Seattle Pastry Girl

Blogging Break

2011-05-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Sweet Friends,
I am taking a blogging holiday so to speak. I won't be posting for a few weeks while I take time off to refresh . I leave you with a thought from this week end's Creative Live Workshop with Penny De Los Santos. She was wrapping up the workshop and said, "If you aren't doing what you love, why not "

White Velvet Butter Cupcakes with Golden Neoclassic Buttercream-Heavenly Cake Baker

2011-05-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's Monday and J and I are on our way back from the Oregon Coast. We discovered a new campground-Nehalem Bay-just south of Manzanita. This is how it's described in the park's brochure :

Imagine waking up to the song of the seagull, spending your afternoon on a kayak trip around Nehalem Bay, then taking a short walk over the dunes to the beach. There you'll sit with a blanket and watch the sun set over the ocean in the shadow of Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain. Finally, snuggle down for the night while the ocean waves sing you a lullaby. This is Nehalem Bay State Park.

Although I suspect that when this place fills up in the summer it may be the campers next door singing you a lullaby. Huge surprise-it rained ! It was still lovely,all snuggled in the trailer with the sound of the rain on the roof. And don't forget jumping puddles while running to the showers. . Did you like how I matter of factly mentioned "campground" ? Yes, I camp -there I said it ! I have friends who think camping means they stay in a standard room instead of a deluxe room at the Fairmont . And no, I don't mean the crawl into a tent type of camping (gave that up on a very rainy morning in Wells Grey Park in Canada many years ago), or the luxury liner 45ft long RV type of camping. We have a little pop up trailer with most of the comforts of home; comfortable bed, dining table for two; a Hansel & Gretal type stove and sink-tiny, tiny; and most important-a mini propane furnace. If the temperature drops we don't have to climb into sleeping bags rated for minus 40 F ! And my sister will appreciate this-you don't have to duct tape everything to keep the rain out. The only thing it lacks is a refrigerator (we use a cooler) and an oven-I'm a baker I need an oven. Maybe someday I'll add one of those nice portable convection ovens .

If I had an oven I could have baked these cupcakes from the beach. Not ! J and I have some rules . For me: no baking at the beach, just beach combing and relaxing. For him : no fly tying (he's a fly fisherman) , maybe just reading about fly tying . So since I couldn't bake these on the beach I baked them at home shortly after the "Interesting" episode with the tomato soup cupcakes. Wow, what a difference a cupcake makes. These are light and airy, almost like a cross between a sponge and chiffon cake-definitely a keeper in the white cupcake category. And the recipe for these is from Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Rose's Heavenly Cakes". You see I've joined another baking group: Heavenly Cake Bakers. Why you ask ? First of all because I happen to love Rose Levy Beranbaum, THE Diva of Desserts as she has been called ! And her most recent book Rose's Heavenly Cakes is hard to resist when you are roaming the bookstore aisles.

Buy me

You start flipping through and you see all those beautiful cakes, and before you know it that book has mysteriously (what ? no honey I didn't buy that it followed me home !) shown up on your kitchen book shelf. Back in the late 80's I fell in love with her Cake Bible and quickly moved onto Rose's Christmas Cookies-it's been my Christmas Cookie book for as long as I can remember.

And the butter cream is lovely-just the perfect sweetness from the use of Lyle's Golden Syrup. I didn't add any of Rose's suggested variations, instead, before icing the cupcakes I poked a few holes in the cupcakes and spread on some homemade caramel. I did make a few without the caramel to get a feel for the taste of the cupcake along with the Golden Butter cream-yum yum yum. The butter cream is another keeper. Some butter creams tend to coat the roof of your mouth long after you took the first bite , this one doesn't-now I can't wait to try the variation with chocolate.

I'm not at all surprised by my results and the taste of these cupcakes. With Rose you trust that if you follow her detailed instructions and tips you will be doing your little baker's elation dance around your kitchen when you remove the cake from the oven. She's like that best friend you can always listen to and who always gives you the best advice. Head over to Heavenly Cake Bakers and see what everyone else thought about these cupcakes .

And next time you are shopping at Amazon or wandering through your favorite bookstore

BUY THE BOOK !

Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Mascarpone Frosting,-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-05-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking-Tomato Soup Cupcakes-what ? Right up there with avocado cheesecake (which by the way if made properly is pretty darn good ) . I know I was thinking the same thing-I like my tomato soup with a side of grilled cheese and a big kosher pickle. Not topped with creamy mascarpone frosting.

But I was surprised-it reminded me of a cross between a mild mannered spice cake and pumpkin cake with a slightly acidic bite to it. Interesting. That's what we say when we don't hate it but we don't love it either. Interesting. The batter made beautiful cakes, nice and light with great crumb. And they rose like , well like round tomatoes. I'm not a huge proponent of the use of food coloring but it might be fun to play around with red food coloring and get these cupcakes closer to the color of tomatoes instead of pumpkins.

The frosting is a little on the sweet side,not the cheek sucking teeth numbing sweet, just slightly sweet. I was looking forward to the mascarpone frosting but the taste got eaten up by the powdered sugar-too bad because mascarpone is one of my favorite tastes, so rich, so creamy.

I think I'll play with the frosting in the future and cut back on the butter and increase the mascarpone and see what happens. A sour cream frosting would probably go well with these. Oh well C'est la vie, at least they look pretty and they taste, well,interesting. Head over to Baked Sunday Mornings for the recipe and see what everyone else thought of these and how they turned out.

BUY THE BOOK AND BAKE ALONG WITH US

Seattle Bakesale for the South at Cakespy Shop

2011-05-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Seattle don't miss the chance to support a great cause. The Seattle Bakesale for the South. And if you want to volunteer as a baker click here. I will be watching for you May 14, 11 am til ? at CakeSpy Shop, 415 E. Pine Street (near Summit), Seattle WA 98122.

I'm thinking of making Pecan Pie Bars, maybe some Red Velvet Cupcakes, what would you bake ? Maybe some delicious berry fried pies ? Or a huge coconut cream cake ? What do you think ?

Kouign Amann - Part 2

2011-04-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

Joe Pastry rocks ! Remember yesterday I tried David Lebovitz's recipe for Kouign Amann ? It came out like the buttery cake I thought it would. But it didn't come out like the Kouign Amann that I remembered from La Reve Bakery. Joe Pastry's recipe did. It was light and airy and crisp and caramelized with those beautiful puff pastry layers as I peeled it apart to eat it .

Isn't it amazing how you can get 2 completely different results for the same pastry ? Just a warning, if you use the recipe from Joe Pastry it makes a ton of dough-which is never a bad thing-just preparing you-it can be frozen or you can do what I did. Bake it all ! Bon Appetit.

Kouign Amann

2011-04-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

I tasted Kouign Amann (queen a-mahn) for the very first time a few weeks ago at a wonderful bakery on Queen Anne called La Reve. I had read rave reviews about the croissants and pain au chocolat but the crisp caramelized looking pastry in the corner of the case caught my eye. I pointed to it,because I wasn't sure how to pronounce it and Sharon, one of the owners sweetly informed me of it's pronunciation: queen a-mahn. All I can say is long live the Queen ! As soon as I got home home I Googled the Internet for a recipe and the first one I ran across was Pierre Herme's. I thought well the King of Pastry baking the Queen-it must be magic. Unfortunately some of the reviews of his recipe said it came out like a stale dry sticky bun-not the way I wanted to start my Kouign Amann experience. So I put Pierre on the back burner and I continued to search. I came across David Lebovitz's recipe.

I trust David, the way you trust a good friend not to steer you wrong. And bonus, he has lots of photos to walk you through the process and wonderful tips to keep you from making any mistakes. Even reading the 100+ comments on his Kouign Amann I knew I was in for challenge. The underlying message throughout the comments was follow the steps exactly and you will succeed. It became my mantra for baking my Kouign Amann.The descriptions by others and their photos linked to David's blog encouraged me -I could taste the crisp sugary caramel pastry already and I was only setting up my mise en place. I encourage you try this-even if you don't think you can do butter pastry-you can and you must. And trust David like you trust your best friend-follow his recipe and instructions and Voila ! The most beautiful,incredible tasting Kouign Amann created and baked in your kitchen.

The bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan

It's butter and sugar and caramel oh my. Really, I don't exaggerate try it you will become addicted-I promise. Mine turned out more like it's namesake -butter cake - than a laminated sugared pastry- I think it's from layering in the butter with the sugar. If you Google images of this cake you will see all types ranging from something that looks like a croissant with sugar to my flattened little circle of sweet caramel cake loaded with butter.

The one at La Reve was more like a croissant (check out the Cakespy photo and you'll see what I mean). So I'm now going to try Joe Pastry's Recipe-he keeps his butter separate from the sugar when laminating his dough. And just like David he gives you wonderful instructions ! Stay tuned for tomorrow's results using Joe Pastry's recipe and instructions.

New York Crumb Cake-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-04-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

This was an easy uncomplicated recipe and it produced one of my favorite types of cakes-the morning coffee cake. It also produced a beautiful batter-one I couldn't quit tasting. I ended up adding a tablespoon of vanilla bean powder to my recipe-just because I love vanilla ! Baked Explorations recommends making "large" crumbs for the crumb style topping. I started out large and ended up crumbling the topping into more manageable pieces . While I love that cinnamon sugar style crumb topping I love the cake even more and that's what I wanted to taste.

I recently broke my glass 9x13 pan so I did bake this in a metal pan. I didn't want my sides to crispy so I lined my pan with parchment paper, which made it really easy to remove once it was finished. I had thought of making this like little individual cakes but then figured I liked the thought of a large coffee cake better. I think this would have worked beautifully in a bundt type pan too.

My kitchen smelled like I remember my grandmother's kitchen smelling when I was growing up. That cinnamon cake smell wafted throughout all the rooms. It was very hard letting this cake cool, I just wanted to slice right into it. And as soon as J got home from work he asked what that wonderful smell was.

We both really enjoyed this. It was a great way to spend the morning. Sitting in this wonderful Seattle sunshine, a good cup of espresso and a fresh slice of cake. Life doesn't get much better, does it ?

Head over to Baked Sunday Mornings and see how everyone else did with this cake. I'm going to have another slice with a cold glass of milk as a late night snack !

Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Creme Cheese Frosting

2011-04-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

Easter is just a few days away and thinking of it reminds me of all the Easter baskets we had as kids,overflowing with chocolate bunnys, pink and yellow marshmallow peeps, foiled wrapped chocolate eggs, jelly beans and chocolate malted balls that looked like robin eggs. It's no wonder I have struggled with weight issues all my life-I blame it on the Easter Bunny ! I think it's because of all the chocolate overload during my childhood Easters that I tend to not care for chocolate as Easter. I know you must be horrifed by that statement because you know how much I love and am addicted to chocolate. But it's only at Easter time that this aversion kicks in.

So I was thinking what could I make J for Easter that was sweet, but not chocolate. I kept thinking of those bunnys and those thoughts led to : carrots. I mean it's what real bunnys like right ?

This has to be the very best carrot cake recipe I have ever tried. Carrot cake is funny-it seems to have 2 camps, love it or hate it. Folks who hate it tend to dislike the shredded carrot thing and raisins-too bad. Although I did make my cupcakes without the raisins (only because I didn't plan ahead and thought I had some in my pantry). This recipe creates a moist, slightly spicy and nutty version and will be THE carrot cake recipe for me. The Maple Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect.

Not that cloyingly sweet topping that people tend to use to mask the fact they are serving veggies in a cake ! This has a hint of maple syrup and just enough powdered sugar to take the edge off the tartness of the cream cheese. Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for sharing this crazy incredible recipe with everyone. And if you haven't visited the Smitten Kitchen blog stop by -it's bloggerwonderful.

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Carrot Trim
Smitten Kitchen Carrot Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrots
1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional-I did add the walnuts-they gave a great crunch to the cake)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour the molds.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.

Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing them.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Chill the frosting for 10 to 20 minutes, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly.

Candied Carrot Ribbon Trim

1 large carrot, peeled
2 cup(s) sugar

For ribbons: Using a vegetable peeler, shave carrot into long ribbons.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup water and the sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves. Add carrot ribbons and simmer until translucent, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let ribbons steep in syrup for 30 minutes more. With a fork, transfer ribbons to a wire rack placed over parchment and let drain.

Before I transferred these to parchment paper I put on my food gloves and pulled each ribbon gently between two fingers to squeeze off the excess simple syrup.

After I let the carrot ribbons set for 30 minutes, I took each carrot ribbon and rolled it tightly like a little cigar and then pressed it gently into the center of the iced cupcakes. Voila !

Bread-No Knead with Fantastic Results

2011-04-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a fan of the bakery book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day so when I spotted Jim Lahey's book My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No Knead Method I figured I had everything I needed in the 5 minute bread book and shouldn't buy Jim Lahey's book because it would just duplicate what I already had. But I was drawn to the beautiful bread on it's cover.

I thumbed through the book and found myself looking for a place to sit down so I could read a little bit of the recipes. But I kept returning to the cover. Could I bake a bread that looked so beautiful and crusty ? Could I bake a bread that would sing in my kitchen ? Could I bake a bread that had such a beautiful interior it could almost bring you to tears ? Could I bake a bread that tasted better than bread I had tasted in Paris ? A resounding YES to all of those questions ! You know I tend to get very enthusiastic about things I love, especially in the Culinary Arts . Don't let that enthusiasm stop you from buying this book or Googling one of Jim Lahey's recipes on the Internet. I have baked bread before and I love baking bread. During my short stint at pastry school it was my favorite part of the day-Bread. Chef Harris instilled a bread passion in me, I loved the flour and the mixing and the fermenting and the aromas that surrounded me. And texture-from the sticky and wet poolish to the smooth elastic dough slapping around on the inside of the mixer. It's laziness that has stopped me from baking more of my own homemade bread. That coupled with that fact that just 6 blocks away I can find some of the most delicious baguettes and bread this side of Paris at Bakery Nouveau. I've chosen to spend most of my baking time concentrating on desserts and all things chocolate. But no more.

With Jim Lahey's book I will be baking bread daily. The recipe really is no work, no knead and produces the gorgeous bread we all love. I could barely wait for it to cool last night. But I did and when I sliced through that crunchy caramelized crust I knew I was in for bread ecstasy. There are no words to describe it-the crunchy crust, the slightly fermented aroma and flavor of the bread, the beautiful texture, the butter melting into the little holes-heaven or pretty close to it. I'm off to mix up some more batter-it really is so simple-ingredients into container-ferment (about 16-18hrs), turn out onto to towel and shape into round form, cover and let rise (about 2hrs), place into a ceramic or cast iron pot ,cover and bake. No kneading, so you don't get the chance to overwork the dough.

All it requires is patience and good scheduling for the fermenting and rising. Take the time, you will be rewarded, trust me. Until you buy the book for the rest of his incredible recipes, you can find the recipe for the No Knead Bread here published by Mark Bittman, The Minimalist, in the New York Times. Bon Appetit.

Sugar and Spice Brioche Buns and the Song of a Bird

2011-04-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of a bird singing just outside the bedroom window. It gave me a sense of calm and brought back a flood of memories. Every time I hear a solo bird singing I think of my dad. Many years ago on the day of his funeral, I woke up in his home in Tampa, and heard such a beautiful song from a bird out on his dock. I don't remember the type of bird it was, I just remember I felt it was singing to me. Singing to me to be joyful that my dad was no longer in any pain, that he had gone on to a place where he would find calm and happiness. I always felt like it was my dad's way of telling me everything would be all right. And to this day I get that same feeling from the early morning song of the bird.

My life is in flux right now and maybe I was looking for a sign. J has been reassuring me that I always rise to the occasion with new challenges and this one would be no different. But you know how you just have to have that one little message or that one little sign that says it really is going to be all right-and I got that Sunday morning-thank you Dad. I can see you tilting your head that way that you did and making that funny tsk sound and smiling, putting your arms around me and making me feel that I could do anything I wanted. It's truly amazing what that little bird did for me this morning. And I'm so grateful to have such a sweet memory of my dad.

I had this brioche dough fermenting in the refrigerator from earlier this week. I had planned on just making plain brioche but after that beautiful morning wake up I knew I wanted something sweet and special. I recently bought Joanne Chang's ""Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook (yes another one to add to my collection -is there a cookbook's anonymous program for us cookbooks addicts ? ) . There are so many delectable recipes -it's a beautiful cookbook and she has these wonderful little stories about her history as pastry chef along with informative baking tips-buy it ,you'll love it if you bake a great deal. I wished I lived in Boston so I could take her classes - maybe some day I'll make the trip .

