Weilhammer It Out

Behr Hot Pink

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:50:00 +0000

Dining Room. Enough said.

Emile Henry Pizza Stone

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:10:00 +0000

All my pizza stones break, so $50 is probably too much, but this looks like it would last, right?

Chicago

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:18:00 +0000

Xoco- Rick Bayless

Nightwood- farmy

Gilt Bar

Big Star

Edzo's Burger Shop

Takashi

Urban Belly

Gene's Sausage Shop at Delicatessen Meyer

Floriole Cafe & Bakery

Franks 'n' Dawgs

New Wish List Items!

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:37:00 +0000

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=weilh-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;l=bpl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;asins=1931605076&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;fc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;IS2=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;m=amazon&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;f=ifr" style="padding-top: 5px; width: 131px; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" align="left" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=weilh-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;l=bpl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;asins=1931605076&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=weilh-20&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;p=8&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;l=bpl&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;asins=1931605076&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;fc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;IS2=1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt1=_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;m=amazon&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bc1=000000&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

I have the sugar bowl. It only makes sense to have this too, right? In turquoise, though.

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Get it here.

I hate popcorn. Why do I want this?

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Cookbooks I Want

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Fried Chicken Restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:24:00 +0000

Huckleberry, Santa Monica

Big Jones, Chicago

Trina's Starlite Lounge, Somerville, MA

Pies N' Thighs, Brooklyn

Bar Symon, Avon Lake, OH

Pine State Biscuits, Portland

Resurrection Ale House, Philadelphia- Beer too!

Fearing's, Dallas

Kartell Serving Trays

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:08:00 +0000

http://www.allmodern.com/Kartell-12XX-XX-Dune-Tray-KTL1366.html

Desmond Month 11

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Desmond Month 11

Miscellaneous Things Worth Making from Last Week: a Smoothie, a Torte, and a Happy Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:32:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite views of the new kitchen. Sunlight pours into the back windows in the afternoons. The flowers are yellow now, the cake stand filled with the remains of an Easter Root Beer Bundt Cake. The mood perseveres. I love to sit in a clean kitchen with a cup of tea while the baby takes his afternoon nap.

Last week, two recipes worth noting fell through the cracks. One is a simple, but nice breakfast smoothie. (I would make smoothies for breakfast far more often if it didn't bother so much to leave the blender out.) The other is an apple torte that is flourless and kosher (if you don't use regular port like I did)- my first attempt at either and quite good.

Banana Breakfast Smoothie

Recipe By: Vegetarian Times March 2009

-= Ingredients =-
2 Frozen bananas ; broken into 1 inch chunks
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Frozen blueberries
1/4 cup Granola
1 tablespoon Honey

-= Instructions =-
Place all ingredients in blender and process until completely smooth. Thin to desired consistency with 1/2 to 1 cup water.

Flourless Apple-Pecan Torte

Recipe By: Martha Stewart Living March 2010

-= Ingredients =-
2 Sweet red apples (6 ounces each) ; peeled, cored, and sliced 1/8 inch thick
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
3/4 cup Granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons Sweet kosher wine
Vegetable oil cooking spray ; for pan
6 large Eggs ; room temperature, separated
1 1/4 Toasted pecans ; finely ground
1/4 cup Matzo cake meal
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Confectioners Sugar ; for garnish

-= Instructions =-
1. Toss apples with lemon juice. Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add apples, 1/4 cup granulated suger, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; toss. Cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine. Cook until almost absorbed and apples are syrupy, about 3 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray. Whisk together yolks and 1/4 cup sugar with a mixer on medium high speed until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; fold in apples, pecans, matzo cake meal, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
3. Whisk egg whites, salt, and remaining 1/4 cup granulated suger in a clean bowl of a mixer until stiff, glossy peaks form. Working in 3 batches, gently fold whites into batter. Pour into pan. Bake until top is brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool.
4. Run a knife or a spatula around edge of torte. Remove from pan. Garnish with confectioner's sugar.

