TWD: Chocolate. Caramel. Peanuts. Tart.

Just got back from SF & BlogHer Food '09. Let's just leave it with: Brain no worky, all wonky.


Moving on - This weekend, the number of...

People who noticed (and commented on) my tongue piercing: 2 (Jen & Shauna)
People I tackled: 1 (Jen)
Times I was floored we were given a frozen Bertolli meal for lunch: 124602345192354
Drunk Twitters I egged Jen into posting: 2
Hours it took to get to SF: 13
Hours it took to get back: 9
Hours my flights were delayed going to SF: 1
Hours my flights were delayed getting back: 3.5
Times I felt guilty that I made the vol-au-vents for the Daring Bakers but didn't post them: 17
Drinks I had Saturday: 2 (weak!)
Times I laughed so hard I wanted to pee while talking to Michelle: 6
Taglines we considered for the TNS header: 2
Taglines for TNS that contained the word "fuck": 2, of course!
Times I introduced myself as Caitlin, the engineer baker: Every. Time.
Times I felt weird about adding the "engineer baker" tag to my intro: Every. Time.
Questions I asked during the panels: 1 (go me!)
Times I wished I had this tart to snack on: 1 - during that godawful lunch


Last Week: Cottage Cheese Pufflets
Next Week: Split-Level Pudding

Chocolate and Banana Caramel Tarts

*Alert!* *Alert!* I probably need to give all of you a heads-up, a warning of sorts. Evidently, when 2a hits, I become philosophical. Thoughts fly through my head, that rationality filter stops (oh yeah, I've got tons of filters - you don't want to see the clusterf*** that is my brain), and I begin having dreams again. Aspirations, unrealistic and fantastical, absurd and impossible. Sometimes I wonder if it's just my mind's way of getting over that exceedingly left-brained way I go about my days at work. Like sometimes, it just needs to get out of the box it's been hemmed into.


I wasn't a terribly creative child. Or teen. Or adult, for that matter. I avoided art classes like the plague (haven't had one since 8th grade!) and hate hate spending more than an hour in an art museum. They make my brain hurt. The one exception is the Chicago Art Institute, because they always have super-awesome photography exhibits in the basement. I spent one summer in Northlake, outside of Chicago, and went into downtown every weekend. And every weekend, I'd go into the Art Institute and ogle the photographs. But modern art? Meh. Renaissance art? Double meh with a cherry on top.


So it's sort of odd that I then let irrationality run amuck. It's like this little right-brained mini-Caitlin just skips out and begins throwing buckets of paint all over. Freaking weird, right? But it's fun too, in a slightly uncomfortable-this-isn't-really-me sort of way. And thus, I find an outlet. Not paint, because my super uptight apartment manager would probably kick me out if I decided to make my living room wall into a mural. Nope, I become predictable - I bake. But it's the drag-down-knock-out sort of project that appeals to me at these times. Multi-step, multi-component, how-in-hell-did-I-use-all-my-bowls-and-pots-already. Enter this tart. Chocolate tart crust (I <3 style="font-weight: bold;">HELL. YES.


And luckily, I had a good morning last weekend to do all of this, because soon after, I got stuck going to Centerville, IA for work. And let me tell you, chocolate + banana + caramel + peanuts is waaaaay better than Centerville, IA. You can find the recipe at Cannelle et Vanille. I've had it bookmarked all these months since Aran posted it, and the only change I made was to halve everything and bake 6 2.5" tartlets (with lots of each filling left over).

TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

These cookies need a serious makeover. I mean, really? Cottage cheese pufflets? Not only do they sound sorta gross (cottage cheese in a cookie?), but they also sound a wee bit too cutesy (pufflets). I'm not entirely sure what you can rename them as, especially since they are rather dainty cookies. Well, except for the whopping amount of butter in them, but that's a given now in TWD, right?

So we can't rename them as Flaky Cookies of DOOM or anything. And Jam-Filled Turnover Cookies is a bit too self explanatory. You have to keep your fellow bakers guessing, right? I believe we all agree that cottage cheese shouldn't be in the title, just for the sake of the squeamish eaters among us. For instance, I would never tell the people at work the name Dorie gave these cookies. Talk about the kiss of death!


But maybe we should include some attributes about them. Fussy, for instance. Mix, refrigerate, roll, refrigerate, cut, refrigerate, fill, crimp, bake, PHEW! Did it occur to anyone to just increase the amount of flour or decrease the amount of butter just to be able to roll these suckers out without swearing?!? Because color me stupid, I didn't think about it until just now. Durrr. Flaky should go in there too though, because they are nicely flaky, if a little greasy from the butter. And fruity, or jammy, or filled - something to indicate that there's something going on besides an overly fussy pastry dough.


