Auld Lang Syne

Since it is time to reflect I thought I’d share some reflection with you, my blog-reading pretties. Here’s my version of the Proust Questionnaire.

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before? Started a business
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? No, I’m still not the size I am in my mind’s eye. Yes, I will likely attempt yet again to become the size I am in my mind’s eye.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my book club waged an all-out effort to expand families. Karen had a baby girl named Jessica, Cynthia adopted a baby girl named Eleanor. And soon Sue will pick up her new son Gabriel from Guatamala.
4. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.
5. What countries did you visit? Regretfully, none other than the good old USA.
6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? A job that I enjoy.
7. What dates from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 29th. The day Katrina hit. I watched the whole thing unfold in utter amazement that such a human tragedy could befall the richest, most progressive country in the world.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Taking steps to make a dream into a reality.
9. What was your biggest failure?Trying to diet.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Thankfully, no – unless you count the strained wrist I got on the golf course.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Really cool patio furniture that allows us to relax outdoors.
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sarah – making the National Honor Society was awesome!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Tom Cruise? Brangelina? George Bush? It’s hard to choose.
14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, bills, bills
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to St. Augustine, Florida in May. We played a lot of golf and had a great time together.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005? 100 Years by Five for Fighting. It’s a tear-jerker.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same
b) thinner or fatter? Hmm….about the same!
c) richer or poorer? Ugh, poorer….thanks to gas prices (natural gas and gasoline)
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveling
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working
20. How will you be spending Christmas? In 2006? Hard to tell. But family – hear this: I call dibs on having Christmas at my house!!
21. Did you fall in love in 2005? I fall in love all over again pretty often with my wonderful husband.
22. What was your favorite TV program? Six Feet Under, Survivor, Under Fire (a reality show for chefs that ran on PBS)
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No
24. What was the best book you read? My Sister’s Keeper an awesome novel about medical ethics.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? The iPod and iTunes!!
26. What did you want and get? A second refrigerator for the basement.
27. What did you want and not get? Furniture for my living room, dining room and bedroom
28. What was your favorite film of this year? So far, I think it’s Capote.
29. What did you do on your birthday? Hmmmm…what did we do on my birthday? I don’t really remember.
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?Being debt-free
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Thanks to Stacy and Clinton I am trying to wear clothes that lengthen the torso and make you look thinner by defining the waist. I am also putting more emphasis on sexy shoes and good jewelry.
32. What kept you sane? My husband.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Gosh, I really try not to be dazzled by celebrities, but if I had to pick I would say Candice Olson from Divine Design on HGTV. She has the most amazing taste. Everything she does is sumptuous and elegant. I would think I’d died and gone to heaven if she ever came to do a room in my house. Too bad they only do houses in Canada on that show.
34. What political issue stirred you the most? Anything George Bush has his hands in. In general, the oppressive positions taken by right-wing religious extremists.
35. Who did you miss? Mom and Dad, my family, everyone in Book Club.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Probably Angela, whom I met in my weekly figure drawing class. She is an awesome oil painter and a great lady.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005: I didn't learn this personally but read enough about it to know better: When blogging keep your negative thoughts about work to yourself.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

Well, there you have it. My reminiscences. Take some time to answer these questions for yourself. It truly is cathartic to look back on the year and sum it up.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006. Drive safe and buckle up!

The pleasures of cooking

I received two cookbooks for Christmas, both of which I had requested.  I don’t usually ask for cookbooks because I find the internet suits my recipe-seeking needs very well.  Being the technology project manager that I am, the web-based search engine has bested the low-tech index at the back of the book – so I just don’t cook from books too much anymore.  However, I still love to flip through cookbooks that have great pictures, so every now and then I add one to my collection.  

The two I received this year were Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and Barefoot Contessa Parties by Ina Garten. Both women have shows on the Food Network, and those shows are what made me want to have their books.  The chefs themselves are different.  Giada focuses on Italian food, with a lot of influence from her family favorites.  Ina covers a pretty broad spectrum in terms of what she cooks, which stems from her catering business.  Both seem to do a lot of entertaining, if you believe the scenarios on which their episodes are based.  But I really think what attracted me to their food, and ultimately their cookbooks, is the style in which their shows are produced.

Here’s where I let you in on a dirty little secret of mine.  I think the preparation of food can be a sensual experience.  Yes, that’s right.  It’s a feast for the senses that can evoke certain emotions….or at least it does in me.  And what makes me gravitate toward these shows is that the sensuality of preparing food is played up in the way it is filmed, edited, staged…everything.  In Giada’s case – how can you not play up the sensual experience of cooking with this woman.  She’s a 30ish dead ringer for Sophia Lauren.  She is hot – and they really play that up (nary a show goes by when we don’t get a generous helping of Giada’s cleavage).  But that aside, it’s in the way her hands move with the food product, the sound of an egg cracking while there’s a tight shot on it.  Then there’s the beautiful bowl it gets deposited into.  (They always have such beautiful dishware on these shows.)  

I marvel at the simple elegance of a perfectly manicured hand chopping beautiful red peppers with a gleaming silver knife.  And it’s not done in the frenzied way most chefs chop, but in a gentle, measured cadence – almost lovingly! There’s the sizzle of pancetta as it’s tossed into a hot pan, the stirring of creamy mascarpone cheese. Every time this show is on I am sucked in to watching it.  Even Dave was mesmerized by it recently – although I think that’s because he was fantasizing that Giada and the female friend who was helping her in the kitchen that day were having some sort of an off-camera tryst.  Men!

Now contrast that show with Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa and it proves my point that it is the food preparation that brings the sensuality to the show.  She is the polar opposite of Giada in terms of sexual appeal, however the way in which her cooking process is portrayed is very similar.  The ingredients she uses, the techniques she employs and the ease and elegance with which she works makes you want to see more.  Makes you want to cook what she is cooking.  She also has beautiful dishes, pots, pans, trays, knives, etc.  I am so jealous of their materials…and their kitchens!

I first started to feel this way a couple of years ago when Nigella Lawson had her short-lived cooking show.  Now there was a sensual cooking experience.  They actually included shots of Nigella licking her finger in a provocative way.   At times you almost felt like you were watching the beginning of a soft-core porno movie.  Ahh….I did enjoy that show.  Too bad it was on so briefly.

I guess I could also somewhat safely confess here that I loved the refrigerator scene in 9 ½  Weeks for similar reasons.  Can’t beat good old-fashioned fun with food.  But I seriously digress. Sorry.

I know that these cookbooks will be no substitute for the sensual experience of watching their TV shows, but I have learned some terrific recipes from both Giada and Ina – and am anxious to recreate them for Dave and the girls.  

So now that you know TMI about me, and my culinary proclivities maybe it will help you understand where I’m coming from with this food-focused blog.  Thanks again for riding along with me on my trip to Crazy!  

Twas the day after Christmas and all through the kitchen...

