Vanilla Icing

Happy Disappointment

As the last few days have gone by, I've watched some of my Most Important Baking Ingredients dwindle.   Don't worry--The Most Important Ingredient, flour,--I had plenty of!  The ingredients I mean are sugar, eggs and butter.  These three things had reached Alarming Levels in my kitchen.  Are you wondering what I find to be alarming?  One pound of sugar, two eggs and one stick of butter.  <---Wait!  One stick of butter is Beyond Alarming.  Alarming happened last week when I had one pound of butter left.  This was downright Terrifying.

Our second car was in the shop and Rick had left me stranded at home.  Sure, I could have walked to the grocery store but when you bake at the rate I do grocery stores are for wimps.  You've got to buy in bulk!  I decided to wait, impatiently, for an opportunity to go to Costco and make do with what I had at home.  I spent a good hour combing through my recipe books looking for something that used what I had on hand and sounded appealing.  Finally, I found something in a baking book that I haven't opened in years.

                           Chocolate Swirled Cheesecake Triangles

Cheesecake!  Who cared if my birthday is still several months off?  I decided that I'd make the Chocolate Swirled Cheesecake Triangles because it would use what I had on hand including the pound of cream cheese that had been begging to be used in something.  I would treat myself to a bit of cheesecake and that would take care of the Birthday Cheesecake and One Cheesecake Slip-Up I allow myself a year.

I followed the directions with increasing skepticism.  As a serious cheesecake lover who likes it made to certain specifications (mine!) I wasn't liking the way the mixture was shaping up at all.  It was thinner than I like to see which is usually indicative of a light fluffy cheesecake and I don't like no stinkin' light fluffy cheesecake.  I like a cheesecake that is creamy, thick and SINFUL.  If I'm eating cheesecake I don't want it to dance across my tongue; I want to close my mouth and feel its luxurious filling compress and fill my mouth with decadency.  I want the sweet taste of guilt to overwhelm my palate.

There was none of that happening with this recipe.  And I can't say I'm disappointed.  March IS rather early for the One Cheesecake Slip-Up, don't you think?

Pane Siciliano

I have a new favorite bread.

                                              Pane Siciliano

I know I say that a lot but I really think this is my current favorite bread.  The crust has a good hearty crunch but it's not so thick that small children would leave peels of beside their plates.  The inside is soft and creamy but with a slight difference to the typical texture of bread.  This texture is not immediately noticeable to the mouth; instead it comes across as an element of taste.  The sesame seeds add a nutty touch of sweetness that combines wonderfully with the crust and crumb of this bread.  Pane Siciliano just begs to be torn off in hunks and buttered while it's still hot.

And in the End...

...they weren't pretty.

...but they cover my feet.   And I learned a lot.

I've learned that my legs must be smaller than the 'Adult Small' in the pattern--and it's probably a good idea to take a tape measure to my legs (if only I could find one!) so next time I don't have slouchy socks.

I also learned that I will not be buying this brand of yarn again.  Who knew such shades of green and blue were going to come out of the depths of my pretty purple/black/grey yarn!

Odds & Ends Soup

Everywhere you look--both online and off--there is advice to be more frugal.  Do without, make it last and use it up.   Live simply.  Don't waste!  There's plenty of good advice out there and I'm not above offering my own:  Use your leftovers wisely.

There's absolutely no reason to throw out those couple of carrots in the bottom of the bin that aren't as firm as they used to be.  Or those couple of onions in the corners of the bin that have decided to send up a tender inch long green shoot.  What about those leftover veggies from last night's dinner?  Or the broken up bits from the bottom of a box of dried pasta?  Gather them all up.  You'll need them.  

Keep in mind, this is how I made MY soup.  Unless you have exactly the same things in your kitchen as I do and you use them in the same order and at the same rate, you will have different things than I do.  My recipe is meant to be a base for you to follow.  Use your leftovers--don't go buy fresh for this soup!

