Making Lunch from Spare Parts

Working at home allows you to be creative with your lunches at times. Yesterday was one of those rare days when I actually had time to do something outside the ordinary. (Usually it's a protein-based fruit smoothie.) We didn't have much in the 'fridge except a bunch of odds and ends. After a bit of rooting aroud I discovered that we had the makings of Bruschetta!

Just a quick lesson in the history of Bruschetta (pronounced brusKEtta). As you probably know, it originated in central Italy - as far back as the 15th century. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables and/or cheese. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. In Tuscany, bruschetta is called fettunta, meaning "oiled slice". So don't believe those Nabsico commercials that try to tell you that a cracker topped with tomatoes is Bruschetta. It's just marketing spiel.

Anyway, here's how I made my bruschetta. I took what was left of a nice, crusty baguette and sliced it into 6 slices. Laid these on the pan from our toaster oven and brushed them with olive oil on one side. I broiled them until they started to brown around the edges. Then, I cut one clove of garlic in half and smeared it on the still-warm bread slices.

While the bread was browning I sliced 2 very ripe tomatoes into 1/2 inch dice. Into the bowl with the tomatoes I drizzled some Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a splash of good balsamic vinegar. I added some sea salt and pepper to taste. Then I added some slivered shallots. (I would have added some chunks of fresh mozzarella but I didn't have any onhand). Once the tomatoes macerated a bit (fancy culinary word for 'soaked') I topped the bread with a generous spoonful. The last item - but certainly not least - was a good chiffonade (fancy culinary word for 'herbs cut into long, thin strips') of basil from my garden.

It was fresh, of the season, and cleaned up some of the leftovers in the house. What could be better for a weekday lunch?

What the Heck is Boccè?

We get this question every year after we send out invitations to our annual backyard cookout and Boccè tournament. Basically, the purpose of the game is to roll the bocce, a 4½ inch ball weighing about three pounds, as close as possible to the pallino, a 1¾ inch ball which is rolled down the alley first. The bocce coming closest to the pallino scores. Twelve points usually constitute a game, however since we have a big tournament ladder to get through before dark we only play to six points.

Anyway, we hosted the annual event last weekend and had the biggest turnout in it’s 3-year existence….some 45 friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers attended. It was great fun. Every year we award fabulous prizes in various categories. This year we even had custom-engraved trophies for the winners. Pictured above is the first-place team - our neighbor Steve and Dave’s golfing buddy Volker.

One of the fun parts for me is making a big spread with which to feed our guests. This year I had requests for several recipes. (I apologize in advance for not having pictures of these dishes, as in my haste to get the food out I completely lost sight of the notion of capturing their images for this blog. I know we eat with our eyes first…so always like to have photos to accompany the food, but I think you can understand the omission in this case. Can’t keep 45 people waiting.) Here are two of the recipes. (But first, a note. It's very important that you use fresh herbs in both of these dishes....as dried just won't taste the same. Shouldn't be too tough to do so during the summer. Those of us with herb gardens have basil coming out the ears. If you need some, let me know.)

Watermelon and Cantaloupe Salad with Mint and Basil Vinaigrette

1/2 watermelon 1 cantaloupe, cut in half, seeded

2 T freshly chopped mint leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish

2 T freshly chopped basil leaves plus whole sprigs, for garnish

Juice of 1 lemon (1/4 cup)

1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water heated until sugar dissolves, cool)

1/8 teaspoon amaretto (if you want to give it a little kick)

Cut a thin slice off the bottom so it sits stable on a plate. You can cut the melons into squarish chunks but for presentation’s sake I made melon balls from each. Regardless, you want 2 cups each from the watermelon and the cantaloupe. Carve out the watermelon to use as a serving “dish”.

Add to a blender (or food processor) the chopped mint, chopped basil, lemon juice, simple syrup and amaretto. Blend until smooth.

Add the watermelon and cantaloupe balls to the carved out watermelon half. Add the vinaigrette to the balls and toss to combine. Garnish with the mint and basil sprigs and taste.
Recipe courtesy Giada DeLaurentiis

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This next recipe is great stuff – especially if you’re a vegetarian. Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain. It`s considered a complete protein because it contains all eight essential amino acids. Quinoa is also higher in unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains, and it provides a rich and balanced source of vital nutrients. Tiny and bead-shaped, the ivory-colored quinoa cooks like rice (taking half the time of regular rice) and expands to four times its original volume. Its flavor is delicate, almost bland. I had a little trouble finding Quinoa at the big box grocery stores, but did find it at Whole Foods. Trader Joes would probably have it as well.

