Chocolate Doesn't Crumble

I've moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:21:00 +0000

Hi everyone -

I've started a new blog over at Walloping Teaspoon . Please visit me there, and don't forget to subscribe. Thanks!

Beth

Maple Bacon Fun Dip with Rosemary Shortbread

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:13:00 +0000

And then, almost whole year later...

Food-related things have gotten a lot more interesting in the past few months, and that's very exciting, not only because I'm eating well and learning about new foods and preparation techniques, but also because it's sparked my interest in writing again. Double bonus!

Everyone's pretty sick of eating baked goods and chocolate around the office, so when a coworker's birthday rolls around, it's a creative challenge to come up with savory twists on sweet themes.

The theme for this morning's birthday party is Candy Land (a la Katy Perry), and my contribution to the spread is Maple Bacon Fun Dip with Rosemary Shortbread Dip Sticks. Bacon Fun Dip (aka Bacon Lik-M-Aid) started as a great idea from the culinary mind of Jonathon Zellar . I made it my own by whizzing well-cooked bacon with large granules of maple sugar in the food processor. It's crunchy, only the tiniest bit sweet, and best of all, it sticks to the shortbread sticks after you lick them - just like the real thing. Double dipping is strictly prohibited.

I adapted the Rosemary Shortbread recipe from Epicurious.com. The original is here, and following is my rendition.

3/4 sticks (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoons Grade A maple syrup
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8 in. x 8 in. square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat butter and maple syrup with sugar until creamed together. In another bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and dried rosemary. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture until just combined.

Dump mixture into prepared pan. With floured hands press dough evenly into pan. Score dough into 4 in. x 1/2 in. pieces. Bake shortbread in middle of oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until pale golden, and let stand in pan for 5 minutes. While shortbread is still warm, loosen edges from pan with a small knife and invert onto your hand covered with a kitchen towel. Invert shortbread onto a cutting board and cut through scored lines to make sticks.

Makes 32 shortbread cookies.

Dragon's Beard

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:34:00 +0000

I felt like a zombie when we arrived in Sydney. Over 22 hours of travel will do that to a person (we had a very long layover in Los Angeles, if you curious how all that time stacked up). On our first day/night in Australia, Dave and I were determined to get out and see things instead of succumbing to unbelievable jet lag. We ambled through the Chinatown Night Market, refusing table offers from persistent maitre-d's. (Or where they drug dealers? Not sure - too tired to tell.) We stopped at a confectionery stall to watch an impressive candy-making demonstration.

Dragon's Beard is a Chinese treat that dates back over 2000 years. The outer part of the candy is made by folding and pulling sugar repeatedly until it turns into superfine threads, like hair. The strands are wrapped around a finely ground filling of toasted coconut, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Because of it's fine texture, Dragon's Beard is extremely sensitive to heat and humidity. It's shelf life is pretty much nonexistent, so it kind of felt like a privilege to see these candies being made by hand, and then getting to eat it immediately.

There is a lot of texture wrapped into a Dragon's Beard. The crumbly filling is hard to control once the silky exterior has been broken. The freshly pulled sugar still retained a bit of heat, allowing it to stretch by inches when bitten. There's a pretty embarrassing photo of me on my first bite of Dragon's Beard in which my eyes are rolled far back into my head with pure bliss. It's indicative of how yummy the candy was, but I'm thankful to Dave for not including it in the Flickr stream for our trip.

Check out some more of Dave's photos from Australia. There are more to come, and I'll be writing a bit more about fun things from our trip soon.

Tiramisu Terrine - Daring Bakers February

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Alright, here's the deal. I spent some time earlier this week prepping for this month's Daring Bakers challenge. Tiramisu, the long way. This one requires a lot of advanced steps and timing, and I thought that I was all over it. The brandy-spiked pastry cream and zabaglione were chilling, the mascarpone was straining, and the ladyfingers were cooling. All's right, right?