Odds & Ends Soup
       by Michelle

2 carrots, cut in rounds
4 small stalks of celery, cut in thin slices and any leaves still attached chopped up as well
3 small onions, finely chopped, any green shoots removed from the middle
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil--to lightly coat bottom of your pot
splash of red wine
approximately 24 ounces of organic beef stock (leftover from opening a 32 oz box and needing 1 cup)
1 bay leaf
Pinch of sage
Quick cooking barley, approximately 1 tablespoon from corners of box
1/2-1 ounce, approximately,broken dried noodle bits (I used broken linguine that's been around too long)
1-1.5 cups chopped roasted cauliflower (from last night's dinner)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1.  Make a soffrito in a pot with the olive oil, carrots, celery and onion. 

2.  Add the garlic when the other vegetables are tender and cook for a minute, or until garlic is tender but not brown.  Add the splash of wine, scraping up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.  Continue cooking to reduce the liquid by half.

3.  Pour in the beef broth and heat until simmering.  Add the bay leaf, the sage, barley, pasta and vegetables.  Add salt and pepper and adjust to taste. 

4.  Cook at a simmer, stirring occasionally until your barley and noodles are cooked.  Serve hot.

Almost anything can be added to this soup.  Got a handful of beans left over?  Throw them in.  Have rice instead of pasta?  Use that.  This soup is meant to use up your leftovers--not make new ones!

Herbes de Provence Bread

                 Herbes de Provence Bread.

Sometimes a little photographic proof is necessary to prove the existence of something.  Above you'll see bread shaped as an epi with bits of herbs peeking through.  The total ingredient list is: herbes de Provence, salt, water, flour, and Chuck.  Yup, Chuck.  He is alive and kicking and has completely mellowed out.  Chuck provides delicious creamy bread with none of that horrible sour tang that he was so fond of giving me several months ago.  I have figured out that he is not as high maintenance as a certain author would want her reader's to believe nor is there any reason to keep him as liquid-y as she says is right, either.

You see, Chuck and I have developed our own relationship.  We don't need to follow a set of rules that I am beginning to suspect are to keep non-serious bread bakers away from sourdough.   I know what he wants (flour) and when he wants it (typically once a day) and it's not always on a strict timetable (Chuck loves breakfast).   Just like an old-fashioned man, I feed Chuck well and he provides for my family.  <----And how many people will that comment offend?  =)

Girl Meets Ganache

Sometime ago, a girl checked a cookbook out of the library and was immediately captivated by a Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Raspberry Sorbet.  The girl invested upwards of $30 to make this dessert precisely as the author stated.  The girl was somewhat alarmed when buying several pints of raspberries and several pounds of chocolate not to mention several pints of cream but plowed forward, faithful it would all pay off in the end.

Imagine the girl's surprise that despite the wonderful tasting elements of the recipe--she sampled lots--when the cake would not stay together.  The girl had followed the directions exactly!  Extra time in the refrigerator did no good.  The girl doubted the abilities of the author of the cookbook and thought perhaps that this recipe was one of those recipes that had been written down but not actually tested before being put into the book.  But It was not a great loss; the girl and her family ate the dessert and enjoyed it very much.  She had no pictures to share with you but sometimes that happens.

But wait!  What was left on the counter?

A couple of pounds of ganache!  The girl shook her head at a recipe requiring you to make over three pounds of ganache and then using --at most!--one pound of it.  She questioned the intellect of the author but who was she to question?  After all, didn't the author have a big fancy book when she herself had nothing?   Dutifully, the girl froze the remaining ganache.

Over the next several months, the girl would pull out the frozen block of ganache and chip off a portion to defrost and use.  The girl iced cookies with ganache.  The girl coated Petit Fours in ganache.  The girl made Boston Creme Pie in a Jelly Roll and double-coated the entire thing in ganache. 

The ganache would never end!

Finally, in a fit of frenzy, the girl took the remaining block of ganache out of the freezer and set it in a double boiler.  There would be NO MORE ganache after today she declared!  The girl was obsessed and half mad--as in crazy--to be rid of the ganache.

