the baked life

chocolate pudding

2012-02-15T11:53:00.000-08:00

Love is a strange thing.

It can be as small as buying a new place mat for the meows food dishes.

Or keeping your hot pink prom dress for ten years before donating it.

It can be overpaying for a dozen roses on a Tuesday.

Pvr-ing Ellen so you can watch Sophia Grace and Rosie talk about the Grammy's.

But mostly in our house, it's about chocolate pudding.

With an impending arrival, we decided to keep it low key in our house for the big love day. We usually don't go out for Valentine's day anyways, but we didn't want to plan anything crazy just in case we were going to be making our way to the hospital.

The husband bought me roses, I made him chocolate pudding. It was a fair trade.

The husband has a small "obsession" with pudding. He loves the pre-made cups of pudding and has been known to eat several each night. But the past few weeks, he's told himself he doesn't need the pudding sand has been on a pudding-free diet. So as my show of affection, I made chocolate pudding for our love day dessert.

If you've never made homemade pudding, or just attempted the powdered mix from a box, don't be scared. It's not different than heating milk on the stove and whisking constantly. The result is better than any box mix or pre-made cup that you are going to find. It's creamy, dreamy, chocolaty, perfectly set, and topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and dusted with cocoa powder, it's more fancy than any overpriced cake you'll buy on Valentine's day.

Chocolate pudding

[ from Martha Stewart ]

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk, I used non-fat but you can use any kind of milk

2 large egg yolks

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

whipped cream for topping (optional)

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the milk and egg yolks and whisk until combined. Over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, cook mixture for 8 - 10 minutes or until it thickens. Remove pan from heat and whisk in chopped chocolate and butter, until completely melted.

Pour pudding mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cover the top of the pudding with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming, unless you like pudding skin, then leave uncovered. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until cool and set. Divide pudding into 4 servings and top with sweetened whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder.

mascarpone cheesecake

2012-02-13T07:36:00.005-08:00

Well, it's here.

It's baby day, but not unusually, there is no baby. Yet.

Let's just say I am more than ready.

I'm ready to;

Sleep on my stomach again.

Sleep in general really....

Eat an over easy egg with buttered toast.

Walk without waddling.

Be able to put my shoes on without any acrobatic feats.

Wear pants with real buttons.

Drink a very large glass of good red wine.

Have a really long, sweaty workout.

Not worry that if I sneeze, the baby will fall out. ( I know it doesn't happen that way, but wouldn't it be nice?)

I'm also really ready for;

Tiny baby feet.

Being able to finally see what she looks like.

Introducing her to her loving and anxious, annoyingly impatient family.

Being able to start this roller coaster they call parenthood.

In the meantime, while we sit in a holding pattern for baby time. We shall eat cheesecake.
I made this over a month ago for my mom's birthday. I looked for a new cheesecake recipe that involved all of the things I love about cheesecake. Sweet, yet tangy, texture should be fluffy and not too dense, the crust should be buttery and not too firm.

This recipe nailed every one of those. It was so good, my mom had 2 pieces of it for dessert.

Mascarpone Cheesecake
[ from Gourmet ]

crust:

70 vanilla wafers, finely ground in the food processor
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

filling:

20 oz cream cheese (from 2 1/2 8oz packages), softened
8 oz mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in middle of the oven. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch spring form pan.

To make the crust, stir together the cookie crumbs and butter until everything is thoroughly moistened. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mixture for sprinkling on top of the finished cheesecake. Press remaining mixture firmly into the bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of the spring form pan. Make sure the crust is spread evenly throughout and pressed quite firmly. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Leave oven on.

To make the filling, in a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar at medium-high speed for 3 - 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and salt. Mix to combine. Pour filling into cooled crust, bake until filling is set but the centre will still jiggle slightly when pan is shaken lightly, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack, about 20 minutes. Cheesecake will firm as it cools.

For the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together all of the ingredients. Spoon over cheesecake, spreading into an even layer. Sprinkle top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and run a thin knife along the edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack and then let rest overnight, or for 8 hours minimum, in the refrigerator loosely covered.

cranberry almond quinoa cookies

2012-02-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

There are few cookies that can be eaten for breakfast.

