New and old

I know the blog has been empty for a while.  That is due to life's ups and downs.  We seem to be looking at an up cycle so I'm taking a moment to throw out a few things.

Thank you..
To the friends and family that stood with us, supported us and were the ones who helped in any manner to get us where we are now.

New...
A lot of new has gone on in our lives.  We have a new son-in-law, a new grandchild, a new place to lay our heads and new jobs.  That is a lot of new!

Which is another point of this blog, what do you do when so much is new to hold onto what got you to this place?  Our choice was to decorate with it.

Gallery walls seem to be a hot item on Pinterest and other designing sites.  My husband, Jeff and I went around and around on how to decorate a really, REALLY, long wall.  We didn't have much material items anymore and definitely not large enough artwork to put on the long wall.  The artwork we had would look like a stamp in the middle of a large manilla envelope.  Not exactly a look we were going for.  We decided to do our own version of a gallery wall.

Now, I know it's not in perfect balance in this picture, but I'm posting anyway because life isn't perfect.

The photos are all ones we have taken on our travels so it was only a matter of getting them printed in sizes we liked.  The frames all came from WalMart for under $3 each.  The wall vinyl came from Hobby Lobby.  All told, the entire wall was around $75.  A large art piece would easily be that much or more and wouldn't mean as much as our pictures do.  They are wonderful conversation starters and best of all, none of them include our faces so it isn't a vanity wall.  I love our photos but I don't want to look at pictures of myself all the time. 

I'll be blogging more about changes and yes, food, more this year and next.  Welcome back and thank you my friends.

Playing in Chocolate

My best friend Jennifer and I got together this past weekend to play with chocolate.  It was a day that was long overdue.  I mean what isn't better than getting together with a friend, catching up and playing with chocolate?

We were supposed to go to the National Chocolate Show held in Chicago this past October together. Unfortunately I was unable to attend as my day job took precedence over the hobby.  I felt bad for letting Jen down and having to ask her to get samples and information for me.  But that allowed us to get some time together to share samples but by the time we were able to do that, we couldn't have fun playing with the chocolate.

I had found an amazing Apple Spice Truffle recipe and had already created the ganache filling and so all she would have to do is mold and coat them.  I knew she would love the recipe!   So our day of fun started by pulling out our Truffly Made molds and using the Classic European Round Truffle mold we piped in the filling and let them chill out in the freezer to firm up before popping them out and dipping them in milk chocolate. We topped them with a mixture of cinnamon and graham cracker crumbs.  Don't they look delicious?  She even posted them to her FaceBook page and the first lucky local respondents were going to receive free truffles!

While those were chilling we next set to try creating one of our passions, passion fruit chocolates.  We had sampled a chocolate from the show that was a milk chocolate passion fruit bar.  Looking at the ingredient list we noted that it was made with passion fruit powder.  This of course led to an immediate search on the web to find NutraFresh Passion Fruit Powder.  This was then part of Jen's birthday gift which included the book Chocolates and Confections at Home with The Culinary Institute of America.

So, using the basic chocolate ganache recipe in the book (sorry I can't post due to copyright laws but it is worth owning the book or borrowing it from the library which I did at first) we added the passion fruit powder until we thought it would be enough but not overpowering.  We first used warmed raw cocoa butter and added in some rose coloring.  The cocoa butter mixture was painted into the truffle molds.  For these we used the heart mold (also Truffly Made).  Piped the filling in and popped them into the freezer.  These will be coated on the bottom with a cocoa powder/passion fruit powder mix to show off the pretty pink top.

We did so much more but these will be a theme for another post. Soon to come!

Keeping lifeTasty!
Tricia

Strawberries & Cream macarons

When I had filled some of my culinary curiosity months ago by attending a class on the traditional French Macaron, there was an active discussion on the flavoring and coloring of the macaron.  You don't want to add too much moisture back into the cookie so it is important to use items like gel food coloring, dried herbs and it was hypothesized that you could use a properly dehydrated fruit.

My mind jumped immediately to these amazing freeze dried fruits called Crunchies.  They are the whole fruit with the water removed and are light and crunchy, almost puffs.  I believed I could smash them into a powder and use that to flavor the cookies with full fruit flavor and all the nutrients.  This turned into my Strawberries & Cream Macarons.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts and comments but in the meantime, I want to share the recipe and the tips for making these delightful treats.

In my commute from my day job, I sat next to a person and couldn't help overhear her phone call.  I asked a couple of questions and found out that her business is advising restaurants on the creation and effective usage of their dessert menus.  How lucky was I!  I opted to take the moment and ask her about areas where I had run into issues.