Quinoa with Corn, Scallions and Mint

4 ears corn, shucked

1 T finely grated fresh lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

2 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

1 T mild honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups quinoa (1 12 oz package)

4 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Because you are adding fresh corn to the hot quinoa you typically don’t have to pre-cook it. But if you feel you must - put corn in a 5- to 6-quart wide pot, then add water to cover and bring to a boil, covered. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer corn with tongs to a cutting board. When it’s cool enough to handle, cut kernels off cobs with a large heavy knife. (I do this in a really large bowl so I don’t have corn kernels flying around the kitchen.)

Meanwhile, whisk together lemon zest and juice, butter, honey, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined.

Cook quinoa according to package directions Remove from heat and let stand (still covered) 5 minutes. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in corn, scallions, mint, and salt and pepper to taste. You can serve this warm or cold. It's yummy either way.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Eating Locally - Squash and Onion Sautee

Thanks to various different sources of information and just a general renewed sense of wellness, I have been trying to eat well and eat locally lately. The idea is that if you eat food grown within 100 miles of you it is likely to be fresher, more nutritional and less processed. There's even a movement called The 100 Mile Challenge designed to get you to patronize local farmers and minimize the amount of fossil fuel being used to bring your meal to your table.

A local blogger who calls herself The Restaurant Widow writes about her quest to eat locally with lovely pictures (much lovlier than mine!) of the produce she gets in her CSA box each week. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It's a way of paying a farmer in advance for a whole season's-worth of fresh, pesticide-free produce, flowers, eggs, etc. I think it's a great idea and will be looking into doing it next spring. I urge you to read her blog - it's full of great recipe ideas and local Columbus restaurant reviews.

The farmer's market helps me in my attempt to eat locally. I went this weekend and got all sorts of beautiful veggies...and a nice grass-fed sirloin steak! Here's what I did with some of the veg.

I couldn't resist these baby squash, zucchini and pattypan. If you're not familiar with Pattypan it's a nice little squash - the French call it "priests bonnet". It's a low calorie vegetable - also a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, copper and iron. The taste is similar to zucchini.

These are beautiful little candy onions. They are larget than pearl onions but have a much sweeter flavor when sauteed, which is exactly what I did with them. When you have such fresh ingredients the key is simplicity. I washed and prepared the squash and onions, then sauteed them in a mixture of butter and olive oil. I sauteed the onions for 5 minutes before I put in the squash. Then I sauteed the whole mixture for another 5 minutes.

I put the mixture into a bowl, sprinkled with salt and pepper and basil...and volia!! It was lovely and fresh with minimal cooking. It was truly a taste of summer.

Frisee for a Change

It seems to me that Friseé is in the middle tier of lettuce popularity. Not one of the popular kids like romaine or red leaf, but part of the in-between crowd searching for an identity - like arugula or boston bibb or endive. (Of course, we all know the popular kids are great to look at but not always the most interesting - and that the in-between kids tend to be underappreciated but end up being the true stars. I bet you can't guess which group I fell into.) Anyway, it is certainly not down at the bottom with nerds like iceberg or radicchio. (I'm sure there are those of you who love radicchio but I just cannot find it in my palate to love that stuff....and I'm not even going to comment on iceberg lettuce.) Friseé is kind of spidery-looking, crunchy and has a nice peppery taste to it. You should try it sometime - and I have just the right recipe to nudge you into taking the step.

We had this for dinner tonight and both Dave and I really enjoyed it. It's definitely an occasional indulgence, since the bacon and drippings are not something you want to eat on a regular basis. Trust me on the bacon drippings. I know it sounds like something that makes one nostril curl up into a sneer but just trust me. The mingling of the saltiness of good bacon (from Whole Foods...not the Oscar Mayer chemicalized stuff) with the sweetness of the dates and the acid in the white wine vinegar - not to mention the tartness of the goat cheese - is really delicious. The friseé adds a nice crunch to pull it all together. So enjoy.

(p.s. for some reason the goat cheese I had on hand was very, very creamy - as you'll notice in the picture. I'm not sure why this is, but when you go to add your goat cheese to the salad it will no doubt crumble as instructed in the recipe....not glop on like sour cream. It tasted good though, so I guess I shouldn't complain.)

