Baking Beauties

Souffle for Two

2008-12-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

It's hard to find dessert recipes that make a single serving, or two. However, this is perfect. Really easy and really chocolately!

Link to recipe here:

Christmas Tree Bread

2008-12-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

4 1/2 - 4 3/4 C AP flour
2 Pkgs yeast
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c shortening
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp grated orange zest
powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 c flour and the yeast. In a saucepan, heat milk, sugar, shortening, salt just till warm, stirring constantly to melt shortening. Add to the dry mixture in mixer bowl. Add eggs and grated lemon peel.

Beat at low speed for 1/2 minute, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat 3 mintues at high speed. By hand, stir in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead till smooth and elestic (8-10 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double (1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Shape dough. Divide dough into thirds. For each tree, roll one third to 12x16-inch rectangle. Spread with 1 tbst butter; sprinkle with green sugar. Fold in half to 12x3 rectangle. Cut into 12 1-inch strips. Twist each one; arrange on greased baking sheet, wiht cut ends to the center in tree shape. Use 10 strips for branches and one for trunk. Cut remaining strip in half and use for top branches. Cover and let rest in warm place until dough doubles (30 - 45 minutes). Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. Remove from sheets and cool. Drizzle with P.Sugar glaze and sprinkles (or other decorative things). Makes three loaves.

So, my mom makes this bread every Christmas and our family LOVES it (except for my mom, she doesn't even like it! I decided that it's time I learn how to make the bread - so I got the recipe and voila! It's actually a fairly simple recipe, and I had really good result. You can see the bread shaped as a tree, baked, and then frosted.

I realize the "trunk" is quite phallic looking. Oops!!

Coconut Layer Cake

2008-11-25T04:37:00.000-08:00

well, it's kirsten's birthday on thursday, and she requested a coconut layer cake. i've made this recipe twice before - and i've never been able to recreate the magic of the first cake.

you can find the recipe at epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coconut-Layer-Cake-102696

it's actually quite easy to make, the cake, even though you have to whip the egg whites separately. last night, i think i left the cake in the pan to cool too long because it stuck to the bottom - in both pans. as a result, frosting the cake was somewhat challenging. i was especially disappointed in the sticking because, for the first time, the cake rose beautifully - and did not fall immediately when taken out of the oven. i was hoping to bring in this beautifully frosted piece of art today. instead, the cake is somewhat lopsided and looks really sloppy (as you can see) on the sides.

kirsten asked for a raspberry layer in the middle. i obliged; nothing fancy, though - just a layer of raspberry preserves over the cream cheese frosting. i am not sure i'll do that again. the preserves are really slippery and i don't think that helped, considering the bungled layers.

anyway, even though this post is somewhat negative, the cake really is good, and i love making it - and eating it, too. if you like pina coladas ...

Gingerbread Scones

2008-11-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

remember when we used to post to this blog? now that it's baking season, it's time to start posting again!

it is a grey november morning and i had an itch to try a new recipe out of one of my many cookbooks. i pulled the 75th anniversary edition of the best of better homes and garden cookbook and found this gem. as i type, i am enjoying one of the finished product and a hot cup of coffee.

here is the recipe:
2 cups AP flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1 beaten egg yolk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup milk
1 slightly beaten egg white
Coarse sugar (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour through cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingridients.

2. In a small bowl, mix together egg yolk, molasses, and milk. Add molasses mixture all at once to dry ingridients. Using a fork, stir until combined (mixture may seem dry).

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough by gently folding and pressing for 10 - 12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into a 7-inch circle. Using a knife, cut into 8 wedges. Arrange wedges on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush wedges with egg white, sprinkle edges with coarse sugar.

4. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool 20 minutes or serve warm.

thirteen minutes was the perfect bake time for me. the scones are not too dry, though they do crumble some. i think that's true to form for scones, though. these would be great on christmas morning. and they are really easy to make. in fact, i think they are my best scone attempt to date.

nice.

skater chick

2008-03-01T06:31:00.002-08:00

last week, a woman told me i was a great public speaker, but she was really surprised to find that, considering how "goth" i am. well, i think this i much more skater chick, don't you?

I got a haircut & highlight last week

2008-02-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Doesn't my hair look kinda 70's, all feathered and stuff?! hahaha

Homemade Caramels

2007-12-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well, ladies, these sweet treats are definitely NOT figure friendly - note the butter and the heavy cream in the recipe - but they sure are tasty! It took FOREVER for the mixture to reach 250-degrees, but I also had the burner heat pretty low (I was afraid of scorching the mixture). Were I to make them again, I'd use higher heat so as to speed up the boiling process.

Homemade Caramel
2 cups white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup evaporated milk
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 cup butter
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Grease a 12x15 inch pan.
2. In a medium to large pot, combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, evaporated milk, whipping cream, and butter. Monitor the heat of the mixture with a candy thermometer while stirring. When the thermometer reaches 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) remove the pot from the heat.
3. Stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and let the mixture cool completely. When cooled cut the Carmel into small squares and wrap them in wax paper for storage.

There are some tricks to this recipe. One--very very lightly grease the pan. Two--use a large kettle; mixture actually triples in size during cooking phase. Three--It will take from 30 to 40 minutes to get to 250 degrees. Finally, make sure caramels are cooled or they will stick to wax paper. But if too cooled, they will be hard to cut.

Yea! It works!

2007-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hello ladies!
It seems like my gmail account finally came through (or I finally figured out how to do this). Thanks again for the invite and I can't wait to post come treats. The pics of the food you posted already look fantastic!.

Holiday Treats in Ely

2007-12-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

so, last weekend was my annual get-together-and-bake weekend with my friend tara. our friend sara joined us, too. the first picture is of some cherry almond drop cookies that i made. the recipe is quite simple:
1 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. white chocolate chips
3/4c. dried cherries
1 1/2 c. rice krispies
1/3 c. slivered almonds
1 tsp. vanilla

you are supposed to melt the chocolate and then pour it over the dry ingriedients, mix well, and drop by spoonfulls to a wax-paper-covered cookie sheet. sounds easy enough. i got confused with the vanilla.

since it did not make sense to me to add the vanilla to the dry ingridients, i added it to the chocolate, which i was melting in a double boiler. i quickly learned that was the WRONG thing to do. my silky, smooth, melted chocolate turned into a blob of chocolate play-dough. you cannot add a liquid to melted chocolate. so, i ended up tossing the white and dark chocolate combo and simply melting a bag and a half of semi-sweet chocolate chips. i added the vanilla to the mixture once that chocolate had been pretty evenly dispersed through the dry ingridients.

i also doubled the recipe, and i would suggest using more like 5 or 6 cups of rice krispies, rather than a doubled-3. cookies are good, though. and i'd also stick to just using straight chocolate. the white chocolate mix makes for a sweeter cookie. (oh, and yes, the cookies are hardening outside - it was like 10-degrees-below zero. who needs a freezer?)

Next, we have a picture of some frostes sugar cookies that tara made. i don't have the recipe, but i can tell you they are the best sugar cookies i've ever tasted.

and, finally, we have spritz. sara made these cookies. i know the cookies call for butter, flour, and almond extract, and they are made with a cookie press. sara added red food coloring to half of the dough to get the red cookies pictured here. she had a lot of fun mixing the color into the dough with her hands.

i also made some chai shortbread cookies - recipe courtesy of cookinglight.com:

A combination of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper gives these cookies a taste reminiscent of Indian spiced tea. The fine texture of powdered sugar helps them retain the characteristic shortbread crunch.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 tablespoon butter, softened
1 tablespoon ice water

PreparationLightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until combined (mixture will appear crumbly). Sprinkle dough with 1 tablespoon ice water; toss with a fork. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into 2 (6-inch-long) logs; wrap each log in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour or until very firm.

Preheat oven to 375°.
Unwrap dough logs. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices using a serrated knife. Place dough circles 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

SUSHI!