We enjoyed a discussion on my new passion and challenge, the macaron.  Her advice to leave the egg whites on the counter for two to three days with a cheesecloth covering was the best tip I could leave with you.  I typically do leave my eggs for baking most cookies on the counter overnight but three to five days is fine if they are in the refrigerator.  She told me about the French bakeries and their tiers of sifters and how they leave their egg whites on the counters as well.  I figure if centuries of tradition are working, I'm going to follow along.

The next best tip I can give is regarding how to pipe to keep the cookies even without the little tip.  With your pastry bag fitted with a large round tip, hold the bag perpendicular to the tray and about a quarter of an inch high.  Squeeze to pipe out, the mixture will flow from the bag and up around the tip.  Lift the bag up slightly when you have reached the preferred size and swirl the tip in a "c" shape to cut off the batter.  When I pipe I am typically thinking: pipe, pipe, pipe, lift and swirl.

For the basic recipe, I used the Sur la Table recipe from class but since I don't have permission, a copy can be found here.   Instead of using the lavender and purple food coloring, I used 1/2 of a package of Crunchies Strawberries crushed into a powder.  I used a rolling pin with the berries in a bag but you can use any food processor to do the same.  The idea is to have powdered strawberries or blueberries or any of the other fruits.  I also added a bit of red food coloring to boost the color although the powdered berries added a lot of color when stirred into the mix.

The ultimate result is a burst of real fruit flavor with the creamy center.  A decadent treat isn't so decadent when you have fruit in it.  Or at least it is a reason to justify that extra one (or two).

Hope you enjoy!
Tricia

Don't Fear the "D" Word

Do you cringe when, after a delightful dinner, your family asks "What is for dessert?"

If you do, a few staples can make a fun and easy dessert in no time.  If you are like me and tend to keep fruit in the fridge, mix up your favorite berries or tropical fruits and let them sit to get juicy.  For dessert tonight, I mixed blueberries, strawberries and blackberries with a little sugar and Cointreau (all attending were adults). For children, you can use a splash of orange juice instead.  Stir lightly and let sit while you finish getting dinner ready and have dinner.

I used a panini sandwich maker to lightly grill the pound cake.  I sliced a loaf of Sara Lee pound cake about 1/2" thick.  I brushed a little butter on each side of the pound cake to prevent sticking to the panini grill and to give a bit of moistness to the frozen and thawed cake.  I also let these slices sit while we had dinner.

After dinner, I plugged in the sandwich maker and once hot, put four slices in and closed the cover to let them get toasty and happy.  The smell from the grill was slightly sweet and hot like sugar cookies coming out of the oven.

After two minutes, I opened the grill, took two slices out and topped them with the berry mixture.  After the addition of the whipped cream, it was a delicious, light and yes, very easy dessert.

After dessert was over, I imagined what the dessert would be like with a bit of Nutella or PB & J.  I can easily see these appealing options when the fridge might not yield the fresh berries.  You can also do a variation where you grill apples or peaches on the panini grill as well.  I think I know what I will be trying next.

Enjoy and don't fear the "D" word. ;)

Tasty, easy entertaining

I love to entertain.  While my budget doesn't run to caviar, I am always looking for ways to entertain tastefully.  An event doesn't need to be that posh but tasty is a requirement.  I firmly believe that you can do easy, tasty and impressive food to show family and friends how much you care.

I had shopped the Whole Foods in Wheaton while waiting for my husband, Jeff to get off of work.  I found a product that intrigued me, Rutherford & Meyer Fruit Paste.  It is whole fruit, cooked down not quite into fruit leather but into a very dense jelly like texture.  I had to play with it!

My concept for the Premier Designs open house we are holding included the fruit paste, creamy goat chevre, walnuts and puff pastry.  Very simple and easy to accomplish, can be made up in advance and VERY tasty!

 

I used pre-made puff pastry to make it easy.  I would have preferred fresh vs frozen but time demands didn't allow me to make my own. I opened the sheet and cut approximately 1" squares to line the bottom of a mini-muffin wrapper.  I had some lovely ones from IKEA that I had gotten on sale last year. 

Next I layered a small piece of the plum fruit paste.  More than a sliver, it was a small chunk.  A slice across the container short ways and then cut into quarters.  Place the fruit paste directly on top of the puff pastry lined cups.  Add a few small pieces of walnut and then top with a generous size of goat chevre.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.

The result is crispy yet soft, tangy yet sweet, small yet satisfying.  Would pair well with a nice buttery Chardonnay for the wine lovers out there although it could hold up well with most semi-sweet reds thanks to the plum fruit.