Friseé Salad with Bacon, Dates and Goat Cheese

3 bacon slices, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup chopped pitted dates

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

2 tablespoons Sherry- or White-wine vinegar

1 large head of frisée, washed, dried and torn (about 4 cups)

2 1/2 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (about 1/2 of 5-ounce log), crumbled

1/3 cup walnut halves

Cook the bacon in heavy small skillet over medium heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to plate. Reserve 1 tablespoon bacon drippings in skillet - discard the remaining drippings. Add olive oil, honey, dates and onion to skillet. Cook 2-3 minutes until onions start to soften. Stir in vinegar. Continue to cook 2 minutes longer until flavors come together. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Place frisée in medium bowl; add dressing and toss. Divide salad between 2 plates. Sprinkle with bacon, cheese and nuts.

Makes 2 fairly large servings.

Bounty of blueberries

Going to the grocery store or farmer's market this time of year can be overwhelming. There's so much beautiful produce that I want to use that sometimes I can't choose. Then, there's the fear that if I don't pick up a particular item right then, it will be gone or out of season the next time I come. I guess I should lighten up a bit because grocery shopping should not be this stresssful.

Along the lines of enjoying summer's bounty of produce options - here's a nice little recipe for Blueberry Cobbler. I made this with some beautiful big, ripe blueberries. It makes 2-4 servings depending on how hungry you are.

Lemon Blueberry Cobbler


2 cups picked-over blueberries
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (Don't skip this - it adds a really interesting flavor)
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream (add gradually to determine exact amount)
Good vanilla ice cream


Preheat oven to 400° F. and butter an 8-inch glass pie plate - or small casserole dish.

In a bowl toss together blueberries, zest, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch until combined well and transfer to pie plate or dish.

Into another bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cardamom, and a pinch of salt. Add cream and stir until mixture just forms a thick, sticky dough. Drop dough in mounds on blueberry mixture and bake in middle of oven until crust is golden and cooked through, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes and serve with good quality vanilla ice cream. YUM

Salad Days

When it's 90 degrees and 95% humidity, as it was today, you just don't feel like eating something hot, right? Enter Crab Louis. I've been jonesing for some crab and avocado lately. I don't know why I get these cravings...but I figure it has something to do with nutrients my body is in need of. Anyway, I needed some way to pull together crabmeat and avocado...and Crab Louis (pronounced Louie, really) is the perfect vehicle. So here's an homage to an uncle I am told I knew as a very young child - Uncle Louie. He was married to Aunt Frannie for a while. (Actually, the dish Crab Louis originated in San Francisco at swanky hotel in the early 1900's.)

The nice thing about this dish is that the only cooking you have to do is boiling the eggs. Dave and I enjoyed this tonight with a nice Pinot Grigio and a crusty baguette.

Crab Louis

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chili sauce (I used Heinz)

1/4 cup minced scallions

2 tablespoons minced green olives

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon bottled horseradish

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 lb jumbo lump crabmeat (I use Sigma Supreme in the can)

1 ripe avocado cut into slices

Iceberg lettuce, shredded

Large leafs of red-leaf Romaine lettuce to line plates

Tomato wedges

Hard-boiled egg

Dressing: Whisk together mayonnaise, chili sauce, scallion, green olives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, bottled horseradish, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pick through the crabmeat looking for shell or anything else that may be undesirable. Then divide among 4 plates lined with redleaf romaine leaves and shredded iceberg lettuce. Garnish with wedges of tomato, hard-boiled egg, avocado and serve with dressing. Lightly salt egg wedges and avocado with Fleur de sel.

Makes 4 main-course servings.

Seasons in the Sun

Happy Summer! I'm back with a new post - re-energized by the bounty that is summer and all of the new culinary stimuli I have been experiencing lately. Thanks to farmer's markets, new restaurant adventures, new food websites and the discovery of a new local blogger in Columbus I am renewed in my cooking aspirations.

So, as my first entree of the summer I have for you a light salmon dish. It's Thai inspired so watch the red pepper flakes. The heat can get turned up with just a few extra shakes of the spice jar. Enjoy!! (Sorry for the crappy lighting on this shot. It's actually a lot more appetizing when you make it in person. I promise to work on my photo-taking setup.)