2007-12-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

i attempted sushi for the first time last night. i bought a kit the last time i was in the cities and have been DYING to give my hand a try at making some california rolls. although the whole process is very time consuming, it's really not hard. even making the rice was not too bad - and, for the first time, it turned out fairly well. the most challenging aspect of making the rolls was the rolling - it took me a few tries to figure out how to use the bamboo mat (i still need some practice). i stuffed the rolls with imitation crab, avacado, cucumber, and cream cheese. the rice is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. i bought sushi ginger (pickled) and wasabi. my guests, two of whom were sushi virgins, were notably impressed. all in all, a great first try! (sorry the pictures are marginal - i got so carried away eating, i almost forgot to take a snap shot!)

सुपर दुपेर एअस्य ब्रेड

2007-12-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

This bread was so good & easy.

I roasted a whole bulb of garlic and added it to the dough. The scent of this bread baking was scrumptious.

Recipe, courtesy of the New York Times:

Recipe: Simple Crusty Bread Adapted from ''Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,'' by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours' resting and rising

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough

Cornmeal.

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

Home Sweet Home

2007-12-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

so, here are a couple shots of the new place - they're not the best, but at least you can get a feel for the space. the top picture is of the living/dining area, taken from the kitchen. the walls are a mossy green - very warm.

The lower picture is of the kitchen area, taken from the living room. the cut out into the kitchen - and the track lighting - is one of my favorite features in the house. i bought a dining room table yesterday - that will sit directly under the cut out - on the dining room side.

i've been in the house since friday night. all has gone well. although, there was some excitement last night. i was taking a brief snooze on the couch and when i woke, i found myself in complete darkness - power in the entire house was out. i freaked out a bit, and then i noticed some flashing lights in the back of the house. i looked out the kitchen window to discover that
the utility pole in the backyard was on fire. yes. on fire.

fortunately, the crew from MN power was already on the scene. power was restored about 30 minutes later. still. really? utility poles on fire within the first 72 hours? gad. i'll try and take some better pictures tonight.

three cheers, though: i have my own space!

purse and banana bread

2007-12-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the purse that Laurie made me, both inside and out. Or outside and in. I can't decide which way I like it better, but it rules. She rules.

And as long as I had my camera out, I decided to take a picture of the banana bread that I just made because I always buy bananas and then forget to eat them. I bought this pan because my plan for Christmas for gifts for some people, especially at work, is to make little loaves of different kinds of bread and then put together a small plate of them for gifts. This was a banana bread recipe from my mom I adjusted by substituting applesauce in for half of the shortening and whole wheat flour for half of the regular. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Cake & Tile!

2007-11-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

That's a cake celebrating our laundry room getting tiled!

Recipe:

Devil's food cake

The flavor of this rich chocolate cake is terrific the day it’s baked but becomes even deeper over time; we suggest making it at least one day ahead. And it works particularly well as cupcakes.
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 hr
Makes 10 servings.

1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 3 (8- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms of each with rounds of wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, and saltin another bowl.

Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour and cocoa mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture (batter may look curdled).

Divide batter among pans, smoothing tops. Bake in upper and lower thirdsof oven, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean and layers begin topull away from sides of pans, 20 to25 minutes total. Cool layers in pans onracks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove wax paper, and cool completely.

Put 1 cake layer, rounded side up,on a cake plate and spread with about 1 cup buttercream. Top with another cake layer, rounded side up, and spread with another cup buttercream. Top with remaining cake layer and frost top and sides of cake with remaining buttercream.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream - I used whole milk

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Here's a picture of our newly tiled laundry room. Didn't my brother do a fantastic job?! For some reason, the previous owners had this room CARPETED. Carpet. Laundry room. Mind. Boggling.

This week, I will be painting the baby blue baseboards white. Previous homeowners loved baby blue!

It

2007-11-21T09:39:00.001-08:00

Sweet Fries

2007-11-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

These are delish!

Cut sweet potatoes in to fry shapes. Dip into a mixture of 2 foamy egg whites, 1 tsp black pepper & 1 tsp salt. Spread on oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for 30 to 35 minutes or until crisp & brown.

For spicy fries, add 1 Tbs chili powder & 1/2 tsp cayenne. For garlic fries, add 1 tsp garlic powder & 1 tsp paprika.

Buttwashers, Truffles and Sponge Bread

2007-11-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Can't remember if I told you guys that the master bathroom has a sprayer right next to the toilet, if, you know, things get messy. It cracks me up.

We were invited to dinner on Sunday night at a friend's, and I thought, well, I should bring a hostess gift. I settled on truffles because, well, what's not to love? I ended up forgetting to take the truffles for our hosts, but a box went home with my sister and one with my brother.

This is Pugliese sponge bread. What's creepy about this bread is that you must form the wet dough in your hands and then throw it into a 450 degree oven right on the pizza stone. I'm not exactly un-accident prone, so this bread sorta frightened me. As you can see, I need a little help with the shaping as they look a little alien-like.

Stromboli from the King Arthur Cookbook

2007-10-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

These were so soft. I didn't mix the spinach very well with the salt and red pepper flake (my own addition) so some parts were bland, my fault! But the dough was scrumptious! Would make again!

Furniture

2007-10-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

We went furniture shopping yesterday and purchased: a dining table, bed, mattress, two nightstands, TV, console for the TV, and couch. Needless to say, we won't be purchasing much else for a looooong time!

Here's the dining table:

And the couch:

http://www.robinson-robinson.com/e-store/media/prod_print/S490.pdf

I am so excited to have somewhere to sit! I can't wait until the stuff arrives on Friday!

Spinach Potato Torta

2007-10-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

Mo and I are making a conscious effort to eat less meat. Toward this end, I recently purchased a cooked book called "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" which included a recipe for this torta.

The bottom and side "crusts" are comprised of crisped & browned russet potatoes. The filling is cottage cheese, feta cheese. cilantro, parsely, salt, pepper and some spice that I am forgetting.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty good tasting. Would make again!

Buckwheat Hamburger Buns

2007-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

I used the "Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns" recipe from a gluten free cookbook I have. I've been playing around with the recipe and decided to replace the rice flour with buckwheat flour.They are pretty tasty. I think I like them better than the rice version.

The recipe calls for a "hamburger pan". I didn't even know there was such a thing, but then realized that's what bakeries must use to get such uniform buns. Instead, I used a cookie sheet. The gluten free doughs are usually very sticky so I get to use my favorite kitchen tool, my lunch lady scoop. I scooped balls of dough. Then I used the a bottom of a drinking glass dipped in oil to squish them flat.

I googled buckwheat and found out it is a superfood. If you are interested in reading more about it, you might like this link: http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/young/life/life_buckwheat.jhtml

SS31

2007-08-13T14:09:00.001-07:00

SS31

2007-08-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nose Rings

2007-08-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

so, since i am not doing much baking these days (primarily because i do not have my own kitchen!), i thought i'd post a picture of my newest accessory: check out my right nostril.

i've been wanting a nose ring for more than two years. but, the ol' ball & chain (and i mean that literally) always threatened to start wearing his skull & crossbones earring again if i had my nose pierced. knowing full well he'd do it, i put my desire to be-jewel my face aside.

well, now that i am no longer being oppressed by a 280# weight on my back, i had my nose done.

and. i. love. love. love. love. it!!

Karal's Home!

2007-07-17T11:57:00.001-07:00

I didn't know how to write "Welcome Home Karal" backward . . .

Pina Colada Hearts

2007-07-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

Do you like pina coladas? Getting caught in the rain?

Well, they're not my favorite but these turned out really good. I made pina colada sorbet because I'm trying to eat more coconut milk. (A nutritionist recommended it for me once.) I used this recipe except I was fresh out of lime juice so I used pineapple juice instead. I also reduced the sugar to 1 cup. It still turned out quite sweet. After turning it to sorbet in my ice cream maker, I put in into a silicone cupcake mold and it turned out in cute single serving portions. I love that part. Next time I might try adding popsicle sticks for fun. I got the idea from a beautiful book called Sweet Alternative.

I want to try it again with a different flavor. What other flavors go well with coconut?

Mocha Cappuccino Marble Coffeecake

2007-07-05T06:29:00.001-07:00

I got this recipe from a cookbook recently given to me by one of Mo's coworkers (how sweet!). The cake was really good & soft. And very coffee flavored!

Ingredients

12 TB butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TB instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 BT hot water
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup sour cream (I used my buttermilk and fat free plain yogurt)
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Butter, flour a bundt pan.