Anyway in her cookbook is a recipe for Sugar and Spice Brioche Buns. Can I tell you how addictive these are ? First of all the smell of the brioche baking will knock you out. I ran some things out to the compost bin while they were baking and when I opened the door and came back into the kitchen-wow-I thought I had just walked into a bakery in Paris-I wish I could bottle that smell. And the sugar spice mixture-cinnamon,ginger,nutmeg and cloves oh my ! That's a nice little mix that I plan on keeping on hand for beignets and doughnuts. If you don't finish these off the first day fresh from the oven-just pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds to freshen and they return back to that wonderful soft buttery brioche with the sugar and spice topping. Buy Chef Chang's book or visit Dessert First for the recipe. Bon Appetit.

Chocolate Tiramisu-Chocolate with Francois-Triple T Week

2011-04-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

I should have titled this Triple T-Tiramisu, Tears and Taxes. It's been that kind of week-and I've been gone from my blog for too long. Time this week has been spent making the tiramisu, getting my taxes together (yes I always wait until the last minute) and getting ready for my last day at Victoria Clipper.

Well as you can see I finished the Tiramisu and it's delicious. I was a little hesitant since it doesn't contain the addition of any type of alcohol like most tiramisu does. But I found I didn't miss the alcohol, and the espresso enhanced the ganache and chocolate cake even more. I'm always hesitant in starting out with Francois Payard's recipes-a lot of them tend to be multiple steps (as this one is) and a little complicated. I knew I didn't want to make a quart size dish of Tiramisu so I made individual portions in muffin tins-kind of like cupcakes but not exactly.

The mousse in this is to die for-really-it is one of those things that you taste, then taste again and again and decide you better quit tasting or there won't be any left for the recipe itself. It is definitely a mousse recipe I will keep with my "favorite recipes".

Instead of making a 10 x 15" cake I scooped equal portions of the cake batter into greased and floured 12 regular size muffin tins. I had some batter left over so I filled 12 regular size cupcake papers half way with the rest of the batter. I'll tell you why I did that in a bit. I watched the baking time carefully and in my oven it took 10 minutes to get to the "top springs back when touched" doneness.

After cooling I took the individual "muffin" cakes and cut them in half horizontally. I then took a dozen of the giant muffin paper cup liners and filled them with a scoop of mousse . I took the bottom half of the "muffin" cakes and pressed it into the mousse. Next I soaked each piece of cake with espresso using a pastry brush. After that was done I carefully spread the ganache over the cake about 1/4 inch thick (this is where I think I erred-ganache too thick for the size of the cake-still yummy though). Then another scoop of mousse over the ganache, pressed the top cut half of the "muffin" cake into that,again soaked it with espresso,and topped it with ganache.

Remember those half filled cupcake holders of cake batter-they made the perfect topping for what I already had put together. I set one on top of each cake and sprinkled everything with cocoa powder. Yes I know Chef Payard's recipes have more than enough steps in them, why add to it? Because I wanted individual servings that I could take to work ! And they loved them at work. It was my little goodbye gift to my friends.

So the tiramisu was a hit, my taxes are done and I don't owe money. That's always a plus and the final T in my Triple T week was saying good bye to friends that I have made over the last 2 years. It was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated when today came. I knew I would be sad to say good bye but I didn't know it would be such an overwhelming experience. I've been so excited over my new venture that I really thought it wouldn't be difficult to leave. Yes it was great fun doing what I did and I loved it and I thought because I was leaving to do something that has been a passion for me that saying goodbye wouldn't be so hard. I was so wrong, saying goodbye to people who made me laugh, who shared their hearts with me, who made me feel so special was so much more difficult than I thought it would be. I will miss them and I know we will stay in touch and I hope to see their smiling faces when the bakery opens in May. It still doesn't take away the sadness, so tonight I'll sit quietly and reminisce over my friendships and be grateful for what they have brought to my life and hope in some way I too have brought something to theirs.

So if you want to make something special here is the recipe for the Chocolate Tiramisu. All of my fellow bloggers will be posting their results with this recipe over at Chocolate with Francois , so stop by and see their results-Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:
Chocolate Mascarpone Ganache
9 ounces (250 grams) 64% chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (100 grams) mascarpone at room temperature
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (100 grams) heavy cream

Chocolate Cake
1 cup (100 grams) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (32 grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder
6 large egg yolks
1 cup (200 grams) sugar
6 large egg whites

Mascarpone Mousse
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (130grams) sugar
3 large egg whites
2 cups ( 500 grams) mascarpone, at room temperature
1 tablespoon ( 12 grams ) heavy cream

Assembly
3/4 cup (180 grams) strong coffee
3 tablespoons (18grams) Dutch processed cocoa powder

Make the Ganache:
Put the chocolate and mascarpone in a medium bowl and set aside.
Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate and mascarpone. Whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the ganache to a bowl, and refrigerate until it thickens to an icing like consistency, 30-60 minutes. Stir it every 15 minutes to speed up the process. You can make the ganache 1 day ahead, but you will have to warm it slightly in a microwave or over a double boiler before using so that it has a pipe able consistency.
Make the Cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 10x15 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder together over a bowl or a piece of wax paper. Set aside.
Combine the egg yolks and 1/2 cup (100 grams) of the sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the mixture turns a very pale yellow and doubles in volume. (If you own two electric mixer bowls, you can whip the yolks in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment)
Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed. Once the whites start holding soft peaks, gradually sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup ( 100 grams ) sugar over them, and continue beating until they hold peaks.
With a silicone spatula, fold the whipped yolks into the meringue, and then fold in the dry ingredients. Spread the batter in the prepared sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cake springs back when you gently press the palm of your hand on it. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the baking sheet.
Make the mascarpone mousse: Fill a medium pot one-third full with water and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Put the egg yolks and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 grams) sugar in a bowl that will fit snugly on top of the pot but not touch the water. Reduce the heat to low and place the bowl over the pot. Whisk until the mixture is very hot and starts to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and continue whisking until the mixture cools.
Put the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whip on medium-high speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup ( 50 grams ) sugar, until the whites hold stiff peaks.
Put the mascarpone in a large bowl, and whisk in the cream to soften it. With a silicone spatula, fold half of the yolk mixture into the mascarpone, and then fold in the second half. Fold the meringue into the mixture.
Assemble the dessert: You will need a 1 quart or 1 1/2 quart bowl or dish. With a knife, cut 2 rounds out of the cake; one a little smaller than the base of the bowl, the other a little smaller than the widest part of the bowl.
Spoon about 1 cup of the mousse into the bowl, then place the smallest of the cake rounds over the mousse and press it down gently so that it spreads the mousse. Spoon one third of the coffee evenly over the cake.
Spoon a 1/4 inch thick layer of ganache over the cake, then a 1/2 inch thick layer of mousse over the ganache. Press the larger cake round over the mousse, pressing it down slightly to even out all the layers below it.
Spoon the remaining coffee evenly over the cake.
Spoon another 1/4 inch thick layer of ganache over the cake, and then spoon the remaining mousse over it. With a silicone spatula, slightly smooth the top of the mousse to make it even and flat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to serve or for up to 2 days.
Remove the tiramisu from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving, to bring it to room temperature. This will prevent the ganache from being too firm. Sift the cocoa powder directly over the top of the tiramisu.

Croissants ala Tartine

2011-04-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

Have I ever told you how much I love croissants ? How just biting into one with crumbs flying puts me in the middle of Paris outside at a little cafe. I can close my eyes and smell the hot steaming espresso sitting in that little white cup at my table. The tabletop is a beautiful worn wood, it's a light chestnut color, worn lighter in some areas from years of usage. It causes me to wonder how many lovers have shared a croissant and espresso while sitting in this very spot. It's a little chilly to sit outside the cafe today, a slight Spring breeze blows through occasionally dusting me with more croissant crumbs, but I love sitting outside.

Taking in the smells of the city, you can smell the green from Spring in the air, the melting Gruyere cheese from the croque-monsieur at the table next to me. That mild acrid smell of the french cigarette from the oh so charming young Frenchman at the table to my left. I love watching everyone walk by, the grand mama scolding her 2 little grandchildren-just a few quiet words puts them in their place and they walk quietly and politely along side her. She looks so elegant in her grey wool coat with her black beret placed just so on that gorgeous silver white hair.The young couple wrapped in each others arms nipping gentle little kisses at each others faces, the way young horses nip at each other in the Spring-heads back, manes flying in the wind. The blossoms from the trees are falling and scattering everywhere they walk-little flowers dancing around them-happy to be whirling around two lovers. Because Paris after all is for lovers. And croissants . And lovers of croissants.

I am striving for that perfect Parisian croissant, flaky,buttery and crisp-the kind I've had at that outdoor cafe, the kind I've had at Cafe Besalu in Seattle and the kind I've read about in Tartine. I've made the pain au chocolate with the croissant recipe and those turned out pretty close to the perfection I strive for, so I have high expectations for the croissants. They are in the refrigerator this morning after being removed from the freezer, I will roll them and let them rise when I get home tonight.

I rolled my little beauties for the last time after work last night, set them in the cold oven with a pan of hot water to proof. I'm thinking these are going to be giant croissants. I followed the instructions so that the dough was 12" wide and cut the croissants so that they had a 4 inch base-I ended up with 10 croissants ,8 sized according to directions and 2 made up from the scraps. Once I rolled them into the beautiful croissant shape I knew they were going to be the croissants that ate Seattle-oh well, such is life. They at least looked like they would be the most delicious tasting giant croissants! The Tartine recipe calls for immediately lowering the oven to 400F once you place them inside and not opening the oven for at least 10minutes, which I did. But when I did open the oven to do the first pan turn (so they bake evenly) I lowered the oven to 375 and baked them at that temperature for the duration. After another 10 minutes I turned the pan again. It took a total of 30 minutes to complete baking with a total of 3 pan turns but I think they came out beautifully. It was a challenge to watch them sitting on the rack and not tear into them. But I was patient and watched the steam escape as they set up on the counter. That first bite-there I was back at the table in Paris, hmm, these were delicious. They had a slight buttery taste along with that mid yeast taste that comes with good bread. And oh so flaky and caramelized on the outside. I have a few other recipes to try and compare to these but it's going to be hard to find one that will match these. I'll let you know, but in the mean time Bon Appetit.

This is another book you really should have in your kitchen library

Until you buy the book you can find the croissant recipe here . And some really good instructions along with a review of the book here.

Black Beauty Cupcakes and Perfection

2011-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Have you watched this season of Top Chef ? I hope I'm not spoiling it for you by saying how happy I am that Richard Blais won. I think he is so creative and whimsical and such a perfectionist. Some day I will have dinner at one of his restaurants. It was interesting to watch him all season, but especially when it came down to the wire. He constantly questioned himself, or hated his food, or thought he could have done something better. I can commiserate. Are you like that?

You make something absolutely gorgeous and everyone ohs and ahs over it but as you look at it you are picking it apart with your "should have could have would have" ideas. With some things in life I don't think that is a good way to be, but in the food industry when what you are creating is someones meal or dessert I personally think it's a good way to be. Striving for perfection, striving to improve something you've done. Striving to present the absolute best you can create is a good thing. I hope I never loose that desire to strive for excellence. There are times though that no matter how hard we try nothing is going to improve what we produced other than just starting over.

That's what I should have done the other night. I made the Black Beauty Cupcakes from the cookbook Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours. First of all , let me say this an outlandishly excellent cookbook-one that makes you want to eat the pages as you read through. One that makes you want to run home and start baking. If it's not in your library it should be. It's been nominated in 2011 by the James Beard Foundation in the cookbook category. Okay,so returning to the cupcakes. The photo in the cookbook shows them with this lovely indention into which Sarabeth has piped ganache. Nothing in the instructions indicated how she got that indentation so I tweeted her and she graciously tweeted back that to form that little ridge -don't flour the sides-so I didn't. Well my little babies puffed up like hot air balloons in Albuquerque. They were stunningly beautiful when I removed them from the oven but the didn't have the little crater in the center.

Now I should have been happy with their gorgeousness but I was going for a certain look. So I took my 2 1/2 inch ice cream scoop and made my own indentations, by , pressing down on the beautiful pouf that had formed(quelle horreur).. It worked so I was happy , still wondering why it didn't happen naturally though.

I made the ganache and by now it was 715pm. Currently I have a job that requires I rise in the morning at 445am and I was just setting my ganache out to thicken. You know ganache doesn't thicken in 15 minutes so I thought I would hasten the process by popping it in the freezer for a few minutes. Well, I got sidetracked and those few minutes turned into 20 so that by the time I removed the ganache it was like fudge. My choice, let it soften to room temperature or whip it. By this time I was exhausted and wanted to crawl into bed so I opted for the whipping. I should have known-history has taught me not make decisions when I am tired,but I ignored that little baker voice and whipped it anyway. I got my pastry bags and piping tips set up and ready to go . I didn't like the consistency of the whipped ganache-I never have cared for it. But I scooped it into my pastry bag and started to pipe. My piping sucked-and I mean it sucked. I need practice at piping anyway but when tired and working with a product I don't like , well you know , it's all bad vibes going into it. I hate to sound cliche but garbage in garbage out. This is no reflection on Sarabeth's beautiful ganache recipe-it's a huge reflection on my laziness and unwillingness to recognize I should have stopped. When I finish something and my immediate reaction is to lop off the top I should listen to my inner baker voice. I felt like the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland-that voice screaming off with their heads, off with their heads. Did I scrape off the poorly piped whipped ganache,nope, I was too tired. I simply placed some little white pearl sprinkles over it to cover up my transgressions. The good news is everyone at work loved them.

The cupcakes are delicious, moist from the mayonnaise addition and a beautiful dark dark chocolate color-definitely a keeper. The ganache wasn't so bad either-I got more compliments on it than on the cupcakes ! Sometimes we are just way too hard on ourselves-like Richard was-but look what it got him-Top Chef ! And look what it got Sarabeth with her beautiful cookbook. Ahh well, back to the drawing board. These cupcakes with the perfectly piped ganache will definitely be an addition to Taya Parker Pastry, where I will be the pastry chef, but only after much more piping practice ! Don't have Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours yet ? Head over to her blog she has a couple of recipes and wonderful tips and pointers on it. And you can find the recipe for the Black Beauty Cupcakes here-but again buy the book it is absolutely stunning. I'm off to have a tall glass of cold milk with the last cupcake standing ! Bon Appetit.

Charlies Chocolate Pudding Cake-Chocolate with Francois

2011-03-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I almost didn't bake this cake this month. I really would have missed an outlandish recipe and one of the most delicious and amazing chocolate cakes ever. I'm so glad that little baker voice cheered me on to try this recipe. And thank you to Peggy at Pantry Revisited who selected this month's recipe for our Chocolate with Francois baking group. After coming off the complicated and marathon baking session with the Malted Crispie Tart I wanted something simple and Francois Payard's recipes are usually not so simple. But I read the recipe anyway and discovered how quickly I could make it.

The most time consuming part is chilling it in the freezer for at least 45 minutes. The only mistake I made was that I didn't pay attention to my ganache and it wasn't as warm as it should have been when I added the butter to it so I had a few little bubbles of butter when I poured the ganache over the cake. Shame on me-but that's how we learn. Head over to Peggy's blog to get the recipe and make this cake. Strangers will pledge their love to you once they taste it; neighbors will not stop knocking at your door for another slice and co-workers will be asking daily when are you going to make that chocolate pudding cake again ?

Head over to Chocolate with Francois and see what everyone else did. And really, bake this cake it's crazy incredible. It's rich and smooth and creamy and decadent. I used bittersweet chocolate for the cake and the ganache and I'm glad I did-it took that "too sweet" edge off of it and gave it an elegant taste. It's especially good with a little dollop of whipped cream on the side. Bon Appetit.

Malted Crisp Tart-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-03-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those weeks ? No matter how hard you tried to remain positive, lurking around each corner was something waiting to trip you up ? I've been under the weather for a couple of days now and it feels like I have fallen 2 weeks behind instead of 2 days behind. I feel cloudy, like the weather in Seattle. You know that feeling when you aren't 100 percent and feel like you are 10 steps behind everyone else? I'm starting to shake it and so very grateful for that. Hot tea and chicken noodle soup helps. I made this tart last week, or rather I started it. This is not a recipe you can make overnight. After I made the tart shell, which is a brown sugar dough and so good I'm thinking of how to make a cookie out of it, I re-read the directions and then re-read them again .