I do believe that these will have to go to Thanksgiving at Mom & Dad's this year. 

Boeuf Bourguignon A La Julia Child

This past weekend was a bit cool for the first weekend of Fall.  Some places in Illinois had frost warnings and the temperature on Saturday was in the mid-50s.  This has caused our trees outside to go from green with a hint of yellow to outright reds.  Hopefully we won't lose the leaves before getting to enjoy their colors.

The cooler weather was tempting me to have something warm and soothing. Real comfort food but what to have? Soup or stew?  The housemate Michelle agreed that stew sounded delicious.  At that point, I knew it had to be Boeuf Bourguignon!  I had been to my favorite foodie store, Whole Foods the weekend before and picked up a couple of bottles of wine that were on sale and a good wine at a price like 2/$20 is a great deal.  Pantago Pinot Noir and Malbec were the featured wines out of Argentina.  Their 2010 Malbec is Wine Enthusiast Best Buy!

The Pinot Noir was, however, fated to be part of a wonderful, warm and delicious dish with a glass or two for the chef.

I went to an old standby, if it was french food then Julia had a recipe for it.  I found her recipe posted on multiple sites with very high ratings so I had to go with it.

The recipe Boeuf Bourguignon A La Julia Child was found on Food.com, recipes for the home cook.  A quick run over what pantry items I had and I was off to the store to soon be home with tasty items.  I followed the recipe almost exactly with a few exceptions.  Most noteably the bacon lardons.  I did use a thick cut sliced bacon instead of going through the process of boiling, cutting and frying the solid chunk of bacon.  I didn't see any negative aspects to using this shortcut and from the start of the cooking process, the house smelled like heaven.  Starting with bacon, then sauteeing the beef in bacon fat and then adding the wine and herbs to simmer for hours.

In my shopping trip, I was unable to get the pearl onions in fresh form, having to use frozen instead.  I do highly recommend Julia's tip to thaw and drain the frozen onions.  I don't think I've ever had them when they have been browned and then added to a dish and a very welcome addition.  The button mushrooms quartered and then sauteed in a little olive oil made interesting "squeaky" noises while tossing them around in the pan.  A fun little fact to see if you find when you try the recipe yourself!

While I did drain the sauce out of the dutch oven to thicken it a little more, I did not pick out the sliced onions and carrots.  We like them and I think that while not "traditional" I will actually add a little more next time.

Here is a plate of the final results. I have one of the dish in the dutch oven as well but I will upload when I find the camera cord or the regretfully misplaced camera SD card.

Hope you enjoy and please do try the recipe.  It has a lot of steps but is very a worthwhile adventure and the perfect thing for a cool evening's dinner.

Tasty and fast food

So, this Labor Day, it was just me and the dear husband.  Eldest daughter moved away to college to pursue her PhD.  Housemates off to a family picnic.

I'm not sure the last time we had a dinner for two like this.  So we did it up a bit but easy and fresh and fun.

Dinner started with a new invention of mine, grilled pesto butter crostini and that was a great start!  Yesterday, we had wandered through one of our favorite stores, Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets and found this great italian bread that you can bake at home from frozen in it's own bag.  Caldo, il Filone di Grano duro veropane.  They were also sampling the Academia Barilla products on the other side of the store.  While their pesto is fantastic, my immediate thought was to put two great things together to make something extra special.

I mixed the pesto in with some Plugrá butter to form a nice spread.  I sliced the bread thin and then cut each slice in half.  I spread generously with the pesto butter and then sprinkled fresh ground parmesean cheese on top.

I placed the pieces on the hot grill for a brief 3-4 minutes.  This was enough to melt the butter into the bread, toast up the bottom with nice grill lines.  The result was hot, tasty and just awesome appetizers.

Side dish was a caprese salad with basil from our herbs, fresh capellini  mozzeralla and tomatoes from my parents farm.  A sprinkle of sea salt and a splash of red wine vinegar. (I'm sorry I hadn't splurged on the Academia Barilla Aged Balsamic Condiment, it would have been the perfect touch.)

The dear husband grilled steaks and it was a tasty, fast and romantic dinner for two.

Vive la French Macaron

Thanks to recent trips to the International Home and Housewares Show and the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, I have begun a love affair with a short, dark and tasty treat.  French Macarons.

I had to try my hand at making them and as a first time effort, they turned out very nicely. I didn't quite get the "foot" I was attempting but I also didn't have the time to truly age my egg whites as several places listed as critical to getting the perfect macaron.

