What is your favorite kitchen utensil?Please note, I've said UTENSIL and not APPLIANCE. There's a difference. While it was my avocado slicer that prompted this post, it's my egg separator that prompted me to photograph it in action.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
It's my turn to ask the question...
What is your favorite kitchen utensil?Please note, I've said UTENSIL and not APPLIANCE. There's a difference. While it was my avocado slicer that prompted this post, it's my egg separator that prompted me to photograph it in action.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Pool Day fun
This post is over a month coming - but I promised to post pictures of the (mis)adventure, and I'm not one to disappoint. Back in June I threw a pool party here for my friends, and a conversation with Mel prompted me to want to make this masterpiece! I had a few days to prepare and accumulate the candy needed for the project, and a hunt for chicklets successfully ended when Mel found this great candy store in Austin for me (complete with Willy Wonka character 8-foot-tall salesman). My initial plan was to make this as a checkerboard cake, which is a three layer cake. My first attempt with this was riddled with mistakes. First, I did not cook them quite long enough, the chocolate cake was not fully cooked, but the white cake was and I didn't want to over do it. When I pulled them out one of the layers collapsed a LOT in the middle. I freaked out initially, but realized I could use this as the top layer of the p
ool cake, which would need the center cut out anyway. When I had this revelation I rushed to fix the cake, and cut out the center of it. While it was still in the pan. And not cooled. (anyone spot my mistakes here?) Now imagine trying to get the outer ring of the cake out of the pan in one piece. IMPOSSIBLE. I was struck with the brilliant idea of "pasting" it all together with frosting. Let's just say, this cake quickly landed in the trash and I began again, more slowly, attempting a two layer solid chocolate cake.
I made the two layers, cooled them, removed them from the pans and put them in the fridge for a few hours. Then I attempted to cut the hole in the center of one layer. I filled and stacked them, got on a thin crumb coat layer of frosting, and then I let it stand in the fridge overnight. This was probably my best decision, the fridge overnight allowed it to all firm up and gave it some support. Things looked MUCH better in the morning when I pulled it out to start again.
See, that looks solid and sturdy - and pretty straight if I don't say so myself. Now I mixed up some very white frosting, and put on the final coat, and laid the tile (chicklet) border. I also poured the blue colored hard candy circle that would become the pool water. The original recipe called for Jell-O, but I didn't think the Jell-O could withstand the Texas heat, so I opted for some hard candy instead. When the pool water candy had sufficiently hardened I attempted to put it inside the pool - but I had made one more misstep. I hadn't made the circle of pool water precisely the same size as I had made the hole in the cake. In retrospect I wish I had made the pool water BEFORE layering the cakes, and just made it larger than the pool hole, and placed it under the top layer. So, I resorted to breaking the pieces and forcing them in a somewhat mosaic pattern. I was unhappy with this oversight, and it nearly ruined the whole cake for me.
But, I kept on. Now for all the decorative touches. I used teddy grahams and colored twizzlers and gummy life savers and fruit stripe gum and starbursts and peach rings. I mixed a small amount of frosting with various colors and used a tooth pick for the bathing suits - those were the hardest, but I couldn't let these guys go naked, now could I?
Now it was just the simple task of setting these guys all around the cake - a little bit of frosting to "glue" them down - and then quickly get the cake back in the fridge so it wouldn't melt away! In general, I am happy with the way it came out, my friends seemed to like it (and more than one person appreciated my attention to multi-cultural detail), but with all the mistakes I made along the way I was a little less than impressed. The next one will be better!!
ool cake, which would need the center cut out anyway. When I had this revelation I rushed to fix the cake, and cut out the center of it. While it was still in the pan. And not cooled. (anyone spot my mistakes here?) Now imagine trying to get the outer ring of the cake out of the pan in one piece. IMPOSSIBLE. I was struck with the brilliant idea of "pasting" it all together with frosting. Let's just say, this cake quickly landed in the trash and I began again, more slowly, attempting a two layer solid chocolate cake.I made the two layers, cooled them, removed them from the pans and put them in the fridge for a few hours. Then I attempted to cut the hole in the center of one layer. I filled and stacked them, got on a thin crumb coat layer of frosting, and then I let it stand in the fridge overnight. This was probably my best decision, the fridge overnight allowed it to all firm up and gave it some support. Things looked MUCH better in the morning when I pulled it out to start again.
