December Challenge - Buche de Noel

There aren't many things that terrify me in the kitchen when I'm baking. One is pastry flour, the other is yeast-rising type things, and the other three things are: anything involving a pastry bag and frosting; rolling cakes, and buttercream. The Buche de Noel uses these last three things, big-time.

Let's get started, shall we? I woked backwards when I made this cake: decoration, filling, cake, frosting.

The Mushrooms
I opted to make the meringue mushrooms - I'm not a fan of marzipan, so I braved the pastry bag and went for it. I preheated the oven to 225 d F and lined 22 baking sheets with parchment. I got my pastry bag fitted with my tip - I didn't have a #6 so I used a #4. To make the meringues, I combined 3 room temperature egg whites and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar in my mixer's bowl (making sure there was no trace of errant fat in the bowl) and beat them until very foamy. I slowly added 1/2 cup granulated sugar and increased the speed to high and beat until soft peaks formed. I continuted until the whites were very stiff and shiny, then folded in 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar with a rubber spatula.




I scooped the mixture into the pastry bag, and piped as many stems as I could onto one sheet- at first they looked like piles of white spaghetti but as I got more comfortable with the movements, I was able to make some decent stems. On the other sheet, I made caps - once I figured out that I could just squoosh a bunch of meringue into a ball, the caps came out beautifully. I smoothed out any points, and dusted everything with cocoa.



These all baked for 55 minutes, then I removed them, flipped the caps upside down, poked holes in them, took the stems and dipped them in the remaining meringue, and married the two together. They went back into the oven for 15 minutes, then got to spend the night in a tupperware container, until I was ready to garnish.




The Filling
I decided to make something different for the filling, so I went to my favorite chocolate pudding recipe and made that up. It's in the Joy of Cooking, and it is a miracle in a bowl. Lots of cocoa powder, sugar, and milk (I used 1/2 half and half and 1/2 milk to save a few precious calories).



When the pudding had set, I peeled off the skin (the best part, hands-down) and whipped up some cream. I let the pudding come to room temperature, and after the cream had been whipped, I slowly added it in. This made a beautiful, delicious mousse-like filling.

The Cake
The cake was a plain genoiose, and was very easy to make. I had been warned by people at work (I work for a food magazine, not in the kitchen) not to overcook, because this could end up being very dry.

I preheated the overn to 400 d F, prepped my jelly roll pan by buttering it and then putting a parchment sheet down and buttered that, then filled a medium saucepan with water and boiled it. I combined 3 large eggs, 3 egg yolks, a pinch of salt and 3/4 cup sugar in my mixer's bowl and placed the bowl in the hot water on the stove. I wisked until the mixture was 100 d, then put the bowl in the mixer and whipped with the whisk until the mixture had cooled and tripled in volume - this took about 20 minutes on medium-high.

After whisking 1/2 cup of cake flour and 1/4 cup of cornstarch together, I sifted them in three batched over the egg mixture and folded it in. It was tough to make sure i had gotten all the lumps out, because I didn't want to overbeat the batter. Finally it was ready to go in the pan and into the oven.



I baked the cake for only 10 minutes, then removed it from the oven and let it cool just slighly while I got the rolling stuff together. I had also been advised by my friends at work that it's best to roll the cake while it's still warm (which is why I made the filling first. They told me to put a clean kitchen towel down, then another piece of parchement, then dust the parchment with cocoa to keep the cake from sticking.



I quickly transferred the cake to the rolling station, and it was already cool enough to fill with the filling, so on it went, and away I rolled. I filled it with my chocolate mousse and rolled it up as tighly as I could. The cake was so delicate, it did crack a little, and I think I maybe had too much filling in there.



I transferred the cake to the plate, and I thought that that was really the biggest challenge. It was so mooshy, and so delicate, I thought I'd drop it or break it. But I made it, so it got wrapped up tightly and put in the fridge to set up overnight. I made the mushrooms, the cake, and the filling on Friday afternoon.

The Frosting
Yesterday (Saturday) I made the buttercream frosting, and was a little afraid It would separate. It kind of did, but it still tasted delicious. I made only 1/2 the recipe because I had used something else for the filling, and wouldn't need much for the outside.