I've been known to eat more than my fair share of chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, but let's be real, we shouldn't eat those everyday.

So naturally, when I come across a recipe labelled as a "breakfast cookie", my spidey senses go crazy.

Will it be sweet? Will it have chocolate ? Does it involve kale and flax seeds?

Yes, no and thankfully, no.

The ingredient list is nothing super crazy, except the quinoa. I personally love quinoa. It's a super food. Extra tasty for dinner with some butter, black pepper, and lemon zest. Even more crazy delicious for breakfast with some maple syrup and walnuts. So really, could quinoa in a cookie be a horrible thing?

quinoa

It's not. It's probably the best thing ever to happen to cookies.

It makes these cookies, fluffy like muffins. They're more tiny muffin tops than cookies.

The cookies are sweet, but not overly sweet, the honey gives them just the right amount of sweetness, the oats and quinoa make them hearty and chewy and the dried cranberries are a really nice touch.

Cranberry almond quinoa cookies
[ from Bon Appetit ]

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature
1 cup large flake oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered, unsalted almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In the bowl of your stand mixer, or in another large bowl, beat together the butter, sugars, and honey for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and the extracts and beat for another 2 minutes until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, in 3 additions, until well blended. Stir in the quinoa, oats, cranberries, and almonds.

Spoon 2 tablespoon-fulls on to baking sheets, about 1-inch apart. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes, or until cookies are set and golden brown.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

herb & cheese buttermilk quick bread

2012-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Day one of maternity leave :

Wake up, have coffee and cereal.

File for unemployment insurance.

Well, that brought me to 9 am.

Where after that, I was extremely bored.

My sister came over, we dyed her hair, I made soup.

But that only brought me until noon.

WHAT THE?!?!?!

So I made bread. Really easy, simple, deliciously versatile buttermilk bread.

The entire loaf is gone.

It's okay, I got time to make more.

Herb & cheese buttermilk quick bread
[ adapted from the kitchn ]

I adapted this bread to make a savoury herb and cheese version, but the original recipe is for a basic bread. The kitchn has listed a bunch of different variations that can be used with the basic recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated cheese

Grease and flour a 9x5-inch standard loaf pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oregano, and thyme. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula, fold / mix gently until just combined. Don't over mix! You might have some floury bits, but it's okay. Gently fold in the grated cheese.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until golden and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let rest in pan for 15 minutes before removing.

Serve warm or at room temperature with butter.

wordless wednesday ~ cookie time

2012-02-01T12:35:00.001-08:00

brown butter chocolate coconut cookies

2012-01-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm only a few days away from something I've never been.

Unemployed.

3 weeks after I graduated high school I got my first full time job and 10 years later, I haven't been without one.

It's strange because I'm going on a leave, I'm going to be busy, but I'm not going to be working.

I'm having a hard time grasping it.

Part of me is ready. So ready I could burst, literally. I'm exhausted, I'm the size of a harbour seal, I feel like I'm walking with a towel between my knees, I just want to stay at home all day in my pajamas.

Part of me isn't. What the heck am I going to do with myself for the 2 or so weeks before the baby arrives? Sure, I'm going to sleep and bake, but what else to do with the other 8 hours of the day?!?!? Play with the cats? Fold tiny clothes? Eat ?

Cookies make big life situations better.

Browned butter smells like how heaven should. It soothes my worries. And this girl will never say no to chocolate and coconut.

I have a feeling this is not the only time I will be using cookies as an excuse.

Browned butter coconut chocolate chip cookies
[ from Joy the Baker ]

1 cup unsalted butter, melted and browned to about 3/4 cup of butter
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter until it start to foam and bubble. Start paying real close attention, the butter will start to smell extra delicious and turn golden brown. Once brown, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to stop the butter from cooking. Let rest for a few moments.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the sugar, brown sugar, and browned butter for 2 minutes. The sugar will still be grainy, it's okay.

Add the egg and the egg yolk, beat for 2 more minutes. Mixture will look silky smooth. Add the vanilla and beat well. Add the flour mixture and stir at low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the coconut and chocolate by hand.

Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Spoon tablespoons of chilled dough on to baking sheets and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies just start to turn golden. Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

wordless wednesday ~ 37

2012-01-25T07:09:00.000-08:00

.....I can still see my feet!

pear bread

2012-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

First World problems.

They happen from time to time.

I had one earlier in the week, I was cutting up a giant pear for my mid-morning snack, only to see that it had big, brown spots all throughout. I tried cutting them out and eating around it, but the pear was mealy and gross.

I couldn't bear to throw it away. There was about 3/4 of the pear left and it could be used for something I'm sure. So I packed it away in plastic wrap and tucked it away in my lunch bag.

I needed a recipe to use up my pear.

Time was limited.

I wanted something that I could eat as a snack or for breakfast. Something quick and easy.

Muffins weren't on my radar, scones ? Too labour intensive.

Cake? Sure why not.

Well technically the recipe I found was for a pear bread, but I wouldn't call this a bread.

It's baked in a tube pan (or two loaf pans), so number one, it looks like a cake. Second, the way it bakes up makes a crunchy, sweet, sugar crust that makes the cake taste like a giant doughnut. Or at least I think it does.

It's sweet, has a delicate crumb, sort of like a coffee cake without the streusel. It's perfect.

The perfect way to save an uneatable pear.

Pear bread
[ from Smitten Kitchen ]

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups white sugar
2 large pears, peeled, cored and grated to make around 2 cups
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9x5-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to stir thoroughly. In another large bowl, stir together the butter, eggs, sugar, grated pears, and the vanilla extract until well blended. I did this by hand with a wooden spoon, but you could also use a hand or stand mixer.

Scrape the pear mixture into the flour mixture and stir until the flour just disappears and the mixture is completely moistened. Transfer batter into the prepared pan(s).

Bake for 60 - 70 minutes or until tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let rest on wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate or on to the rack to cool completely.

wordless wednesday ~ girly

2012-01-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

crab, artichoke + spinach dip

2012-01-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

The husband thought I was going to have the babe today.

An entire month early.

It didn't happen.

He like to act all cool saying he wasn't serious, but he was.

(Hi honey, I know you're reading this.)

He does remind me constantly, "You know, the baby is coming."

"Yes I know."

" Like tomorrow."

"No, not tomorrow. Soon, yes."

"You should pack your hospital bag."

"You should pack yours too."

This conversation happens every night. I do not kid.

I still have not packed my hospital bag.

I wrote about this dip instead.

It's my mom's recipe. She makes it all the time and everyone loves it. I stole the recipe and do the same thing.

The last time I made it, I think it lasted 15 minutes on the table before it was all gone.

It's baked with cheese, warm, creamy, perfect with tortilla chips and dead simple to make. It's finger food, baked with cheese, how can you go wrong?

Sometimes I make it with spinach, sometimes I don't. It all depends on your mood. I do definitely think the spinach rounds it out a bit more, but it's not necessary.

Crab, artichoke + spinach dip
[ from Jen's mom ]

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can lump crab meat, drained
1 15oz can artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1 9oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon biryani curry paste *
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise and garlic, beat on medium speed until well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, add the crab meat, artichoke hearts, spinach, lemon juice and curry paste. Beat until well combined. Fold in 1/4 cup of the cheese.

Scrape the mixture into a shallow, oven-safe dish (I usually use a pie plate), spreading evenly throughout. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbling, about 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving with tortilla chips or pita chips.

* Biryani curry paste can be found in most ethnic sections of major grocery stores.

sally lunn bread

2012-01-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

The thing about moving to a new area is finding all the new places to buy stuff.

Your new grocery store.

A new butcher.

A new vet.

A new farmer's market.

A new dentist.

A new bakery.

It's fun and annoying all at once.

It's fun because you get to scour the internet for places, hunt them down, try them out and it may, or may not, turn out to be better than what you had before. It's annoying because you get to scour the internet for places, try them out and you may or may not like them.

Since we've moved into basically the suburbia / Stepford of Vancouver, there's no shortage of places to check out, the problem is they are all large chain stores. Not much in the way of local or specialty shops.

