quick and the bottom STARTED to burn so I have a few little brown burnt bits strewn throughout an otherwise beautiful (and quite tasty) vanilla custard. The cake is FINALLY in the oven with 3 minutes to go. I am going to go ahead and post this without pictures, which kills me. I am a highly visual person so I know it is hard to sometimes read through a cooking experience without pictures to connect to your minds eye. I promise I will post them in the morning after I assemble the cake....This has turned into a 2 day cake-a-thon.Take a look at the recipe.... You'll see why it took me so long.

BEEHIVE CAKE
Honey Almond Praline:
2 ounces (1/2 stick) butter
2 ounces (1/3 cup) sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) honey
3/4 cup (2 ounces) almonds

Custard Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
4 egg yolks
2 cups milk
1 envelope, plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Rich Yeast Dough
3-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg

In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. Heat together milk, butter, sugar and salt just until warm (115-120 deg F), stirring occasionally to melt butter. Add to dry mixture in mixer bowl; add egg. Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. By hand, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1-1/2 hours. Turn out on lightly floured surface. Divide in half and form each part into a ball. Use half the dough for Beehive Cake.

1/3 jar caramel or chocolate topping

To make the honey almond praline:
Melt the butter, add sugar and honey, cook until bubbly and ingredients marry. Remove from the heat and stir in the almonds. Let this mixture cool.

To make the custard filling:
First place the sugar and cornstarch in a small to medium pan. In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and milk together. Whisk them into the sugar and starch mixture in the pan. Cook this over low heat and gradually increase to a medium heat bringing the mixture to a boil. The mixture will bubble slowly. Whisk this bubbling mixture for 3 to 4 minutes and remove from heat. Soak the gelatin in a 1/4 cup of warm water for 5 minutes. Add gelatin mixture to hot custard and whisk. Set aside to cool in a clean bowl. Cover with plastic to keep mixture from crusting and refrigerate until cool.
After mixture has cooled, whip cream, sugar, and vanilla to medium peaks. Fold whipped cream into cooled custard. Make sure to whisk custard to creamy stage before gradually folding in whipping cream. Refrigerate until ready to fill split cake layers. Pat out to fit bottom of 9” round cake pan. Prick dough all over. Spread cooled Almond Syrup over dough. Cover; let rise in warm place until almost double, about 1 hour. Bake in 375 deg F oven, 15-20 minutes. Almond Syrup should look caramelized and liquid, not crumbly.

To assemble the cake: Cut cooled cake in half to make 2 layers. Drizzle 1/3 jar caramel over bottom layer. Top with the custard mixture. Place the top layer over the custard and refrigerate or freeze for several hours to firm up custard before cutting.

This recipe can be doubled and made into a half sheet cake the size of a jellyroll pan, this is wonderful to serve for breakfast gatherings, this cake will not be too sweet. If baking in half sheet, use a piece of cardboard to lift off top half of cake, you can use a flattened paper plate on round cake layers.

Chocolate and Rum and Cheesecake

2005-09-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Wow. It has been a while. I have missed my kitchen terribly. I started a new job and have been working very hard. So by the time I get home and get Kathryn fed, bathed, read to and in the bed..... I crash. I think about baking all the time and am constantly on the lookout for new recipes and ideas.
I read Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl in about 2 days and have since fallen deeply in love with her and her writings. I started Comfort me with Apples a few days ago and am almost finished with it. I love the way she incorporates her life story in with the recipes. Her lifestory told with food. All cookbooks should be this way..... I found a recipe in Tender for ArtPark Brownies that called for fine chocolate and I cannot WAIT to make them. Those are on the agenda for tomorrow night.

Last night I made the Chocolate Rum cheesecake that I learned at my cooking class the other week. A good friend of ours is not a huge dessert guy but it was his birthday and I heard he really liked cheesecake and also had a thing for chocolate. I immedately thought of this recipe.

For the crust:
1 pkg Nabisco Famous Wafers, crushed
1 Tbs. granulated sugar
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
6 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup rum
1 lb. cream cheese
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
4 extra-large eggs

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325 F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and cover the outside with aluminum foil, shiny side out.
In a mixing bowl, combine the chocolate cookies crumbs and granulated sugar and stir to mix. Add the butter and stir until blended. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until smooth.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the superfine sugar and continue beating until blended. Then beat in the sour cream,vanilla extract and the rum. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove the bowl from the mixer and set it over a pan of simmering water but not touching the water. Warm the mixture, stirring constantly, until completely smooth and very creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the chocolate mixture to the batter and whisk until blended. Set the bowl back over the simmering water and stir until creamy and smooth. Pour the chocolate batter into the prepared pan.
Bake until the cake is set around the edges and the center is still a little loose, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, remove the rim from the pan and refrigerate overnight. Serves 10 to 12.

Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook by Chuck Williams

This cheesecake was a huge hit. The birthday boy loved it!! I was really shocked that it turned out perfectly. There was not a crack in sight on this pretty baby. Baking in a water bath really does help in the crack department.
The texture was so wonderful. It was so creamy and dense without being heavy. The chocoalte married beautifully with the rum. I really tried to use the finest ingredients I could find. I had been using the Baker's chocolate that is sold at the supermarket until the chef at my class told about all the nasty stuff they put in that chocoalte to make it last on a store shelf. So, I decided to buy the Scharffen Berger chocolate and was enamoured with it as soon as I opened that little blue box. What is it about us food people that we get off on something like a bar of chocoalte?? It was like a little bar of black gold. I loved the heaviness of it and the silky texture. It's taste was rich and complex and lingered in my mouth for quite a while. It really did make the cheesecake. I am sold on the virtues of good chocoalte. I am beginning to learn the absolute importance of good quality ingredients.

While I was in Williams Sonoma lusting over all the kitchen candy, I found a neat little recipe for a Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake. It called for lady fingers (of course) and I have had 4 packages here in my pantry for a few weeks now... just waiting to be used. They met their beautiful fate late last night, as they became soaked in rum and arranged in a springform ready for the coffee ice cream. I had to kinda wing it on the recipe because I didnt want to buy the cookbook so I just tried to remember the vital parts. But come on..... it's an ice cream cake. How hard can it be......
Here is the recipe I used.

4 packages LadyFingers
Rum for soaking
2 pints good quality coffee ice cream
8 ozs Mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

Arrange the lady fingers in a 9" springform pan. Brush all fingers with rum...
Allow coffee ice cream to soften and spread into awaiting lady fingers. Cover ice cream with plastic wrap.
Freeze for at least 6 hours.
In mixing bowl of electric mixer whip the mascarpone cheese, vanilla, heavy cream and sugar until fluffy and smooth.
Remove the plastic wrap from the coffee ice cream and spread cheese mixture over the frozen ice cream. Place plastic wrap on cheese layer and freeze for at least 6 hours. Sprinkle with cocoa before serving.

This was DELICIOUS!! So good and it looks adorable. Great for an after dinner summer dessert. I was lucky and ran upon some Starbucks coffee ice cream that had chocolate chunks in it and it was soooooo very good. I had no idea Starbucks made ice cream!! It was like a little slice of frozen frappaccino... mmmmmm.....

Heated Enlightenment

2005-08-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

My wonderful, beautiful and fabulous friend Stephanie enrolled the two of us in a Desserts How To at our Williams Sonoma. We have both been very excited about if for the past month and I couldn't wait to blog about it.... So off we go stomachs empty, open minded and camera in tow to the mall for our class. The chef who was teaching the class is THE best pastry chef here in Huntsville and owns a little restaurant downtown. I have not eaten there, but hear it is fabulous..... I am planning to go soon!
As I mentioned earlier, I did carry my camera (the mark of a true blogger) and started taking pictures right away. I was about 20 minutes into my photo shoot when The Manager Lady comes over to me to ask me what I was going to do with the photos... " Well, I have a little blog called Lick The Spoon, where I document my dessert escapades and I plan to post them there.." She didn't seem the least bit impressed, but that answer seemed to satisfy her. 10 minutes later she comes back over and asks me to please not photograph the Williams Sonoma name because it is "really against store policy to have cameras instore". HUH? Is there some sort of secret kitchen product that is sold there that I am not aware of?!? She acted as if I was some sort of superspy for high end kitchenware shops.... surveying her store and planning on stealing the latest greatest spatula design. I got the fact that she didn't want me to take anymore pictures, BUT because she was being so very passive aggressive about it, I decided to continue shooting. I really went overboard..... taking about 60-70 pictures. Ridiculous, really. But I was there to learn and observe and blog and there was no way in hell some middle aged passive aggressive lady in a WS apron was going to keep me from documenting desserts! And I am glad to say...... she didn't.