Hearty Minestrone Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:08:00 +0000

Apparently, spring in north Florida as well as south means hot, not warm. The windows are closed; the air is on. It's just as well because that final week with the windows open left a yellow dusting of pollen on the new (and long needed) kitchen table and my desk. But the days are sunny, the light is long, birds are everywhere, and there are trees here- real, glorious trees!

It's a wonderful thing to sit down at our new table, the three of us, and eat a lovely soup in the evening while the light is still strong. This is a soup full of vegetables and life, of spring and heat, with a bacony underbite that stops it just short of too healthy.

Desmond has declared, in not so many words, that beans are his absolute favorite food. He couldn't get these down fast enough. I worried that the crushed red pepper would burn his little mouth, but he kept opening it up for more without complaint, proving yet again that he truly is my child.

While not difficult, this soup takes a long-ass time to make. Is it worth it? Yes, but if chopping is not your thing, look elsewhere. The beans take time too- overnight soaking and their own cook time separate from the soup. Once past the hurdles of beans and chopping, everything comes together fairly quickly and simmers quietly, creating delicious smells, waiting to be eaten.

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Recipe By: Food & Wine March 2009

-= Ingredients =-
1 1/4 cups Dried white beans ; soaked overnight and drained
3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces pancetta ; finely diced
2 medium Shallots ; finely diced
2 large Celery ribs ; finely diced
1 medium Carrot ; finely diced
1/2 Fennel bulb ; cored and diced
4 cloves Garlic ; minced
1/2 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
2 Bay leaves
2 tablespoon Tomato paste
1 14 ounce can plum tomatoes ; chopped
1 quart Chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup Baby arugula
1/2 cup Flat leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice

-= Instructions =-
1. In a pot, cover the beans with 2 inches water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until tender, about 2 hours; add water to keep the beans covered. Drain the beans and reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Meanwhile, in another pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the pancetta and cook over moderate heat until crisp, 4 minutes. Add the shallots, celery, onion, carrot and fennel, and cook until softened. Add the garlic, bay leaves and crushed pepper and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato and broth; bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add the beans and enough cooking liquid to thin out the soup. Discard the bay leaves; season with salt and pepper.
3. In a bowl, toss the arugula and parsley with lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the soup in bowls; toss with the salad.

Balsamic-and-Rosemary Marinated Florentine Steak

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:53:00 +0000

"Cari Weilhammer is a total dullard," is something you could say that would not be untrue. Cooking rule #1 (if you cook by the rules): READ THE RECIPE. Blast. What we ate more closely resembled pot roast than steak. Baffling. Until I read the recipe and noticed that it calls for a 4" thick porterhouse. O-oh! I see now.

In a way, I'm glad I don't have access to that kind of meat because I would most certainly buy it and it is undoubtedly insanely expensive. But, also, why don't I have a good butcher?!?!

If I remember my reading Food & Wine correctly (we've established that my reading retention is questionable, so it's entirely possible that I do not), this recipe is part of a special profile of chefs cooking in a Florentine vacation home? Some of the other recipes in the article were just a little too... something to really appeal to me. This one stood out and I can see why, because despite the 1", overcooked, porterhouses that I was working with, this recipe was good. I think it's a forgiving cut of meat and the balsamic and rosemary marinade makes it even more tender and flavorful. I did manage to marinate properly and overnight, despite my cursory reading.

If you can get your hands on a 4" steak, please make this now, with no adjustments necessary. It will be fantastic. If, like me, you cannot, I would adjust the roasting time- perhaps even eliminate it. Test the meat with a quick-read thermometer after it comes off of the grill pan. I would guess that no more than 5 minutes in the oven would have produced a nice medium-rare for my steaks.

With the steak I roasted some onions. I had half a baguette in the freezer so I sliced it and threw the slices on the grill pan with the steak juices and oil. Also, as almost always, salad. I just like that salad picture, so I'm including it.