I thought okay so I've wasted a perfectly good pastry shell because there was no way I was going to caramelize rice crispies, make malted chocolate ganache,crush malted milk balls, make a malted milk pastry cream and combine that with whipped cream to make a diplomat cream. Whew, I was exhausted-maybe putting this marathon tart together weakened my immune system ! But I'm not a quitter and I knew I could do this.

So I made the shell on Wednesday, the pastry cream on Thursday, and then assembled it with the ganache on Friday. You really need to be prepared for all the steps in this recipe but the rewards are well worth it. It has a wonderful caramel crust from the brown sugar, the sweet milk chocolate ganache layered with the crushed malted milk balls and the caramelized rice crispies give it a slight sweet/salty taste. The diplomat cream is something I could eat by the spoonful.

I made my crust a little too thick but it's so tasty I really don't mind the thickness. This is something you eat in small tiny slices, unless you happen to love a sugar overload. Will I make it again ? Only if J asks for it-it's too complicated to be on my bake again list but I encourage you to at least try it once-it's perfect with a hot espresso to offset the sweetness. Bon Appetit.

See how everyone else did over at the Baked Sunday Mornings website. Buy the book Baked Explorations and join us !

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Change

2011-03-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

J and I went out to breakfast last Friday morning. For as long as we have lived in Seattle we haven't ever made the trek to Cafe Besalu and after eating there this morning I can't believe we have missed this place. I have read people's ravings over their croissants and everything else that Chef James Miller bakes. He was nominated in 2008 and 2010 by the James Beard Foundation for Best Pastry Chef. After tasting his pastries this morning he should have won both times. I don't have enough adjectives to describe the lightness, the butteryness, the crunch and the absolutely incredible flavor of his pastries. It's probably a good thing that I don't live in Ballard or else I would be eating croissants and pain au chocolate all day every day from Cafe Besalu.

Hazelnut Twist from Cafe Besalu

I've been working on my croissant and pain au chocolate recipes and techniques for some time now and if I can create a pastry half as good as Chef Miller's I will count myself successful. Are you wondering why I've been working on my techniques ? No ? Yes ? Well remember back on Valentine's Day I posted this horoscope:
Creative projects that you may have been working on for a while could prove especially ego boosting, Cancer. You're doing a great job. A change of employment and increase in income may be in the works. If you don't feel passionate about what you're doing, expect the chance to become involved in an enterprise that you do feel strongly about. New ideas and opportunities could change your life.

It's time for that change of employment and time to feel passionate about what I am doing. I have given my notice at the reservation office and sometime mid-May I will be the pastry chef for Taya Parker Pastries in Issaquah , WA. It's a brand new bakery with a target opening date of May 16th. Do you know how excited I am ? You can't even imagine-I'm still pinching myself. I wake up in the middle of the night with recipes running through my head along with a zillion other things. Jennifer the owner who has hired me is going to be a wonderful boss. The most positive person I have ever met with nothing but success on her mind and a fabulous can do attitude. I'm honored that she has the faith in me to make her business a success. So stay tuned for our menu and opening date.

Needless to say besides croissants and pain Au chocolate I have been testing and working on recipes for all kinds of goodies. I've been experimenting with my chocolate chip cookie recipe and stumbled across an old post on Smitten Kitchen regarding favorite chocolate chip cookies. I cannot believe I have not tried this recipe. They are crisp on the outside, all caramel flavored around the edges and all soft and chewy in the center-the best way for a chocolate chip cookie to be. I had to send the platter in to J's office or else I would have sat there and finished off every single cookie.

Both of us kept sneaking into the kitchen and taking another cookie off the platter,telling each other that it was the last one but we couldn't stop. They are addictive and I will never use another recipe for chocolate chip cookies. David Lebovitz you are my hero-thank you for The Great Book of Chocolate and thank you for this delectable cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
from The Great Book of Chocolate
by David Lebovitz

Makes 20 cookies, or more if you use a small cookie scoop. I doubled the recipe and got about 3 -4 doz medium size cookies.

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt or 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt (Deb option)
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped

***Refrigerate the completed dough for 24-48hrs before baking. It allows the flavors to develop and results in an even more delicious cookie. I lined a cake pan with parchment paper, scooped and leveled out the dough into the pan and covered everything tightly with plastic wrap. It was easy to dip and scoop from the pan when I was ready to bake the cookies.

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.
Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days-trust me they won't last 3 days.

Strawberry & Cream Muffins

2011-03-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

Spring is this Sunday, March 20th and I am anxious to say good bye to Winter. It's been cold, grey and wet in Seattle-yes I know, what else is new when you live in Seattle ? I think just being able to say it's Spring takes some of the chill out of the air. A chilly Spring day evokes thoughts of bright yellow daffodils and purple crocus in bloom with deep blue skies and huge puffy clouds. A chilly Winter day evokes thoughts of dark skies and winds blowing and the ground brown and frozen . So this Saturday, it's Winter and this Sunday, it's Spring. It's truly amazing the difference a day can make in our minds isn't it ?

I love Spring in Seattle-there are flowers everywhere. There's the the pale pink blossoms on the Japanese Plum trees, the bright pink tulips, and the yellow and cream daffodils. And don't forget the cherry pinks and lavender of the rhododendrons. Walking around Seattle in the Springtime is like getting surprise presents. Every corner you turn has something else in bloom that surprises you and takes your breath away.

I've been in a Spring state of mind and watching for the first rhubarb of the season and got distracted by the wonderful odor of strawberries at my local market. Don't you just love that smell ? I close my eyes and can taste that juicy sweet berry, then I start thinking of whipped cream and shortcake and before I know it I'm buying 2 pounds of gorgeous strawberries. I love to eat them plain in all their beautiful sweetness. But these begged for something. Then I remembered seeing some delicious strawberry muffins months ago on someone's blog. When I Googled I found it-Jane's Sweets And Baking Journal. She does such a beautiful blog and her photos are stunning. I used her recipe with just a few minor tweaks. These combine the best of all worlds- a moist morning muffin with the hint of a cheesecake center . One bite and you think you are eating strawberry shortcake. I think these would be wonderful with any fruit but they are especially luscious with fresh juicy strawberries.

What a perfect way to welcome Spring.

Strawberries & Cream Muffins
Adapted from Janes Sweets and Baking Journal ( make sure you visit her blog)
Makes about 12 to 14 regular size muffins, or about 6 jumbo muffins.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Muffin
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract
2 large eggs
2 cups All purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh ripe strawberries chopped into very small pieces

Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz. cream cheese, very soft (don't use the fat free or light version)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. of egg liquid (so beat one egg lightly and measaure off the 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Put paper liners in the cups of your muffin pan, or use nonstick baking spray
Cut up your berries into small pieces and set them aside.

In a small bowl, use a spoon to mix together the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. beaten egg, and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract. Mix until almost all the lumps are gone. Set this aside (don't refrigerate it-you want the consistency of cheesecake batter).

Melt the butter slowly in a sauce pan on low heat. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and the milk into the butter, stirring to combine. Cool until the mixture is just warm, then whisk in the eggs.

In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and mix it altogether with a whisk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour all of the butter and milk mixture into the dry ingredients, blending gently just until combined. Don't overmix.

Using a portion scoop, fill each muffin cup 1/3 full.

Scatter 4-6 pieces, of strawberry on top of each one, gently and barely pressing the strawberries into the batter.

Using a teaspoon, dab a generous teaspoonful or so of the cream cheese mixture on top of the berries.

On top of that, add on another tablespoon or two so of the muffin batter until the cream cheese portion is covered.

On top of that, add a few more pieces of strawberry. Push them in just slightly-you want them visible after baking.

Sprinkle the tops of the unbaked muffins very generously with coarse sugar.

Bake the muffins for about 15 to 18 minutes, until they're light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. The middle of the cupcake should be kind of firm when lightly pressed with a finger. Check on the muffins early, and if they're browning too fast, lightly cover the pan with a sheet of foil.

Let the muffins cool in the pan, on a rack, for a couple of minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan to cool on the rack.

(The original recipe was created by Jane of Jane's Sweets)

These are still delicious the next day-pop them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to refresh them and mmm yummy and warm.

Salt-N-Pepper Cookies for Comfort - Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-03-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

It seems silly to bake cookies after the tragedy in Japan. Saying life goes on just doesn't seem appropriate. How much can a person bear ? An earthquake, a tsunami, radiation leaks, flooding, mud slides and fires. I think of the people who lost family and friends and my heart is heavy for them and I keep them my prayers.
When I kissed J goodbye this morning I said to him, don't come looking for me if we have an earthquake-get home and we will find each other there. That thought stayed with me all day. You are supposed to have a plan-that's what everyone tells us, but I don't think that anyone really imagines that they will have to implement the plan. As I touched J's face I burned the image of him into my heart , knowing that he would come looking for me no matter what I said, no matter the plan.

I am grateful for my life, for J, for my family and friends, and for the simplicity of life. For being able to bake cookies. It's comforting to watch the rain tonight-it's familiar rhythm reminds me that everything is in it's place in Seattle . And yet that comfort has a heaviness and a sadness for those who have lost so much and endured so much. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan and their friends and families.

Baked Sunday Mornings

Sugar Crusted Popovers and Spontaneity

2011-03-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

I'm back in that longing for Paris mode and it doesn't help that Trip Advisor keeps sending me updates on a $607 round trip fare to Paris leaving tomorrow. So if I disappear tomorrow check the airport and flights to Paris. Have you ever done anything spur of the moment like that. Just hop a plane and take off. I think we all have that desire harbored somewhere in our souls. I envy the people who act on it. And while I'm typing this I'm thinking why am I not one of those people ? Oh yes there is J, who I love dearly and would never leave behind-but he also harbors that travel wanderlust. What has made us so responsible that we sometimes lose site of spontaneity ?

Oh, a paycheck-that would be it-that magic paper that pays the mortgage and feeds us. Our employers don't get the spontaneity thing and if you work for one who does send me a job application please ! Resolve-since I can't hop a plane at the drop of a hat I will do something spontaneous at least once a month -does it still make it spontaneous if I plan to do it once a month? Oh I'm so confused. I guess you really can't plan spontaneity but you can instill in yourself that willingness to let go of "the rules of life" every once in a while and that is my goal. I'll let you know how I do.

In the mean time, being in that Paris state of mind I headed over to one of my favorite web sites David Leibovitz. I can always count on him to feed my Paris Jones. I found the photos and recipe for his popovers and I'm still swooning. So without further ado I give you:

Sugar-Crusted Popovers

Makes 9
Adapted from David Leibovitz's recipe in The New York Times and
Maida Heatter’s Great Book of Desserts

For the puffs:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup (140 g) flour

For the sugar coating:
2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (60 g) melted butter

Softened butter, for greasing the pan

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Liberally grease a nonstick popover pan, or a muffin pan with 1/2-cup indentations, with softened butter.

2. For the puffs, put the 2 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, milk, salt and sugar in a blender and blend for a few seconds.

3. Add the flour and whiz for about 10 seconds, just until smooth.

4. Divide the batter among the 9 greased molds, filling each 1/2 to 2/3rds full.

5. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the puffs are deep brown.

6. Remove from the oven, wait a few minutes until cool enough to handle, then remove the popovers from the pans and set them on a cooling rack. If they’re stubborn, you may need a small knife or spatula to help pry them out.

7. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Thoroughly brush each popover all over with the 1/4 cup (60 g) of melted butter, then dredge each puff generously in the sugar and cinnamon mixture to coat them completely. Let cool on the wire rack.

Best eaten the day they are made but can be stored for a day in an airtight tin.

PS. Don't say I didn't warn you - these are totally and completely addictive and so very easy to make !

Red Wine Cupcakes with Port Buttercream -Fun at the WA Coast

2011-03-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the Chocolate on the Beach Festival at Pacific Beach, WA. My sister, girlfriend and I decided to take a girl's getaway and this was the perfect venue. Good friends, chocolate,wine and the beach-doesn't get much better. The weather cooperated on the drive from Seattle, blue skies, dry roads, and snow covered scenery to enjoy.

Once we arrived at Seabrook ( a great little seaside community), our house wasn't ready so we enjoyed a few hours walking on the beach and drinking some local brew at the Mill 109 Pub in Seabrook.

It was a great week-end of fun and letting our hair down. One of those what happens in Moclips stays in Moclips kind of week ends ! A highlight of the festival was the Wine and Chocolate Pairing on Saturday at the 4th Annual, Chocolate & Wine Festival at the Ocean Crest Resort. They paired wine with a variety of chocolate foods. We tried the pulled pork in a chocolate bbq sauce-yummy; the sugared bacon chocolate truffles-killer; but out hands down favorite was the Red Wine Cupcake with Wine Buttercream created by the resort chef, Andy Bickar. I thought I had died and gone to heaven-it was so light and so many flavors, the chocolate the port, the buttercream -we talked about it all night.

All I could do the rest of the weekend was think about that cupcake and how to recreate it. This is the recipe I came up with-it's still missing something with a little sour/tart taste in the butter cream-I thought the cream fraiche would do it,maybe next time I'll try a little mascarpone instead. It came out delicious and pretty close to what we tasted. Let me know what you think.

Port Wine Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

1/2 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
5 ounces good quality dark chocolate chips
1/2 Cup boiling water
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 Cups sugar
4 large eggs-room temperature
1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 C red wine ( I used a good quality Port)

In a heatproof bowl combine cocoa powder and chopped chocolate and pour in the boiling water. Use a whisk and stir the chocolate until it’s all melted. You may need to pop it into the microwave for little 20 second bursts if it starts to freeze up-just be careful not to overheat it. Set this aside while you cream the butter and sugar.

In your mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then beat in each egg one at a time until combined with the creamed butter mixture.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture making sure it’s all combined- I kept my mixer on medium.

Using medium speed on your mixer add 1/3 of the chocolate to the batter mixture, then 1/3 of the the wine, alternating until all of it is blended

Using an ice cream/cookie scoop fill your cupcake papers almost all the way to the top.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes and let cool completely before icing. This buttercream is very delicate and if there is any heat in that cupcake it will melt immediately.

Port Wine Buttercream

6 egg yolks (1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons port
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons creme fraiche

1 cup Port (separate from the 3 tablespoons)

Place the yolks, 3 tablespoons wine and sugar in a heatproof bowl ( I used my Kitchenaid mixer bowl). Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, and using your mixer’s whip attachment, beat the yolks until they are foamy and quite hot-they will feel hot when you dip your finger in them. If you used your mixer bowl then move the bowl onto the mixer (or away from the heat), and beat until they have come to room temperature and formed a dense foam.(If you used a different bowl then gently pour/scrape the eggs into your mixer bowl). Beat in the butter a small (grape-sized ) piece at a time. Add the 2 tablespoons creme fraiche until incorporated. Once you have added all of the butter and creme fraiche, carefully and slowly stream in the cup of Port wine (or whatever you are using),being careful not to over beat your buttercream. (If your buttercream emulsion breaks and looks curdled take a small amount 20-25% of it and warm it over a pot of simmering water, when it melts add it back to the original buttercream and whip it back to a good consistency) When it reaches piping consistency you are ready to pipe. After piping these can sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours-if you refrigerate them , let them come back to room temperature before serving-the frosting hardens in the refrigerator but comes back to it's lovely light as air self if it has time to warm up.

PS. We loved the cupcake so much from the festival that we researched the Chef and when we saw his menu at the Ocean Crest Resort we immediately made reservations for dinner. If you live in Seattle, or Portland and anywhere within driving distance of this resort-make the trip-this is the best meal any of us ever experienced. We were stunned that in this little out of the way town along the Washington Coast we found food that rivals fine dining in any large city. We asked to be put on the mailing list because we wanted to know when Chef Andy Bickar gets stolen away-it's just a matter of time-we want to know where he goes next. We shared Fried Razor Clams in a traditional panko crust with smoked lemon aïoli. Then a bowl of Grandma's Clam Chowder which we discovered when we saw this quote on the resort's website:

“The Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips has a great restaurant. Whenever I go there, I have to have the spinach salad and Grandma’s Famous Clam Chowder.” – Olympic Gold Medalist Apolo Ohno, Chicago Tribune 02/07/10

My sister had the spinach salad with baby spinach, wild mushrooms, red onion, strawberries, Gorgonzola, and a warm brandied pancetta vinaigrette. She also had the Sea scallops with a spinach gorgonzola cream, and chives. Julie had the Dungeness Cappelletti which was a house-made pasta, dungeness crab , three cheeses, herbs, pine nuts, sage brown butter, tomato, and basil pesto. I went for the gusto and had the Roosevelt Elk Tenderloin with caramelized onion-wild mushroom compote, truffled potatoes, and a red wine reduction. We finished this incredible meal with by sharing a huckleberry creme brulee. A perfect ending to a wonderful day. I cannot say enough wonderful things about what Chef Bickar does with the menu and food at this restaurant-I'll say it again , get yourself over to the coast and stop here, you won't regret it. I won't even begin to describe the wine list-check out their website.