Cream butter, sugar til light & fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Throw in vanilla & dissolved coffee.

Mix all dry ingredient together. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients alternately with the sour cream in two increments, beating until smooth. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into a small bowl and mix in melted chocolate. Spoon 4 heaping TBS of the coffee batter into the pan, spacing them apart, then spoon some of the chocolate batter by the tablespoon into the spaces. Repeat until all batter is used. With a knife, swirl through the mixture once to marble the batters.

Bake for 55 mins to 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on rack in pan for 15 mins, then unmold and cool completely.

Butter!

2007-07-05T06:26:00.001-07:00

I had some leftover cream, so I whipped it in the Kitchenaid, drained off the buttermilk and *voila* my very own butter!

Laurie, whaddya think of these brownies?

2007-06-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

I just found these on marthastewart.com. Thought you might like!

Allergen Free Brownies (from Babycakes & Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen mini brownies
1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for pans
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo and fava bean flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1 cup unrefined sugar or 10 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons agave nectar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup brewed coffee or hot water
2 cups vegan gluten-free chocolate chips, such as Tropical Source
Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3 dozen mini-muffin pans with oil; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, potato starch, arrowroot, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder; set aside. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, 1/2 cup canola oil, and vanilla. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine. Stir in coffee until it forms a batter. Fold in chocolate chips.

Place 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Transfer muffin pans to oven, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before unmolding.

First published: January 2007

Beef Stock

2007-06-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Not pretty, but it's making my house smell really good:

4 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 fresh thyme sprig
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
2 lb meaty beef shanks, sawed crosswise into 1-inch slices by butcher
2 lb meaty veal shanks, sawed crosswise into 1-inch slices by butcher (did not use)
2 onions (left unpeeled), quartered
1 carrot, quartered (used a bunch of baby carrots)
4 qt plus 2 1/2 cups cold water
2 celery ribs, quartered
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Special equipment: cheesecloth; kitchen string (did not use)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

While oven heats, wrap parsley, thyme, and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni.

Spread beef shanks, veal shanks, onions, and carrot in a large flameproof roasting pan, then brown well in oven, turning occasionally, about 1 hour.

Transfer meat and vegetables to a 6- to 8-quart stockpot. Add 2 cups water to roasting pan, then straddle pan across 2 burners and deglaze by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Add deglazing liquid to stockpot along with 4 quarts water, celery, salt, and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and skim froth. Add remaining 1/2 cup water, then bring mixture to a simmer and skim any froth.

Simmer gently, uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 8 cups, 3 to 5 hours.

Pour stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. If using stock right away, skim off and discard fat. If not, cool stock completely, uncovered, then chill, covered (it will be easier to remove fat when chilled).

Cooks' note:
Stock keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week or frozen 3 months.

Makes about 8 cup

Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti

2007-06-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

The recruiter who helped get Mo a job in Lincoln is leaving her current job to go to grad school. She treated us so well, I thought I'd make her a package of "academic accoutrements," to include these biscotti, some tea, and highlighters.

Mo said the biscotti were really good.

Ingredients

Serves 4

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for baking sheet
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for baking sheet
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup shelled pistachio nuts (I used macadamia nuts)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a baking sheet; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs; beat until well combined, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary. Add flour mixture, and stir to form a stiff dough. Stir in pistachios and chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to prepared baking sheet; form into a slightly flattened log, about 12 by 4 inches. Bake until slightly firm, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

On a cutting board, using a sharp serrated knife, cut biscotti diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet, and bake until crisp but still slightly soft in the center, about 8 minutes.

Isn't this cool?

2007-06-26T12:22:00.001-07:00

Go Anywhere Rhubarb Squares

2007-06-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

ever since laurie posted the rhubarb recipe, i've been itching to bake with rhubarb. hence, the following:
Go Anywhere Rhubarb Squares
1 c. flour
1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter

Filling
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
3 c. finely chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb

combine flour and powdered sugar. cut in butter so mixture resembles coarse crumbs. press into the bottom of an 11x7x2 inch baking pan. bake for 12 minutes at 350-degrees. for filling, combine the first four ingridents. stir in rhubarb. bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean. cool on wire rack. serve warm or cold. store in refrigerator.

SUPER easy recipe and the bars are not bad. the crust - a shortbread of sorts - is the best part. next time i cook with rhubarb, though, i'll use a more sophisticated recipe. something with oatmeal, too, i think.

(recipe is from www.rhubarbinfo.com)

No Wheat, no milk, no soy

2007-06-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let you all know that I'm going on a gluten-free diet. My aunt had a test done and found out she is intolerant to gluten. One of her parents gave her the gene for celiac disease and the other parent gave her a gene for a non-celiac gluten intolerance. They told her her siblings (she has 10 of them, one is my dad) have a 75% chance of having the same problem. If my aunt had children, they would have the same deal.

I've been wondering if I was gluten intolerant so this adds a lot of weight to that idea. The test is between $100-$350 so I'm not going to take it yet but might sometime. I've been eating gluten free since yesterday and I already feel better. Like the good little researcher I've read the better part of 5 books on the topic today. I'm thinking this might be the underlying cause of my lactose intolerance, soy intolerance, migraines, asthma, & allergies. Anyway, I won't be able to eat a lot of what you make on the baking beauties blog but I'll probably post some gluten free stuff in case you want to broaden your horizons.

Chocolate Eclairs!

2007-06-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

The eclair above was not my best; there really should not be any pastry cream on the outside (I got a little crazy with the pastry bag!). However, I personally like the black/white constrast.

So, I was feeling like I wanted a baking challenge this weekend, and I found it making eclairs. The process was not difficult, just time consuming.

The recipe for eclairs is broken down into three smaller recipes: 1) the pate a choux, which is the carrier for the 2) pastry cream and together 3) is the eclair recipe, which includes chocolate.

Mo took all of these to work. Well, almost all . . . ;)

All recipes courtesy Martha Stewart

Pate a Choux

Makes enough for 30 eclairs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, (1 liquid cup)
Directions

Combine 1 cup water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Stir in flour. When flour is combined, return to heat. This mixture is called a panade. Dry the panade by stirring constantly for 4 minutes. It is dry when it pulls away from the sides and a film forms on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed, until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, on medium speed, letting each one incorporate completely before adding the next. Add final egg a little at a time until the batter is smooth and shiny. Test batter by touching it with your finger and lifting to form a string. If a string does not form, the batter needs more egg. If you have added all the eggs and the batter still doesn't form a string, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it does.

The batter may be used immediately or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To use chilled, remove from the refrigerator, and stir to soften before filling piping bag.

Pastry Cream for Eclairs
Ingredients

Makes enough for 30 eclairs
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions

Prepare an ice bath; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, egg, and 2 tablespoons sugar. Add cornstarch and flour; whisk until smooth and pale yellow. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Stir over medium-high heat until milk begins to steam. Whisking constantly, add half the hot milk to the egg-yolk mixture. Stir until smooth; add combined mixture back to remaining hot milk in the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, whisking rapidly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl.

Place over ice bath and let stand, stirring frequently, until cool. Remove from ice bath, and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface until ready to use. If not using immediately, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Eclairs!
Ingredients

Makes 30
Pate a Choux (see above)
Pastry Cream for Eclairs (see above)
Vegetable oil, for plastic wrap
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.with a rack in the center. Line two unrimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats (French nonstick baking mats).

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch (Ateco No. 806) tip with pate a choux batter; pipe out oblong shapes, about 3 1/2 inches long and 1 inch wide, onto prepared baking sheets at 2-inch intervals. Gently run a fork dipped in water along each top, making straight lines to ensure even rising.

Cover one baking sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator. Transfer the second sheet to the oven. Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Turn off oven; prop door open slightly to let steam escape. Allow eclairs to dry in oven until centers are damp but no wet dough remain (test by cutting into the center of one), about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Raise heat back to 425 degrees and repeat process with remaining batch. If serving immediately, fill eclairs while still warm so they can take more cream; if filling at a later time, insert a skewer into one end, and move it around to expand opening for cream; set aside.