I thought I’d share the menu from our Christmas night dinner. Our leisurely day afforded me the chance to do some more specialized cooking – especially where dessert is concerned. I enjoy making extra special meals for the holidays. It’s important to me that the people I love feel catered-to on Christmas. I try to make them feel so through the gifts I give, the way I present them, the food I serve….even the way I decorate the house is intended to make my family feel at home and comfortable. I want everything they encounter to be lovely and special. I’m sure my family considers these expectations that I place on myself to be way too high – but that’s just who I am. I have learned to be more flexible over the years. I guess age tempers some of the obsession, but that Norman Rockwell image still lurks in the back of my mind.

Anyway, I digress. Dave and I had the following for dinner:

Salad
greens, bacon, avocado, caramelized pecans and gorgonzola cheese tossed in a honey lemon vinaigrette
(I dressed the salad and stacked it on top of the plate using a small can with both ends cut off. It’s a neat way to present a salad because when you carefully remove the can the salad remains stacked in a cylinder….if you’re lucky!)

Filet Mignon
wrapped in bacon and broiled in the oven
(The BBQ grill picked tonight to ran out of gas – so we had to use my freshly-cleaned oven.)

Scalloped Gorgonzola Potatoes
Individual casseroles of sliced Yukon Gold potatoes in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce
(Well, it was supposed to be a gorgonzola cheese sauce but the gorgonzola I purchased was SO salty and strong that I decided not to use very much of it. Instead, I topped the casseroles with grated parmesan cheese. Still good, but not what I was going for.)

Haricots Verts
steamed and tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette
(Yay Whole Foods for having real French green beans! These thin beauties cannot be bested by their American counterparts. The vinaigrette gave them a little added kick.)

Chocolate Mousse in Tuiles
on a bed of crème anglaise with fresh berries
(Here’s a picture. After some false starts making the chocolate mousse and a problem trying to pipe it into the cookie cup with a pastry bag I ended up just using a small ice cream scoop. I also had a heckuva time with the tuiles. Been a while since I've made them. I had forgotten how hard they are to get off the pan - even with a Silpat. I love these rectangular plates. They have so many possibilities and make for such a different presentation from the usual round plates.)

So, consider going all out for that special holiday dinner. New Years Eve is coming up. If you’re planning to stay in, put on the dog! Pull out all the stops! Insert whatever other cliché you can think of here! Show that special someone(s) that they are special to you!

p.s. While I believe he enjoys my cook-fests...or at least the product thereof, Dave dreads them because it means he has a kitchen-full of dishes to wash. He is always a trooper though. He understands, is tolerant of, and even supports my culinary and holiday perfection afflictions. Bless him for that! By the way - thank you honey for the Chocolate Tempering Thermometer!! I love it!

Merry Christmas! Happy first night of Chanukah!

It is a quiet morning for Dave and me. Due to various family challenges we find ourselves solo this Christmas. The girls won’t join us until after dinner – so we’re both a little listless without presents to open and play with. We had a lovely, romantic Christmas Eve. Dinner consisted of an appetizer buffet. We had Rumaki (water chestnuts wrapped in bacon, glazed with a soy sauce and brown sugar mixture), Spinach and Artichoke Dip, a cheese plate, chilled shrimp cocktail and mini quiches. The name of the game was ease and convenience – so several of the items were store-bought. Yes I said it - store-bought. Egad! We lit the candles and the fireplace and noshed while watching “A Christmas Story”. It was wonderfully peaceful and romantic.

This morning we opened the gifts in our stockings while sipping the traditional Christmas Morning Mimosa. I received two Oxo Y-peelers….which I have been wanting! One has julienne teeth on it…so I will be a garnishing whiz soon, no doubt! Dave just shakes his head when I get giddy over kitchen gadgets.

After stockings, we had Pecan Sticky Buns. This was the first batch I had tasted made with Plugra – and I thought they were very yummy. They were light and flaky, rich and sweet. I wish they would have risen a bit higher, but I think that may have been due to the pan, or lack thereof.

You see, when I was planning Sticky Bun Fest 2005, I figured out a way to give everyone their own batch of rolls in a reheatable ‘pan’. Although, it is not a true pan. These neat containers are pan-shaped and made of some type of paper/cardboard that you can bake, store and serve in. So, I made batches of 8 pecan rolls each and baked them in this cardboard pan. Then, when they cooled I wrapped them festively and attached instructions for reheating and serving. I sent a package for each family ‘household’ up to Cleveland with my niece, Amanda. Hopefully theirs reheated and unmolded as easily as mine did.

A few notes on the sticky buns themselves. They are probably the most time-intensive thing I have made….but the results are more than worth it. The recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Bread Bible”. I love Rose because she always clues you in to the science behind what you bake. This recipe starts out as a recipe for brioche. Brioche is a bread that contains eggs and butter. There are many risings – 3 rising periods of 2 hours each, plus more than 8 hours of chill time in the refrigerator. One of the key steps is to let the dough sit in the ‘fridge overnight, so I actually had to map out an hour-by-hour schedule so that the overnight chill time would coincide with bedtime. I think I’ve figured out that if I start the recipe by 4:00-5:00PM it will work fine with my 11PM bedtime.


Then, there’s the making of the caramel and the filling, the toasting of the pecans, etc. As I said, it is time-consuming but worth it. The result is definitely a labor of love.

I hope all of you who received them enjoy!

To all a Merry Christmas. May Santa bring you all what your hearts desire.

I'm Legal! Well, almost.

This morning I was visited by Inspector Hank Kimball (not his real name) from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. He was here to make me a licensed home baker. It seemed all too easy. Most of the time spent was related to a new software program he had on his laptop. Once he made a couple of phone calls to figure out how to enter data for a home bakery (that boosted my confidence!) he was almost done. Just a quick check of the lower cabinets with a flashlight (for rodent droppings?), a peek into the oven and a temperature check of the refrigerator and I was legal! Here are a few pearls of wisdom that I gleaned during the “inspection”:

• Your refrigerator should be kept at approximately 41degrees, but no higher than 45 degrees. It was recommended that I get a refrigerator thermometer to measure the temperature.


• Hank’s mother makes the best raspberry pie ever. You take 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 cup of sugar…… ok I won’t bore you with the rest of the recipe. Seriously, he recited the entire recipe from memory for me.


• If I ever sell to a business I need to prepare an ingredients label for the product which needs to include all sub-ingredients. For example, if I use peanut butter I have to list all of the ingredients in the peanut butter. Can’t just list “peanut butter”. Also have to list the net weight of the product both as a whole, and the individual portions.


• Hank is a handy guy. Not only did he subcontract his own home but he bought a HUD home and rehabbed it himself. No small fete, considering the previous owner had 11 dogs.


• Flour should be kept for no longer than 3 months, and the container should be washed between fillings.


• Hank is a single father whose ex-wife is from Chicago. He’s spent a lot of time there and particularly enjoyed Comisky Park, Navy Pier and Ed Debevics.
• Hank recently had an embarrassing laundry incident. His socks are bleached out because of his hot tub. Apparently bromide, which is used in hot tubs, is a form of bleach. Let that be a lesson to all of us - do not intermingle beach towels and wet bathing suits with the rest of your laundry.