The Weldin House where we stayed in Seabrook

The sunset from our balcony

Devils Food Cake with Angel Frosting - Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-02-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

What better place to bake a devil's food cake then at a Chocolate and Wine Festival ? My sister, girlfriend and I are at Pacific Shores in Washington enjoying a girls only weekend. We are staying at a sweet little house in Seabrook called the Weldin House and can barely tear ourselves away from the fireplace and hot tub to go wine and chocolate tasting. I know it is a tough life but someone has to do it ! Seriously , the is the 4th year of the Chocolate on the Beach Festival and our first but not last year attending. This morning I baked the cake and while it sat out cooling we took off for Wine Tasting with Chocolate Pairings. I had the most incredible chocolate wine cupcake with a salty sweet frosting. If I hadn't of forgotten my USB connection you would be looking at a photo. I promise to update when I get back to Seattle.

Tomorrow we are going to visit all the Chocolate Vendors for tastings and see what the amateurs and professionals entered in the chocolate contest. We will tear ourselves away from that long enough to check out the bake sale ! It's fun to get away and it's even more fun to have a fabulous kitchen to bake in.
I am always amazed by The Baked recipes-each one is a delightful surprise and always incredibly delicious-this one is no exception. The cake is light and airy and the icing, not too sweet but heavenly. Head over to the Baked Sunday Mornings blog and see what everyone else did. Sorry about the quality of the photos-downloaded from my cell phone-I'll update with some better ones when I get home. Bon Appetit.

Yuzu Macaron with Candied Grapefruit & Wasabi-MacTweets Challenge

2011-02-24T19:53:00.000-08:00

This months Mac Attack challenge:
February’s Mac Attack is dedicated to Valentine’s Day. There is just no choice, no escaping it! So, with Chet Baker crooning My Funny Valentine, take your romantic heart and scurry into your kitchen and bake a batch of French macarons for that special someone, the lover, the spouse, the best friend, the children, the one whom you want to offer up something special, the one whom you want to make smile. Create something new, something exciting, something wildly romantic! Nothing says I Love You like a sweet little something, the size of a kiss, the flavor of your wildest desire, the macaron.

What could I bake for that someone special, which in my case is J. He loves chocolate, actually he loves everything I bake,he's wonderful that way. But what does he really like ? Well I know he loves all things spicy and all things citrus. And I love a challenge, so what better way to create something that he might love then to try Pierre Herme's Macaron Delicieux recipe. It just sounded sexy, hot spicy wasabi, sweet white chocolate,crunchy macaron, nutty pistachio, sweet juicy candied grapefruit, citrus yuzu-imagine the flavor explosion in your mouth.

I found the recipe in Pierre Herme's Macaron book. If you remember I bought that book to help with my learning French and it's been a challenge to work my way through translating recipes. When I finished with the translation on this one I knew something was off - I was stuck with what to do with the 2 sets of egg whites. So I searched the Internet and surprise, someone had published the recipe on their blog , lucky me. Even luckier it was the blog "Zencancook". It's a beautifully photographed blog with excellent writing . Check it out, you will probably add it to your favorites.

Once I discovered what to do with the 2 set of egg whites I was ready to go.
When making macarons I'm a strong believer that you have to grab hold of a positive attitude like it's your life preserver to the world. Any little negative thoughts will effect the outcome of your macarons. When I made the meringue in this recipe and added it to the the almond meal, powdered sugar and egg white paste this little macaron voice in my head kept whispering-it's too fluid, it's not thick enough to grow feet, no feet, no feet, no feet. I kept shooing that evil little voice away but it kept sneaking back every chance it got.

After following directions and baking 4 pans of my little babies I ended up with about half that were acceptable. The first batch I made a critical error in forgetting to put a second pan under my baking pan so they blew up like little macaron balloons ! I am happy with my results -I got feet -in spite of that little voice that had been believing I wouldn't. This is a challenging recipe but oh so very good. If you do nothing else make the white chocolate and wasabi filling. I couldn't stop sampling and it's even better the next day when all the flavors develop. I'm not giving up on Pierre Herme Macaron recipes-I'm going to keep on practicing until I produce a macaron that looks and is as perfect as his.

Yuzu Macaron with Candied Grapefruit & Wasabi (Macaron Delicieux by Pierre Herme) published by Zencancook
Recipe translated/adapted from Pierre Herme’s “Macaron”

Makes about 72 macarons

For the candied grapefruit:

2 grapefruits
1 liter water
500 g granulated sugar
1 star anise
10 peppercorns
1 vanilla bean
4 tbs lemon juice

For the meringue:

300 grams almond flour, sifted
300 grams powdered sugar
110 grams egg whites, aged 7 days (or left outside covered overnight)
300 grams powdered sugar
75 grams bottled spring water
110 grams egg whites, aged 7 days (or left outside covered overnight)

For the yuzu ganache with wasabi:

40 grams yuzu juice (or lime juice)
300 grams creme fraiche
375 grams Valhrona white chocolate
20 grams grated fresh wasabi (or use tube)

For the finish:

150 grams pistachios, non salted

For the candied grapefruit:

The day before, wash the grapefruits. Cut and discard the extremities and slice (top to bottom) thick chunks of the skin with one centimeter of the pulp still attached. Place them in a pot of boiling water and boil for 2 minutes. Drain. Run the grapefruit chunks under cold water. And repeat the same operation 2 more times.

Crush the peppercorns with the back of a saute pan and place in a small pot with the water, sugar, lemon juice, star anise and the vanilla bean split in half. Bring to a simmer. Add the grapefruit chunks. Cover the pot 3/4 and keep it at a very low simmer for 1 1/2 hour.

Transfer the candied grapefruit + syrup to a container. Let it cool, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, drain the grapefruit from the syrup and cut into little cubes.

Dry the pistachios in a very low oven. Turn them into a powder in a food processor. Sift and reserve.

For the macarons:

Sift the almond flour and the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Add the first batch of egg whites (110 gr) without mixing them.

In a small saucepan, combine the water and 2nd batch of powdered sugar and bring to a boil until it reaches 118′C. Meanwhile, place the second batch of egg whites in the bowl of a mixer equipped with the whisk attachment. When the sugar is at 115′C start beating the whites on medium speed.

Pour the sugar at 118′C over the egg whites. Beat until the temperature of the mixture drops to 50′C and you have a compact and shiny meringue. Fold the meringue into the almond-sugar-egg white mixture until it’s homogeneous. Place in a large pastry bag with a plain #11 tip.

Place parchment paper on 4 baking trays and use a pencil to draw 1 1/2 inches circles to cover the surface with 1/2 inch in between. You should have about 36 circles on each parchment papers. Turn over the paper so the pencil markings won’t transfer to the meringues.

Pipe rounds of the meringue dough onto the prepared parchment paper. Sprinkle the pistachio powder over the meringues and let them out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. This is a very important step where the piped meringue rounds develop a thin ‘crust’ over their surface.

Preheat the oven to 350′F. Bake the meringues for exactly 12 minutes. Open the oven door quickly-twice during cooking. When the cookies are cooked slide the parchment paper onto a work surface and leave them to cool.

For the yuzu ganache with wasabi:

Place the chopped white chocolate in a bowl of a bain-marie (double boiler) and melt. Heat the yuzu juice to 40′C. Bring the creme fraiche to a near simmer. Pour the creme fraiche over the white chocolate in two additions. Add the yuzu juice. Add the grated wasabi. Mix until smooth and scrap the mixture into a pyrex or glass dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let it cool in the refrigerator.

Assemble the macarons:

Place the yuzu ganache in a pastry bag equipped with a plain tip. Garnish half the meringues with the yuzu ganache, place 3 or 4 cubes of the candied grapefruit in the middle and cover with the other half of the macaron to make a sandwich. Refrigerate in an airtight box for 24 hours. Enjoy them cold or at room temperature. They really are incredibly delicious. Bon Appetit !

Head over to Mac Tweets to see what everyone else did this month.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Marshmallows

2011-02-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have made it this far in my adult life and have never made marshmallows. Several posts back I received a monthly goodie bag from Tell Tale Preserves and it had the most incredible pumpkin marshmallows in it. The taste was fresh pumpkin, the texture was like a puffy cloud that melted in your mouth. And if that wasn't enough they were coated in dark chocolate and rolled in cocoa powder. My crusade this year is to re create something as perfect as those. Of course if anyone out there knows Chef William Warner and can twist his arm into sharing the recipe I would be forever in your debt. Do you have a never fail, OMG these are incredible , marshmallow recipe?

I found this one on Egullet, a great on line resource for all foodies. It is a website which is a service of the Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to advancement of the culinary arts .

Strawberry Marshmallows
Ingredients
4 envelopes gelatin
1/2 c strawberry puree (frozen is actually better than fresh unless you have access to very flavorful local strawberries)
1-1/4 c water
3 c sugar
1-1/4 c light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp orange flower water (optional)
powdered sugar and potato starch for dusting

Line a sheet pan with a 1" rim with aluminum foil. coat the foil with vegetable oil or non-stick spray. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment.

Mix the strawberry puree, orange flower water (if using) and 1/2 cup of the water in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin over to soften.

Put the sugar, corn syrup, remaining 3/4 cup water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until it reaches the soft-ball stage (234-240 F).
With the mixer at full speed, pour all of the hot syrup slowly down the side of the bowl. Be careful as the mixture is very liquid and hot at this point and some may splash out of the bowl - use a splash guard if you have one. whip until the mixture is very fluffy and stiff, about 8-10 minutes. pour mixture into the foil-lined pan and smooth with an oiled offset spatula so that it's level with the top of the rim. Allow the mixture to sit, uncovered at room temp for 10 to 12 hours.

Mix equal parts powdered sugar and potato starch and sift generously over the rested marshmallow slab. Turn it out onto a cutting board or counter, peel off foil and dust with more sugar/starch mixture. Slice with a thin-bladed oiled knife or oiled cookie cutters. Dip all cut edges in sugar/starch mixture and shake off excess. Marshmallows will keep several weeks at room temperature in an air-tight container.

Chocolate Coating
1 lb of good quality chocolate-I used E. Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate-melted in a double boiler

Good quality cocoa powder for dusting.

Assembly
Take a baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle it liberally with cocoa powder. Dip each marshmallow in the melted chocolate and set on the cocoa dusted parchment paper (it will keep the chocolate from sticking to the parchment). When you see the chocolate has formed a nice hard shell around the marshmallow take each one and roll it in a bowl filled with sifted cocoa powder. Voila , sit back and enjoy.

I have not tried the chocolate or vanilla marshmallow variations yet, but after making these this is going to be my go to recipe for marshmallows. Not to brag, but these were just as good as the ones I was trying to recreate. Not too sweet, the strawberry flavor was fresh and sweet and the bittersweet chocolate was a great compliment to it. I ended up with approximately 6 dozen 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch marshmallows, not counting the ones J and I had to sample. If you are looking for a fabulous marshmallow recipe try this one you won't be disappointed.

Variation - Chocolate Marshmallows:

Replace strawberry puree and initial 1/2 cup of water in mixing bowl with 1/2 cup of cocoa dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water in a separate bowl. Soften gelatin in an additional 1/4 cup cold water in mixing bowl. Add cocoa mixture to mixing bowl and proceed with recipe as above. This will produce a marshmallow with a strong chocolate flavor, but somewhat denser than the strawberry version. To get a lighter texture as well as a lighter chocolate flavor, reduce cocoa to 1/4 cup.

Variation - Vanilla Marshmallows:

Replace strawberry puree and initial 1/2 cup of water in mixing bowl with 3/4 cup water and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or the seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans.

Cinnamon buns ala Christina Tosi

2011-02-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

It's no wonder that Christina Tosi worked at WD-50 in New York, because in my book she is the Wylie Dufresne of the pastry world. But without the smoke ! Every time I see one of her creations I am amazed. She is the pastry chef at Momofuku Milk Bar and is known for her Crack Pie and Compost Cookies(both on my recipe to do list). But she also does a mean cinnamon bun. She does some type of cinnamon bun pie creation-I have only seen pictures and can't seem to find the recipe browsing the Internet. But what I did find was her recipe for her cinnamon buns.

They are made with 6 cups , yes 6 cups bread flour, and it is probably one of the easiest cinnamon bun recipes I have come across. I'm always looking for that "best recipe ever" and this comes pretty close. The amount of brown sugar and butter creates an incredible caramel filling . It's like eating a cinnamon bun with a side of caramels. And like most cinnamon buns these are heaven when re-heated. The caramel that leaks out during baking, hardens just like a candy caramel and when re-heated it gets all gooey delicious again. Try this recipe and tell me how fabulous it is. If you make this for brunch for your house guests you will never get them to leave - seriously addictive breakfast food.

Tosi's Famous Cinnamon Bun Recipe
Yields fourteen pieces

Ingredients

For the dough
2½ tsp. dry active yeast
¾ c. warm water
1½ c. warm milk
6 c. bread flour
2 tbsp. salt
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. butter, at room temperature

For the filling
1 c. butter, at room temperature
1½ c. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. salt

For the cream cheese frosting
½ c. butter
1½ c. cream cheese
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. salt

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water and milk
2. Knead in dry ingredients. Add butter. Let rise for 45 minutes.

3. After the 45-minute rise, roll out dough into a long rectangle and spread butter over its surface. Sprinkle it with a generous amount of light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

4. Roll up the rectangle into a long cylinder. Cut into fourteen, 2-inch pieces. Place in a greased 9-by-13-inch pan or two 10-inch pie pans and cover with plastic. Let rise another 45 minutes before baking 12-22 minutes at 375°.

5. To prepare the frosting, mix butter, cream cheese, extract, sugar, and salt thoroughly.

6. While the buns are still warm, spread the frosting generously over them and serve immediately.

You can make these the night before. At step 4, after cutting into fourteen pieces and placing in the pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. They will rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight. Pop them in the oven in the morning and enjoy the cinnamon smell in your kitchen and hot cinnamon buns fresh from the oven. The frosting keeps beautifully overnight in the refrigerator too-just place it out on the counter to come to room temperature while the buns bake. Enjoy !

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes and Change

2011-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

I'm not one who lives and dies by daily horoscopes but every once in a while I check mine-you know to see if it says you are going to win the lottery then I know I should buy a ticket ! Seriously, it's fun to check in every once in a while and what a nice surprise I found in it today. This was my horoscope for Valentine's Day:

Creative projects that you may have been working on for a while could prove especially ego boosting, Cancer. You're doing a great job. A change of employment and increase in income may be in the works. If you don't feel passionate about what you're doing, expect the chance to become involved in an enterprise that you do feel strongly about. New ideas and opportunities could change your life.

The "feel passionate about what you're doing" jumped out at me. For the past few months I have been on a path in that direction and hopefully,fingers and toes crossed, it will come to fruition.

I don't mean to leave you hanging but that's all for now about change and pursuing one's passion . I know that I am on the right path and really I didn't need a horoscope to validate that -it was just a nice surprise that the planets are aligned with my way of thinking !

What do Chocolate Chip Cupcakes have to do with change ? Nothing other than they start with the letter C . I just love chocolate chips in anything and was very excited that this was the cupcake selection for Martha Stewart Cupcake Club. The Baking Sisters are hosting the event this month. I joined this group to experiment more with cupcakes since I don't do much of them on my own and this group drives me to commit to at least 1 cupcake baking session a month. I'm trying to expand my baking repertoire to experiment more out of the boundaries of cook books but to do that I have to train myself in the basics. Joining a baking or cooking group is good practice and a great way to exchange ideas with other bloggers. You learn what works ,what doesn't work and new little creative tricks and tips.

This is a light and airy cupcake with a delicious chocolate frosting-one of those you bite into and immediately go into that mmmmm zone. I thought a little sprinkling of Fleur de sel would be a nice finishing touch and it was. These are also very deceptive, they are so light you think they must be harmless but beware - more than one of these and you better oil up the treadmill. You can find the recipe at Martha Stewart along with the dark chocolate frosting.

