Engineer Baker

Words

2011-10-30T22:12:00.003-04:00

Well then. When I decided one day that I was done, that I was no longer excited to bake for TWD, no longer excited to take pictures, no longer excited to blog, I didn't think it would just end. Kaput, one day full throttle, the next - nothing. That result shouldn't have surprised me. So much has happened in the last year and a half that keeping with this hobby was more than a little unrealistic.

You see, it's not just the things I wrote about - starting graduate school, moving halfway across the country, getting married. Every person is constantly evolving, and my evolution lately has just been a bit more... abrupt than I was expecting. And some of it dealt intimately with blogging, baking, the whole shebang.

For the three years previous to April 2010, I was in a nice little bubble. My life was regimented, and it made certain lifestyle choices easier. For instance, I put in more hours at work than many in my position, because I felt it would help with career advancement. (Obviously, I didn't stay long enough to find out if that was the case.) My free time was spent almost exclusively at the gym. The YMCA that I belonged to was stellar given that it was in a podunk town in the middle of Wisconsin. There were pools always open for lap swimming, treadmills, ellipticals, and fitness classes galore. And unlike the powder puff fitness classes here at UNC, these made you work. Your legs would tremble as you left a 60 minute class. I loved it. I was spending 1-2 hours each day doing intensive cardio, probably another hour of lifting each week, and I barely would take two days off each week. Beyond that, I had a ridiculously regimented eating schedule - measuring out my cereal each morning (1 1/2 cups of Kashi H2H), eating carrots (10, I counted every day), apples, and maybe a granola bar (Clif Kids, because they were only 110 calories) at lunch, and then having a bowl of grain + veg + egg or cheese for dinner every night. It never failed.

Can you imagine then that my body image was more than a little screwed up? I worried constantly about how flat my stomach was, whether my collarbones showed enough, if my inner thighs were getting flabby. It was, in a word, neurotic. I can't count the number of times on any given day that I would pinch my thighs or that I would run my hand over my stomach. If I didn't like what I felt, that just added some mileage onto that week.

You know what that regimented lifestyle can't handle though? The complete freedom that comes with graduate school. The time that needs to be scheduled by me, that isn't eaten up by the standard 8-5 job. And with that came problems. It turns out that by stocking the kitchen with enough for two people, I also had stocked it with binge materials. After three years of not giving myself a choice, the abundance made me go more than a little haywire. That actually took time, but in the year since, a lot has changed. I've stopped beating myself up over the occasional emotional / angry / boredom-induced eating that happens. Well, not stopped exactly, but it doesn't give me the feeling that I should figure out how people with bulimia teach themselves how to purge. I made it through a short bout of minor depression. My diet is more varied. And I've grown out of much of the clothing I had worn before. Having to purchase a new pair of jeans last April was hard. Harder than I ever thought. I was always proud of fitting into the jeans I had worn in high school - being the same size for 8 years is pretty impressive. But they didn't fit. And every time I would wash them and have to wiggle back into them, it became harder to justify.

Who would have thought that purchasing new clothes would be liberating? No longer was putting my jeans on a test of my willpower. It was just, well, putting my jeans on. No big deal. And shirts? Well, I didn't like things touching my stomach (unless it was concave / was a sixpack - yes, that was the case most of the time growing up). (And no, even J can't touch my stomach. I don't let him.) So I stopped buying close-fitting shirts and started wearing ones that were more comfortable, both for my body and my mind. And my weight? Well, it turns out that my body was just reallocating mass. I've gained maybe 3-4 lbs, and haven't budged on the scale in a year. But I'm not going to weigh myself regularly like I used to. Even though I know part of it is conversion of muscle to fat, it's much-needed fat. God, that's a hard thing to say.

I still have my weird quirks. I still feel my collarbone, I look for a hollow on my hands, I pinch my waist, I measure my wrists with my hands. But for the most part, I've become more at peace with how I look.

What's crazy is how this has spilled over into other parts of my life. I feel more attractive on a daily basis. I have more fun when eating out with friends. I don't worry about that second (or third) glass of wine. Actually, before this I probably wouldn't have even had one glass of wine. And it's removing one of my greatest fears about having children. Other than that whole "something that big is coming out of what? Um, NO." I never wanted to subject myself to something that would so completely mess up my body. Scars, stretch marks, and never-going-to-be-tight-again stomachs. Widened hips. Sagging boobs and butt. But now? Well, big deal. If we want children, those side effects will be nothing compared to the end result. And those side effects should never be the deciding factor when considering having kids.

What does this have to do with this blog, other than giving a reason for some of my neglect? Well, I still obsess too much over food. Despite knowing that I could always have that second cookie tomorrow, I must eat it today. You know, in case it wasn't there tomorrow. My brain still needs to rewire itself, become less driven by these sorts of things. So a few months ago, I purged my Google Reader of most of the food blogs I read. Now it's primarily design / wedding / lifestyle material, although I have a handful of food blogs I read for dinner inspiration. Soon after the RSS purge, I decided that I wouldn't bake things I didn't actually want to eat. TWD has been great, but I've made recipes that I know I won't like. No matter what, I will never like flan. Or creme brulee, most ice creams, anything with figs, and most of the intensely sugary recipes in the book. And yes, it breaks my heart that I was so close. After 3.5 years, I had four months left. I would be one of the few who had been there nearly from the start, faithfully baking and making each week's recipe. While that was one reason to stay with the group, it wasn't enough.

So I might blog again. Will it be here? I don't know. It might be baking, or more savory. It might not even be food related. I can't predict what will happen, especially since I've begun writing my master's thesis. I will finish at UNC after next semester, with our plan of going back to Wisconsin once it's all done. Beyond that, my life is pretty loose. I need to be more okay with that, because I truly feel that it will make me a better, more well adjusted person in the end.

I am keeping my Twitter active, and have been, so here it is for those who are interested: TWITTER

TWD: Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf

2011-08-30T14:59:00.001-04:00

Here we are, over 3 years later, with me getting to pick for Tuesdays with Dorie again. And what do I do? Oh, the ways I screw up - let me count the ways! One, I again pick something cornmeal-based. Two, there's (again!) fruit in it. Three, I don't post until well into Tuesday, with more than a slight chance of not even posting on Tuesday. There are reasons, I promise - the start of classes, the gearing up of my fellowship, the re-invigorated pressure on publishing my research... Oh, and by some freak accident, my internet was out last night. And this morning. The luck, huh? I mean, we didn't lose internet this weekend when Irene skirted by us, but we lost it due to some randomness involving signal towers and messiness. I disapprove.

I don't, however, actually feel bad about the first two of the aforementioned screw-ups. I like cornmeal. Scratch that. I love cornmeal. And cornbread. And fruit in baked goods? I'm there too! Especially with the addition of freshly grated nutmeg and the re-shaping into twee little muffins. Oh, and the use of the fun little muffin liners my mom gave me for my birthday last month. That's a nice touch too. So I guess this was a good choice for me, especially because they were then re-purposed for J's breakfast this week. Given that he never remembers breakfast, that's a very good thing.

Also a good thing? Having multiple things to work on at once. After a summer that was so one-dimensional that I might have thrown a few fits along the way, the addition of coursework and reading and organizing seminars and such makes me happy. I'm even gearing back up to having people over, kicking off (quite spectacularly) with a regional party for the A Practical Wedding-sponsored Yay New York event. Any party revolving around doing good is worth having, and the addition of cake, champagne, amazing people, and lots of laughter? A million times yes. Especially after J decides to make a champagne flute tower, just because.

Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf

1 cup buttermilk
5 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 apple or pear, peeled, cored, and cut in small dice
1/2 cup dried apple or pear

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 9x5 loaf pan, dust the inside with flour, and tap out the excess. Put the pan on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, making sure they're evenly combined. Switch to a large rubber spatula and stir in the wet ingredients, stirring just until everything is moistened -- as with muffins, less mixing is better than more. Gently stir in the fresh and dried fruit, and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before running a knife around the sides of the pan and unmolding. Invert and cool right side up.

Last Week: Golden Brioche Loaves
Next Week: Chocolate Spice Quickies

TWD: Golden Brioche Loaves

2011-08-23T13:57:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks have been. That's all I can really say about them. I'm exhausted, with the sort of bone-deep exhaustion that makes it difficult to get through the day sometimes. The time I spent last week in New York with family was purgative; it was dearly needed but incredibly difficult. It was made worse by the fact that August seems to have it out for too many people I know. But knowing there are others out there going through the same thing has, in a small way, made losing my grandmother tolerable. Not better, not easy, just tolerable - what more can you say when your last grandparent passes away? I keep getting that tickle in my sinuses that tells me that I could start tearing up at any moment, and keep shoving it down. I let it go when we were at the cemetery; somehow, that was the most joyful part of the entire week. We told stories, read poems, had a friend singing Ave Maria and a cousin playing his bagpipes. It was beautiful, and that little sinus tickle didn't go away all day.

Since then, I've been thrown headlong back into the beginning of the school year. UNC's campus is packed with people asking how to get to such-and-such building - you'd think after a year I'd be able to answer them, but I only know a small fraction of the different buildings on campus. I grin, shake my head, and tell them I'm a graduate student. They understand. I'm taking two classes this fall, leading the fellowship I was a part of last year, and TAing for one course. Busy busy.

As for Tuesdays with Dorie, we're getting close to the end - not too many recipes left to go, not many more weeks either. My commitment is still probably 90% there. I bake everything, but sometimes struggle to blog interestingly about any of it. The tropical crumble from last week? Well, while I could use the funeral as an excuse, I have to admit - I just didn't like it enough to share it. It was slimy in the way only baked bananas can be, it was too saccharine, and the crumble topping was too greasy and buttery. So thank goodness this week was brioche. We had made it a few years back for a couple of the other recipes, but I remember thinking it was just too buttery. So I backed down on the butter, still leaving in ~60% of what was called for. And yes, it was delicious. Soft downy crumb. Crispy flaky crust. Good stuff, people. Good stuff.

Last Week: Tropical Crumble
Next Week: Cornmeal and Fruit Loaf (I got to pick again! And picked something cornmeal related... again - whoops!)

TWD: Carrot Spice Muffins

2011-08-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

These muffins. I opened to the page for them late last week, only to realize that this might be the second most splattered and sticky page out of the entire book. (The cream scone recipe wins for dirtiest and most well loved.) There are actually two reasons for this - one is that I love carrot cake, and the other is that the facing page feature my favorite muffin recipe in the book. And it's those coffee break muffins that gave me an idea, three years ago, for how to make carrot spice muffins even more morning glory-ish. Coffee.

Now, I have to be honest. The reason for this substitution? I barely ever have milk in my fridge. We just don't drink it. I'll buy little 8 oz bottles for baking, but the only dairy that's always in the fridge is cream. And I'm not quite brazen enough to make my muffins with cream. But I'm a mere five minutes from good, hot, strong coffee at all times. So for the last three years, I've been making these carrot spice muffins with coffee in them. And guess what? No one ever realizes it. So for those of you who are dairy-averse, that's my suggestion. I mean, you could always use orange juice instead of milk too, but I'm much more of a coffee person than a juice person. Basically, coffee is god for me. Not because of the caffeine, more because I just absolutely love the taste of coffee. I love the smell. I love the ritual of grinding the beans, weighing them out, and carefully steeping.

What, I haven't mentioned my overwhelming addiction to one particular roaster? It's true. One fateful day, five years ago, I was walking around downtown Chicago waiting for the Art Institute to open. I needed a place to sit and read, maybe have a cup of coffee. And god forbid if it was Starbucks, because that stuff tastes like burnt tar. Shitty, shitty burnt tar. Lucky me, I chanced upon one particular Intelligentsia outpost. At that time, they only have their roasting location and two cafes. I was hooked. The baristas were friendly and knowledgeable, and the coffee? There are no words.

So for the next four years, I would stop into their coffee shops to pick up my coffee, developing a love for Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and Honduran La Tortuga. Even now, half a country away, I send friends and acquaintances bean orders whenever they happen to pass through Chicago. And let me tell you - it is so worth it. So have a muffin. Develop an expensive coffee habit. And start the day off right.

Last Week: Cocoa Almond Meringues
Next Week: Tropical Crumble (this... did not go well.)

TWD: Cocoa Almond Meringues

2011-08-04T12:08:00.000-04:00

So. Tuesdays with Dorie are occasionally inevitably sliding into Thursdays with Dorie, thanks to a rather confusing summer schedule. I'm not feeling to guilty about this, since after 3.5 years in the group I'm still baking everything. Posting on time? Yeah, I was really good about that for the first three years. Now? Probably not so much. It's enough for me to continue baking, photographing, and talking about all of the recipes as they're chosen.

And hey! I have a very good reason! I just spent a frenetic, crazy, awesome four days in Baltimore visiting my best friend from college and her fiance. Having only been to Baltimore once before for a wedding, I never had the chance to spend much time bopping around the city. But this time was full of excitement - there was a walk around the touristy section of the inner harbor, where great people-watching was to be had thanks to Otakon. Then on to Fort McHenry, a wonderful lunch on the rooftop of a restaurant (my first time using a hammer to take apart crab!), a walk back around the harbor to a wonderful frozen yogurt place (red velvet froyo = amazing), and then back to their apartment. With a quick run out for dinner supplies, we figure we covered 12-13 miles walking on Saturday. Sunday was a bit less overwhelming, with a trip to the farmers market, a walk around Johns Hopkins (they're both doing PhDs there), and a lunch which featured a veggie sandwich containing pickled ginger. Seriously people, I'm putting pickled ginger on every sandwich from now on. It was that good. A trip to an Italian bakery finished out the day. Lots of chatting and catching up throughout and an amazing time was had.

So take that as my excuse for making this more of a ThWD than a TWD. I made these meringues (sans chopped chocolate) a couple weeks ago, causing me to make a certain discovery. My oven tends to run hot, so the hour of baking at a lower temperature still managed to burn the bottoms of some of my meringues. Given that, if your oven runs hot, I would suggest only baking one tray at a time or making sure to switch trays around during baking to avoid burning. Other than that, they were wonderful - the almost burnt ones were crispy, and the top tray was full of meringues with the most beguiling chewy center topped with an airy crisp. Like I said, wonderful.

Last Week: Chocolate Sorbet (upon reflection, this should not have been halved. don't make my mistake.)
Next Week: Carrot Spice Muffins (so, so good. I'm excited to make these again!)

TWD: Chocolate Sorbet

2011-07-26T19:27:00.000-04:00

I must be crazy. Many bloggers who parlay their blogging into a career go one of two directions - they write a book or they start their own business. From Homeroom to Plate to Pixel, you see success everywhere in the blogosphere nowadays. Now, it's 100% because they worked their asses off, put everything on the line, and had amazing talent and drive. You can't be jealous of them. You can only be in awe of their motivation, their success, their passion. And those who are in the restaurant business and writing about it? They scare the living daylights out of me at the same time that they are inspiring me. How does that even work?

I must be crazy. I don't know if I'm in the minority here, but I see those success stories, those tales from the trenches, and I can't get one thing out of my head. For each of those successes, there are dozens of people who strive, day in and day out, but never get that lucky break. They quit their job, start a bakery, and end up thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for it. They submit pitch after pitch to editors and are continually rejected. Me? I'm pretty positive I'd be one of the latter. If, that is, I even made that leap. Which is highly unlikely. Why? Because that's not how I would define success and happiness for myself. Where others want to use their blogs to get the chance to demo recipes on tv, to write articles for the newspaper or a website - I'd be ecstatic if I ended up as a cog in the wheel. Because for every bright and shiny talent, I figure that there needs to be people like me. People who would love to just get shit done that needs getting done. Not the exciting things, definitely not the bolt of lightning brilliant ideas.

I must be crazy. Who actually enjoys the day-in-day-out slog? I've had conversations with friends about this, because well, we're engineers. And as engineering students, we were told over and over that we had the ability to be entrepreneurial! To be revolutionary! Going to interviews, we were told that we must brand ourselves as self starters, as independent thinkers, as movers-and-shakers. No one ever told us that those aren't the people that actually get shit done. For every person with a brilliant idea, dozens of others must be there at every step along the way. Making task lists, making timelines, determining production realities and efficiencies. Troubleshooting, as that brilliant idea needs some major work before it's red carpet-ready.

I must be crazy. Because every time I see people out there, making their dreams come true, I cheer them on. But on the inside, I'm just glad to be out there, working 8 to 5, and coming home to dinner and a scoop of chocolate sorbet. Yep, that's exciting enough for me.

Last Week: Chestnut Scones, but I made Melting Chocolate Meringues
Next Week: Cocoa Almond Meringues (don't bake these for the full hour at the bottom of your oven. switch the sheets so they burn. who knew?)

Melting Chocolate Meringues

2011-07-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

I hit the second half of my twenties last Friday, and you know what? Meh. Really, the most exciting part was investigating the iPad2 a fellow traveler next to me had. For, you know, when I'm not poor anymore. Grad school is not where the money's at. But hey! Having fellow travelers means that I was going to / coming back from somewhere, right? Right! Colorado is a veerrry nice place to spend a couple days, I have to say. While J was bemoaning the humid 100*F heat they had in Chapel Hill last Tuesday, I had a very respectable high temperature of 85*F with minimal humidity in Boulder. With rain! Full-on thunderstorms! Given that NC is in a drought currently, this was much more exciting than it really should have been.

Oh, and look! Cookies! Because J always tends towards cookies, it was fitting that my dad's note on this birthday gift was "This is probably more for J than for you." I'm much more of a cake and frosting sort of person. Which means whoopie pies basically have a lifetime of -0.003243 seconds in this apartment. But when I want to bake but don't want to directly apply butter to my ass, I make cookies for J. So the day after getting this book as a present, I decided to finally do something about the stash of egg whites in my fridge. Not that it helps deplete the stash in my freezer, but still. Progress.

Just a couple notes about these cookies. Room temperature egg whites definitely whip up with more volume, and to help them out, stick with metal or glass bowls rather than plastic ones which are more difficult to get squeaky clean (and fat free). On the subject of ridiculous kitchen mistakes, don't triple the amount of sugar because you read the amount of nuts instead of sugar. It doesn't lead anywhere good, which made me very glad that I had such a large stockpile of eggs in my fridge. Whoops? Mine baked for 7-8 minutes, on the low end of her suggested baking time, and are fudgier (Blogger tries to correct this to "pudgier." Blogger would probably be correct.) than you might expect meringues to be thanks to the amount of cocoa butter. They are a definite win in J's book, in case you were wondering. After a bite or two, even I was a bit swayed towards them, although they will never replace my love of cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting 4 ever!

Your eyes do not mistake you - I didn't make this week's TWD (chestnut scones) due to the complete dearth of chestnut flour near me. I'm not really prepared to purchase a couple pounds when I barely need any for the recipe, and I already have a dozen or two of scones in my freezer ready for impromptu breakfasts. I'll be back next week with a lovely chocolate sorbet though!

Melting Chocolate Meringues
adapted from Alice Medrich's Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
60 g egg whites (approximately 2 egg whites), at room temperature
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar (not 3/4 cup, like I tried the first time. That... doesn't work so well)
3/4 cup almonds

Preheat the oven to 350*F and move racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Toast the almonds in the preheating oven, 10-15 minutes or until you can smell them. Let them cool before roughly chopping them. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate - you can use a microwave or a double boiler, but I just set the chocolate directly in a pot over medium-low heat. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn. When it is almost completely melted, take the pot off the heat and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a large (metal or glass - not plastic) bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt. Once they reach a soft peak stage, continue beating while slowly adding the sugar. Stop once they are glossy and firm but not dry. Pour in the almonds and chocolate and carefully fold together until no streaks of egg white or chocolate remain.

You can't let this batter sit, so portion out tablespoons of batter (I used a small cookie scoop) onto the cookie sheets, leaving an inch between each one. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops look dry but are still quite fragile to the touch. Rotate the cookie sheets about halfway into the baking, top to bottom and front to back. Transfer the parchment paper with the cookies on it to cooling racks and let cool completely before storing. They are good for (at least) 2-3 days.

Makes ~30 cookies

TWD: Currant Cream Scones

2011-07-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness people. Thank goodness. For every no-good very-bad day, there is a day that is so full of rainbows and sparkle ponies that I don't know what to do about it. And when they're just a few days apart? Win. Three days ago, I woke up sore, groggy, and not at all interested in my early Saturday routine of run-farmers market-local coop-grocery store-breakfast-baking-ohmygod is it really only 11a? Not one bit. I made it to the market, where I scored adorable little cherry tomatoes, sweeter than candy. On to the co-op, where croissants were purchased. Then to home, where croissants were eaten and coffee was sipped. But after that? Yeah, um NO. I moved on to wallowing. Snacking on things while watching episode after episode of Angel. Napping with Annabelle. Eating cereal for dinner. While nice, it doesn't make me feel as good as my normal Saturday routine.