I took 2 large egg whites and 1/2 cup of sugar and whisked it together in the bowl of my mixer, then put the bowl over more simmering water and whisked until the sugar had dissolved and the egg whites were hot. I put the bowl on the mixer and whipped with the whisk attachment on medium until it was cooled, then switched to the paddle and beat in 12 tbsp of softened unsalted butter. This went ok, but there was not as much of a consistent blend as I would have liked to see. I dissolved 1 tbsp instant espresso powder into 1 tbsp kahlua (I didn't have any brandy or rum, and figured the kahlua would bring out the coffee flavor) and put it into the butter/egg/sugar mixture. The frosting was too soft when I was done so I decided to let it set up in the fridge for a little while. It was quite liquid-y.

About an hour later, I frosted the cake with the buttercream and drew some fork lines in it - the lines were more like a shaggy bark than clean decoration, but I thought it looked good. I applied the mushrooms, and put a little green around the cake.


Then I thought: hey, it's winter, let's put some pow-pow on for snow!
So I did that, and it looked great.



We had a party to go to last night, so this was what I brought. People thought the mushrooms were really real, and were delighted at the taste of the cake, as was my husband. I'm pleased too - I wish the frosting had come out a little better, but all in all this cake reminded me that i have nothing to fear in the kitchen (excepting, perhaps, my inability to really decorate well). It was tasty, though! A little more work-intensive than I care to undertake when I want a cake, but it would be nice for a special occassion, for sure.

Happy Yule and Holiday to you all! Thanks for this challenge!

Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with "C"

Here are some treats from our baking extravaganza... oh, if only you could taste them all!

The wonderful, damn, addictive Hats:




Boot Tracks (I'm not saying WHAT it looks like you stepped in, but it does taste pretty darn good):




Scottish shortbread: flour, sugar, butter. That's all that needs to be said.




Pecan tartlettes that my mom had to wing the recipe for, but they still turned out quite nicely:




Cranberry, pistachio, almond macaroons. Something went a little funny on the recipe, but that did not - I repeat did NOT - keep me from eating more than my fair share:




This isn't even all of the stuff we made.... All in all we had about 50 dozen cookies, and most of them went away to friends & family. We used about 12 lbs of butter, at least 5 lbs of sugar (brown and white), 3 dozen eggs, and a bunch of flour, vanilla, and nuts. It's all good. Happy holidays! (if you'd like any of these recipes, please let me know and I'll post them).

Hats! Hats! Everywhere!

Oh my god.
The hats have arrived.

Next weekend my friend M and my mom and P and I will be doing our annual holiday cookie baking - I have to make something in the area of 36 dozen cookies to send to family and friends - and yesterday I thought I'd get a jump on some of the cookies so I made Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. These are the simplest cookie to make, ever. 4 ingredients. That's all. But for some reason I only make them around Christmas.

They are so simple that one time I gave the recipe to a friend who thought it was incorrect because there wasn't a ton of ingredients and measuring. So she found some other recipe that had flour and cinnamon and a ton of unnecessary things and made them, and they really tasted like crap. Follow this recipe. Trust me. And I see that Hershey is trying to capitolize on the popularity of this by selling kits. This is easier and cheaper and probably better than their package of preservatives.

I don't know if they're better right out of the oven (all mooshy and melty) or better after they've been in the garage, wrapped up against critters, frozen and a little crunchy. Either way, they're awesome. The cheaper the peanut butter, the better. The toughest thing about these cookies is YOU NEED TO WAIT. You can't take them off the cookie sheet too soon or else they turn to little trainwrecks of mush. They still taste delicious, but they look horrible.

So here you go. And I think I'll be making more, to "get a further jump on my baking for next weekend" (ahem!) and I'll also try to take some pictures. Enjoy!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg together well. Let sit for about 5 minutes while you unwrap Hershey Kisses.
Roll into balls about 1/2" in diameter, place onto cookie sheet - they can go close together.
Take a kiss, push it into the ball of dough gently, until the ball is slightly flattened out.
Bake for 12 minutes
Remove from oven, let sit on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Remove, cool, enjoy.

These can be frozen or refrigerated. They are delicious!!!!

Sorry I didn't get around to posting the November Challenge

I was too exhausted to cook potatoes then make them into bread!!! Thanksgiving dinner preparations kind of did me in. Next time, I promise, there will be a post with lovely pictures!