So here's my new name for these cookies: Fussy Flaky Fruit-Filled Ffffffff... Crap, anyone know another word for cookie that starts with F? I'm a sucker for alliteration.

Last Week: Flaky Apple Turnovers
Next Week: Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart (FYI to those who haven't made this - you will have too much filling. Be warned.)

TWD: Flaky Apple Turnovers

As I think I've mentioned before, I do most of my baking on the weekend. I pack it all in as tightly as I can, buzzing around my apartment like some hopped up crazy person. And let me just say - I totally need more medium sized bowls. Because when I need two for bread dough, one for melting chocolate over a double boiler, two to hold caramel, and another for a diced apple filling, things get a little crazy. I'm pretty sure that I washed the two middle-sized bowls in my nested set a total of 6-7 times on a four hour period.


Granted, I don't always pack things in that tightly. It's just that we had priorities. I had gotten up a little before the bf (totally unheard of, he wakes up at ungodly hours even for me!) and just puttered around for a few minutes. But then he walked in and decided that today was a raspberry picking day. Um, yes please! You see, we had sorta kinda maybe stayed quite a while at the bacon party the day before instead of going raspberry picking. Bacon... Raspberries... Bacon... Raspberries... Can you understand why we decided to do both this weekend? There's nothing better than hanging out with friends and saying "Oh, just one more BLT," or "Just one more piece of bacon - he just put out a different kind." Yes friends, my coworker made four different types of bacon. From the pig he received as a gift at last year's bacon party. I think that when he pulled out the peppercorn crusted bacon, I might have gone to heaven.


What does this have to do with the flaky apple turnovers that Julie picked for this week's TWD? Probably not much, except for one teeny weeny little shortcut I took on the recipe. I used puff pastry. Sshhh! I'm sorry, I just took a look at the pastry called for in the recipe and said - but I have puff pastry! And it has butter! Flaky flaky layers! Chop up some apple, make some turnovers, and rush rush rush out to pick raspberries! Priorities people, mkay?


So that's how I ended up with these little turnovers - four from 2/3 of a sheet of puff pastry. Half an apple, a handful of raisins, a bit of sugar, and some cinnamon and ground ginger. They became lunch, but I think the pound of raspberries we ate as an afternoon snack made up for the unhealthiness of the lunch, right? Either way, they were mighty tasty.

Last Week: Chocolate Souffles
Next Week: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

Guest Post: Frozen Avocado Bites by Charli

Four of my 24 years on this earth, I spent at Rose-Hulman. Technically, I was there to learn engineering (*yawn*), but I'm pretty sure it was so that I could meet some pretty kickass people. Luckily, that's exactly what happened, even though there was a bit of trepidation on my part at the beginning. You see, Rose sent out our freshman year roommate information a month or so before orientation so that we could chat with our future roommate, figure out dorm furniture, yada yada yada. Imagine my worry though when I, a liberal non-practicing Catholic, found out that I would be rooming with a conservative Texan Christian - eek! Yes, I know this response was completely unwarranted, but I was on pins and needles about college in the first place, let alone worrying whether I'd get along with my future roommate!

And luckily, it turned out that Charli was a pretty cool gal. In fact, we roomed together three of our four years, only breaking up the roommate streak because I had to live in our sorority's officer house my senior year. Needless to say, I still spent most of my time in her dorm room that year! And also needless to say, I was pretty bummed when I ended up in Wisconsin after graduation and she went off to Texas. One bright point though? Soon after I started up my little blog here, she started her own food blog at The Berry Bushel! So we can virtually bake together, even if we can't hang out as often as I'd like :)

Even more luckily? She was willing to guest post for me! So Charli, take it away!


Why did you decide to start food blogging?
I really love to cook and recently discovered baking, but sometimes I need a little motivation to keep trying new things. I am also enamored with photography. That coupled with a desire catalog my recipes led me to food blogging.

Where does your passion for food come from?
I have no clue. But maybe it starts with my taste buds.

What is your favorite post? Your most popular?
My most popular post by a landslide is the banana cream pie from Tuesdays with Dorie. It was a great pie, but I don’t know why it takes an order of magnitude lead.

The post that sticks out as the favorite is my cinnamon raisin muffins. The pictures aren’t great and my writing isn’t clever, but it was the first time I developed a muffin recipe that I really liked. Plus the olive oil works surprisingly well as an undertone in the muffins!