Last night, as I began assembling these prepared components into the main attraction, I realized that it had slipped my mind to bring home heavy whipping cream to round out the luscious tiramisu filling. I'm convinced that it was a Freudian slip, triggered by the fact that I had spent half of the day developing a recipe for Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie. Yesterday I consumed more than anyone's fair share of whipped cream before the work day was done. I'm pretty sure my subconscious, or my hardening arteries, were telling me to give the heavy cream a rest. Thus, with no cream on hand, I decided to wing it. Thickest mascarpone, silken pastry cream, and boozy zabaglione were whisked together. Delicate ladyfingers were soaked in extra-strong American coffee (whoopsie, also forgot the espresso). Individual ramekins were lined with plastic wrap and filled to the brim with alternating layers of the caffeine-laced cookies and spoonfuls of filling. I pressed firmly on the third and final layer of ladyfingers before dousing them with the remains of the filling, covered them, and left them to freeze.

Today, viola, it's Tiramisu Terrine for one. Without the addition of all of that extra whipped cream, the brandy and coffee flavors really sing, and even a faint hint of lemon shines through. After warming up for a few minutes, with a simple strawberry and balsamic vinegar salad on the side, this baby is cool, creamy, and fantastic.

Let's hear it for Freudian slips, y'all.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Double-Bean Chili with Lime Sour Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:50:00 +0000

Looking for a quick, easy, and super healthy recipe that doubles and triples easily? This chili is flavored with the four "c"s - cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and chili powder. There's a seeded jalapeno thrown in for good measure, too. Make sure to use the freshest ground spices you can get your hands on. If you use the cumin that's been lurking in the corner of your cabinet since you went on that Indian food kick in '98, and your two-bean chili has no depth of flavor, you've no one to blame but yourself.

Make a big old batch of this stuff, eat on it for a day or two, and divide the rest into individual servings. Your freezer never looked so good. I tripled this recipe and served it at Stir It 28 alongside fresh corn bread with salted honey butter. Thanks to everyone who donated to the cause - it was a great time!

Double-Bean Chili with Lime Sour Cream
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large Spanish onions, diced (about 2-1/2 cups)
2 large red peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 carrots, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1-16 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved
2-15 oz. cans black beans
1-15 oz. can kidney beans

1-16 oz. container sour cream
zest and juice of one lime

In a heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil. Saute onions over medium heat until beginning to turn translucent. Add red pepper, carrots, jalapenos, and garlic. Saute until carrots are nearly fork tender, about 12 minutes. Add all salt and spices; stir 2 minutes to evenly distribute. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato liquid and both beans; stir to combine. Drop heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently or until some of the liquid evaporates and the chili is thick.

Add the zest and juice of one lime to a 16 oz. container of sour cream. Serve chili with grated mild cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and a healthy dollop of the sour cream.

Stir It 28

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:02:00 +0000

I am participating in a special benefit for Haitian earthquake relief, and am hoping that you can be a part of it, too. This Sunday, in several cities across the country, food bloggers, home cooks, and professional chefs are working together for Stir It 28 - Food Bloggers Align for Haiti Relief. Spend Sunday afternoon sampling good eats, sipping cocktails, and taking in fantastic views at Three Peas Art Lounge. Let's face it - a lot of people need our help, and you'll need to eat something at some point on Sunday, so you might as well make it tasty and for a great cause!

Chicago's Stir It 28 function is hosted by my friend Courtney of Coco Cooks. I've been to dinner at Courtney's house, so believe me when I say that you definitely want to eat whatever Courtney is cooking! Advance tickets are avaiable for $30 at Coco Cooks, or at the door for $35. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Share Our Strength and Yéle Haiti. Please spread the word far and wide. Events are being held in Atlanta, L.A., and New York City, too. Not near one of these cities? Feel free to make a donation online.

Stir It 28
Sunday, February 28
3:00 - 6:00 pm
at Three Peas Art Lounge
75 E. 16th Street
(Between Michigan and Wabash)
Chicago, IL 60616

Apple Strudel Bread - HB in 5

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:36:00 +0000

A lot of Sydney cafe chalkboards pushed a breakfast combo of sultana toast and coffee for a walloping $6.50. At present, the Aussie dollar is worth about $0.93 to the American dollar. I hope there's more than just sultanas (nothing but raisins to us Westerners) in that toast! Yes, Sydney was outta hand expensive, but more on that later.