As you might imagine, it was a tedious inspection process.

At the end of it all, I handed him a check for $10 and should receive the official license (which will be appropriately framed and displayed) in two weeks. I feel better knowing I can hold myself out as a licensed baker. The requirements aren’t as rigorous as I would like, but I think it still says something that I took the time to get this done. After all, I'm sure few people can tolerate the ramblings of a Hank Kimball.

Side Dish

Another exciting happening today: The sharpening lady is here! She’s got a dozen or so knives, scissors, etc. out in her handy mobile sharpening workshop right now and is going to town on those blades. What a neat idea! All serious cooks love a good sharp knife. I will definitely be a slicin’ fool! No Ginsu necessary in this household.

Tools and Ingredients

I promised you all a peek at the pan I used to make those small cheesecakes, so here it is. As you’ll see, it is non-stick and has little removable bottoms for each of the 12 holes. I’ll offer a word of caution here – based on recent experience. DO NOT forget to remove those metal disks before you serve. I had the embarrassing task of asking for one of those back after I noticed it sitting on the plate of a co-worker who had just finished one of the cheesecakes. I apologized and explained that I had thought I had removed all of those prior to serving – to which he responded “Yeah, I thought it was weird that I kept hitting something hard at the bottom when I dug my fork into the cheesecake.” Ugh!!

So back to this beautiful pan. It’s really easy to remove the cheesecakes once they’ve chilled overnight. Just take your thumbs and gently push up from the bottom, coaxing around all edges. I started off by running a small knife around the edges before pushing them out but found it unnecessary….plus it ruined the smooth edges of the little cakes. Just be gentle and they will come out perfectly for you.

The pan is from a company called Norpro and can be found here for $21.95 each. A bit pricey, but the resulting dessert is worth it in my opinion.

Side Dish

This week begins Sticky Bun Fest 2005. (Get those minds out of the gutter. This has nothing to do with lusty coeds and honey.) I’m planning on making many batches of my famous Brioche Pecan Rolls, and have a new ingredient to try. I’ve heard a lot about Plugra and I want to see if it makes a difference. Plugra is “European Style” butter. Why Plugra? Well, it’s about butterfat content. And appropriately, I’ve read that Plugra means "more fat" in French. (Mlle. Amanda will be so proud!) I’ve also read that butterfat is tremendously important for taste, texture, and workability. Whatever isn't butterfat in butter is mostly water, and water is not what will make a crust or pastry taste luscious. By law, American butters must contain no less than 80% butterfat. In France, the law stipulates a minimum butterfat content of 82%. Each percentage point of fat makes a difference, so you can imagine the difference you'll taste with French butters - they have a minimum of 84% butterfat, but often weigh in at 86%. We’ll see if the taste difference is notable.

Check back for photos and descriptions of the Sticky Bun Fest.

But I digress

Today’s off-topic topic relates to my eldest stepdaughter Sarah, and her recent achievement. Wednesday night we attended her high school’s National Honors Society induction ceremony. Her application was one of 94 accepted this year in her high school. Dave and I figured that puts her in the top 10% in her junior class.

This is especially impressive to us, since neither of us were similarly honored/chosen when we were in school. My sister got most of the brains in our family, so it really never occurred to me to even apply. I’m sure my application would have been laughed out of the room anyway given my less-than-stellar grades. You see, I was a late bloomer. Ahem

Sarah, on the other hand, is an intelligent, hard-working young lady. She is very involved – Mock Trial team for the second year in a row, Junior Class Treasurer (although I believe she still has not yet seen the “books”), active in Girl Scouts. She is self-directed in her studies – something I never was. Lord knows she has to be, taking two Advanced Placement classes (Government and Language/English Lit.). Oh, she is still very much the teenager in terms of getting in as much couch time (TV time) as possible, but for the most part she is working aggressively toward her goals and plans for the future.

The real fun starts in a couple of weeks, when she finally gets her driver’s license. Following closely on the heels of that big event will be the college visits and – hopefully – her first summer job, although she claims there is no way she will be able to find time to work with the ‘busy summer’ she has planned. We’ll see.

It’s been a pleasure to witness her growth, both personal and academic. I can tell she will do great things with her life.

Dashing in and out

This will be a quick post, since we have a choir concert to get to this evening. Without further ado - here's the result of my mini cheesecake experience. Not too shabby, huh?!



Everyone ooohed and aaahed over them...and the one I had (Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake) was very good. So I ordered 2 more of these pans. That's the only way I can do them in enough volume to make them worth the time spent. I'll share a picture of the pan tomorrow. Promise!

Charting a new course - for me at least!

Today I feel like a pioneer of sorts.....an innovator of cheesecake. Not in the sense that I have created a new flavor or style of cheesecake, but in that I have taken a recipe for a whole 10" cheesecake and adapted it for this nifty new pan I have. That may not sound like a groundbreaking revelation - but it is when you consider that I have not been able to find instructions anywhere - even on the Internet - for using this new pan. Here's why it's so innovative: While most individual cheesecakes are made by using cupcake papers in muffin pans, this pan is like a mini-springform x 12.

What you have are 12 mini wells with straight-up sides (unlike muffin pans) and cut-out bottoms. You then place the little half-dollar sized disks of non-stick metal into the bottom, pack in your cheesecake crust, fill them with cheesecake batter and bake. (The bake time is the hard part - it's a guessing game at this point. Also, some recipes call for the dreaded water bath. Well I can tell you right now, the odds of keeping all 12 of those cheesecakes dry are minimal. So I'll just forego the water bath. Will have to see if that affects the texture of the little cakes.) Then you follow the rest of the cheesecake procedure, cool completely, chill overnight and unmold. Voila! You have 12 beautiful individual cheesecakes ready for devouring.

My debut as an individual cheesecake baker is scheduled for tomorrow, when I bring 2 dozen to work for our annual holiday potluck lunch. I intend to bring 2 kinds. Monday night I worked on the 'plain' cheesecake variety (graham cracker crust, layer of creamy sour cream on top). Last night I made mocha chocolate cheesecakes (chocolate wafer crust). I will decorate them tonight (with fresh fruit, etc.) and will share a picture of the final product.

I think they're gonna look cool....but have already resolved to buy more pans. Making 1 dozen at a time is a slow process.

I guess this makes me a food snob

Every year Dave's whole family gathers for a Christmas celebration weekend early in December. Part of the tradition is to have an appetizer party on Friday night and a cookie exchange on Sunday morning before we all leave. Every year I strive to find something new and different to bring for each of these 'events' - especially where cookies are concerned. I know there will be plenty of jam thumbprints, the requisite holiday cutout cookies, something containing peanut butter, etc. (Those of you outside of Central Ohio may not know this but they are obsessed with peanut butter here, especially Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - known locally as 'Reesie Cups'.)