Thank goodness for Sunday though. A 2 hour hike and a deli lunch made up for the computer glitch which caused the outdoor fire alarms at our apartment to go off for over 2 hours that evening. but dinner was, again, cereal. But Monday? Monday had it down. After almost 9 hours of sleep, it was time to rock it. My LC/MS behaved, so I was able to get dearly-needed data to a group member for an article submission. It was sunny. Coffee was fresh. And even when I went to check my samples and a glitch had caused it to conk out? I just started laughing and reset everything. (People, that is not my normal reaction.) My advisor had forgotten that we would all be scattering to the four winds (me to CO, them to ATL) over the next 2-3 weeks, so I got an impromptu birthday lunch with the group. I brought in cake and shared it with the awesome people I've come to know over the last year (!!year!!). Birthday cake quickly turned into engagement cake, as I found out that a friend in the department had just gotten engaged that weekend. My run at the end of the day had an unexpected mile tacked on, just because I felt like it. And J? J made me dinner. It was wonderful.

I'm not sure if it was because of my attitude when I woke up, or whether I just made my mind up in the shower that Monday would be a good day, but it didn't matter. Because Monday was a good day, and that's all there is to it. What more do you need? Stop questioning, just tell yourself that today will be a good day, and get to it. Jump in, feet first, eyes wide open, mouth grinning. And while some days will be less than wonderful, I seem to be having a higher than normal proportion of sparkle pony days.

As for these scones? Guys, these scones have been vetted over the past few years. I've mentioned them only twice, but am quite sure I'd run out of fingers and toes trying to count how many times I've made them since buying Dorie's book. With raisins, scones, blueberries, dried cherries, and plain, these suckers are good. I've mentioned all of these before, but I'll say them again - freeze and grate your butter, work them as little as possible, and keep some shaped, unbaked scones in the freezer for brunch emergencies. They are always, always a hit.

Last Week: Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Mini Muffins
Next Week: Chestnut Scones

TWD: Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Mini Muffins

2011-07-06T16:38:00.000-04:00

I feel as if my life is constantly in flux. Continual re-evaluations of life, of school, of research, of friendships. Not that it's a bad thing - we're currently doing a pretty significant re-evaluation of a rather long-held assumption of mine, which (unfortunately for you) hasn't yet finished and probably won't be until this fall. When a decision is made, I'll be sure to mention it. I am a chronic over-sharer, you know! In the meantime, the little things are being thought through again as well. Since moving to North Carolina, I've completely changed up my eating habits, my use of free time, and my workout schedule. (Okay, I guess those aren't really little things, huh?) It's been pretty freeing, actually. Instead of a very regimented daily schedule, planned out to the minute, I wake up when my body makes me and go onto campus when I feel like it. Now, that does mean that I tend to wake up around 5:45a and get onto campus by 7a, but by not forcing myself to get up that early, I'm quite a bit happier rather than incredibly groggy for the first hour or so that I'm awake. There's something to be said for listening to your body, although I generally stop listening to it if it says that it would rather have ice cream five times a day rather than go on a run. Sometimes, my body is stupid.

As for my exercise habits, I went from doing 1-2 hours of intense cardio a day, 5-6 times a week just a year ago to something, well, quite a bit less. Not that I'm not active for a large portion of the day, it's just that it tends to involve walking everywhere I possibly can rather than going to a fitness class at the gym. It turns out that if I'm tired, it's difficult to motivate and go on a run, but not so difficult to get off my ass and walk around for an hour. Same amount of exercise, just a bit more low-key.

And the eating? Well, it changed quite a bit too. Thanks to J, I'm eating way more protein than I used to, which has had one side benefit of a bit more muscle development than I had pre-NC. And one of the ways that I get exercise has been to mosey into the local co-op market on those mornings that I don't have to be on campus at 7a and have coffee and a croissant. It takes me nearly an hour to eat my croissant, since I obsessively separate each layer and slowly unspiral the flaky, yeasty, buttery deliciousness that is a freshly baked croissant. I catch up on blogs, respond to emails, and generally get a nice start to the day. And that's pretty indicative of my eating habits now. Where once I used to mechanically eat nearly the exact same thing, day in and day out, I've begun enjoying my food a bit more. I experiment with dinners more frequently and try to be more present when eating so that I appreciate my food a bit more fully. For some reason, it makes me stay fuller longer, and the times when I'm hungry just one short hour after eating a meal have gone down significantly.

And these ramblings just seemed to make sense, given that Bridget chose this week's TWD recipe. She and I have had a few conversations on the subject, and both of us have talked on our blogs about the constant struggle for balance. Thanks to her, I know I'm not the only one who struggles with that balance, who constantly re-evaluates habits in order to be healthier and happier. And thanks to her, I've been eating chocolate muffins for breakfast for the past few days. What more can you ask for in a friend you wouldn't have met except for the internet?

Last Week: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies
Next Week: Cream Scones (my go-to scone recipe for the past four years)

TWD: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

2011-06-28T00:01:00.001-04:00

"Those are good."

Literally, if I had J write reviews of my baked goods, that's what I'd get 90% of the time. Another 5% would be a turned up nose, and the balance would be "That was awesome!" Unfortunately, he's not all that into the nuanced reviews. For me? I liked these, but I have other cakey chocolate cookies that I like better; ones that are oil- rather than butter-based tend to stay moist longer, and there was a bit too much sugar in these for my liking. After a couple days in a plastic bag, they were already just a bit too crisp on the edges for me. However, I have a solution. Basically, it's my solution for a whole lot of things - sandwich them with cream cheese frosting. Oreo cream cheese frosting, to be exact. Done and done.

In the meantime, I've gotten to watch as J builds and paints cornhole boards with Detroit Red Wings designs. As Wikipedia kindly tells us, cornhole is a standard drinking game, especially in Michigan and the rest of the Midwest. And since J is from the Lansing area, it just made sense that he knew about it. I, on the other hand, had never heard of it (or euchre) until I went to college. My family was all about bocce and bridge, what can I say? The funny thing was that his entire motivation to make these cornhole boards came from the impending invasion of a number of his friends from work this coming weekend. So this weekend, there will be burgers, brats, beer, and cornhole. And if I have anything to do with it, some vegetables and a fruit pie. All in all, it sounds like a good idea.

Last Week: Date-Nut Loaf
Next Week: Chocolate Chunk Muffins (And who did Bridget pay off to get to pick again? HUH????) ((jealous))

TWD: Date-Nut Loaf

2011-06-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

I'm going to bet that many people hate Mondays. Hate. It's the end of lazing about, the end of time to get errands done, and you have to go back to work. Yuck, right? Has anyone else ever referred to Monday as "Moanday?" Well, here's where you can throw things at me (but I'll dodge them - I'm like a ninja!). Because this past Monday? Hot. Damn. I was on fire. Seriously. I woke up before J, which never ever happens. Seriously, the guy's up at 5a sometimes because he just can't get back to sleep. I don't know about him, but I can always get back to sleep if it's 5a. But I popped out of bed at 5:45 and skipped into campus by 6:50, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. J? He was probably still incoherently mumbling obscenities at the cat for walking all over him. And from when I walked into lab until when I walked out (5:30p!), I was non-stop action. Meetings, emails, and just plain getting shit done. And all of the bolding? Yeah, it needs to happen. I kicked ass. I took names.

And you know what's crazy? I loved it. Every minute. It had been so long since I had had so much to do that I didn't have to think what I was going to do next. I mean, I've had things to do, but who really leaps at the chance to do data analysis? (If you do, could you please come do mine for me? Kthxbai.) These are the days that I want to have all the time. I got to talk with an undergrad who will be doing menial labor (oops, I mean "gaining important research skills and experiences"), and afterwards was complimented on my ability to teach things in an accessible manner. I didn't tell him that it's because I take all my incoherency out on you poor people. Thank god you're willing to listen to my drivel! It might also be due to the fact that the guys on the floor in New London would have tuned out within 0.273 seconds if I tried to talk like I was better than them. (They're right, I'm not. They know a hell of a lot more than I ever will about their jobs.)

The entire day made me appreciate my experiences over the last 8 years. Since I took advantage of such varied research and employment opportunities, I've learned this completely nonsensical and random assortment of skills that have somehow melded to turn me into this crazy energetic and passionate person who can actually discuss scientific topics at various levels of expertise without sounding like too much of a dumbass. And combine that with talking with a friend from college about how much our perceptions have changed, how much our values and expectations have changed? Talking to him about big, grown-up adult things? I'm feeling extrovertedly introspective right now.

And I swear. There goes another post where I babble on about 32498723495812 things that have nothing to do with the week's Tuesdays with Dorie pick. Damnit. Well, here's the thing. I never ever purchase dates. But I did. For this week's date nut loaf. And with a quarter recipe, I made three adorable little date nut loaves, which have yet to be eaten because hello! I had a leftover croissant in the house for breakfast instead. Those of you who would rather eat something over a croissant, I bow to your willpower. I can never resist the power of the croissant. In the meantime, here are some things to do with those leftover dates you might have rattling around your kitchen:

- stuff them with almond butter, peanut butter, tahini, cheese, chocolate (please, not all at once...)
- wrap them in bacon
- make ma'amouls with them
- sticky toffee pudding!!! (!!!)
- add to granola, banana bread, or shortbread
- lettuce. goat cheese. top with dates.

Now don't you wish you had leftover dates?

Last Week: Chocolate Biscotti
Next Week: Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Cookies

TWD: Memories of Chocolate Biscotti

2011-06-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

Dorie's chocolate biscotti. Yes, I did make them, a whole four years ago. More time than that actually. I just haven't made them lately. And that's because of the couple, the baby family, with whom I made them the first time. Then, they were a bit of a smaller baby family, just the two of them. But this weekend? This past weekend, I got to fly back to Wisconsin to see them with their adorable son. Almost at the three month mark, he had figured out his legs, was starting to figure out that he did, in fact, have arms, and hadn't quite figured out the falling asleep gig.

It didn't matter. We spent much too much time getting him to smile and blow bubbles, kick off our hands to push himself across the carpet, and give us the most ridiculous furrowed forehead looks I've ever seen from something that teeny. So instead of baking, we reminisced about baking. There are very few people with whom I'm completely comfortable in the kitchen. Christine is one of them. We just work around and with each other incredibly well, and trust that each of us will know how to do whatever the recipe tells us to do. (Unlike some, who find the instruction to cream butter and sugar to be completely baffling.) The first few times we hung out involved the kitchen - her teaching me ravioli, me teaching her apple pie. After that, things just blur. We went through the list of TWD picks, and were floored by how many we had made together. Thankfully for my sanity, she no longer has the patience to carefully fan out each apple slice for the apple cheesecake.

So it was four years ago that we chilled in the kitchen and made chocolate biscotti. A test run for Christmas gifts, which included toffee and mini loaves of quick bread and a couple other kinds of cookies (at least mine did). And since we were willing to make them again, in large quantities for gifting, they were definitely a winner. Just, well... I was a bit more focused on the little addition to their family than I was on their flour and sugar canisters this time. If you'd like to see others' reactions, we've been leaving our links on a weekly post and you can click through to see what others thought.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

2011-06-08T09:19:00.000-04:00

Originally, J thought I was making a "blueberry brown sugar plane cake" for TWD this week, which, while awesome, wasn't really on the docket. Me + sculpting cakes? Yeah, um no. Not when my favorite desserts can only be characterized as "rustic." I am definitely no Ace of Cakes-style baker. I'll leave that to others, thankyouverymuch. (And really, someone should seriously make this and then shape it into a plane. How awesome would that be???) ((But instead, I baked the cake, forgot to take pictures, and instead give you a birthday cake.))

My love of rustic desserts is why I'm not too embarrassed by this year's birthday cake for J. The last two years have been showstoppers - a massive chocolate malted cake from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book and an orange-grand marnier chiffon cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes. So when J requested the plainest of plain birthday cakes (chocolate with chocolate frosting, natch), I revolted. BORING! I wanted something more excited. So chocolate cake was okay, but I wanted to make ice cream to have with it. What kind? Cookies'n'cream, one of his favorites. So frosting could be oreo cream cheese frosting. And that's when he dropped it on me - "Can you make an ice cream cake?" Which, of course, meant that I spent this past weekend making custard, churning ice cream, baking cake layers, making frosting, and swearing a lot as ice cream melted while I tried to spread it on the first cake layer. Because people? Ice cream melts in two seconds flat when it's homemade. Especially since I didn't want to break a tooth on it, so I had put in a nice amount (2-3 Tablespoons) of vodka. And our freezer is jam-packed, so the cake was on a plate that wasn't level, which caused the melted ice cream to ooze all over our freezer contents. Oops?

birthday carnage

So yes. Rustic it was. The cream cheese frosting was hella tasty, but had to go only on the top to prevent epic ice cream meltage. The ice cream couldn't get spread to the edge so it wouldn't ooze out even more onto our frozen goods. And I really really wish I had a tall 9" cake ring to assemble this sucker in, because it would have been so much easier. Except that our kitchen is full to the brim, so getting more baking toys is completely out of the question. Hmph.

But you know what? I sliced into this puppy, and it was probably one of my prettier cakes. For serious. And I'm pretty sure I killed J with sugar and awesome and Oreos.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

For the cake (adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes):

1 1/3 cups flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

½ cup dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/3 tsp baking soda

2/3 tsp salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup sour cream

1 cup water

4 tsp distilled white vinegar

½ tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 8- or 9-inch cake pans (layers will just be taller if you use an 8-inch pan). Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, then butter the parchment.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend (this will be very thick). Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the two prepared cake pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes (less for the 9-inch pans, more for the 8-inch), or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes, invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

For the ice cream (adapted from Perfect Scoop):

1 cup whole milk

¾ cup sugar

½ cup malt powder

2 cups heavy cream

pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

¾ tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp vodka

20 Oreos, coarsely crushed

Warm the milk, sugar, malt powder, 1 cup of heavy cream , and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard into the large bowl of heavy cream. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use. Add the vodka then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is done churning, mix in the crushed Oreos with a spatula before transferring to a container. Chill in the freezer for at least 3 hours before using.

For the frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1 lb powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp milk

pinch of salt

5 Oreos, pulverized in a food processor

Using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the salt until smooth. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk until you reach your desired consistency. Mix in the Oreo crumbs. Use immediately, or refrigerate and let come to room temperature before using.

To assemble:

Make sure that your cake is cooled completely, your ice cream is solid, and you have a level place in the freezer to stash the cake as you assemble. Place one cake layer on a nice plate (you can chill the cake layers in the freezer as well, for extra insurance). Use a large cookie scoop to scoop 1-2 cups of ice cream on top of the cake layer. Quickly spread the ice cream evenly around the cake. Freeze for at least one hour, preferably two. Once the ice cream has hardened back up again, take the cake out of the freezer and place the second cake layer on top. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Freeze again, but now for at least 2-3 hours. If you want to cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap, do so at this point. It’s sliceable and not too hard to eat directly out of the freezer given the vodka in the ice cream and that the cake is oil-based rather than butter-based. That will also keep the cake from drying out too quickly, even in the freezer.

TWD: Caramel Pots de Creme

2011-05-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's ridiculous how blase I've become about baking. Over the past 3-4 years, I went from someone who, while knowing the general steps of baking, was tentative in them to someone who just whips up cakes and cookies and pots de creme at the drop of a hat. Crazy, especially when you realize that for many of my first blog posts, I had moral support in the kitchen. Friends who I'd drag over to my teeny tiny Wisconsin apartment so that if something went wrong, I had help to fix it. Ignore the fact that most of them weren't actually adept enough in the kitchen to truly help. Seriously, one was straight out of the generation of canned soup + meat + noodles = dinner. Cheese counted for bonus points. How in the world was she supposed to help me if I burnt caramel? Nonetheless, this particular friend stood by me and chatted while I put together a Black and White Chocolate Cake - my very first Tuesday with Dorie dessert. She was also around (and actually helped!) when I made baked doughnuts for the first time.

But now? Well, to illustrate the point, I'll have to explain my thought process about this week's pick, caramel pots de creme. First, I actually know what pots de creme are. I also knew that we were flying to Nebraska mid-day last Friday, returning home around midnight last night. So I need to make these, oh, sometime very very soon. Especially given the fact that I had lost quite a bit of baking time thanks to the trip to Sacramento. So Thursday night, right after dinner, I pulled out the book. Two eggs. Five egg yolks. Sugar, milk, cream. Combine that with my distinct meh-ness about creamy desserts, and you have a solution that I wouldn't have tried in a million years just three years ago. I one-sixthed the dessert. Used one yolk, caramelized a mere tablespoon of sugar, and generally just winged it. Expecting a quicker-than-instructed bake time (my oven runs hot), I pulled them out at 20 minutes and let them rest for ten. Jiggly. Back in the oven they went, now for another 10 minutes. Another ten minute rest, and we were good to go. 45 minutes from start to finish, and I had a dessert that would have given me serious anxiety not too long ago. Crazy, right?

It makes me wonder about all those people who say they can't cook, or bake, or do anything in the kitchen other than open a box of mac & cheese or a can of soup. What if they just made one new thing, every week? If things were chosen that were easy or had good instructions, and ingredients that were actually familiar - would people be a bit less scared of the kitchen, and of cooking? I'd like to think so.

Last Week: Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones
Next Week: Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake (oh, be still my heart... we're already getting local berries here!)

TWD: Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones

2011-05-24T00:01:00.006-04:00

Scones make me happy. Whether they're flaky or moist, light or substantial, speckled with fruit or nubbly with oats - scones are a good thing. These tend towards the moist, substantial, and nubbly ends of the spectrum, all of which remind me of scones I got in a gift box from my dad a few years ago. One thing about my dad? He prioritizes good food. Whenever we were having a hard time during college, work, or grad school, his solution was always a gift box from Zingerman's. My sister mostly got the Weekender, I generally got a box of assorted scones. Hers always seemed interesting, full of cookies and coffeecake and peanuts and bread, but I treasured my scones. The flavors have changed since the last time, but at that point they were oatmeal cinnamon, raisin, and ginger. And while my favorite was always the ginger (studding anything with candied ginger is a wonderful idea), I never said no to the oatmeal scones. They were for mornings when I wanted a heftier breakfast, not just a dainty bite to eat with my morning coffee or tea.

These seem like an upgraded version of those scones though. Trading in nutmeg for the cinnamon, upping the oatmeal, and getting to eat them warm from the oven makes them a very very good thing. Which is a relief, since my dad has stopped sending me Zingerman's boxes, and I only go on the site so that I can put together a random assortment of things for my sister when she's stressed. Nothing like getting a package of interesting cheese, a loaf of bread, pickled raisins, and Camargue red rice to make for a nice pick-me-up, right? Thank goodness for my family, that last statement is actually true. W're a bit food-obsessed. Seriously, the best part of any holiday together is the all-day cooking and baking that occurs on the day-of. For weeks before, we plan out menus, finding and proposing and discarding all sorts via phone or email until we finally figure out what we'll be making. And while my dad generally includes mashed potatoes because they're my favorite, everything else tends to be brand new. I can't imagine what holidays would have been like without the annual event of flipping through every holiday Gourmet issue since 1970, without the craziness of fitting three people all prepping and chopping and stirring into our not-so-massive kitchen.

Maybe that explains why I have such strong associations with different foods. Whenever J and I make pasta, I reminisce about how I was the "official pasta taste tester" of the family. Seriously, my dad would call me into the kitchen to have me check pasta doneness, and I was considered the ultimate authority on it. Mashed potatoes were seasoned until I had deemed them just right. And I don't remember a time when I wasn't tasked with chopping up or peeling something for dinner. As much as I might have complained while growing up about having to do vegetable prep, now the situation is completely reversed. After last week's trip to Sacramento with its consequent 6 day hiatus from the kitchen, it didn't take much before I had to get back to chopping and cooking, mixing and baking. And while J made fun of me for my ability to commandeer the entire kitchen in 5 seconds flat, I wouldn't have it any other way.

And for those wondering, Tuesdays with Dorie members don't post the recipes for anything that we bake as a group. The host for each week puts the recipe up - check on the TWD site for who is hosting any particular week if you'd like the recipe.

Last Week: Maple Cornmeal Biscuits
Next Week: Caramel Pots de Creme

TWD: Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

2011-05-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

I'm currently at a data workshop in Sacramento, CA, where so much has already gone wrong and I've been so low on sleep that the only words that would conceivably come out of my mouth right now are not ones that you will want to hear. We'll just say that, in addition to workshop-related issues and sleep-deprivation issues, the internet in this hotel is probably the slowest thing I've ever experienced. But I was prepared! I had uploaded the photos into a draft post this past weekend before leaving, so that all I'd have to do is type up a post, schedule it to go up, and call it good. Except that the photos deleted themselves while I was writing, and of course this oh-so-efficient Blogger platform auto-saves every 2.3582 seconds. And it saved. Without the inexplicably-deleted pictures. So awesome, right?