Until I find all the shops I'll like to buy stuff at, I bake to fulfil my needs of fluffy baked breads and cinnamon buns.

I eyed this recipe back in March when I first stumbled across it over at Smitten Kitchen, but I never got around to making it. Shelved in my ever-growing bookmarks, it was left to be forgotten.

Until I had a craving for a brioche type bread, without the enormous amount of work. Plus, we needed bread for breakfast.

For just under 2 1/2 hours, this is the most luxurious, buttery, brioche-like bread you are going to make.

The husband ate half a loaf in a day. He called me at work to tell me he just kept toasting piece after piece because he couldn't get enough.

I don't really need to find a bakery then, do I ?

Sally Lunn bread

[ from Smitten Kitchen ]

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast

3/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk

In a large bowl, mix by hand or with am electric or stand mixer, together 3/4 cup of flour, sugar, salt and yeast.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and the butter over low-medium heat until just warm to the touch, or until the butter is mostly melted (105 - 110 degrees). Don't worry if the butter isn't totally melted. Slowly pour the warm milk in to the dry ingredients while mixing. After all has been added, mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or by hand for 3 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and 1/2 cup of flour and mix for 2 more minutes by mixer or another 3 by hand. Add the remaining flour and mix until smooth.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about an hour. While the dough is rising, grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer dough into the prepared loaf pan. The dough with be super sticky and wet. Cover again with plastic wrap and let double, about 30 minutes. With 15 minutes left to rise, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then invert onto a baking rack to cool completely.

The original recipe says to cool it upside down to get a more "square" shape to the bread, I did that, didn't get very square. Still delicious though.

Toast slices and serve slathered in butter for breakfast.

spiced nuts with maple bacon

2012-01-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

Snack food.

Diapers.

Cat sounds.

Warm milk.

Pancakes.

These are all thoughts that run through my mind at the wee hours of the morning.

You know, when normal people sleep.

Unfortunately, I am not normal, and I no longer sleep through the night.

My body seems to like 4:30 am as a good wake up time with thoughts of coffee cakes and baby slippers.

Not cool body, not cool at all.

Since I can't sleep and all TV is crap at 4:30 am, no baby story is not a good thing to watch, ever. I'm writing a blog post.

About spiced nuts. With bacon.

I made them for our New Year's Eve party, and my goodness they were amazing.

The spiced nut mix was spicy and sweet, salty, full of cumin flavour, they were excellent on their own. But then you cooked some bacon drizzled with maple syrup and crumbled it in with the nuts. Turn down the ridiculous, it was amazing.

The husband first started picking out all of the bacon before he realized, hey, the nuts are pretty damn delicious too.

The nut mix didn't last long, much like my sleep.

Spiced nuts with maple bacon

[ from Serious Eats ]

I highly recommend doubling or tripling the recipe. I doubled it and it gone after one evening.

2 cups raw, unsalted mixed nuts

1 large egg white, beaten

2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

4 slices bacon

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and ground ginger. Stir with a fork to combine well. In another large bowl, toss the nuts and the egg white until the nuts are thoroughly coated. Pour the spice mix into the large bowl and toss to coat the nuts evenly.

Spread nuts out onto prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring frequently and breaking up any clumps that may form, until nuts are just toasted. Transfer nuts to a large plate, in a single layer, to cool. Reserve the baking sheet and leave the oven on.

Place the slices of bacon on the reserved baking sheet and brush each slice with maple syrup. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crispy, turning over only once. Transfer bacon slices to paper towel to drain and let cool completely.

Break, or chop, the bacon slices into fine pieces and toss in a large bowl with the nuts.

Serve to hungry, bacon loving friends and insomniac pregnant women.

unexpected break

2012-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Grandma S's Christmas tree

I'm back!

This feels great.

I haven't posted since December 16th.

curried crab, artichoke + spinach dip

Since then, we've moved, had a crazy Christmas, thrown a New Year's Eve party, unpacked, setup the babe's room, made tons of food, ate tons of food, ate tons of Christmas chocolate.

I haven't been sharing my adventures due to the lack of internets at our new house.