Crispy Orange-Glazed Salmon

2/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (I couldn't find rice *wine* vinegar so I just use rice vinegar)
2 Tbsp Lite soy sauce
1 small red Thai chile pepper, thinly sliced (I omit this to reduce some of the heat)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger - grated (I use a microplane)
4 salmon filets (4-6 oz. each)
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp honey
Hot cooked rice (see note)

Garnishes: Julienned carrots, chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro

1. Stir together first 6 ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Add salmon, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, turning to coat evenly. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Remove salmon, reserving marinade, and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook salmon 3-4 minutes per side or until fish begins to flake with a fork. Peel off skin and remove from pan. Pour reserved marinade into skillet and add honey. Heat 3-5 minutes on high, until syrupy. Serve salmon warm over a mound of rice and sauce, topped with garnishes.

Makes 4 servings

Note: I recommend Thai White Jasmine Rice - Alter Eco brand.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My wonderful mother turned 80 last weekend. It was cause for big celebration in the family. We all thought the best gift we could ever give would be the gift of having us all together with her. So we trooped off to Maumee Bay State Park in Northeast Ohio and hunkered down for some family togetherness and birthday festivities. My mother is the heart of our family and we wanted to make her feel as such, so we honored her with a scrapbook full of family pictures and letters written by all of us to her. She really seemed to enjoy it.

Of course, any good celebration includes food. We had quite a spread. Chili, cheesy potatoes, tiramisu birthday cakse (yes, I made it), a waffle breakfast extravaganza. I don't think anybody went hungry.

In between frigid nature walks, customized crossword puzzles about my mom's life, scrapbook reading and rousing games of Taboo and Phase 10 we enjoyed a really nice bowl of soup. Mom had given me this recipe when she was visiting for Christmas. It's super simple, somewhat healthy and tastes good. Plus, it makes a lot so is good to freeze. Everyone seemed to like it. A nice mid-winter lunch when you add a sandwich.

Spicy Tomato Dill Soup

Saute until translucent, but not browned:
2 c Onions, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup butter (can use less)

Add 1 cup flour, stir in slowly, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Whisk in 6 cups low salt vegetable broth of chicken stock. Stir or whisk constantly over medium heat until thickened.

Add
½ c Honey
6 dashes of hot sauce
2 29 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
1 teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground red (cayenne) pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground basil

Heat thoroughly. Bring just to a boil. Turn off heat. Makes 6 quarts of soup. Freezes well.

Welcoming the Ladies

I hosted this month’s meeting of a local book club at my home last night. There were 14 of us, I believe…almost more than my trendy, angular family room furniture placement allows. (You all know me – ever a slave to fashion.) This month we read “I Feel Bad About My Neck” by Nora Ephron (of “Sleepless in Seattle” fame). The book was an easy, funny read - relevant to women of the 40+ ilk. It contained observations on the aging process (ugh) and some very interesting anecdotes from Nora’s life. The ladies, as always, had insightful commentary and there was much lively discussion. I really enjoy our meetings.

But I digress. The reason for this entry is to share with the ladies of the club (a nod to a relevant tome by Helen Hooven Santmyer) my tart recipe. It was a big hit! (I had meant to take a picture of it before the meeting started but I completely spaced and forgot. Too bad. It was yummy-looking.) I adapted the recipe from one that called for tropical fruits (mango, passion fruit, kiwi, papaya). Since I wasn’t really feeling the tropical fruits I opted for a more traditional mixed berry topping. Maybe I’ll try the tropical version when we return from our upcoming trip to the paradise that is the British Virgin Islands!!

Cheesecake Tart with Mixed Berries

Crust
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
(I used Plugra – which is European-style butter. Higher butterfat content makes it flakier.)
2 tablespoons (or more) ice water
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Topping
1/4 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 containers of ripe strawberries, picked over – tops sliced off so they can stand flat with pointy side up
1 container of blueberries
1 container of raspberries

For crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 2 tablespoons ice water and egg yolk in small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and blend just until soft moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Roll out dough between 2 lightly floured pieces of waxed or parchment paper to 13- to 14-inch round. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to firm it back up. Transfer dough to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press in overhang, forming double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 30 minutes. (This is an important step. If you don’t freeze it first it will shrink considerably when it bakes.) Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles or slips, about 30 minutes. Transfer crust to rack. Spread jelly over bottom of crust and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then vanilla. Add sour cream and beat just to blend.
Pour filling into tart crust. Bake until filling is slightly puffed and center moves slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

For topping: Melt jelly in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Brush over top of cheesecake. Arrange similar-sized strawberries points up around perimeter of tart, and in a solid circle in the middle. Fill in between with mixed raspberries/blueberries. Carefully brush all fruit with warm raspberry preserves.