See, that looks solid and sturdy - and pretty straight if I don't say so myself. Now I mixed up some very white frosting, and put on the final coat, and laid the tile (chicklet) border. I also poured the blue colored hard candy circle that would become the pool water. The original recipe called for Jell-O, but I didn't think the Jell-O could withstand the Texas heat, so I opted for some hard candy instead. When the pool water candy had sufficiently hardened I attempted to put it inside the pool - but I had made one more misstep. I hadn't made the circle of pool water precisely the same size as I had made the hole in the cake. In retrospect I wish I had made the pool water BEFORE layering the cakes, and just made it larger than the pool hole, and placed it under the top layer. So, I resorted to breaking the pieces and forcing them in a somewhat mosaic pattern. I was unhappy with this oversight, and it nearly ruined the whole cake for me.
But, I kept on. Now for all the decorative touches. I used teddy grahams and colored twizzlers and gummy life savers and fruit stripe gum and starbursts and peach rings. I mixed a small amount of frosting with various colors and used a tooth pick for the bathing suits - those were the hardest, but I couldn't let these guys go naked, now could I?
Now it was just the simple task of setting these guys all around the cake - a little bit of frosting to "glue" them down - and then quickly get the cake back in the fridge so it wouldn't melt away! In general, I am happy with the way it came out, my friends seemed to like it (and more than one person appreciated my attention to multi-cultural detail), but with all the mistakes I made along the way I was a little less than impressed. The next one will be better!!
I heart Oat Bran Muffins
I never make muffins, really. Muffins are kind of like cake. You've got your flour, sugar, butter/oil, eggs, etc. Muffins aren't generally healthy -- at all. THESE muffins however are very healthy, and much to my surprise, quite delicious.I wanted to make some sort of healthy muffin, as I'll be away this week and will need a quick, energy-packed breakfast. This recipe simply came from the back of my package of Oat Bran. And get this, Michelle, NO PROCESSED SUGAR! That's right. So unlike you're typical cake/muffin, these use honey, no flour, oat bran of course, egg whites, salt, baking powder, a very small amount of oil, and optional raisins and nuts (I used both).
If you don't have this brand of oat bran around, let me know, and I can post the recipe. I highly recommend checking them out!
Blueberry Muffins
So I went to my local Farmer's Market this past week with Diane and Lyle. It actually just started this past week too. It was pretty small, but I was able to find some key items. I got some delicious corn on the cob, swiss chard, cucumbers, and BLUEBERRIES! :)Scott saw the blueberries in the fridge and said, "I like blueberry muffins." I wasn't even planning on making blueberry muffins, but I looked around for a recipe, found one with the ingredients I actually had (who keeps buttermilk in their fridge on a regular basis? I ask you. I certainly don't.) and there you go. And you know what? They were pretty damn good. . . not healthy at ALL, but certainly yummy.
The recipe came from my beloved Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. Jenni, if you decide to make these (because I know you have at least one copy of the cookbook. . .) I highly recommend either waiting until they're completely cooled to take them out of the pan OR taking Martha's advice to grease and flour the pan. I used Baker's Joy instead, which is wonderful as you know, but the muffins were just really delicate and didn't come out of the pan very easily.
Isn't summer fruit just wonderful?!
4th of July Cupcakes
Better late than never, right? I made these cupcakes for Caitlyn's second (and not final!) birthday celebration. These were for a sleep-over she had with two of her best friends. I just plopped myself in front of the TV and went to town on these guys. It was fun! It also beat going crazy with smoothing over frosting on a cake -- over and over and over again, putting it in the fridge, and smoothing it over, over and over AGAIN. With cupcakes I feel like you can have more fun. It's okay for them to look homemade, right? What's also great about cupcakes is if you're making them for someone else, you can always have one or two for yourself. You can't exactly cut a piece of cake for yourself. . . and then give the cake away. Or maybe you can. . . extra frosting anyone?