Daring Bakers October 2007 Challenge - Bostini Cream Pie

As almost a foresight to the Sox taking the World Series last night, Mary of Alpineberry's challenge for October 2007 was "Bostini Cream Pie" (from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni & Scala's Bakery).... This was not your normal BCP (which I LOVE), something a little different, with a couple of twists: one was the addition of a significant amount of fresh orange juice and orange zest to the cake, and the serving was done in individual ramekins, as little mini BCPs. I think my adaptation of this recipe was pretty spot-on, with the exception being that I didn't have enough ramekins to bake the cakes as individual cakes. You'll see my solution, below....

I'll list the ingredients first, so that you can read them, have your saturated-fat induced heart-attack, then while you're recouperating in the hospital you can see my pictures and notes on this challenge.

CUSTARD:
3/4 cup whole milk
2-3/4 tbsp cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten
9 egg yolks, beaten
3-3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean (I used 1 tsp real vanilla extract)
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar


CHIFFON CAKE:
1-1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar (I used regular sugar and pulsed it in my mini-food processor for a few seconds)
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil (good fats!!)
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1-1/2 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 tsp cream of tartar


CHOCOLOATE GLAZE
8 oz semi or bittersweet chocolate (I used semisweet chips)
8 oz unsalted butter

METHOD:
To prepare the custard:
Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl, blend until smooth.

Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk egg mixture back into the cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups (I used ramekins). Refrigerate to chill.


To prepare the chiffon cakes:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 8 molds with a non-stick cooking spray (use ramekins, or something that will fit over the custard tightly. Or, do what I did and bake them in a 9" x 12" and 8" x 8" baking pan, lined with parchment and sprayed, and then cut the cakes out because you don't have enough ramekins - see below for photos)

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and sale into large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice
, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until still peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the molds (or pans) nearly to the top with batter.

Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with a fingertip. Do not overback. Remove from over and let cool on wire rack, when completely cool, remove from molds, cover to keep moist.

To prepare the gaze:
Chop chocolate into small pieces, place butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat until it's about to bubble. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stir to melt. Strain and keep warm until assembly.

To assemble cake
Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surgace. Place a cake flat-side down on top of custart, cover tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.
Or, you can do what I did and take your cake from the 8" x 8" pan, cut out round pieces, and fit them over the top:




I think this was a good solution to not having enough ramekins to go around.

Here's the finished product, plated, gooey with chocolate, dusted with "pow-pow" (thanks, DeeDee, for the tip!) with a floral accoutrement:




I have to say that when I heard that this was an orange-flavored cake, I wasn't very thrilled. I'm not a big fan of citrus and chocolate, so I was kind of apathetic when it was making this. I enjoyed the challenge, and when we sat down to eat (we had some friends over to try this out), they were all very enthusiastic.

However, I have to say that the combination of the chocolate, custard, and cake was VERY pleasing, and the flavors all complimented each other very well. It was the first citrus dessert I've enjoyed in a while!!

My one criticism for this recipe was the custard, which was by far my favorite single element of the recipe. The instruction to "cook until it coats the back of a spoon" is slightly misleading. I've made other custards before, and puddings, and there are usually more detailed instructions about temperature. I took the custard off when it coated the back of the spoon and seemed thick enough, but when I strained it, the liquid that was left never firmed up so the custard was very runny. The cakes did a nice job of soaking it up, but it wasn't like a real Boston Cream Pie in that way.

Thanks for the challenge, Daring Bakers! I can't wait to see what November's challenge is!
(it's 4:30 and I'm just getting this in under the gun!)

New post coming soon... I PROMISE

I've gone & joined the Daring Bakers, and the first challenge that I'm participating in needs to be posted on Monday, 10/29. So rev up your taste-buds... I've got something yummy cruising down the pike for yous all.

Frozen Crack

No, I'm not talking about when it's too cold and when your waistline starts to fail you... I just wanted to leave a note about the ice cream that I posted on a few weeks (months?) ago... I made the Coconut Custard Ice Cream the other day for a dinner party that had a Thai theme to it. Upon taking a bite of the frozen, coconut-y, creamy deliciousness that was topped with toasted almonds and cocoa nibs, my friend A looked at me and said "Oh my god, my nipples just got hard. This shit is GOOD!!!"

So, you should make it, and then go cut some glass or something.

I'll post one of my grandmother's only tasty recipes - butterscotch brownies - in the near future. She couldn't cook worth a damn, except for her coleslaw (which took her all day in the kitchen because she was totally a mess in there) and her butterscotch brownies and butterscotch pudding. I don't know what it was about her and butterscotch, but she could sure make delicious things with it!