Transfer pastry cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth and softened. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and filling tip (Ateco No. 230) with pastry cream. Insert tip into one end of each eclair; fill.
To make the glaze, heat cream in a small saucepan. Pour over chocolate in a small bowl. Let stand until chocolate is melted, stir until smooth. Dip top of each eclair into glaze; let excess drip off before turning over. Transfer to a wire rack to allow glaze to set. Serve, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 day.

Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet

2007-06-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups Thai coconut milk (don't use Coco Lopez, becuz it's already sweetened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm the water, sugar and salt in a med. saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chunks and whisk until chocolate melts. Whisk in coconut milk & vanilla. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. If a layer of coconut milk has firmed up on top, simply whisk it in before churning.

Ice Cream Cones for Max & Laurie

2007-06-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

Laurie, this recipe calls for a "conical-cone rolling form made of plastic or wood or plastic." If you don't have that or some object around the house that you could for that purpose, you can use an overturned teacup or bowl as an alternative.

Have fun!

Ice Cream Cones sans Ice Cream
1/4 cup egg whites (about 2 large egg whites)
7 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together egg whites, sugar & vanilla. Stir in salt and half of the flour, then mix in melted butter. Beat in rest of flour until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread 2 level tablespoons of the batter into a circle 6 inches across. Try to get the circles as even and smooth as possible (you're likely to get 2 rounds on one standard baking sheet).

Put the baking sheet in the oven and begin checking the cones after about 10 minutes. Depending on your oven, they take between 10-15 minutes. The circles should be a deep golden brown. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use a thin metal spatula to loosen the edge of one disc, quickly flip it over and immediately roll it around the cone rolling form (or an overturned teacup), pressing the seam firmly on the counter to close the cone and pinching the point at the bottom securely closed. Let the cone cool slightly on the mold until it feels firm, then slide it off and stand it upright in a tall glass to cool. Repeat.

Storage: Batter can be made 4 days in advance and stored in the reefer. Let the batter come to room temp before using. Best eaten the same day they're made, but can be stored in an airtight container until ready to use.

Chocolate Babka Bread Puddin'

2007-06-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

The bread puddin', looks burnt but it's not:

Individual serving with dulce de leche:

This recipe was good, but too, too sweet. I cut the 1/2 cup of white sugar, and I could have eliminated the brown sugar as well. The babka had enough sweetness on its own! I didn't top with whipped cream. I love fat & sugar (probably more than the average person . . . ), but even I have my limits!

I tend to prefer bread puddings that have a custard or pudding at the bottom. It's like a nice sloppy, creamy (!) surprise. The bread soaked up all the custard, which is fine, some people like that, but it's not my preference.

I added about a cup of pecans.

Chocolate Babka Bread Pudding
Recipe created by Rori Trovato
From the January, 2002 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine (*snort*)
Serves 8–10

BREAD PUDDING

1 loaf chocolate babka (see below), torn into 1-inch pieces (or 8 cups loosely packed cubes)
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
9 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 (12.3-ounce) can dulce de leche (see below)

TOPPING

2 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Place rack in center of oven. Line a sheet pan with foil. Set aside. Place bread in a 9" x 13" baking dish and set aside.

In a bowl, mix milk, cream, eggs, sugars, cinnamon, vanilla and salt until well combined. Pour mixture slowly over bread. Set aside 15 minutes. Heat dulce de leche 1 minute in microwave to soften; stir half into pudding. Place the baking dish on prepared sheet pan and bake 1 hour and 25 minutes (custard should still wobble when done). Remove from oven and swirl remaining dulce de leche on top. Allow to set.

Serve pudding warm with whipped cream.

To make whipped cream, if desired: Using a hand mixer, beat cream, sugar and vanilla at medium speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes 4 cups.

Chocolate babka: A sweet dessert bread, similar to coffee cake; available at specialty food stores and bakeries or online at www.ebabka.com.

Dulce de leche: A sweet milk sauce made from milk, sugar, baking soda and vanilla; we recommend La Lechera dulce de leche by Nestlé, available at www.mexgrocer.com.

Strawberry "blueberry" Muffins

2007-06-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

since this is our first morning together as a family in over a week, i thought i'd be a good wife and mom and make some homemade muffins for the family. i've really been working at NOT wasting food, at using leftovers - reducing our waste as much as possible.

last summer, keith bought this HUGE bag of frozen fruit from sam's club. up until recently, the fruit has just been collecting ice. so, i decided to make use of it in these muffins. from the new best recipe cook book:

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups AP flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup sugar
4 TBSP melted butter, cooled slightly
1 1/4 cups of sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild

Sift the dry ingridients together. In a separate bowl, beat egg slightly. Add sugar and mix until homogenous. Add butter in 2 or 3 stages, mix completely. Add sour cream in 2 or 3 stages. Mix well. Add fruit to flour mixture. Stir to coat. Add egg mixture to dry ingridients and mix until incorporated and fruit is distributed evenly. Do not over-mix - there will be pockets of flour. Bake 22-25 minutes at 350-degrees.

I used strawberries in place of the blueberries. the muffins are light and tasty. the only problem i had was the muffins kind of collapsed when i removed them from the pan. i think i made them too big. or else the strawberries were too heavy.

all in all, a recipe worth repeating.
PS: i downloaded a new photo program, picasa - free! - and it lets me post pictures to the blog right from there. super cool.

Chocolate Babka!

2007-06-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well, this certainly was time consuming, but I *think* worth it. The dough was absolutely scary in the beginning. With all the butter, I never thought it would come together, but thanks to the Kitchenaid mixer, it did! It was one of the softest doughs I have ever made. Butter!

I found the rolling instructions to be somewhat confusing. I had to read over a number of times before I understood, but still unsure if I really *got it*. The end pieces of the loaf have a lot less chocolate than the innards.

Since this made three loaves (gulp!), I sent two loaves with Mo to take to work. I will turn the loaf I kept for us into bread pudding! Pictures to follow . . .

I had a couple of bites this morning, and it's pretty good. It's a cross between bready & cakey. Very sweet. Glad I used bittersweet chocolate and not semisweet.

Courtesy Martha Stewart (yeah, I know . . . )

Ingredients

Makes 3 loaves
1 1/2 cups warm milk, 110 degrees
2 (1/4 ounce each) packages active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups plus a pinch of sugar
3 whole large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
2 1/4 pounds semisweet chocolate, very finely chopped [I used bittersweet]
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

Pour warm milk into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over milk; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, and egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until almost all the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter, and beat until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, and a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when squeezed is formed, about 10 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Place chocolate, remaining cup sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl, and stir to combine. Using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter until well combined; set filling aside.

Generously butter three 9-by-5-by-2 3/4-inch loaf pans; line them with parchment paper. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon cream; set egg wash aside. Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep 2 pieces covered with plastic wrap while working with the remaining piece. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick.

Brush edges with reserved egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of the reserved chocolate filling evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Refresh egg wash if needed. Roll dough up tightly like a jelly roll. Pinch ends together to seal. Twist 5 or 6 turns. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 2 tablespoons filling over the left half of the roll, being careful not to let mixture slide off. Fold right half of the roll over onto the coated left half. Fold ends under, and pinch to seal. Twist roll 2 turns, and fit into prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of each loaf with egg wash. Crumble 1/3 of streusel topping over each loaf. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees; bake until babkas are deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve. Babkas freeze well for up to 1 month.