This installment of the HB in 5 Bread Braid included recipes for Soft Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Hamburger Buns, and an apropos Apple Strudel Bread that included sultanas. I mean raisins. The base dough for these recipes is enriched with whole eggs, similar to challah and brioche. The fat from the eggs produces a super tender, fine crumb and a soft, smooth crust. To make the Apple Strudel loaf, the dough went through and initial rise, was rolled into a thin rectangle and covered with chopped apples and sultanas (sorry, raisins) and a bit of cinnamon. It's rolled into a thick log and rested again before egg washing, sprinkling with a little cinnamon sugar, and baking.

This loaf looked straight up perfect straight out of the pan. It had great shape and was perfectly browned on all sides. When I cut into it, I wasn't surprised to find that there were gaps of air between the bread and apple and ~~sultanas~~ raisins, a problem that's also common when making pie with raw apples. As the fruit cooks, it releases it's liquids and shrinks and creates steam and the whole thing is a mess because the apples aren't holding up their end of the bargain. Next time, the apples and sultanas are getting cooked beforehand. The apples and raisins are getting cooked. Maybe with a splash of Calvados.

Even if it didn't look perfect, the bread tasted great. It's much less sweet than commercial brands I'm familiar with, and the cinnamon is faint. The tart apples and plump sultanas (Didja know sultanas are just raisins, mate?) add moisture and texture to the bread. It's perfect for brekkie or afternoon tea.

The HBin5 Challenge is hosted by Michelle at Big Black Dog. Michelle will be sharing the links to all the other participants in this week's challenge on February 1st.

Daring Bakers January - Nanaimo Bars

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:28:00 +0000

I've eaten a graham cracker or two in my day. I grew up eating the Keebler ones dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and plain ones with a bit of peanut butter. These days I use graham crumbs for all kinds of crusts and streusels. For years, I've enjoyed these crunchy, perforated treats for years, but I've never once thought about making grahams from scratch, until this month's Daring Bakers challenge came along.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I opted to make my grahams with regular all purpose flour. Time and budget constraints prevented me from purchasing the special flours required to make the gluten-free wafers, but I hope to try them another time. My grahams were delicious - crispy, browned, and lightly sweetened with honey. They were great on their own.

The fresh graham crackers were crumbled and used to make Nanaimo Bars, a rich Canadian cross between a bar cookie and fudge. The graham crumbs are combined with cocoa powder, toasted almonds, and coconut, to form a rich base. A thin layer of buttercream enriched with vanilla custard is spread over the chocolate base. Melted chocolate tops it all off. Traditionally the bars would be assembled in a sheet pan and cut into squares or bars. I opted to build mine in silicone muffin tins for a slightly sleeker look. I froze the finished Nanaimos until just firm, and they popped out of the muffin tin easily.

A bite or two of these Nanaimo Bars is all it takes - these babies are super sweet. Try making them in a silicone mini muffin tin for tasty, layered petit fours.

Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day - Master Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:45:00 +0000

I've always been a little intimidated about making bread at home. The real process requires hours of time for the dough to aerate and develop flavor and texture, requiring a baker to plan well in advance when fresh bread will be on the menu. 2010 is the year that I put this phobia behind me. I'm very excited to be a part of a group of food bloggers who are baking (but not kneading) our ways through Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a new book by Jeff Hertzberg, MD and Zoe Francois. They've built a method of bread baking that bypasses several steps of the traditional method and allows bakers to easily mix bread dough that can be used for up to two weeks when stored in the refrigerator. All of the recipes in HB in 5 include whole grains and wholesome ingredients. Their unique method is ideal for bakers who want fresh bread often, but lack the foresight to know when they'll want it. It's like this book was written just for me!

Our first challenge was to mix the Master Recipe from Healthy Breads. Part of the dough was shaped into a loaf and baked plain. It had a chewy, soft crumb with lots of tunnels. With a bowl of homemade turkey noodle soup, this bread made a really hearty wintertime meal. I especially liked it sliced and lightly toasted.

One third of the dough was shaped into an epi, a gorgeous decorative loaf that I haven't quite mastered yet. First the bread dough is gently coaxed into a baguette shape. Long, shallow cuts are made with kitchen shears down the length of the bread. The resulting scales are positioned to alternate to the left and right of the loaf. When it's baked, the epi should look a bit like leaves coming off of a vine. My cuts were a little wonky, so instead of leaves my epi looks slightly lumpy. I need to cut longer scales next time.