Balsamic-and-Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak

Recipe By: Food &Wine March 2009

-= Ingredients =-
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Finely chopped rosemary
3 pound porterhouse steak ; 4 inches thick
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons Coarsely ground black pepper

-= Instructions =-
1. In a sturdy resealable plastic bag, combine the vinegar with 1/2 cup of the olive oil and the rosemary. Add the steak, seal the bag and refrigerate overnight, turning the bag several times.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 and bring the steak to room temperature. Heat a grill pan. Remove the steak from the marinade and season with the salt and pepper. Rub the sides with the remaining two tablespoons olive oil. Grill over moderately high heat until nicely charred on the top and bottom, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the steak to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until an instant read thermometer inserted into the tenderloin registers 125.

Spicy Asian Stir-Fry with Whole Wheat Linguine

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:10:00 +0000

I did everything right. All went according to plan. Things browned nicely. Nothing burned. Still...

Eh.

I've had hits and misses with Vegetarian Times and this falls pretty solidly in the miss category. Everything sounds good. Pasta. Veggies. Chile-Garlic Sauce. But really, with vegetarian dishes like this, the sauce has to have a lot of flavor. Hoisin and chile-garlic should provide that, but when you add the rest of the liquid the effect is watered-down.

Also? Where is the salt? What kind of recipe does not call for salt?

I added salt, which helped. I was still not even a little bit whelmed.

That said, it's not terrible and it is fast and easy and healthy, so, you know if that's what you're looking for...

check out Vegetarian Times March 2009

I thought I had the recipe. Alas, I deemed it not good enough to keep and threw it away. (Instead, I have posted a fantastic recipe from VT in September that you should definitely make instead.) Some highlights:

How cute is baby bok choy?

Mango-Avocado Rolls

Recipe By: Vegetarian Times September 2009
Serving Size: 4

-= Ingredients =-
2/3 cup Diced avocado
2 tablespoon Lime Juice
2 teaspoon Grated lime zest
2/3 cup Finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup Cream cheese ; softened
1/3 cup Thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup Chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon Chile sauce ; such as sriracha
8 8 1/2 inch Vietnamese rice paper wrappers
2 cups Alfalfa sprouts
1 1/2 cups Thinly sliced fresh mango

-= Instructions =-
1. Comine avocado, lime juice, and lime zest in small bowl. Stir in bell pepper, cream cheese, green onions, cilantro, and chile sauce; set aside.
2. Fill large bowl ( 9 in. in diameter) with warm water. Submerge 1 rice paper wrapper 10 seconds in water, or just until it becomes soft. Remove wrapper to flat work surface, and let rest 30 seconds; it will become more pliable.
3.Spoon scant 1/4 cup avocado mixture just below middle of rice paper wrapper, leaving 1-inch border on either side. Top with 1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts and 2 to 3 mango slices. Fold bottom of rice paper wrapper up over filling, pressing filling as you go. Fold both sides of rice paper inward. Gently press to seal. Roll up wrapper to top edge. Brush water on top edge if necessary to seal. Reppeat with remaining wrappers, avocado, sprouts, and mango.

Desmond is moving!

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:31:00 +0000

Going forward, Desmond's letters and all non-food-related topics will be on http://cariweilhammer.blogspot.com/
Check it out!

Someday I might even figure out to transfer the old posts over there.

Desmond 9 & 10

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:14:00 +0000

Goodbye fox. Goodbye stream. We are in our own (rented) house that is not nearly as good as our now lost potential house and I could. not. be. more. grateful. I feel like I've been holding my breath for eight weeks.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Susan and Mike for saving us at the last second there.

This new house is ugly. All the fixtures are gold or brass or brass-y and from 1990. ( The house was built in '95, but I'm guessing this stuff was out of date even then.) The tile is peach. Peach! The walls are pink. Pink! The realtor tried to get away with beige, but we all knew he was grasping at straws.

It's not actually nearly as ugly as all of those sentences strung together make it sound. The point is, though, that I do not give a goodgoddamn. I want to take this bloody ugly house with its kitchen and its space and its multiple rooms and welcome it into my marriage as a sister wife or brother husband or gender-ambiguous third spouse who makes people feel awkward when having to choose pronouns. We'll call it Sam.