I was able to see Kristen Ryan of the French Pastry School of Chicago do a demonstration on how to make the treats at the International Home and Housewares Show in conjunction with KitchenAid's release of the new iconic look and launch of their recipe book with the treats on the cover.

I drooled over the color of the mixer but felt my trusty KitchenAid mixer might be jealous if I came home loving the new one.  Instead I fell in love with the cookie.  I never did find my download link for the book but will find her recipe somewhere.  I know I will!  Unless I find a benefactor to pay for a weekend class in Chicago, I can commute!

Instead of her recipe, I used the instructions from David Lebovitz.  They appeared to be straight forward and easy to follow. 

I didn't grind my almonds and powered sugar in the food processor. I had found almond flour at Caputo's Market.  I found it to be easy to work with and sifted the almond flour and powdered sugar twice before adding Guittard Cocoa Rouge cocoa powder to make it a chocolate macaron. I then sifted twice more.

Then I focused on the egg whites.  Following the directions, I used my KitchenAid mixer at a medium speed until the whites were frothy, then slowly added six tablespoons of sugar one at a time and making sure they mixed in well.  Turning to a medium high speed, I let the whites whip an extra 3-5 minutes until I had a nice stiff peak with a lot of volume.

Folding the mixture does get to be a workout. It is easy to see why traditional bakers had one arm bigger than the other!  Once mixed to a "lava" like state, I piped onto my sheets and popped them into the oven. Several sites recommend allowing the macarons to sit and crust while others say it is nonsense. This first time, I couldn't wait and popped the chocolatey rounds into the oven.

The aroma perfumed the house. Everyone was commenting on luscious chocolate smell.  A quick 15 minutes later they came out firm, crusted but no feet.  Maybe next time I can get that traditional pedistal with either warmer egg whites, older egg whites or the waiting period.

The first taste was crispy outside, light creamy inside that was reminiscent of a very good brownie with the addition of the cocoa.  I knew I wanted to fill them with Nutella for a simple filling. I don't know what else could be better than the dark chocolate hazelnut filling inside the dark chocolate pastry.

I can't wait to take them to work and my favorite chiropractic team tomorrow.  They certainly won't wait three to four days to age well.  I think that I will definitely be trying more flavors and combinations as I search to perfect the classic cookie.

I hope you enjoy as well! Let me know if you make them and how your recipes turn out.  I'd love to hear from you.



Carrot Carrot Cakes

My eldest daughter saw this picture on Pinterest and wanted to make the same cake for Easter this year.  Since I had been told I was up for desserts, I agreed quickly as I thought it was a cute concept and would be fun and easy to accomplish.

I made the following with items that I had at home and put my own interpretation on the design. I was baking for more than 6-7 people and had to make one with nuts and one without.  Below is a picture of my carrot shaped carrot cakes that went to Easter dinner yesterday.

I started out with a basic carrot cake recipe and made a few alterations. No one wanted raisins, half wanted nuts, no pineapple or coconut either.  Picky group - but I love them and so the requests were honored. To keep the moistness of the recipe, I substituted in applesauce for the pineapple.  To make it a bit more nutritious I used half whole wheat flour and half unbleached all purpose flour.  To make it easy, I used pre-shredded carrots. Looking back though I do prefer to shred my own as I use a finer grate on my carrots which bake into the cake better but if you want quick and easy, pre-shredded still works.

I used the following ingredients to make the white-chocolate cream cheese frosting:

2 ounces white chocolate

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

For the cake I used the recipe below. I've made the adjustments discussed above. I used Penzey's spices and flavorings as I love being able to buy them fresher when I need.  The nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, crystallized ginger as well as the orange extract and vanilla in the frosting all came from Penzey's

Ingredients

1 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. all purpose flour

1 Tbsp. non-aluminum baking powder

11/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp.grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

4 large eggs

11/4   c. packed dark brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

11/2 cup veg oil

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 TBS vanilla

1TBS crystallized ginger, chopped fine

1 TBS. orange zest

3 Cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (used in half the batter only)

1 C. unsweetened applesauce

Instead of baking in the typical rounds or squares, I used my Wilton Brownie Pan which gave the perfect long shape needed when the cakes were cut in half and stacked.  Baking time was about 30 minutes at 350 F.