The remaining portion of the Master Recipe bread dough was turned into spicy crackers. With the help of lots of flour, the dough is rolled out paper thin, sprinkled with seasoning, and cut into strips with a pizza wheel. My cupboard was stocked with cayenne pepper, so the dough was dusted with that and a few granules of coarse sea salt. The baked crackers were crisp and spicy, and paired wonderfully with simple hummus. I loved the differences in shapes and sizes, caused by the dough stretching as it was transferred to the baking sheet. Very lovely.

You can find other interpretations of these recipes through Michelle of Big Black Dogs. She's the host of this group, and has been fantastic at organizing a schedule for all of us bakers.

Playing Catch Up

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:06:00 +0000

It's been busy around these parts. The holidays came and went, Dave busted his left shoulder, and soon we're leaving on a jet plane to Australia to eat meat pies and drink Shiraz.

There were lots of good things to eat and drink in December, but very little time to write about them. Here's a quick pictorial retrospective, and a recipe for my 2009 holiday-cookie-of-choice. Despite its short ingredient list, these little cookies have an amazingly enticing aroma and flavor. Since Dave is on the mend, I've been taking my own (crappy) photos. Let's hope he's back to good very soon!

Laurel and Bob's Wedding Cake
Devils Food Cake - Chocolate Mousse Filling - Vanilla Buttercream - Sugar Flowers

Baby Shower Cookie Pops
Almond Butter Cookies - Royal Icing - Sparkling Sugar

Classic Tiramisu
Ladyfingers - Espresso - Mascarpone Custard - Chocolate Shavings - Cocoa Powder

Chewy Amaretti Cookies

8 oz (1 can) almond paste
½ cup sugar
1 egg white
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
12 maraschino cherries, patted dry and halved
¼ cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, break almond paste into pieces. Add sugar and beat on low speed until mixture is sandy. Add egg white and beat until mixture is very smooth.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto parchment lined pans, spacing 1” apart. Using your index finger, make a slight indentation in the center of each cookie. Push a cherry half into each indentation, and press slivered almonds around the cherry.

Bake 22-25 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned around the edge. Cool for 5 minutes before removing. Cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Makes 24 cookies

Happy Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Hubba Hubba.

Apple Nutmeg Upside Down Cake. Haven't tasted it yet (have to fight the urge to dig in, as we're no where near close to dinner time) so I won't post the recipe now, but if it's half as good as it looks, I'll revise to include.

Giving thanks for so many people and so many things this year. It's been a great one. Enjoy yourselves!

The Daring Kitchen Cake Decorating Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:39:00 +0000

I had the best intentions going into last weekend. I'd brainstormed for days about the theme for a cake decorating competition sponsored by the US Confection Connection and and the New York Cake Convention. I had thought hard about what the autumn season means to me, and how I could transfer that feeling to a 9" cake. I dug deep - of course fall brings colorful leaves and shapely gourds, but all the cakes would include those. In a moment of sheer brilliance, a friend mentioned that she always thought of birds flying south when the cooler weather hits. Suddenly, my cake had a theme, and I was ready to go.

I baked off and assembled my cake layers. Fondant was tinted. I researched silhouettes of birds and the shapes of nearly bare tree branches. Everything was coming together nicely, and I had starry ~~disillusions~~ visions of winning the big prize - an all expenses paid trip to NYC in January, and the opportunity to demonstrate your decorating techniques at the convention.

Then, the strangest thing happened. A November heatwave hit Chicago, and it brought sunshine with it. For two straight glorious days, the city's streets and sidewalks teemed with people anxious to do something (ANYTHING) outside. It was an absolutely perfect weekend, with temperatures hitting 70 degrees.

I learned something this weekend. I don't give a shit about birds flying south, or leaves dying and littering the ground. What autumn really means to me is that bone-chilling, ass-chapping, breath-stealing cold is right around the corner and it's just waiting to pounce. I learned that when a mid-autumn day feels more like mid-May, you'd be an idiot to waste it cooped up inside, making maple leaves and yellow-bellied sapsuckers out of sugar. Hell, who knows when we'll get to 70 degrees again?

So, without further ado, I give you my entry to The Daring Kitchen Cake Decorating Challenge.