Click here and see everyone else's results

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-02-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

What a whirlwind week I have had. I missed my blog and all of you. It's been a slightly crazy week. I spent some time in Bellingham with family ,worked a little, and then flew off to Los Angeles. Why Los Angeles ? Because that is where Todd & Diane from White on Rice Couple live and work and that is where they hosted their Food Photo Shoot Out. I flew down very early in the morning, participated in the session and flew back that same night. Don't think I'm some jet setter who hops planes on a whim.

This was an incredible opportunity- I told you about it a few posts ago. I met so many fabulous bloggers and wow did I learn a lot . Diane and Todd were both so generous with sharing their studio, their experience, their knowledge and their secrets-it was awesome. I'll be doing a little follow up blog so stay tuned.

Today is my back to baking day and all about whoopie pies. I didn't have these very frequently when I was a child . But I remember when I did have them it was usually a special occasion. I mean seriously you had this cake that was all yours-you didn't have to share with anyone. Whoopie pies are your own personal little celebration cakes. It doesn't mean that you can't share-it just feels deliciously naughty to take your own little cake , head to your secret hiding place and enjoy bite after sweet bite.

And these Red Velvet Whoopie pies are meant to be savored and enjoyed. I'm a fan of the red velvet cake so I was excited that this was one of the recipes for my Baked Sunday Mornings group. The cake is moist and has a beautiful light crumb and the icing-oh my goodness. It is one of the best cream cheese frostings I have ever made. These are sweet little cakes to make for your love on Valentine's Day-don't you think ? And PS if your mind works like mine you can think of other things to do with that incredible frosting for a really special surprise for your sweetie. See, even as a grown up Whoopie pies bring out the naughty in me.

I wish all of you much love for Valentine's Day and every day.

Head over here and see how everyone else did with these whoopie pies. Or buy the book and join our group !

Lemon Meringue Tart - A Cause for Celebration

2011-02-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

After work on Saturday J and I, along with my sister and brother in law made the trek from Seattle to Bellingham to visit our favorite Belling-hamster, my brother. It wasn't just any visit, it was a trek to celebrate the 55 milestone. I couldn't have wished for a more perfect day to celebrate my brother's birthday. It was so touching to see how many of his friends showed up to honor him and celebrate his life. This was really a step out of his comfort zone. My brother never likes to draw attention to himself, he's always doing things behind the scenes,making things happen , smoothing ruffled feathers, giving praise and positive feedback but never taking the spotlight himself. So when he called and said he was throwing himself a party I knew it was a momentous occasion and one I would not miss. You have to know my family to appreciate what he did. Every time there is a family celebration my sister and I load the table with enough food to feed a small country. And my brother is always moaning that we cook too much and we need to down size. Well my sister and I don't know what downsize means-it's not part of our vocabulary when it comes to celebrations. So when I walked into my brother's house and saw the spread he had laid out all I could say was "Welcome to our world bro '! He did his sisters proud-actually quite amazing with all the wonderful appetizers, cheese and crackers,smoked salmon, cake, wine, beer-his table overflowed. But truly the best part was to wander among the guests and hear the stories about my brother that I have missed out on by living 100 miles away. I'm very proud of him, always have been and always will be. He's a kind, generous soul with integrity and a heart bigger than the world. And I love him dearly. Happy Birthday Bro !

I took this instead of a birthday cake -it was the first time I used this particular recipe and after I discovered the dough produced 3 tarts I had to triple up the lemon cream and meringue recipe. So if only want 1 tart just cut the recipe in thirds.

Lemon Meringue Tart
A combination of recipes from Fanny at Foodbeam ,
Pierre Herme and my pastry class notes
makes 3 - 9" tarts

Pate Sucre Crust

300g (10 1/2 ounces ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
190g ( 6 34 ounces ) icing sugar(powdered sugar)
60g ( 2 1/4 ounces )ground almonds
seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Start by creaming the butter until soft and smooth

Then, mix in the icing sugar, ground almonds and vanilla seeds.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time until fully incorporated

Remove from the mixer. Mix in the flour and salt until just incorporated. Do not overwork! The dough should be crumbly, lumpy

Form three balls , gently press them down and wrap them tightly in cling film. Refrigerate overnight.

At this step, the pastry can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or it can be frozen for a month (you’ll just need to thaw the pastry in your fridge the day before you want to use it).

Roll the dough between two layers of baking paper. Cut into a disk about 2 inches larger that your pan.
Refrigerate the disk for at least 2 hours.

You can now start lining a buttered tart circle. The butter helps the dough to slide on the sides of the circle..

Basically, you need to pinch the dough between your right finger and push it down using the sides. Keep doing this, until the full circle is lined and check if the dough forms a 90° angle (if not, push it towards the bottom a little more).

Chill for an hour.

It’s now time to bake the crust. Pre-heat your oven to 350degrees F.
Take the lined circle out of the fridge, cover the base and side of the pastry with baking paper and fill with dried beans or rice (baking weighs are to heavy for this fragile pastry).

Bake for 17 to 25 minutes (depending on the size of your crust.) Remove the dried beans/rice and baking paper and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes or until a nice light brown.
Lemon cream

400 grams (14ounces) caster sugar

finely grated zest of 6 lemons

8 large eggs

Freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 8-9 lemons)

600g ( 22 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into big chunks

Italian meringue

4 egg whites

70g ( 2 1/2 ounces) caster sugar

10g (1/2 ounce) dehydrated egg whites sifted (optional)

100g (3 1/2 ounces) water

300g (10 1/2 ounces )sugar

First thing: fill the sink with about 3 inches of cold water.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over a pan of simmering water.

Rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, and start stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 185F, stirring constantly – be prepared, as it can take quite a lot of time-45 -60 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 185F, remove the cream from the heat and place the bowl into the sink and allow to cool down to 140F. Gradually incorporate the butter, whisking after each addition
When all the butter as been used, blend the cream with a hand-held blender for 8 minutes. It might sound long, but will ensure a too-smooth-to-be-true lemon cream.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of cling film against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate overnight.

The next day (or later, as the cream can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days), whisk the cream to loosen it and pipe it into the tart shell and refrigerate for at least an hour before starting with the meringue.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt at slow speed until the foam throughout, add the 70g of caster sugar, gradually increase the speed to fast, and beat to soft peaks. Turn the machine to slow as you complete the sugar syrup.

Bring the 300g sugar and 100g water to 240F.

Beating the egg whites at moderate speed, pour the boiling syrup into them. Increase the speed to high, and beat until the bowl is no longer hot (it should still feel slightly warm).

Note:

Cornstarch will help stabilize any soft meringue. Stir 1 Tbsp. cornstarch into 1/3 cup water and then bring it to a boil until thick, stirring constantly. Let cool slightly. Beat this gel into the beaten egg whites 1 Tbsp. at a time. The meringue won't shrink, it will be tender and easier to cut, and won't bead as easily

Pipe the meringue onto the lemon cream and caramelise using a blow torch.

Basque Potato Tortilla - French Fridays with Dorie

2011-02-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad that today was one of my days off . J didn't have to be at class until 9, so I was up at 6:30 peeling potatoes and chopping onions. Sounds glamorous doesn't it ? It's one of my favorite times to be in the kitchen, the sky outside is still that dark indigo blue and just starting to glow slightly on the horizon with the sun trying to rise. I say trying because after all this is Seattle and today is a typical February day in Seattle, very very windy and very very grey.

So the smell of potatoes and onions cooking in my cast iron skillet brought some warmth to my world. I love Dorie Greenspan's recipes from Around My French Table. They consistently transport me. This morning I could imagine someone across the ocean in their French kitchen just on the outskirts of Bayonne cooking this same dish . She's just come back from the market and empties her bag onto the old wooden table. Freshly dug potatoes, sweet onions, fresh eggs from the farm down the road and a little Jambon de Bayonne or Bayonne Ham. Some red wine, a crisp baguette from the Boulanger and a small salad of chervil, parsley and fresh herbs. A perfect afternoon lunch for her and her love.

I have fallen in love with Bayonne, from the Basque region of France. Seriously who wouldn't love to live in an area that since 1462 has been celebrating the deliciousness of the “Jambon de Bayonne” or Bayonne ham. And if that doesn't make your mouth water-they have a chocolate festival in May celebrating their famous chocolate making that was introduced in 1496 !
I made this tortilla simple and straightforward-mainly because unlike my French counterpart I did not just return from the market and my pantry did not have some of the ingredients I would have liked to have added to this. However it was still delicious with the potatoes, onions,rosemary and garlic. I wanted to add something for interest and I remembered I had a jar of Roasted Garlic and Fig spread-perfect.

A little side of that to drag a bite of the tortilla through -just the right amount of caramelized sweetness to offset the spicy bite from the cayenne. Next time I will add some grated cheese just after I remove it from the oven. I imagine the cheese and the garlic fig spread would combine beautifully. Bon Appetit and head over to French Fridays with Dorie to see everyone elses' results.

Oatmeal Cookies-Yes They Are Simply the Best

2011-02-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

I'm doing the little macaron dance today and I didn't even make macarons. Just a little note for those who don't make macarons-when you bake those luscious little cookies and the feet form perfectly you are so ecstatic that you do the little macaron dance around your kitchen. It's really something to behold-pure unadulterated joy ! So now that you have that image let me tell you what I'm celebrating. That fabulous couple, Todd & Diane, also known as White on Rice Couple are doing a photography shoot out in Los Angeles . They invited 12 local bloggers to participate and opened it up to readers of their blog. If you wanted to be selected you had to send them a little comment about why you wanted to attend and what you wanted to learn.

Naturally, since I love their blog, I submitted my comment and yes , I was one of 8 people selected to attend. Wahooooo...the macaron dance doesn't begin to explain how joyful and excited I am. I'm going to have to rename the macaron dance, the White on Rice dance ! What is so awesome about this talented couple is that they are doing this gratis-no charge-in order to form a sense of community among local bloggers and those of us from out of town. The concept is everyone gets together to encourage and help one another build skills in food photography. How awesome is that and how awesome are they ?

To celebrate this fabulous opportunity I wanted to bake cookies. Cookies always make me feel joyful, they make me feel 10 years old again sitting on the back porch with a glass of cold milk and a plate of my favorite cookies. The biggest challenge-what kind should I bake, chocolate chip-one of my favorites ? Or maybe Poilane's Punitions-love those to death. As I was doing some research on croissants I stumbled upon this blog Weekend Bakery.

As I paged through their posts and drooled over their photos I found this recipe. It sounded so simple and sweet I knew I had to try it. They call these Simply the Best Oatmeal Cookie-that is an understatement. I am terribly ashamed to admit I sat down and ate 6 of these in less than 30 minutes. And I couldn't stop. They are a cross between a Florentine, oatmeal cookie and a sweet caramel butter cookie. I'm making a second batch , not because I ate the first batch-pretty close to it though ! But because these are so incredibly delicious I know that J is going to devour most of them after dinner tonight .

They are light and crisp and have a hint of caramel to them. When you bake them make sure you only bake them for 20 minutes. Don't think they are under baked when you remove them from the oven and they are all soft and bubbly looking. Trust me, don't touch them,let them cool and they will turn into heavenly bites. Let me know how you like them and how many you ate in one sitting ! I'm going back to my kitchen to do a little dance and make some more cookies .

Simply the Best Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
makes about 3 dozen

60 grams (2.12 ounces) of wheat flour
140 grams (5 ounces) of soft brown sugar
170 grams ( 6 ounces) of oatmeal
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 small pinches of salt
150 grams (5 ounces) of butter
If you have a scale use it to measure in grams which is how this recipe appeared. I used an online converter to list the ounce equivalent.
Making the oatmeal cookies

Preheat the oven at 300F. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter and cut into little pieces using two knives. Knead into a ball with a cool hand-you want flecks of butter throughout like a good pie dough. Make 25 small balls and lay them out on a parchment or silicon sheet lined tray. Leave about 2 inches between cookies as these spread out. You can press lightly on the little balls to flatten them just slightly.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Leave them to cool for a few minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
Tip: Use a small ice cream scoop (about 2 teaspoons) to scoop out the little balls.

PS. Not only are these cookies simply the best so are Todd & Diane from White on Rice Couple

Double Chocolate Loaf-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-01-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

This is a I need chocolate NOW kind of week. Craziness at work with a new reservation system along with craziness at home trying to organize ( and I use the term loosely) the basement. Add to the mix the fact that the washer is kaput-or pretty close to it-the digital/computer on it has gone berserk and in order to get it to work you have to stand there for about 10-15 minutes kicking it , shaking it, moving it back and forth-it's hysterical to watch. And last but not least J's phone has gone haywire,he can hear callers but they can't hear him ! Ahhh technology, isn't it grand ? I need chocolate !

But in spite of all the craziness I feel a calm come over me as soon as I'm home-you know that safe haven kind of feeling-even when everything around me is falling apart. I remind myself that it's the things that are falling apart-not me- I still have it together. And things are replaceable-people aren't.

I find myself thinking about my dad a great deal more than usual these past few weeks, probably because of losing my dear sweet friend, Ed. But on a day like today when electronics are not functioning I know that if my dad were here, he would be taking things apart, putting them back together and they would work. Dad's are like that aren't they ? Neither J nor I are mechanical enough to tackle the washer and the phone is a lost cause. So I will do what I do best - bake.

This is the Double Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread. I'm usually not a lover of baked goods in the loaf category but I enjoyed making this. I love how the top crackled when it came out of the oven. I like it with powdered sugar for a dinner dessert and with the peanut butter cream cheese topping for a little breakfast bite. I didn't cream the peanut butter and cream cheese together completely when I mixed them. I wanted the two tone effect when I decorated the little bites. I think these would be a sweet addition to a brunch tray-don't you ? The next time I make this loaf, I think I will serve it with a little mascarpone topped with fresh raspberries and maybe a little raspberry coulis surrounding it-that would make it very elegant -don't you think ?

For now I'm putting the organization of the basement on hold; ordering a new phone for J; ordering a new washer and making myself a good cup of espresso. Then I'm going to light a few candles, take my espresso and a slice of this chocolate loaf and enjoy the rest of my day. I hope you do the same. Bon Appetit.

Head over to Baked Sunday Mornings for the recipe and to see what everyone else did.

PS This was another recipe I made for our Will Bake For Food Bake Sale last year and they were the 2nd thing to sell out !

Biscuit Joconde Imprime Entremet -DB January Challenge

2011-01-26T18:59:00.000-08:00

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Whew , that title is a mouthful ! And this challenge defined the word challenge so many ways. I have never made a biscuit joconde(A joconde imprime is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds) before. And I have never created an entermet( an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold). So this was a real learning experience for me. Which is exactly what The Daring Bakers are all about.

Since I knew this was going to be complicated I tried to keep it simple. I used the recipe for the joconde from Astheroshe. Then while researching this dessert I found these beautiful mini entremets/charlottes over at Martha Stewart. I really wanted to recreate them but remember I said I wanted to keep it simple. So instead I took a few things from Martha, a few from myself and the rest from the Daring Bakers and created my Bittersweet Grand Marnier Mousse Entremet. Someday I'm going back and I will recreate those sweet little charlottes over at Martha Stewart ! Until then here are the components for:

Bittersweet Grand Marnier Mousse Entremet

Chocolate Piping Batter

Pate a Cigarette Batter

Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes about 2 cups
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

1.Process butter and confectioners' sugar in a food processor until fluffy. While machine is running, gradually add egg whites and vanilla, and scrape down sides of bowl. Add flour, and process until combined.

2.Transfer to a bowl, and stir in cocoa powder with a rubber spatula. For piping, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/16-inch plain round tip (such as Ateco #2). Piping batter can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature and stir before using.

Joconde Sponge

Courtesy Astheroshe
Yield: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan
Ingredients:
¾ cup almond flour/meal
½ cup plus 2 tablespoonsconfectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup cake flour 3 large eggs - about 5⅓ oz/ 150g
3 large egg whites
2½ teaspoons white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1.In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.

2.Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)

3.On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )

4.Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.

5.Fold in melted butter.

6.Reserve batter to be used later.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:
1.Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.

2.Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one
3.Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.

4.Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.

5.Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.

6.Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.

7.Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

1.Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.

1.Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.

2.Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.

3.Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)

4.Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.

5.The mold is done, and ready to fill.

*Note: If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

Entrement- Filling Options:
It is nice to have a completed dessert so you can unmold and see the Joconde working. Fill with anything you desire. Layers of different flavors and textures! However, it needs to be something cold that will not fall apart when unmolded.
Suggestions:

Mousses, pastry creams, Bavarian creams, cheesecakes, puddings, curds, jams, cookie bases, more cake (bake off the remaining sponge and cut to layer inside), nuts, Dacquoise, fresh fruit, chocolates, gelee.