If nothing else, I am so glad I fit in baking these this past weekend. A few people had instilled reservations in me about baking them - plain cornbread would be better, too gritty, not enough maple flavor, not biscuit-y enough, almost scone-like, too dense... Luckily, I forged on, for no better reason than that they would take 5 minutes to mix up and would be a great snack for J while I was gone. Because people? These biscuits were awesome. They were faintly sweet from maple syrup and cornmeal, just gritty enough from the cornmeal to give textural interest, and a wonderfully hearty drop biscuit. So good.

So people? Bake these. And don't stay at the Hawthorn Suites in Sacramento.

Last Week: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
Next Week: Oatmeal Nutmeg Scones

TWD: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

2011-05-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

For the past 8ish months, I have been doing hard core analytical chemistry. Analyzing samples of particulates collected from that torturous six weeks in Bakersfield. Analytical chemistry is fun, and I totally geek out on it, especially when it takes this number of syllables just to describe the technique: negative-ion high-performance liquid chromatography / electrospray quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Or, well, (-) LC/ESI-Q-TOF MS, which is also sexy in a chem dork kind of way. Oh yes, chemistry is sexy. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Also, I'd like to know what weird searches just got redirected to my blog thanks to the last few sentences. Whoops.

I've been one of the major users of this particular instrument, and have even thrown my name in the hat as a potential namer of the LC/MS. Because these suckers have personalities. They get into snits - the nasty ones that put you back two months in your research. And unless you talk nicely to them, they'll inexplicably decide to do weird things like make your reference compounds disappear or your pump back pressure oscillate. Ornery is a good word to describe them. But like most other inanimate objects, they do seem to listen and understand if I do the same. So even though it makes the others in the lab look at me funny, I chat with the LC as I get it going, pat it when it does what I want, and check in on it every couple hours when it runs my samples. I think it appreciates the attention, you know?

So when the lab's power supply had to be replaced, which caused a turbo pump in the MS to freeze up, which pushed out when I could get my data to a scant week before I needed it for a poster presentation? I was not happy with little mister LC/MS. But I was happy with the lab staff, who busted ass to get a refurbished pump into the instrument as quickly as possible and then were perfectly fine with me commandeering an entire week on it once it was back up. These are good people. More than just good people. They were, in my opinion, 150% deserving of cake. And balloons. And confetti. Probably beer too, but I'm a bit wary of bringing alcohol into academic buildings (although the bottle of champagne I saw in the fridge just last week was gutsy of someone).

In the interest of making this a more accessible cake to the masses, I didn't put pears and prunes in it - instead, pecans and hunks of chocolate stud this bundt. Because really, who wouldn't want a huge, cake-shaped chocolate chip cookie??

Last Week: Mocha Marbled Loaf Cake
Next Week: Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

TWD: Mocha Marbled Loaf Cake

2011-05-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

I have to think that in the 3+ years I've been writing here, I've mentioned how much I dislike peppermint in baked goods. Or really, anything minty other than toothpaste and gum and mouthwash. And god help us if those aren't minty - that'd just be gross. But grosser? Mint. In baked goods. Seriously, mint is a cool flavor, while baked goods are warm and comforting and should not be minty. Which is really all just a lead-up to the fact that this is not the first time I've made this marbled loaf cake. I made it probably 3 or so years ago, at J's behest. J likes mint. In everything. Mint chocolate chip ice cream, minty cake, minty cookies, minty fudge, yada yada yada. My opinion? Blech. But when I get a baking request, I just have to roll with it, right? Let's just say though that the entire cake went back with J to Madison so that it could stop offending my sensibilities.

Which just meant that when this cake was chosen, I immediately knew that I needed to do a different variation. And one that I would love. Coffee. Coffeecoffeecoffee. And chocolate, of course, because chocolate makes everything better. Chocolate + coffee + vanilla + cake = love, right? And it's even better when it's in a cutely shaped vintage loaf pan courtesy of Nancy. It was also incredibly fun to pre-slice everything and see how the marbling had turned out. I went with the default marbling method of plopping little blobs of batter alternately around the pan. A couple squiggles, and done! Off the loaf went into J's work, where he looked like a rockstar for bringing cake in on the day of someone's retirement party. Something tells me he didn't let them know it was a combination of purest chance, TWD, and me.....

Last Week: Cornmeal Shortbread
Next Week: Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

TWD: Cornmeal Shortbread

2011-04-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

I keep telling myself that I'm on the home stretch. Only two more classes, a presentation, and two papers before I'm free. And by free, I mean chained to a lab bench until the end of August. Sounds exciting, huh? But I can't wait for some of the inherent flexibility that happens during summer research - I can take an hour or two out of my day to go on a run, I can traipse off on three day weekend adventures a bit more easily than when I have classes keeping me on a short leash. There will be visits to new babies, visits to new friends, visits to family. I can't wait - everyone has had to come visit us, because it has just been too difficult to get away for a weekend when I don't really know very far in advance what I'll need to get done for the following week. Case in point: I figured that the end of March would be incredibly easy for family to visit - little did I know that I'd be frantically writing a rough draft of a research paper, researching for another project, and coordinating a group presentation for the following Monday. Let's just say that I didn't get to visit with J's parents too very much that time.

So I'm looking forward to the summer. However, I keep on getting derailed - I keep forgetting what I need to get done for each day. I have completely checked out, with very little interest in actually getting those final edits done on that research paper that's due in a week. The presentation I have today? Yeah. Haven't really practiced that one too much. I'm much more focused on trying to find a reasonable time to get my runs in now that it's godawfully hot and humid here already. Seriously, 90* in April is not okay.

In the meantime though, I keep bringing baked goods into my classes, I keep sending baked goods to J's office. And while I'm not always sure that he isn't hoarding them in his desk drawer, I got wonderful feedback on these cornmeal shortbread cookies. Well, who wouldn't love them? Cornmeal in cookies gets me every time - it adds just a little bit of sweetness, just enough texture to make me like shortbread. And given my general dislike for shortbread, that's key. (What is also key is not to use polenta or coarse-ground cornmeal. Unless you like breaking your teeth on these cookies...) It probably didn't hurt that I made a half batch but more than doubled the lemon zest. Lemon zest is good stuff, people. Oh! And while I love Dorie's use of plastic bags to roll cookies out in so that you can chill them then cut the bag open in order to get uniform cookies, I'm a plastic bag hoarder. You see, I wash and reuse my plastic bags, so the idea of sacrificing one? No thanks. I rolled these up into a log and did the refrigerate-slice-bake thing, and it worked perfectly.

Last Week: A Tourtely Apple Tart
Next Week: Basic Marbled Loaf Cake (one of the first requests from J - this time though, I refuse to do the chocolate-mint combo. *shudder*)

TWD: A Tourtely Apple Tart

2011-04-19T06:48:00.000-04:00

Brown butter. Vanilla. Sauteed apples. Almonds. Toasty sandy tart crust, just | this close | to being too brown. Raisins, just for the heck of it. And to show you what I have to work with when J taste tests for me - his assessment of this was "good." By good, he means he didn't forget it (always happens...), commented especially on his love for the tart crust, and it was gone in two days. Boy's got a talent for understatement. Then again, it's good that he taste tested given my absolute 100% commitment to the standard apple pie with pie crust made with shortening. Something tells me that my stubborn affection for good ol' apple pie will cause me to think any other version just isn't as good.

Similarly, it turns out that I have a go-to chocolate cake. It's not Martha Stewart's one bowl affair (which seems to be nearly everyone's go-to chocolate cake), oh no. That would be too easy. No, it's this chocolate stout cake, made in a bundt pan, and requiring a plethora of bowls, measuring cups, whisks and spatulas. But it's good. I mean, really really really good. So good we buy Guinness just so that we can make it (although the time we made it with double chocolate stout? swoon). This was the cake that J chose as his mini cake for the wedding reception, and I've made it about a dozen times in the past couple years. That in itself is impressive, given my general aversion to baking cakes and also my aversion to making something multiple times unless it's a family recipe. Which is all to say that I have this cake baking away while I'm writing this post, and it's distracting. Very distracting.

Unfortunately, what's also distracting (besides this schizophrenic post, oops) is the end of the semester. Luckily, my ducks are pretty well lined up. I have funding for next year, research plans for this summer, and am down to the last few little details in most of my classes. But by last few details, I mean that I'm running about like a headless chicken. Well, like a slightly more crazed than normal headless chicken, because I think that running about like that comes naturally to me. In the meantime, I actually got the chance to meet up with some of J's coworkers last Friday night, trying out the more tourist-y barbecue joint in the area (although Allen & Sons still has my heart, because they didn't try to take all my money in the process. or make me wait an hour for slightly dry chopped pork. darn you Pit...). Anyway. I was immediately told that they were glad to finally meet the source of the baked goods, and we had a wonderful time chatting about how I really need to give up this whole more education thing and just bake all the time. Ah, if only. It was nice to get out of the lab, away from the desk, and back to interacting with people for whom work is not a lifelong passion. Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect both for people who make their living with their passion and those who just get their work done, go home, and live their lives. It's just that after being surrounded by the former for the past year, it was pretty nice to remind myself that other types of work ethics do exist. And hey, when they come with shots of moonshine (not even on the menu...), I'm totally there.

Last Week: Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp (which not only disappeared in 30 min at J's work, he immediately emailed me to ask for the recipe for a number of his coworkers. win, yes?)
Next Week: Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (double the lemon zest. seriously. or sub in orange or lime. double those too. heck, double the recipe.)

TWD: Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp

2011-04-12T00:01:00.001-04:00

I have short hair. I've had short hair for the past, oh, 7 years. And during the preceding however many, my hair tends to grow long, long, long, then get hacked off rather abruptly. The worst was the last time I had long hair, as in I could sit on it because it was so long. Seriously, I had to pull it out of the waistband of my jeans when I pulled pants on. After a run, my neck would ache from that huge mass of hair swinging back and forth behind me. So I chopped it off. And (as you could see from the wedding pictures), it's stayed pretty short ever since. I'm a no-fuss sort of person. If I can get away without blow drying, straightening, whatever-ing my hair - I will.

So what I'm leading up to is this. I'm growing my hair out right now. Have been ever since the wedding. You see, J hasn't ever seen me with long hair, and he's curious. Given that he has put up with me dragging him into nice clothing stores so that he's not wearing khakis from 10 years ago, I figured that I would go along with it. Little did I know (or remember, really), hair is really effing annoying when growing out. It flips in funny weird ways, you have the dreaded mullet occasionally during the process, and it gets in your eyes all the time. Even worse, I have little patience for maintaining any sort of socially acceptable hairdo, so I have yet to go get it trimmed and shaped. I currently have wings at my temples and it violently flips out at the base of my neck. Oh, yeah. My neck. Which hasn't felt hair on it in, that's right, seven years.

Which meant that this past Saturday during my run, all that went through my head was this: Oh god. Hair. On my neck. Sticking on my neck. I can feel it. Make it stop. Ugh. God. Hair. On. Neck. Stopstopstop. You get the idea. For 40 minutes, all I could focus on was the goddamned hair on my neck. And before anyone asks, no, those little bands do not keep my hair back (they slide right off) and no, my hair is not long enough to be restrained in any other way. So I'm stuck with the internal hair-on-neck monologue. Have I mentioned lately that North Carolina in April involves 95% humidity and highs already in the 80s? I've been noting that fact out loud whenever J is about, just to show how much I'm sacrificing for his wish to see me with long hair. Which might be why he willingly washed all of the dishes for this crisp, especially since the number of dishes required (or that I ended up using...) was approximately eleventy bajillion.

But let's be clear. Eleventy bajillion dishes aside, hair-on-neck distress aside, this crisp is abso-effing-lutely amazing. And totally worth it. It's one of my friend's favorite recipes out of this book, and I was beyond thrilled that I was able to find rhubarb for it. (Oh yes, because have I mentioned? In addition to it being too hot for apples in NC, it's also too hot for rhubarb. *grumblegrumble*) Luckily, the awesome co-op nearby had a stack of it, from which I giddily grabbed a handful. Also entertaining was that rhubarb is evidently a conversation starter - one guy was contemplating getting some when I grabbed mine and we started to talk about rhubarb and the problems of living in NC after growing up "up north." Then a woman chatted me up about how rhubarb didn't grown around here while I was checking out. And then the woman checking out my groceries asked what it was and what to use it in. Obviously, strawberry rhubarb double crisp. Obviously.

Also, not very photogenic. Makes up for that in pure deliciousness.

Last Week: Technically, a coffee ice cream tart, actually Pecan Powder Puffs (tart coming soon!)
Next Week: A Tourtely Apple Tart (which was a hit with J, despite our love of traditional apple pies)

NFR: My Wedding

2011-04-07T08:52:00.000-04:00

You know what's crazy? Dizzying highs and lows. After the past month, the last couple of days have been pretty kick ass. Let's count the ways:

1. Rough draft of a research paper, turned in to be (kindly, constructively) mauled with red ink.
2. Major deliverable for another project completed, with the associated presentation all ready to go for today.
3. Funding for my next year of graduate school settled.
4. Said funding involving an amazing program that has seriously made this past year in graduate school beyond awesome.
5. My wedding. I know it was a few months ago, but bear with me - I'm over at A Practical Wedding, sharing photos (taken by Helene, remember?) and thoughts.

All good things, people. Please tell me you've been having good things happen too?

And for those who don't understand what goes on in my brain, a) feel thankful, and b) NFR = not food related

TWD: Pecan Powder Puffs

2011-04-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Oh hai. Yeah. I must admit, I'm not incredibly sure how to go about this, my first post in a number of weeks. Especially since when I wrote my last post, I was positive it wasn't going to be a "goodbye for now" so much as a "see ya later, or more likely never again." I even went three weeks without baking, which has to be a record (except for last summer when I was stranded, oven-less). Those weeks leading up to my last post as well as the intervening weeks have been rough. I can't lie about that. It takes a lot to get me out of the kitchen, off the internet, away from the other flour-obsessed crazies (so titled with all the affection in my heart). But it happened.

You see, for most of this year I've been more than a little bit depressed. And in general, my solution has been a combination of two things: running and baking. But that solution just wasn't working. I was having crying jags in the middle of stores, hours of unprovoked sobbing at home while J sat helplessly, days when I nearly didn't make it out of bed. I almost left my program here at UNC, which, since I had dropped everything to start it, was not a very good sign. Graduate school has been a wee bit isolating, thanks to the dearth of other married folk (or people who aren't scared of married folk) or people who had worked prior to going to graduate school. There are social complications because of those two facts, which aren't important to get into specifically.

Not only that, there are times when I wonder if this degree will be all it's cracked up to be. The question of type of job versus job field has come up multiple times. You see, I love environmental chemistry. I geek out on organic chemistry, particulate matter, and climate change science. But I also adore fast-paced, highly structured, people-oriented jobs. It's what I loved about my job in Wisconsin - I got to interact with so many people, there were new challenges every day, and new goals or projects around every corner. How do I know that I'll get that when I join the environmental job market? And - the big one - which matters more, the field or the job type? Needless to say, these are big, big questions. Around the time that I bid a short goodbye, I was nearly convinced that I was going to leave my program. The program I had moved halfway across the country for, the one for which J had picked up and moved without a single job prospect.

So this blog? The baking? The photos and the writing? Those weren't a high priority. Priorities were heart-to-hearts with my mom, frank discussions with my advisor, and cry fests with J. And thank goodness for all three of them. My mom, who listened even when she couldn't understand what I was saying through the tears, my advisor, who patiently talked me through my waffling back and forth on accelerating the program into 1.5 years instead of 2, and J, who was there, forcing me to, if nothing else, go on walks for the fresh air. Because there were definitely times when just getting out of bed was difficult enough.

What does that have to do with cookies? Oh, very little, except that I forgot to buy ice cream for the coffee ice cream tart. I did bake everything that had been chosen up until these cookies, but taking pictures just wasn't going to happen. The coffee ice cream tart will happen eventually though, given my love of coffee in all its forms. But the cookies were a welcome back to my kitchen. And a promise that things get better.

A bit ago: Chocolate Pots de Creme
Next week: Strawberry-Rhubarb Double Crisp (hoping to find rhubarb, but it feels a bit early still)

NFR: Goodbye for now

2011-03-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

This has been a long time coming. And while I could give protracted explanations, excuses, or whatever, I'd like to think that it's not really my style. I'm going to take some time away from here, from this space, from TWD. Hopefully it won't be forever, but I just need to get the rest of my life straightened out first.

TWD: Chocolate Pots de Creme

2011-03-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

If you didn't know, one of my favorite blogs to read and use as dinner inspiration is Bridget's. The number of times I see things she has made and go - yep, that's dinner tonight! ... Well, it's an embarrassing number. And even more impressive, I actually make them! You see, I read a lot of blogs, and a lot of them post dishes that make me want to make them, but they just don't end up getting made. Either it's too time intensive, or I forget about them, or they call for ingredients I don't normally keep on hand, and they just languish in my Google Reader. But Bridget's - they're accessible, they're full of pantry staples, and they always work. Now that, friends, is an impressive feat.

But that's just an introduction. Why am I mentioning it when I'm supposed to be talking about chocolate pots de creme? Well, it all comes back to this post from her, just a couple weeks ago. Yes, it's about fettuccine alfredo, which I love. But it's also about Bridget, striking a balance between health and happiness. It's hard, right? Everywhere, you see those two extremes - on the one hand, cream and butter and chocolate and ohmygodweightgain. On the other, applesauce for butter or oil, flax seeds for eggs, and ohmygodletsrunforamarathon. And it's hard. Yes, you can cut out a daily wine habit, only eat dessert once or twice a week, and work out every day for at least an hour. You can eat your vegetables, eat less red meat, and substitute whole grains for pasta. But how far do you go? When do you reach the point of diminishing returns, where the worry and the healthy habits intrude on your ability to have a happy, healthy life? At what point is it just no longer worth it??

I was so happy to see Bridget acknowledge that tug-of-war. It's hard. It's hard, after doing all you believe to be reasonable, to sit back and say enough's enough. I will have that cookie. I will drink that glass of wine, even though it's Tuesday, because damnit, I want a glass of wine with dinner! It's hard to look in the mirror and realize that in fact, you are doing everything right. Crazy how difficult it is to accept that fact, isn't it? To say, as I did just last week - no, I don't fit into those jeans from high school, and that's okay. I was underweight and overtraining then. I ran 40 miles a week. Of course I was skinnier! But it's not worth it to strive for the unattainable now. Instead, I'll be okay with my body as it is, because it gets me through 5 mile runs with (relative) ease. It gets me through hikes with minimal soreness. And hell, J thinks it's damned attractive, and really - guys have better perspective on our bodies than we do.

So yes, I will eat these chocolate pots de creme.

Not only that, I will be super excited that they were chosen by Christine, who is the friend I miss the most from my years in Wisconsin. Thank you to all of the TWD hosts this month for letting her pick first, since her actual pick was to fall on her due date. Yeah. Her due date. Go to her blog and wish her luck, because she's going to be one kickass mother and I'm beyond thrilled for her. Oh yeah, and those cats her blog is named after? I miss them. Bonks and Rosey are almost as incredibly adorable as Annabelle is.

Last Week: Toasted Almond Scones
Next Week: Corniest Corn Muffins

TWD: Toasted Almond Scones

2011-02-22T07:28:00.000-05:00

My dad and sister came to visit this past weekend. I was pretty darned excited, especially since I hadn't seen them since the wedding, Rach hadn't been to Chapel Hill yet, and OH! We had tickets to a UNC basketball game. Have I mentioned that I am beyond thrilled to again be in an area where people appreciate basketball as probably the best sport ever? Yeah. Wisconsin, you need to get on that if you ever want me to come back. We also got to introduce Dad, Rach, and her boyfriend to Annabelle, who (of course) won them over nearly immediately with the chirping, cuddling, and gallumphing through the apartment that she does. Which brings me to another habit that she has - she will flop down in the middle of the floor, roll onto her back, pull her front paws up by her face and splay her back legs out wide. It's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, and I have no photo proof because I'm too busy laughing every time she does it. Yeah, I know. I'm sure that I'm emotionally scarring this cat, but I'm going to counter that with the fact that she started it.

So what else did we do to prepare for the familial visit? Well, the obvious cleaning, which wasn't too bad given the mega cleaning that occurred pre-Super Bowl party (thank goodness, since one guest was mildly allergic to cats...). Aannnd... dinner prep. Yes, we are the family that eats together. While eating one meal, we're discussing at least the next one, if not the next few. We call each other for dinner ideas. My favorite part of Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving is the few days before, while we plan out our menu, and the day of, when we each have our individual tasks and merrily share the kitchen the whole day. So obviously I had to have things prepared. And while my lack of confidence in a croissant recipe (hello butter overflow each time I've made them before...) led to the purchase of a dozen unbaked croissants from the local bakery, I knew that I could do better than that. So we brainstormed and decided that Saturday's dinner needed to involve dumplings, buns, and various other filled and cooked things. Well, originally we were going to do steamed buns and that was that, but somehow that morphed into veggie potstickers, pork-scallion steamed buns, potato samosas, and red bean buns. Full batches of each. Because excess? We do not know the meaning of it!