It might be simple, but it truly does embrace how I feel about the season: Sunny days are at a premium, and they're not to be spent indoors. I abandoned my cake on Saturday morning. Plus, the idea of spending four days in New York City in mid-January was horrifying when compared to the thought of spending the present day, an unbelievably beautiful one, walking around my Chicago.

I couldn't even be bothered to take a decent picture. Had to get out the door immediately. I hope the winner of this contest packs an extra scarf and mittens to battle the New York City winter. Sucker.*

*Not really though. I would go in a heartbeat!

Baked Apples

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:53:00 +0000

There's really nothing simpler than baked apples. It's one of those things where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Basic ingredients go into the oven - apples, brown sugar, a few nuts and spices, and individually portioned, fragrant comfort food comes out. These babies make a lovely but unexpected brunch item and taste best served warm or at room temperature.

Peel a strip from the center of the apple, and completely remove the core. Any firm-fleshed apples will work; if you'd use them in a pie, you can bake them freestanding. If the apples won't stand up on their own, trim a bit from the bottom to create a level surface. Arrange them snugly in a baking dish. Stir together a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, chopped toasted pecans, raisins, and a sprinkle of salt. Plan for about 2 tablespoons of filling per apple. Adjust the levels of cinnamon and nutmeg to your tastes - I used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg for 8 apples. Pack the center of each apple with the brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle any extra over the tops of the apples. Add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cook the apples in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, basting the apples often. The water becomes like loose caramel as it mixes with the brown sugar filling, and basting allows the flavors to really go throughout the apples from the core and also from the exposed strip on the sides. The apples are done when a fork can easily pierce the flesh.

Of course, this isn't really a recipe since I haven't provided any specific amounts, but it is nearly foolproof, and I encourage you to try it now, while apples are at their peak. The variations are endless: Change out the cinnamon and nutmeg for cardamom; use cranberries and orange zest in the filling; try white wine instead of water. Any way you bake them, the apples will be soft, sweet, and very autumnal.

French Macaron - Daring Bakers October

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Dear Claudia Fleming,

We've been together for a few years now. I've enjoyed your book, The Last Course, a lot during our time together. Your chocolate caramel tarts, with their final flourish of sea salt, have ended a few of my dinner parties. Lavender lemon pound cake, page 150, got me over my fear of floral notes in baked goods. I created a fig and cornmeal cake recipe that was inspired by your fig cornmeal tart. In totality, before this month's Daring Baker's challenge, I was in awe of The Last Course. Every recipe I made from it sparkled, and seemed to trigger excess inspiration. Thanks for that. It's a lovely book.

I've tried to make this work. After attempting your original macaroon (your spelling, not mine) recipe twice to ill effect, I made a slight alteration by increasing the amount of granulated sugar and left the piped unbaked macaroons to sit outside the oven for an hour before baking according to your directions. The feet on those suckers were so encouraging, but the cracked tops meant there was more work to do. My fourth batch kept the new higher sugar level and counter-drying time, but added a few more strokes of the macronage and a slightly lower end baking temperature. No cracking that time, but no feet either.

As I struggled to get those elusive little feet, the mark of a true macaron, I devoured countless chewy almond cookies. Those were tasty little failures, and I wouldn't change them for anything. But Claudia, life's too short to waste good vanilla beans. I adore your idea for putting real vanilla seeds right into the macronage. The flavor is sensational and those dark speckles would be downright dramatic against the smooth creamy color of a well baked plain macaron. I'll keep that tip, but I'm abandoning the rest of the recipe. It's not you - it's me. My macaron-loving heart belongs to Tartlette. Her basic recipe is foolproof, and she makes me feel like a better baker. I hope you'll understand. I'll always be fond of your book, and we'll still stay friends, right?

Best,

Beth

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. Thanks for the Great Challenge!

Fondant Covered Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:06:00 +0000

This is what happens when I decide to have a little extra fun at work...I form a cupcake gang, using the only three colors available. Clockwise, from top left:

Morty, Hans, Sally, Chill Will, Lola, and Herman

Lola is my favorite. She's sleek. She's sassy. She's giving you the side eye, but with that smirk, it's impossible to tell if her intentions are good or evil.

Mwahahahaha!