Espresso Syrup

Courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes about 2/3 cup

1/2 cup freshly brewed strong espresso
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Bring espresso, sugar, and water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool. Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Milk Chocolate Ganache
Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Makes about 2 cups
8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
1cup heavy cream

1.Put chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 10 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let cool, whisking occasionally. For piping, immediately transfer to pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip (such as Ateco #802). Use immediately.

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
6 ounces of good quality bittersweet chocolate-finely chopped
6 Egg yolks
3/4 cup Sugar
1/3 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
1 1/4 cup Chilled whipping cream

Stir the chocolate in double boiler over barely simmering water until smooth and melted. Cool to lukewarm. using electric mixer, beat yolks to blend in mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar and beat until pale yellow and slowly dissolving ribbon forms when beaters are lifted. Blend in Grand Marnier, then melted chocolate. Whip cream in another bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 1/3 of cream into chocolate mixture. Gently fold in remaining cream. Pour mixture into the entremet, smoothing top. Freeze until set, about 30 minutes.

Shiny Chocolate Glaze
Courtesy of Martha Stewart
Makes about 1 1/4 cups
6 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1.Bring chocolate, sugar, coffee, corn syrup, and salt to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to melt chocolate. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until barely warm but still pourable, about 20 minutes. Use immediately.
Optional topping: 2 cups of whipped cream , whipped to soft peaks . Spread onto of the chilled entremet and then shave some dark chocolate over the whipped cream topping.

Assembly:
1.Follow Astheroshe's directions for filling the mold, including using the leftover joconde scraps to line the bottom of the mold.
2.Take the espresso syrup and dab it onto the sides and bottom of the joconde
3.Pour about 1/2 inch of the milk chocolate ganache into the bottom of the mold.
4.Freeze until the ganache is firm-about 30-45 minutes
5.Add the Grand Marnier Mousse
6.Freeze until the mousse is firm about 45 minutes- 1 hour
7.Top with the shiny chocolate glaze and place back in freezer for about 20 minutes.
8.Carefully remove the spring form mold-you may have to quickly heat the outside of the ring with a hair dryer-do this briefly and quickly so that you don't melt your beautiful creation.
9. If you made the optional whipped cream topping, spread that over the top now leveling it out with a spatula then shave some dark chocolate over that.
And voila your deletable Bittersweet Chocolate Grand Marnier Entremet. Bon Appetit.

Good Bye Sweet Papa

2011-01-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

We said goodbye to Papa Ed. Ed wasn't my father, he was my dear friend's father. But he was Papa to everyone. He was one of those angels who lit up a room when he entered it. He laughed and loved with his whole heart and soul. His Gumbo parties were legendary-no one made Gumbo like him. I remember one year I made Gumbo and he came over and told me it was almost as good as his. I am honored that I have one of his Gumbo pots to remember him by and some day soon I'll be cooking up a batch in his honor.

Those parties were always fun-a room full of friends from all walks of life, friends of his, friends of his daughter, neighbors, co-workers, his harem -the women he worked out with at the Senior Center-everyone felt fortunate to be there. And we would sit for hours and listen to him tell stories of his daughter and son growing up and all the crazy things they did. There was always so much laughter you went home with a full belly and enveloped by the love that was generated. In the summer Ed would do BBQ and not only was he the Gumbo God he was the King of BBQ. Ribs and chicken grilled to perfection by him. Everyone brought their favorite dish and the laughter and grilling went on all day . His living room was filled with a huge big screen tv, his favorite chair and a ledge with nothing but toys for all the kids to play with. The image of him over a steaming pot of gumbo, or flipping ribs or watching his favorite basketball team on tv-those will stay with me forever.

I'm going to miss those parties, but more than the fun I'm going to miss Papa. He was the most honorable, loving caring man I have ever known. He was one of those special people, an angel among us, someone who was just plain good through and through and I will miss him terribly. He was as sweet and pure as the roses he grew and every time I walk through my garden or prune my roses I'll be thinking of him

Good bye Papa, may the angels keep you forever in their love-you will always be in my heart and I will strive to live my life in a way that honors you.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-01-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

Ta da- a huge thank you to The Art of Being Perfect for passing this award on to me ! What a way to start my week, Sunday night- my team the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Championship-go Steelers .

And then I woke up this morning and found this on my blog-wow. I am very honored to accept this award. It's such a fabulous way to meet new bloggers and promote each other. There are some rules when accepting-aren't there rules with just about everything ?

Here they are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award
Massive thank you to The Art of Being Perfect for the Award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself

1. My heart belongs to Paris (well J too ! ).

2. I've always believed my sister and I are fraternal twins born 3 years apart.

3. Champagne is my favorite drink.

4. I love Tasmania , if I couldn't live in France I would live in Hobart.

5. Standing in the wilderness with zillions of stars overhead brings tears to my eyes.

6. I still believe that people are really good at heart.

7. Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World " -I could listen to it all day long.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers

Here are 15 of my favorite bloggers. Some more recently discovered than others but all incredibly talented and all more than well deserving of A Stylish Blog Award. Check them out :

My French Kitchen

Passionate About Baking

TeenieCakes

A Chow Life

More Than Burnt Toast

Une femme d'un certain age

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

Wishing all of you a wonderful week and hope your January 2011 ends on a high note. Bakers start your engines -Valentine's Day is just around the corner ♥

Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron Trifle -Mac Tweets January Challenge

2011-01-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

As soon as I saw the gorgeous cover of this issue of Donna Hay I knew I had to make that trifle. And perfect timing because our first Mactweets challenge 2011 is to : integrate your macarons into any dessert, making it a new part of an old favorite, or turn your macarons into your favorite dessert, inspired in flavor, texture, color. I don't know about you, but growing up jello was part of my food pyramid, and of course the whipped cream just fulfilled the dairy requirement ! Seriously, I don't make a lot of jello, as a matter of fact I can't remember the last time I made any. But really when you look at this magazine cover are you not inspired to make this delectable dessert ?

Doesn't it just look a light and pretty after all those cookies, stollens, and chocolate from the holidays ? And doesn't it just look like a lovely choice for Valentine's Day too ? And for those of you who are not obsessed with making the perfect macaron-you can even use (quelle horreur) store bought macarons.

Pretty feet ! Thank you Deeba

I usually make my macarons from Hisako Ogita's book I ♥ Macarons. But today I decided to experiment and use a recipe from a fellow blogger who always inspires me with her writings, photography and food-Deeba over at Passionate About Baking. Check out her blog, you'll see why she is so inspirational !

I made the vanilla macarons using Deeba's recipe. I followed Donna Hay's recipe for the jello, added more strawberries than the recipe called for, because I'm of the belief you can never have too many strawberries and I filled my macarons with mascarpone mixed with a touch of balsamic vinegar (the berries love balsamic vinegar), and topped everything with whipped cream and more berries . This is a perfect dessert for today-the sun is shining, teasing me with thoughts of warmer weather and gardening.

Strawberry and Vanilla Macaron Trifle

You can find the original recipe from Donna Hay here.

For the Macarons recipe-head over to Deeba's blog .

Mascarpone filling:

8 ounces of Mascarpone cheese

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Mix together until smooth and fill a pastry bag for piping onto the macarons.

Whipped Cream Filling

16 ounces of whipping cream

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to your mixing bowl and using the whisk attachment , whisk on high until peaks are just starting to firm up.

Head over to Mac Tweets and see what everyone else did this month.

Michel Rostang’s Double Chocolate Mousse Cake-French Fridays with Dorie

2011-01-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

I knew I would love this weeks recipe. Chocolate and mousse together-a wonderfully divine combination. Mousse is one of my favorite things and chocolate mousse, well it is definitely something I would want on a deserted island along with George Clooney, opps I mean J.

I couldn't bear to add ice cream or whipped cream to the plate. I wanted the pure incredibly rich chocolate taste to be the star. I read all the P & Q's over at French Fridays with Dorie so I knew what not to do. I've made a cake similar to this when I worked at the bakery and it was always one of my favorites. Dorie gives you a couple of variations to try with this cake. I baked a third of the batter; cooled the cake for 4 hours; added the rest of the mousse batter and baked it again for 30 minutes; then chilled it for another 4 hours. I dusted it with unsweetened cocoa powder. Thank you Dorie - I love love love this version. And don't let the simple appearance of this cake fool you.

After one bite you will think you just had the most decadent bite in the world-and you have. Again simplicity wins out-good ingredients, careful directions and a little love in your heart while cooking equals success. Speaking of love in your heart-this would make a beautiful Valentine's Day dessert, add a little raspberry coulis around it, top with a bit of whipped cream and a few ripe raspberries-your partner will be forever grateful.

This has espresso in it so it enhances the chocolate. But don't let the fact that this contains espresso stop you from having an espresso with this slice or an ice cold glass of milk-mmm heaven. I must confess I went through two slices while setting up to shoot my photos for this. Ohh, but they were small slices-that's my story and I'm sticking to it !

Head over to French Fridays with Dorie and see the beautiful cakes everyone else created.

Buttermilk Doughnuts-Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-01-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait to make these doughnuts-more properly known as Farm Stand Buttermilk Doughnuts Three Ways. Whew, that is a mouthful-but so are these. I have become addicted to homemade doughnuts-especially these and especially the cinnamon sugar version of these. There was something so comforting and so , well old fashioned , about rolling this dough and then pressing out the doughnut shapes.

I reached my doughnut zen moment while making these. It was a quiet Friday morning, J was at school teaching his class and I had the house to myself. The early morning grey skies and drizzle had cleared and a little bit of actual sunshine was peaking over the backyard garage roof right into my little kitchen window. As I mixed the batter I could watch the little sparrows and finches flitting around the backyard.

In that moment I felt such contentment and gratitude for my life and I understood the meaning of comfort food. Not only is there comfort in eating it but also comfort in making it.

Of course my little rose colored glasses blocked out all the dirty pots and pans piling up from making the 3 different dipping bowls but something so sweet and delicious doesn't come without effort. This is actually a fairly simple recipe -don't be fooled by it's length and ingredient list. If you want something quick and delicious make these and just make the cinnamon sugar to roll them in-it was my favorite.

It reminded me of being 10 years old again when mom would make toast in the morning and sprinkle her cinnamon sugar mix over it-yum. Cinnamon sugar always puts me in that chair in my mother's kitchen if just for a moment.

I do feel compelled to warn you though, eating these out of the frying pan, rolled in cinnamon sugar-crack doughnuts-highly addictive, highly habit forming and don't even remind me about the time needed on the treadmill. But again, so worth it. Head over to Baked Sunday Mornings and see how everyone else did with these, you will also find the recipe there. And think about baking along with us. Get the book and get Baked.

Black Forest Cupcakes-to soothe and comfort

2011-01-14T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've sat down to blog several times this week. But each time I tried I just couldn't. My heart and my mind was occupied by the events and tragedy in Tucson,Arizona. I would sit in front of my computer and just stare. I would walk away and watch the news and wander aimlessly around the house. I'm sure I've asked all the same questions all of you have asked, questions that have no answers. What can I do in my own little world to change things. All I can do is my best. My best at my life with J, my best with my family, my best at my job, my best with my friends and my best with the human race. I don't want to lecture-that's not my thing and I don't want to tell anyone how to live their life. All I know is that I have to strive to be human and caring and not take life for granted . All I know is that I have to strive to be courteous, loving, peaceful and respectful of each and every person I encounter. That's all.

I've noticed I've sought comfort food this week-mac and cheese, egg sandwiches, waffles, grilled cheese and tomato soup,cottage cheese and bow tie noodles. Foods that always made me feel better when my heart was broken or the world seemed a little too much . The world has seemed more than a little too much this week. When I started to make these cupcakes for my Martha Stewart Cupcake Club, they just seemed too festive, too joyful,and I set them aside.

But every time I opened the refrigerator they were in there reminding me that life goes on . So I took them out tonight and made the pastry creme filling and put the sweet cherries in the center and topped them with chocolate ganache. And I remembered that life can be whatever we make it and tonight I will bring a little sweetness into my world and pray for all of those who have much sadness in their world.

Paris Mushroom Soup-French Fridays with Dorie

2011-01-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

I'm making this soup and pretending I'm in a tiny kitchen in a small apartment in Paris. I can see the Eiffel Tower out of my living room window if I peek between the buildings.

The aroma from the onions and mushrooms is filling the small space and the windows are fogging up from the steam. There is a baguette on the dining room table. J picked it up from the bakery around the corner from the apartment. It's crisp and crunchy and fresh from the bakery oven. The table is set with an old lace tablecloth,picked up last Saturday at Les Puces. It's tattered and mended but it has a certain charm. Someones silver haired grandmother took great care of it.

I can only imagine the conversations around the table that it's been privy to. The candles are the only light in the dining room now and they are giving off such a warm romantic glow. This is going to be a perfect dinner. The snow is still falling quietly in Paris and the sky is turning my favorite shade of blue-you know that blue that seems to glow and almost appears iridescent just before the sun sets and the moon rises. Perhaps we will bundle up after eating this delicious soup and take a late walk along the Seine.

Thank you Dorie for giving me this moment to daydream about my favorite place in the world and thank you for this marvelous recipe. Fresh mushrooms,onions,garlic, a little white wine, some rosemary, a bit of chives and scallions and topped off with creme fraiche, seasoned with a little salt and pepper-the absolute best mushroom soup I've ever made. Did you ever notice that some of the most delicious things are also the simplest ?

Stop by French Friday's with Dorie and see how everyone did with this recipe. Then buy the book and make a pot yourself-it's a very simple recipe and well worth it. Bon Appetit !

Almond Joy Tart -Baked Sunday Mornings

2011-01-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Almond Joy Tart - just saying the words sets my taste buds on high alert. I first made these for the Will Bake for Food bake sale we had in Seattle. And they disappeared like the proverbial hotcakes. As soon as people saw Almond Joy- I didn't have to explain anything. These were the first of my items to sell out. Next bake sale I'm going to triple the amount of Almond Joy Tarts that I bake.

While this recipe has several components - none of the components by themselves are difficult to make. You do need some good planning. The tart dough needs to be refrigerated from 1 hour to overnight. The white ganache for the coconut cream filling needs to be refrigerated for 4 hours or overnight. And the chocolate glaze needs to set for about 10 minutes prior to application. And then the tarts need to be refrigerated for about 10 minutes while the glaze sets up. Take the time and make these. If you love the Almond Joy bar you are going to go crazy over these!

When I made these for the bake sale I made them as 4 inch tarts, today I decided to do just one tart-the amount of dough, coconut cream filling and chocolate ganache was perfect for a 10 inch tart. And since it's that festive time of year, I dressed mine up for New Years with a little edible glitter. Happy New Years and enjoy !

And check out what my fellow bakers did over at Baked Sunday Mornings. Even better, buy the book and join our group.

My Will Bake for Food Almond Joy Tarts before they sold out !

Crème Brûlée Cupcakes-Happy New Year

2010-12-31T14:57:00.000-08:00

Have you started making New Year's resolutions ? Or are you someone who doesn't believe in the habitual list making at the end of the year ? It's easy to start lists with " I will not do this or I will not do that"...my resolution for this year will be simply " I will ".

I will look at the world with child like wonder
I will love
I will give
I will forgive
I will laugh
I will open myself to all the world has to give
I will surround myself with a positive energy
I will

It will be my mantra for my life-I will-short, sweet, easy to remember, easy to call upon when the world throws that inevitable curve ball,easily adaptable to any situation. It's humming through my thoughts now..I will.

While I'm sitting here thinking and softly chanting my mantra I'm catching up on my favorite blogs. I like to rise early and spend a few moments of quiet time catching up. A few weeks ago the little thumbnail photo from Milk and Honey Cafe caught my eye and I immediately clicked on it. Milk and Honey Cafe is a sweet blog written by Sarah from Toronto. Sarah came up with this incredibly creative cupcake recipe and I immediately bookmarked it knowing I must try it soon! Her photos and description of the recipe process sealed the deal. These look so festive and pretty and if you showed up at a New Year's Eve party with them you will be the one getting all the kisses and hugs at the stroke of midnight. Thank you Sarah for sharing this recipe. For you cupcake lovers , creme brulee lovers and lovers around the world-something sweet to share.

Crème Brûlée Cupcakes
Crème brûlée recipe from joe pastry
Yellow layer cake recipe from smitten kitchen
makes about 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
for cake

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, well-shaken

For crème brûlée
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For sugar decoration
1 cup of granulated sugar

Directions
Crème brûlée

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, set a small saucepan of water (or a teapot) over low heat.

2. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, along with the vanilla extract and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately remove the cream from the heat and allow it to steep for 10-20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and yolks together in a medium bowl until they're light in color. Add the cream in a steady stream, whisking all the while. Pour the mixture into four 6-ounce ramekins, (OR in my case, in a small pan.) Place the ramekins into a roasting pan or baking dish.

4. When ready to bake, put on an oven mitt and open the oven door. Slide a middle rack half way out and gently place the baking dish containing the ramekins on it. Carefully pour in enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the ramekins. Slide the rack back into the oven and close the door.

5. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or (40-45 minutes for a larger pan like mine) until the custard is just set (firm but slightly jiggly in the middle). Cool on a wire rack, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or up to three days.

For just the crème brûlée on its own: Half an hour before you want to serve, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator. Take off the plastic wrap and spread a healthy tablespoon of sugar evenly over the top of each custard. Using a salamander or a blow torch, melt and lightly brown the sugar. Let the crème brûlée sit for 5 minutes, and serve.

Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with cups.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture will look curdled). Add flour mixture in three batches, mixing until each addition is just Incorporated.
3. Spread batter evenly in cupcake pan. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before filling or decorating.

Sugar decoration and assembly of cupcakes

1. In a small sauce pan with a heavy bottom, pour a cup of sugar on medium-high heat. Without using a spatula, simply swirl the pan itself often in order to ensure even heating. Slowly but surely, the sugar will start to caramelize. When the colour starts to darken, and it will smoke just a bit, immediately take off heat. When sugar passes its melting point, it will burn very very quickly. It's also useful to use a sugar thermometer to ensure the perfect amount of melting. (300-310°F for hard candy).

2. Quickly pour onto silpat or non-stick surface and let it spread into a thin layer. After it cools to room temperature, place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Once completely harden, break into funky pieces for decoration.

3. Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, make a cone-shaped hole in each cupcake about the size of a loonie (for Canadians) or a silver dollar (for Americans). Fill it up with a tablespoon of cold crème brûlée (I used my small ice-cream scoop for cookies). Place sugar decoration on top and it's ready to serve!

I used a small torch to caramelize the crème brûlée on the top of the cupcakes before I added the sugar decoration.

Happy New Year

Bonne Annee

Felice anno nuovo

Szczesliwego Nowego Roku

S Novim Godom

Stastny Novy rok

Feliz Ano ~Nuevo

Chuc Mung Tan Nien

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Prosit Neujahr

Kenourios Chronos

L'Shannah Tovah

Hauoli Makahiki Hou

Potato Leek Soup - French Fridays with Dorie

2010-12-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

It's been very cold and sometimes raining in Seattle. I know I have nothing to complain about with everyone else having to dig out from that horrible storm that hit across the United States. I grew up in Pittsburgh and I remember those storms. What I romanticize about the most is that first snowfall of the season-when it would sneak in during the wee small hours of the morning. We were night owls in those days and as soon as we saw it falling we would bundle up and go out for a midnight walk. It was quieter than I ever remember the world being during those walks. You could barely hear the snow falling. It was that thick steady snow that stuck to your coat and hat so that by the time you walked a block you looked like a little snowman. The tree branches were thick with the snow and fire hydrants wore little snow caps. It was fun to be the first human to make tracks in the snow. Sometimes it was so thick and so steady that by the time we turned back our tracks had disappeared. I miss those midnight snow walks. We knew we could count on everything being shut down the next day.

Snow days were fun even as adults-you could cook up a good pot of soup, make some homemade bread or experiment with some new cookie recipe. Or pull out the cross country skis and blaze trails with the sun shining !

Well I don't have snow here but with the cold chilling my bones I knew it was time for some soup. And not just any ordinary soup-but Dorie Greenspan's Potato and Leek Soup. The Potato Leek Soup was one of the recipe selections for my French Fridays with Dorie Group. I couldn't wait to make this, it sounded like the perfect soup to take the chill off.

As usual, I wasn't disappointed. Dorie gives you the choice of leaving the soup chunky with the luscious bits of leeks and potatoes still intact or whirling it all together in a food processor resulting in a smooth creamy soup. I opted for chunky-I love to have a good hearty chewy soup. Tell me is there anything that Dorie cooks "not so good" ? I don't think so, every recipe I have tried turns out with ohhs and ahhs around the dinner table. I added a nice crisp homemade crouton topped with some fresh shaved Gruyere cheese. Then I remembered I had bought some White Truffle Oil from La Buona Tavala at Pike Place Market. A few drops of that was the perfect finishing touch to this soup.

Each time I cook something from Dorie's latest book Around My French TableI encourage you to go out and buy the book-this recipe is no exception. Buy the book and start enjoying some of the most delicious recipes you will find. Bon Appetit !

Chocolate Pecan Tart-Chocolate with Francois

2010-12-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

Susan over at Baking with Susan selected this month's recipe for our Chocolate with Francois group. Francois Payard's recipes never seem simple or uncomplicated but this one actually surprised me.

Candy the pecans, make the tart dough , make the filling and assemble -could this really be one of his recipes or an impostor ? As I write this, my tart is about 10 minutes from being finished and it looks delicious. Nothing blowing up, nothing drying out-really this must be an impostor recipe, it was just too simple ! It's like a French version of pecan pie but with chocolate and a sweet tart crust.

This recipe has shocked me, really. I love his cookbook and I love the results of his recipes, but with a great deal of his recipes you must work, work , and work to get to the end results. And sometimes the results barely resemble his photos in the book. But that's due to my inexperience I suppose, because no matter how they end up looking they always end up tasting wonderful. Guess I will have to work on my technique.

If you want to tackle one of these, and I suggest you do, head over to Susan's blog for the recipe. And it really is a simple uncomplicated recipe. J walked by the oven when I went to check the progress of my tart and said "Is that pecan and chocolate "? with such a sense of urgency and desire I thought I would have to post a sentry at the oven to protect my tart until it was finished !
It's beautiful to look at when it's finished baking-anyone would be ecstatic if you showed up with this as dessert.

And the taste is divine, imagine pecan pie with a light sweet crust and milk chocolate melted in with the sugared pecans. You get that sweet stickiness of a pecan pie with the smooth chocolaty taste. Susan added some espresso powder to her filling-I wish I would have thought of that. I imagine it really enhanced the flavor of the chocolate. Seriously, you should try this recipe-it's absolutely delicious and hard to eat just one piece. Bon Appetit.

Vanilla Macaron with Fromage Blanc & Ikura-December MacTweets Challenge 14

2010-12-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

This month’s Mac Attack Challenge was Savory Sweet. We were instructed to create a macaron that blends the savory and the sweet, the perfect balance. Invent a macaron to be served on a silver tray as an apératif or hors d’oeuvres with a glass of champagne, as a special snack or part of a festive buffet. This is the season to experiment, to savor, to enjoy and this month you will!

I was extremely excited when I saw the challenge for MacTweets this month. I didn't hesitate, I knew exactly what I was making or trying to recreate- a vanilla macaron with Citrus Fromage Blanc and Loki Fish Ikura. I first had one at the Incredible Feast at the University District Farmers Market in August. It was created by Adam Hoffman of Rover's restaurant. J and I got the last two on the plate. How fortunate for us!

I swear to this day that if there had been more on the plate I wouldn't have left the tent until I finished them off. Crunchy crisp vanilla almond macaron, sweet citrusy fromage blanc and salty salmon roe-an explosion of flavor in your mouth. This is an excellent dish for a cocktail party-and very festive looking with the red roe.

But I warn you, make twice as much as you think you will need because they will disappear faster than you can say oh my God that was incredible ! Fromage Blanc is a sweet cream cheese, if your grocery store or cheese shop doesn't carry it you can make your own. I found a recipe for it by Emeril Lagasse and you will find it at the end of this post. You can use any Ikura or salmon roe-the fresher the better. I also made a few with a raspberry chipotle jam for those guests who don't care for salmon roe-can you imagine ?

For the macarons I used my standby recipe that you can find here . I was fortunate and found fresh fromage blanc at my grocery store. I took 8 ounces of the cheese and 1/4 cup citrus marmalade and whipped it together until it was a nice piping consistency. I piped it onto the vanilla macarons and topped it with the fresh salmon roe from Loki Fish. The taste was a little different than what I remember from the festival but I think I got it pretty close to the original. Enjoy !

Homemade Fromage Blanc
courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
Ingredients

2 quarts whole milk, as fresh as possible
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
2 cups fresh buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired
Heavy Cream, for serving

Directions
In a large, heavy saucepan, add the milk and the cream for a richer fromage blanc. In a mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon juice and stir to combine well. Add the buttermilk-lemon juice mixture to the milk and begin to heat the milk, over low heat and very slowly, to 175 degrees F. While the milk is heating, stir only twice, making 2 strokes each time, with a heat-proof spatula or other flat utensil. Check the temperature often. As soon as the temperature reaches 175 degrees F, remove the pot from the heat and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes.
Line a large colander with 2 layers of fine cheesecloth and set over a large bowl. Gently ladle the curds and whey into the colander and allow to drain until the drips of whey slows, about 2 minutes. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth together to form a hanging pouch, and hang pouch over a bowl and allow to drain until the cheese reaches the desired consistency.

Serve as is, with preserves, honey or fresh fruit, or add salt or fresh herbs, to taste, and enjoy as a savory appetizer. If a rich cheese is desired, spoon or pour a bit of heavy cream over the top before serving. Also, if a very smooth product is desired, beat the cheese briefly with an electric mixer before serving.

Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 week. If cheese is marinated in oil with fresh herbs, it will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.

Check out everyone else's results here

Christmas Stollen-Daring Bakers December Challenge

2010-12-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

A Stollen is a cake containing dried fruit, and covered with sugar, powdered sugar or icing sugar. The cake is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season. Panettone , an Italian bread is similar to Stollen. I used lemon peel, orange peel,almonds and dried sour cherries in mine along with the raisins soaked in rum. This is another recipe you cannot throw together in the morning. The dough needs time to rise and rest and rise and rest. I started my recipe the morning of December 22nd and was taking it out of the oven the evening of December 23rd. It was well worth the effort. Once it was cut it disappeared quickly. I'm glad I added the sour cherries,it just added another taste dimension to it. I can imagine that if I had kept it for a few more days the flavors in it would have developed even more-but I couldn't stop myself from cutting into it. And after all I did make it for Christmas Eve dinner. We finished off the last piece after dinner on Christmas Day. Hmm, might have to put together another one. I hope you enjoyed your holidays with your loved ones. And thanks to Penny at Sweet Sadie's Baking for this challenge.

Check out every one's Christmas Stollen here

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

I want to wish all of you the happiest of holidays. Thank you for your friendship and support this year. Christmas is my favorite holiday-there just is a magic to it that isn't present with any of the other holidays. It must have something to do with the sparkle and glitter and lights and presents and love.

Every once in a while I will check my horoscope and today was one of those times. Sometimes I feel the need to seek out a message or a sign of where I should be going. I know I should just be looking inside myself but sometimes I need a little nudge. Again that little thing called serendipity snuck up on me when I least expected it. This is a little bit of what I found in my horoscope today-Christmas Eve:

For many children, this is a very special night. It is a night filled with happiness, magic and mystery. They've made lists and they've made wishes. Tomorrow, they believe their dreams will come true. You are in just such a place now, too. You should try to be more like a child, holding on to a great sense of wonder and anticipation, and the feeling that something you want very much will appear in your life through some enchanted means. Don't entertain fear or cynicism. Allow yourself to believe. Something miraculous is about to happen in your life.

What a wonderful reminder for me to believe in magic, hold onto that wonderment at this beautiful life and just believe. Believe in yourself, believe in your dreams, believe in your love and believe that life is as magical and wonderful as you make it. Merry Christmas and love to you all.

I hope Christmas Day finds you tucked in safely and warmly with your loved ones. Now if the magic would just sprinkle a little snow on Seattle for a White Christmas that would be perfect . Happy Holidays

Tell Tale Preserve Company's Luscious Bag of Sweetness

2010-12-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

A few months ago Alice Q Foodie turned me onto the Tell Tale Preserve Company. At first I was depressed that I didn't live in San Francisco to be able to stop by the Ferry Building Farmers Market. But that quickly turned to elation when I scrolled down a bit and discovered Chef Werner will ship his sweet little goodie bags to me !

For $35 a month subscription, you get a once-a-month delivery of house-made pastries, jams, candies and breads-shipping varies depending upon where you live. Seriously-if you want something indulgent and delicious-check it out and order one for yourself-and trust me on this-don't just order one and think -oh I'll give it to Susie for her birthday-because once you open the bag-it will never make it to Susie's !

My first bag arrived today and it was like opening Christmas presents. First of all the packaging is beautiful in it's simplicity. A burlap bag tied with jute. The little morsels of magic inside are wrapped in simple brown paper so that what stands out is the beauty of what's inside the package. This is what my bag contained:

Vanilla & Douglas fir confiture au lait

Roasted pumpkin and guanaja chocolate marshmallow

Turron of white chocolate, new crop walnut & yuzu

Pain d'epices laced caramels

Quince and caramelized honey petit gateaux

Hazelnut, frankincense & muscovado toffee

I did not receive any compensation for writing this post-I bought the bag myself because I was enticed by the descriptions and photos on Chef Werner's website. And I definitely will be returning to buy more ! If you still need convincing read this NY Times review of Tell Tale Preserve Company and Chef Werner.

Be still my heart the caramels are whispering to me, taste me first-but I think the hazelnut, frankincense and muscovado toffee is going to win out. Oh and I think the Vanilla & Douglas fir confiture au lait would be indescribably delicious spread onto one of Boulangerie Poilane's Punitions-sweet little butter cookies. Time to put on the apron and bake some now. I'm off to the kitchen while visions of sugar plums dance in your heads.

PS. While taking the photos for this post-the roasted pumpkin and guanaja chocolate marshmallows won the taste test-I had to quickly wrap them up to stop from eating them all-seriously addictive,soft and pillowy with a chocolate crunch-I will be searching for a recipe for these .

If you are lucky enough to be in close proximity to the Ferry Building Farmers Market in San Francisco-run out the door and pick up one of these-it would make a fabulous hostess gift over the holidays. Enjoy !

Monkey Bubble Bread-Baked Sunday Mornings on the Oregon Coast

2010-12-19T00:03:00.000-08:00

Making this bread was as challenging as getting to the Oregon Coast in the middle of the Pineapple Express storm that hit the Pacific Northwest this week. I've been somewhat incommunicado all week. J and I , along with Hailey holed up at our favorite spot, Neskowin on the Oregon Coast. It was crazy driving in the middle of the storm but well worth it once we arrived.

We found a new place through Grey Fox Vacation Rentals-The Chelan, right on the beach-perfect for storm watching. And watch we did-one after another rolled in and we were tucked away with a fire blazing.

We got very good at timing our walks on the beach by figuring out ,how far out the next storm looked. Then we would suit up in our rain gear and take off-we only miscalculated once and got pelted by hail ! Pretty good I would say for a week at the beach.

But back to the Monkey Bubble Bread. I thought this would be a good recipe selection right around the holidays-something warm and delicious to serve to out of town guests. When I planned the recipe selection for the Baked Sunday Mornings group I didn't know I would be on the Oregon Coast,far away from house guests.

And far away from my KitchenAid ! So I improvised-I decided that since the recipe was developed sometime in the 1940's it could have been made by hand, so that is what I did. Everything was mixed with my own personal dough hook, also known as my right hand.

It gave me a good feel for the dough developing and the texture it should be-smooth and just slightly tacky. It was very serendipitous making this in our little unit at the Chelan-since the Chelan hearkened back to the 40's just like this bread.

Trust me if you make this you better have a house full of guests or else you will eat the whole thing-really-it's that good and that addictive. We sat down in front of the fire, the sugary cinnamon caramel still warm and sticky,yum yum yum.

Throw another log on the fire, tear off a piece and let the storm watching begin. What a perfect way to spend the day.

Check out everyone else's results at Baked Sunday Mornings.

Sugar Cookie Palooza on the Oregon Coast

2010-12-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

Why is it that every year, like clockwork, I forget which sugar cookie recipe I used the year before ? Was it the one I brought with me from pastry school ? Or may Alton Brown 's - everyone raves about those. Or did I Google and stumble upon one ? I usually take my chances and bake the one I think I did the previous Christmas and by the time all the holiday food, cookies, fruitcakes, and truffles are consumed it doesn't matter.