And these scones were a perfect addition to the croissant breakfast the morning after that dinner of excess. They're very mildly sweet, which I like in a scone, although they definitely don't beat Dorie's cream scones - those are my go-to scones. What did we do after all this excessive food consumption? We went on a run together. Because none of us really want to die early.

Last Week: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops
Next Week: Chocolate Pots de Creme

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

2011-02-15T07:04:00.000-05:00

I'm going to make a wild guess. Go out on a limb. Conjecture, as it were. None of you are at all interested in hearing about how climate change could affect water resources globally, regionally, or locally. True? This is more than a little unfortunate, as the impacts on freshwater and its management are basically what my weekend was filled with. Well, that and other things related to climate change like radiative forcing of aerosols, the ice albedo feedback, and greenhouse gas emissions. Oh yes, and a little on carbon sequestration in the deep ocean and how it affects atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Yep, I can see your eyes glazing over, your head tilting into a WTF position, and you scrolling hurriedly through those last few sentences. My sincerest apologies. I mean, there's not much I can do about it - it turns out that when your life consists of a very narrow range of subjects, there's not much else going on in the headspace.

That's not to say these topics aren't relevant to cookies. Especially to these cookies. I mean, I did bake them while reading about said topics. And they were brought into the classes in question so that we could nibble on cookies while talking about those topics. I have to think they added a little something to the discussion, right? How could they not, with their brownie-like texture plus the added chew of oatmeal throughout? I had one break as I was transferring them to the cooling rack, so I passed it on to J, whose immediate reaction was to threaten to hoard them. Given his general pickiness about what he wants to hoard (generally, brownies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and snickerdoodles get top billing), that's a very good sign.

A couple notes re: the recipe though. I know a few people had issues with their cookies tasting greasy or spreading. I did not, but I think a couple things went in my favor there - using a whisk to incorporate the melted butter allowed everything to homogenize a bit better, as did waiting to do so until the chocolate had cooled sufficiently. Letting the dough cool until it was a tad bit stiffer also kept my cookies from spreading - one of the few times where I actually had patience in the kitchen! And it paid off! (Think I'll learn my lesson here? Yeah, probably not.) This last note is less of a way to avoid issues and more of a personal preference - I used kosher salt, and a good bit more than was called for in the recipe. J's comment was that he liked them better with that assertive background saltiness, since it punched up the chocolate flavor quite a bit.

Last Week: Bourbon Bread Pudding
Next Week: Toasted Almond Scones

TWD: Bourbon Bread Pudding

2011-02-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

When I moved away from Wisconsin a bit under a year ago, I was excited. How could I not be? When I started applying to graduate schools, one of the top priorities was applying to programs in locations where I'd like to live for a long, long time. Places like Seattle, with vibrant food communities and outstanding cultural opportunities. Or Boulder, with its amazing community feel. And Chapel Hill, where I can indulge my love of basketball (honestly earned by growing up in Indiana, the home of March Madness). I said goodbye to the white bread Midwestern states, full of corn and flat as far as the eye can see. And then... And then.

Something strange happened. I got to Chapel Hill, and it was too hot. I stopped at the farmer's market and was disconcerted by the lack of the shout "Hot spicy cheese bread!" that I made fun of so much when I went to the Madison Farmer's Market. There was a distinct lack of cheese brats, beer brats, and bad beer. There was a distinct lack of cheese. And when the professional football season started, things went even further downhill. I guess I can't blame North Carolinians, because if my team was that sad, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't care very much about the NFL. But you know what I missed? The green jerseys, worn the day before and day of every Packer game during the whole season. How the guys on the floor would congregate in the quietest part of the plant so that they could pay as much attention as possible to the game. The endless recaps during the day after, as everyone rehashed how awesome the Packers were or noted every minute mistake that was made. And through it all, the incredible loyalty. This is their team.

You could see it on Sunday. Many times, even if a team makes it to the Super Bowl, their fans aren't travellers. They won't fly halfway across the country to see their team play. The Super Bowl tends to be rather lacking in crowd noise, populated as it is by some of the see-and-be-seen crowd. Luckily, we struck gold in Sunday's matchup - Steeler fans and Packer fans are not fair-weather. They will go to the ends of the earth to watch their team play. There were cheese heads and terrible towels galore. I watched from home, with a few friends. We drank quite a bit of Wisconsin beer, and there were a few times where our yelling scared the living daylights out of Annabelle. To be fair, our shindig was maybe a bit more highbrow than many that occurred in Wisconsin - beer bread was made with a microbrew and some whole wheat flour, french onion dip was from scratch (and vegetables were dipped in it - the horror!), and I'm pretty sure no good Packer fan would make something like a pork and fruit ragout to eat while watching their team play. Brownies weren't from a box. But I think it's a compromise. And it led me to a realization - Wisconsin is a pretty damned good state.

There's probably only one thing left to say - Congrats Packers, and go Pack go!

Oh, oh right. And the bread pudding. Well, we're not really bread pudding fans over here, so I just made one little ramekin of it using a stale whole wheat baguette and some whiskey (it was in a plastic bottle. yep, J's a klassy guy.). If nothing else, it smelled darned amazing in the oven. Then again, vanilla + whiskey = never a bad idea. Only good things come from that combo.

Last Week: Great Grains Muffins

Next Week: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops (basically, brownie cookies you can pretend are healthy because look! There's oats in there!)

TWD: Great Grains Muffins

2011-02-01T00:01:00.002-05:00

Oh hai. Research, it has stolen my soul, my life, my sleep, and my peace of mind. Fie on it! Well, fie on that one particular analytical instrument (it's this one, in case you're wondering) ((well, something like that one, since the one we have is more like 30 years old) that is actually owned by a Chemistry professor who needs it ASAP (ohmygodhislifewillendifhedoesn'tgetitinthenext3.5749minutes). That pesky instrument is incredibly necessary for a potential paper and a grant proposal, leading to all sorts of wacky scheduling so we can cram our experiments into the next week. Which has led to a complete lack of predictable schedule, lack of baking opportunities, yada yada yada. Hello, welcome to my life. It's utterly boring, complete with 12 hour days spent in darkened labs! (because god help us if UV light hits any of our precious particles. uppity little buggers.)

In other news, I'm upping my running and exercise variety as well. As in, I severely under-dressed for a speed workout yesterday, but still managed to gut through 6x400 and a 200 thrown in for good measure. What can I say? The adorably baby blue track got to me! Unfortunately, so did the cold, as I was able to keep my legs warm but my fingers had shooting pains in them. Yay? I'll blame it on peer pressure and move on, mkay? Well, hobble on. It's sortakindamaybe been a while since I've hit up a track. Which is why today = spin class. First wreak havoc on one set of muscles, then switch it up to another! Because it's better to be in pain all the time.

Oh, and right. Muffins. May I mention again my thanks for the muffin picks? Number one, muffins = frosting-less cake. WIN. Number two, 10 minute prep, 20 minute bake. WIN. Number three, grab-and-go breakfasts for J. WIN. Number four, these muffins have some dubious claim to health due to the grains and nuts and dried fruit. WIN. J really liked them, and said they lasted quite well throughout the week, not getting stale or dry. They're definitely a hearty little muffin, with adorable little flat tops. Because yes, I think of food as being cute, adorable, gorgeous, or some other random adjective that is generally not applied to food. But it's okay. I'm already weird. In case you hadn't noticed. (And rustic is good! Homely is good! Both are also goddamned tasty. It's just that some baked goods just scream cute.)

P.S. Some people mentioned that their muffins baked up quite quickly. I didn't notice, since I generally have issues already with baking things in my current oven. It's hinky beyond all belief. But in case you actually have a legitimate oven? Check them as much as 5-8 minutes before you think they'll be done. Heck, do that with any baked good, it's a good practice to get into. Well, that and recognizing things are done by smell, which is my current favorite party trick.

Last Week: Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Next Week: Bourbon Bread Pudding

TWD: Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2011-01-25T07:10:00.001-05:00

Most of the time, I really appreciate descriptive recipe names. It's nice to know, before you even read through the recipe, sorta kinda what the end product will be. Otherwise, you end up getting really confused, thinking that this magic cookie equals this magic cookie. Which, by the way, it doesn't. I think more computer-y things should actually be baked goods. Like pictures in a cookbook, a well named recipe makes you want to make it. Aaannndddd... Sometimes there's such a thing as overkill. Like here. I couldn't even remember the name of this bundt cake, and kept calling the swirl mixture "streusel" (Which, by the way, is a real word *cough*Bloggerfail*cough*). But maybe I'm being nitpicky.

However, I don't believe I'm being very nitpicky when I said what the hell to the bundt cake 10 minutes after removing it from the oven. I had happily removed it (right at 60 minutes, which is a miracle with my crap oven), let it rest 10 minutes, loosened the edges with a thin sharp knife, and inverted it onto a rack. It was not interested in becoming friends with the cooling rack. From afar, sure - but actually coming into contact with said rack? Nuh uh. Hmph. I have nevereverever had a cake stick in my bundt pan. It's nonstick, has all its nonstickiness intact, and I even buttered and floured the sucker!!! I was a mite bit offended by the misbehavior of this clunkily named bundt. After much wiggling and jiggling and prying, I was able to get it out mostly intact, though there was definite separation at the middle swirl.

Even better? Of course this would happen when this cake wasn't staying at home. Oh no, it was destined for a get-together at the apartment of one of J's coworkers. We had a Jets-Patriots game to watch (heh. heh. suck it, Pats.), and we had been contracted to bring cake and beer. Cake + beer + football? Yeah, I'd call that a perfect Sunday afternoon. And while I had a mangled cake, J was right when he told me that as long as it tasted good, no one was going to care. It wasn't as if it was completely in bits and pieces, so we could even cut nice slices. Like I said, J was right - everyone liked the cake and the Jets won (yes, I know they lost to the Steelers this past weekend, but really - beating them would have been pretty damned surprising). I guess my only quibble is due to my traditionalism when it comes to sour cream cakes. While I had taken out the dried fruit from the swirl mixture, I had left in the chocolate. And as great as the sour cream cake portion was (and whoa, was it good - tender and moist and just amazing), the chocolate was like this bundt cake's name - clunky. It just didn't fit with the cake. So I'd probably nix the chocolate on the next round and put the dried fruit back in. I can handle dried fruit with my walnut-cinnamon-sugar swirl, but evidently not chocolate.

Last Week: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Next Week: Great Grains Muffins (thank god for all these muffins - pre-decided breakfasts for J during the work week!)

TWD: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

2011-01-18T00:01:00.001-05:00

I was tagged by the ever adorable Sarah to do this meme just a bit under a week ago, and thank goodness for that. Because starting last Thursday around 8p, I was down. Down for the count. Laid out by the flu for the first time in probably two decades, which is only impressive when you realize I've only been bopping around for two and a half decades. And let's just say that the last thing I wanted to think about, write about, talk about, or ingest was food. I was so taken aback by this whole being sick thing that I had to call my dad so he could first reassure me (yes, it is the flu, yes, you're supposed to feel like shit with aching joints and dizziness and nausea) and then tell me what to do (drink lots of water. if you can't, just sleep. a lot.). So I spent the next two days sleeping, occasionally drinking water, and feeling entirely repulsed by the idea of food.

Of course, I then spent the next day after that dreaming of all the food I really shouldn't eat, because that dry toast in front of me was probably the only thing my stomach would accept. Darn stomachs, so uncooperative when all you really want is a diner breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and bacon. Mmm, bacon. I took my bacon craving to mean I was beating this whole flu thing. Granted, while the nausea, aches and pains, and dizziness have basically subsided, there's always this reassessment after a meal - a check-in with my stomach to make sure it was agreeable with whatever had ended up in it. So far, so good. I'm waiting for when the weakness ends so that I can go running, because oh whoops, I didn't mention this - Saturday I was supposed to go running with Sarah! With someone! For the first time in months! I was thrilled! Lots of exclamation points! And then the flu. Damn flu.

Lucky you guys. You don't get the flu. You get muffins and a meme. Lucky you.

Meme: Chain of Fours

Four TV shows I watch:
NCIS
Glee
Grey's Anatomy
NCIS: LA (a new addition, because we are besotted with NCIS-anything right now)

Four things I'm passionate about:
running
butter (and sugar) ((and eggs)) (((flour's nice too)))
the environment & environmental policy
horseback riding

Four words/phrases I use a lot:
Like ya do
About that...
Shu-wa (as in "sure" with a really odd pronunciation) ((no idea))
I think I'm going to bake [fill in the blank] today

Four things I've learned in the past:
Everything is better with butter. (not applesauce, butter. not margarine, butter. not earth balance, butter.)
Grades don't matter. (told to me by my dad, a professor, nearly every week growing up. he's so right.)
Sleep is important. Infinitely more important than just about anything else. Yes, I get 8 hours a night.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Heck, don't sweat the big stuff. Just deal with it and move on.

Four places I'd like to go:
Ireland (this is our dream honeymoon destination - hopefully next Christmas?!?!)
Paris (last time I went was in high school, and I definitely didn't take advantage of it)
Switzerland (hopefully sometime before Jenn leaves her postdoc there!)
Japan (J's favorite country, where I'd love to see all of the gorgeous buildings & views)

Four things I did yesterday:
made pancakes
realized there's a reason why J is the resident pancake maker
had Annabelle sleep on my lap for a few hours
had a meeting for a class on a holiday (oh that's right, holiday = buildings closed and buses not running - grad school is overrated)

Four things I'm looking forward to:
The Charlottesville 10 Miler
My best friend's wedding
The day I can start horseback riding again (aka the day I have a salary again - *wah wah*)
Buying a house with J so I can have a kitchen the size of our current apartment

Four things I love about winter:
Snow
Ice skating
The excuse to drink LOTS of hot tea
Winter in NC = being able to run outside the entire time (*love*)

Tag four people to play along:
Kayte
Jacqui
Bridget
Nancy

Last Week: Minty Chocolate Madeleines (which evidently came to be termed "muffeleines")
Next Week: Nutty, Chocolatey, Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake

TWD: Minty Chocolate Madeleines

2011-01-11T00:01:00.002-05:00

So. Madeleines. A couple years ago, I purchased a silicone mini madeleine pan because I had this thought that silicone released better, cleaned more easily, yada yada yada. Well, after a few uses, it ended up just gummy with cooking spray, flour, and some sort of sticky goopiness that basically was impossible to get off. In unrelated happenings, we got married and our apartment was invaded by all sorts of shiny new appliances and cookware. So the idea of buying a nice, shiny metal madeleine pan? Even I nixed it. Which means that these were made by spooning the batter into a regular muffin tin and coaxing it until it covered the bottoms. They're wee little muffin bottoms, but they do have a bit of the madeleine hump to them, so I'm just going with it. And since I have never had marshmallow fluff, never want to have marshmallow fluff, and therefore refuse to ever buy marshmallow fluff (yes, I know it's entirely irrational. no, I don't care.), these are not filled with fluff. Instead, they're just glazed with a minty icing because J loves mint and chocolate, I don't, and if I cover them with minty icing I won't eat them. Win-win?

Last Week: Midnight Crackles
Next Week: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Momofuku Blueberries & Cream Cookies

2011-01-06T00:01:00.002-05:00

After the epic ramen dinner party on this past Monday, it only made sense to include a dessert from Momofuku Milk Bar. When I went into NYC to meet up with Y, the Milk Bar was one of the required stops - I had heard all sorts of hype, as had she. We had to see if it lived up to expectations! And oh goodness, did it. More sugar, butter, and eggs than you can shake a stick at. Seriously, I have a pretty incredible sweet tooth, and it took one bite of crack pie for me to call it quits that night. Although that might have been because of the ridiculous amount of spicy sausage and rice cakes I had during our dinner at Ssam Bar...

But no worries. I had come to NYC prepared, with only a carry-on but enough room to take a good amount of treats home to NC. So J and I made our way back, proud owners of two different kinds of cake balls (chocolate malt rolled in milk crumbs = yum, birthday cake shellacked in sugary glaze = meh) and half a dozen cookies. Obviously, compost cookies were one of the flavors, but we also got a corn cookie and two of these blueberries and cream cookies.

Whoa though. You know the best part about that whole trip? It wasn't the cookies, or the H and H bagels. It wasn't the trip to Zabar's or the breakfast at Locanda Verde. Well, it was, and it wasn't. You see, this marks the end of my third year of blogging. The start of my fourth. And I can't even believe that I could have guessed, three years ago, that I would be booking a last-minute flight to a city to meet someone who I've just talked to on-line. I mean, how crazy weird is that? It's also, well, crazy awesome. The friendships I've made have sustained me through some pretty rough times and have contributed some amazing times as well.

So here's to an amazing 2011, an amazing fourth year of blogging, and taking chances on those crazy people we call blog friends.

Oh yeah, and these cookies? Make them. Seriously, they're totally worth it.

Blueberries and Cream Cookies
from Bon Appetit

4 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 large eggs
5 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups milk crumbs (recipe below) (I used the entire recipe's worth of crumbs, not just 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups dried blueberries (I used 2 cups because I felt the batter needed more)

Combine butter, both sugars, and corn syrup in the large bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat on medium-high speed until sugars dissolve, about 10 minutes. You'll want to scrape the bowl every few minutes and make sure it doesn't decide to dance off your countertop. At this point, unless you have a professional stand mixer, you'll want to do what I did - transfer the butter-sugar mixture to the largest bowl you have. Once there, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. Add in the milk crumbs and mix until they're distributed. Do the same with the blueberries, mixing just until they're evenly distributed throughout the dough. The dough will be very sticky.

Using a large cookie scoop or a 1/4 cup measure (spray the inside of the cup measure occasionally to keep the dough from sticking), portion out the cookie dough onto an unlined cookie sheet. Stick them right next to each other, since this is just so that we can chill the cookie dough before baking. You'll be transferring the dough to lined baking sheets for baking. You should get somewhere between 36 and 40 dough balls. Cover them with plastic wrap and chill for at least 24 hours, or up to 2 days.

When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375*F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer 6 dough balls to the sheet, placing at least 4 inches apart, since the cookies spread quite a bit. Keep the rest of the dough in the fridge, only taking it out just prior to baking. Bake for 17-22 minutes, until golden brown and just this side of gooey in the center. Transfer cookies gently to a rack to cool. Now, you can either wait for the baking sheet to cool before baking the next batch, or do what I did. I took a second cookie sheet, lined it with parchment paper, and alternated cookie sheets for each batch so that each sheet had about 20 minutes to cool before being used again.

Cookies should be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Milk Crumbs (makes ~2 cups)
from Bon Appetit

3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp kosher salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350*F. In a medium bowl, combine milk powder, flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the butter. Using a fork, gently toss the mixture until large clumps and clusters form. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly spread the crumbs over the sheet. Bake until crumbs are dry but not browning, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool before using. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature if not using immediately.

TWD: Midnight Crackles

2011-01-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

The crackles, I made them. Luckily, I had some tips from Tracey and Mike, so was able to make one very major adjustment to the recipe - Dorie suggests chilling the dough for 3 hours, but evidently that makes it hard as a rock. So the solution for me was to chill it for an hour, then let it sit on the counter and warm up while the oven preheated. It was still a pretty funky feeling dough - it reminded me of chocolate play-do. Thank goodness this is a kind of play-do that would actually taste good! (don't lie - I know you tried to eat play-do as a kid too. everybody does. These are wonderfully chocolatey cookies, especially since I left out the spices and added a teaspoon of instant coffee powder. Chewy, chocolatey, and out of the apartment - they're destined to be a post-Christmas gift to the in-laws. I hope they approve!

In entirely unrelated news, I have been in the kitchen non-stop for two days. You see, J wanted a new video game, and we generally trade - he can buy a video game if I can buy a cookbook. So last Friday, he got Epic Mickey and I got Momofuku. I promptly flipped through the entire book a couple times on Friday afternoon, giddily marking recipes that I wanted to make - spicy sausage and rice cakes, kimchi stew, english muffins... And on Saturday, I decided that sometime this week I should make the ramen. And if you've flipped through Momofuku, you know - when you decide to make ramen, it turns out that first you have to make ramen broth, tare, pork belly, pork shoulder, and slow cooked eggs. Then you can make ramen. Given this sort of time commitment, it just makes sense to get people over to enjoy the fruits of your rather excessive labor. So by mid-afternoon on Saturday, plans had been made to have people over on Monday. In two days. Have I mentioned that I also decided to make this an all-Momofuku dinner? As in ramen, roasted rice cakes, and blueberries & cream cookies. And that the ramen broth takes all day? As does the pork shoulder? And the cookies have to chill for at least 24 hours?