The chef started out making a butter cake in the Williams Sonoma SandCastle Bunt Pan filling it with Chocolate Jack Daniels Ice Cream... The cake was a perfect little butter cake.... simple and delicious. The ice cream was.... intresting. It was a little on the strong side. The JD really made it's presence known and bit you right in the throat. When (if) I make this ice cream I think I will use less of the JD...
Nest came a Chocolate Walnut Pie. Yeah, delicious. Very delicious. The crust was made of chocolate wafers, butter and sugar and the innards were Schaffer Berger chocolate, butter, and walnuts. OMG... This was so delicious and easy. So easy I may just have to make it... soon!
Next came a chocolate Rum cheesecake. He makes his cheesecake in regular 9" cake tins. So I will have to try that... he says it prevents water leaking in and that the springform pan is the stupidest invention in cooking. I though those were pretty harsh words, but he seemed pretty passionate about it. The cheesecake was PERFECT. Not a crack in site. I do with the rum flavor had been a bit more pronounced... you know how I feel about rum.. but it was still divine. The absolute perfect creaminess and density. As he was making all of this he was spewing beautiful tid bits about chocolate and how easy it is to seize it up. He talked to use about pastry making, butter, cream ,half&half, ice cream and hazelnut flour. He told use about his other chef friends and how he is the weird one of the bunch.....
He told us that a friend of his makes a great Chocolate Key Lime tart and that stuck with me. It was all I could think about and so a few days later here I am..... with a Chocolate Key Lime Tart in the fridge.

Chocolate Key Lime Tart

Crust:
1 pkg Nabisco Famous Wafers
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
5 tablespoons sugar

Place all 3 in food processor and pulse until bunch forms a mealy crumbly mess. Press into tart tin with removable bottom.

Filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
dash of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lime zest

Merguine:
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Lime zest

Mix all ingredients together and pour into crust. Spread merguine on top and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. That's it. Really....

Naughty Naughty

2005-08-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

Yes... That is what you think it is.... And yes it is on an innocent cupcake. Yes, the toasted coconut does represent what you think it represents...
and yes, it was for a bachlorette party. Yes, all the girls thought they were cute and yes, they tasted delicious....
They are simply fairy cakes gone in the gutter.... the recipe is in July archives somewhere.....

I wonder if Nigella would approve?

Blondies really do have more fun.....

2005-08-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

She was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole

in a stained glass window.

Raymond Chandler

The blondie, like a true blonde, is a simple beauty. No exotic ingredients, no special mixer attachment, no twine or parchment paper involved. Just flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Simplicity at it’s finest.

Now, you can dress the blondie up with chocolate chips, walnuts, cream cheese, peanut butter, white chocolate, almonds and just about anything your heart desires, but underneath all that “make up” is a simple girl who is as sweet as can be. A simple girl whose blonde ambition is rarely ever duplicated in fancy schmancy tortes. This is the girl who makes you feel at home and comfortable and alright with your self…. And ready for seconds, and this time make mine a la mode…..

Remember, a true blonde is just flour, butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla. That’s it…
The only hard thing about blondies is trying to find a real one……..

Black and White Blondies
Magnolia Bakery

1 ½ cups cake flour (not self rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, soft
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup chopped white chocolate
½ cup chopped semi sweet chocolate
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In smallish bowl mix together the cake flour, the baking powder and the salt. Set aside.
In mediumish bowl cream the butter with the sugars. Add the two eggs and the vanilla. Mix well. Add in the dry ingredients and blend well. Dump in the chocolate and the walnuts and mix well. Pour batter into 13x9 baking pan that has been greased and floured. Bake for 35-40 minutes…. But please, for heavens sake, don’t over process the blondes.
Enjoy.

The Photogenic Souffle

2005-08-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say... Donna is giving Nigella a run for her money in this kitchen! I have had the Modern Classics 2 cookbook for a couple of months now, but have been to busy with Nigella and Magnolia Bakery....WHY?!!? Donna Rocks!! I have made a few recipes out of this cookbook already and they have all come out very well. The Banana Cake with Caramel Sauce, The Carrot Cake and now (drum roll please) Lemon Souffle!! I am very very proud of these little babies! They look so beautiful and are very photogenic. My husband was like " Alright, enough already with the pictures... Can I eat it now?" Heavens to Betsey.. Souffles are delicious! I have never had one before, so I don't have anything to compare these too, but they seem to be what a souffle should be. So very creamy and light... but rich. Frothy. This recipe has a very strong lemon flavor, almost too strong. My teeth are squeaking... I would love to try this in raspberry or pistachio (Nigella, I haven't forgotten about you, love.)

The preparation wasn't too bad on this.... I had two babies running around the house tonight, so my sugar and lemon juice did boil over leaving a nasty mess on my smooth cooktop. Ick. I did grind my sugar in a food processor to get caster sugar.... I am not sure that is necessary, but I wanted them to turn out right. I let the egg whites come to room temp before beating them... So this is a recipe you cant just slap together. It takes time and preparation.

I have made the official decision that The Souffle will be my new signature dish (because I am soooo good with time and preparation). I am going to try and make this in every flavor imaginable. Oh, and I have pledged my second born child to Donna Hay... I would pledge the first born but we have kinda gotten attached to her......

Edit Here: I have had MANY requests for this recipe so here it is! Enjoy!

Lemon Soufflés

Butter, softened, for greasing
Superfine sugar for dusting
3 ½ oz fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup superfine sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons water, extra
5 egg whites
1/3 cup superfine sugar, extra

Grease your ¾ cup capacity ramekins with butter and dust with sugar. Cup parchment paper in strips to circle around the lip of the ramekin and tie with kitchen twine ( I had to use tape….) to make collars that stand about 1 ¼ inch above the rim. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet.
Combine the lemon juice, sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Combine the cornstarch with the extra water to make a smooth paste (this is weird, the paste is very ….. weird. You will see….. ) Add to the pan and continue to cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Refrigerate until mixture is cold.
Preheat the oven to 350. Place the egg in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Add in the extra sugar and beat until glossy. Place the lemon mixture in a large bowl and fold in the egg whites. Spoon into the ramekins and bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and golden. Gently remove the collars and serve immediately.

Easy. Look, if I can do this and pull it off…. You can absolutely do it. And it looks soooooo impressive when it is served.

Eye Candy

2005-08-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have really become fearless when it comes to food these days.... I just have a new attitude on it all. If it works out great, if not, no biggie. At least I have tried it... and who knows I might just pull it off....

I have been flipping through the Donna Hay Modern Classics 2 book lately, lusting over the food porn, and settled in on the lovely Carrot Cake recipe. I needed this Carrot Cake. I needed the familiar comfort of it... the cinnamon, the walnuts, the cream cheese. I just wanted something old fashioned and something to which my family wouldn't say " What is that??" I didn't feel like having to explain the dessert... I just wanted it to be. And it was.
I used the Donna Hay recipe as a jumping off point; adding in pineapple, coconut and walnuts. I love this cake... I had to give it away so I wouldn't stand in the kitchen, hovering over the stove at 2 am and inhale it all....
The frosting was (finally) perfect. My mother called me after I dropped it off to tell me that she was tempted to lick all the frosting off the cake. Wow... now that is a bold statement! Usually I just get a "Yeah Sister (they call me sister) that is pretty good" and it is left at that. I am not sure if they are becoming jaded to desserts or if my baking is just really that bad....
The cake was (finally) moist and light and yet dense all at the same time. Hearty. I think the pineapple along with the VERY coarsely grated carrots added quite a bit of moisture...
I topped it all off with toasted coconut and it was the perfect addition. Again, nice and clean and simple and old fashioned. Just what this girl needed.....

Here is the Donna Hay and Chan collaboration, for Sweetnicks!