Chill at least 1 hour and serve within 3 hours.
Makes 8 to 15 servings depending on size of the slices.

Possibly the best Salmon you've ever made!

...is what my husband said about this recipe. I'm not a huge salmon fan, but since I'm trying to eat healthy foods and, well, salmon is healthy, I'm making an effort to eat it. This dish is loaded with flavor and soooooo easy to prepare! The original recipe called for grilling it on a charcoal grill (which I will definitely try when the weather gets warmer) but I think it's nice baked in the oven. I served it with a sautee of asparagus and sugar snap peas, plus a nice whole grain rice pilaf. It was a terrific dinner.

Asian Baked Salmon

1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 1.5 pounds)

For the marinade:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (I used more like a tablespoon, but then I adore garlic)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Reserve half of the marinade for later. Place the salmon in a well-oiled casserole dish skin side down. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes. Cook for 20 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, transfer to a plate skin side down, spoon the reserved marinade on top and cover with foil. Let it sit for 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly undercooked in the center when you first pull it out, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits.

Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Serves 4

Soupy Goodness 4 U!

Ok folks, we have a winner! I made this soup the other night, and while it was good that night, the next day….it was DA BOMB. (Now I know that it’s really so last decade to say Da Bomb but I was going to use the current equivalent – which is ‘sick’ – but that just didn’t seem appropriate in the context of food. Not with the recent eColi scares.)

So try this. It’s extremely healthy, and can be made vegetarian by substituting veggie broth for chicken stock. I served it with a spinach salad and some nice, crunchy multi-grain crostinis.

Let me know what you think.

p.s. I didn’t use leeks because I didn’t have any – so I just doubled the onion. Also, I didn’t have fresh thyme so I used dried. You do need the fennel seeds, however, because it adds a really nice flavor component.

Carrot Soup with Fennel

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped leek (white and pale green parts only)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth

Additional chopped fresh thyme Melt 1/4 cup butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add carrots, onion, leek, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and fennel seeds; stir to coat. Cover; cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add 5 cups broth. Bring to simmer. Cover partially; simmer until carrots are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly. Working in batches, purée soup in blender. (Or, use your trusty immersion blender, like I did.)

Return to pan. Thin to desired consistency with more broth. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Cover and chill.) Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with additional thyme. Serves 4.

I'm Baaack!!

Well, you knew I couldn’t stay away too long. Despite being a hard-working, continent-trotting consultant now, I cannot deny my inner chef. So, therefore I must blog again.

It looks as though we’re coming up on the One Year Anniversary of Buttercream Dreams. No surprise there since my thoughts always turn to cooking and baking in the around this time of year.

I’m kind of preoccupied, at the moment, with pumpkin cupcakes. This, because I plan to make some for the neighborhood kids for Halloween. Here’s a recipe I’ll be testing out over the weekend. Why don’t you test it too, and let me know what you think. (Yes, I stole this from someone named Ted.)

Ted’s Pumpkin Bread
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs

preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together baking soda, salt, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. in a separate bowl mix together oil, water, and pumpkin puree. Blend dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. blend in two eggs. pour into a 5X9 loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. If making cupcakes, use cupcake pans and liners filled just slightly less than halfway leaving room for the frosting. Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

I’m looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe to top these, so if anyone has one please share!

I’m Baaack!

Well, you knew I couldn’t stay away too long. Despite being a hard-working, continent-trotting consultant now, I cannot deny my inner chef. So, therefore I must blog again.

It looks as though we’re coming up on the One Year Anniversary of Buttercream Dreams. No surprise there since my thoughts always turn to cooking and baking in the around this time of year.

I’m kind of preoccupied, at the moment, with pumpkin cupcakes. This, because I plan to make some for the neighborhood kids for Halloween. Here’s a recipe I’ll be testing out over the weekend. Why don’t you test it too, and let me know what you think. (Yes, I stole this from someone named Ted.)

Ted’s Pumpkin Bread
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift together baking soda, salt, sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. in a separate bowl mix together oil, water, and pumpkin puree. Blend dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. blend in two eggs. pour into a 5X9 loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. If making cupcakes, use cupcake pans and liners filled just slightly less than halfway leaving room for the frosting. Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

I’m looking for a good cream cheese frosting recipe to top these, so if anyone has one please share!