I went 3 weeks with no internet.

Shameful.

new, HUGE kitchen

But today (!!!), our new service provider hooked us up. Watch out pinterest, I'm back.

Until I get my fingers rocking on a post, here's a recap of my life from the past little while.

I missed you.

my pops, with my sister's tiny dogs

spiced nuts....WITH BACON

peppermint meringues

2011-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

The husband and I had a bit of an arguement last week.

It was about cookies.

I kid you not.

I have a ~~bad~~ habit of making a whole bunch of cookies (duh, I write a baking blog), eating one cookie, then not touching the rest.

I don't see it as a problem, my co-workers and my waistline love it.

The husband has zero self control when it comes to treats. Remember how he ate 12 apple turnovers? He is a cookie monster.

His thought process is that if he eats them all, then they are gone and they won't tempt him anymore.

Is anyone else thinking that maybe eating an entire batch of cookies is a bad idea? Me neither.

So he's grounded me from baking cookies.

At least until after Christmas.

But crunchy, minty, pretty meringues don't really count right?

I didn't think so.

Peppermint meringues
[ from Bon Appetit ]

3 large egg whites, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
12 drops red food colouring

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchement paper, set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until white and foamy. With the mixer still running, add the sugar in 3 seperate additions, beating for 2 minutes after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

Add the peppermint extract and the icing sugar, beat to blend, about 1 minute. Dot the top of the beaten egg whites with the red food colouring, do not stir or swirl, it will swirl when you pipe it.

Spoon in to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip or with the large star tip (which I used) and pipe onto baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.

Bake until dry, around 2 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and let stand for 1 hour. Meringues will crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

wordless wednesday ~ tiny Christmas

2011-12-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

twice baked potatoes

2011-12-11T13:27:00.001-08:00

We're down to the wire folks.

We take possession of our new house in four days. We're not moving in four days, we have to paint first, but things are getting crazy around here.

Things I've learned while packing;

- Cats love boxes.

- Cats HATE tape guns.

- Nesting and packing go quite well together.

- Don't let your pregnant wife pack the boxes with books.

- Husbands think you only need to pack 3 days before you move.

- This infuriates their A type wives.

- You can accumulate a lot of stuff into a small space.

- Especially when you haven't moved in 5 years, gotten married and are about to have a baby.

- One can accumulate a lot of kitchen items. Giant gingerbread man pan anyone? Soup tureen? Angel food cake slicer?

Even though we're enthralled in packing, we still need to eat. I've tried not to buy a whole bunch of food, simply for the reason I don't want to move it. So I've been making dinner from staples and what's left in the fridge.

Russet potatoes + crispy bacon + cheddar cheese = dinner.

Twice baked potatoes. So simple, so delicious, yet I never make them at home. Why? I have no idea. It always seems like something you eat when you go out to a steakhouse, not something to whip up on a Sunday night. You could even pre-make the potatoes, freeze them and then pop them out for the second baking when the need comes.

The filings are infinitely adaptable, cheese, meat, onions, broccoli, you name it, stuff it.

Twice baked potatoes

3 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
4 slices bacon, cooked until crispy
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
salt & pepper to taste

Wrap potatoes tightly in foil, bake at 350 for an hour.

Remove from oven, unwrap from foil and let cool for 15 minutes, leave oven on. Meanwhile, chop the bacon slices into small pieces, add to a medium-sized bowl along with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cream cheese and the butter. Set aside.

Using a sharp knife, make a lengthwise cut to remove the top 1/4 of each potato. Using a small spoon, gently remove the cooked potato insides and place into the bowl with the cheese and bacon. Make sure not to go all the way into the bottom or sides of the potato, leave about a 1/2-inch of potato along with the skin. It should make a hollow potato boat. Repeat with each cooked potato.

Place the hollowed out potatoes into a baking dish. Stir and mash together the potato insides along with the cheese and butter until you have a nice, smooth texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the filling back into the hollowed potatoes, packing it down as you go. It will seem like there is more filling than will fit, it's okay to mound it over the top of the potato, just make sure to pack the filling firmly. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

caramel pecan cookies

2011-12-06T12:07:00.001-08:00

psst, I have something to tell you.