Bucktown Apple Pie Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:47:00 +0000

The annual ~~Beth gets her ass handed to her, pouts about losing, and eats her own weight in apple pie day~~ Bucktown Apple Pie Contest was today.

So, what did I learn?

1. People love booze. People will buy slices of a pie that is pasty as hell and is swimming in juice if it has bourbon in it.
2. Store-bought refrigerated pie dough is even easier to spot than I thought.
3. Even though it is the Bucktown APPLE Pie Contest, inevitably an old man will ask where the pecan pie can be found. Not joking.
4. The contest is more fun when you have friends (Courtney and Kristal) to commiserate with.

5. Don't judge a pie by it's crust. Sometimes the ugly ones are the tastiest. (Shout out to Kristal and Joel - yours was so good!)
6. I am overly competitive and need to learn to be a graceful loser. I think that I used to be better at this. Perhaps my pride has grown over the years? My pouty face is ugly and shouldn't be shown in public.
7. It's important to write down what kinds of apples are used in your filling, because the farmers market sells about a gazillion different varieties, and you'll never be able to replicate it without detailed notes. Ever.
8. I really, really, really love pie.

Chocolate Meringue Birthday Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:10:00 +0000

Making cakes for close friends is tough for me, because I want to make the perfect thing, a cake that she will love, even if she never knew she wanted it in the first place. The flavors and the facade have to mirror that person's unique qualities. It usually takes me several brainstorming sessions to come up with a complete idea: cake, filling, frosting, and decoration. Last week I went through this process for my wonderful friend Meghan, who is generosity and beauty personified. She deserves only good things. Meghan's love of baking makes her even more endearing, and it also made her birthday cake a little more challenging.

In the end, I chose a moist, deeply chocolate cake. It was filled with alternating layers of salted caramel buttercream (a fabulous idea from Leena! at Leena Eats ) and vanilla bean buttercream.

I followed Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe for (terrifying) Caramel Silk Meringue Buttercream, a recipe that requires no less than 4 saucepans. It was a bit of a nightmare to make, much more difficult than my standard Swiss meringue buttercream. At several points in the process, I thought that I had permanently f'ed up the whole batch; that I'd let the caramel brown too far , that I had curdled the eggs in the creme anglaise, that I'd added the sugar syrup to the egg whites too quickly. Miraculously, I avoided all of those pitfalls and ended up with a really delicious frosting. True to its name, it was smooth as silk, but also firm enough to stand in its place. I added a bit of salt directly into the the sugar as it cooked into amber, and another bit after the butter was fully incorporated into the frosting. It was just barely noticeable, but brought the entire cake up a notch. It's truly remarkable what a little seasoning can do for a dish!

The sides of the cake were studded with chocolate meringues. Aside from looking really crazy, the little round confections finished off the cake with a crisp and chewy texture. The whole thing came together so well. Meghan was pleased, so I was too. After all, that was the ultimate goal.

Eat Your Juice

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:41:00 +0000

I'm not a big juice drinker, but that doesn't mean that I don't consume juice. I just prefer to eat it. Adding juice to recipes, both sweet and savory, is a surefire way to add flavor. When POM offered to send me a case of their delish Pomegranate Juice, I started brainstorming ways to use it. I didn't have to think long.

I knew that I'd drink some of it straight because POM Wonderful is good stuff. It's not loaded with corn syrup, artificial colors, or preservatives like most juices. The only thing in those bottles is 100% pure pomegranate juice and a whole lot of free radical-fighting antioxidants. Even if it wasn't ultra healthy, I'd be drinking it for the taste. POM Wonderful has an addictive sweet and sour balance.

Here's a quick way to incorporate POM and all those awesome antioxidants into a quick dinner:

Pour an 8 ounce bottle of POM Wonderful into a saucepan. Chop half an onion, smash two cloves of garlic, grate a teaspoon of fresh ginger and dump in the pan with the pomegranate juice. Add a dash of mirin, a dash of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of Sriracha. Stir together and cook over medium heat until the juice reduces enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain, reserving only the liquid. Goes great with chicken or pork, and could easily be doubled and stashed in the fridge for another night.

I spooned this slightly sweet sauce over stir fried pork and vegetables that were seasoned with Chinese five spice. All of the POM glaze was sponged up by a bed of brown rice. Altogether, very colorful, very pretty, and not at all likely to cause your arteries to clog up. All good things!