That chocolate frosting
The recipe for that chocolate frosting I'm always referring to is actually a recipe for Mocha Buttercream Frosting. It offers a variation for Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, so see below for those changes from the original recipe here:
Mocha Buttercream Frosting:
Makes 2 cups, enough to fill and frost an 8-inch round 2-layer cake
Note from the author, Carol Gelles:
Mocha is a hard flavor to pin down -- not quite chocolate and not quite coffee. I think this frosting has a good balance between the two flavors. If you prefer mocha with a strong coffee flavor, halve the cocoa; for a more chocolatey flavor, use less coffee and 1 tablespoon more cocoa.
Note from Mel:
I always make a 9-inch round 2-layer cake and this much frosting is NOT quite enough, so I would recommend 1.5X or 2X the recipe for that size. . . 2X if you want left-overs for spontaneous cupcakes later in the week (not that I've done that).
1 Tbs. hot water
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbs. sour cream
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (I usually don't measure this, OR sift. . . I just add it a little at a time and mix it well until the frosting's a good spreading consistency)
1. In a small bowl, stir together the water and coffee until the coffee is disolved.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the cocoa until completely combined. Beat in the coffee and sour cream. (Using a stand mixer doesn't mix this well enough. . . so while I DO use mine, I also have to get in there with a metal spoon to make sure it's really mixed well. . . it's annoying, but otherwise you're going to have spots of chocolate throughout later).
3. Beat in the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until all the sugar has been incorporated.
Variation: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Omit the instant coffee and water and use 2 tablespoons milk instead.
Mocha Buttercream Frosting:
Makes 2 cups, enough to fill and frost an 8-inch round 2-layer cake
Note from the author, Carol Gelles:
Mocha is a hard flavor to pin down -- not quite chocolate and not quite coffee. I think this frosting has a good balance between the two flavors. If you prefer mocha with a strong coffee flavor, halve the cocoa; for a more chocolatey flavor, use less coffee and 1 tablespoon more cocoa.
Note from Mel:
I always make a 9-inch round 2-layer cake and this much frosting is NOT quite enough, so I would recommend 1.5X or 2X the recipe for that size. . . 2X if you want left-overs for spontaneous cupcakes later in the week (not that I've done that).
1 Tbs. hot water
1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 Tbs. sour cream
3 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (I usually don't measure this, OR sift. . . I just add it a little at a time and mix it well until the frosting's a good spreading consistency)
1. In a small bowl, stir together the water and coffee until the coffee is disolved.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the cocoa until completely combined. Beat in the coffee and sour cream. (Using a stand mixer doesn't mix this well enough. . . so while I DO use mine, I also have to get in there with a metal spoon to make sure it's really mixed well. . . it's annoying, but otherwise you're going to have spots of chocolate throughout later).
3. Beat in the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until all the sugar has been incorporated.
Variation: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Omit the instant coffee and water and use 2 tablespoons milk instead.
Updatey
1) Cardamom in my coffee is where it's at, hot or cold. I loooooooooove the flavor!
2) Something else I tried recently is cold-brewed coffee. Have you ever tried this? You've got to, especially if you're interested in making your own iced coffee. Even if you don't like iced coffee, you can still use the cold-brew method. You can look for the article in the NYTimes that was published last year, but the premise is to brew the coffee overnight, or 12 hours, in cold water, at double the strength. I love the coffee brewed this way, it just has a different taste than the traditional hot water method; and again, I tried it with the cardamom and the flavor is even more pronounced (but still subtle, if you can believe it). I LOVE IT. It's not Morocco, but it'll do for now.
3) I made a curried spinach and pea soup with the pound of peas that was dying a slow death in my freezer. I love me a good curry, but this soup was disappointingly disgusting for too many reasons to list here. It's not really soup season anyway, but that doesn't matter; I wouldn't have liked this soup in the dead of winter, either. I will not be buying peas again in the foreseeable future.