Back to work!

Molteny Chocolatey Goodness

Hi there!
Remember me?
I let my life get in the way of my blogging & baking, so many apologies.... there is just no excuse for that!

To get back into your good graces, here's a recipe that I've made several times for recent birthdays and anniversaries - it's easy, it's elegant, and it tastes damn good too. I got this recipe from Epicurious and it appeared originally in the January 2001 issue of Bon Appétit.



Cakes
5 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

For cakes: Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter six 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted. Cool slightly. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in large bowl to blend. Whisk in sugar, then chocolate mixture and flour. Pour batter into dishes, dividing equally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)
Bake cakes until sides are set but center remains soft and runny, about 11 minutes or up to 14 minutes for batter that was refrigerated. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Immediately turn cakes out onto plates. Serve with ice cream.

Let me know what you think of this.... enjoy!

A little Southern somethin'-somethin'

A couple of weeks ago, for my Ladies' weekend, my aunt requested that I make "that Pecan Praline cake" that I had made several years ago, for our first Ladies' weekend. We left the dish out with the cake on it, with a knife astride, and by the end of the weekend, that thing was GONE. Everyone had chipped away at it by taking a sliver here and a chunk there. It was a fairly huge hit.

Since then, this has made an excellent birthday cake, a traditional holiday dessert, and a delicious treat, winter or summer. I got this recipe from the November 2000 issue of Bon Appetit (must give credit where credit is due: I'm not interested in getting sued, I already have one of those irons in the fire - not for this website). The pralines are also delicious in salad, cookies, as a snack, you name it. Last Christmas my mom made up a bunch of these and gave them away as gifts in pretty containers. This is a delightful cake, so have a try:

Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar

Pecan Praline Topping
1 large egg white
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Preparation for cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper; butter paper. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in chopped pecans. Divide batter between pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. If necessary, run small knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off waxed paper. Cool cakes completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.)

Using 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom as aid, transfer 1 cake layer, flat side up, to platter. Spread 1 cup cream cheese frosting over top. Top with second cake layer, flat side up. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Arrange Pecan Praline Topping all over top of cake, mounding slightly in center. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.)

Preparation for Frosting
Using electric mixer, beat 12 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter and vanilla extract in large bowl until smooth. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Preparation for Pecan Pralines:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Butter rimmed baking sheet. Using fork, beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water in medium bowl until foamy. Add brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Add pecan halves and toss to coat. Spread pecan mixture on prepared baking sheet (some egg white-sugar mixture will flow out onto baking sheet). Bake until nuts are deep brown and crisp, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven; stir to loosen nuts from baking sheet. Cool nuts completely on sheet. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.)

Bon Appétit, November 2000

Summertime = Ice Cream

There is nothing like a great dish or cone of ice cream in the summer. Yes, it's still spring here, but this weekend we had some amazing weather, and it felt like summer. It's even better when the ice cream is homemade. It takes a while to do, but when you wrap your lips around that spoon, it's all worth it. I'm from Vermont, and remember when Ben & Jerry's was just a couple of hippies selling ice cream out of an old gas station. I remember having chocolate chip... and it was real vanilla with real chocolate morsels in it. Not like the gloppy messy flavors they're selling now. This was the real thing: creamy, rich, refreshing, and filled with empty calories.

A couple of years ago I made some vanilla ice cream for a friend of mine, in honor of her birthday. It was my first time making ice cream, and it pretty delicious. Since then I've made it for special occasions - from start to finish, it takes about 24 hours to properly have everything done. Recently, I was reading Amy Sedaris's Cookbook and a recipe caught my eye: Coconut Custard Ice Cream. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but I thought I would give it a try. I'm so very glad I did. You can try it too - and buy her fantastic, over-the-top production values book. It's pretty hilarious.

Take your chilling unit from your ice cream maker and place it in the freezer. I use the Cuisineart 1-1/2 quart ice cream maker. It's easy to use, and easy to clean. If you have one of those hand-cranked things that you have to pack with ice and salt, you're on your own here. Follow manufacturers directions for preparation.