Carrot Cake

Cake
1 cup pecans or walnuts
2 1/2 cups grated raw carrots
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups crushed pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz (2 pkgs) cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Finely grated lemon zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine brown sugar and vegetable oil in bowl of electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients in bowl and sift well. Add dry mixture to sugar mixture and mix until incorporated. Add in carrots, pineapple, walnuts and coconut. Mix until combined.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

Combine all ingredients for frosting in bowl of electric mixer. Mix on medium speed about 3-5 minutes LONGER than you think is necessary…. This gives the frosting fluffy lightness. Spread onto cooled cake and garnish with toasted coconut…..

Oooey, Gooey, Hot, Melted Loooove

2005-08-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

That's right, baby... I'm talkin' about S'mores. Dripping hot melted love, sexy chocolate topped with virginal white wholeness and sweetness....Sticky and hot and running down your fingers and..........

Okay, okay... exit Barry White and enter Chan. That was getting way out of control.

So we hosted ANOTHER celebratory dinner for my new job. My good friends Steph and Caleb came over with their hansome little baby, Finn.... and my very beautiful friend Dawn came in all the way from Florence. We had a delicious Italian inspired dinner and for the finale we feasted on S'mores. These were not your run of the mill-kids by the campfire- hersey's on a graham cracker- kind of S'mores either. Theses little babies were made from divine Italian bread cut into slices and covered with butter and sugar then popped in the oven to develop a dusty tan crust. The topped off with Lindz chocolate and a gorgeous marshmallow. They went back in the oven under broil just long enough for me to pop open a bottle of champagne, then out came the fragrant oooey gooey little gems.... The chocolate was so sexy, just barely beginning to melt and drip over the sides and the marshmallows became toasted and enveloping.... They were so delicious. Each one seemed to evoke something different in everyone, but one thing was unanimous... They were damn good. And so was the champagne.......

I Scream, You Scream....

2005-08-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM!! I am usually not a HUGE ice cream kinda gal..I mean a spoonful here and there is cool, but I don't ever just sit down with a bowl of ice cream and go to town. I also don't cry tears of sorrow into pints of rocky road..... never have. We use to have a Baskin Robbins over here close to our house and I did like going there. Raspberry Sherbert.... ahhhhh. I loved Raspberry Shebert.
When I turned 16 my dad wouldn't allow me to drive into "town".... I could only drive out in the county and to school and back. Well.... Baskin Robbins was JUST inside the city limits... and a month or so after I turned 16 I got a severe hankering for some RS. Meredith Corlew and I piled up in the 1986 red prelude and headed out to Baskin Robbins. On the way back we were sure we had gotten away with it when BAM!!...... I rearended a red Sunbird. The guy had just gotten the stupid car and I totaled it for him..... My dad had to come and get me and he was NOT happy... at all. He really became furious when he looked in the car and there in the floorboard set a drippy cone of Raspberry Sherbert... He reminds me of that often. Quite often, actucally......

We had a celebratory dinner tonight to celebrate my getting a new job... I am really excited and am VERY ready for the change... Anyhow my husband grilled delicious chicken and I made a neat little ice cream pie that is featured in this month's Cooking Light. The Malt Shop Ice Cream Pie....
It was so very simple to make, but it does take a bit of time. I didn't get started on it early enough and it could have stood being a bit more frozen but it was still delicious. The crushed cone crust is neat and kinda like a novelty.... it makes it fun and kid like to me... My daughter loved it. Well, we all loved it... Have fun with the toppings, they really make this pie!

Here is the recipe.
12 Sugar Cones, crushed
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup low fat vanilla ice cream
1 cup low fat strawberry ice cream
1 cup strawberry sunday topping
1/4 cup malted milk

Combine first 3 ingredients and press into 9 inch pie plate. Place in freezer for 30 minutes or until firm. Place softened strawberry ice cream into a mixing bowl with half the malted milk and blend until smooth.... pour into firm crust. Freeze for 30 minutes. Spread with strawberry topping. Place softened vanilla ice cream into mixing bowl with other half of malted milk and blend until smooth.... pour on top of frozen strawberry ice cream and topping. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.....
To slice warm a knife in warm water and slice pie, cleaning knife and rewarming after each slice. Top pie slices with chocolate sauce, pecans, bananas, cherries and whipped cream... whatever floats your boat....

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go....

2005-08-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I know, I know!! Now you are going to have that George Michael song in your head all daaaayyyy loooooonnnnnng!! I have been singing it every since I heard the Sugar High Friday theme for this month was COFFEE!! I love cafe, but I am a simple girl when it comes to all the accouchements that go along with coffee. I like my coffee strong with sugar and a bit of plain cream. That's it..... no vanilla, no Irish cream and no creme brulee creamer (Heather!) . Just plain coffee.... and I can drink it only until about 11am then it is on to sweet tea.

I was excited about this SHF, because it is my first one to participate in and also because I have not used coffee in a dessert yet. I thought about a cheesecake, but I am cheesecaked out. Then I found a recipe for a Deep Chocolate Torte with Mocha Buttercream Frosting... but that sounded insane and couldn't wrap my head around it.... then I found THE recipe. Jolt Cake. Apparently this is a New Orleans classic, but I wouldn't know since I have never been there.... But the description described this cake as intense and not for the faint of heart.... I was IN!! This is my kind of cake!!
I have to say the recipe was a simple one.... It took me about 30 minutes to whip it up and get it in the oven.... I brewed my coffee (EXTRA EXTRA STRONG) about an hour before and let it cool a bit, but I don't think that is necessary. Also on the coffee, I couldn't find espresso at the crappy grocery store closest to my house but they did have a coffee/chicory blend that I thought would suffice, and it did. I also didn't have any orange extract, so I used the next best thing.... RUM.
This is a very strong cake. It is flourless with 16 oz of chocolate and a cup of strong coffee...... get my drift here?? It is very good and only takes a few bites to satisfy. It has a very creamy and custard like inside that is very moist and buttery.

Here is the recipe....

Jolt Cake
Gourmet
November 1989

Trust me, this cake is NOT for the faint of heart. It is basically a flourless chocolate cake with a New Orleans twist. The flavors of both chocolate and coffee are intense. New Orleans is, after all, an intense city.

4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter
1 cup brewed espresso
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon orange extract

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 large eggs, beaten lightly

In a small saucepan melt the butter over moderately low heat, stir in the espresso, sugar, zest, orange extract and Grand Marnier, and transfer the mixture to a bowl. In the top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water melt the semisweet chocolate and the unsweetened chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir the chocolates into the butter mixture and add the eggs, stirring until the mixture is just combined.
Line the bottom of a buttered 9-inch cake pan, 2 inches deep, with parchment paper and butter the paper. Spoon the batter into the pan, put the pan in a baking dish, and add enough hot water to the dish to reach halfway up the side of the pan. Bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour.
Remove the cake from the water bath and let it cool on a rack, and chill it, covered loosely, for 3 hours.Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan and dip the bottom of the pan in hot water for 3 seconds. Invert a platter over the pan, invert the cake with a sharp rap onto the platter, and cut it with a sharp knife dipped in hot water, cleaning the knife before cutting each slice.

Margaritas and Empanadas

2005-08-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well.... I am home. No more tan than when I left. I may be a little whiter to be honest.... but I had a good time. I slept in REALLY late everyday and shopped and shopped and shopped.... and looked at the beach when we would drive by. The beach is pretty in the rain!

My girlfriends came down on Thursday and we all had a fabulous time. We have all been friends since middle school and have stayed in touch all this time.... It is always so nice to be with all of them!

My lovely friend Stephenie made these really good Watermelon Margaritas. She has had this recipe in her head for some time and was really excited about making them. They were SOOOOO delicious. They reminded us of Watermelon Jolly Rancher candies..... remember those?? She did it all and I only made one small contribution.... SIMPLE SYRUP. I made a ridiculously big deal out of putting simple syrup in there that finally she said "FINE CHAN.... put in the damn simple syrup!!" And all was right in my world again.

Here is the beautiful recipe she came up with....
3 cups watermelon, cubed and frozen
1 cup ice cubes
2 oz Cointreau
4 oz Tequila
½ cup lime margarita mix or lime juice
½ cup Simple Syrup

Makes 4 big margaritas

When I got home from the beach my mother in law had made some delicious Pumpkin Empanadas... I was hoping to learn the recipe she uses because I have tried empanada dough before and it didnt turn out at all.... My very handsome Mexican husband thinks it is weird that I try and make savory empanadas.... he says he has only had them the way his mother makes them, which is sweet. Anyways, I came home to a HUGE bowl of gorgeous tanned empanadas. They are so very good.... She makes some sort of pumpkin filling to go in them that has a bit of spice to it. The next time I go to San Antonio I hope she will teach me....