2) Something else I tried recently is cold-brewed coffee. Have you ever tried this? You've got to, especially if you're interested in making your own iced coffee. Even if you don't like iced coffee, you can still use the cold-brew method. You can look for the article in the NYTimes that was published last year, but the premise is to brew the coffee overnight, or 12 hours, in cold water, at double the strength. I love the coffee brewed this way, it just has a different taste than the traditional hot water method; and again, I tried it with the cardamom and the flavor is even more pronounced (but still subtle, if you can believe it). I LOVE IT. It's not Morocco, but it'll do for now.
3) I made a curried spinach and pea soup with the pound of peas that was dying a slow death in my freezer. I love me a good curry, but this soup was disappointingly disgusting for too many reasons to list here. It's not really soup season anyway, but that doesn't matter; I wouldn't have liked this soup in the dead of winter, either. I will not be buying peas again in the foreseeable future.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Pizza! Pizza!
While lounging at the pool last Saturday I was craving pizza, and I decided I'd make myself one for dinner. Saturday morphed into Wednesday - but I finally made the pizza. Because I had so 
many days to dream about it, I went all out. Introducing my white pesto sauce pizza with asparagus, tomatoes and mozzarella!
First, we'll start with the dough. I found a recipe for Parmesan Pizza dough, and I used that. First you combine one yeast packet, a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a cup of hot water. Stir it up until it's all dissolved and let it sit for 5 minutes. It will become foamy, this is good. Then add in 1 1/2 cups of flour and a pinch of salt, and stir it together. Continue adding flour by the quarter cup (until you've reached 2 3/4 total), mixing with hands each time to incorporate the newly added flour. Then, add in a half a cup of grated parmesan. Now for the fun, flour a clean surface and knead the dough. You want to make it smooth and uniform. It may still be a bit 'tacky' which is fine. Drop a tablespoon of oil in a bowl, and flip the dough through that, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warmish place (I use the top of my preheating oven) for an hour and a half. When it's done punch it down - literally - and roll it out. The recipe I read suggested to put corn meal on the pan before baking. I did this, but I'm not sure why!
While this was rising I roasted some garlic. I sliced the tops off of 4 heads of garlic, this proved to be too many, I could have gotten by with 2! Pour a bit of evoo on the cut end, sprinkle some salt and pepper and place cut-end down on an aluminum foil covered pan. I roasted for about an hour, at 350. It might have been too long, they were mushy - but since I don't have a food processor the mush was actually better.
The sauce started with a roux, two tablespoons each of butter and flour. A cup of milk (I used whole!) Heat and stir, heat and stir, until it thickens. Then I added in a few scoopfuls of pesto (not made from scratch, but purchased!) and I added about half of my garlic mush. Stir, stir, stir, heat, thicken.
When the dough was done and punched I rolled it out (by hand, for lack of rolling pin) and made a pizza crust. In retrospect, I made it too thick. I should have made a bigger pizza or used only part of the dough. Practice makes perfect. I poured the sauce on. Now I spread out some pre-sliced mozzarella balls, sliced roma tomatoes, and asparagus tips.
Because the crust was thick it took longer in the oven, maybe 20 minutes at 350. But, it was delish (and will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after!)
many days to dream about it, I went all out. Introducing my white pesto sauce pizza with asparagus, tomatoes and mozzarella!First, we'll start with the dough. I found a recipe for Parmesan Pizza dough, and I used that. First you combine one yeast packet, a teaspoon of honey, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a cup of hot water. Stir it up until it's all dissolved and let it sit for 5 minutes. It will become foamy, this is good. Then add in 1 1/2 cups of flour and a pinch of salt, and stir it together. Continue adding flour by the quarter cup (until you've reached 2 3/4 total), mixing with hands each time to incorporate the newly added flour. Then, add in a half a cup of grated parmesan. Now for the fun, flour a clean surface and knead the dough. You want to make it smooth and uniform. It may still be a bit 'tacky' which is fine. Drop a tablespoon of oil in a bowl, and flip the dough through that, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warmish place (I use the top of my preheating oven) for an hour and a half. When it's done punch it down - literally - and roll it out. The recipe I read suggested to put corn meal on the pan before baking. I did this, but I'm not sure why!