The girl made:

1.  Ganache Coated Peanut Butter Balls  (30)
2.  Ganache Covered Raisins (2 cups)
3.  Ganache Dipped Graham Crackers (1 dozen)
4.  Ganached Clustered Peanuts  (18 clusters)
5.  Ganached Chocolate Cupcakes (1 Baker's Dozen)

There was nothing left to ganache but yet, one cup of ganache remains.

Girl is contemplating eating it with a spoon for breakfast just to be rid of it.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Sometimes I have failures. 

Usually not taste failures.  That part I seem to have down pretty good.  It might not be as delicious as I was hoping for but it's always pleasantly edible.

I'm talking about appearance failures.  Some of them have legitimate reasons.  Like while I was rolling up this loaf I was settling an argument between children.  One side was a little thicker than the other despite all of the rocking and rolling I did to try to even it out. 

Though I sometimes have shaping failures that may or may not lead to things like mysterious air pocket things-- Who says it can't be the weight of the raisins holding the dough down is what I want to know-- a lot of times it's usually just because I can't take a decent photo.   I've got to take a dozen of them just to get one that looks okay.  The bad part is--I can't tell in my picture-review-screen-thing-a-ma-jig if they are good.  I can only tell if they are good when I load them onto Little Mac.  Sometimes, if they are truly awful I just go back and take another couple of dozen photos.  No big deal.

But what if the subject has been eaten?

Cracker Jack

It's not always all baking around here.  As you know, sometimes I cook too!  And....I make candy.  I buy very little in the way of pre-made snacks; I prefer to make our own.  It's almost always better tasting and more often then not less expensive.  Caramel Corn can be made with items you likely already have in your home. 

Unless you don't have peanuts.  Then, I encourage you to dash out and get some.  Cashews would be good too, unless you are making Cracker Jack.  Only peanuts will do for that.

Homemade Cracker Jack
                    by Michelle

18 cups popped popcorn (preferably air popped.  NOT microwave!)
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 cups butter
6 tablespoons corn syrup
1/2 baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanuts

1.  Preheat oven to 300.  Spray two cookie sheets that have sides lightly with Pam.  Spread out the cool popcorn and sprinkle each sheet with half the nuts.  Set aside.

2.  In a heavy sauce pot combine the brown sugar, butter and corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  Stop stirring and let boil for 5 minutes.  Keep the heat steady--you don't want it to get too hot and burn.

3.  Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.  The caramel will change color and texture slightly as you stir.  Don't be alarmed; it's supposed to do this.

4.  Pour half the caramel in a thin stream over one of the sheets of popcorn and peanuts.  Carefully stir but don't worry if the popcorn isn't well coated at this point.  Repeat with other sheet.

5.  Bake popcorn for 10 minutes.  At the five minute mark, remove each pan, one at a time from the oven and carefully stir.  The caramel is VERY hot and will be thinner and be able to coat the popcorn more thoroughly.  When the 10 minutes are up, again remove the pans one at a time and stir carefully.

6.  Remove popcorn from pans and cool on a wire rack.  I find placing a piece of parchment paper on top of the rack will help keep your sanity as you fight to keep the popcorn from falling through the rack.  Cool COMPLETELY and store in an airtight container.

*Hmmm....technically this did go into the oven.  Does it count as baking afterall?

Birthday Cake

Please excuse my absence yesterday.  It was Rick's birthday!  I was fully immersed in chores and cooking his birthday dinner.  We had Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce, Roasted Asparagus, Creamy Mashed Potatoes and Stuffed Mushrooms.  Then, I made this:

Plain old Birthday Cake.  Yup,  nothing fancy about this.  We've got yellow cake, Vanilla Icing and plenty of sprinkles.  Simple but delicious.  Just the way Rick prefers his desserts.  =)

Spring Sugar Cookies

The Faux-Reos seemed to be a huge hit--they went flying out of the cookie jar!  Today, I quickly made up some Sugar Cookies in Spring Colors and now I'm about to head outside to enjoy this beautiful very nearly Spring day on my rollerblades!