Yeah. After managing to source nearly everything (had to swap in beef marrow bones for meaty pork bones), I roasted and simmered and boiled and sauteed and mixed and baked. Oh, and washed dishes. Over and over again. Thank god our friends were bringing over an appetizer of dumplings, or else I might have gone crazy. In essence, I learned a lot during those two days:

1. Last-minute dinner parties are fun. And stressful.
2. Whole Foods butchers are awesome. Unfortunately, pork belly is not always in stock.
3. It pains me to make stock and then throw away all those painfully-sourced ingredients - smoky bacon, marrow bones, chicken thighs, and vegetables.
4. But bacon that has been fried after simmering in stock for an hour tastes of only one thing - water.
5.With only an hour between each task, the most you can do during a day is go on a 5 mile run. After which, the intense porky smell in the apartment will make you feel ill for the next couple hours. Skip the run.
6. Cookies that contain 5 sticks of butter and three types of sugar can never go wrong.
7. If you think you have enough space in your fridge, think again. I have containers of red dragon sauce, collards, rice cakes, broth, pork shoulder, pans of pre-portioned cookie dough, and a pack of fresh noodles the size of my head.

And last of all:

8. After making all this food, you don't want to eat anything. Persevere. Push past the overwhelming pork / sugar smell that has surrounded you for 48 hours and eat. It is so worth it.

And in the end, it was. Fun, friends, and lots of wine, green tea, and food. Not that I plan on making ramen broth again for a very, very long time. Probably once I forget all the craziness of the past two days. Until then, I have other things to make. That banh mi is calling my name...

Last Week: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops
Next Week: Chocolate Fluff-Filled Madeleines

TWD: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops, Take Two

2010-12-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

Yeah yeah yeah, I've made these before. But here's the problem with being one of the first dozen or so members of TWD - there just aren't that many recipes chosen that I haven't made! There's flan and creme brulee and pecan sticky buns, and that's about it. And with a four day vacation in Asheville this past weekend, none of those seemed particularly appealing. Lots of work, and no real way to pass them off to others. But chocolate malted whopper drops? Yep, those sounded just about right. I ended up making a half batch and tucking them away into a couple gift bags of assorted cookies.

I'm just going to assume that they were quite appreciated - as you can go back and read, my reaction to these was *ahem* quite positive. While there aren't too many recipes from Dorie's book that have been made multiple times in my kitchen, this was one I felt deserved it. Happily, so are these cookies, the peanut butter version without any chunky add-ins. Logs of the dough are happily chilling in my freezer for the time when I'm no longer in a sugar coma. So, probably in a month or so.

In the meantime - look! We had a white Christmas!

Last Week: Cardamom Crumb Cake
Next Week: Midnight Crackles

TWD: Cardamom Crumb Cake

2010-12-21T00:01:00.003-05:00

Every year on Christmas morning, we do the exact same thing. It's actually scary how fine-tuned it is, actually. My sister is never able to sleep, so she'll get up around 4 or 5a and just sit in one of our wingback chairs and stare at the Christmas tree. If, as is most often the case, she has been the final decider on tree choice, the angel at the top will hit our ceiling. The rest of us tend towards smaller trees, but Rach always pushes for it to be as tall as possible. By 6a, my mom is up, feeding the animals. When we were younger, that meant horses, dogs and cats. Horses went, then came back, then went, sheep came and went, and now we have goats and chickens. Dogs and cats are always around. I'll be up by 6:30a or so, my dad shortly after. We'll make it down just in time to see Rach and Mom start mixing up the coffee cake. It's the same coffee cake every year - a sour cream coffee cake from the Silver Palate cookbook. Right before the bundt pan gets slipped into the oven, my dad will brew coffee, my mom will steep tea, and we'll settle around the tree. Our presents are even in the same places each year, by age, counterclockwise. Rach and I will open our presents (I always take longer, as I can't help but meticulously peel away the wrapping paper. I've never been a rip-into-the-presents person.). By the time my parents start opening theirs, the coffee cake is out of the oven and cooling. Thirty minutes out, and we're settling around our dinner table with fresh cups of coffee and tea and wedges of coffee cake.

Thinking about this makes me a bit sad that I'm not going home for Christmas this year. Rach isn't either. It makes me wonder if my parents are still going to make that coffee cake. I would, if J and I weren't going to Asheville over Christmas. I highly doubt the Grove Park Inn would let me use their oven on Christmas morning just so I could have my standard, treasured Christmas morning ritual. And anyway, it wouldn't be quite the same - I'd have made it instead of my mom and sister. Another big change would be that once it gets turned out (and we breathe a sigh of relief if nothing sticks to the bundt pan), J wouldn't know to fight me for the streusel. Because, as everyone knows, the nutty crumbly streusel is the best part of any coffee cake.

Luckily, I at least got a bit of an early taste of streusel this year. It uses walnuts instead of pecans, but I'll forgive it - the cardamom and the perfect amount of crunch it gives to this cake make up for the swap. Oh! And the cardamom! I got to use my whole cardamom that I had picked up at Cost Plus World Market months ago - painstakingly peeling the shells from the cardamom itself and giddily using our new spice grinder for the first time. The kitchen smelled amazing, even after leaving out the orange (I didn't look very closely at the recipe before my grocery trip...) While I packaged most of the cake up for gifts, J tried a piece soon after I made it. No words, just mmm's. It won't dethrone the Silver Palate coffee cake, but it's a pretty darned good substitute when home is so far away.

On a slightly related note, when the weather starts getting colder (it's snowing as we speak! errr, as I write!), I inevitably turn to the Silver Palate cookbook. I have the original version, but a 25th anniversary edition came out a while ago as well. In it are some of my favorite meals: simply perfect pasta carbonara, a fantastic chili (it has olives!). If I had been a bit more crazy, we would have made the food for our wedding ourselves, and their pork and fruit ragout and winter vegetable soup would have been placed center stage. I find it funny that I leap on every new cookbook and baking book, but always turn back to the same cookbooks I grew up with - the Joy of Cooking is another standby. This is just to say - for those who struggled deciding what cookbook to buy a loved one? Old reliables should be a part of any kitchen.

Last Week: Apple Cranberry Family Muffins
Next Week: Rewind! (you'll just have to come back and see, huh?)

TWD: Apple-Cranberry Family Muffins

2010-12-14T00:01:00.000-05:00

As a quick note regarding the chewy / cakey / crispy cookie debate that has evidently entered our little household, J dropped another bombshell on me. This was shortly after letting me know that my cakey sugar cookies slathered with frosting were not welcome, and it came in the form of the brownie debate. People, he likes cakey brownies. Cakey. Not fudgy, not chewy, not chunky with chocolate and nuts. Cakey.

Who is this man I married?!?!

Is it too early to file for divorce?!

(On a side note, our joke that started mere hours after getting married is to threaten each other with divorce. Now that I think of it, I believe it started a day or so before getting married, in the debate on whether it was too soon to file for divorce. This is obviously a joke, as he does laundry and dishes and provides me with wine and dinner after stressful days in lab.)

So. On that note, I defiantly went and turned a cake that neither of us would eat into one that I would eat. So there. Out went the coconut, in went the cranberries! After my desperate rant about not being able to find my beloved Ocean Spray cranberries, they exploded into stores - the day before Thanksgiving. I guess cranberries are divas who require being fashionably late to any party. All that meant was that I frantically stocked up on, oh, four or five bags of cranberries, shoved them in the freezer, and promptly... did nothing with them.

That is, until I saw this week's TWD pick (for those asking, TWD stands for Tuesdays with Dorie, where we bake weekly from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours) - apple coconut family cake. Containing a cup of shredded coconut, I knew that this would not do. I only had a couple options - leave it out and hope for the best, replace it with walnuts or pecans, or replace it with cranberries. And after the upsetting cookie and brownie realizations, I needed a me-only sweet - cranberries it is!

Except that I'd like to be able to hop in the hot tub when we go to Asheville over Christmas, so mini-sizing them was a necessity. What?!? I don't have classes anymore, and can't bank on my grad school peeps to still be around to eat them for me! So half recipe. Muffins. As is often the case with Dorie's recipes, these weren't huge risers, probably due to the amount of apple weighing them down. I used sour cream instead of yogurt because we don't eat yogurt and I already had sour cream for making cheesecake this coming week. And instead of placing apple slices on top (which some people mentioned not liking), I just sprinkled some sparkling sugar on top for some festive flair. Look at me, I'm Martha Stewart!

And while we don't normally post recipes unless we're hosting that particular week, I feel I've made enough tweaks that I should post the recipe as I made it. It's below the TWD picks.

Last Week: Translucent Maple Tuiles
Next Week: Cardamom Crumb Cake

Apple-Cranberry Muffins
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 small apple, peeled and cored
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream, yogurt, or Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cranberries
granulated, raw, or sparkling sugar, optional

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Spray 6 or 7 cavities of a muffin pan, or line with muffin papers.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl.

Cut the apple into a small dice. Slice the cranberries in half (yes, it may seem fiddly, but it means more even cranberry distribution in the muffins = win!).

In a measuring cup (because I'm lazy and refuse to wash more than I absolutely need to), measure out the sour cream. Add the oil, egg, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk or stir until combined. Pour over the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add in the apple and cranberries and stir until evenly distributed (less is more).

Using a large cookie scoop, fill the muffin cavities to the brim. Again, this isn't a vigorous riser, so there won't be batter catastrophes. You'll get 6-7 muffins. Sprinkle the top with granulated, raw, or sparkling sugar if you'd like. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Pop them out of the pan right away (otherwise they will get soggy) and cool on a rack.

Virtual Cookie Exchange: Chewy Sugar Cookies

2010-12-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

It's funny that the minute you say you bake for fun, people draw back. They ooh and aah and flat out refuse to bake anything for you from then on out. Or if they do, it's with all sorts of apologies - I know it's not as good as you can make or some nonsense like that. Bah. It makes doing things like cookie exchanges difficult. Not that it isn't difficult already for me, since most of the grad students in my department hightailed it home after finals were finished or projects were turned in. Not so many people here in the area still who would do a cookie exchange with me. (That's probably a good thing, as I really don't need more cookies in my life...)

But the thought behind it stays, even if you're doing a virtual cookie exchange. These events can be approached in a few ways: you bake a cookie with family history, you bake a cookie with mass appeal, or you bake a cookie that's a bit off-the-wall as a way to stretch your friends' palates and brains when it comes to Christmas cookies. Any way you look at it though, you're baking for them, no one else. So when Di invited a big group of us to take part in a holiday cookie recipe exchange, I was thrilled but didn't know what angle I wanted to take. I've already shared my thimble cookies, and there are so many "weird" cookie recipes that I've made thanks to TWD... So I had to go with a cookie that had mass appeal. Chewy sugar cookies.

You see, the only masses I'll be baking for during the next few weeks are, well, J. And he patiently puts up with my more random baking adventures with strange ingredient combinations. He overlooks my chocolate + mint hatred despite loving the combo in anything possible. But when I mentioned making sugar cookies using the recipe from my mom's neighbor growing up, he got a bit of a pained expression on his face. You see, he likes chewy cookies. Not cakey, not crisp, chewy. And I can handle that when it comes to chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies, ginger cookies and peanut butter cookies, but sugar cookies? For me, sugar cookies are for cakiness and slathering on of good ol' American buttercream frosting. I hemmed and hawed.

But in the end, chewy it was. Because this is a cookie exchange, and it's the holidays, damnit. Which means thinking of others and all of that tinsel-lined and ornament-bedecked goodness. It means baking what he wants rather than what I want. Which, in the end, means I get to see him grin goofily after his first bite into one - game, set, match. This baking for others thing? I could totally get behind it.

Di will have a roundup of all the sugared craziness by the end of the week - I'll try to remember to post a link to it here so that all of you can hunt for new Christmas cookie favorites!

Chewy Sugar Cookies
from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups flour
additional 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for coating

Preheat the oven to 375*F and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Beat the butter until it is soft and homogeneous (no cooler lumps, it should appear smooth). Add the sugars, corn syrup, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined before adding the egg. Stir in the flour - it will be quite stiff and difficult to get all of the flour into the sugar mixture, but just take your time. It'll get there.

Place the 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Using a teaspoon cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough and roll into balls. Drop each into the sugar, rolling around until they are fully coated. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between each one.

Bake the cookies for 7-9 minutes (I baked mine for 7). They will have just the slightest hint of browning at the edges and will still be quite puffed and rounded - don't worry, they'll fall flat when they get out of the oven and cool a bit. Transfer them to a cooling rack immediately, but be careful since they will be a bit fragile.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

TWD: Translucent Maple Tuiles

2010-12-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah, I am all over this. Two more days of class, then a day off, then one final Friday, one Saturday. Let's do this shit.

At least, that's what I'm trying to say to myself. Really, what I want to say is - Let's blow this popsicle stand and make some cookies. Because people? People! It snowed on Saturday. And the snow stuck. There were adults, college students, and lots of little kids racing around, bumping into each other because they couldn't look where they were going. They were too busy watching the snow fall. Mesmerized. Me? I was more than thrilled - snow and sub-freezing temps? Only a couple months late, but it's go-time. Go-time for tea, for soups or long-cooked sauces, for cookies, for Christmas music. (The jazz holidays station on Pandora? Best. Thing. Ever.) There has been lots of tea drinking and book reading under blankets. I keep restraining myself from baking sugar cookies and decorating them, because I know I'll eat them all. (Except I don't have to restrain myself too hard - whoever heard of a grocery store running out of flour mere weeks before Christmas?!?)

And. And. I got to bake with people. Yes, they live hundreds of miles away, but I never get to bake with them. My schedule is teh suck (at least until this coming Sunday - hee!), and stoopid classes keep getting in the way. So when I chatted with Kayte, Nancy, Tracey, and Margaret and the timing actually worked to Twitterbake with them, I was over the moon. Because while baking is fun in and of itself, baking with people is beyond kickass. I miss my Wisconsin baking buddy like whoa, and have yet to find similarly crazy baker people in the Chapel Hill area.

So tuiles. They were baked, with much chatter about size (I made mine slightly bigger than marble-sized) and baking temperature (350*F for me, but my oven runs hot so that'd be ~375*F for most people) and shaping methods (to shape or not to shape!). I was not the only one to thank god this was a much sturdier tuile recipe than the one from a Daring Bakers challenge a while back - no cracking, no weirdness. I could scoop them off the parchment with my offset spatula and drape them on a rolling pin and voila! Pretty little curved tuiles. Now, I've been eating them plain, but I have a hunch that there are a couple good options for these. If you're fussy and patient (of which I am neither), I'd suggest rolling them around something with a very small diameter and making cylinders out of them. Whip together some whipped cream, mascarpone, and a splash of rum, and fill your little cigar cookies. If you're less patient, leave them flat or just slightly curved, and just pipe or dollop the same mixture on top. Plain or adorned, these would make a really wonderful and different addition to a cookie tray.

Last Week: Devilish Shortcakes
Next Week: Apple-Coconut Family Cake

TWD: Devilish Shortcakes

2010-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

I'm going to apologize, in advance, for the rest of this post. My life, it turns out, affects how I write, how I dream, how I bake and how I think about food. So some days, it's ridiculousness and others? Well, some days aren't quite as shiny-happy-bright. Actually, I'll occasionally hunt through my archives and laugh as I remember trying to introduce the idea of fruit + chocolate to stubborn Wisconsinites. I'll be amazed at how crazy happy I sounded, how funny, how much my words just bopped across the screen. There are not other descriptors for some of those posts - unless you think spazzy is a word, in which case - yeah, spazzy counts too. And other times, I'll just read - I can tell, from the words, when the good times were and when the bad times were.

Not a shortcake, just our bowl o' fruit. I liked it though.

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving. Supposed to be a good time, right? Full of family, friends, food, fun... Well, it was. Just not enough to pull me out of the funk I've been in for the past few weeks. Hell, the last few months. I've been noticing that tears will fall at the drop of a hat. I left a movie just a couple months ago sobbing - I couldn't stop. We had planned a frozen yogurt run afterwards, but I just got in the car. Ugly crying, all tears and snot and mucus and hiccuping. A few weeks later, it happened again, but not because of a movie. I don't even remember why, but I nearly passed out from hyperventilating while trying to stop my tears. It had been years since I'd cried like that. Words aren't coming when I try to write in this space, let alone engaging, entertaining, funny ones. Everything has been coming out stilted, dull, dry. Remember when I used to comment all over the blogosphere? I can't muster up the enthusiasm. Haven't been able to in months, and the last thing anyone needs is another comment saying "Wow, looks great!" or "OMG, yum!" I'm sorry, but gag me with a spoon. Even running and baking, my two fail-safes, have been, well, failing. For quite a while, I just figured it was stress. I mean, in the last year, I applied to graduate schools, got in, quit my job, moved from WI to NC, spent two months in Podunk, CA doing research, and started classes in graduate school. No surprise that I'd be a little depressed, a little down, right? Anyone with the love of order and schedules I possess would be. Right?

And there were things to cover it up - the challenge of new coursework, the fun of a new city, the craziness of wedding planning. But a few weeks ago, J and I sat down. Things needed to change. So they are - I'm adjusting medication, I'm recommitting to running longer distances again, and I'm looking into volunteer work ASAP. So these shortcakes? They've kind of slipped through the cracks. Do as I say, not as I did - top them with something that has some zing, some pop and a tartness that will contrast with these lightly sweet, slightly chocolatey biscuits. Have some leftover cranberry sauce? Use it. Dollop on some whipped cream, and you're good to go. In the meantime, I'll continue baking and try to keep things happy over here. Sometimes though, you just have to let it all out.

Last Week: Orange Berry Muffins
Next Week: Translucent Maple Tuiles

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-11-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

It's Thanksgiving. You know, that time of giving thanks (isn't that a terrible way to define a term? Makes the inner grammar/spelling nazi in me shudder) and appreciating what you have. And you know what? I'm failing. I'm jealous. Of my father. I know I've talked about baking with my mom growing up, but not as much about learning to cook thanks to my dad. While my mom had me kneading bread, rolling pie crust, and mixing up banana bread, my dad was all about the savory foods. I learned knife skills (and inherited his love of using large knives all the time) and the difference between chopping, dicing and mincing. Growing up, I had specific roles in the kitchen too - for some reason, dad never knew when pasta was ready (riiiiight). It was required that I, the resident pasta lover, be the official pasta taste tester. Mashed potatoes? Again, it was like he didn't know when they were seasoned correctly - he'd whip out a spoon and ask me - more salt? pepper? butter? cream? I enjoyed it, to the hilt.

My sister had her parts too, so dinner time was always a collaborative effort. As we grew older, our roles changed from chopping and taste testing to developing menus, playing with flavors, and trying out new dishes on each other. Thanksgiving and Christmas were our premier playgrounds - we never made the same thing twice (except for mashed potatoes - I require them). One year there was a jalapeno cornbread stuffing, the next we had squash quesadillas as appetizers, and the next incorporated tiny tomato-goat cheese tartlets with a cornmeal tart crust. Some years it was turkey, others lamb, and last year we attempted prime rib (success!). So it made complete sense that when I talked to my dad the day before Thanksgiving, he confessed that having family friends helping him prep dinner made him feel like he was cheating on my sister and me.

This year, we'll be far-flung, this family of mine. My parents have five others coming over for dinner, which involves leg of lamb with rosemary, zucchini carpaccio, a spiced-up corn casserole, and lots of pie. I have two friends from my research group coming over, neither of whom have experienced Thanksgiving, so we're going traditional - roast chicken (since there are only four of us), mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. My sister? Well, we've been playing phone tag lately, so I can only speculate - she tends to be the most adventurous person in our family when it comes to combining flavors, so it's bound to be interesting and tasty. She's my go-to when I have a set of random ingredients that I need to do something with - she can always come up with something unique that turns out surprisingly well.

For all of the cooking expertise of my dad and my sister though, the world of baked goods, yeasted and otherwise, belongs to my mom and I. We're the pie makers, the bread kneaders. I have to bite my tongue whenever my dad makes a tart - he's suspicious of tart and pie crusts and will chill his marble board and rolling pin before using them. Then it's as if he thinks the crust will jump off the board and bite him - he carefully rolls it out, carefully places it in the pan, and gingerly fills it before tip-toeing it off to the oven. As for bread dough, I don't think I've ever seen him handle it, but I can just imagine. Which is why it's sort of sad we won't all be together this Thanksgiving - I would love to whip up some cinnamon rolls for all of them. In lieu of that, I'll be spending the day in the kitchen, as a (very active) thank you to my parents, who taught me to cook, to bake, and to appreciate good food with good friends. What more can you ask for?

Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp instant or quick-rise yeast
2 cups flour, plus an additional 1/4 cup
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
generous amounts of cinnamon
1/2 lb powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk
1-2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Combine the milk, butter, and sugar in a pan and heat on the stove, just to boiling (this is called scalding and denatures the proteins in the milk, I believe to help with rising). Take off the heat, and when it is cooled to lukewarm (if it feels comfortably warm on your wrist, you're there), add the yeast. Mix in the two cups of flour and let it rise, covered, for at least an hour. After an hour, add the extra 1/4 cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together well, then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours - I let mine go for a couple of days (life got in the way!) and the world didn't end.