I cannot even express to you the pure joy of sleeping in a bed that does not contain you, of opening windows and letting light into rooms, of not tripping over piles of things that have no other place to be.

Finally, a return to normalcy.

I missed a month. A month! I feel as if I actually missed a real live month. Of your life and mine. These past weeks have been among the hardest I can remember. I think I went a little wacko there for a little while. At least I now know that I am easily felled by seasonal affective disorder (among other things). No moving to Alaska for us.

I'm not going to say anything more about that, except that I wish people weren't so frequently exactly what I expect them to be. Somehow, though expected, it's always disappointing. You and your father are the one bright spot of the past two months. I could never get by without you.

You.

You are such a happy little monkey. And I mean monkey. You climb. Holy crap, you can get halfway up a baby gate. You do not like being caged. You have a face that you make when you're angry or when you think it might make people laugh (see above). You scrunch up your nose and eyes and purse your lips and breathe like a bull getting ready to charge. Classic.

You're eating pretty much anything, which is good because it slightly assuages my guilt about not making your food anymore when we moved. It's too hard to manage in a foreign kitchen. I have to be careful now not to fall into the kid food trap of chicken fingers and grilled cheese- you would eat nothing but Gerber veggie puffs if I let you. Those things are not a far cry at all from cheese doodles- even if the package DOES say vitamin-fortified.

At the Dermatologist's office on Monday- let me just take a second to declare that my warts (gross!) are officially vanquished!- Dr. Pascoe asked as he left the room, "Does yours really seem more like a toddler now?" He'd been moping all day, the nurse explained, because it was his son's first birthday and the man wanted his baby back. Time to have another one, I said, and then realized with horror that we are only two months away from that point.

No, you do not seem more like a toddler than a baby now, but what will the next two months bring? Will you be talking? Walking? Will my uterus start letting me know once again that's it's always ready to incubate? I hope not. It needs to wait about two more years for everyone else to be ready too. I fear that you've given it a taste of how good the results can be and now it won't ever stop. I'll end up like my mother- 50, incontinent from all the birthing, and wishing I weren't too old for more of it.

Speaking of grandma, today you are wearing an outfit that she gave you six months ago saying, "It'll be a long long time before this fits him." And here we are. Fuck. Hold on to babyhood just a little bit longer little one. Two months will go by very very fast.

Love,
Mom

Not Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:23:00 +0000

Moving. Going crazy. Catching up.

Desmond 8 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:23:00 +0000

Oh Rufus, look what you're doing to us. I don't even know how to begin to explain the feelings that have been plaguing my body for the last few weeks. And I mean that pretty literally. I am physically exhausted from managing of the stress and excitement and frustration and love. Rufus, dear infuriating Rufus, has not been the cause of nearly all of those feelings. The totality of the blame can certainly not be placed on his shoulders. Besides, look at that sweet face!

The question that comes up in response to every proposed solution, however, is, "But what do we do with Rufus?" Do we give him up? Yes, he's too wild around the baby and will hurt him someday. No, we love him and he's part of our family. Do we board him long term? Hmmm, $$$$. Do we know someone who can keep him for a while? No! That dog is crazy! We can't ask someone to take on that kind of insanity, at least not if we want to still be on speaking terms when it's over. But Grandpa Weilhammer wants him. Well, at this point we aren't going to say no to anyone who's offering, but I hope they will let us know the second they can't take it anymore.

Rufus must go because we are moving in with Uncle Nick and Aunt Twyla on January 30th 2010. Will you ever sleep again? Will I? I am ridiculously grateful that we have family so willing to help us without a second thought. It's going to be rough, though- probably on everyone. I'm pretty sure you will cry at night for quite some time, since your crib will now be in our room. You have to sleep at some point, but you are a stubborn little bastard and I have personally seen you perform some amazing feats of wakefulness. And that was in your early days.

We have a house. A beautiful house with ugly carpet and a stream that runs through the backyard with foxes frolicking about. We cannot actually have our house until we sell the Palm Bay house. This stupid house that we once loved is now the source of all of our misery and most of my recent tears of late, which have been many. It will sell someday, probably for much less than we paid for it.