Streusel Topping
Ingredients

Makes 3 3/4 cups
1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter. Using a fork, stir until fully combined with clumps ranging in size from crumbs to 1 inch.

no photos

2007-06-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

ok, so i had high aspirations of doing some baking over the last week, while keith and tanner were in florida. i never quite got around to it. i grilled burgers on tuesday, and made a very delicious pizza last night, using tomoatoes, fresh basil, fresh motzarella, and garlic infused oil, but that is the extent of my baking endeavors.

i realized: if i bake a whole bunch of yummy goodness, i'd just get fatter and fatter because no one would be around to eat the goodness but me! so, i abstained.

i do, however, still have pancake and brownie pictures to post - i was just too lazy! well, and i WAS sick on wednesday. mary and i went out for thai tuesday afternoon, and i swear the pad thai gave me a mile case of food poisoning. i was in the bathroom every 20 minutes and prayed to the porcelain god once. i also was in a slumber from 12pm wednesday until 6:15am thursday. so, there is my justification.

and yesterday, there was trauma in my life. i had a meeting a local radio station in the morning. while i was waiting for my contact, i HAD to use the restroom. well, 10 minutes later, after i'd finished my business ... twice ... i flushed and was washing my hands. i looked over to see the water in the commode rising ... fast! no plunger in sight, i prayed that the water would stop at the top ... but, oh no: my cup runneth over - and not in a good way. a typhoon of brown water quickly filled the bathroom and into the hallway. i leapt out of the room, and sheepishly told the receptionist that the toilet had overflowed. when i took my seat in the waiting area, i heard one of the djs from the back exclaim: who had pooping problems in the ladies! and then someone else: what the hell is going on? who was the last person to use the bathroom.

by this time, i am turning the most lovely shade of crimson, wishing i could just vanish and never be seen again. thankfully, the receptionist helped me save face by saying she did not know who caused the mess.

finally, my meeting date arrived and i escaped into the conference room. and you can bet i did not say good bye to the receptionist on my way out.

so, k & t get back tomorrow. the baking will again commence!

I made cheese and Indian balls!

2007-06-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

The cheese:

Getting ready to be stuffed:

Getting stuffed with toasted walnuts, coriander and sugar:

Simmering in sugar water & rose water:

Ta Da!!

So, I made some Indian cheese for the first time (chhana & paneer). I took some of the channa and made the "Indian balls" as shown above (they're really called rasmalai, but I can't pronounce that very well, so I just call them balls.) Mo liked my balls because they weren't grainy like what he's normally had.

I used the paneer to make palak (spinach) paneer. Mo actually made the spinach part, and it was good. Spicy, but not too much!

Chocolate Souffle

2007-06-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

I loved this for three reasons:

1. Easy
2. Tastes great
3. Makes just 2 servings!

INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus additional for dusting the dishes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
1 large egg yolk
2 large egg whites
confectioners' sugar for dusting the soufflés

Butter 2 shallow 3/4-cup gratin dishes and dust them with the additional granulated sugar, shaking out the excess. In a bowl blend together 2 tablespoons of the remaining granulated sugar, the flour, the cocoa powder, the butter, and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles meal. In a saucepan bring the milk to a boil. Whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk with the chocolate, cook the mixture over moderate heat, whisking, for 1 minute, or until it is thickened, and let it cool. In a bowl beat the egg yolk slightly and beat in the chocolate mixture. In another bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks, add the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, and beat the meringue until it holds stiff glossy peaks. Stir one fourth of the meringue into the chocolate pastry cream to lighten it and fold in the remaining meringue gently but thoroughly. Divide the mixture between the prepared dishes and bake the soufflés in a shallow baking pan in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 minutes, or until they are puffed. Dust the soufflés decoratively with the confectioners' sugar and serve them immediately.

Serves 2.

Gourmet
February 1992
Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rhubarb Crunch

2007-05-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

These rhubarb bars are tasty but I think they have way too much sugar. I love the flavor and texture though--soft and tart on the bottom, oatmeal cookie type topper. Remind me of something Nancy Edstrom would have left in the common room.

Here's the recipe from allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS
3 cups diced rhubarb
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large mixing bowl combine rhubarb, white sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir well and spread evenly into baking dish. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine brown sugar, oats, and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir well then cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over rhubarb layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Aunt Marian's Zucchini Bread

2007-05-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe over the weekend and my dad and brothers couldn't get enough. Delicious and a good way to sneek some veggies into a treat. The first time I made it with 3 cups of white flour--the next time with 2 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. I am out of my whole wheat pastry flour but I think I will try that for all 3 cups next time.

From what I can tell, Mark and Max haven't touched it. Seems kinda weird. Maybe they are scared of the little green specks inside?

Here's the recipe:

3 eggs

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup oil

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups flour

Beat eggs, mix in oil, vanilla and dry ingredents. Stir in zucchini. Grease bottom only of two loaf pans; pour batter into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check with knife in center--should come out clean when done. Makes 2 loaf pans.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2007-05-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

so, i signed up to receive cooking light's newsletter (cooking light is my FAVORITE magazine - it's useful and inexpensive). the recipe for chocolate cupcakes in last week's issue caught my attention. not only do both keith and i have a penchant for sweets, tanner actually wanted to get me cupcakes for mother's day. so, i gave this recipe a whirl:

Cooking Light's Chocolate Cupcakes

3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fat-free milk

Frosting
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cupcakes, beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with 1/2 cup milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until cupcakes spring back easily when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small, heavy saucepan over low heat. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and chopped chocolate, and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and cool. Stir in the powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread frosting over cupcakes.

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 cupcake)

***

although i frosted the cupcakes, i did not use the recipe above, as i did not have all of the ingridients on hand. instead, i simply made the following:

Amy's Cheater Frosting

~2 tbs butter

~1/4 cup cocoa

~1/4 warm skim milk

2 tsp vanilla

~2.5 cups powdered sugar

(as you can see, there is no science to the recipe above)

the frosting wasn't too sweet, and it was kind of runny. tasted ok, though. i ended up cooking the cupcakes for 20 minutes - about two minutes too long. the cupcakes are a little dry, but not so dry you feel like you swallowed a cup of sand. also, i was really impressed that i actually had just the right amount of batter to make 12 cupcakes. usually, i end up with way more batter. i don't know why ...

all in all, i'll make this recipe again, reducing the bake time by ~2 mintues.

I am Making Life!

2007-05-18T13:53:00.001-07:00

CHIVES

CILANTRO

(blurry) BASIL

i am attempting to grow herbs in my window. so far, so good - i think. i planted these herbs about two (or is it three?) weeks ago. the cilantro and chives seem to be doing the best, but the basil is, indeed, making a valiant effort. well, and the chives look like a jumbled mess of weeds. i've tasted both the cilantro and the chives - they taste as they should. let's see what happens in two more weeks!

here's to life!

"Whole Wheat? That's My Favorite Kind of Bread!"

2007-05-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

I noticed after I took the picture that there is a train and a shoe on the table next to my plate. Anyone else have that? Also, the bread is cooling over the sink as we are currently out of counter space. One bonus is that then the crumbs go right into the sink. Loving that!

The title quote comes from Maxwell. I thought he might be turned off from this bread because it's so dark, but apparently he's used to the whole grain thing. I used the following recipe from the West Bend bread machine owner's manual:

100% Whole Wheat Bread (1 1/2 lb loaf)

9 oz Water

1 TBS Molasses (fun!)

2 TBS Honey

2 TBS Butter

3 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 TBS Dry Milk (I left this out)

1 1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Put in bread machine. Let it make bread.

It made for a squat loaf. I was worried for a while till Max & JJ started gobbling it up. It's great. Plain, but soft and tasty. Max said, "Tell your friends. A good recipe."

Light Oat Bread

2007-05-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

At what point when making changes to a recipe does it become a new recipe?

I am looking for tasty whole grain recipes for my bread maker. I found one to try on allrecipes.com

Light Oat Bread:

1 1/4 Cuppa water

2 TBS Butter

1 tsp salt (which I forgot to put in)

1/2 Cuppa rolled oats

2 TBS brown sugar (how come you taste so good?)

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast.

Add ingredients to bread maker and let it do its thing.

I'm really excited at how this turned out. I noticed right away that it was missing salt. Seems to be calling out to become some cinnamon toast....JJ likes it. Max said, "I don't like your oatmeal bread. I wanna waffle." Note how it becomes "my" bread now that he wants a waffle. He helped to make it. Mark is not home yet--I'll add comments if he has any. Oh! The most exciting thing is that I made this in a $5 bread maker from the thrift store. Sweet!

Laurie's Cracker Challenge

2007-05-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Laurie! Great idear to have the a baking challenge!

I made the Multi-Seed Crackerbread from KA, pg. 159

Changes I made: did not use WHOLE yellow cornmeal, use the pasta attachment to roll out the cracker (not a rolling pin)

Seeds I used: sesame, poppy, fennel
Herbs I used: thyme

These definitely needed more salt. Right out of the oven, the crackers were dreadfully bland. Over the last few days, they have gained more flavor. I can definitely taste the fennel seed, which is nice and sausagey! I really like these crackers with a tomato chutney. mmm

Ciabatta Hamburger Buns

2007-05-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

These were a hearty bun, perfect for thick burgers and lot of toppings. Also good for toasting!