Well, I always try to find something different. Last year, in addition to making pecan caramel cookies, I brought shortbread cookies made with cardamom. Cardamom is in the ginger family and it made for a nice twist on an old favorite. This year, I've found another interesting little gem - Rosemary Shortbread cookies!! They are quite different - and tasty! How can you go wrong with powdered sugar, butter, flour and fresh minced rosemary? That's about all there is to it. Plus, one really cool thing - you don't have to chill the dough before you roll it out and cut it.
Here's the recipe, and a picture. I intend to package them in stacks of 3 in clear cellophane bags tied with gold ribbon. The rosemary is very fragrant, so I don't want them 'infecting' the other cookies that they are packaged with. They really are lovely and so different. See what you think.

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
1/2 C butter, softened
1/3 C sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy, gradually adding sugar, beating well.

Gradually add flour to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Gently stir in rosemary.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut with a 2-inch cookie cutter, place cutouts on lightly greased baking sheets. (I used parchment paper - no need to grease pan!)

Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yield 1 dozen.

My notes:

• ALWAYS use real butter in cookies - preferably unsalted.
• I quadrupled the recipe (except for the flour - of which I only added 5 cups instead of 6) - and got approximately 4 dozen - although that yield is not completely accurate since my cookies were all different sizes.

Try them. Let me know what you think. I know my pretties are out there reading because the nifty hit counter keeps rolling....however nobody ever comments!! C'mon! I hear you breathing!

One more note - I tried uploading the picture but the blogger site is wicked slow tonight. I will publish it soon, I promise. Don't let that stop you from trying these cookies!!!

A busy weekend for this baker

Well, there goes another satisfied customer of Buttercream....at least I hope so.

I spent approximately 11 hours this weekend making 3 cakes for a woman who was having a dessert and coffee party today. She ordered a German Chocolate cake, a Carrot Cake and a cheesecake - Double-chocolate Pumpkin. Here's the low-down on the experience and a few pictures.

First, I started out making the Inside-out German Chocolate Cake on Friday night. I wrapped them and stored them in our brand spakin' new refrigerator in the basement (have I mentioned how much I love having this extra cool space?) until Sunday morning. This morning I got up and made the dulce de leche (bake sweetened condensed milk in a water bath for 90 minutes!) then mixed it with the toasted coconut and chopped pecans. This is then spread while still warm between the 3 layers of the chocolate cake. Then, it is coated with chocolate ganache. I'm still working on being able to smooth ganache to a flawless coating. I have a long way to go. The leaves on top of this picture are made by painting melted chocolate on leaves. I have used real leaves from trees in the past, but since they are now a tad crispy or nonexistent, I opted for silk leaves, which I found in the craft store. Actually these leaves are meant to be holly. (And yes, I wash all of the leaves I use first! ) Once you paint them you put them in the 'fridge to harden up. Then you gently peel them off the hardened chocolate, and if you're lucky and your hands aren't too warm you get these beautiful chocolate leaf facsimilies! It amazes people when I do this!

On to Saturday. After a bout of holiday shopping at the mall I settled down to make the Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake. This beauty has 3 types of chocolate - milk, semisweet and a bittersweet ganache on top. Then obviously there's a layer of pumpkin in there too. The method is simple but it's a very messy recipe because you need to melt 3 different kinds of chocolate, mix 4 different layers, etc. Then - the thing that always makes me cringe - it bakes in a water bath. Now I have an amazing springform pan - professional grade and all. Cost me $38. But it is by no means leakproof. (Not sure there is such a thing as a leakproof springform pan.) So I cover the bottom in heavy-duty aluminum foil and pray that I do not fill the bain marie past the lowest part of the aluminum foil shell. It got a bit tense this time but I think it came out ok. I'll have to query my customer.

Lastly, Saturday night I made the layers for the Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing. Truth be told, I hadn't made one of these in a looooong time. I took a recipe I found online and augmented it a bit. To the carrot cake base I added some crushed pineapple, a bit of ginger and about 1/4 cup of golden raisins....wait for it.....soaked in brandy! Yeeeewww!!! When they came out of the pan they looked beautiful! I frosted it this morning. The maple cream cheese frosting I used was a tad runny - so that concerns me. I let it sit in the freezer for about 15 minutes before transporting it across town to my customer's home. It looked ok when I dropped it off!

So there you have it, my pretties. I felt kinda professional. I even printed up an invoice. Boxed everything up nicely with ribbons tied around each box. Taped my business card to the top. Like I have a real professional operation here! And then, there it was! A check!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

It was hard work, and I still have a lot to learn......but I'm getting somewhere!

Grandiose Plans

Now is the time of year when us Martha Stewart Wannabes bite off more than we can chew - no pun intended.

Aside from the fact that I have a significant cake order this weekend (a 9" German Chocolate Cake, a 9" Carrot Cake and a 7" Double-chocolate pumpkin cheesecake!!), I am finding that time for my own holiday baking is dwindling. I have fantasies that surround baking. Yes, call me crazy (my husband does) but if I didn't have to make a paycheck or two this month I would be a baking fool. Here are some of the projects I fantasize about, but will probably have to give up:

- I would bring beautifully decorated individual cheesecakes to the holiday potluck at my work. It would require that I make about 2-2.5 dozen of said cheesecakes.
- I would make beautiful cut-out cookies that I would stack together, tie with ribbons and package in crisp cellophane bags. These I would hand out to relatives at my husband's annual Family Christmas weekend.
- I would bake several different types of cookies and freeze. That way, when we go places I can bring plates of cookies for the hosts.
- I would make many batches of my new favorite brioche pecan sticky buns to give away. These make wonderful Christmas morning nibbles.

All of this is in addition to the regular cooking that goes on around here...although there hasn't been too much cooking (at least from-scratch cooking) going on here lately. I've been busy in the evenings after work - which is probably what's going to sabotage my baking plans.

Of course, I also have grandiose ideas about decorating my home for the holidays. Last February I even put a sticky note in my planner for October that said

"Start making holiday decorations. Remember you bought all
kinds of ornaments and holiday ribbon that is in the basement.
Get out that glue gun."

But have I begun that yet either? Nooooo....

Oh well, I'm a Cub Fan.....so I'm used to hanging my head and uttering the phrase "There's always next year."

Making it Legal

Wouldn't you, as a consumer, prefer to purchase the food you eat from an establishment that has met health and quality standards established by the FDA and the local health department? I know I would. So, when I decided to start a baking business of course I decided that I should do it right, by the books, become bonafied (he's a suitor!). Thus began my search for the criteria by which I would become so. In looking through the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Food Safety website I stumbled upon a list of licensing requirements...bingo! Here's what it says:

Type of License Home Bakery
Cool. Sounds like what I need.
Who Needs This License? Home baking of potentially hazardous baked goods
Hazardous goods? I'm not making nuclear reactors here!
Annual Fee $10
Yay! It's cheap! Do I get something I can frame?
Requirements No pets in the home and no carpet in the kitchen
Hmmmm....Do turtles count? Do floor runners count?
Forms Needed License application is supplied at time of inspection.
Inspection? Is this really necessary? I guess I have to prove that I'm not making anything 'hazardous'. Probably shouldn't show him the turtle tank.