I have to get back to baking today!! I have missed it terribly! It is Sugar High Friday week this week and the theme is Coffee.... I have to get on the ball and get something made .... soon!!!

aint no sunshine when she's gone....

2005-08-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

oh my... i literally have been basking in the sun for an absolute total of ONE HOUR since I have been here ... that would be Sunday.....Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain.....
But luckily.... I am one of those sullen soles that totally enjoys the rain and the darkness..... how sad, huh?? More time to cook without the gulit of "It's beautiful... i shoud be outside doing something....".... I have made a blueberry breadpudding and I have made several cups of REALLY good coffee... that's it.... But I have eaten good seafood and drank many many many delicious cockatils created by by fabulous girlfriends.... Watermelon Margaritas.... yeah. Good..... Very Very Very Good...
Cheers to all the lovelies that read this... I love you all... and yes... I have been drinking a wee bit.... :)
Cheers to you all and I will be back cooking and in sound mind on monday....
Love,
Chan

Beach Bound

2005-07-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well we are all off to the beach for a gloriously lazy week....
Be back next Monday...
Cheers to you all...
Chan

Queen of Tarts

2005-07-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Okay so I may be pushing it there by calling myself the Queen of Tarts... but I think I am getting the hang of this tart pastry and I will be making LOTS and LOTS of these! Thank God above for Nigella. I have a serious cooking crush on her... Both the pastry recipes I have used of hers have turned out PERFECT. Here are the two recipes I have used.. the first one was a savory pastry for the corn and tomato tart and the second one is a sweet pastry that I made the peach & mango tart with....

Rich Pastry Dough
Nigella Lawson

1 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 egg yolk
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon yogurt or creme fraiche or sour cream or orange or lemon juice

Measure the flour into a bowl, add the butter, and put in freezer (here I use my KA mixing bowl and put the paddle in the bowl to chill as well) for 10 minutes. Beat the egg yolk with the salt and whatever acidic ingredient you choose and put in the fridge to chill. Keep a few tablespoons of ice water in a measuring cup in the fridge as well.You may need it.....

You can make this either in the food processor or in a stand mixer. Pull the flour and butter out of the freezer and turn on slow. After barely a minute the mixture will begin to resemble oatmeal or flattened bread crumbs, and this is when you will add the yolk mixture. Add, and process or mix. If you need more liquid, add a little ice water a teaspoon at a time and go slowly. You don't want the dough too wet. You will need to stop the mixer JUST BEFORE the dough looks like it is about to clump, not once it has. When it looks right, take it out and form a fat disc, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to rest.

Sweet Pastry Dough
Nigella Lawson

1 cup all purpose flour
¼ confectionersoners sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cold and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 egg yolk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Sift the flour and confectioners sugar into a bowl and add the cold butter. Place this bowl in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. In a small bowl beat the yolk with the vanilla, a tablespoon of ice water and the salt. Place this bowl in the fridge. When the 10 minutes are up take the bowl out of the freezer and process the flour and butter and when you reach oatmeal stage mix in the yolk mixture to bind. Be prepared to add more water drop by cautious drop, until you have reached a nearly coherent dough. Then scoop it out, still just crumbly, and push into fat disc and let rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Enough to line a deep 8 inch or shallow 9 inch tart pan.

If you are going to fill the pastry case with anything liquid or creamy, you will have to blind bake first. This means simply covering the pastry with foil or parchment paper, covering that with dried beans, and baking it. Take the pastry out of the fridge and flour a work surface. Place the pastry on your floured work surface and sprinkle it and your basic wooden rolling pin with flour to prevent sticking. Roll out your pastry fairly thin and place into the buttered tart pan. You can either trim off the overhang (what I do) or you can let it hang and blind bake with the overhang compensating for the shrink. Bake at 400 for about10-12 minutes or until beginning to take on some color. Let the pastry case cool and fill with whatever you wish....

I filled the sweet crust with mascarpone cheese mixed with peach brandy (about 4 tablespoons... okay... 5 tablespoons) and 1 block of cream cheese. I also added in 1 tablespoon of wild flower honey and a dash of vanilla extract. I topped all of that with sliced fresh peaches and mangos... I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top and baked at 350 for about 50 minutes.

Sexy Tomatoes, Tantalizing Tarts, Sopping Wet Banana Bread.... And more.

2005-07-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Oh my, my, my...... it has really been quite a day. I got a new camera last night and I just can't stop. I took pictures of myself, I took pictures of tomatoes, I took pictures of a tart I made (WOW!), I took pictures if 4 new mixers I got in the mail today, I took pictures of the crust of the tart my husband didn't eat (gasp!), and on and on and on.... So... here they all are. My little exhibit for today.... Recipes at the end...

Here are two of the four "girls" I got in the mail today. The mixer on the left is an old Sunbeam Mixmaster, circa 1950's and the sweetie pie on the right is a vintage yellow KitchenAid 4C... She had the original glass bowl, but it was broken in shipping. I was very sad about that.... I got another vintage KitchenAid in the mail today too... She is white and also had the original glass bowl..... but it too was broken during shipping. I will have to find original glass bowl to go with them now.... something else to hunt.

Now... I have been nursing a sourdough starter for about a month now... I was finally starting to feel comfortable with him living in the fridge when my sister came in from getting a bottled water and told me the crock I had the starter in was broken and all the "goo" was running out the bottom. GREAT. Sure enough I go tromping out there (we have a spare fridge in the garage....) and she's right... the bottom is broken and the goo is running out the bottom. I grab the crock and run inside with it and assess the situation.... where am I going to put him? I have a displaced sourdough starter on my hands here....Where is he going to live? For the time being he is in a glass mixing bowl with saran wrap on the top.... I am going to have to find him a suitable home tomorrow... poor thing. I don't have any idea why all of the sudden the crock broke. Any ideas?

The Tart and the Tomatoes.

My friend Heather gave me some little green and yellow tomatoes. I bought the red ones from a little stand up the road called Fowlers. When they have fresh tomatoes they take the white bed sheet off the sign and everyone flocks there... when they run out of tomatoes they put the sheet back on the sign... I happend to be by there the other day the the sheet was off... nice. Rows and rows of gorgeous tomatoes. I bought a couple of pounds and here they are.

I decided today was the day to conquer the tart. Crust and all.... I started with a Nigella recipe for savory tart dough. Really easy dough recipe and it all came together just like she said it would. I could see the lovely butter "marbling" in the dough and it was slightly sticky and easy to work with. Okay... so far so good... I formed it in the tart tin and made a really nice fresh corn and vidalia onion mix to go in the tart. I topped that all off with my lovely fresh tomatoes and into the oven it went for about an hour. I did cook the tart pastry a bit before filling it... 350 for about 20 minutes.

This was REALLY good... very summery and fresh. Uncomplicated. Clean. Nice... I loved it.. The crust was a huge success and tasted fabulous. It even had "flake" to it... God, I am so proud. I have made homemade tart pastry from scratch. I can say that now... hehe! I mean, look at that crust would you! See the flake??

The filling was sooooo very good with the sweetness of the vidalia and the fresh corn. I mixed in a bit of Mexican table cream, Cheddar cheese and one egg to give it a custard like quality.... Delicious.

There I am... Grating cheese on top of the tart..... Working hard.

Okay... and last but not least the dessert for the day. Banana Bread with Rum Soaked Raisins and Chocolate Chips..... all low fat of course. Man oh man... this is such a delicious banana bread recipe. Another one of Nigella's. That girl is some kind of good... and so is this bread. I have made this one before minus the chocolate chips but I was feeling chipper and figured, what the hell... go on.. throw some chocolate chips in the batter... and I am glad I did. This is a VERY moist bread.. .. but I like it that way. I will take mine out a few minutes early so it still has a bit of goo in the middle... Almost undone.. but not quite. And it smells DEVINE... really really good. I think that is the best smell in the kitchen... Banana bread...

Banana Bread Nigella Lawson

1/2 cup or more raisins
3 oz (6 TBS) bourbon or rum
1 cup plus 2 TBS all purpose flour
2 tea baking powder
1/2 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick or 4 oz)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Very ripe bananas, mashed about 3 to 4
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I always use more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

An hour or more before you want to make this, put 1/2 cup (or more if you like it, and I do) raisins and the bourbon or rum in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let plump for an hour or more. Drain.