CIABATTA, from:
Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World

Poolish:
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 cup AP flour, preferably unbleached

Bread:
1 cup milk (I used soy)
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp actiive dry yeast
1.5 cups WW flour (I used 1 cup WW flour and a half cup of white WW flour)
3 cups AP flour
1 tbl salt
1 tsp EVOO

Make the poolish at least 18 houts before you want to have the bread out of the oven. In a small bowl, stir the yeast into the water until well dissolved. Stir in the flour to make a smooth batter. Cover and let stand overnight or for as long as 24 hours at room temp.

When ready to make the dough, stir the milk & hot water together in the bowl of a stand mixer. When the mixture is lukewarm, stir in the yeast to dissolve it completely.

Fit the mixer with the dough hook,. Add the poolish and the wheat flour and mix at low speed until smooth. Sprinkle on the salt and another 3 cups flour and mix for one minute. Add the oil and mix at medium speed for three minutes. The dough will be very smooth, MOIST and soft.

Transfer the dough to a large, clean (who uses a dirty bowl?), cover with plastic and let rise for 3-4 hours. It will double in volume, will not bounce back when prodded with a fingertip, and will probably have several large air bubbles on the top surface (mine did not!).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

What I did, differing from the recipe: I rolled out the entire dough and used my largest biscuit cutter to cut rounds. I then placed the rounds on unlined ungreased baking sheets for a second rise lasting 2 hours. I baked the buns at 425 for 20 minutes, until just lightly golden on top.

Baking challenge

2007-05-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Is anyone up for a baking challenge? I was thinking it would be fun to challenge each other once in a while to try something new or different. (Optional & just for fun)

My challenge is this:
Have you ever made crackers before? Try it this week and post your results.

Me & my siamese twin

2007-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

Fruits of the Earth Loaf

2007-05-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try this recipe because it called for mashed sweet potatoes as an ingredient. I think I got every pot, bowl, and appliance in my kitchen dirty trying to mash the sweet potato. It was a giant one. I boiled it for 45 minutes and it still wasn't soft enough to mash. I would recommend cutting a large sweet potato into smaller pieces.

I made the dough in my bread machine, let it rise in a bread pan, and then baked it in the oven. The smell was heavenly.

I left out the nuts and raisins in the hopes my guys would eat it. Mark liked it enough to take it for his lunch two days in a row. (yes!)

I found the loaf to be too salty (I figure that was because I forgot to use unsalted butter). I got a stomach ache from the milk in it so I won't do that again. (I seem to be intolerant to both milk and soy so I am experiementing with what I can get by with.)

Classic Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-05-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

Classic Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies (pg 306)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup whole barley flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 2/3 cups chocolate chips

*variation: you can use two cups of whole wheat flour in lieu of using 1 cup of barley flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour

Mix butter, sugars, vanilla, salt, & espresso powder until smooth. beat in vinegar and egg. add dry ingridients. mix well. add chips.

batter will look oily and the chips seem separate from the dough. this, according to the cookbook, is normal. put the batter onto the pan (you will get two pans of cookies - well, i got two pans plus about 7 more cookies) - i used my hand and kind of squeezed the stuff together. bake for 14 - 16 minutes at 350-degrees, switching the pans half-way through (bottom pan to top and vise versa). allow cookies to cool on pan for five minutes before removing to cooling rack.

i actually followed this recipe almost to the T (i used LESS chocolate chips than the recipe calls for - i used about 3/4 of a 12oz bag), taking advantage of the variation because i do not have barley flour. i tasted the batter before baking the cookies and was really worried that the vinegar taste would not bake away. i was wrong: no traces of vinegar at all. in fact, these cookies are some of the best i've ever made. and the recipe only makes about two dozen, which is a nice amount if you do not want sweets around your house for weeks. another great recipe i'd recommend.

Peach Oatmeal Bread

2007-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

it is a cold, grey, rainy day. so, i bake.

Peach Oatmeal Bread (pg 57 - King Arthur's)

2 cups diced peaches (fresh, canned, or frozen. if using canned, drain well. if using frozen, thaw. if using fresh, skin)

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 tsp almond extract

Blend all of the dry ingriedients through the nutmeg. add the diced peachs and oatmeal. mix to coat. in a small bowl or larger mixing cup, beat eggs, milk, oil, and almond flavoring together. add to dry ingridients. mix until dry ingriedients are moist throughout.

put in greased bread pan. bake at 350-degrees for one hour. if the bread is not done after an hour, tent with foil and cook an additional 10 minutes. allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning on a cooling rack to cool entirely.

i almost followed this recipe to the letter. but i did not have bread flour so i just used regular white flour. i don't think that made a difference. this recipe was super easy.

Rugelach

2007-05-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

We're headed to KC this weekend for my nephew/godson's first communion. My sister is hosting three family meal events, so I told her I'd help out with the baking. Anne requested these, so I obliged. In addition to the apricot filling, I also made a batch that was with Nutella and the nut mixture.

Mo like the apricot/walnut rugelach the best. The ones I made with craisins, he didn't like so much. He said, "There's too much flavor going on." He did like the chocolate version. According to him, the dough was flaky. In a good way.

Ingredients

Serving: Makes 4 dozen
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
coarse salt
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
4 ounces walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon
1 salt
12 ounces apricot jelly, melted
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips, or currants or a combination
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup fine sanding sugar

Directions

Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and cream cheese at medium speed. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Add vanilla and salt, and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour. Remove from bowl, and divide into 3 pieces on a lightly floured surface. Pat into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.
Make the filling: In a food processor, combine walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until fine.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees;. Line baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats). On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into a 12-inch round, less than 1/8 inch thick. Brush evenly with jelly. Sprinkle with one-third of the walnut mixture and one-third of the chocolate chips. Using the rolling pin, gently roll over filling to press ingredients into dough.

Cut the round into 16 equal-sized wedges. Beginning at the base of each wedge, roll to enclose filling, forming crescent shapes. Pinch to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough and filling ingredients. Brush tops with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. (mine took much longer)

--courtesy Martha Stewart

adventures in pound cake

2007-05-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

last week, keith and i had dinner with our friends mary and jamie. we had a lovely dinner of grilled steak, green beans, and salad. for dessert, we had tastefully simple's (a line of baking mixes, spices, etc.) almond pound cake with french vanilla pudding and raspberries. keith LOVED the pound cake (so did everyone else). so, when we extended the invitation for mary and jamie to join us for dinner at our house and they accepted, keith asked me if i could make pound cake, too.

since i did not have a tastefully simple kit on hand, i went searching for a recipe. i found one with ease on the food network's website (www.foodtv.com) - the recipe is posted below:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a tube pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together and then add sour cream. Sift flour and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes and then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack.

Changes:
1. i did not use the orange extract; i increased the amount of almond extract by 1/2 tsp
2. i did not use a tube pan - this is not a problem, if you avoid making the same mistake as I did (details to come)
3. the recipe also includes a recipe for frosting; i did not make frosting (and hence did not post the recipe)
4. i used light sour cream - because using light sour cream really made a lot of difference considering the recipe's 1/2 pound of butter, 3 cups of sugar, and 6 eggs (note the sarcasm)
5. i sprayed my pan with pam - again, to reduce the fat in this "healthy" recipe.

This recipe makes A LOT of batter. and, let me just say, you should NOT try and cram it all into as pan, as shown below:
as i was pouring the batter into the pan, i kept thinking: my, this is a lot of batter. my, this pan is awfully full. when i picked up the pan to put it in the oven, i nearly dropped it, which led me to put it on a cookie sheet for baking.

thank god i did that, too. i happened to be talking to my mom on the phone, explaining to her that i was making pound cake for the first time. she asked me how it was going. i said it was going fine, and, just on a whim, i happened to ask her about the tube pan. that's when she told me a tube pan was an angel food cake pan.

oh. oh. i looked in the oven and saw a bunch of my cake had spilled over onto the cookie sheet. so, under my mom's direction, i took a ladel and scooped a good portion of the batter into a smaller pan and proceeded to cook the cake. nearly two hours, yes, that's right, two hours, later, i had two very nice looking pound cakes.

i was so happy that, when i cut into the larger cake, i found that it was really moist (i was worried that the long cook time would dry the cake out).

i've never made pound cake before, as i think i must have mentioned (or you've at least gathered by reading this post). and i am happy to report: i will, indeed, make it again (though, it will be a long, long time ... c'mon, 2 sticks of butter and 6 eggs!).

so, crisis averted, we had the dessert to the left: sugar free, fat free pudding (again with the butter and eggs), mixed with light cool-whip, pound cake, and fresh strawberries ... a dessert made in amy's kitchen!