When ready to prepare the rolls, take the dough out. Roll it into a rectangle on a generously floured countertop - I rolled it to a bit less than 1/4" thick. Spread the brown sugar on, followed by the cinnamon. I didn't measure the cinnamon, I just went for a good heavy sprinkling all over because I love cinnamon. Roll up the dough, keeping it relatively tight as you go, and pinch the end to seal it to the rest of the roll. Cut the rolls approximately 3/4" to one inch thick and place in a pan, leaving enough room for them to rise out as well as up. Let them rise for 45 minutes to an hour, preheating the oven to 375*F in the meantime. Bake the rolls for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.

While they're still hot, stir together the glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and butter. Adjust sugar or milk quantities until you have a pourable glaze. Pour over the rolls while they're still warm, and eat immediately.

TWD: Orange Berry Muffins

2010-11-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

I'm coming up on three years in TWD - can you believe it? Even crazier that there are recipes I haven't gone back and made, especially since I only missed the first four and a couple others that weren't quite to my taste. So it just made sense to go back and make an easy one - orange berry muffins. You know what the best part was? I got to read through everyone else's posts about them and adjust mine accordingly - win! What that meant was that I tripled the orange zest to up the orange flavor, swapped some oil in for moistness, and I halved the recipe - every rave review seemed to be going straight for my thighs. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, that is definitely not what I need.

Almost more importantly, these were quick and easy. You see, Thanksgiving is coming up, and I'm having a couple friends from grad school come over. And, well, I've never made Thanksgiving dinner for more than just J and me. Even more pressure? One is from Indonesia and the other is from Taiwan - anyone want to give me a primer on that whole Indian / Pilgrim thing? You know, minus that both of them evidently wear funny things on their heads. Oh, and a traced out hand makes for an awesome turkey. Think they'd appreciate that as a pre-dinner activity? Yeah, probably not...

In the meantime, I'm going to go call my sister and gloat. You see, I went to New York City this past weekend to meet up with Y (and we even dragged Mark out for brunch on Sunday! After pulling 24 hours in the hospital - what a trooper!) and traipse about the city. I feel like I've done my duty - we went to Zabar's and H&H Bagels, had an amazing dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar (must find out how to make that spicy sausage dish - best thing I had all weekend!), a decadent dessert at Momofuku Milk Bar, a drive-by through the Holiday Market which led to a liege wafel from Wafels & Dinges, and an amazing time all-around. Let's just say that Sydney and North Carolina need to be a leetle bit closer than they currently are...

Last Week: Cranberry Lime Galette
Next Week: Devilish Shortcakes

TWD: Cranberry Lime Galette

2010-11-16T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I miss the midwest. I miss Wisconsin and Indiana and Michigan (Illinois, notsomuch - sorry Chicago traffic). Don't get me wrong, I love North Carolina. But there's been more of an adjustment period to moving out of the midwest to the southeast than I was expecting. First was the ohmygod it's so hot here! This was followed a couple of months later with what the hell, it's still hot here! Once I got over the fact that it was, in fact, really effing hot (to be fair, it was abnormally hot here this summer, but still!), I started anticipating when it would cool down. Fall! My favorite season! It would be full of apple pies and cranberries and cider and colorful leaves and crisp mornings! And then *thud*. Reality hit.

It's too hot to grow apples in central North Carolina. Too. Hot. If I wanted apples, I needed to go three hours away - to the mountains west of here - in order to get good apples. This is a problem. I alwaysalwaysalways make apple sauce and apple pies like a madwoman during the fall. Pork is inevitably paired with sauteed apples or an apple compote. Cider doughnuts are probably the food of the gods. But here? Apples are 'spensive, people! Granny smiths should never cost $2.00/lb. Ever. I went home to Indiana and they were $0.80/lb. I briefly contemplated stuffing a second carry-on with a half bushel of apples but was quickly dissuaded by J (aka the fiance and previously the bf - he wanted to be termed Q, but I nixed it). Instead, I just ate 3-4 apples each day I was there. Storing it up, as it were.

But I never suspected a thing when I came upon this week's pick. Cranberry lime galette! Yay! I adore cranberries! They're tart and pop so excitingly when you cook them! (what can I say, my excitement threshold is evidently quite low) It never occurred to me that finding them would be a problem. But seriously - I was able to find teeny 10 oz bags of organic cranberries in the regular grocery store. That's it. Where the hell is Ocean Spray when you need 'em?!? Living in Wisconsin (one of the largest producers of cranberries), I never had to think about it. They were stocked in the freezer section year-round, and fresh ones were in the produce section from October through January. Here? Barely more than a week away from Thanksgiving, and they have a few paltry bags of overpriced cranberries in the freezer section and none in the fresh produce section. I might cry. I did pitch a bit of a mental tantrum as I zipped back and forth through three different grocery stores looking for my Ocean Spray bags.

But in the end, I bit. I declared defeat and bought the horrendously overpriced teeny bag of frozen cranberries. Because fall is not fall without cranberries.

Last Week: Cranberry Shortbread Cake (need to make this again!)
Next Week: Rewind - to the fourth recipe TWD ever made, the week before I joined!

TWD: Cranberry Shortbread Cake

2010-11-09T00:01:00.000-05:00

Send help. Seriously. Two days ago, I was unplugged, disconnected. I had no clue what was going on at school, in the world, whatever. Then Monday morning, I was rudely dropped into this world. It's full of homework and classes and meetings and tests and labs and research... Make it stooooopppppp!

I was going to have lots of words. Lots of words for this cake, but I'm also drowning in thank you notes instead (not a bad thing!). Actually, scratch the help I requested earlier - somebody just send me a piece of this cake (a large piece). I don't say this lightly - I've been a member of TWD for nearly three years, and this is the best thing I've made in those three years. Hands down. Day-of, the cake part is shortbready, lightly cakey, and slightly sweet and crisp on the edges. The next day, it morphs into this gooey cakey, doughy thing of awesomeness. Both are awesome. Both are very good reasons to stop listening to my rambling, bake the damned cake, and send it to me. Please. The homework, it keeps calling. It's rather distressing.

Last Week: Peanuttiest Blondies
Next Week: Cranberry Lime Galette

TWD: Peanuttiest Blondies

2010-11-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

For the last few weeks, I'll walk into my office, a class, or a meeting to a slew of questions. How much longer? Are you excited? Stressed? Managing to get everything done? When do you leave for Indiana? And let me tell you, it was entertaining. It was fun, getting reminded that everyone is excited for me and the fiance. As I passed these blondies out to my fellow fellows (hee!), mixed with general acclaim there were comments of how they couldn't believe I had the time in all the pre-wedding mania to bake. To me, that's crazy. These past 13 months have been only slightly filled with wedding planning, and it has never approached manic levels (thank god). But baking? Baking is always at manic levels.

But even crazy amounts of baking are good for me. My mom and I have been cranking out wedding cakes while the fiance puts together the cake stands, the name cards, the centerpieces. (Yes, I win. It feels like the fiance has done more for this wedding than I have sometimes, and that's just frigging awesome.) While he sat and glued origami to bamboo skewers, met with our DJ, and did other wedding-related things, I got to mix and stir and bake and generally just relax. This week will be full of that, and I'm glad.

That's not to say we're all sunshine and rainbows over here. It took 11 hours to get home, and involved flying Midwest instead of Continental, through Milwaukee instead of Cleveland, and with a final destination of Grand Rapids, MI instead of South Bend, IN. Thank god for my dad, who drove the two hours on Friday night to the Grand Rapids airport to pick us up. The fiance's shoulders were sore from carting a carry-on full of all of our gifts to family and friends, our ceremony shoes, and our wedding bands. We didn't want to lack any of the must-haves in case our checked luggage didn't make it. My arms were sore from carrying my wedding dress through multiple airports and between terminals as we frantically worked to get home that night. The run I had planned with the guys that next morning was a wash - after 3 hours of sleep, the last thing I wanted to do was run.

But really, it was okay. The flight attendants on our first flight were such dears - they cleared a seat so that I could drape my wedding dress to minimize wrinkles, gave us complimentary cocktails, and because it was Midwest, we even got a just-baked chocolate chip cookie. We made it home, and in time to make it to our last meeting with the priest before our rehearsal on Friday. We correctly answered his "God bonus question," and picked up our marriage license on Monday. My mom and I have cranked out 6 of the 16 cakes, and plan on making another 6 tomorrow. Family and friends will start coming in today.

And in four days, it'll be over. The stressful, less important part that is. Because in four days, the big part begins - the actual marriage, not just the wedding. And I've got a hunch that it's going to be pretty darned kick ass.

Last Week: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie
Next Week: Not Just for Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake (this dethroned my past favorite from TWD - it's seriously that good) ((Make it. Now. I'm planning on making it again when I get home.))

TWD: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

2010-10-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

I've begun the list. The packing list. Everything I will want or need for the week leading up to the wedding - heels, dresses, running shoes, malted milk powder... All the important things. (What? My mom couldn't find malted milk powder in the store when shopping for wedding cake ingredients!) This past weekend, we hosted the fiance's bachelor party guests for a couple nights before they went off to golf courses, breweries and bars. There was cleaning, a lot of it, both before and after. I'm pretty sure our kitten was a bit traumatized. The night they were out on the town, I had a friend over, and we had cake. Cake and beer. Because that's as close to a bachelorette party as I'd ever want.

I've also been baking, trying to get ahead on November's TWD recipes. (It feels like that's all I've been doing the past 6 months - getting ahead in order to fall behind) Luckily, I have classmates and the fiance has coworkers to foist the treats off on. With all the preparatory happenings, it's needless to say things are a bit crazy over here. Note to any soon-to-be brides out there - ignore those countdown thingamajigs that show up on The Knot (*gag* - seriously, go here instead) or your wedding website. I didn't, and let me tell you - I have no idea how in the world 13 months of engagement turned into 11 days. No idea whatsoever.

It's times like this that call for a couple things. One would be a good night's sleep, but unfortunately our kitten wasn't a big fan of that solution and attacked our feet under the covers at about midnight last night. And then she knocked things off a table in the apartment at about 4a. So in lieu of a good night's sleep, I prescribe pie. Apple pie. Apple pie for breakfast. With a butter pie crust, tart-firm-sweet apples, and a hefty dose of cinnamon. Have I mentioned that our centerpieces are little half-peck baskets of apples? I have a feeling a good number of those will become pie as well. Apple pie works as a recovery prescription post-wedding as well, I'm sure of it.

Last Week: Caramel Pumpkin Custard
Next Week: Peanuttiest Blondies

TWD: Caramel Pumpkin Custard

2010-10-19T00:01:00.000-04:00

Craziness. That is all my life consists of right now. I'm seriously so scattered and tattered at the edges, it's ridiculous. Then again, I guess that's what I get for having the following all occurring in the very near future:

- two midterms. Have I mentioned how long it's been since I even took a test?
- one lab writeup. For which I have no clue how to do the data analysis.
- two proposals. Which would be done if collaborators would get back to me...
- fiance's bachelor party. Because every fiancee bakes a cake for these events, assembles breakfast for the guys, picks them up from the bars, etc, right? Right?!?
- epic cake baking. 16-8" cakes, 2-4" cakes. This is going to be awesome, and not just due to the 50+ eggs and 5 lbs of chocolate.
- manicure. I guess that's a normal pre-wedding thing? Hmm...
- wedding and all the related events. Nuff said.

And in the meantime, I just want to curl up with a book, a mug of tea, and an adorable kitten. I just have this feeling that if I had enough self-belief and willpower, I'd be able to make everything else just pouf! disappear.

That makes comfort food the perfect thing to have around. And if you know me or the fiance, you'd know - pumpkin pie is our thing. For serious. Pumpkin pie is serious, serious business here. Growing up, my mom would make two pies - one for me, one for my family. I finished mine before the other three members of the family finished theirs. For both of us, pumpkin pie is an all-meals sort of food. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert... little wedges for snacks throughout the day... Perfection.

So when I mentioned that I was making caramel pumpkin pie, there was a bit of trepidation. You don't mess with perfection. And perfection = Libby's. Libby's pumpkin, Libby's pumpkin pi recipe. Anything else is blasphemy. But this is TWD. Yeah, the group of which I've been a member for nearly three years - I can't skip it! Thus, my solution - little baked pots of caramel pumpkin custard. Because if it doesn't look like pumpkin pie, we won't require it to taste exactly like Libby's. Yeah, we play mind games on ourselves. Totally works.

The result? Deep, dark, complex and caramelly pumpkin custard. Not our standard, but definitely delicious. The texture was unbelievable, and while the burnt caramel notes were a surprise, they were worth it. The fiance even said that he'd like it in pie form. I, on the other hand, have a nice little stockpile of Libby's pumpkin just screaming out for my favorite pumpkin pie. It's fall, after all, and I deserve it.

Last Week: Foldover Pear Torte
Next Week: All-American, All-Delicious Apple Pie

TWD: Foldover Pear Torte

2010-10-12T00:01:00.001-04:00

For all that I make fun of the fiance for his dislike of various foods, I have to come clean - there are some textures and foods that just don't do it for me. For his dislike of fresh tomatoes, there's my dislike of slimy or slippery textures. For his dislike of squash and zucchini, there's mine of egginess. For his spiciness aversion, there's mine to gelatinous things. For his dislike of everything else, well - you've got me there. I mean, unless you want to get into my aversion to tequila, because that opens up an entirely different story. And I doubt you really want to hear my tequila story.

So even though he likes custardy things and loves creme brulee, I knew I'd be making this torte for myself. You see, he had already entered a request into the baking lineup - brownies. So given his slow pace of consuming desserts, I figured this one would be all mine. And that meant some slight tweakage was necessary, otherwise known as wholesale removal of the custard in said foldover pear torte. I know. I just removed one component in a three component dessert. But it's not like I removed an integral part. There are some three part desserts that would completely fall apart if you removed one - it'd be like removing a leg from a three-legged stool. Not good. But this one? You remove the custard and angels sing. Seriously. Deep dish pear galette!

And for those of you who want wedding updates, I don't really have any. Everyone keeps asking me if it's all become rush-rush-rush since we hit the four week mark. But truly, Saturday came, we looked at each other and went "huh. guess we'll be married in four weeks won't we?" Seriously, that's it. Well, then I ran into the other room and tried on my wedding band so I could admire it. But that's totally not stereotypical pre-wedding freaking out. Okay, okay, so there will probably be multiple episodes of freaking out - I'm envisioning at least a couple revolving around how I'm going to fail graduate school because I'm missing a week of classes. Oh, and one or two about the cakes. We'll see though, eh?

Last Week: Double Apple Bundt Cake
Next Week: Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

2010-10-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

My life currently revolves around a few things. Yes, there are the nerves from actually having to take quizzes and tests, the frustration of hours in lab, and the panic of proposal writing. But really, there are just a few things that matter enough that my life revolves around them. And that's the way it should be - I need to realize that while my life is full of craziness, there are only certain things that truly matter. They are, in no particular order:

Fiance's and my wedding bands - we picked them up three weeks ago (two whole weeks early!), and are smitten. Party pooper that he is, I wasn't allowed to wear it for more than five minutes before it went into our lockbox.

Our wedding flowers are gorgeous and unique, but even better? Leslie packed an extra flower just for fun when she shipped them to us. It's been stuck in a mason jar on our countertop along with some strawflowers we picked up at the Madison Farmers Market last year - yes, I brought them with me when I moved!

Kitteh! Two weekends ago, we went to the Orange County Animal Rescue and picked this cutie. We got to pick her up on Wednesday after she was spayed. Her "name" at the shelter was A122479, and the fiance wanted to keep that as her name - with the nicknames of A-1 or Steak Sauce. I vetoed, thinking she looked like an Annie, and we settled on the name Annabelle.

And finally, that first photo in this post. That countertop plus me in pjs equals a perfect Sunday afternoon for me. Apple pie first, then anadama bread. Brown rice cooking for a dinner later this week. Pumpkin cookies are hiding to the left, and the fiance is chilling on the couch and making origami for the wedding while watching Law & Order. Plans for dinner already made. Yep, where it counts - life is good.

Apple Pie
as my mom taught it to me when I was little, makes one 8" pie

5-6 tart, firm apples
a couple tablespoons flour
sugar, to taste depending on the sweetness of your apples (I used 2-3 Tbsp)
cinnamon, lots
nutmeg, a couple pinches
2 cups flour
2/3 cup Crisco
1 tsp salt
ice water, 4-6 Tbsp
a couple bits of butter
milk
cinnamon sugar

Preheat the oven to 425F. Or 400F if you're me and have a crappy yet turbopowered apartment oven.

Peel the apples. Have a contest with a friend to see who can make a longer strip of peel. Cut slices of apple off of the core, the more haphazard the better. Toss the peels and cores to the goats, horses, chickens, dogs, or whatever livestock you have on hand. Or in the compost, that works too. Toss the apple slices together with the flour, sugar, and spices.

Dump the 2 cups of flour into a bowl with the salt. Cut in the Crisco until it resembles very coarse crumbs. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time, mixing gently, until the dough just holds together. Take a little over half of it and roll it on a well-floured countertop (with a well-floured rolling pin). Move it around often to make sure it doesn't stick to the counter. When it fits in your pie pan with an inch or so of overhang, transfer it to the pie pan. Mound in the apples until you're afraid they won't stay put, and set aside. Take a moment to eat the remaining apple pieces. Taunt your significant other with them and the prospect of fresh, warm apple pie. Remember that you're supposed to be making the pie. Take the remaining pie dough and roll out until it fits over the apples, again with about an inch of overhang. Place on top of the apples. Trim off any extra pie dough and crimp the edges of the pie. Remember you were supposed to put little bits of butter on top of the apples before putting the top on. Swear, then get inventive and stuff the little bits of butter into the slits you've cut in the top to vent any steam. Brush with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Take the little scraps of pie dough and brush them with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven alongside the apple pie. Don't forget to check those after 8-10 minutes though! They burn easily - I would know. After 15 minutes, turn down the oven to 375F and bake until a knife inserted goes through the apples easily, probably another 45-60 minutes. Let cool most of the way before slicing in and topping with ice cream.

TWD: Double Apple Bundt Cake

2010-10-05T00:01:00.001-04:00

Oh fall, you wonderful thing you. Just in time, just when I thought I had made a mistake moving to North Carolina, I woke up Saturday morning to 55*! Literally the perfect running weather - clear skies, sun just coming up, low humidity, slight breeze, and it warmed up just slightly while I was running. Every person I ran past was grinning too. Out came the long sleeves and the jeans, away went the sandals and shorts and tank tops. And it looks like it's here to stay, at least for a little while. Temperatures should hover around 70* all week, and today was another Carolina blue sky.

Nothing makes a better accompaniment to that sort of weather than apples. Apple sauce, apple cider, apple pie and apple cake. I can't get enough of it. I love fall. I adore fall. It's clean and crisp, homey and comforting. That's what makes this month of TWD selections that much better - we have apples and pears and pumpkin. Pumpkin, people! The two year shortage is supposedly over, although I did hoard a few cans when I went to the store a couple of days ago. You can't be too sure, right?

And to kick it all off, a double apple bundt cake chosen by Lynne! Now I must admit, there appears to be a bit of a failing here in central North Carolina. Can you believe that it is supposedly too hot to grow apples here? Coming from the midwest, this is a horrifying development. I honestly could not find a single apple orchard to pick at within a two hour drive. And I totally would have driven two hours each way just for crisp apples and freshly pressed cider. *sigh* So I found some that had been brought in from the western part of the state, grated them up, and whipped up this cake. And seriously, whipped up - it barely took as much time as my oven took to pre-heat!

I even got to re-use my adorable quarter-size bundt pan. I love it to bits. My cake was done quite a bit sooner because of the size - just make sure to check starting at 20-25 minutes if you downsize as drastically as I did. One note is not to skimp on the rest time! Cakes like this do meld together overnight, and it becomes noticeably more unified and full in flavor after a day.

On a completely different note, can you believe that we already have more than half of our guests RSVP'd?!? Gifts are beginning to come in, music has been chosen, readings have been picked... And it was around then that I realized - what in the hell do I do on the day of? I mean, I have everything else nicely planned out. When I'm baking cakes, decorating the reception location, having the rehearsal. But when to show up to the church? Where to get ready? Gah! Needless to say, I had this vision of getting up, showering, having a bowl of cereal, throwing the dress and shoes on, driving to the church and walking in as the music started. Evidently, that is not what you do. Evidently, there are things like manicures the day before, breakfast with people the morning of, makeup (horror!) and hair, getting dressed at the church... Eep!

So there you go. The minute you think I have a clue what's going on, the second you think that I've got this whole wedding thing down, remember this - I didn't even realize that you were supposed to get dressed at the church and have breakfast with your bridesmaids. Engineer planner fail.

Last Week: Tarte Fine
Next Week: Foldover Pear Torte

TWD: Tarte Fine

2010-09-28T08:34:00.003-04:00

Can I just say that I believe that technology hates me right now? First, Blogger went down last night, so I couldn't upload photos or write witty commentary (well, I couldn't do that before, but now I have something to blame for it!). Then I spent an hour sifting through purchase requests for our lab so that I could start maintaining an inventory of items that need to be stocked in the lab. But see, I wanted to make it all simple and easy for anyone in our lab to access it, so I figured I'd make a gmail account and put it up as a google document. FAIL. Seriously. First, the password I chose for our lab's email account was too weak (seriously? stop judging me, it was supposed to be easy.). Then I got that fixed and it decided that the date I put in for the birthday made our lab too young (again, the judging!). So I figured I'd put in my birthday. Turns out, Gmail believes that 25 is too young to have your own gmail account. Evidently, it was Google win, Caitlin fail all night. Hmph.