Take 2 cups heavy cream, 3/4 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup of cream of coconut (Pepe Lopez works - and tastes - great). Whisk together over low heat in a double boiler or a heavy saucepan. Do not allow this mixture to boil - it will curdle the cream and you'll have to start over. Stir occassionally and heat until it's 175'. While you're waiting for it to come up to temp, take 4 eggs and whisk together. Add 3/4 cup milk (you can use any kind of milk - I use the 1% to save on calories. Yeah, right), mix well. When the cream mixture is up to 175', remove from heat. Take about 1/2 cup of the cream mixture and, while constantly stirring, slowly add it to the egg mixture. This is called "tempering" and it keeps your eggs from cooking (if you were to plop them into the hot mixture you would end up with a very expensive, creamy batch of sweet scrambled eggs) by slowly bringing their temperature up. Amy says to use a couple of tablespoons, but I add about 1 cup total, continually stirring. Then slowly add the egg mixture - which has now been tempered - to the cream mixture


and put it back on the heat. Heat until it is smooth and slightly thickened, to 160'. Stir this mixture constantly. When it comes up to heat, add 1/3rd cup sweeted grated coconut. Stir everything together, place in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.

Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the top of the ice cream base; it doesn't need to be stretched across the top. If you don't cover the mixture itself, it's going to form a skin on top of the mixture.

This mixture needs to chill for at least 3 hours, and I recommend chilling it overnight.

The next day, take your chilling unit from the freezer, assemble the ice cream maker, start 'er up, and slowly pour the ice cream mixture into the mixer. It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to freeze. I like to test it periodically to see if it's ready (and, yes, to taste it). When it seems set - similar to a good soft-serve ice cream - place the ice cream into a reclosable container (like tupperware) and freeze for another 3-4 hours, until solid.


Dish it up, garnish with some toasted sliced almonds and some cocoa nibs, and enjoy!

This is a treat well worth the wait. It's absolutely scrumptious. Not a low-calorie dessert, but a nice treat for special occasions. A note: these pictures, particularly of the prep, were for a batch that was 3 times what the original recipe calls for. I had to make ice cream for a bunch of people this weekend.

Enjoy!

Coming soon!

I don't often bake during the week... there are too many other things to deal with... BUT this weekend the women from my mom's side of the family are coming for a wine-food-gab-laugh fest, so I will have a couple of recipes to post next week: Praline Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (my aunt's favorite cake) and Coconut Cream Ice Cream. The Bakery, she loves you so much, she'll make you ice cream any time.

So please stay tuned!

These are fun

I got this from Mellbury Observer. Love these things. And, since it's kitchen/household-related, it belongs on this site.

Housekeeping A to Z

aprons - y/n?
Yes. I have some from many different periods in my life. I don't always remember to wear them, though.

baking - y/n?
As much as I can! And now I can say that I need material for my blog. Heh heh,

clothesline - y/n?
Not really. I have something that I lay sweaters out on. I'd like to get a clothesline for this summer, though.

donuts - ever made them?
No, but I remember my great-aunt making them

everyday - one homemaking thing you do everyday?
Cook. Or clean.

freezer - do you have a separate deep freezer?
No. We had a party-fridge, but had to unplug it to save $$. We had a deep freeze that someone gave us but it never worked, so it got hauled away last summer.

garbage disposal - y/n
No, but I have a compost bin. Or, as G calls it, a "controlled rot pile".

handbook - y/n?
What exactly are you asking here? I have a ton of cookbooks and magazines... do those qualify as a handbook?

ironing - love it or hate it?
Hate it. Avoid it whenever I can.

junk drawer - where is it?
Next to the fridge. That thing is out of control.

kitchen - design and decorating?
There is stuff there and I keep it under control. There is no decorating. The design is one of a glorified galley kitchen - it's a U-shape. It's efficient, though. I have no major complaints. I hope to have a gas stove and new counters before the end of 2007.

love - what is your favorite part of homemaking?
Making a delicious meal or baking something that calls everyone to the kitchen to taste.

mop - y/n?
I should do it once a week. If I get to it once a month that's good. It's hard to do, especially with 2 dogs. Very hard to keep clean.

nylons - wash them by hand or in the washer?
How about "avoid wearing them as much as possible"?

oven - do you use the window or open it to check?
Open. The window is tiny and dark.

pizza - what do you put on yours?
Cheese, or garlic & chicken, or onions and meatballs. Mmmmm.... pizza.....

quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Sleep, knit or read. Since I work outside of the home, I don't get much of a chance for down time.

recipe card box?
Yes, and magazines, and cookbooks, and binders....