All in all - not so tough, but also not as stringent as I would expect if I were ordering from someone who worked out of their home. Might I suggest that they require that home bakers wash their hands, tie their hair back, not cough or sneeze into the food? Really, you Ohio Dept. of Agriculture Health Inspectors. Let's step it up a bit!

So I called to arrange for said inspection. They told me it could happen anytime within the next 3-6 weeks. That narrows it down. Wonder if it will be a surprise inspection. I need enough advance notice to clean my stove.

But I digress - about Eleanor!

This post is going to be off-topic (non-food related) but I can't think of a better reason. My dear friend Cynthia and her husband Rich are in China right now, and about 15 hours ago they became the parents of a beautiful 8 month old Chinese girl.

They have been in process for over a year on this adoption. Here is a link to her "blog" page chronicling the moment they received their daughter Eleanor. Can you imagine?!

I am thrilled for them. They will make wonderful parents for Eleanor. All of their lives are changing dramatically at this very moment.....all for the better. Now there's a holiday feel-good for all of us. Much better than the temporary high had from buttercream!

Ayi (Auntie) Lindi

Out with Pumpkin, in with Christmas Cheer

This morning I gave my final salute to fall. Since we here at the house have catapulted ourselves into the holiday frenzy this weekend, it is time to kiss Thanksgiving....and fall...goodbye. This afternoon we turn our house into a holiday wonderland.

My send-off was in the form of Pumpkin Pancakes. Last time I was in Chicago visiting my dear friends, we went to M . Henry (5707 N. Clark St.) and I had the most amazing Pumpkin pancake dish that I decided to try to recreate it. What better send-off to fall than this!?

I started by making a filling of sorts to layer between the pancakes. When I had it at M. Henry the menu described the filling as a mascarpone maple mixture....so that's what I did. I took about 1 cup of mascarpone cheese and 1/3 cup of pure maple syrup (not Mrs. Butterworth's - but real maple syrup). It seemed a bit too tart to me upon tasting, so I added a teaspoon of sugar. Then I took a jar of Hershey's caramel ice cream topping and poured it into a squeeze bottle (You don't have to be as anal as me. Feel free to just drizzle it over the pancakes with a spoon when the time comes.) I also chopped some pecans for sprinkling over the top.

I set all of that aside and began making the pancakes, This is the recipe I used.

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
4 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegetable oil

Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, melted butter and vanilla in medium bowl to blend well. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients; whisk just until smooth (batter will be thick). Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into batter in 2 additions.

Brush large nonstick skillet with oil; heat over medium heat. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles form on surface of pancakes and bottoms are brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with oil between batches. Makes about 12.

When the pancakes were done, I plated them individually by laying 3 pancakes on the plate, adding a healthy dollop of the mascarpone filling and topping it off with another pancake. Then, I used the squeeze bottle to make a nice caramel design on top. Topped it off with a sprinkling of chopped pecans and VOILA! Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pancakes!

Dave and the kids (well, Sarah at least) seemed to enjoy them.

Ok I gotta dash. We're off to the mall to embrace the spirit of holiday capitalism. More later.

Emerging from a Tryptophan Coma

It always amazes me that we prepare for Thanksgiving for days, and toil over hot oven and stove for hours....and it's over in a matter of minutes. Oh, I know Thanksgiving is more about family and the chance to relax and be in each others' company.... but the swiftness with which we devour is always mind-boggling.

We had a great meal at my sister-in-law's house. I brought the afore mentioned Bourbon Orange Pecan Pie...and people seemed to think it was ok. All the usual Thanksgiving suspects were present.....except for Grandma's noodles. I could have made them...but did not take the time to do so this year.

In my family Grandma's noodles have always been a staple at any family holiday affair. When Grandma was alive she and Grandpa used to sweep into the house with a bit silver pot of the eggy mixture. Usually it was carefully handed off to another adult while they took off their coats and got settled. Invariably, you would hear one of the kids shout "The noodles are here!" We always looked forward to ladling out a serving (or 2) of noodles onto our plates. The adults poured them over their mashed potatoes...but I could never bring myself to do that. The two dishes are perfect on their own. No reason to mix.

I know that Grandma's noodles were born of the Depression and the need to feed 5 children on little to no money. This didn't occur to me until I was an adult myself. When I realized the part that this no-frills side dish played in my heritage, I set out to learn how to make them. My sister had already learned, and so combined with my Grandma's recipe and my sister's guidance, I became a noodler.

I suppose to anyone outside my family these aren't anything special. They are a simple combination of egg, flour, salt, milk and yellow food coloring. You mix it all up, roll the dough out paper thin, and let it sit overnight, or until they have dried. Then you cut them into strips. Next, you boil them in chicken stock. That's it. They do not have much flavor, not much to look at....but no matter. They are home. They are family. They are my heritage.

It was either an aunt or my mother who always said that the way to tell who would be good husband material was to see if he likes Grandma's noodles. Thankfully, Dave does seem to like them....if not just tolerate them because they mean so much to me.

When my Grandma died, I inherited something that will stay with me until I die. I inherited the rolling pin she used to roll out her noodles. Now, every time I use that rolling pin...be it for pie crust or crushing up crackers, or for noodles....I think of Grandma - and she is with me.

I think that's why I'm so melancholy that there were no noodles today. I'm thinking about you any Grandma....wherever you are.

Yay! Pictures!!

My dear sister ordered a cheesecake for Thanksgiving, and is working her way to me to pick it up as I type. So, to commemorate the occasion I thought I'd include a picture of it here.

There you have it - in all it's glory - Turtle Cheesecake. It is chocolate cookie crust, vanilla cheesecake streaked with chocolate, and bits of caramel scattered here and there in the body of the cake. The topping is chocolate ganache, caramel and pecans. (She requested that the nuts be removable.)

I hope she likes it!!!

(Someone please write in with some tips on how to take pictures of food so that it actually looks appetizing! Please!!)

Take a leek

My sister asked, in one of her postings, what the difference is between a leek and an onion, (she meant a scallion, I'm supposing) and can you substitute one for the other. Here's what I found out:

leek
Native to the Mediterranean countries, the leek has been prized by gourmets for thousands of years. Nero believed leeks would improve his singing voice and is said to have eaten prodigious quantities to that end. In the sixth century A.D., the Welsh made leeks their national symbol because they were convinced that the leeks they wore on their helmets to distinguish them from their enemies strengthened them and helped them win wars. Leeks still hold a flavorful spotlight in today's cuisine.