Your father keeps telling me that we have it good. No one is dying. Everyone is healthy and loved (especially you). Money problems are good problems to have. I know he's right. I know that the terrible, horrible, heart-wrenching events in Haiti should give me some perspective on our current situation. I guess I'm self-centered or egotistical or some other synonym of those words, but I tend to let my own problems affect me and I don't think that's unreasonable. I hate it when people tell me to think of all the people who are worse off. You lost your leg in a car accident? Think of the people who lost both legs, wouldn't that be awful? People's problems are their problems and they have a right to worry about them.

He IS right, though. We are lucky. We have you. And each other. And people who love us. Ultimately, that is all we need in the world. I just wish I didn't like money so damn much.

You are going to be sorely missed here in Southeast Florida. I have massive feelings of guilt about taking you away. You aren't really doing anything new at the moment. Maybe you're too preoccupied with exploration to focus on skill acquisition. Or maybe you're holding it all in until we get to Tallahassee to play some cruel joke on Grandma and Grandpa when they miss out.

I don't know, but you're a funny little thing. You make ridiculous noises and you laugh when you see me or your father enter a room. Slapping things is one of your favorite hobbies- table tops, chairs, faces, chests, dogs. Anything but drums, really. You waved yesterday!!!!!! How did I forget that? You waved bye-bye to KK and PaPa. New. New. New. New as of last night. I am a terrible mother.

You are appallingly good in restaurants. We take you with us everywhere. As long as you have Cheerios and can chew on the edge of the table, you're a little angel. We have probably left behind us a wake of bitter busboys who had to try to get Cheerio dust out of carpet.

I left you for (good god!) 8 hours last weekend to go to a wedding. Grandma says you were perfectly content. You took a bottle for the first time! You don't need me at all! This is a completely depressing new development. I missed you so much!

Grandma is on her way over so I'm gonna end this. I know everything will be ok. Although, by the time all this is over you might just have to call your aunt and uncle Saint Twyla and Saint Nick. Or perhaps Duke and Duchess....

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Homemade Marshmallows

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:05:00 +0000

I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but guests were arriving and I had to click fast. This cake is ridiculous. I think it's rich and I hate it when people say things like that. I couldn't finish my piece!

I know it's January 7th. It took me until now to work up the motivation to type a recipe of this caliber. I promise it doesn't disappoint. Plus- homemade marshmallows?- what! what!

Here it is:
Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients

For the cake:
3/4 cup Unsalted butter more for the pans
3 cups Unbleached alll-purpose flour more for the pans
3/4 cup Canola oil
4 1/2 ounces Bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
3 cups Granulated sugar
2 1/4 ounces Natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large Eggs at room temperature
2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the Frosting:
2 1/2 cups Heavy cream
3 ounces Unsalted butter
1 Vanilla bean split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
6 ounce Bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
2 cups Granulated sugar
6 ounces Natural unsweetened cocoa powder more for dusting
1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

For the Marshmallows:
3 1/4 ounce envelopes Unflavored powdered gelatin
2 cups Granulated sugar
1 cup Light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 Tbs Confectioners Sugar more as needed

Instructions
Make the Cake
Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350.

Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment round. Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out teh excess.

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate, and 1 cup water. Heat over medium heat until melted.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in teh buttermilk, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Divide teh batter evenly among teh prepared pans.

Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. stagger the pans on the oven racks so the no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating teh pans' positions after 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove teh parchment, and cool completely.

Make the Frosting
In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter, and vanilla bean and seeds and stir until the butter is melted. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in teh chopped chocolate until melted. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt until smooth- be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight.

Make the Marshmallows
Pour 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the gelatin over teh water. Attach the bowl to the mixer and fiit it with the whisk attachment.

Clip a candt thermometer to a 3-quart saucepan; don't let the tip of the thermometer touch teh bottom of the pan. In teh saucepan, boil teh sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water over medium heat without stirring until it reaches 234 degrees to 235 degrees, about 10 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin in a slow, thin stream.