I think I still have one bottle of POM left, and I'm debating what to do with it. Of course I could just drink it, and I know that I'd enjoy it, but I'm still trying to think of an inventive way to bake with pomegranate juice. Suggestions?

Daring Bakers September - Pâte Feuilletée

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:26:00 +0000

It is time consuming, but certainly not difficult, to make puff pastry from scratch. This flaky, buttery dough lends itself to sweet and savory applications, and can elevate an everyday dish to something elegant.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan. A vol-au-vent is a puff pastry bowl or shell, made by cutting disks and rings from rolled pastry, and stacking them together. The whole thing puffs up into hundreds of light, crisp golden brown layers.

My favorite thing to ladle into vols-au-vent is boeuf bourgignon, a hearty and heady French beef stew made with red wine. It's one of the more decadent stews around, which makes it a natural pair with buttery puff pastry. I followed Julia Child's recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, except that I used an additional carrot, and wish that I would have upped that even further, as I love the color that they add to an otherwise "brown" dish.

I have lots of extra puff dough, and am looking forward to turning it into palmiers and cheese straws later this week. Some dough will get stashed in the freezer, to be thawed at a future date for a yet unnamed project. It's a good thing to have on hand.

THIS RIMMING SUGAR IS UNBELIEVABLE!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 03:43:00 +0000

Here I am, in all of my nasal glory, in my first segment for Wilton. This is one of ten Halloween-focused segments we filmed in one day. It may not look like it, but these short snippets take a lot of time and effort to pull together.

The segments are being rolled out one at a time on the Wilton Blog. Kindly leave your cheeky remarks here, and not on the corporate page, because I love my job and would have to seriously hurt anyone who jeopardized that love. Ninja style.

Kitchen Sink Frittata

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:39:00 +0000

Frugal home cooks often come up with inventive ways to finish up the odds and ends from their refrigerators and larders. In an effort to cut back on our monthly grocery spending, I've made a conscious decision to become one of those frugal cooks. I need to pare down on the at-home meals so that we can splurge on out-on-the-town meals. That means getting the most out of everything that we buy, and using it in a way that is tasty and enjoyable.

Eggs are my "kitchen sink" fallback dish. Whenever there are vegetables that are past their prime, odd ends of cheese, or just a couple of slices of leftover ham, I think of frittatas, an inexpensive dish can hold any number of veggies and be doctored up a million different ways. I love quiche, but it's laden with heavy cream and butter. Frittatas are the poor man's version of quiche. They're much faster, easier, and lighter since there is no pastry crust, and the addition of milk or cream to the egg base is strictly optional. Frittatas cook up quickly and look gorgeous on a large serving tray. I often make one one the weekend for breakfast, and Dave and I end up eating it for lunch or a light dinner the next day.

This recipe is loose, and is based on what I mixed into my frittata this morning: a tomato that was getting a little wrinkled, a red pepper, half a Spanish onion that was left over from something I don't even remember cooking, the last two slices of Canadian bacon, dried thyme, and about an ounce of creamy Camembert that was sent from the lovely folks at Isle de France. Next week, my frittata will look totally different, depending on what's in the fridge.

Kitchen Sink Frittata

1 garlic clove, quartered
1/2 cup diced onion
1 red pepper, diced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
2 slices Canadian bacon, diced
8-10 eggs (depends on how many I have available)
1 ounce Camembert

Preheat broiler.

In an oven safe skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat. Add the quartered garlic clove, and allow the oil to continue heating for 5 minutes. Skim the garlic pieces out of the oil and discard. Add diced onion to the pan. Saute until onions are translucent. Add diced red pepper; saute another 3 minutes. Add diced tomato and Canadian bacon and saute until juice from the tomato is almost completely evaporated.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with a generous amount of kosher salt, cracked black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme. Add eggs to the vegetable mixture in the skillet. Dot the eggs with small chunks of Camembert. Use a heat resistant spatula to move the eggs around, scraping them from the bottom and sides of the pan so that heat is distributed evenly throughout. When eggs are partially cooked but still very runny, stop stirring and allow the eggs to set on the bottom of the pan.