When the cakes were cool, I cut them in half longwise and stacked the cakes with a layer of the white-chocolate cream cheese frosting in the middle.  I then cut and trimmed the cakes to give a more carrot-like appearance followed by a crumb coating of the white-chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Then came the fun!  I love, love, LOVE Duff Goldman's fondant!  This is very easy to handle, stores well and most people who say they don't like fondant go ahead and eat it!  With another brand, I found so many people hated the taste that they left it on the plate.  With Duff's fondant, almost all will eat the fondant.  That to me is enough to keep using it but when it is so easy to use as well, you couldn't make me switch back!  I had met some of the people behind the Duff products at this year's International Home and Housewares Show. They were great and patiently listed to my rave on the product.  I would love to play with all their items but alas,time and money will have me playing when I can.  If you are afraid of fondant, this is a very forgiving and easy to use product.

I had some fondant left and so I mixed what I had of yellow and a bit of red together.  It was redder than I wanted and I knew it wouldn't be enough to cover both cakes so I had to make a trip to the store to get a large container of white. After 10-15 seconds in the microwave, the white mixed in with the red and created a lovely deep carrot color!  Quick rollout, smooth, shape and cut.  I used the back of a knive to make indents and then used brown food color on a toothpick in the creases to create depth.  I then smoothed with alcohol to even out the color and fill in. I though it really brought out depth to the carrot grooves!

The pre-made cake had buttercream leaves but I used the green fondant that I had in the pantry to create the stems and leaves.  I rolled out the strings and used pieces from my Wilton Floral Collection Flower kit
to make the leaves.  I had to stop before I was fully happy with the results but in the end cakes looked like a very good representation and the family enjoyed it.

Hope you enjoyed this and please, let me know what you thought!

Tricia



Warming up a snowy night

When the snow falls heavy and the world goes cold, white and quiet, what do you do to warm up your family?

I started by making an awesome oven roasted chicken with potatoes, carrots, and onions (a subject of a future blog). The dinner was lovely but wasn't quite right without something to finish it up. I went to my standby cookie recipe from Big Soft Chewy Cookies by Jill Van Cleave.

There is a newer edition out but I stand by the first book and if you can, I'd recommend buying a copy as they are now available for as little as $1.00 through Amazon and other web sellers. I know I found some great copies and will be buying them to give to my daughters who have several of the other recipes like Snickerdoodles in their own recipe boxes.

I've had this book for almost ten years and haven't had a recipe that I haven't liked out of this book. Family and friends have commented on my notes on the pages such as "Jeff says make again". I love putting in the comments of family and friends as they are the ones who I am baking for.

Growing up, I would bake for the family on Saturdays. I remember using the mixer for all the cookies. While tasty, I wasn't quite happy with the texture. Having room temperature butter and egg and not over-beating the dough solves this problem. Use a wooden or heavy spoon and a bowl instead of using the mixer. (Sorry my beloved Kitchen-Aid, you aren't needed here.) Remember, the key is that you MUST put your butter and egg on the counter and bring to room temperature. I learned this from Big Soft Chewy Cookies.

Beat with wooden spoon one stick of butter with 1/2 cup each white and dark brown sugar until smooth. Yes i t should be dark not light brown sugar. Add one egg, one teaspoon of vanilla and two tablespoons of milk. I have used heavy cream, whole milk and buttermilk all with good results as that was the liquid I had in the fridge so if you have 2%, 1%, fat free or whole, don't worry. Again beat until smooth.

Next sift together one cup of all purpose flour, one half cup of cake flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add flour mixture to butter and egg mixture and stir only until dry ingredients are combined. Stir in one cup of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup walnuts if you want nuts in your cookies.

I use a medium scoop for my cookies and put them on a silpat covered cookie sheet. The author recommends a 1/4 C measuring scoop or 2 oz scoop, remember, these are BIG and Chewy!

Bake in a pre-heated 375 Degree F oven for 120-15 minutes. You are looking for cookies that are browned on edges and firm to the touch.

Move cookies to a rack to cool. They tend to disappear after about five minutes.

What happens on Christmas morning when your husband receives a camera? You get lovely pictures of the latest food creations!

Aren't these pictures of the homemade Asiago Cheese Bagels amazing! His camera is a Nikon CoolPix L105 which was a very great deal at Target this year. The camera has a "Food" setting! How fun is that? I'm sure that this will be a gift for him that will be used in the future as I start up blogging again this next year.

Thanks to my daughter, Erin, I also found a site called Pinterest. It is a great way to share fashion, food, family, technology and more. It will be a way to share my pictures and blogs and recipes. Pinterest appears to be a fun way to get my geek on and share what I do, find out what others are doing and find new things to try. If you would like an invitation, please let me know and I'll be happy to send one. There are some amazing things on the site.

Here are the bagels cooling on the rack. The camera captured such great detail, you can see the fresh bacon grease on the griddle from the bacon and eggs served with the bagels.