When you are ready to get on with the rest, preheat oven to 325 F. Butter and flour loaf pan.
Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and mix to combine.Melt the butter in a large bowl. Add the sugar and beat until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the mashed bananas.Then stir in the walnuts, drained raisins, and vanilla.

Add flour mixture 1/3 at a time to combine. Scrape into the loaf pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, till it tests clean(ish).
Cool the pan on a rack and slice to serve.

* Again, I added a cup or so of chocolate chips, more walnuts and did not drain the rum off the raisins... why in god's name would I want to pour perfectly good rum down the drain??

You Like Me! You Really Really Like Me!

2005-07-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged for a meme!! I am so excited about it..... I feel honored!! I wasn't really sure what meme stood for... I thought it mighe be some sort of computer language that people used.. like DH (for husband) DD (for daughter) LOL (laughing out loud) IMHO ( in my humble opinion) and so on.... BUT I looked it up and here was the definition I found : An idea that, like a gene, can replicate and evolve. Pretty neat... and now that I look back at it .. that is exactly what it is.... For those who don't blog that read this, the meme is passed from one blogger to another. It is a list of questions that you answer and if you feel inclined you can add one yourself.... I have read on many blogs the meme that is floating around and thought it was cool, but I had no idea I would be asked to participate! I really do feel honored!!

Robyn from the The Food Chronicles tagged me for this....
Thanks Robyn!!

Here is my meme...

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
I remember as a child I was always concocting some crazy recipe. I don’t remember a specific recipe that I tried.... I just always remember trying to come up with some crazy idea that would be the next big thing... but I was that way with everything, not just cooking. I really started cooking in collage... My friend Stephenie would come to Florence from Birmingham and we would cook these “elaborate” dinners. Festival of Berries, Stephie!

Who had the most influence on your cooking?
Of course my mother is an insane southern cook. She makes homemade buttermilk biscuits that will leave you begging for more. Her cornbread is PHENOMINAL... Everything she cooks is so very good. I have very deep roots in southern cooking... and I am pretty good at savory dishes.... it is the desserts that kill me. I am currently being influenced by Nigella Lawson... I love the way she cooks and her attitude towards food. She is so easy and natural in the kitchen.

Do you have an old photo as "evidence" of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Here is a photo of me dangerously close to cupcakes....

And of course.... with cake.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?
All desserts..... Pie Crust in particular.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?
My KitchenAid mixer is my most prized possession. I am so very proud of her and have already used her a lot! My wonderful and handsome husband bought her for me and I one day hope to pass her down to Kathryn, well worn of course!

My biggest disappointment would have to be a new Senseo Coffeemaker.... it’s loud and you can only use those little pods and if you don’t get them in juuuusssst right water squirts out everywhere.... the coffee is fabulous but it is almost too much of a hassle.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like and probably no one else.
I love love love my momma’s cornbread and fresh tomatoes mashed up together in sort of a cornbread/tomato salad... so delicious.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don't want to live without?
Olives, Sourdough Bread and Sweet Tea... Does tea count??

Favorite ice cream: Rum raisin

You will never eat: Hot Dogs... gag.

Signature dish: Homemade Chicken and Dumplins

On average, how many times a week would you cook something to satisfy your sweet tooth?
Oh hmmmm..... everyday! But not to satisfy my sweet tooth... I don’t ever really eat these desserts. I try them, but I don’t just munch on them. I am really just trying to learn how to make good pastry, cookies, cakes and icings!

What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Coffee Coffee Coffee.....

What are your stand-by dinner options when you don't have the time or the inclination to follow or create a new recipe?
My husband makes the most fabulous tacos and rice... so I ask him very nicely to make those!

What would you like to cook someday that you haven't tried before?
A tart..... and I will be trying my hand at that soon. I just got two vintage Williams&Sonoma tart tins in the mail today... off ebay.

Sweet or savory. We all lean to one or the other, where do you lean?
It really depends on the time of day.... I honestly don’t really have much of a sweet tooth. I never have. So, I guess savory, which is hilarious since this blog deals with only desserts!

So there it is.... my very first meme.... :) I am going to tag The Cupcake Queen from 52 cupcakes. I think that is a neat little blog and I love the idea

Caliente

2005-07-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Look..... it's too freaking hot to even think of starting the oven. I just can't tonight... I am not sure what is up with the AC but it is like 80-82 degrees in this house. All I want to do is drink icy water and lounge under the ceiling fan...... tomorrow, tomorrow. I promise I will cook some sort of butter and sugar filled deeelight tomorrow. Sorry Heather!

Leaving My Mark

2005-07-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Thumbprints. I haven't thought of those little cookies in so long. I was out and about today and came across some yummy sounding jams. Strawberry Rhubarb, CherryPlum and Cherry. So I bought them knowing that they deserved something more than just plain toast. I wanted to save the Cherry jam for a few Nigella recipes I want to try, but the other two were fair game. Then I thought of thumbprint cookies; they are such sweet little confections. And yes, I know they are insanely easy... but I have never made a decent cookie. Never. So.... I thought I would give it a whirl. I said a quick prayer to the cookies goddess and got busy. I really wanted these little babies to turn out well because I thought my itty bitty would like them. These cookies are so old fashioned and nostalgic and I really want my Kathryn growing up eating these. I found a recipe online that looked good.... brown sugar was included, along with pecans. Yummy.... these were going to be good. I began envisioning myself in here in the kitchen with a cute little festive apron on at Christmas time whipping up dozens of dozens of these little gems for friends and family and co workers and ..... SNAP OUT OF IT.... try and make them first!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
jam or preserves

PREPARATION:Cream together brown sugar, margarine, and shortening; beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white slightly; dip balls into egg white; roll in finely chopped pecans.

Place cookies about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet; press thumb deeply in center of each. Bake until light brown, about 10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool thoroughly. Fill thumbprints with jam or preserves.

Makes 5 to 6 dozen thumbprint cookies (not in this household...)

Well... I have to say... I did it. They are good and actually resemble a cookie. The jams are delicious. I especially love the cherryplum... yum! I also made some with Orange Marmalade and the Strawberry Rhubarb. Kathryn loves them... the orange ones are her favorite.
They are nice and sweet but not send you into a diabetic coma sweet. They are a nice break from all the powdered sugar icings I have made lately.... I swear my dentist is going to kill me when I go in for a check up.
They have a pecan sandy quality to them... they crumble easily, so we just try and eat the whole cookie in one bite. No muss no fuss... and no talking.

I am so proud.... I have made two desserts in the past week that came out okay... Wow. I may get the hang of this after all....

Red Velvet with That Slow Southern Style...

2005-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Red velvet and that little boy smile. Red velvet with that slow southern style. A new religion that'll bring you to your knees. Red velvet if you please.

Yep... Red Velvet Cheesecake. You didn't think you could get away with not seeing one on this site did you?? I am from Alabama, ya know. But the funny thing is, that the closest I have ever come to Red Velvet Cake was when Ousia cut the butt end off the armadillo grooms cake at Shelby and Jackson's wedding and served it to Drum. I have never had a piece of RV cake... ever. My mom doesn't make it, I don't have any decrepit aunts that make it.... I have never been a wedding where they served it. Hmmmm... how southern is it?

My friend Heather sent me an email and ask me to create a Red Velvet Cheesecake. I wasn't so sure. I just couldn't see a RED cheesecake... but she assured me it would work. So I got busy on a recipe for her.... And I figured I could enter it in the contest I have been working on. Soooo I HAD to bake it in a 9x13 pan.... I am REALLY starting to hate cheesecakes baked this way. I mean, it's just not a cheesecake in a 9x13 pan. A cheesecake is SUPPOSED to be in a springform so it can rise and be beautiful. I think I would have liked this red cheesecake much better in a springform pan. That way the red center could contrast beautifully with the white cream cheese topping and you would really be able to see it... But in a 9x13.. it just looks like any ol' regular frosted cake. Until you cut into it... then the blood red center comes spilling out and moment of shock comes over you and you wonder if everything is okay. It does have the classic devil's food taste, chocolately and smooth; and the cream cheese topping garnished with chopped pecans is delicious. It does all blend well together in your mouth... but then you look in the mirror and your teeth are stained red. I just cant get into the red food coloring. It makes it seem "cheap" to me. Like a novelty. I just don't dig it....