Then again, I at least had this little tarte to munch on during my fit of pique. I made it this weekend, and so it was substantially downsized from the original proportions. You see, a mere 1.5 months after the fiance moved to NC to live with me, he found a job! And then said job sent him to Virginia for a straight week of training. grumblegrumble So in an effort to, well, not eat an entire sheet of puff pastry on my own, I improvised. It was assembled while I baked the double apple bundt (oh fall, how I love you and your flavors), so I saw zero point in attempting to sliver an apple into 28 little wedges. Luckily, I had scaled down the bundt so I had half an egg and a pile of grated apple just waiting to be used up. So that's where it went. Yes, it's a bit messier and less sleek than the original, but it seriously is the perfect thing to have around when technology doesn't cooperate.

Last Week: Coffee Break Muffins
Next Week: Double Apple Bundt Cake

TWD: Coffee Break Muffins

2010-09-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that there are only a couple recipes that I've made over and over from this book? We've been so busy, the last (gulp) 33 months baking them that only a few have jumped from the one night stand to a long term relationship. (Yes, I anthropomorphize my baked goods. I do it with molecules in chemistry too - try it, it makes organic chemistry much more fun.) The cream scones are my go-to scone recipe, the cranberry upside-downer is perfect for Thanksgiving, world peace cookies (in all their variations) are always amazing. And these coffee muffins - oh, these coffee muffins. I have made these at least a dozen times, always sharing them, always amazing people with them. And little do they know, the reason I made them the first time? I was out of milk and wanted muffins!

In fact, when I opened the book to the page for this recipe, the fiance happened to walk into the kitchen at the same time. He looked over and just started laughing - there were drops of batter, smears of butter, a dusting of flour. All over the page. Think I liked these muffins? You have no idea. I tweak them the teensiest bit each time I make them - the first time was as-written, but then I went on a spree of combining the original recipe with the one on the opposing page - carrot spice muffins. Lest you think those don't go together, I shared them with coworkers. They loved them. Most times though, I do what I did this last time - I up the spices, tripling or quadrupling them. It gives a wonderfully complex spiced coffee muffin.

These, too, went in to school (I just wrote work - obviously, I haven't been in grad school long enough to get out of that habit!). While I shared the peanut butter criss crosses with classmates, these went in to our office area. And I don't think I have to tell you - they were quite well received.

Last Week: Raspberry Upside-Downer
Next Week: Tarte Fine

TWD: Raspberry Upside-Downer

2010-09-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

I have run out of words. Seriously, this is rare for me - I tend to ramble on and on, but today? Nothing, nada, zilch, zippi-dee-doo-dah. You see, I have classes. And research. And a super cool fellowship. And then my advisor just dumped two grant / fellowship proposals on me, both due 2-3 days after my wedding. So the words? They're ending up on paper, but not the fun kind - words like elucidate and characterize and global warming and radiative effects and remote marine aerosol and blahblahblah.

I think I even put myself to sleep thinking about the words. And simultaneously a panic attack thinking about the proposals. Seriously, how do academics get anything done?? You must spend all your time writing grants to get money, writing papers so you can justify getting more money, going to conferences to talk about the papers so you can justify getting more money and no wonder so many professors don't have enough time to teach!

So words. Evidently I do have some, but they're of the waving hands wildly above my head in a panic kind. My apologies. Here, have some cake!

Last Week: Peanut Butter Criss-Crosses
Next Week: Coffee Break Muffins (ohmygodyoucan'tskipthesemuffins!!!)

TWD: Peanut Butter Criss Crosses

2010-09-07T00:01:00.004-04:00

Flabbergasted is a fun word, isn't it? Or it would be, if that particular emotion hadn't occurred during a lab I was in this past Wednesday. You see, I'm an engineer. Get in, get it done, get out. Quick and dirty, fast and efficient. And I'm proud of it, in case you were wondering. But this lab is an analytical chemistry lab, and for those of you not in the know, that means precision. Daintiness. Patience. Attention to detail. So you can imagine the issues that arose when I realized we would be measuring the average volume of half a drop of water. Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!?! I'm pretty sure my reaction caused my poor lab partner to back away in fear.

You have all seen my approach to measuring here, right? I scoff at the scoop and sweep, spoon and level, or weighing crowds, because the things I bake don't need that sort of precision. And let me tell you, when making a 1g/L solution of KI, you also don't need that kind of accuracy. So you can imagine my relief when I was able to go home, vent (briefly) to the fiance about the idiocy of that particular lab, and bake these cookies. Because I tossed them together people. The way it should be. Because hello! With that much peanut butter, that much butter, and the addition of salted peanuts, how could it turn out poorly?!

Obviously, it couldn't. And while these aren't my kind of peanut butter cookies (these are, and I have 3 dozen cookie dough balls in my freezer to prove it), they're damned good. Yes, they're crunchy on the edges while my favorites are chewy and soft throughout. Yes, they have peanuts in them, adding more textural contrast and complexity than I'm looking for in a standard peanut butter cookie. But guys, let's talk seriously here. I let them cool and bagged them up a few days before I took photos. And when I took the cookies out of the bag to take a few photos, all that peanut buttery goodness just came racing out. In no time flat, that was all I could smell (which is impressive, since I had three other things baking that particular day...). And seriously? That's what peanut butter cookies are all about.

One thing to note - I made a half batch and used a small cookie scoop to portion them out. I ended up with 42 cookies, which were just barely baked at around 8 minutes. Pulling them out then kept a textural contrast between the crunchier edge and the chewier center.

Also, in case you were wondering, the fiance is currently working his fingers to the bone. He's making little origami figures to go on each and every table and name card since we're doing that instead of table numbers (booo-ring). I, on the other hand, am doing nothing wedding-related. Take that, traditional gender roles!

Last Week: Chicory Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Next Week: Cranberry Upside-Downer

TWD: Chicory Chocolate Chip Shortbread

2010-08-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

To say I'm unprepared to write this post would be an understatement. These cookies? I mixed them up in a frenzy of baking a whole four weeks ago. I thought I was being so smart.

1) I made a half recipe - my jeans will still fit!
2) Slice-and-bake style - I can bake them whenever I want!
3) Replace espresso with chicory - the fiance might actually eat them too!
4) Three weeks before grad school classes begin - I have time to photograph and write the post!

Yeah. You could end point 4 with - before all hell breaks loose! Because man, did it. Never did I think I'd be this out of practice with classwork and homework and weird schedules and having to work on weekends! Weekends, people, are god's gift. Ye of the working world, do not underestimate the awesomeness of weekends. Because I found myself taking a breather from my homework this last Sunday and realizing that I hadn't even baked any of these suckers yet. Let alone taken pictures. Or written a post.

No big deal, minus the pile of articles to read, the homework to do, and the 12 hours planned on campus Monday, right? Luckily, I made these much smaller than Dorie calls for in the book, so they were in and out of the oven in 9 minutes flat, all cute and speckled with mini chocolate chips which I had hidden in the freezer so the fiance wouldn't mow them down. The chicory essence gives them an almost cinnamon-y, burnt-dark taste that I love (it adds a fantastic edge to cream cheese frosting when putting said chicory cream cheese frosting on a chocolate cake. just sayin'.). And really, when you realize those cookies are about an inch in diameter, they're eminently poppable. Which is why I'm really glad that, nestled next to a couple logs of peanut butter world peace cookie dough, I have enough of this cookie dough for a couple more Sunday homework sessions.

Last Week: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart
Next Week: Peanut Butter Criss Crosses (because peanut butter cookie dough balls and PB korova cookie logs aren't already taking up residence in my freezer...)

TWD: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart

2010-08-24T00:01:00.000-04:00

Well wow. I've been running around like a headless chicken here lately. Two weekends ago was Charleston, last weekend was South Bend, and now I'm officially at my first day of classes for grad school. Um, shitshitshit. Y'see, I have a whopping 2.5 months before the wedding, and have no idea how I'm going to fit that in with 3 classes, research, TAing and well (god forbid) having a life. Not sure at all. But at least we have officially taste tested and approved two of the four wedding cake flavors. They're good ones. Keepers. My dad complained that I've stuck him with all of the leftovers from the two flourless chocolate cake recipes we trialed, but I think he's just jealous that he's not getting the taste testers for the chocolate stout cake recipe too.

But that, of course, has nothing to do with a particularly crunchy and custardy peach tart, does it? Unfortunately, that's because this was made a whopping 3 weeks ago, before all of the traveling mayhem and when I actually had the time to go to the farmers market. I can't wait to make it back there this weekend, because I'm dreaming of all things peach - peach cobbler, peach pie, peach ice cream... Not that this wasn't a wonderful summer introduction to peaches. It was perfect - I have an inordinate love of Dorie's sweet tart crust, the peaches were perfectly ripe, and the custard wasn't too eggy and added just the right amount of richness to the whole thing. And really, you can't go wrong with almond crisp topping.

So when I need a break from the chocolate stout cakes and the carrot cakes, I think I know what to turn to. Peaches. Millions of peaches.

What, you thought I'd be able to resist? How little you know me :)

Last Week: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread
Next Week: Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

My Great Grandmother's Cornmeal Muffins

2010-08-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

These are my great grandma's cornmeal muffins. Well, y'know, like the title of the post says. And since she was from upstate New York, I seriously hope you aren't expecting a savory, dry, or crumbly cornbread. Oh no. These muffins are cakey and sweet, with just the right amount of grit and natural sweetness from the cornmeal. I remember making pans of this cornbread whenever my dad would make chili - it's the perfect accompaniment. It's also the perfect breakfast, since it's not too sweet and has a nice heartiness to it.

Funny thing is, the way I wrote this recipe? Definitely not how it was given to me. Oh no. Just like her white bread recipe, she had one last ingredient in the list with no measurement given. You just add that ingredient "until it feels right." So that's how I started out baking. Adding flour until the bread dough felt right, adding milk until this cornbread batter was "very wet." Baking by feel, by instinct. I find it crazy, especially since so many people find baking to be such an exact science.

But that's not how my mom bakes either. When we make pie crust, she measures the flour, but then just tosses in a couple pinches of salt and some hefty spoonfuls of shortening. Once that's all cut in, little splashes of ice water go in, "until it looks right." It took me forever to feel that comfortable with pie crust. And then the filling - we'd peel apples on our back porch while she told stories of doing the exact same thing with her grandmother. We'd compete to see who could peel the whole apple without letting the strand of peel break (please tell me you do the same!). I was always impressed that she'd give me the lone peeler and use a paring knife instead. It was a moment of pride when I did the same thing with my fiance - handing him the peeler, I peeled apples with a paring knife. Chopped up apples went into a great big metal bowl and my mom would toss in a couple handfuls of flour, sugar, and whatever spices sounded good that day. Mounded into the pie crust, dotted with butter (or not, we were always forgetting that step), and covered with more crust. Milk wash, cinnamon sugar, vents cut, and into the oven it went.

No matter how much flour we put in, or sugar, or spices, those apple pies always turned out. Yes, sometimes they were runny, but who cares when you can drown your slice in vanilla ice cream? I never bothered with that though. Apple pie in all its forms is wonderful. It's the same way with these muffins. Bake them as muffins, bake them in a round cake pan, or a square pan. Have them for breakfast, warm right out of the oven. Sneak them as a snack, mid-afternoon. And you can't go wrong with wedges of it balanced on top of big bowls of chili.

It's times like this that make me glad I grew up baking. For the past few weeks, I had a craving for cornmeal muffins, but it wasn't until the fiance looked at me with exasperation and said "Just bake your own!" that I remembered I had a notecard with the recipe. Mixing it up, I did you guys a favor - I actually measured the amount of milk I put in. Because, well, you didn't grown up mixing this batter with a spoon while your mom splashed milk until it was just right. One cup of milk makes for a bit of a stiffer batter, so you could probably go to 1 1/4 cups without a problem. Just do me a favor, eh? See what it looks like, and next time - don't measure. Just go for it. It's liberating.

Cornmeal Muffins

2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 - 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 375*F.

Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening until it is pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in alternately with the milk (3 additions of flour, two of milk - always end with the dry ingredients). Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake about 15 minutes.

Makes 24.

TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread

2010-08-17T00:01:00.000-04:00

Some mornings come easily. You know, the ones where you wake up a few minutes before your alarm, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? Or even better, those lazy Sunday mornings where you turn off your alarm and just wake up when you feel like it, lolling about in bed until the idea of eggs and bacon or a hot cup of coffee pulls you out. I love those mornings, and my mornings are normally the former. Leaping out of bed at 4:30a so I can get to the YMCA when it opens at 5a? That was my standard ritual when I lived in Wisconsin. Of course, I tended to wind down earlier than most in their mid-twenties *cough*9p*cough*, but it's okay - the fiance's the same way.

But lately? Well, since I moved to Chapel Hill, I've been sleeping terribly. I try to get to bed around 10, but I've had nights where I wake up every single hour the whole night through. And that's assuming I can actually fall asleep! Last Sunday night, after an exhausting but incredibly fun whirlwind visit to Charleston, I actually sat in bed and read for four hours trying to fall asleep. By 1:30a, I finally fell asleep, but popped right back up at 6:30a. My body was ready to start the day!

Ha.

Unfortunately, my body only thought it was ready to start the day. I spent all Monday wandering around, going "huh?" whenever someone talked to me. The amount of blank staring at walls, books or floors was a bit embarrassing. It's times like this that make me remember why coffee is such a wonderful thing. And breakfast. Because no matter how awful you feel, sitting down to a cup of coffee and a slice of toast or bowl of cereal is a wonderful ritual.

Even better though? When quick breads like this oatmeal breakfast bread are around. Maybe that's why I'm so zombie-like after that terrible night's sleep - no more oatmeal quick bread sitting around, studded with dried tart cherries, waiting for me. It just disappeared too quickly, despite the fiance's dislike of cherries - that had just meant there was more for me!

Last Week: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream
Next Week: Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart

TWD: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

2010-08-10T00:01:00.000-04:00

My dad visited this past weekend. It's always fun to have him come, because he knows just the right balance of doing things and hanging out. This is in stark contrast to my mom, who is GOGOGO! all the time. I've seriously sent her out on walks so that I could take a nap on some visits. His visits always revolve around a few things - long chats catching up on life, at least one good run together and food. We plan our visits around what we'll be having each meal. Heck, that's how we plan our lives!

The first time that the fiance visited me in Oshkosh, we sat that Saturday morning eating eggs and toast for breakfast. I looked up at him and asked what he wanted to do for lunch, and I just remember his confusion - why would I ask that now? He'd just started breakfast - he wasn't even hungry for lunch yet! It didn't matter to me; growing up, we always talked about the next meal or two while eating the current one. He's come over to my way of thinking through the past few years, but I have a feeling it's still not a natural thought for him.

But when my dad visits? I pull out all the stops. We had my current favorite wheaty and chewy sunflower seed bread for sandwiches when he first got there, five dining options for dinner that night, and sausage, potatoes and eggs from the farmers market for breakfast the next day. Lunch that day, I figured, we could wing once we got closer. Oh, and there were plans that, since he likes relaxation and downtime, I'd be able to squeeze in baking a test recipe for the wedding cake extravaganza. My dad, I figured, would be a rockstar taste tester.

The weekend went off without a hitch - a quick and easy lunch followed by a nap for him and cake baking for me, walks, an amazing dinner, and cake that night. Unfortunately, the cake was so rich that we didn't manage to try any of this chocolate ganache ice cream, but the fiance managed to squeeze a bowl in the next day without too much difficulty. That day, of course, began with a wonderful run in the early morning, from which we returned sweaty and a bit sap-covered from the weeds on the trail we took. A wonderful breakfast accompanied by LOTS of coffee followed by wandering around Chapel Hill rounded out my dad's visit. Oh, and lunch that day? We used it as an excuse to test-drive a local restaurant that we thought might be fun to go to on random weekdays for a good beer (it will be). A success, all around.

But you probably actually cared about the ice cream, not so much about the random goings-on of my (warped yet still awesome) family. I don't really blame you - this stuff probably would have been killer before it was even churned. The custard base is basically the most decadent chocolate pudding you could think of - my ice cream maker made odd whining noises while it was churning because it was so thick! Not only that, given the high percentage of chocolate, it takes a good 10-15 minutes on the counter to soften enough to eat. You see these photos? I scooped (and re-scooped and re-scooped) after 15 minutes on the counter, shot the photos and handed the fiance the bowl. After all that, it was still incredibly hard. I'd probably put some form of alcohol in it the next time, actually, since I like softer ice creams. The flavor though? Spot on, classic chocolate goodness.

Last Week: Gingered Carrot Cookies
Next Week: Oatmeal Breakfast Bread (killer with dried tart cherries)

TWD: Gingered Carrot Cookies

2010-08-03T00:01:00.001-04:00

My favorite cake combines two of my favorite things (funny how that works, huh?) - warm fall spices and cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake. There's a reason why it's one of the four flavors of cake I'll be baking for my wedding. Here's the problem though: I don't want my carrot cake to taste too... carrot-y. So when I tried the carrot cake recipe from Cook's Illustrated's New Best Recipe cookbook, there was a necessary re-do. It tasted too much like carrot, not enough like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. So I redid, reducing the oil (I hate soggy carrot cake) and doubling or tripling each of the spices. Ah, much better.

What does this have to do with this week's TWD pick? Well, a lot. You see, I worry now whenever I see a carrot cake-inspired dessert. Will there be too much oil? Will they (the horror!) use butter? Did they use enough spices? Should I stick to the recipe, or assume that things will need to be tweaked? I mean, my kitchen currently has the remnants of every single TWD pick for the month of August. Because I'm that person, the one who walked into the kitchen at 8a and walked back out at 2p, covered in flour, sugar and butter, hands wrinkled from trying to keep up with all the dishes. So I can't afford a recipe re-do. Or at least, my thighs can't afford a re-do. Because while the fiance gladly consumes vast quantities of ice cream, he's much less enamored of things like tarts and quick breads.

Therefore, pre-emptive tweakage occurred. I doubled the spices, because generally I like more than Dorie calls for. I doubled the salt. I eighthed the recipe (yes, that was a lot of fun...). And then I baked four wee little cookies. The result? I forgot one tweak, because it's only occasionally needed with Dorie's recipes. I should have reduced the sugar. A lot. Like, by half. These things were like eating sugar held together with carrot shreds and dotted with raisins. (What, you thought there'd be coconut? Ha!)

Unfortunately, as I mentioned there wasn't really time for tweaking any more. Despite my downsizing (didya miss the minis? I did!), our apartment was just too inundated with baked goods to countenance a carrot cookie redux. It does, however, remind me that we need to get on the carrot cake recipe testing again. Three months left, three recipes left to nail down - coincidence? I think not! I foresee lots of carrot cake, chocolate stout cake, and flourless chocolate cake in our future...

Last Week: Chewy Chunky Blondies
Next Week: Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

TWD: Chewy Chunky Blondies

2010-07-27T00:01:00.005-04:00

It turns out, there's a bit of a learning curve to moving in with someone. Who knew? For the fiance and I, it started with trying to cram two apartments worth of furniture into one. That wasn't too big of a deal, since I am much more attached to my (solid wood) furniture than he is to his (Ikea) (particle board) furniture. Phew. Furniture disaster averted, except that he's not a huge fan of my couch. Details.

But what follows? Grocery shopping. I will have to become used to his immediate beeline to the meat counter, while he has to become used to my tossing two to three pounds of butter into the cart at a time. And I believe that in the week and a half that we've been living together, I've eaten more meat than I did in the previous two months. Hello protein! Goodbye iron deficiency! (Oh yeah, and goodbye zucchini, mushrooms, beans and squash *sob*)

The even bigger learning curve though? He has to get used to (cue the tiny violins please) homemade ice cream, cake, candy and cookies constantly being in supply. Which is why, when I told him that I'd be baking chewy chunky blondies, he gave me a long-suffering look and asked that I take them into work. He wasn't done with the minty brownies yet. Or the ice cream. Woe is him, huh? Especially since he didn't realize that there would be homemade bread at all times as well. And don't forget the two sheet pans of nougat (pistachio and chocolate salted almond, based on this recipe and this one, respectively) currently on our kitchen table.

In the end though, it's probably a good compromise. I'll bring most of my baked goods into the department, and he might actually start exercising to make up for the ice cream I'll be churning up for him. Do you think I can get extra credit or something for bringing cookies in for my professors?