style of house?
Cape

tablecloths and napkins - y/n?
When it's a special occassion, yes. Otherwise, G and I get linen napkins (not ironed) and P gets a paper one.

under the kitchen sink
Dishwasher stuff. A gallon of water.

vacuum - how many times a week?
Once or twice a week. I should do it more. Again, I work outside of the home, and have a 2 hour commute, so 2 times a week is as good as it's going to get.

wash - how many loads do you do a week?
Between 2 and 4, depending on if we have guests over the weekend.

x’es - do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off?
It's one of my most favorite things to do.

yard - who does what?
G mows, I complain about everything being overgrown. I have a kitchen garden that I hope to keep reined in this summer. We're also planting wild flowers, not vegetables, in our garden. Sometimes I go out and have a mad clipping frenzy on the shrubs.

zzz’s - what is your last homemaking task for the day?
Tidying everything up, putting things (toys, books, remote controls) away. "Resetting the room".

Schwartzwalderkirschetorte (say that 10 times fast)

We were invited to dine last night at the home of some friends, and, when I asked what we could contribute to the meal, I was told that the cuisine would be German-themed, and to go from there. I hearkened to my German classes from college, and could remember "nicht" so I decided to make a schwartzwalderkirschetorte or, literally, Black Woods Cherry Cake - Black Forest Cake. I don't know much about the history of this cake; only that I remember my mother made it for a brief period of time when I was a child. Opening the refrigerator and seeing this bohemouth shuddering there as it chilled was a close form of torture, because it was usually for a party they were having or going to, so it was hands off for me.

I got out my ingredients, and got to work yesterday morning:


In a heavy saucepan I combined 12 oz of semi-sweet chocolate morsels, 1/2 cup of milk, and 2 tbsp sugar.


Over low heat, melt the chocolate with the milk and sugar, stirring constantly. Once the chocolate has almost all melted, remove from the heat and stir until it has all melted. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.


In a standing mixer or, in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine 1/4 cup butter (not rock hard, but not melted either) and 2/3 cup sugar. Cream together until well mixed. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, until the eggs have been blended into the mixture. Add 1 tsp vanilla, blend.

Take 1/3rd of the flour mixture and combine with the butter & sugar mixture, mix well. Slowly add in 1/3 cup milk, mix well. Add another 1/3rd of the flour mixture, mix; then another 1/3 cup milk, mix. End with the final 1/3rd of the flour mixture (when making a cake, you always want to start with the dry ingredients, add wet ingredients, and end with the dry. In all recipes that I am familiar with, it's best to do the dry in 3rds and the wets in halves).

You may want to stop the mixture periodically and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, to make sure that all ingredients are combined. When this mixture looks pretty uniform, slowly add in the chocolate and mix well.

Take 2 9" cake pans (round, square, what have you) and butter and flour well. I've read that for chocolate cakes you can use cocoa powder to dust, and I tried that this time:


I found that the cake did not release well from the pans this time, and I think it's the cocoa because this has never happened before. It's an esthetic thing, I think: god forbid you have little bits of flour on the sides and bottom of your cake! For shame! So, I recommend that you stick with the flour - it's tried and true. My opinion.

Divide the batter into the 2 cake pans, and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. The recipe that I have says to bake for 25-30 minutes, but I found that the cakes were almost overdone, so I would say to try it for 20-22 minutes and then check for doneness.

While the cakes are cooling, take 2 cups of whipping cream and mix in a mixer until stiff. Add 1/3 cup sifted confectioners sugar and mix together. You can also add 3 tbsp brandy if that's your bag (I don't care for liquor in things other than cups, so I leave it out).

Once the cakes have cooled, remove from the pan. Take one layer and place on your cake plate.


Slice the layer carefully in half (I have a hard time with this "carefully" business: it's hard to slice them evenly)

and put 1 cup of whipped cream on the divided layer. Take 1/3rd of a can of canned cherry pie filling and spread it over the whipped cream, and try to keep everything about an inch from the edge.


Continue until all layers are completed


Finish off the top of the cake with the rest of the whipped cream. Take a bar of dark chocolate and make curls (with a vegetable peeler), and sprinkle the curls on top of the cake.


If you're not planning on eating this immediately, refrigerate to allow it to set up. You wouldn't want to keep it in the fridge for too long, though, unless you have it covered - and not with plastic wrap, because it will squash the whipped cream.