Add the vanilla, carefully increase the speed to high, and beat until the mixture has thickened and cooled, about 5 minutes (the bottom of the bowl should just be warm to teh touch). Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, leaving an overhang on 2 sides. Sift 1 Tbs. of the confectioners' sugar into the bottom of the pan, then pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan and sift another 1 Tbs. confectioners' sugar on top. Let sit at room temperature until set, at least two hours.

Assemble the Cake
Remove the frosting from the freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to soften. Change to a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with 1 1/2 cups of teh frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake's edge. Repeat with another cake layer and 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with the last cake layer.

Put 1 1/2 cups of teh frosting in a small bowl. With an offset spatula, spread this frosting in a thin layer over the top and sides of teh cake. Refrigerate the cake until teh frosting firms enough to seal in teh crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes.

Spread the remaining frosting in a smooth layer over the top and sides of the cake. If necessary, you can rewhip the remaining frosting to loosen and lighten it. Remove the waxed paper strips.

Use the foil overhang to lift the marshmallow from the pan. Using a knife that has been dipped in cold water, cut along the edge of teh marshmallow to release it from the foil. Transfer to a cutting board and remove the foil. Put teh remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a bowl. Cut the marshmallow into cubes of different sizes, from 1/4 to 3/4 inch (you will need to continue to dip teh knife in cold water). The marshmallows will be very sticky- dip teh cut edges in confectioners' sugar to make them easier to handle. As you work, toss a few cubes at a time in the sugar to coat, then shake in a strainer to remove teh excess. Mound teh marshmallows on top of teh cake (you'll need only a third to half of them). Sift some cocoa powder over teh marshmallows.

Make Ahead
You can bake, cool, wrap, and store the cake layers at room temperature for up to 1 day or freeze for up to one month. You can refrigerate the frosting for up to 3 days. The assembled cake can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours (refrigerate before serving). Wrapped well, leftover marshmallows keep at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Yields: 16 Servings

Fine Cooking Dec/Jan 2010

Desmond 7 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:38:00 +0000

"He'll be crawling by Christmas." Your father has said that a million times in the past few months. I've had my doubts. You had developed a somewhat ridiculous mode of transportation that involved getting on all fours from a sitting position and then doing some kind of forward thrusting twist into another sitting position a few inches closer to your destination. You've been pulling up on things for weeks and I kind of suspected that you just might walk and never bother with real crawling at all. But, of course, your father must be right in all things and lo and behold on Christmas Eve you bloody well crawled all the way across the room.

Grandma put a giant pile of Cheerios (actually organic oat rings or something like that) on her very inorganic living room rug and lay (lied?) down to coax you into making the trip to her. I'm sure she has convinced herself that you were going to her, but the truth is you would do just about anything for a Cheerio these days.

And wow are you moving now. It's been, what, four days since Christmas? You are a crawling demon! You can pull up on things. You can let go of those things to stand precariously on your own for several seconds. (Even though you can crawl you are still far more interested in standing.) You can pick things up with your thumb and forefinger (like Cheerios). You sleep pretty much through the night like a pro.

We spent Christmas at Grandma's house with Sharyn and Robin and Kyle and Regan and Mr. Bradbury. You were a hit because you love everyone, which is so nice. I know you don't get that business from me. Now I have to find a place to put the ridiculous quantity of toys you received in our ridiculously small house.

On the last day Bentley, Sharyn and Robin's dachshund, got hit by a car. He escaped while the cars were being loaded up and a van hit him and drove off. Who does that? Poor baby. We thought he was going to be ok, but now they're saying his shoulder is smashed beyond repair. They love that dog so much. He's the friendliest dachshund I've ever met. I hope he's going to be alright, but it doesn't look good right now.

I'm so sad about this dog that isn't even mine. I can't imagine if it had been Rufus and all I wanted to do after hearing the news was hold you and verify your intactness. But it's hard to stay sad around you. You make everything better.