Chipster-Topped Brownies

2007-05-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

These are my favorite brownies. They're fudgy with cookie layer on top. I like lots of nuts in the brownie part, and lots of chips (butterscotch or PB) in the cookie.

recipe courtesy Dorie Greenspan, "Baking From My Home to Yours"

For the brownie layer:

6 oz. bittersweet choc, coarsely chopped
3 oz. unsweetened choc, coarsely chopped
2 sticks butter
1 2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup AP flour
1 cup walnuts/pecans (optional)

For the cookie layer:

1 1/4 cup flour
2/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter at room temp
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 lg egg
1 lg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz choc chips, butterscotch chips, PB chips, whatevah

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 13 in baking pan, line with parchment and butter the paper. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

Brownies: Put both chocolates and butter in a bowl set of a saucepan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, heat just until the ingredients are melted, shiny and smooth. If the mixture gets too hot, the butter will separate from the chocolates. Remove the bowl from heat.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs on medium-hgh speed for about 2 minutes until pale, thick and creamy. CREAMY. Beat in the salt & vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter, mixing only until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then, still on low speeed, add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the batter. Using the spatula, fold in the walnuts, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.

Cookie dough: Whisk togethyer the flour, baking soda & salt. Working with the stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and the yolk, beating for one minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Still on low, mix in the chips. Drop the cookie dough by spoonfuls over the brownie batter and, using a spatula and a light touch, spread it evenly over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the cookie top is deep golden brown and firm and thin knife inserted into the brownie layer come out with only faint streaks of MOIST chocolate. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temp.

When the brownies are completely cool, carefully run a knife between the sides of the pan and brownies , then invert them onto another rack, remove the paper and turn right side up onto a cutting board. Cut into bars.

Mexican Communion Cookies

2007-05-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

So, these are actually called "Mexican Wedding Cookies," but I am calling them Communion cookies, because we're celebrating my nephew/godson Teddy's First Communion. Also, they fit with the Cinco de Mayo theme.

The cookies are crumbly and nutty and tast-tee-riffic.

1 cup pecan halves
2 cups powdered sugah
2 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks buttah
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.

In a food processor, combine pecans with 1/4 powdered sugar; pulse until nuts are finely ground. In a large bowl, whish together sugar-nut mixture, flour & salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 3/4 powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Bea in the vaniller and almond extracts. Add the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until the dough just comes together.

Roll dough into 3/4 inch balls; place about 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are pale on top and lightly browned on bottom (life with a spatula to check), 10-12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place remaining 1 cup powdered sugar in a shallow bowl, and roll cookies in it to coat completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container, layered between sheets of waxed paper or parchment paper, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Molletes with Chocolate pg. 334

2007-05-04T11:30:00.001-07:00

Those King Arthur people need to put the "overnight rest" icon on this recipe! Fortunately, I knew this because I had read through the recipe first (which is *not* like me).

I made these cookies for our KC sojourn. We are celebrating Cinco de Mayo tomorrow, and the cookbook said the mollete is a "traditional" Mexican cookie. With Hershey kisses? Whatever.

I should have chopped the nuts a little finer, but I was afraid of making pecan dust. Also, I wish I hadn't used the kisses, because now I am not sure how to transport these without damaging the "kiss." I didn't use "whole" cornmeal as I have no idea where to find it ('cept maybe online).

I liked these cookies. They're different than your average cookie in that, with the cornmeal, they have a good, gritty texture. That doesn't sound appealing, but really, it is. Next time, I would add cinnamon for extra bang.

Cranberry-Orange Spelt Muffins pg 36

2007-05-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

What was the most fun part of making these muffins? Was it heating orange juice in the microwave? Was it making my own oat flour? Was it eating them after thinking about making them for a week? I'm not sure.

Challenges: Chopping "dried cranberries". I used Craisins and I could not chop them with my kitchen knife (maybe need a sharper knife), my Pampered Chef chopper, or my blender. Hmm. Anyone have any tips for chopping Craisins? Anyone have experience with non-Craisin dried cranberries?

Fun stuff: I put old fashioned rolled oats in my blender on the "nut/crumb" setting. I cycled it through 3 times and came up with oat flour. It was pretty exciting.

What I would do differently when I make them again:

Try to let them "rest" overnight. I let them rest for 2 hours and they are a tad dry for my taste. Maybe that was because I forgot to put butter on the ones I ate.

The verdict: I like them. They are hearty. The streusel is delectible!

for clarification

2007-05-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

um. a tube pan is NOT a bread (or meatloaf) pan. and it is especially not one of those tin-foil bread pans you can get at the grocery store.

fortunately, i was able to avert a crisis, thanks to the counsel of my lovely mother. stay tuned for "adventures in pound cake." (coming to a blog near you in the next few days.)

Non-baking item

2007-04-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

Karla says I can post anything I make. So here goes...

So, I'm occupying Karla's new-found free time by making her play Scrabble. I'm attaching pictures of the word I made to kick off the game (used all letters = 50 extra pts!), and the subsequent hand gesture and face that Karla made.

So it's not as pretty as the muffins....

2007-04-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Laurie once suggested that we put on anything we make. Since I don't really cook that much (though I did make some really good soup tonight, sans recipe, and managed not to make 8 gallons like I usually do because I just keep on adding things) and am NOT crafty at all (unless by crafty you mean conniving)I decided to put a picture of what I've been working on. I gave a copy of the rough draft of my thesis to my advisor today. Except for small things like table of contents, dedication page, bibliography, etc, this baby is just about done. I'm not officially celebrating until it's REALLY done, every last thing, which should be sometime this summer. I'm not much of a photographer. I took the picture at this angle because I was trying to maximize how big it is just so you all wouldn't think it was so ridiculous that I took two years on it. I swear to you, for as big as a pain in the arse as this thing has been, you'd think it should be about a foot thick. Next time I cook something, I'll post it. And I won't wait two years either.

Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2007-04-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

ok. so i am not one to follow recipes. let me just get that out of the way. so here is the actual recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas

1/4 cup honey

2 large egs

2 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350-degrees, lightly grease muffin tin or muffin liners. Beat butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the banana, honey, and eggs, beating until smooth. Add the flour and chips, stirring until smooth. Fill tins and bake for 23-28 minutes.

(this is actually the adaptation for the Easy Banana Walnut Bread, found on pg 545 of the King Arthur cookbook.)

1) i did not add the cinnamon or nutmeg - i just don't care for those flavors with banana or chocolate.

2) i also did not realize the recipe called for honey ... of course, i didn't have any honey on hand so i simply used 1/4 cup of white sugar.

the muffins are really, really good - not too sweet, moist, and dense (but not heavy, like lead). i would definitely recommend this recipe.

(as you can see, i did get that digital camera. picture placement is not my strong suit - is this the right word??? ... yet.)

Mocha Creme Caramel

2007-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. This was *excellent*, if I do say so myself.

Issues: First time around, I burned the caramel and had to make a second batch. When I plopped this caramel in the ramekins, it hardened immediately. When I removed the custards from the fridg this evening, the crusty, crunchy caramel stuck in the ramekin. Tomorrow, I will put the ramekin in hot water for a few secs to see if I can't loosen the caramel a little more. In doing so, I think it would add more of the scooby-delish sauce and perhaps crunch.

Also had to make the ganache twice. Not sure what I did wrong the first time, but the end product was grainy, oily and just plain bad. Second time around, magnifique! Made for a nice bottom!

Here's the recipe from www.epicurious.com (my favorite online recipe source):

Serves 6.