I made these cookies. But I'm sharing them at other places on the internets.

I'm the guest poster over at Britt's blog, the story of our rookie years, today.

If you haven't come across her blog yet, shame on you. She has an adorable son, pb, I want to bite his face. And she's freaking hilarious. She has no shame in showing her permed femullet from her childhood. It's spectacular.

mom's shortbread

2011-12-05T18:54:00.001-08:00

You know those holiday recipes that evoke such fantastic memories?

This is one of them.

My mom, used to be, suzy homemaker. She was Christmas-crazy. She would bake, and decorate, and be a great hostess. Christmas was amazing when we were kids.

She isn't so much like that anymore, she prefers Christmas in Mexico or Palm Springs, but I have a feeling that will all change next year when her granddaughter arrives.

Part of my mom's Christmas baking, besides the butter tarts and the whipped shortbread, was traditional shortbread. I remember her baking a whole whack load of it, containers upon containers of it, mostly in this scalloped rectangle shape, and freezing it early in December.

This trick of freezing cookies is nothing new to all of you ladies (or gents) who do their Christmas baking early. But this brought on my weakness for frozen cookies. Specifically, frozen shortbread cookies.
Shortbread is one of those cookies I enjoy more straight from the freezer than I do at room temperature.

It's cold, still buttery and crisp, after a few chews, it melts away in your mouth. Seriously, it's amazing.

Please bake up some shortbread, freeze it, then eat it.

It's a guilty pleasure everyone should learn from their mothers.

Shortbread

2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour

In the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Turning the mixer to low, add the flour, 1 cup at a time until completely mixed. Turn mixer speed up to medium, beat for 1 minute.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead a few times, gather into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Once dough is cool, but not firm, roll out onto a floured surface and cut into desired shapes. Place shapes onto baking sheets, about an inch apart.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. If you're unsure, tap the top of the cookie, should dent in slightly OR you can use a spatula to lift a cookie off the sheet, if it's just starting to golden on the bottom, they are done.

Transfer cookies to a wire baking rack to cool completely. Can be stored for a month in the freezer or a few days at room temperature.

friday feline ~ tiny box vs. large cat

2011-12-02T08:02:00.001-08:00

As I stood in the kitchen last night, taking a batch of shortbread cookies out of the oven, all I could hear was scratching. I looked back and there was Jackson, and this tiny box.

I quickly grabbed my iphone and started shooting this video. As the husband says, "what he lacks in brains, he makes up for in funny videos and cuteness."

wordless wednesday ~ photo bomb

2011-11-30T06:36:00.001-08:00

tuesday night

2011-11-29T22:02:00.001-08:00

Drove home in the rain.

Ate a quesadilla.

Didn't bake cookies.

Watched hockey.

Live.

Husband proclaimed "baby's first game!"

Husband watched intently while I took photos of his head.

Canucks win. All is well.

banana bread biscotti

2011-11-28T06:17:00.001-08:00

I'm just plain sleepy.

Between my day trip yesterday and my built-in alarm clock, who has a dance party at 5:30 every morning (I'm screwed by the way if this continues), I'm getting tired.

I start to lag later on in the day, I feel like drinking a bucketful of caffeine, constantly. I am that large, tired pregnant woman.

I wish I could sleep for days, but I can't. I have cookie exchanges to bake for, packing to start, blogging to do, cats to cuddle, babies to bake.

In amongst naps, I did make some cookies. They're even semi-healthy!

Banana bread biscotti. With whole wheat flour and NO chocolate. Although, next time I would add some walnuts and possibly dip them in chocolate, otherwise they taste pretty excellent with a cup of tea and a nap. No dipping of course.

Banana bread biscotti
[ from Company's Coming: Cookie jar classics ]

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
1/2 cup mashed banana, about 1 large banana
1 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, set aside.