I think we're moving soon. Dad got a job in Tallahassee. We're waiting for the offer that will arrive this afternoon. If it's good enough, we'll take it. It will be hard for me to leave Grandma and Grandpa and KK and PaPa (and it will probably kill them) but our life is definitely not going to be in Palm Bay and I'm ready to start it where it will be. More on the job next time, I'm sure. I've started thinking about how we can sell this house and how we can get one up there. There's so much to do I'm not even going to spell check this post!

Love,
Mom

*(three days later) I had to come back and spell check after all.

** Bentley has had surgery. They are "cautiously optimistic." Don't know if he'll walk again at this point, but he probably won't have to be put down.

Bow Tie Cookies with Apricot Preserves- photos only- they look better than they taste

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Rustic Dinner Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:33:00 +0000

Soupe au Pistou, generic salad from a bag of greens, and Rustic Dinner Rolls. A great winter dinner. If only we had some of that around here.

The soup is full of garlic in a supposedly immunity-boosting way. The pistou is hiding at the bottom of the bowl so that when you pour the hot soup over it the broth is instantly flavored with basil and garlic. And when you stir it? You don't have plain vegetable soup anymore, but a gorgeusly green new creation.

Unfortunately, the recipe is tragically flawed, which I suspected when I noticed that it did not involve soaking the garbanzos. Dried garbanzos take a notoriously long time to cook, even with the quick-soak method and, sure enough, they were not completely done. I'm not keeping the recipe for that reason, but if I made the soup again I would soak the beans overnight, or use a can in a pinch.

These rolls from Cook's Illustrated, on the other hand, are perfect. Dense and chewy with a crunchy crust, almost like sourdough without the sour.

They do require quite a few steps and risings, but all kneading is done in the stand mixer, which makes for very little actual work.

Rustic Dinner Rolls
Yields: 16 rolls

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon water (12.5 ounces), room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons Instant or Rapid-rise yeast

2 teaspoons Honey

3 cups plus 1 tablespoon bread flour (16.5 ounces), plus extra for forming rolls

3 tablespoon Whole wheat flour (about 1 ounce)

1 1/2 teaspoon Table salt

Instructions

1. Whisk water, yeast, and honey in bowl of stand mixer until well combined, making sure no honey sticks to the bottom of the bowl. Add flours and mix on low speed with dough hook until cohesive dough is formed, about 3 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2. Remove plastic wrap and evenly sprinkle salt over dough. Knead on low speed 5 minutes. (If dough creeps up attachment, stop mixer and scrape down using well-floured hands or greased spatula.) Increase speed to medium and continue to knead until dough is smooth and slightly tacky, about 1 minute. If dough is very sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour and continue mixing 1 minute. Lightly spray 2-qt bowl with nonstick cooking spray; transfer dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Fold dough over itself; rotate bowl quarter turn and fold again. Rotate bowl again and fold once more. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Repeat folding, replace plastic wrap, and let dough rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

4. Transfer dough to floured work surface, sprinkle top with more flour. Using bench scraper, cut dough in half and gently stretch each half into 16-inch cylinders. Divide each cylinder into quarters and each quarter into two pieces, and dust top of each piece with more flour. With floured hands, gently pick up each piece and roll in palms to coat with flour, shaking off excess, and place in prepared cake pan. Arrange 8 dough pieces in each cake pan, placing one piece in middle and others around it, with long side of each running from center of pan to edge and making sure cut-side is face up. Loosely cover cake pans with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. (Dough is ready when it springs back slowly when pressed lightly with finger.) Thirty minutes before baking, adjust rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.

5. Remove plastic wrap from cake pans, spray rolls lightly with water, and place in oven. Bake 10 minutes until tops of rolls are brown; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400; using kitchen towels or oven mitts, invert rolls from both cake pans onto rimmed baking sheet. When rolls are cool enough to handle, turn right-side-up, pull apart, and space evenly on baking sheet. Continue to bake until rolls develop a deep, golden brown crust and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 10 to 15 minutes; rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time. Transfer rolls to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Cook's Illustrated November & December 2008

Because the dough is sticky, keep your hands well-floured when handling it. Use a spray bottle to mist the rolls with water. The rolls will keep for two days at room temperature stored in a ziplock bag. To re-crisp the crust, place in 450-degree oven 6 to 8 minutes. The rolls will keep frozen for several months wrapped in foil and placed in a ziplock bag.