The picture captures the crispy cheese with the golden brown and gold colors. It was hard to wait until they cooled enough to eat. The kitchen smelled yummy!

The bagels tasted better than my favorite bakery chain store. I won't mention names so as to not hurt their feelings. I know I'll still be in for soup and sandwiches even if I'm not in for bagels.

Here is another great shot of the bagels once they were cut open. They had a great texture. I think if I changed anything, I'd let them sit a bit longer to create more of a crust before dunking them in the boiling water.

We cheated a little by having the bread maker make the dough. It is a great option that we will be using again and again and again. Let the machine do most of the work, be creative with the recipe and make it fun!

We added the asiago into the mixing process and then topped with more asiago cheese after a light egg wash post water bath.

If your bread maker is sitting around gathering dust, please try bagels. Cost to make eight bagels is less than three or four at your local chain.

Perfect to keep the little luxuries and spoiling yourself a little.

Thank you Rick Bayless

Tonight's dinner as a little late to arrive on the table but oh so worth it!

You know how family members tend to like certain recipes? The ones that are tasty, comforting, remind them of a special event or are a favorite go-to dish.

These Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style are a special recipe for my home. We found the recipe about 18-24 months ago after watching Rick Bayless on the Top Chef Masters and heading to his website. Lo and behold! Recipes, lots and lots of recipes.

I picked this recipe off of his site first and made it for my husband. I don't know why this recipe but it is now a favorite, often requested dish. It has a lot of steps but nothing too complicated. I have charred the poblano peppers on the grill, under the broiler and even on the stove top. The best thing you can do for yourself is to pick up some disposable food preparation gloves. Be sure to seal them well in foil to steam the charred skin off!

It is easy to use per Rick's suggestion a deli chicken but I have great results by boiling the chicken breasts in water with a bit of hot sauce sprinkled in. The chicken stays moist, shreds well and the hot sauce adds a bit of a kick.

I like to take my time and shred the queso but in a pinch I like to use the Kraft Natural Shredded Mexican Style Four Cheese.

Hope you enjoy this recipe's challenge and taste as much as I did.

Tricia

Getting my ducks in a row

So what have I been doing this year? I've been trying to get my ducks in a row.

The picture is from the duckie cookies that I made for a joint baby shower for my sister-in-law Joan and my daughter Erin. Since both babies were born in December, I'm running a bit behind, but life sometimes throws us a curve ball or two.

I wanted to make it up to this month's Iron Cupcake Milwaukee. Their challenge was bacon and thanks to our good friends Matt & Michelle, I had come up with a Crispy Cheesy Waffle Cupcake with Herbed Buttercream Icing. Guess that recipe now waits for another appropriate challenge.

The ladies that do Iron Cupcake challenges are just amazing! The amount of time, energy, creative abilities not to mention baking skills are amazing. Each time I go or review on their web, I am blown away by what they will come up with next.

March's challenge is Curry. Unfortunately I don't think my calendar will allow me to go. Will have to see what the Iron Cupcake Chicago challenge is, maybe I can make that one instead.

Keeping it Tasty,
Tricia

Iron Cupcaker Challenge Cause

Hey, if you didn't know it, our queen of the cupcakes at Iron Cupcake Milwaukee was in a cake challenge to raise funds for Ovarian Cancer Research.

Go to http://www.kelly-confidential.com/cake_off.html to vote for our team, Fall For Me is their entry.

A pie so good....

So, the other night we had friends over after a picnic. Dinner was leftovers of antipasta pasta salad, fresh veggie garden salad, brats and chops on the grill. But having been out all day, I hadn't even thought about dessert. What to do, what to do....

Was pondering when my eyes caught the bottle of Mozart Chocolate Creme Liquor. The reason I had the Mozart Chocolate Creme was because a friend of ours introduced me to drinking it with some di Amore Raspberry. Together the two make a lovely cordial that you want to enjoy as a private moment. We had nicknamed it "Liquid Sex".

So having made a white chocolate cake with raspberry filling for the party the day prior, I had a half a can of raspberry cake filling. These pieces combined with some whole milk, half and half and chocolate chips made a whipped ganache topping that I put over some white chocolate instant pudding. It was delicious for a quick afterthought.

While at a friend's house to celebrate a soon to come home new puppy, we were at the store and she was wondering about dessert. I told her about how the drink had inspired a dessert and we then took it further into making it into a pie.

So at the store we bought a pre-made chocolate pie shell, Ghiradelli Milk and Semi-Sweet chocolate chips and a quart of heavy whipping cream along with a package of fresh raspberries (they didn't have the cake filling but fresh was better).