Last Week: Lots of Ways Banana Cake (I have to admit, I hoarded this for myself. it was GOOD.)
Next Week: Gingered Carrot Cookies

TWD: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

2010-07-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

I adore flexible recipes. So when one calls out its flexibility right in the title, I am SO there. Even if I'm not a sweet banana lover (so sue me, I'm the one who eats bananas that are just the teensiest bit green on the edges. I loves me some starchy bananas!). Even better, since Dorie is so vocal about adding in, taking out, and tweaking this particular recipe, I consider myself entirely justified in tweaking out the coconut. To all you coconut lovers out there - Dorie told me to!

Although I guess I tweaked rather excessively. Not only did I leave out the grated coconut (without replacing it with any dried fruit) and the coconut milk (replaced with 2% milk), I swapped oil in for the butter (no softening needed!), used 1/3 whole wheat flour and dropped the sugar by just the teensiest bit. And, rebel that I am, I didn't even fluff the flour before measuring. Guess what? Minus the fact that this cake could be better termed a pancake (seriously, did anyone else stutter-step when the recipe called for baking soda instead of baking powder, with zero acid to be found elsewhere?), it turned out wonderfully.

So there you go, all you baking-averse fraidy cats! (I mean that in the most affectionate way) When it comes to flour, you can sift and measure, fluff-scoop-measure, level with a knife (or not) or just scoop-and-go. Not a fan of sweet baked goods? Just cut down on the sugar a wee bit. The world, she will not collapse! Life, as you know it, will not end. Those loaves of bread that didn't rise? Croutons! That cake that's a wee bit raw on the inside? Cake batter is tasty, and don't let anyone tell you differently! Cookies spread like crazy? Oh darn, that sheet of cookies counts as one big cookie!

Go forth! Bake! And if your banana cake comes out a wee bit on the flat side? It just means you can eat a bigger slice. Like, half the cake. I promise, I won't tell. *burp*

P.S. The fiance is here. In North Carolina. In the same apartment as me. So my apologies if I sound just a wee bit giddy. With him came my long lost baking ingredients and, evidently, my boundless enthusiasm. I'm going to have to kick his ass for keeping both of those from me for the past three months.

Last Week: Brrrr-ownies (the fiance is IN LOVE with these brownies. I might have to make them again. soon.)
Next Week: Chewy Chunky Blondies

TWD: Brrrr-ownies

2010-07-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

Random observations:

1. Once I pick a seat in a room, I automatically gravitate to it each and every time I have to sit down in that room. If it's a classroom, chances are good that it will be in the front and on the right side from the professor's perspective.

2. The same thing goes with restrooms. Once I use one stall, I preferentially go back to it each time I'm in that restroom. It's my stall.

3. I don't like mint. In much of anything.

Unfortunately, I'm surrounded by mint lovers. My dad puts it in all sorts of things, including savory dishes. My sister was the original mint chocolate chip ice cream lover in our household growing up. She always got Junior Mints at the movie theater. And I knew I was in for it when I asked the fiance what he wanted me to bake during one of the first weekends he visited me in Oshkosh. He requested a marbled loaf cake - chocolate and mint. Yeecchhh. I don't actually have a problem with mint in, say, gum. Or toothpaste. Maybe mint tea is acceptable as well. Once in a blue moon. But baked? Warm? With chocolate? Why? That just seems like a waste of good flour, butter, eggs, and chocolate. You want chocolate and mint, just let me bake something chocolatey and you can buy some mint ice cream to put on top of your piece. I'll stick with vanilla or coffee ice cream, thanks.

Which is why these brownies are sitting in my fridge, awaiting the fiance's arrival (!) on (!) Friday (!). Well, minus a taste test of an uncontaminated part... If nothing else, I can attest to the slightly fudgy, slightly cakey, wonderfully chocolatey portion of these brownies. Next time though, I'll put in peanut butter cups.

Last Week: Tarte Noire
Next Week: Lots of Ways Banana Cake

TWD: Tarte Noire

2010-07-06T01:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm here. North Carolina, I mean. Finally. And let me tell you - don't let anyone claim that Midwesterners are the friendliest, most neighborly people you'll meet. They're lying - Southeasterners are without a doubt the most friendly people I've ever met. I should probably back up though, huh? My life, she is flying by at a rate that I can't even comprehend!

I flew in to the Raleigh-Durham airport a mere 6 days ago, which is mindboggling to say the least. The only thing to note about the whole 8 hours in multiple airports and planes? I sat next to a wonderfully nice National Guardswoman on the flight from Burbank, CA to Dallas-Fort Worth. We chatted for about half the flight, spurred on by her first comment to me soon after I sat down next to her. She leaned over and, half in a whisper, asked if I had looked closely at the people up in first class on our flight. I admitted that I hadn't, not admitting that it was partially due to being envious that they got free alcohol on a 7a flight. That would have been neither here nor there, right? Well, it turns out that Leann Rimes was on our flight. Wha? Not only did I get to see random paparazzi on my little jaunt through Hollywood, I had also experienced a celebrity sighting as well! LA is a weird place, people. Weird.

But now I'm in Chapel Hill. Not only that, I moved into the fiance and my apartment just last Friday, assisted by three of the nicest, most wonderful guys from TROSA. Not only did they come right on time, smile the whole time, and gasp whenever I tried to pick anything up (seriously, did they think I was just going to stand around while they moved my things?), they called me ma'am! Seriously! In order to keep me from carrying things in, the foreman tasked me with putting together the bedframe - apparently I don't look like I can lift anything. I love shocking people by actually having some sort of strength. It was all done in such good nature though that I couldn't fault them. And hey, it meant I actually had a permanent address! After two months without one, it's embarrassing how happy that made me.

I'm all unpacked now, having buckled down that very night and opened every single box, putting everything away. Hopefully the fiance can fit his things in here when he shows up in two weeks, but my things came first, right? Once that was done, all that was left was looking forward to Charli coming for the weekend. My college roommate of three years and my maid of honor, Charli also understood that Sunday was not for grilling - oh no, Sunday was spent baking. All day. Bread, peach cobbler, and this tart, which was definitely improved by the use of fancypants El Rey chocolate we picked up walking through Whole Foods. Good stuff, people, this tart is good stuff.

Also, since I haven't bothered getting cable or internet at my new place (and will therefore be stealing internet access at the handy-dandy Barnes & Noble a mile away), reading of blogs and commenting will be greatly reduced. It doesn't help that as of this morning, I'm hopping feet-first into the lab at UNC and learning the ropes. After reading page after page of articles on secondary organic aerosol, I hope you'll forgive me if all I want to do is eat a slice of this tart.

One last note - I feel it is my duty to tell you a few things we realized over the weekend. One, double cream brie is like butter. Cheesy, wonderful, tasty butter. Two, the movie Leap Day? Awful. I'm surprised we made it through the first 45 minutes, after which the characters finally became slightly likable. Three, sweet tea vodka is pretty wonderful stuff. So are fried okra. And four, best friends? Priceless.

Last Week: Little Vanilla Cakes
Next Week: Brrrr-ownies (mint and chocolate = my nemesis, so taste testing might wait until the fiance shows up)

TWD: Little Vanilla Cakes

2010-06-29T01:01:00.001-04:00

Excuse me while I scratch my head and try to remember these little cakes. You see, it's been 2.5 months since I've made them (forgive me, father, for I have sinned. it has been 2.5 months since my last baking spree...) and I can't quite recall much about them. That's not to say they weren't good. They were just surrounded by dressy chocolate cakelets, raisin swirl bread, tarts and more tarts, and some seriously good shortcakes. So in the end, they were a bit underwhelming, partially because I had no rum and wasn't going to buy any liquor that I'd have to immediately give away due to the flying and traveling about I embarked upon soon thereafter.

So instead of gushing about them, because I should be - Rum! Vanilla! Cake! - I'm sitting here and reflecting on all of the wonderful food I've eaten the last couple months since they've been made. It's funny, because most of it hasn't been in restaurants. Nope, except for a brief detour for some absolutely amazing pizza with some equally amazing women, I haven't been spending too much time in restaurants. Instead, I set myself on a quest when I got to Bakersfield. I would track down every possible taco truck in the city, try them out, and figure out which one I liked best by ordering two tacos from each - pork and tongue. On the way, I found everything from greasy tacos and dry pork to fresh and zingy salsa and tender tongue. I even found a tamale cart! So without further adieu, here's the list of taco trucks I frequented while in Bakersfield:

El Taco Loco, Stine Rd & Pacheco Rd: The only truck that so far from being a truck, it had a drive through. One of the original taco trucks, it now has a couple locations around town, but I was unimpressed by the one-dimensionally spicy salsa, the greasy pork and the tough tongue.

Adelita's, 2301 Panama Ln: This was actually the first truck I went to. It is stationed in a gas station parking lot and manned by a wonderfully cheerful woman who grinned as wide as could be when I ordered a lengua taco. The salsas were wonderful, both traditional and salsa verde, and the tongue was fantastic. This was my second favorite taco truck in the city.

Dave's Tacos, 2600 Chester Ave: Like El Taco Loco, this is now a full-on building. It was probably the least inviting, and the tacos were just eh. Not memorable, but not terrible.

Rigo's Tacos, Edison Hwy & Mt Vernon Ave: This was the feather in my cap. Not on my original radar, the aforementioned tamale cart was gone and I was desperate. On the drive back to the research field site, I spotted a taco truck and quickly pulled off to the side of the road. And people, I struck gold. The pork was wonderful, but the tongue - it was seriously like butter. Wonderfully beefy and tender.

Unnamed Tamale Cart, 2309 Niles Pt: This was a find by a fellow researcher, to whom I am eternally grateful. A wonderful older man just sits 10-15 feet away from a little cart, next to a sign letting you know what kinds they had (as a pork lover, I must admit that all three times I went, I got pork). The tamales were wonderful every time, and the perfect fast food if I didn't feel like tacos any more.

There were a couple other trucks that I didn't get to (man cannot live on corn tortillas, pork and tongue along!), so I can't vouch for what they're like. Here they are though, if you feel like checking them out:

Tacos Mi Casa, in a parking lot on White Ln between Fast Trip and Whitewater Car Wash: The only place that I heard about that served breakfast. I'm envisioning egg and chorizo breakfast tacos. Please, go for me.

Los Tacos de Huicho, 123 E 18th St: I didn't see much about them, and was just never in the area when I was hungry for tacos.

So there you go! Half a dozen taco trucks and a tamale cart, for if you're ever driving through Bakersfield. Don't go to a restaurant, find one of these places - wonderfully authentic tacos await you there!

Oh yeah, and make these little vanilla cakes. Add some extra rum for me.

Last Week: Dressy Chocolate Cakes
Next Week: Tarte Noire (it'll be the first thing I bake in my new apartment - once I unearth the tart pans, food processors, and everything else I'll need...)

TWD: Dressy Chocolate Cakes

2010-06-22T01:01:00.002-04:00

Countdowns are starting to run through my head. Another week in California, then on to Chapel Hill. Three weeks until the fiance moves in with me in NC. 2 months until I start graduate school classes. 4.5 months until the wedding. The numbers fly past me, and it's all I can do to catch my breath. I guess I knew what I was getting in for, didn't I? But it doesn't make it any less scary. (In a good way! I promise!) It's just crazy.

But then I think about things. You know, in more sane ways than the two! wedding! nightmares! I've already had. Because it's highly unlikely that I'll forget to bake the cakes, pick up the reception food, and fly my photographer in. Instead, I get to think about all of the things that make me appreciate the fiance.

First, this whole moving thing. I'm the one that decided to only apply to graduate schools far, far away. Never a peep, other than a request that the area have tech jobs so, well, he can still have a job. Then we didn't know exactly where we were going to go, so he was in limbo in the job search. Now, I'll be moving into our apartment first, which means almost all my furniture stays, and whatever furniture of his that doesn't fit? It'll go to either of our sisters.

Then the wedding. He has opinions people! He is why we'll have a full-on choreographed first dance (swing! Birdland! squee!). When I started freaking out about little things, he insisted that he could do whatever. So he's got his tasks - DJ, hotels, ceremony decor, tuxes, cake stand construction, and dear lord whatever else I throw his way because either I don't want to worry about it or he cares more about it than I do.

And then there's the baking issue. Problem. Obsession. Since he's getting in two weeks after me, my baking ingredients (flours, sugars, extracts, reasons for my existence) will be MIA for the first two weeks that I have an oven (!!!) for the first time in 2.5 months. His solution? Oh, just buy whatever you need to bake what you want to bake. You'll use it up anyway. Which means this guy just scored supermajorawesomeshiny bonus points. Yes, they exist. You'll know when your significant other deserves them.

As a result, I know the task that must be done either right before or right after we move him into the apartment. Cake. Chocolate cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Just a single layer cake, but it's the sort of cake he just mows through. Even though he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, set a simple little cake in front of him and it's gone in two days. Maybe just one. I'm thinking though, that maybe I can sneak this little variation by him. A simple little cake, yes, but nicely dressed up with jam and a little ganache. A perfect cake for the supermajorawesomeshiny bonus point winner in your life.

Last Week: Raisin Swirl Bread
Next Week: Rum Drenched Vanilla Cakes

TWD: Raisin Swirl Bread

2010-06-15T01:01:00.001-04:00

Thank goodness for this pick. I miss bread. That's not to say there hasn't been bread in the last couple months while I wander about in limbo. But really, I miss homemade bread. Soft sandwich loaves, hearty and chewy sourdoughs, wonderfully sweet cinnamon rolls. I miss the smell of yeast, the feel of kneading bread dough, the sound of crusts crackling as they cool. And I miss this bread. Cinnamon raisin bread was always a go-to bread in my parents' house for everything from toast to sandwiches to french toast.

It's actually a bit ridiculous how much I've been fantasizing about what I'll bake when I get an oven again. Seriously, who has daydreams about cinnamon rolls, sandwich bread, and brownies? Evidently, I do. In fact, I move into our apartment two weeks before the fiance gets to North Carolina with all of my baking ingredients, and I broke the news to him that I was immediately going to buy flour, sugar, yeast, etc. so I could bake as soon as possible. Luckily, he understands, but I know a lot of people who'd give me the side-eye for not being able to wait another two weeks for all my flours and sugars and baking things. To those people? I am not a patient person. Just drive through an LA or Chicago rush hour with me and you'll get the hint.

Speaking of, I believe I've found the home of the worst. drivers. ever. Bakersfield, CA. For such a random city in the middle of nowhere, these people don't know how to drive! Quick, a quiz - how fast would you drive if the speed limit was 65mph?

a)65 mph
b)72 mph
c)45 mph

Most would pick a) or b), right? Not Bakersfield drivers! Oh no, instead of getting over into the empty left lane when someone enters the highway, they brake and slow down to 45 mph. What. the. hell?!? Bakersfield fail, people.

On that note, thank goodness I'm running out of these pre-done pictures and post topics. It's a sign that I'm almost done with this field campaign and can jaunt my way back across to the east coast and an apartment instead of an extended stay hotel. Needless to say, I'm thrilled. And maybe I'll re-make this bread. Because while the bread itself was wonderfully tender, I think it would have been improved with a bit less sugar and butter, having the raisins kneaded right in, and a heftier dose of cinnamon in the spiral filling. More daydreams...

Last Week: Tender Shortcakes
Next Week: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake (do not skip this. seriously.)

TWD: Tender Shortcakes

2010-06-08T01:01:00.003-04:00

Before I left Wisconsin for the coasts, I got the chance to enjoy one last really nice evening (okay, 60* was really awesome at that point) with some friends. We chopped and prepped and drank and grilled up all sorts of wonderful things. Although I'm pretty sure it was the first time in a couple of months that I had red meat, it turns out I still have a taste for beef marinated in italian dressing. Classy, no? But the important part (it's always the most important part) was dessert. Storebought angel food cake (sorry, I had no oven, and none of the others are bakers!) topped with strawberries that had macerated in a little bit of sugar. LOVE.

The problem? Right when one person started cutting the angel food cake, another leapt up to grab the tub of Cool Whip from the fridge. Um, ew? I mean, not to be picky or anything, but if I'm going to have creamy goodness on top of my shortcakes, I want whipped cream. Real whipped cream. Even if I have to whip it by hand with a whisk (calorie-burning!), real whipped cream is fantastic stuff. I wasn't the only one to turn my nose up at the Cool Whip, but three of the girls happily dolloped horrendous amounts of the stuff on top of their strawberries. Seriously, I lost sight of the strawberries on their plates. Needless to say, this led to a conversation about Cool Whip vs. whipped cream and whether butter really was better. It is, just FYI. Butter is always better.

One thing really stuck out through the conversation though. I mentioned my aversion to Cool Whip was because it tasted too smooth and chemical-y (because, well, it's basically whipped oil and chemicals...). One response? Oh, that she had grown up with Cool Whip and real whipped cream tasted like chemicals to her. Uh, WTF?!? Have people gotten that far away from real food that they think it tastes chemical-y compared to, um, the chemical-laden processed alternative?!? It sort of makes me die inside. Her opinion on butter was exactly the same - it just didn't taste right, because her mom had always had the "healthy" or "low-cal" alternatives in the house growing up. *shudder*

Which is why I'm glad I had these shortcakes just a few days prior to that whole distressing episode. They help restore my faith in humanity and real food. Full of heavy cream so they're wonderful soft and tender, slightly sweet, and just a bit cakey. I made a sixth of the recipe and got two enormous shortcakes from it. Which wasn't a problem, since one was topped with macerated strawberries and eaten right away and the other was, well, breakfast the next day. These were so good that the second even devoured plain, with nothing to distract from the awesome texture and flavor. Out of the park, people. Out of the park.

Last Week: White Chocolate Rhubarb Brownies
Next Week: Raisin Swirl Bread (fear not the yeast, this bread is amazing)

TWD: White Chocolate Rhubarb Brownies

2010-06-01T01:01:00.001-04:00

There's no way around this. I've been debating for the past month and a half how I would explain the results of Marthe's pick this week - white chocolate brownies. But, well, I can't even use rustic, or homemade, or any other adjective for these but one - ugly. Okay, two. Underbaked. You see, I baked them before the pick was even announced, let alone before the storm of issues, problems, and solutions developed. So I knew early on how sweet they were (even with my substitution of rhubarb for the raspberries), and how the layer of meringue masked how underdone the brownies were after the required bake time mentioned in the recipe.

Which is why these, um, never got tasted. Never cut up. They oozed through the cooling rack, people! Brownies are not supposed to ooze! Certain things are supposed to, although ooze is not really a very pretty word. But they oozed. And since I was surrounded by two tarts, some ice cream, a bread pudding, and god knows how many other baked goods that had turned out quite a bit more successfully, I bailed. I bailed on a Dorie recipe. I don't think I've ever done it, but this is one recipe where the ingredients were just too much to try a re-do.

Here's the thing - that's what I love about this group. Good and bad, you have all these other bakers telling you that they, too, had underdone brownies. Gooey brownies. Oozy brownies, too sweet for their taste. Phew. I didn't screw up too badly, they just weren't to my taste. And that's okay, because others absolutely loved them. And some of the variations I've heard about? They sound absolutely fantastic. So good, I might actually try a re-do when I finally get into a kitchen with an oven. So check 'em out.

Last Week: Banana Ice Cream Tart
Next Week: Tender Shortcakes

TWD: Banana Ice Cream Tart

2010-05-25T01:01:00.001-04:00

Excuse me while I shamefacedly hand my head. This week's pick has all of these tasty things in it - shortbread, banana, chocolate ice cream, coconut... But together? I'm going to take a pass. Not to mention that this was made mere days before I had to leave for NC and CA. So we ended up with a bit of a mishmash, something tending more towards "riff on the recipe" than "recipe as written." One last mini sweet tart crust, the last few spoonfuls of burnt sugar ice cream, half of one nicely ripe banana after the other half had joined my oatmeal a previous morning does not equal banana coconut ice cream tart. It is, however, equal delicious.

But that's not nearly as exciting as this past weekend. (Sorry Spike) This last weekend, a friend of mine drove up from LA to visit. He timed his arrival for when I was done with work (midnight-ish, which is hellish for the early morning riser), and I went sprinting down the stairs of the hotel and out the door to greet him. Luckily he ignored that I hadn't bothered to put shoes on and had a silly grin on, and presented me with --- a pineapple. Yes people, these are good friends I have. Other people give you hugs, but I get pineapple. Last year, a friend came to visit with a large bag of parmesan black pepper biscotti in tow. Don't you wish you had friends like mine?

Not only that, we got to go hiking in Upper Kern, a part of Sequoia National Park. Well, less hiking and more scrabbling. Have you ever gone on a hike, following a reasonable-looking trail, only to find out that it peters out a mile in? Sane people, they sigh and turn around, searching for a more promising trail. But my friend? He whipped out his GPS and decided that we could off-trail it. That's all well and good until you're scaling a sheer incline covered in loose dirt and rocks. Freaking mountain-goat-style, for serious.

Needless to say, we were wiped afterwards. And I think I ruined a pair of jeans. And there are scrapes all over my hands, arms, and elbows. But hey, I got a pineapple out of the deal!

Last Week: Apple-Currant Bread Pudding
Next Week: White Chocolate Brownies