In another large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the eggs white, mix well. Add the mashed banana and vanilla, mix until well combined. Stir in the flour mixture, beat until a safe dough forms. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface, knead 6 times. Shape into a 16-inch long log, place onto prepared baking sheet. Flatten top slightly.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes, or until cool enough to touch. Cut log diagonally into 1/2-inch slices using a serrated knife. Place slices onto baking sheets. Bake for another 10 minutes at 275 degrees, rotating baking sheets halfway through.

Turn oven off, turn slices over on baking sheets and let the sheets stand in the oven for 30 minutes, or until dry and crisp. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

boats + hoes. minus the hoes.

2011-11-27T17:43:00.001-08:00

I'm on a boat!

Well technically a ferry boat, but a boat no less.

I took a short jaunt over to Victoria, which is on Vancouver island. If you've been to vancouver and thought that was beautiful, you MUST go to Vancouver island. Plus you get to take a ferry, which I always love. The one I'm currently on is about an hour and a half total travel time.

Victoria day trip RECAP!

Wake up super freaking early and pick up my moms. Starbucks is a must.

Play angry birds / waste time on pinterest for 2 hours.

Drive to destination. Have awesome visit.

Drive back alone. Get lost twice. But get awesome photos on the way back. (they are on my big camera, to be downloaded later)

Eat French fries for dinner. Get mad there are no milkshake machines on the ferry.

Buy baking magazines, even though you aren't doing any Christmas baking.

Eat a Rogers chocolate. Wish you bought 2.

People watch.

Drive home. Snuggle a cat and go to bed.

Sent from my iPhone.

bookmarks

2011-11-26T22:33:00.001-08:00

I still haven't made anything. I ran out of flour earlier in the week and just haven't replaced it yet. But of course, all week I've been surfing my favourite blogs and finding things I want to bake.

My bookmarks are out of control. With Christmas cookies, and cakes, and quick breads, and brownies.

Time to share!

- This cake. The layers look amazing. The fact that it takes a day and uses an obscene amount of butter should sell you on it. I'm thinking Christmas morning.

- No bake cookies. With nutella. And peanut butter. I showed these to a girlfriend and her mouth dropped.

- Sponge toffee / honeycomb, whatever you call it, it's amazing. Great for edible gifts.

- Pear + custard + short prep time = heaven. Need to find a party to make this for. Or just go buy flour. And some pears.

- apple onion rings. my. god.

- It's soup weather. It's even better with toasted bread and cheese.

- My kick ass cookie exchange cookies. I'm not allowed to make anything else according to the host.

I need to get on making some of these. And blogging about them.

Or I'll do it later.

Remind me next year NOT to participate in nablopomo.

apple turnovers

2011-11-25T08:02:00.001-08:00

It's not that I didn't enjoy eating these turnovers, or that they didn't taste and smell amazingly, I just wasn't happy with them.

I think the puff pastry got too warm from the husband leaving the heat and fireplace running 24/7, so the shapes weren't right and they weren't pretty. I like pretty things. I also like tasty things. These were tasty, not pretty.

The filling was everything I wanted it to be, it made my house smell like a really good scented candle. It was also crazy easy to make. I'm almost thinking you could roll some of the cooled filling into a whole wheat tortilla that's been spread with a thin layer of cream cheese. That would be an awesome and pretty snack.

Even though I don't think they are pretty, you should still make them. Out of the14 turnovers this batch made, I ate 2 and the husband ate 12. In a 16 hour period.

Apple turnovers
[ adapted from the kitchn ]

crust:
1 box puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge
1 egg, beaten
sugar for dusting (optional)

filling:
2 large baking apples, peeled and cored (I used gala)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

For the filling, grate the apples on the large side of the box grater, set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, add the grated apples, toss until well coated. Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, let sit until mixture is room temperature.

Meanwhile, roll out puff pastry on a heavily floured surface to a 12x12-inch square. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut into 12 - 14 equal-sized squares.

Place a dollop-full of apple filling in the corner of each square, making sure to leave a 1/2-inch border. Pull the opposing side of the dough over, making sure the corners touch to make a triangle. Crimp the open end closed with a fork, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Make sure each triangle is about an inch apart. Brush tops of triangle with egg and sprinkle with sugar, if using.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for a few minutes before serving. Best served the day of, but can be reheated in the oven for a few minutes.