We started with 2 cups of heavy cream in a sauce pan and melted in 2 cups of chocolate chips, we did one cup each of milk and semi-sweet. Making a basic ganache. Then we get to add the the good stuff. Added in two ounces each of the Mozart Chocolate Cream and di Amore Raspberry Liquor to the chocolate mix. Making sure it was smooth and glossy, it was then moved into a mixing bowl and popped in the fridge for about an hour. In the meantime, we washed and dried the raspberries and put them in the bottom of the pie crust so that it was a lot of berry peaks. Of course several berries disappeared while we were waiting for the ganache to chill.

When the ganache was cool enough, an electric mixer provided all the oomph we needed to whip up the ganache to a rich creamy mousse like texture. This was then scooped into the pie crust on top of the raspberries and went back into the fridge.

Just before we were ready for dessert, we put the last two cups of whipping cream into a bowl, added just a hint of sugar (about 1/8 Cup) and a good tablespoon of pure Mexican Vanilla Extract and whipped it to fluffy white peaks. This was then put on top of the pie and it was ready for dessert.

One of the people sampling this was eating it so fast, we wondered if she was savoring it. She said it was just so good she couldn't stop! My friend and I wondered what to name it. Since we had dubbed the drink liquid sex, what follows that? Considering it was smooth, creamy and just gave you a sense of well being, it had to be named "Afterglow".

So hope you try and enjoy our Chocolate Raspberry Afterglow.

Does your French Bread sing to you?

I knew I wanted some fresh bread since I had fresh compressed yeast to use up. Finding it in the grocery store when it isn't a holiday is a treat for me as a baker!

While trying to decide what to make, I was looking through my magazines, books and the web and ran across a blog on The Fresh Loaf that spoke about efforts to make french bread and how it "sang" when it came out of the oven. The blog referenced an episode of Baking with Julia (a PBS series where Julia cooked with the Master Chef's). On Julia's series, Danielle Forestier showed her version of french bread. The site had the recipe as well as video from the episode which walked through the entire process. The recipe was simple, only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and compressed yeast. Since the recipe specifically called for compressed yeast, this was the recipe I felt I must do.

Sat down and watched the full episode and decided to try making the bread with all purpose unbleached flour as I was out of bread flour and the hubby had the car at work when I decided to start. (I know, my kitchen pantry without bread flour!)

The recipe and instructions were clear and easy to follow and the result was a bread that sang when it came out of the oven! There is nothing so exciting as hearing your bread crackle as you place it on the boards to cool. It was a major sense of accomplishment and a picture of one of the loaves is below.




If you have the time, this process takes several hours but is so worth it. A light loaf with a very crispy crust. The loaves rose to a perfect level and rose out of the slashes and golden. It was hard to wait the required 20 minutes before cutting into them. The aroma even woke the sleeping hubby who wanted to know how soon he could have bread.

I was a bit disappointed on the crumb of the bread. While it was quite delicious, I didn't get the nice big and uneven air pockets that are traditional with a good french bread. Quite possibly due to my using all purpose flour instead of bread flour. I did end up with a full moist, delicate crumb to the bread. Again, a picture of the slices follows:

It was fun and an adventure. One that I certainly will take on again once I have fresh yeast and bread flour to see if I can get the crumb correct. Although I am by no means disappointed in this effort. Pass the butter please.

Tricia

Feeding the love

When you want to show someone how much you care, you make something that will make them happy. This was the meal plan for Tuesday.

When we wandered through Amana, Iowa on the way to our daughter's wedding in early July, my husband was delighted to find mini banana cream pies out on the dessert cart. I knew he liked them but had forgotten just how much he really liked them. So when my local market had a 10 pound box of bananas for just $3, I knew that banana cream pie would be part of the banana useage. Yes, there would be banana nut muffins, banana bread, smoothies with bananas but the key useage would be at least one banana cream pie for Jeff.

Having made banana nut muffins and seen that the bananas were at the perfect ripeness for banana cream pie. I started by making my grandmother's pie crust blind baked to a light golden flaky crust.

Grandma's Pie Crust

2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Crisco
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Oil
1/3 Cup Very Cold Water

Beat oil and cold water well with fork, set aside. Cut Crisco into flour and salt. Add oil and water into flour mixture until you get a nice dough. Chill for a couple of hours. When ready to use, roll between waxed paper. Makes 3 crusts.

I blind baked the pie with weights over waxed paper about 20 minutes and then removed the weights and paper and returned crust to the oven for 5 more minutes until golden.