To the rescue!

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:09:00 +0000

How are cute baby contests not sending me notifications that I've won without even entering? Thanks Jen!!

Desmond 6 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Oh my poor sweet baby. It is 2am on a Wednesday and you are crying so hard my breasts are achingly full of milk. They want nothing more than to calm you. It's their biological imperative. We are, hopefully finally (or at least penultimately since we are going to Palm City for Christmas), sleep training you. The first time didn't work at all; you were too young. (I'm so sorry!) The second time worked but got interrupted when Dad had to be away for a business trip. So we waited the week or two until after Thanksgiving and here we are. We were planning on waiting until Friday, but holy crap last night was murder and I figure if we're going to be up anyway, we had might as well make it productive. My breasts will have to wait.

Some day you can tell your therapist that the reason you can't maintain a healthy relationship is because as a baby your mother withheld breast milk and let you cry. This is so hard to do I might be on a couch saying something very similar sometime soon.

Oh, Dr. Ferber, what a complicated relationship is ours.

The pictures are from your first Thanksgiving on St. George Island- or anywhere for that matter. You are changing so fast. When I look back at you a week ago (the day we left for the island) you seem like a completely different baby. Just today you decided it's time to start pulling up on things. I walked into your room to find you standing up in your crib, banging on the wall. Then you fell. I think that life from now until you master walking is going to be best chronicled as a series of falls of various severities. Maybe I'll get you a helmet.

You are so close to crawling right now I know you can just taste it. It kills me because you just got to the point where you sit well enough that I feel confident leaving you to play on the floor while I, I don't know, pee maybe? Now, even though you sit like a pro, every chance you get you do a face dive onto the carpet trying to get somewhere or something just out of reach. You will get it within the week, I guarantee it.

What are we in for? Every corner of this house is going to seem like a deathtrap.

You have four- one two three four- teeth! Ahhhh!!First of all, why do we not get all bottom or all top teeth first? It would save many nipples and fingers from serious pain, at least for a little while. This two on top, two on bottom shit hurts! I guess you need teeth on both jaws to start chewing, but man does that seem secondary to my having intact digits right now. Your top teeth are adorable, though. Two giants poking down from your baby gums with a big ol' gap between them (braces, anyone?).

Last week when Jen and Zach were visiting I was so distressed that you were irritable. Jen was the one who realized that you were in the middle of a monumental bout of teething, which made me feel like a fool. Within hours, it seemed, that last top front tooth had completely broken through. You are such a little champ.

I have to go soon. I have some serious staring off into space from exhaustion to do. When not blanking out, I will be fantasizing about that beautiful golden night when I get to sleep alone in bed for an entire night. (Well, not actually alone, but, you know, not frozen in an awkward position with my arm the only part of me that's asleep, afraid to move lest you stir.)

Old McDonald is your favorite song. Has been for months. You used to like Itsy Bitsy Spider and Pattycake, too, but those are old news to you now. You just can't get excited from the same hand gestures and silly lyrics that did it for you at three months. You needed something more mature, more suiting a six month old on the go. Let me tell you, you found it in Coldplay. You are completely and mysteriously a Coldplay baby. A little "Clocks" or "Lost" action calms you down immediately. And don't even get me started on how much you like "Viva La Vida" (I like that one, too- shh- apparently it's uncool to enjoy Coldplay).

Ok, my darling, I'm leaving you now. I love you, even while letting you cry. It's not easy, but I really do believe that ultimately it will be good for you. You will sleep better and be able to soothe yourself in times of stress and your parents will not be pulling their hair out with frustration but will instead be well-rested and playing with you.

I will now say that to myself over and over again.

Love,
Mom

West Elm

noreply@blogger.com (Cari) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Cut-Twig Wall Mirror

Organic Cotton Sateen Sheet Set