Looking like a giant scallion, the leek is related to both the garlic and the onion, though its flavor and fragrance are milder and more subtle. It has a thick, white stalk that's cylindrical in shape and has a slightly bulbous root end. The broad, flat, dark green leaves wrap tightly around each other like a rolled newspaper. Leeks are available year-round in most regions. Choose those with crisp, brightly colored leaves and an unblemished white portion. Avoid any with withered or yellow-spotted leaves. The smaller the leek, the more tender it will be. Refrigerate leeks in a plastic bag up to 5 days. Before using, trim rootlets and leaf ends. Slit the leeks from top to bottom and wash thoroughly to remove all the dirt trapped between the leaf layers. Leeks can be cooked whole as a vegetable or chopped and used in salads, soups and a multitude of other dishes. "

I myself would not suggest substituting. There is really no need to, since leeks are usually available in most supermarkets these days.

Boy, I bet that Nero had some breath, huh!?

A Big Shout Out!

Hullo there to all you STERIS employees. My sister, dutiful frequenter of this blog, informs me that I have a following at her company. Thanks, sis, for the referral. It helps to know people actually read this....that I'm not just tossing words and precious time out into the technological abyss.

Maybe it would be appropriate here to share some background on why I chose to blog. In terms of culinary blogs, the one that sparked me - over a year ago - can be found here: http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html It's called the Julie-Julia Project. Julie Powell, from NYC, decided to try to cook all 500 or so recipes from Julia Childs' book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" within a year. Her blog chronicles her trials and tribulations, and from Day 1 I was addicted. Not only because I grew up loving Julia Child (watched her shows on PBS for as long as I can remember) but because I love any writings about food.

Check out my bookshelf next time you're at my house. In addition to cookbooks, I have many food-related non-fiction books by chefs and food critics like Ruth Reichel, M.F.K. Fisher, Anthony Bourdain, Jeffrey Steingarten - to name a few. So, when an average Jane like Julie Powell began her project and started writing about it daily, I was there! (I'm all about instant gratification, as my sister and dear husband will no doubt attest.)

So my plan is to treat this blog similarly. This gourmet dessert business is my project, and you all are invited to ride along to see what happens. While my blog won't be nearly as colorful as Julie's (and the language should be less salty - Although I did type "butt-load" yesterday, which allowed me to feel very mischievous!) I hope you find it somewhat entertaining. And please, feel free to comment. My sister informed me that the Comments feature had become unusable. I tinkered a bit (without really knowing what I was doing) and think I got it working again...so please, feel free to help a girl out.

Thanks for reading me, my pretties!

What to do while that big game is on.

My husband is watching a big football game so I think I'll cook. Here's what I'm serving at half-time. As written, it's a good recipe for vegetarians. (Hi Jen!) However, I added chicken stock to amp up the flavor, and crumbled bacon for some extra crunch, and a little additional smoky accent.

Leek Potato Soup

1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
14 ounces, approximately 3 small, Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
1 quart vegetable broth (I used organic chicken stock)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon snipped chives
Crumbled bacon

Chop the leeks into small pieces. In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.

Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.

Serves 6

Bon Appetit!

Oh, and by the way....we bit the bullet and bought a refrigerator today! Woo hoo! Cold storage for more cake stuff!!!

New toys have arrived!

Last night when I got home from work there was a big box on our front porch. My baking toys are here! As you get deeper into a new passion, you begin to learn all sorts of things about tool the professionals use, ways to be more efficient, etc. So, while combing through the thousands of pastry-related websites I came across a few supply companies.....and discovered some things I thought I would try out.

(Caution: The descriptions below are truly pastry-geek material. Perhaps a double espresso is in order if you plan to proceed.)

Parchment rounds No more fashioning circles from rectangular rolls of parchment for this girl! I now have approx. 100 pre-cut 9" parchment circles to use in the bottoms of my pans. This purchase should save me, oh say 7 minutes per cake!!

Pre-fab decorative cardboard pans I got these with the intention that I will be giving away packages of my brioche pecan rolls for the holidays. These beauties are nice enough to make a good presentation, and the beauty is that you can bake right in them!! Oops....I suppose some readers will know what they're getting for Christmas now.

Dowels Someday I intend to try to stack a couple of cakes to see what all of the fuss is about. Must have dowels on hand if you're gonna stack cakes.

Square pans I love the look of the trendy square cake, so I bought a few 9" square pans. Gonna play with them to see how they act/work and what the final product is like.

21" pastry bag This is the Mac Daddy of pastry bags! It can hold a butt-load of frosting! Just what you need for those bi-i-i-i-i-i-g cakes.

Cake boards For those of you who don't bake to give away or sell, you have no idea how many of these do-hickeys you need to have on hand. Not only boards, but boxes too. For each size cake that you do you need cardboard to maneuver the layers, and to sit underneath the final product. Plus, you need boxes to package them in. Anyway, I bought a case of 9" cake boards. 250 of them seems like a lot, however the unit price is much cheaper than what I've been paying buying them one-off at the local cake store. The things you learn!!

Anyhoo, it was exciting to me at least to see all this new stuff come in. I feel more professional just having ordered from a distributor of such things! Call me crazy.

The next item to buy in bulk is chocolate. I've been doing some research but have yet to pull the trigger and order. I spend far too much money (and get lower quality than I would like) buying chocolate at the grocery store. More on that quest another time, though.

Oh, I may have a cheesecake order for Thanksgiving. Bless my co-workers. They sure have sweet teeth!

Not "in the game" this Thanksgiving

I made a quick trip to the grocery store last night and became a bit wistful as I passed the freezer full of turkeys, the cans of pumpkin and fake, congealed cranberry sauce (which, for the record, I would never eat). I'm wistful because this year, I won't be cooking.

Well, I should say, I will not be responsible for the meal. I am charged with bringing a pecan pie to my sister-in-laws, but that's the extent of my responsibilities this year. There are pros and cons to this setup.

Pro
No prep, no clean-up! Yee haw!
I can sleep in on T-day morning
This will be shocking to all of you, but I'm not a big fan of leftovers, so having none is a pro!
(this isn't usually a problem since I'm married to a leftover-consuming machine. LOVE HIM!)

Con
I kinda enjoy having a big family meal here, and we don't do it often enough
I've never made a pecan pie (not a big fan of those, either)

So I guess it's not such a bad thing. And I'm even looking forward to making the pecan pie. I found this great recipe on epicurious.com (my fave recipe website) that kicks up the plain old pecan pie a bit. Check it out:

BOURBON-ORANGE PECAN PIE WITH BOURBON CREAM

1 recipe Pie Crust
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel
4 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups pecan halves (about 9 1/2 ounces), toasted

1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under; crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line pie crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer pie crust to rack. Maintain oven temperature.

Whisk brown sugar, corn syrup, and melted butter in large bowl to blend. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Stir in candied orange peel, 3 tablespoons bourbon, grated orange peel, vanilla, salt, and then toasted pecans. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake pie until edges puff and center is just set, about 50 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 hour. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at
room temperature.)

Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup chilled whipping cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, and remaining 1 tablespoon bourbon in large bowl until cream holds peaks. Serve pie warm or at room temperature with bourbon cream. Makes 8 servings.

So I'll have to take solace in the knowledge that my pecan pie will be the best it can be.

Oh, one more pro - I can focus on baking Christmas Cookies instead of prepping for the big T-day meal!