Since I have the time this year I decided to do my own little bake off. I usually make about 3-4 batches of sugar cookie dough so this year instead of batches of the same recipe I'm going to try a few different recipes and I'll let you know which one wins my little bake off. And yes I will toss all other recipes and keep the winner in a safe place, so that in 2011 there will be no sugar cookie conundrum! My whisk ratings are 1 to 5 with 5 being the top !

The first one is from Eleni's New York-cookie maker extraordinaire. I discovered her cookies when she first started out and have been an avid follower since. Her basket of brownies are some of the best I've tasted. And I go to her web site all the time for inspiration.

Eleni's Sugar Cookies 5 Whisks
Delicious-easy to roll and the cookies have a nice crisp old fashioned sugar cookie taste to them. Use either this or Alton Brown's recipe and you won't go wrong.

Ingredients
2 sticks ( 1cup butter)-softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup decorative sugar for decoration-or royal icing for piping

Directions
In a medium bowl , cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
Sift together the flour and baking powder.
Stir the sifted mixture into the creamed mixture, alternately with the heavy cream.
Cover the dough and chill for 2-3 hours until firm.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
On a light floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place cookies 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until bottoms and edges of cookies are light brown.
Remove from the baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Alton Brown's Sugar Cookies 5 whisks
These are yummy-taste more like a buttery shortbread than a sugar cookie-very easy to roll and the addition of rolling in powdered sugar instead of flour creates a pretty shine to the surface.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Best Sugar Cookie Ever 4 whisks
adapted from Amy Vanderbilt's Cookbook
by I'm Not Hannah
This dough was very nice to roll after being refrigerated over night-not too stiff and not too soft-just right Goldilocks ! However,the scraps that were rolled out again tended to puff up and spread the cookies a little too much for my liking. So I ended up with some nicely outlined penguins and with some puffy chubby penguins who looked like they had eaten way too much fish and were suffering from water retention. Overall, if you are cautious with your cutting and minimize your re-rolled scraps this is a good dough. The flavor light, the cookie had a nice crisp to it.

Ingredients
1 stick of butter (OR margarine OR 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening), softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Cream butter and sugar
Add egg, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture slowly. The dough will be very stiff.
Wrap the dough and stick it in the freezer for an hour or so. I refrigerated it over night instead of freezing it for an hour.

On a floured surface, turn out the dough and roll to 1/4 inch. Cut out the cookies and lay them on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet.Sprinkle with sugar, non pareils, jimmies, or you can also ice them when they're cool after baking.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes for a softer cookie, up to 12 for a crispy cookie

Group Recipes Best Ever Sugar Cookie 3 whisks-mainly for the flavor
The flavor in these is wonderful with the addition of Grand Marnier. The dough a little hard to handle-crumbles and cracks easily and invites over-working it. These had more of a traditional sugar cookie taste with the orange liquor flavoring enhancing it.
Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temp
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbl. orange liquor or cognac
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup sugar

Directions
Cream butter and sugar on medium speed with mixer. Add egg yolks and beat until fluffy. Blend in vanilla and liquor. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, add to sugar mixture. DO NOT OVER BEAT! Blending with hands is best. Split dough in two portions and pat down into a 1 inch disc shape. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters. Bake in a 350 degree oven until VERY light brown on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Decorate with royal icing

Sugar Cookies 5 whisks
Sweetopia
This dough is beautiful-so easy to roll and cut. And the taste-nice and buttery-like a sugar cookie shortbread combo. These baked up beautifully too-kept their shape, didn't puff up. I found that rolling them to slightly more than 1/8 inch thickness produced a nice cookie.
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups butter (at room temperature)
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
seeds from 1 vanilla bean (or 3 tsp vanilla)
5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer on low to medium speed. (Use the paddle attachment). Mix until thoroughly incorporated – for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula and mix again for a few seconds more.
Over mixing the butter and sugar in this step will cause too much air to be incorporated into the dough. If you’d like a light and fluffy cookie, that’s ideal, however the dough will spread more during baking; not ideal if you’d like the cookie to hold its shape.
2. Add eggs slowly and mix. Scrape down the bowl with your spatula at least once and mix again.
3. Cut open your vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out. Add to mixing bowl. Alternatively, add liquid vanilla extract. Stir briefly.
4. Sift your dry ingredients together. (Flour, baking powder and salt).
5. Add all of the flour mixture to the bowl. Place a large tea towel or two small tea towels between the edge of the bowl and the electric mixer so that the flour won’t escape. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Remove the tea towels and observe the dough mixing; when it clumps around the paddle attachment it’s ready. It’s also important at this stage not to over mix the dough (the gluten in the flour develops and the dough can become tough).
6. Roll the dough out between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet and into the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
7. Roll out the dough further if you need to, and cut out cookie shapes. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Re-roll scraps and repeat.
8. Put cookie dough shapes back into the fridge for 10 minutes to 1 hour to chill again. They will then hold their shape better when baked.
9. Preheat your oven to 350°F or 176°C.
10. Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. The baking time will depend on the size of your cookie.
11. Let cookies cool to room temperature and decorate!

My little beach house work station
Sugar Cookies Tips

Rest your cookies ! Let the flour and sugar fully rehydrate and allow the butter to become firm. 3-4 hours of resting after you make your dough is recommended.

Dough temperature between 45 and 50 degrees F is the ideal-the fat in the dough will be firm and more workable

Remember "colder is better", go easy on the "dust with flour" . Bread flour is a good choice for dusting. If you work in too much flour the consistency of the dough will change and it's little life will be shortened. Once you get it rolled to the desired thickness move it to your baking pan by rolling it around a rolling pin. Or before you even start to roll it,place a piece of parchment paper down so that when you are finished rolling you can simply lift the rolled dough by the parchment paper and place it on your baking tray. Throw the tray and dough in the freezer for about 5 minutes to firm it up again. This will help with precise and clean cuts with your cookie mold. Be careful you don't freeze the dough at this point or you will end up with shattered dough !

Now that you have cut out your designs it's time for another dough nap,the dough not you ! 15 minutes is good.

You can store sugar dough in the freezer-wrap it well-you can freeze it for up to 4 months but no longer. And besides who is thinking of Christmas cookies in August anyway !

Sugar Cookie Palooza was fun but I think I've done enough tasting to last me to Christmas of 2020. What about you ? What's your favorite go to sugar cookie recipe for Christmas ?

My gingerbread cookies flooded with royal icing

And now the fun part begins-Icing Palooza ! I don't have to or want to test various royal icing recipes-my go to one is posted here and is one I learned in pastry school . It has a nice taste from using lemon juice instead of water. And when I dilute it for flooding I add a little lemon juice to the water before thinning the icing.

Royal Icing
Ingredients

1 lb of powdered confectioner's sugar

7 Tbsp Egg White

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

Directions

Sift sugar well.

Mix egg whites and lemon juice together and add to powdered sugar

Whip on high speed for 6-7 minutes. Icing should be very white and fluffy.

Adjust consistency with more egg white or water

Cover with a damp towel and plastic wrap

Use within 24hours.

And this year I used this one that appears on Sweetopia's web site.

Royal Icing Recipe

I like using the meringue powder in place of egg whites

Ingredients:

6 oz (3/4 cup) of warm water

5 Tablespoons Meringue Powder

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 kilogram (2.25 lbs.) powdered icing sugar

*** Note: if your meringue powder has no vanilla flavour (vanilla powder) in it, add a teaspoon of clear vanilla to this recipe.

Directions:In mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.

Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.

Pour in all the icing sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.

Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy. Avoid over mixing or your icing will crumble once it has dried and you don't want royal icing powder all over your cookies !

Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.

Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

I still have my "Cookie Book" from pastry class, it contains all the recipes,hints,directions,and most importantly pictures and ideas. The same way artists keep a sketch book , pastry chefs should keep a sketch book. Pictures and sketches of design ideas. Every Christmas I go to the book for decorating ideas and every year I add to it. Sometimes I just like pulling it off the shelf and paging through it admiring the handiwork of all the creative people out there. Eleni's is in my book-she has beautiful Holiday ideas; Karen's Cookies has a number of links to some very creative people and Karen's Cookies website is a wealth of information too; Marian at Sweetopia does incredible cookie work-you can spend hours and hours at her website or just head over to Flickr and check out the Cookie Artisan's cookie sets-absolutely amazing ! And my favorite decorating supply company is Fancy Flours. The wafer paper for the penguins,angels and ornaments came from them along with some great decorating ideas.

In between storm watching at the Oregon Coast I spent my time icing and decorating the cookies. It was so nice to sit in front of the window, look out and see the ocean and decorate cookies. One of the nicest holidays I can remember. Enjoy my labor of love !

PS. While I was busy decorating J pitched in and made his famous pizzelles !

Of course I had to keep taste testing-these are one of my favorite holiday cookies !

I wish all of you a Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas

My Go To Beef Daube - French Fridays with Dorie

2010-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I was procrastinating this morning. I have perfected procrastination and it is now an art form. In the middle of my morning I was getting ready to write this post and in doing some research I stumbled upon a beautiful blog My French Kitchen. You must visit-it is a beautiful world to procrastinate in -from the clever writings, the gorgeous photos and the watercolors-they left me breathless. As I scrolled through and came upon the first recipe card-so beautifully illustrated with her watercolors, I wanted to run out and buy watercolors and start sketching. I love this world of blogging-so much to inspire .

And speaking of inspiring-another incredible dish by Dorie Greenspan. I thought I loved the chicken I roasted a few weeks ago-the Beef Daube-is another new love. A daube is the French way of describing stew. Beef stew is a good go to dish on a cold blustery day, and everyone has their own favorite recipe. Just once, set aside that recipe and try this one-this is no ordinary stew. From the pan searing, braising in a bottle of wine-yes a bottle-and the smell of the sauce and garlic permeating the house -a culinary pleasure you must try. Parsnips have become my new favorite vegetable this Fall, I've been adding them to everything and so I was excited to see them as an option to add for this recipe. And of course I added them ! Have you bought Around My French Table yet ? No ? Add it to your Christmas list-I'm sure Santa will appreciate the results. Bon Appetit and Happy Holidays.

Click here to see every one's entries for Friday

Gingerbread Christmas Cookies

2010-12-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Have I told you this is my favorite time of year ? It's not the shopping or the presents. It's the memories. How the smell of gingerbread cookies baking in the oven brings back the laughter of my girlfriends . Roasting walnuts, and immediately I can see my mother in the kitchen rolling out her nut rolls. Icing sugar cookies and I can smell my Aunt Mary's fur coat, sitting next to her in the car while we headed to her favorite bakery in downtown Pittsburgh. Carefully filling my cold dough cakes with nuts or apricots or cherries-and my dad is along side me. He loved those and would eat all the cherry filled ones.

I especially miss my dad at Christmas. His last Christmas with us was one I will always treasure. We lived in Salt Lake and he lived in Tampa. We knew Christmas that year would be our last one with him. He was slowly losing his battle with cancer. I wanted to do something special-I must have baked about 40 different types of cookies that year to take with us to Florida. Hoping and praying that maybe through some miracle those cookies would keep him alive longer. Little did I know that what they would do would always keep his memory with me every time I entered my kitchen. You see while I was baking, J and I were filming a little family film. Since the entire family couldn't be together for all the fun preparation leading up to the holidays I thought a movie of it could bring those special moments to my dad. So J and I filmed me baking in the kitchen, both of us walking through the snow around Salt Lake and best of all a visit to Christmas Street in Salt Lake where all the houses were decked out in millions of lights. We laughed and talked like amateur tourist guides on the video. It was a goofy little movie-16mm, old fashioned, dark lighting,wobbly filming, but filled with love. And when we had our gala film opening in Tampa with the family I knew my dad loved it from his laughter and hugs. J and I still laugh today about a comment I made on film "I'm a messy cook but a good cook"-that cracked my dad up. And whenever I say it in the middle of a pan filled, flour dusted messy kitchen -there's my dad smiling ,shaking his head and laughing at me. Today is one of those days that I'm being a messy cook but a good cook.

Sample of gingerbread snowflakes I made when I was in Pastry School-I love the pastel and I think I'll decorate mine like this again.

I've pulled out all my favorite holiday issue magazines trying to decide what to bake. I'm starting with my favorite-my peppery gingerbread. I plan on making the cookies today, storing them away and icing them while we are at the beach. I know it's a tough life, being on vacation and icing cookies at the beach-but someone has to do it . This recipe is an adaptation of Brown Bag Ginger Cookies and Martha Stewart's Gingerbread Cookies-enjoy !

Ingredients
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter-room temperature
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 large eggs-room temperature
1 cup unsulfured molasses

Royal Icing -for decorating
Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling
Edible glitter for decorating

Directions

1.Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

2.Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

3.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. Cut using your favorite cookie cutter. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

4.Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

5.Store between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. Or layer in an airtight container and freeze for up to one month (no icing).

Ingredients for Royal Icing

1 pound powdered sugar
7 tablespoons egg white
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Food coloring (optional)

Directions

Sift powdered sugar well
Mix egg white and lemon juice together and add to powdered sugar
Whip on high speed for 6-7 minutes. The icing should be very white and fluffy
Adjust consistency with more egg white or water
Cover with a damp towel and plastic wrap
Use within 24 hours

Keep your icing at a firm consistency to pipe your outline before you "flood" your cookie. For excellent directions on how to decorate and flood your cookies check out this website: Cake Journal. Louise has a beautiful blog and tons of helpful tips and tutorials.

I'm off to roll my first batch of gingerbread cookies-I'll be making several batches over the next few weeks. Happy Holidays.

Love you dad

Savor Seattle-The Gourmet Food Tour

2010-12-05T18:22:00.000-08:00

Working in the travel industry has its perks. I took advantage of one of those perks on Saturday-participating in the Savor Seattle Gourmet Food Tour. Eric, our tour guide and my fellow tourees didn't know I would be blogging about the tour (with the exception of my friend Megan who also did the tour with me). Whether you are a foodie or just want a behind the scenes taste of Seattle , this tour more than fills the bill so to speak.

Santa kicked off the tour for us at Andaluca Restaurant at the Mayflower Hotel. We were introduced to their very special Sangria along with a Crispy Duck Cake with apricot chutney and cucumber riata. Besides the tasty duck, the Sangria was the best I have ever tasted. Andaluca is very generous in sharing the Sangria recipe, I plan on making it for the holidays. I also plan on returning to Andaluca, that little taste teased me to return for more.

Next-Serious pie. One of Tom Douglas's restaurants-you can never go wrong when his name is on it. And we were not disappointed. As a matter of fact it was very Italian, standing outside the shop and eating our slices. Just another reason to enjoy the gorgeous sunshine and blue skies while we ate pizza. Calling what we ate pizza doesn't seem to do justice to it. The tomato sauce tasted like just picked tomatoes and the truffle cheese on the chanterelle pizza-well you just have to visit Serious pie and try it yourself.

We headed into Pike Market next-to La Buona Tavola ,where we experienced truffle salt,white truffle cream, white and black truffle oil and the ultimate-truffle honey. My taste buds were dancing themselves into ecstasy. I loved this place so much I headed back after the tour and picked up the white truffle cream, the white truffle oil and the truffle salt-better oil up the treadmill !

From La Buona Tavola we pointed towards Il Bistro. How have I lived in Seattle and not discovered this lovely romantic restaurant. The risotto was creamy and luscious and the chef charming and funny. Another restaurant to add to my dining list !

Just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite over to Pike Brewing Company. It was very festive and inviting inside. And the beer-cold and foamy and not too hoppy-I loved the Kilt Lifter along with Beechers Kilt Lifter cheese-perfect combination.

Then onto the Four Seasons, just in time for a pink and blue sunset-ahh Seattle,when the sun shines you are beautiful. I formed a new addiction at Art Restaurant in the Four Seasons-Dry Soda. Specifically -Rhubarb-there will be cases of this stored in my basement at all times-light and bubbly with just a hint of rhubarb. My second favorite drink now behind champagne. Oh and the sliders were quite tasty too !

And what would a tour be without dessert? Off to Gelatiamo we go. We were very fortunate that the owner, Maria, came over and told us all about her business and the panettone she was baking. We got to sample the panettone, "too fresh" Maria cautioned, but still delicious. I'll be dreaming of the creme caramel gelato. It's always nice to eat somewhere that you can feel the heart and soul of the owner-that's Gelatiamo. And Maria was so gracious-she gave us a tour of her pastry kitchen and showed us how she makes the creamy gelato.

If you have friends coming into town for the holidays or have a foodie relative or friend that you can't think of what to buy them-give them this tour-they will love it.

Enjoy the tour and Bon Appetit