I hope you enjoy this! It has the potential to be really lovely, and it's an interesting mixture of chocolate, cream, and cherries. Let me know what you think.

The best thing to happen to Cheerios in a while

Cheerios have been around for about eternity and, since I have a small child, they are ubiquitous - in the car seat, in between the couch cushions, on the floor, etc. However, this is a fun little snack that one of my co-workers turned me on to. I will warn you: these are not esthically pleasing to look at. In fact, they are somewhat offensive. But they taste delicious and, I dare say, aside from an apple or another fruit or some carrot sticks, they are not too terribly bad for you either. And the recipe is rather interpretive, so feel free to make these your own.

I call them Those Cheerios Things and here's what they look like (prepare yourself: they are hideous):


Take a quantity of high-quality dark chocolate (rule of thumb here: the higher the cacao content, the better the chocolate for you in terms of anti-oxidents) - I think this time around I used about 8 oz - and melt in a heavy saucepan over very low heat. When you notice it has started to melt, start to stir and keep stirring until it's almost all melted. To facilitate and expedite the melting process, you can chop it up into small pieces. I didn't want to get my cutting board and knife dirty, so I didn't do that this time. When it looks like almost all the chocolate has melted, take it off the heat and keep stirring until it has all melted. Stir a couple more times for good measure.

While the chocolate is still hot, stir in a bunch of Cheerios or other toasted oat cereal (I sure hope General Mills doesn't come after me for not putting a TM or R after that word up there). I think I used about 4 cups. Stir until all the toasted oat cereal has been uniformly coated with the chocolate. You might want to add a little more, depending on how drippy the mixture is. Stir in your choice of other things: I used sliced almonds and dried cranberries this time around. You could use any other kind of dried fruit, or nut, whatever sounds good. I like the dark chocolate combined with the almonds and the cranberries because you're getting all kinds of antioxidents and fiber, along with the toasted oat cereal. G asked me to put some cayenne pepper on some of them, so I did - lightly -, and he seems to be happy. This adds a fabulous heat kick at the finish of the mouthful, it's fantastic. Chocolate and pepper go wonderfully together.

Drop them in rounded, generous tablespoons onto parchment, silpat or waxed paper that is on a cookie pan, and put them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to get firmed up.


These are not only scrumptious, they satisfy all kinds of taste cravings, and they are also filling so you can't eat a ton of them.

Let me know what you think of these recipes.... I welcome your feedback! And G says: "Don't forget a cup of coffee".

Make me a believer - An Easy Pie-Crust!

Not only was Jesus rumored to rise from the dead over the weekend, but my mom has taught me how to make an easy pie crust that I could beat up and not be afraid of. Miracles do happen!

We took a very simple pie crust recipe and made 2 pies... well, a pie and a "free form" tart. This isn't the most healthy recipe, but really we all know that the best pie crusts are actually made with lard, and crisco isn't as bad as that even. This recipe makes enough for 6 crusts (enough for 6 single-crust [like chocolate-cream pie] or 3 double-crust [like an apple pie]), and it is very easy to "halve" in case you only want one or two pies. The rest of the crust will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to 6 weeks - perfect for summer berry pies or winter apple, pecan, or pumpkin pies.

Here's what to do:



Take 2 sticks of butter, 2 sticks (or the equivalent cup measurement) of crisco, 4-1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar (optional), 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 egg, and enough water to fill up a 1-cup measurement after the egg and vinegar have been put into that 1 cup.

To measure out the liquid:


Whisk the egg and vinegar together in a larger bowl and place them in a 1-cup measuring cup. Add enough water to fill the cup. Stir. And, if you are only doing half of the recipe, fill a 1/2 cup measuring cup with this liquid, and pour the rest off. Easy.

Mix all dry ingredients and butter and crisco with a pastry blender until crumbly.


Pour the liquid into the dry mixture, and knead until the dough is soft. Sprinkle the dough with flour if it is too sticky, to make it easier to roll out.

You can chill this dough for 1/2 hour in the fridge, or it can be used at once.

Roll out your crusts one at a time on a lightly floured surface - we used a linen towel. It's a good idea to have your pie plate at the ready, so that you can gauge how large you need to roll the dough.



This is the tart, and we baked it on a pizza pan. After rolling out the crust, we filled it with 6 sliced apples that had been tossed with sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca (which absorbs the juice and keeps the pie from being too soggy).