It's officially cold. Time to stay inside and bake.

Nothing like a 39 degree day with blustery winds and sleet to make you want to stay inside and bake/cook. Tonight I'm making pork tenderloin with a really nice cranberry raisin white wine butter sauce. I had this once at a restaurant here in Columbus (Riverside - which, sadly, closed a month ago!) and fell madly in love with the recipe. I sweet talked the waiter a bit in the hopes of wheedling the recipe out of the chef, but no dice. So, I attempted to recreate it myself, and seem to have captured it.

You simmer dried cranberries and golden raisins in apple cider with a little bit of white wine until plump and tender. Use enough liquid so that it doesn't completely evaporate when you simmer the fruit. When the sauce has thickened, add a few tablespoons of unsalted butter and wisk gently. You'll end up with a silky smoothe compote to ladle over the top of the pork loin slices, which you have sauteed separately in another pan. If you have an orange or lemon handy, zest it over the top, and voila! A beautiful and tasty fall entree. I'm serving it tonight with oven-roasted asparagus and rolls.

For dessert we're having strawberry shortcake. I've had these strawberries in the fridge for alost a week now, and have been uninspired. Therefore in order to use them before they rot, I'm going to whip up a quick shortcake and top with the usual whipped cream from a can. I prefer the following shortcake recipe, but since I don't have fresh lemons to zest, they won't be quite the same. See what you think.

___________________________________________

Lemon Shortcakes for Strawberry Shortcake

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon peel and salt in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk and melted butter in medium bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture and stir just until moist dough forms. Drop 8 dough mounds (about 1/3 cup each) onto nonstick baking sheet. Using lightly floured hands, gently pat biscuits into neat 2 1/4-inch-diameter round about 1 1/4 inches high. Bake until biscuits are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cut warm biscuits in half horizontally. Place bottom halves of biscuits on 8 plates. Spoon strawberries generously over, allowing some berries and juices to spill onto plates. Add whipped cream. Place top halves of biscuits over and serve.

______________________________________________

That's all for now. Stay warm, my pretties.

Order Up!

I think the holiday season will be good proving ground for me. I was approached by yet another woman at work today about my new business. She is having a holiday party centered around coffee and dessert! She would like me to provide the desserts. She's having 15-16 couples and would like a mixture of cake and cheesecakes. Wahoooo!!! (Oh, did I mention that I do cheesecakes too? I do.)

So, I'm working on finalizing my price list. Why is it that charging people (especially people that I know) makes me feel guilty? I worry that I'm charging too much, despite doing research on comparable products in my area. I worry that people won't want to pay what I am asking or won't think what I create is worth the price? Maybe I'm too nice to be a businesswoman. I know one thing, our bank account isn't going to like it if I don't start recouping some of my investment. Therefore, I will charge. Apologies to all of my friends and relatives.

Here's a question for you, dear reader: Should I come up with cute names for my cakes (each item on the menu will have a description of main ingredients) or should I just tell it like it is?

For example, which do you prefer:

Lemon Creme Fantasy, or
Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Mascarpone Frosting

Here's where having an extensive product marketing background would help.

That's it for today. Gotta get that price list done. Paying clients await.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cake - a.k.a. My Nemesis

At the risk of giving the impression that I am not ready for prime time as a cake baker, I’ll share a little story with you about a recent cake from hell experience. I do so just to shed some light on what can go wrong, and why cakes (baked from scratch with high-quality ingredients) cost more than you think they should.

The week before last, I had 3 cakes on the docket – the first was a sheet cake (15x22) for Sarah’s Golf League banquet. It was a 2-layer cake, with half chocolate and half vanilla. The filling was chocolate mousse and the frosting was a chocolate buttercream. The coolest part was that instead of just writing the names of the girls on the team on the cake, I wrote them all out in chocolate (on wax paper) and when they hardened, I stood them on the top of the cake. Wish I had taken a picture.

The second was an inside-out German Chocolate cake that was ordered by a co-worker for her birthday. The German Chocolate part is used as filling between the three layers of chocolate cake. It’s topped off with a chocolate ganache, which I then cover with chocolate leaves. Again, no picture but it makes for a beautiful and quite tasty cake. Dave says it’s quite possibly his favorite so far.

The third cake was ordered by another co-worker for his wife’s birthday. It was to be a white chocolate raspberry cake. Notice I say it ‘was’ to be. Here’s what happened.

I mixed up the cake batter just fine – was using a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s “The Cake Bible”. When I went to put it into the pans I remembered that I had cake strips that I had never used before, so I thought I’d give them a try. (For those who don’t know – they are metallic-coated fabric strips. You soak them in water and pin them around the outside of the cake pans. Their purpose is to help the cake bake evenly so you don’t get a dome in the center.) Into the oven they went.

When the timer went off, the cakes didn’t look right to me. I let them bake a bit longer and then took them out. I let them sit for 10 minutes and then went to unmold them. Egads! They fell flatter than a pancake in seconds.

Ok…let’s ponder. What did I do differently? Well, I had used egg yolks that I had frozen and then thawed. (BTW I would not recommend this as they do not return to a liquid state. They almost seem as though they have been hard-boiled.) So I thought that must be why they fell. No choice but to remake them….which I do….with fresh egg yolks. Once again, apply the cake strips. Once again, into the oven. Once again, the damn things fall once I unmold them. Strike 2.

So I remake the batter a third time. I’m just about out of ingredients here, so 3 strikes and I’ll be out. Before I bake it I consult with Dave. We decide that it must be the cake strips. This time I leave them off. This time, the cake actually rises and stays risen after I unmold! Eureka!!

But that’s not the end of the story. Not by a long shot.

Next, it’s on to the Raspberry Mousse that I intend to use as the filling. This involves pureeing 2 bags of frozen raspberries and pushing them through a sieve (to de-seed), which is a pain in the patoot, but that’s just the way that I roll. You combine that with some unflavored gelatine, which is a thickening agent, and whipped cream – and you’re supposed to have a thick, stable filling suitable for a cake. However mine was more the consistency of a sauce when it should be more like a thickish custard or pudding. Ungood.

I think where I went wrong was how I combined the gelatine with the raspberry puree. I don’t think I got the gelatine warm enough – so that when it came in contact with the raspberry puree it wasn’t able to set up like it needed to. At this point, the thought of remaking raspberry puree, and having to run to the store to get more ingredients, was more than I could stomach. Quick – I need a plan B. When all else fails, frosting heals. I’ll just double the frosting recipe and use that as the filling – maybe toss some fresh raspberries in for good measure. Perfect.

Only, I hadn’t ever made this frosting recipe before. This was the Fatal Flaw. (duhn duhn duhnnnnn)

Now I should have known how this would turn out when, in the first paragraph of the text that describes the recipe, Rose (Ms. Cake Bible) cautions that “if your butter is even remotely too warm, what could have been a lovely, silky smooth frosting will turn into a gritty vat of goo” or something like that…because that’s exactly what happened. Apparently my butter was remotely too warm.