I think I need to take one of the eggs out of the recipe. The texture was too dense. I like cheesecakes that have a lightness to them.... I need to start adding whipped egg whites to the mix, instead of all whole eggs. I also got the classic center crack in this one.... .I mean it just wouldn't be a cheesecake from my kitchen without a crack you can live in... I think I may patent that idea.... Because I am sure other chef's are out there trying like hell to perfect a cracked cheesecake.... HA... I have got it!

Fairy Cakes

2005-07-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

These are sweet little cupcakes with homemade royal icing. I love these... I have a feeling I will be making many many batches of these for my sweet baby Kathryn as the years go on. They just remind me of her... sweet and pretty.

I love Nigella Lawson and these little gems are from her cookbook " How to be a Domestic Goddess". I love her style of cooking and baking... a little of this, a little of that, and some more of this if you want..... that is soooo the way I cook. But Nigella seems to pull it off much more gracefully than I do!

I am very proud of these even though they were effortless. The cupcake batter is mixed up in a food processor and the icing is simple as can be. I am just impressed that I got it right... with the proper consistency and all... I even colored them! Such a kitchen pro...

Here is the Recipe
Nigella Lawson "How to be a Domestic Goddess"

Fairy Cakes

half cup unsalted butter, softened
half cup superfine sugar
2 large eggs
three-quarters cup self-rising cake flour
half teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk
12-cup muffin pan lined with 12 paper baking cups

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

It couldn't be simpler to make fairy cakes: just put all the ingredients except for the milk in the food processor and then blitz till smooth. Pulse while adding milk down the funnel, to make for a soft, dropping consistency. I know it looks as if you'll never make this scant mixture fit 12 cupcake cups, but you will, so just spoon and scrape the stuff in, trying to fill each cup equally. Put in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fairy cakes are cooked and golden on top. As soon as bearable, take the fairy cakes in their cases out of the tin and let cool on a wire rack.
I like my cherry-topped fairies to have a little pointy top, but for all floral and other artistic effects, darling, you need to start with a level base, so once they're cool, cut off any mounded peaks so that you've got a flat surface for icing.

Royal Icing

4 cups confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar
3 tablespoonsmeringue powder (can be found at stores that carry cake decorating supplies)
1/2 teaspoon extract (vanilla, lemon, almond) (optional)
1/2 - 3/4 cup (120 - 180 ml) warm water

In bowl of electric mixer beat the confectioners sugar and meringue powder to combine. Add the water and beat at low to medium speed until desired consistency (about 5-7 minutes).
To keep icing soft and shiny add a few drops of glycerin. Color icing using gel pastes by dipping the tip of a toothpick into the food coloring and then mixing it into the icing.
The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover when not in use.
Makes about 3 cups

Raspberries Broke My Heart

2005-07-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

This was going to be good. I had a plan. I had all the ingredients, I had free time, I was alone in the house..... me, some good music (sirius 26) and fresh lemons. I was ready. Today was the day that I would conquer buttercream. Today was the day that I would level a cake and make a beautiful and sound layer cake. Today was the day I would combine pale yellow frosting with the sinful contrast of a ruby raspberry. Today, though, the raspberry broke my heart.

Everything went as planned. The cake was beautiful and perfect... not dry. A delicious light lemon flavor with a lovely sweetness to it. The frosting.... ahhhh the frosting. Today it was PERFECT... light, creamy, spreadable. It had a fabulous taste, although I now have 2 new cavities, with sweetness cut in with tangy lemon on the end. I built the cake, frosted it and admired. I wish I had taken a picture... it was lovely. Then an idea.... raspberries. Yes, I have raspberries in the fridge. The need to be used.... use them, Chan, use them. No, the cake looks fabulous like it is...... but a bit plain. Okay, yeah, raspberries will look good.

Damn them. They RUINED my beautiful cake. THE cake.. the only cake I have made that looked and tasted good all at the same time. These things dont happen often, here in this kitchen.
I have to say that I am a bit down about it. I thought I might take it to a friend for a belated birthday cake..... but not now. No way.
It looks like a bloody accident. And I dont mean that in the British way... it really looks like a BLOODY accident.

Here is the recipe... It's from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook.
JUST DON'T, FOR GOD'S SAKE, PUT RASPBERRIES ON IT......

Lemon Layer Cake

1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups self rising flour
1 ¼ cups cake flour
¾ cup milk
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and lightly flour three 9x2 cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.
In large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flours and add in four parts, alternating with the milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat well after each addition. Divide the batter among the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. When cake has cooled, spread the icing evenly between the layers and on top of cake. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT PUT RASPBERRIES ON TOP AS DECORATION.

Lemon Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

Combine butter, 4 cups of sugar, lemon juice and zest in bowl of mixer. Beat until smooth. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to spread. May add few drops of yellow food coloring. Use and store at room temperature.

My Collection Grows....

2005-07-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Wow... ebay is addictive. My mom and I have fallen in love with the thrill of bidding! And when we get outbid my mom screams "ADD 5 MORE DOLLARS!!!!" So needless to say we have accidently won quite a few lately. Here are some of my new additions.

So I have now, 2 pink ones, a vintage KitchenAid and a cool little drink mixer. I have "display" space above my kitchen cabinets and all of new babies will go up there. If you guys come across any cool ones (and decide to pass on it!) let me know... I am on the lookout now!

The Pink Lady

2005-07-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

I have started a vintage mixer collection and look what is starting the collection! I am so excited! My mom (love love love HER!) bought this for me on ebay.... I havent gotten it yet.... but here is a picture from ebay.

Crimes Against Cooking

2005-07-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

It's only 9am and already I have created an atrocity in the kitchen. Scones. They are ugly AND they taste like utter crap. Why are they so bitter? Not enough sugar in the mix.....yuck. I added in cherries and almonds and made a little drizzle sauce with the cherry juice and confectioners sugar. The sauce is good... the scone... not so much. I am not even going to post the recipe because I would hate for someone else to have to experience these.

I am beginning to think that perhaps I, in a past life, performed some profane crime against cooking. Was I the one that thought green Jell O was a good idea? Did I invent SPAM? Or perhaps I was the one that put those two together in bunt pan and served it to unsuspecting guests.... WHAT DID I DO? What ever it was it was bad... very bad.

William Hung and Me

2005-07-16T06:52:00.000-07:00

So some very interesting things transpired yesterday. I recieved a call from the producer lady from the new Martha Stewart TV show. Yeah... freaking out. I am still freaking out. But the hilarious thing is that they are interested in me for the America's Worst Cook show... ... I think my desserts have made an impression! My pie crust is QUITE disasterious... when I make it from scratch. Well, even if I make it from a box it is still too thin and looks ugly. Everything I make looks ugly. Maybe I will get on the show and Martha will show me how to make PRETTY desserts. The only thing I have made that was pretty was the Tres Leche Cake but we all know that it tasted like cardboard and strawberries.... mmmmmm yum. So here is the deal... if it's ugly, it taste devine; if it is pretty, it takes on a crap quality. You can't have them both.... not in this household! You can't be pretty AND smart.... come on now, give the rest of us something!

I was talking to some of the girls on the Cooking Light website (addicted to them!) and I had the realization that OH MY GOD... I AM THE WILLIAM HUNG OF COOKING. " She bangs, she bangs..." I want so badly to be a gourmet but end up as a possible guest on the America's Worst Cook show! But like some of the girls pointed out.... ol' William has made quite a name for himself from being the worst singer in the universe....Somthing has to be said for misguided confidence!
On that note let me tell you about the Elvis (love you mr. cheesecake) Cheesecake I made last night. I made this lovely recipe up sooooo I am really happy that it didn't explode in the oven and that it somewhat resembles an actucal cheesecake.....

It started with 3 VERY ripe bananas and one cup of sour cream blended well. Next came 3 blocks of cream cheese, again blended well..... until smooth. 5 eggs need to go in, one at a time, blending until incorporated. Dump in 1/2 cup sugar ( although I think it could stand a full cup) and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix until all is incorporated.

OH.. The Crust... eeek... do this first. One box of Nabisco chocolate wafers with 1/2 cup melter butter... mix and press into springform pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. THEN mix the batter.....