Ta-Da! Beautiful, easy rustic apple tart. This is also beautiful with berries.


This is the pie shell - we pricked the bottom and the sides and baked it for about 10 minutes before putting in the lemon curd.


And the after-shot (by after I mean After Dinner):



If you want a shiny crust, you can brush it with a beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350 until pie is done (check your pie filling recipes for specifics on this).

My first recipe post - Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So last night I baked up some cookie batter that I had made on Sunday for my book club. You should know that when I bake, I do try and keep the ingredients "natural" - I don't use a lot of food coloring, or any false ingredients such as margarine or bisquick. I use King Arthur All-Purpose flour (when the recipe calls for regular flour... when it needs pastry or cake flour, I use that), which is a white flour that is not bleached. I also use Cabot butter - a local-ish business around here, and real sugar and local eggs when I can get them. Things taste differently, becuase the elements that combine to make the whole are of a high quality. It makes a significant difference. I like to keep the butter cold and sometimes I add a little extra flour - it bulks up the recipe and makes the cookies more chewy and round. They don't flatten out as they bake (and then burn).

So, back to the batter. I made some cookies the other day, and didn't bake everything up, because if it's all made and baked then I will eat them, and I am trying to watch my girlish figure.


The larger lumps that you see here are milk chocolate chunks - I ran out of semi-sweet and, I have to say, I like the cookies a lot better - they have a variable taste: some semi-sweet bits here, some milk chocolate bits there.

I scooped everything out using a great spring-loaded cookie scoop - I think I got it from Pampered Chef, and it's a great tool for cookie or muffin batter, or ice cream.


The pan in that photo is also from Pampered Chef - I've found that it is virtually impossible to burn cookies when I'm using a stoneware pan - the stoneware is heavy as hell, but it heats slowly and consistantly, allowing for a slow and consistant bake on the cookie. I no longer use my metal pans, because they will heat up too fast and burn. The only time I've ever burned cookies on the stoneware is when I forgot to set the timer and left the cookies in the over for about a half hour. What a mess. I can't reccommend these pans enough, though. I have some tart pans that I haven't used quite yet, but perhaps soon. And I have an 8" x 8" bar pan, too, that is wonderful - again, no burning, and consistant baking.

A little more background: I have a 29 year-old Jenn-Air electric stove that I hate. It came with the house, and I am really hoping this summer, when we do our remodeling (new roof & dormer), that I can squeek out a couple more bucks from the bank and get a new gas stove, as well as new countertops. The yellow just really has to go. The stove is ok, I just miss cooking and baking with gas. Also: it tends to overcook things at the back of the oven, and undercook those at the front. I suppose I could just stop being lazy and turn the pans halfway through cooking, but I am a little lazy.

After 12-15 minutes in the oven (the first batch always takes a little longer to cook, due to the pans needing a little bit more time to heat up) at 350 degrees, this is what happens:


These cookies were lovely and delicious, with a perfect mouth texture, melting chocolate, and warmth. They are perfect for any time, for comfort food or an after school (or work) treat. They can be modified, with the chocolate being changed to white chocolate, dark chocolate, what have you. Chopped up candy bars (like a Hershey's with Almonds or a Snickers bar) are also excellent. Nuts, or no nuts. It's whatever you want for them to be.

And here's how to do it yourself:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If you don't want to clean your pans, line them with silpat or parchement paper.

Take 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, 3/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3/4 cup white sugar and combine in a standing mixer or bowl. Using a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of the standing mixer, blend until well combined and creamy.

Add 2 large eggs and 1 tsp vanilla, mix until well blended.

Add 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt (I only add salt if I'm using unsalted/sweet butter) gradually, and mix well.

Add 2 cups of semi-sweet chips, or 1 cup of semi-sweet and 1 cup milk chocolate chips, or whatever you want - just make sure there's 2 cups of it. Also: if you want to add 1 cup roughly chopped nuts, this is the time to do it. Mix well, until all ingredients are well combined.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto pans. I find that you can fit about 15 cookies per pan - 3 up along the short side and 4 to 5 along the long side.

Bake for 12 minutes (15 if you are using stoneware, or if you like your cookies "well done"). Allow to cool for a few minutes so you don't burn the hell out of your mouth, then remove to a cooling rack, and dig in. These are sublime with the stereotypical glass of milk, if that's your bag. Or just standing at the sink, watching the early snowfall cover your yard.