What's your "day job?
By day, I’m a graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, focusing on biomaterials at Johns Hopkins University. It’s mostly centered around quantum dots and cancer research.

How much time do you spend on your blog?
This varies day to day and week to week. Some days I am overwhelmed and do nothing on the blog, others I might spend my whole weekend just cooking, baking, and blogging!

What are your favorite food blogs?
Before I even realized there was such a thing as food blogging, I found Simply Recipes and that remains one of my favorites to go to for any recipes. I also really like 101 Cookbooks and (especially since my recent move from Texas) Homesick Texan. This list could go on and on…
What is your favorite kitchen gadget?
My microplane—that thing is fun!

Favorite ingredients to use right now?
Goat cheese. I’m addicted to the stuff.

If we peeked in your fridge, what would we see?


What is your favorite cookbook right now?

This changes on a pretty regular basis, but right now I’m really enjoying Ratio by Michael Ruhlman because it gives me the tools to create my own recipes.

Frozen Avocado Bites
Is it just me or have avocado desserts been popping up all over lately? I’m not one to shy away from a trend just because it’s a trend, so I offer up these frozen avocado bites for you. The avocado imparts a delicious, almost nutty flavor to the resulting dessert, but the texture of the avocado here is what really shines. They’re perfect for the bold, end of summer days that are upon us. When I first started putting this recipe together, I was mid-move and my popsicle molds were nowhere to be found. I improvised, making them in a standard ice cube tray, and decided that this doled out the perfect portion size! So, while I had originally set out to devise an avocado popsicle recipe, I stumbled upon something I find even better. When I eat these dipped in a chocolate ganache, sprinkled with red pepper flakes, and ever so slightly defrosted, I think a little bit of heaven comes into my mouth.

½ c cream

2 T powdered sugar

1 ripe avocado

1 T sour cream

chocolate ganache (recipe below)

red pepper flakes (optional)

Using a whisk or a hand/stand mixer, whisk the cream until it begins to thicken (right before the soft peaks) and add the powered sugar. Continue whisking until the cream holds soft peaks. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

Cut the meat out of the avocado and put it into a bowl. Mush it up (I just used a fork) until it is broken down. Add the sour cream and continue mashing the avocado. When you think you have done all you can do, transfer the avocado mixture to a fine mesh strainer, and push the avocado through into the whipped cream. This gets rid of any residual avocado lumps. Gently fold the avocado into the whipped cream and transfer to ice cube trays (or popsicle molds). You can put toothpicks into the whipped avocado cream help make the unmolding easier—the toothpicks are usually easy too pull out of the cubes. Freeze for at least 3-4 hours (6 hrs-overnight for the popsicle molds).

To unmold, dip the mold in hot water for 5-10 seconds, remove the cubes, and refreeze. Meanwhile, make the ganache. Dip avocado cubes in ganache, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes (optional) while ganache is still hot. Either serve immediately or wrap and refreeze right after ganache hardens.

I prefer to pull these out of the freezer about 5-10 minutes before consumption, but they are also yummy eaten straightaway.

Chocolate Ganache

2.5 oz semisweet chocolate chips

¼ c heavy cream

1 T butter

Place the chocolate in a small glass or plastic bowl and quarter the butter. Heat the cream until just boiling and pour over the chocolate. Stir until chocolate is just melted; add the butter, and stir until all is combined.

TWD: Chocolate Souffle

There's nothing like the let-down at the end of a wonderful vacation - after all the relaxation and fun, things just jolt to a halt. And all of a sudden, you're dropped like a rock back into the real world. Screeeeeccchhhh! And you're done. No more ice cream or cupcakes (and more cupcakes) for lunch. No more massive bowls of noodles, fantastic pizzas, or amazing brunches. Don't forget the chocolate, the pancakes at the neighborhood cafe, and the hole-in-the wall mexican. *sigh*


Well, maybe not nothing. These chocolate souffles? They're even shorter on the relaxation and fun than my latest vacation to Seattle. Thirty seconds, a minute - that's all you have to admire them before they begin to fall. And let me tell you - 5 minutes and they're pretty much gone.


*sigh*

Last Week: Cheesecake Brownies
Next Week: Flaky Apple Turnovers

BBB: Russian Black Bread

This is a difficult post to write. I just thought I'd get that point out there, as soon as I could. Because I'm not all sweetness and light, sarcasm and snark. Because Shanna and Jess showed me what baring your most uncomfortable secrets in this arena can be like - wonderful, life-affirming, and encouraging. Because it's an every day thing for me, even if it isn't caused by something outside my control as it is for Shanna and Jess. Because it scares me; it scares me that this won't be received well, that people won't understand where I'm coming from. Because facing fear is hopefully the best solution.