Caramel:
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water

Custard:
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
4 ounces imported milk chocolate, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg

Ganache:
1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon water
4 ounces imported milk chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons whipping cream

For Custard:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Place six 1/2 cup ramekins or custard cups in baking pan. Stir 2/3 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons water in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Wash down sugar crystals from sides of pan with brush dipped into cold water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to boil. Boil without stirring until mixture turns deep golden brown, swirling pan occasionally, about 9 minutes. Immediately divide caramel among ramekins. Carefully tilt ramekins to coat bottoms (not sides) with caramel.

Bring cream, milk and 1/4 cup sugar to boil in heavy medium saucepan, whisking until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Whisk in instant coffee, yolks, and egg.
Divide custard mixture evenly among caramel-lined ramekins. Add enough hot water to baking pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are set around edges and centers move only slightly when baking pan is shaken, about 30 minutes.

Remove custards from water and cool completely. Refrigerate until very cold, about 4 hours. (Custards can be prepared 1 day ahead.)

For Ganache:
Dissolve instant coffee in 1/2 teaspoon water in small bowl. Combine chocolate and cream in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in coffee mixture. Cool until just warm to touch.

Divide ganache among custards. Spread ganache with back of spoon to cover top of custards completely. Refrigerate until ganache is set, at least 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead; cover.)
Run small sharp knife around edge of custards to loosen. Invert custards onto plates and serve.

What I changed:
*Used bittersweet chocolate for the custard
*Used semisweet chocolate for the ganache
*Used espresso powder for the ganache
*Put vanilla in the ganache, might have put vanilla in the custard, but I can't remember

No Knead Bread? Serious? YES!

2007-04-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

This bread couldn't be easier to make. The taste is like sourdough, without the pain of having to develop & maintain a pesky starter! The crust, oh dear, the crust, is probably my favorite part. It's really crunchy.

I love this bread.

I copied the recipe from the Mpls-St Paul Star Tribune (originally in the New York Times):

No-knead bread
Makes a 1 1/2-lb. loaf.

Note: Instant yeast is also known as rapid-rise yeast. Active dry yeast can also be used without proofing (soaking to make it active). Author Mark Bittman reports success in using up to 30 percent whole-grain flour, up to 50 percent whole-wheat flour and up to 20 percent rye flour. When adding flavors -- caraway seeds, chopped olives, onions, cheese, walnuts, raisins -- Bittman suggests adding after you've mixed the dough, but they can also be folded in before the dough's second rising. Bittman adopted this recipe for the New York Times from Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City.

• 3 c. all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting (can use up to half whole wheat flour, any more than that can appreciably lessen the rise)

• 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

• 1 scant tbsp. salt

• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 c. tepid water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at room temperature (about 70 degrees) for at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 (Bittman said he has gone to 24 hours without a problem). Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles and gluten (long strands that cling to sides of bowl when tilted) is well-developed.

Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle dough with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface and to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) or Silpat mat with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam-side down on towel or Silpat mat and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel (or plastic wrap) and let rise for 2 to 3 hours. When ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 4- to 6-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it preheats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel (or Silpat mat) and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that's OK. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Remove from oven, invert pan and cool bread on a rack.

Sour Cream Muffins

2007-04-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

I made my first recipe out of the King Arthur cookbook this morning. Unfortunately, I do not have photos to post. We have a digital camera, but we do not have the needed hook-ups for our computer. Besides that, when I tried to take a picture with the camera this morning, it would not work.

Guess what I am doing on Monday? Right: buying a new digital camera.

Anywhoozle, I made the sour cream muffins on pg 33. I'll post the recipe here:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries or diced stone fruits (such as peaches or plums)
coarse sugar for sprinkling

Mix dry ingridents together. set aside. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy - so it almost looks white. add one egg at a time; mix well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix until incorporated. Add dry ingridients, mixing on low speed until batter is smooth. Fold in fruit and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Bake at 400-degrees for 22-26 minutes (i did not type these word for word).

I could not find "white" whole wheat flour, so i just used whole wheat flour. and i did not mix the dry ingridents first and set aside (i never do that!). i used light sour cream, too. and i added frozen (fresh) raspberries, though i did not measure out a cup and a half. when i was done mixing the batter, it was very thick and stiff - i thought for sure the muffins were going to be dense - and i'd feel like i'd eaten a brick. but i was wrong. the muffins are actually very good. not too sweet and very moist.

also, i did not refrigerate the batter for an hour before baking. the cookbook says: for best results. well, my results turned out just fine.

so, if you are looking to make muffins for a saturday or sunday morning breakfast/brunch, these are VERY easy and good.

bon apetite!

Choc Cake Recipe

2007-04-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Amy had a good idea that we could post anything we bake and just include the recipe.

I hate Trans Fats so I had a difficult time with the frosting. I found a trans-fat free recipe on the Spectrum organics website. I am avoiding soy so I used real butter instead of the margarine. It worked very well.

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting by Claire Criscuolo, restaurateur
This buttercream frosting gives you the rich, creamy texture, and the ideal sweetness to complement your cakes or cupcakes - with the good feeling from knowing that you've used Spectrum Organic, trans-fat free Shortening and Margarine. Also, you can use half of this frosting to make a rich, chocolate frosting.
1 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening¼ cup Spectrum Organic Margarine4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted (measure the confectioner’s sugar, then sift it)½ teaspoon pure vanilla extrac3 tablespoons organic milk or soymilk
Measure the shortening and the margarine into a medium sized mixing bowl. Cream this, using an electric hand mixer on the medium speed for about 30 seconds, using a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sifted confectioner’s sugar, the vanilla extract, and the milk. Beat this, using the electric mixer on a medium speed, until for about 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy, stopping every minute or so to scrape down the sides. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to a week. Allow to warm to room temperature for easy spreading.
Serving size:Makes about 4 cups

Lighning McQueen Birthday Cake

2007-04-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

I made a Blues Clues birthday cake when Max turned two and swore I'd never make another cake like this because it is expensive and hard work. Well, after lots of begging and pleading from Max I decided to make a Lighting McQueen cake for his birthday.

I used the "Classic Chocolate Cake" recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens "New Baking Book." (Am I a nerd that I am annoyed that I can't figure out how to underline book titles?)

I did use Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry flour instead of the regular flour and it worked well. I was terrified when I went to check if the cake was done and it made a huge wave (as in the ocean). I thought I was a goner. I cooked it for 10 extra minutes and it cooked through fine. One of my aunts said that it probably took longer because of the special cake pan.

I was running really late getting ready for the birthday party. I had to mix about 9 colors of frosting and use 3 different decorating tips. I was decorating the cake for the first hour of the party. Many people asked if I had been sampling the frosting because my teeth and lips were black. I was mortified. People were standing around commenting on my technique. Finally I got so anxious about it that I just drew scribbles of red on the rest to call it done. I did not do the lightning bolt or trim detailing.

The verdict--

I don't ever want to make or eat black frosting again.

People liked it. My aunt Barb could even tell that the cake was made from real melted chocolate instead of powder by tasting it. It was the best tasting cake I've made.

Max loved it and didn't mention the missing lightning bolt. He cried when I cut into it.

I swear I'm never going to do this again.

I think.

Until JJ asks for one and I can't tell him no.

Sara Tries Whole Wheat Challah (228-229)

2007-04-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Photo 1: Dough about to be braided
Photo 2: Bread just after being pulled out of the oven
Photo 3: All sliced up

This bread is fantastic: thick, chewy, dense. Yum.

I was a little scared that it wouldn't turn out properly. On page 229, under the heading "to prepare the dough," it says to "allow the dough to rise until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk." I did allow the dough to rise at least two hours, maybe a little more, but it never achieved what I would call a puffy consistency. Still, I pressed on.

In another baking book, I found a helpful suggestion. When braiding the bread, gently tug on the dough rope as it's being folded over. This makes the final loaf a little less lumpy.

During the second rise, the dough did get puffy, so I did a little happy dance.

The recipe says to tent the bread with foil for 20 minutes until it achieves a deep brown color. Next time I make this bread, I will probably not tent as long as I would've like a deeper brown finish.

I ended up using the challah for French toast. This was the recipe I used: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/715