When the eggs are set on the sides and bottom of the pan, carefully move the skillet to the broiler to finish cooking through. The frittata will only need a minute or two in the broiler, so be attentive. Remove the frittata after it begins to brown slightly on the top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes (eggs will finish cooking in the center) before loosening the sides and bottom and flipping onto a serving platter.

Garnish with chopped chives, green onions, or parsley.

Tidbits!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Reyka Vodka is good stuff, my friends, and it's good for a lot of reasons. On its own, it is smooth, clean, and rounded with an easy finish. Paired with tonic and a spritz of lime, my preferred cocktail is crisp and refreshing. Reyka distills its vodka in copper pots and filters it through lava rocks. This stuff is definitely drinkable, and it proves that Iceland produces more than Bjork and days of continuous sunshine.

The Reyka website is very entertaining, particularly the stories behind the eight different bottle caps. Are you enticed yet?

Wedding Cake - Mission Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:54:00 +0000

Summertime finally decided to visit Chicago this weekend. After weeks of glorious, mild temperatures and lots of sunshine, Mother Nature unleashed a beast of a heatwave, with choking humidity to boot. I don't mind the warmth; I like it actually. Chocolate mousse filled cakes with real buttercream frosting, however, don't appreciate it. All of that cream and butter weep with heat, and even wedding cake novices know better than to suggest these types of cakes for summer events. Of course, a four-tiered yellow caked filled with said mousse and frosting was today's order. I'm a dumbass for agreeing to a mousse-filled cake in mid-August, but I'm also a dumbass who likes a good challenge. Extreme caution and proper temperature control was crucial. The cake was delivered to a mansion in Oak Park and stacked on site with a little help from my sister Colleen. She excelled at her rookie wedding cake delivery, blasting the AC in the delivery car, and only smudging the cake with her finger once, and in a manner that was easily fixed. Thanks for the help Miss Col!

Daring Bakers July - Milan Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:17:00 +0000

I know what you're thinking! If you've visited this blog before, you have undoubtedly noticed that the above photo is much better than normal. It's roughly 35,000% better than the photos that I usually post. Thanks to my wonderful Dave, photography geek and boyfriend extrodinaire, for helping out. He's got a way with the camera, and an excellent eye for detail. I'm hoping that he will guest photograph many more blog posts to come!

I grew up just a few miles from a Pepperidge Farm plant, and can fondly remember the scent of freshly baked bread and crackers wafting around town. Today, I associate Pepperidge Farm with some of the best packaged cookies found on grocery store shelves. Attempting to recreate the famous Milano cookie, two crisp, delicate vanilla cookies sandwiched together with dark chocolate ganache, was exciting. I hoped Gale Gand's recipe, the one the Daring Bakers followed this month, would yield a nearly identical confection. I was disappointed in that regard, because although my Milans were tasty, the cookies were slightly chewy, almost like very thin macaroons. I would have preferred a crisper cookie, but wasn't able to acheive that without over browning them, even after dropping the oven temperature from 350° to 300°.

This recipe made roughly a boatload of cookies, and leaves the kitchen smelling exactly like an ice cream parlor. I stored my completely cooled, sandwiched cookies in an airtight container, but was disappointed to wake up to cookies that were without a trace of crunch. They had gone completely soft overnight. So much for that boatload of Milans to last throughout the week - they got trashed instead.

The recipe for Gale Gand's Milan Cookies can be found here.

Thanks to this month's host! The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Things That Make Me Happy

noreply@blogger.com (Beth) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Tomato and basil bruschetta for a light summer dinner. Seriously, there's nothing better than those flavors, when the tomatoes are perfectly ripe and the basil comes from the backyard. Toss with some finely minced shallot and garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil for a true taste of the season.

My new job as the Assistant Culinary Specialist at Wilton. I love that I love going to work - I'm a new person. More on the job later, after I figure out the company's social media policies.

Receiving emails like this:

Hey Beth,

Seeing your Gchat status lit up reminded me that I was going to send you an email and let you know that Jenny's Mom saved the top of our wedding cake (tradition and all) and we had it the other week b/c it was our anniversary, annnnnddd....it was GREAT! I never would have thought year-old cake would be any good, but yours was!

Thanks again :)

Hope you are having fun in Chicago. We'll be back in early August, perhaps I'll see you at the Phish show?!

Take care,
Evan