You see this bread that I made? I've been making bread every weekend this year, refusing to buy storebought because it tastes like sawdust and packing peanuts. And this one was a must-bake - it was Gorel's choice for this month's Bread Baking Babes, with whom I've baked for the past year or so. It was chock full of goodness - shallot and coffee and fennel and sourdough and rye.


But here's the problem. When I find myself sitting in my apartment without much to do besides read or watch TV, I want to eat the bread I've baked for the week. Too much of it. To the point of fullness, at which point I scoot into my kitchen and hunt for something sweet to balance out the bread for my taste buds. Then I move on to fruit, or crackers, or storebought (crappy) chocolate and sweets. I cycle through various snacks, certain that something there will satisfy whatever it is I think I want to eat. Raisins. More bread. Ice cream. Cheese. I end up uncomfortably full, guilty, and depressed. Near tears.

How is it that I, a person who bakes and cooks and posts about good food (or so I'd like to think), end up binging on terrible food until I reach that state? How is it that I, a person who enjoys good food, end up then restricting myself to the tiniest portions for the next few days, taking all the joy out of that food? I'm always amazed at the goodies that get churned out by all of you in the food bloggy world - is it really possible to surround yourself with sugar and spice and everything nice while still maintaining a reasonable relationship with food? And if so, why for you and not for me?


I think I could write about this for pages. My thoughts about mindful eating, about balanced eating, about my probable "addiction" to sugar. My confession that many times, I have to physically throw out the food that I'm eating in order to stop eating it. My desire to exercise as much as possible to make up for the weaknesses. My confusion as to why this happened to me, someone from a food-loving family, one unafraid of butter and cream and sugar (and, of course, the rest of the food pyramid too). My questioning of how I managed to train for three different half marathons while swinging from ridiculous caloric highs to 600 cal/day lows.

I'm not sure if getting this down in writing will help. People who know me in person might laugh at me - yes, I'm at a very healthy weight for my height, and yes, I exercise - what more could I want? Again, those wishes could go on for pages. But really, I'm just thankful if you've made it this far with me. And I'll breathe, and try to hold the tears back, and try to stop worrying about what putting this in writing means. It is what it is.

TWD: Cheesecake Brownies

Or, on not taking things for granted. I've been too darned introspective lately, and I apologize for that - this seems to be my favorite arena for verbalized introspection. Without further ado, here is a list of things that have happened in the last week or so that I really appreciate. They're just a reminder of how wonderful my life really is right now.


1. When I asked for places to go see / things to do in Seattle this coming weekend, I wasn't expecting many responses. Instead, I was inundated with everyone's favorite places! People sent my request on to other friends for more recommendations as well! So thank you to all of you who took the time - the boyfriend and I have a HUGE list of things we'd like to do while we're in Seattle.

2. When I realized that I'd have so many things to remember to do while in Seattle, I decided to write them down. I opened my notebook at work to the last page so I could rip it out and write a list. Only, the last page wasn't blank - someone had written "You Rock" on it. Thank you, random person, you just made my day.

3. I stayed up waaaay too late every night this past weekend. Not because I had things to do or couldn't sleep - it's just the best time for Y and me to chat. We even have plans to meet up at Alinea some time in the (hopefully near) future. Thanks go to Y then, for using up her precious daylight chatting with me, and I dearly hope we can meet up in person sometime. And go to Alinea ;)


4. Speaking of meeting up in person, plans are in the works for me to meet up with a couple awesome girls in Chicago in the next month or so. Rock on, eh? I'm super excited, and not just because one of them works right near Intelligentsia aka the best coffee ever.

5. These brownies made the day of a group of guys at work. After asking what they wanted and getting responses of "a wedding cake - you know, tiered and stuff" and "cheesecake, with blueberries or cherries on top," I went with a double batch of these cheesecake brownies. No espresso, because that's a bit frou-frou for them. But I got a lot of high fives for them, so I think I win. Literal brownie points, if you will.


So there you go. Introspection and some darned fine brownies. Err, cheesecake. Either way, thank you, Melissa, for picking the perfect thing to bring in and satisfy these guys' sweet tooth.

Last Week: Lime Cream
Next Week: Chocolate Souffle (FYI, I just made these - you have 1-2 min before they fall. Plan accordingly!)