While this was rising I roasted some garlic. I sliced the tops off of 4 heads of garlic, this proved to be too many, I could have gotten by with 2! Pour a bit of evoo on the cut end, sprinkle some salt and pepper and place cut-end down on an aluminum foil covered pan. I roasted for about an hour, at 350. It might have been too long, they were mushy - but since I don't have a food processor the mush was actually better.
The sauce started with a roux, two tablespoons each of butter and flour. A cup of milk (I used whole!) Heat and stir, heat and stir, until it thickens. Then I added in a few scoopfuls of pesto (not made from scratch, but purchased!) and I added about half of my garlic mush. Stir, stir, stir, heat, thicken.
When the dough was done and punched I rolled it out (by hand, for lack of rolling pin) and made a pizza crust. In retrospect, I made it too thick. I should have made a bigger pizza or used only part of the dough. Practice makes perfect. I poured the sauce on. Now I spread out some pre-sliced mozzarella balls, sliced roma tomatoes, and asparagus tips.
Because the crust was thick it took longer in the oven, maybe 20 minutes at 350. But, it was delish (and will be tomorrow, and the next day, and the one after!)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
deconstructing
I'd been waiting for something spectacularly clever to say about this, and since NH seemed to be on hiatus also, I thought I had all the time in the world. Much like our scrabulous games, he's beaten me.
Please, go check this out: Deconstructing Dinner
I don't seem to get tired of watching various vegetables be sliced back together by some amazing knife skills. Keep 'em coming NH! (I'm still waiting for the Thanksgiving episode...the drive from SF to AusTex can't be that long, bring the pup for tofurkey day and you can film it!)
Please, go check this out: Deconstructing Dinner
I don't seem to get tired of watching various vegetables be sliced back together by some amazing knife skills. Keep 'em coming NH! (I'm still waiting for the Thanksgiving episode...the drive from SF to AusTex can't be that long, bring the pup for tofurkey day and you can film it!)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Happy Birthday....America!
While I was out yesterday afternoon watching the Red Sox Yankees game with some friends we devised our 4th of July fireworks viewing plan - to meet at a friend's house at 7:30pm and head over from there for the show starting at 8:30. By the time I got home from the game I had about 2 hours before I had to be ready to leave again, and I still had to go and walk the dog (as an aside, I've been dog-sitting for a week, and this dog likes to hike through the woods, where we see coyotes!!!) I left my house, headed for dogs house, and stopped at the grocery store on the way - I was not going to show up for pre-fireworks party empty handed. She likely doesn't know, but Melanie helped me devise this recipe while I was AT the grocery store. A few quick text messages back and forth and we'd decided on filling those little phyllo pastry cups with chocolate pudding and whipped cream. I decided to top them with strawberries and blueberries, for the full patriotic effect.I must say, while this is like less homemade and more "semi" than what Sandra Lee would put on her show, they came out looking quite cute and being quite tasty. And, of course, the simple fact that I showed up with something in-hand made me quite pleased.
Happy and safe 4th to everyone!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Happy 4th of July. . . Birthday!
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! I mean, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAITLYN! This little girl shares her birthday with the nation, and embraces the red, white, and blue (and brown?) I imagine this will get old after a while, but when you're eleven, it's pretty cool. . . the cookouts, flags, and fireworks. . . all on your birthday. I get it.So this is just the chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. The chocolate frosting is DELICIOUS. It's from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes -- one of my favorite cook books. I don't feel like getting out of my comfy chair to get the recipe, so if you want it, let me know. As for the decorations, yeah, my stars could've been a LOT better. Oh well. It was really late and I was tired. . . and she's eleven, so whatever.
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