That’s it. I’ve got nothing. (Insert statements of guilt, self-doubt and incompetence here.)

By that time I had been working a good 6-7 hours straight on this project, had done oh, I’d say 5 sinks-full of dishes, and was really not loving this. Plus, the larder was for the most part bare of all necessary ingredients. So I called my co-worker and sheepishly reminded him that I’m not a professional, and told him that I didn’t have a cake for him. Not great for a start-up business owner, but I didn't know what else to do at that point.

What was I thinking, anyway? Me? A professional baker? Bahhh!

I did manage to salvage the cake layers (they are frozen) and will attempt to remake this cake…..but not right now. It’s just too soon. The pain is too fresh. And the grocery budget is kinda low this week.

I have been temporarily bested by sugar arts - but I will prevail!

But I digress

So I'm starting to realize that the beauty of having your own blog is that you can say what you want, right? Well for starters, here's one of my new favorite pet peeves: Cordless cell phone headsets. I've seen so many of them - just within the past week - that I get totally irritated with them now. What is the deal with people who have these things permanently affixed to their heads just waiting for that call to come in? I have always abhorred people who hold conversations while they shop (for food, for clothes, for housewares) but this takes it to another level.

Whereas before, people (mostly women) were somewhat deterred from conversing on their cell phones while in public by having to use one hand to hold it while they pawed through racks of clothing or pushed carts down the grocery store aisles, now they are completely unfettered, and thus even more prevalent and exceedingly more annoying.

Pretty soon there will just be a chip that you have surgically implanted in your ear canal and you do a tap dance or something to accept a call. Pardon me if I remain old school in my use of cell phones.

Yes, I know....I said this was a blog about food, and starting up a cake business. It will be. Since I'm completely off topic anyway, let me add another random thought that I had today:

Whatever happened to that fabulous word 'prestidigitation'? What a great word! Remember Bing Crosby on those Florida Orange Juice commercials? Let's revive that word. For example: "Why Jen, you showed extreme prestidigitation in inserting that tricky IV into your patient."

pres·ti·dig·i·ta·tion n.

1. Performance of or skill in performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands; sleight of hand.


2. A show of skill or deceitful cleverness.

Thanks for sticking with me. More about pastry coming soon....including a blow-by-blow of a recent baking disaster.

Cheers and happy Sunday evening!
    

Last of a 3-day weekend

Sunday mornings - newspaper, coffee......a slice of heaven!

So yesterday's activities (post-refrigerator hunt) included mowing the lawn, which I never, ever do. (Well, I did it once before to get back into my husband's good graces, and to prove that I could start a mower all by myself. Girl Power! Yeah!) Anyway, when your husband is in week #1 of his 6 week recovery from a hairline fracture of the radius (tennis accident.....caused, of course, by my rocket forehand), you have to step up and take one for the team. So I mowed. And cursed the fact that my husband refuses to buy a self. propelled. mower! Grrrrrr.

Afterwards, Sarah and I (stepdaughter #1) made dinner. Here's our menu:

• Cheese and Corn Chowder (great, hardy soup)
• Caesar Salad
• Grands Flaky Butter-flavored biscuits (mmmmm warm, pull-apart biscuits)

And the piece de resistance...

• Caramelized apple toffee crisp with vanilla ice cream

Now I must tell you, before I reveal the recipe.....that this is the absolute best Apple Crisp that I have ever made. Nay, that I have ever eaten! It is that good! As good or better than those I have eaten in any restaurant, and I am a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to ordering apple desserts in restaurants. (Just ask my husband, who usually graciously foregoes his gooey, chocolate desires to split yet another apple dessert with me.)

Ok....are you ready? Can you handle it? Here it is:

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Caramelized apple toffee crisp with vanilla ice cream

2 3/4 to 3 pounds (6 large) Granny Smith apples
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
TOPPING:
1 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup toffee bits (see note)
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
Confectioners' sugar for garnish
1 pint vanilla ice cream, optional (Breyer's French Vanilla is outstanding)

Have ready a 9-by-13-inch oven-to-table baking dish.

For the filling, peel and core apples. Then cut them in half lengthwise and cut each half into 4 wedges. (You should get about 8 cups.) Place slices in baking dish and toss with butter and lemon juice. In a small bowl, stir sugar, cinnamon and salt together and sprinkle over apples. Toss to coat well.

For the topping, place walnuts, toffee bits, flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl and mix well. Add butter and, using your fingertips, rub mixture together until it resembles pea-sized clumps. Scatter topping evenly over apples.

Bake on center rack of preheated 350-degree oven until apples are tender and juicy and topping is golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove and cool 5 to 10 minutes. (The crisp can be prepared 4 hours ahead; cool and leave at room temperature, uncovered. Reheat in preheated 350-degree oven until warm, about 15 minutes.)

To serve, dust crisp with confectioners' sugar. Garnish each portion with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a sprig of mint, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Heath "Bits o Brickle" toffee bits, which are usually found in the baking section of the grocery, work well in this recipe. Do not use chocolate-coated toffee bits.

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The toffee bits are what differentiates this recipe from other crisps, so do not omit!

In terms of the business, start-up activities continue. No cake orders this week, however I am in the process of creating a 'menu' of sorts, which lists the cakes I offer as well as sizes and prices. I may make a swap deal with a guy at work who has offered to help me with a website if I bake cakes for him. He has a few birthdays coming up in his family soon. Sounds like a deal!

Dave also suggested that I start keeping some books on what I spend vs. make. I agree, but it would be so depressing at this point to see how much this is costing us, knowing that it will be a long while before I turn anything resembling a profit.

Especially since I need that refrigerator....and a new 6 quart stand mixer (either a Viking or KitchenAid would do!). Santa.....are you listening???

Ciao, Bellas!

Disappointed!

Alas you know how the deals you read about in those ads in the newspaper never seem to be just what you envisioned them to be...that there's always some catch? Well, so it is with the appliance outlet ads. Why is it that you cannot get a bare-bones 'fridge....something basement-worthy.....for under $299? Really folks, all we want it for is to hold mass quantities of food. Does it have to cost that much?

We even offered to buy one of the real ugmos.....the dented, the scratched, the mangled. No dice.

So I guess I better get to selling some cakes and turning a profit so that someday we can have our main refrigerator back.

Bummin.

Day 1: I am live!

Whew, I went through the setup for this blog on a whim....but look at me now! A full-fledged blogger!

My intention is to chronicle the trials and tribulations of a baker-wannabe through the start-up of her fledgling cake baking business. In other words, this will be a food blog. I'll dish more history later (blatant food pun intended!) but for now, I have to sign off. Dave and I (my wonderful husband/biggest fan of 2.5 years!) are off to the discount appliance store to buy a second refrigerator. For what, you may ask? For cakes, of course....and all of the ingredients that are contained therein.

Hence the name.....Buttercream. My quest to be a business owner is my own Buttercream Dream. Welcome one and all.

Cheers, Lindi