At this point I was tempted to use the pudding version of banana cream but decided to make the pastry cream from scratch, something I haven't done in a while. Pulling out my trusty cookbooks (yes, I have a passion for them!) I decided to use the recipe in one of my favorites: How to Bake by Nick Malgieri. The Pastry Cream recipe is on page 368 and I used the recipe for two cups worth of filling. A great recipe which has fantastic results. The pastry cream was then chilled overnight before assembling the pie. You can use the warm cream and assemble then chill the pie if you are making the pie for the same day.

To Assemble the pie, I used 4 ripe but not mushy bananas. You want to use the bananas that are soft and ripe but with a firm creamy texture, easy to slice. If the bananas have started to go transparent, they are too ripe and better used for other baking. Slice the bananas into nice sized slices and cover the bottom of the pie crust. I like to lay the slices out and then create a second layer that overlaps the first. Spoon on the pastry cream and smooth. Return to the refrigerator to chill with plastic wrap laying on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin from forming. Just before I'm ready to serve, I like to whip the cream so it is at it's fluffy best.

Whipping cream is simple and the results are so much better! Pour the heavy whipping cream into a chilled mixing bowl. Beat the cream at a medium speed with a wire wisk for a few minutes until cream starts to set. The reason for medium speeed at this point is that if you start with full liquids at high speed you will be cleaning the walls and surfaces around the mixer as the liquid splashes out! Once you have gotten the cream to a soft peak, add in a teaspoon of vanilla and some sugar. Several people recommend using granulated sugar but I like the texture and taste of powdered sugar. You will want to sweeten to taste, I typically use 2-3 teaspoons of sugar per pint of heavy cream. Keep whipping the cream but now at high speed for a few more minutes until you get a nice stiff peak when you pull the beater out of the mix. Spread on top of the pie (remember to remove the plastic wrap) and just make pretty decorative swirls with a spoon or spatula, piping it out in decorative swirls is nice but in this case, not really needed.

The pie was appreciated as he had two slices, one before and one after dinner which was a Cornish Pasty which will be the subject of my next blog. So to appreciate the ones you love, make them something they love and appreciate.

Tricia

I'm an Iron Cupcaker!

Finally made it to my first Iron Cupcake Challenge with my entry of Zen Peach




This entry was for Iron Cupcake Milwaukee's July Challenge of Vegan/Gluten-Free

Having done a lot of baking but never vegan or gluten-free, I of course did my research. My local library helped by having some great references for me to borrow. I check out Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly, Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly and Great Gluten-Free Baking by Louise Blair. These were good starting points for me to figure out how to convert into gluten-free baking. I opted to not move into vegan once I found out my friend Mina has celiac disease and was "bored" with her options of dietary choices. So this recipe challenge was for Mina.

My muse for the cupcake was the shipment of fresh peaches that were front and center in the store. I knew I wanted to use them in the cupcake. My first attempt at the cupcake portion was a success. I knew it was flavorful and moist with a good crumb. My taste testers, DH and friends all liked the cuppy. One important thing I learned with the "alternate" flours was to cream the butter before adding the flour mixture and cream it more before adding the liquids.

The first attempt at frosting however didn't go well. It was an attempt at a boiled sugar buttercream using fresh peach puree to flavor. The syrup cooked well, got up to a soft ball stage, washed down the crystals and everything was going well. While pouring the syrup slowly into my trusty Kitchenaide mixer I evidently poured a bit too fast and ended up with sugar lump on the bottom of the mixer and a lot of syrup dots all over the sides of the mixer. Once the peach puree was added the frosting was too soft, more of a glaze than the light fluffy frosting it was supposed to be. My taste testers liked the taste but not with the cuppys. Too much peach in the frosting overpowering the delicate peach in the cupcake.

So back to the drawing board for the frosting. Listening to my testors, I toyed with the idea of cream cheese frosting with spice. Something to compliment the peaches. Looking at my favorite peach recipes, the two main spices were ginger and cinnamon. So I thought about the fresh ginger in the fridge and the three varieties of cinnmon in my spice drawer. I wanted the frosting to compliment not overpower the peach flavor. Wanted layers of flavors to come out as you smell, eat and savour them.

The fresh grated ginger and cinnamon was added into the beaten butter and cream cheese in the beginning instead of at the end. My thought that was whipping it in the beginning would allow it to flavor in undertones instead of being an overpowering after flavor. Then finished off the frosting with the required powdered sugar, vanilla and almond. The frosting was a hit!

So I met some new friends in Milwaukee, thanks again to my cheering section in the back corner! I appreciate the support to a new entrant.

Tricia