Pour the batter into the baked crust and melt some peanut butter in the microwave, until creamy and smooth. Dollop spoonfuls of peanut butter onto top of batter and cut in with a knife. Then "sling" thin ribbons of peanut butter on top for visual effect. Bake at 350 for about an hour... or until sides are set and the middle jiggles a bit (kinda like me...)when tapped with a spoon. Let this cool in the overn with the heat OFF for about 30 minutes. Wrap and store in fridge for 12 hours so all the flavors can fully develop and combine.....

Now I do believe this will be a delicious cheesecake. Why do I think that? Well because it is ugly... There are cracks on the top you could drive a truck through and the crust is uneven and I have a horrible feeling it is stuck to the bottom of the pan.....

Nothing But Ideas

2005-07-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

I didn't bake a single little thing today. Not one..... I briefly had the thought of baking a butter cake to use the rest of the pink icing on (yes, that icing is STILL around) but came to the conclusion at 9pm that it wouldn't be smart, as my daughter was still up and I needed a bath.
BUT... that's not to say that I didn't brain storm all day long. I have decided to enter a "Cheesecake Contest" sponsored by Philidelphia Cream Cheese. The winner takes 20K and I could really use 20K....
The rules are as follows: Must be 10 ingredients or less, must contain an extract, must not have a bake time over an hour, must bake in a 9x13 pan (gasp.. no springform??!!) and must have at least 3 blocks of Philidelphia Cream Cheese....

So here are some of my ideas:
Coconut Lemongrass Cheesecake
Honey Orange Cheesecake
Key Lime with a Gingersnap Crust
Hummingbird (pineapple, bananas and pecans) Cheesecake
White Chocolate with Macadamia and Coconut Cheesecake
Elvis Cheesecake (peanut butter and banana)
Caramel Walnut Apple Cheesecake
Rum Rasin Cheesecake
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake (For Tara)
Maple Pecan Cheesecake
Mango Pineapple Cheesecake
Honey Rum Pineapple Cheesecake
Mexicana Cheesecake (using Mexican Chocolate)

What do you think? I did a search on cheesecakes earlier and dear God.. there is nothing that hasnt been done! Except the Coconut Lemongrass and the Elvis.... at least I didnt see those!
Let me know what you think.
I am opening up the comments so that anyone can comment.

Holy Mary Mother of God... I Made BREAD!

2005-07-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Yes.. I made bread. I made bread from absolute scratch. I made bread from NOTHING but flour and water. Hell, I made the YEAST! I have been nursing a starter for 4 days or so, just patiently waiting for the day I could bake. How wonderful that I could FINALLY bake bread on the very day my new mixer came in the mail..... FATE. It has been a truely gratifying baking day, today. I left work early when I got the word that the mixer was in ( I know, I know... pitiful), made a quick stop by the grocery and jetted home. I was in baking mode.
I got her out of the box... admired her, washed her bowl and got started! I started by mixing my bread with the starter and flour with a bit of salt. As that rested I decided to "whip up" a cheesecake. I made one from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook..... The Raspberry Marzipan Cheesecake. This was my first attempt at a cheesecake and I have to say I was impressed! It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had expected. It takes a while to bake ( 80 long minutes and another hour cooling in the oven with the door adjar.) but other than that it was no sweat. Really. It is a georgeous cake and I am eating a piece as we speak. Delicious.

But back to the bread....
After the dough took a rest I mixed in the remainder of the flour and changed from my paddle to my dough hook. Man, that baby flew! That big bowlof dough was no match for the KA.... She whipped that dough right into a lovely smooth elastic ball...
I let it rise, shaped it, let it rise AGAIN and finally was ready to bake. My recipe calls for a pan of water in the bottom of the oven as it bakes and also for a few squirts of water in the stove as the bread is cooking. The steam makes for a nice crust. I couldn't find a water bottle to squirt with so I had to use one of my daughter's bath toys that squirted. A rubber ducky with a santa hat on....

The bread has a very hard crust to it... I think that will get better with practice , but the inside is soft and fluffy. I haven't tasted it yet.... I will let you know tomorrow.
Thank you to Linda who helped me through the entire process and who gave me the "sourdough" starter....
Cheers!

Righting an Icing Wrong

2005-07-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

I am mixerless today. I shipped ol' Bessie off to live in California and still haven't gotten my new mixer... tomorrow, tomorrow. So I decided I would take the day off from the kitchen; but I couldn't. The bad icing from last night was calling out for help and who am I to deny icing? So I got in the kitchen and got busy.

I decided to add a block of cream cheese to the mix to try and thicken it up a bit. It did thicken up, but not enough. MORE POWDERED SUGAR..... and more and more and more and before I knew it another pound went in. So I did use 2 pounds after all... agrrr. But really it tasted good.. I think the cream cheese really cut into the tooth aching sweetness that 2 pounds of confectioners sugar makes. So I was at last happy with the taste. I had forgotten that I bought some icing color gel the other day and became VERY excited at the idea of turning it pink. Lovely, lovely pink icing. All is right in the world again. I never reached the thick buttercream consistency I was looking for but that is okay. I kinda like the way the icing dribbles over the edge of the cupcake and looks casually beautiful. Like someone who wakes up with no makeup and bed head and looks radiant... this icing was just naturally beautiful.

I iced the remaining chocolate cupcakes from the night before and topped them off with coconut and strawberries. They were very pretty....

It's Official... Kathryn loves cupcakes..... well, actually she loves the icing. She also loves pounding the cake part onto the tray and making lots of crumbles. I love to clean it up... really.

The Ugliest Cupcake Ever Born

2005-07-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Another rainy and ugly day here. I was in one of those rainy and ugly moods until I got home and....... a package!! It was a cookbook I had ordered a while back, More from Magnolia. I was thrilled and made a special trip to the grocery to buy buttermilk (yes, this southern girl was out), confectioner's sugar and cupcake liners. I decided, after going through the cookbook twice, on Magnolia's Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and of course, sprinkles. I was so delighted that it called for buttermilk and could just taste the loveliness that was about to happen in my JennAir at 350 degrees. I got busy right away and the cupcake batter went well... it was lovely and velvety and smooth. I knew this was going to be a success. I put the cupcakes in the oven and got started on the Buttercream Frosting.

I recently made another buttercream in chocolate and found it sickingly sweet from the 2, yes TWO pounds of confectioner's sugar the recipe called for. I couldn't handle much of it. I was glad to see that this one called for 6 to 8 cups. I know that is still alot of confectioner's sugar but holy moly, it is better than 2 pounds. Halfway through the frosting, Kathryn, our 16 month old toddled in and demanded a taste test.....
I couldn't get the spatula back from her! Now it is 11pm and she is STILL on a sugar high...

Once I did, I tested myself and still found it to be just too sweet. I know, I know.... IT'S FROSTING... It's supposed to be sweet. But I am looking for something with, I don't know a different taste. So I decided to add a splash of buttermilk thinking that it might cut the sweetness..... it did and tasted fabulous. But, as I have since learned, the frosting is too thin.The buttermilk was too much. I just "piped" some onto the cupcakes and it slid right off... needs more sugar... just the thing I am trying to get away from! Maybe I need a whole new frosting recipe!?

Here is the recipe:

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)
CUPCAKES:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (see Note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30–40 minutes.

I will try again in a couple of days.Tomorrow I am sending my old mixer off to Krista in California and my new KA McDaddy Mixer comes in on Wednesday. I am so excited about it.... I might just sleep with it under my pillow.

Bananas & Caramel.... Enough Said.

2005-07-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

I think one of the best smells in the world is banana bread or cake or muffins baking in the oven. I love that smell... trumps any candle any day.
This was a late endevor for me today... It was a rainy Sunday and we all lounged around in our pajamas for most of the day. We had a nice simple dinner or shrimp, sasuage, yellow rice and blackeyed peas. I got started on this Banana Cake with Caramel Sauce late in the afternoon so I wasn't able to enjoy the fresh smell floating through the house all day long... make yours early so you can. This makes your home smell like a Domestic Goddess lives there.....

I highly recommed this cake... if not for the fragrance alone. It is also amazingly simple... and very pretty.

Banana Cake

1 stick butter softened
1 cup caster superfine sugar*
¼ cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup sour cream
1 cup roughly mashed banana

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the butter, sugar and brown sugar in bowl of mixer and beat until nice and creamy. Gradually add the 3 eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder over mixture and combine. Add the cinnamon, sour cream and banana and mix until combined. Pour mixture into greased ring pan. Bake 40 minutes or until passes toothpick test. Cool on wire rack and spread with Caramel Sauce.

* Caster Sugar (superfine) is somewhat hard to find… for me that is. I take regular granulated sugar and pulverize it in my food processor… and PRESTO... caster sugar.

Caramel Sauce

Mix ¾ cup brown sugar and 1 cup cream in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and simmer rapidly for 8 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Allow to cool until thick enough to spoon over the cool banana cake…
Enjoy.

Life REALLY is a Bowl of Cherries

2005-07-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

My husband, God love him, is a fabulous man. He just bought me a NEW Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. My old mixer was adopted by a Cooking Lighter and I CANNOT wait for that big ol' beautiful box to get to my porch. All the fun we are going to have... all the cakes we are going to make....all the weight I am going to gain...... ahhhhh.

So I bought some BEAUTIFUL cherries at the grocery the other day to attempt my second Cherry Pie in the past week. The first one was well, ugly. I used a recipe that called for Tapioca as the thickening agent and it was nasty. I also did not have enough cherries so the pie was flat and chewy. My poor husband and parents suffered thru it and tried to say it was good... but their constant chatter said other wise. It was very bad. But this one is going to be different.
Here is the recipe I used tonight. I also use Jiffy Pie Crust mix (gasp) for my crust. It is a great pie crust with a bit of sweetness to it (pointed out by my mother) and a nice flake. And the best part is that it is EASY. I try to time it so people see me rolling out the dough so it looks all homemade, but little do they know it is a MIX... from a little box. HA!

She's My Cherry Pie
4 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries
1 to 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 tablespoon almond extract
Your favorite pie crust or pie dough recipe for 2 crust pie
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, to dot
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, to sprinkle

Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Use your favorite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

What Kind of Girl are You?

2005-07-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

One of the girls on the CL website posted this.

http://www.cookingtohookup.com/quiz/
Kinda fun. I am Progressive....

My Humble Cookbook Collection

2005-07-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am just getting started in collecting cookbooks. I had a few that I have cooked from for several years now, but just recently I have accquired several more. I got 2 in the mail just recently from 2 of the girls I talk to on the Cooking Light forum. Thank you Jennifer and Mindy!
I am waiting on several from Amazon: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery, Buttercup Bakeshop, The Village Baker's Wife and Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers. I am impatient and look out on my front porch too many times during the day. I know good and well the UPS guy doesn't come at 6:45 am.... but I still can't not look! I have many dream recipes waiting to be made in those books..... and you get to be here for all of them!

Blueberries and Bread

2005-07-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

I had 2 cartons of blueberries and 4 peices of stale sourdough bread... so this is the beautiful marriage of them. I used an old Bread Pudding recipe I have used for several years and added in around 3 cups of blueberries. Delicious. It was such a pretty sight when it came out of the oven all bubbly, I actucally made my husband get up out of bed to come and look at it. Crazy, yeah I know, but thank God he understands me!

Here is the recipe:

3 TBSP Butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Milk
3 Large Eggs
2 TSP Vanilla Extract
3 French (or sourdough) slices, torn into pieces
3 Cups fresh beautiful blueberries

Drizzle melted butter into 8" dish. Wisk together the sugar, milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the clean blueberries. Stir in the bread. Pour into buttered dish. Cook in 350F oven for 45-50 minutes.

* You may want to cook the blueberries with some sugar and a tad of lemon juice for a few minutes before mixing in with the milk mixture. I think this would make the pudding "creamier".

Tres Leche Disaster

2005-07-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a cake I made recently for my dad's birthday... It was (supposed to be) a Tres Leche with Strawberries and homemade filling. I REALLY wanted it to be a layer cake, even though it is made to be a sheet cake.... I attempted it anyway. It looked beautiful, but the first bite told a different story. Not only was it not wet... it wasnt even MOIST.... it was bone dry. I poured the milk mixture over the cake (after poking holes in it) and it seemed like some absorbed.... but it was a LIE.... a big fat lie.
The Cake was a FAILURE. I am not sure who was more upset.. me or my poor father who had been looking forward to the cake all week long. I talked it up pretty big....

I Have to Turn 30....Soon.

2005-07-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of me trying to accomplish all the things I want to accomplish by the time I am 30. I just celebrated my 28th birthday and have been carrying this list around with me, in my wallet, for several years now.... I think it is time to get busy! I only have 2 years to accomplish alot of things! Sooooo here I go!

Things to Do Before I Turn 30

1. Start my Own Business: Well.... I have and I haven't accomplished this. I started a home based bath and body boutique, where my girlfriends and their friends and their friends' friends would come and "shop". I had some really great products from Cake, Jaqua, Cherriflip, Ganache for Lips, Sugar Baby, Out of My Tree, Tinte and some others. The first "party" went really well and I was very encouraged by the response that I got... The second party, sucked. I wanted to make some seed money to get a full fledged store opened but it didn't happen. So I wrote a fine business plan, talked with some banks and WAS DENIED! Ouch... I was depressed and hurt but realized that maybe this is not the time in my life for a business. I have a 16 month old daughter and a handsome husband and soooooooo many other things I want to get done. So I made a stab at this one but I don't see this happening for a while... Maybe before I turn 40.

2. Travel to Spain: Hopefully soon. It seems so beautiful there.

3. Travel to Key West Florida and Drive Around in a Convertible: I think I just have this idyllic version of Key West in my head and I REALLY want to go there. I love the beach.. I hate going into the water but I love the mentality of the beach. Sunburned noses, no makeup, messy hair and flip flops... ahhhhhhhhhh. And the FOOD! I love seafood and maragritas...
The driving around in a convertible car part is non negotiable. That is an absolute must if I go to Key West. Again, I think it has something to do with the idyllic version in my head and the messy hair thing.

4. Learn Spanish: My husband is Mexican and his parents do not speak fluent English. They are amazingly warm and kind and I would love so much to be able to sit in the kitchen and talk with his mother. I have picked up quite a bit from them already but NO WHERE near saying I am even close to being fluent. Just a few key phrases like: I am hungry; Smells good; Pacifier; Spoiled; Milk, etc..... I want to take some classes so I can learn more. Maybe I can get my dad to go with me.... He is fascinated my Spanish.

5. Learn to Tap Dance: I have no idea why. It just seems like I should know how to do this.

6. Learn to Do the Tango: Again, I just feel like I should learn this. I love to dance but I need to have some organization when I dance or else I look like Elaine from that Sinefield episode.

7. Purchase a Pair of Manolo Blahnik Shoes: Ahhhhhhhhh......... The shoe of all shoes. I lust over them often and one day will own a pair. They are just so beautiful. All of them.

8. Visit the Grand Canyon: Shouldn't everyone see this in person?

9. Start and Finish a Photographic Project: I got my degree in Photography and use to shoot all the time. I haven't in a while. I don't have a darkroom to work in and to me that is the beautiful part of photography. I could spend all day in there processing prints. It kills me to shoot film then hand it over to someone to process it for me. And to have someone else print it for me REALLY kills me.... That is my favorite part and I always nitpick the prints when I get them back.
I am not sure what kind of project I will start, but it may coincide with this.....Maybe some artful shots of my desserts ( read below).

10. Learn to PROPERLY Cook Desserts: Now this is my passion right now. I have become dangerously obsessed with baking. I cannot get enough. It is INSTANT gratification and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that! I want to learn how to make those fancy fondant cakes. It is like sculpture, but with icing. It makes my toes curl in delight when I think of what new recipe I can try out and WHOA... When I get a new cookbook ( which has been quite often here lately) I am just estatic! I have always loved to cook, but could never really grasp baking... so I am taking it head on and with great fervor. You will hear an awful lot about my baking successes and failures. That is why this is called LICK THE SPOON.

11.Have a Hammock and Use It: I have to have two perfectly spaced trees to do this. Having a hammock on one of those banana looking stands out in the middle of a barren back yard DOES NOT COUNT. It has to be strung up between two trees and in the lush shade. I have strict rules for this one.

12. Grow and Maintain a Fabulous Garden: Very time consuming but worth a shot. But not this summer.