Hitting the Curve Ball

Since it’s the beginning of the baseball season I thought I’d sprinkle in a few baseball metaphors to appease the sportsmen in the crowd. Sorry for my lengthy absence here. I’m sure I’ve lost some readership. Let me explain. Since my last posting I have been thrown a curve ball. Just when you think you’re going along just fine, life reels back and fires a screaming curve right into your wheelhouse. In this case that pitch came in the form of a tempting job offer.

You see, I’ve been looking around for a while. Unsatisfied with my day job I was on a quest for fulfillment – which is how Buttercream was born. I was so disenfranchised being a corporate cube monkey that sought fulfillment in baking. I think I could have continued to be fulfilled with a different non-traveling day job while running a baking company in my free time, but it was becoming clear that due to demand, my free time would have started to dwindle. I would always be torn between being a corporate slave to the paycheck and wanting to give it all up and make Buttercream a full time job. There just wasn’t any way to do that right now without moving to a trailer park somewhere.

So when an offer came from a company I used to have some connections to to join them, and that offer included some financial incentives I have only dreamed of and the opportunity to get back to the kind of work I used to really enjoy, I had to decide whether to hit that curve ball, or wait for the next pitch.

There are a few down sides to swinging at this curve ball. First, I have to give up Buttercream. I will be a traveling fool from now on. Possibly as much as 75% travel I’m told. But then, there will be times when I’m working out of my home office too. That won’t leave a lot of time for baking cakes. The other down side – depending on how you look at it – is that I’m leaving my employer of the past 15.5 years. Wow – now that’s change! But I think it’s a good time to leave. My gut tells me that. The major benefit will be that if I do this right I may be able to get back to my Buttercream Dreams in a few years….maybe even full time.

So I’ve decided that I’m going to swing for the fences at this curve ball. It can be an unpredictable pitch, so that may require some work on my part, but I feel like I can rise to the challenge. Of course, if I don’t hit it out of the park, I can still get a descent hit – or I can ground out to the short stop and try again later. Hmm….this baseball metaphor is getting a little depressing, so we’ll just go with the idea that I’m going to hit a home run and leave it at that.

Now, about the little matter of future of this blog. What does this change in direction mean for Buttercream Dreams, you might ask? Well, I think the flavor (pun intended) may change a bit. It may become more focused on general life musings, could be a forum for restaurant reviews, who knows. Any suggestions??

Please check back from time to time. I may not be blogging about my business anymore but I will still share recipes and insights….and more.

Thanks for your interest!
Lindi

I said I’d never do characters – but this is different, right?

It seems lately that I’ve been focusing on cookies – cut-out shaped cookies. I made a batch of ladybugs for my friend Cynthia’s daughter Eleanor’s first birthday party. They turned out ok but a few of them broke in the shipping from Columbus to Chicago, and a few of them had cracked frosting – which I can only assume means too much meringue powder?

Next up were the 4 dozen frog cookies I did for my neighbor to use as a birth announcement. (Sorry the picture came out so off-colored. I was in a hurry.) I bagged them individually, tied them with ribbon and attached a tag with the specifics of the birth – name, height, weight, date, etc. (Forgot to get a shot of the final packaging - but they looked really cute.) These turned out much better. The neighbor who ordered them was thrilled. Her husband will be passing them out when he returns to the office, and she will keep some at home for people who drop by to meet the new little guy. It’s a really cute idea, and I live in a neighborhood where procreation seems to be all they think about, so I may be making more cookies than cakes here for a little while. (I’m also making 5 dozen for a guy at work who’s wife is having twins any day now.)

So for those of you who like to do iced Christmas cookies, here are a few tips and learned a few lessons from the experience:

1. Don’t use too much meringue powder (powdered egg whites) in royal icing (the kind that dries hard) or it will crack after drying.


2. Don’t spread the frosting on too thickly or it will crack when it dries.


3. When shipping cookies to Chicago, always pack well in bubble wrap.


4. Red food coloring – even the gel kind – usually does not get you a true red color.


5. The more red food coloring you use, the worse the frosting tastes.


6. Cut-out iced cookies take a LONG TIME to make, so plan…..and price…. accordingly.


7. Working with colored royal icing can be messy. Wear rubber gloves.


8. You have to take precautions so that the icing does not dry before you want it to. Cover any open containers with a damp towel so that the frosting does not form a crust on top.


9. Let base coat on cookies dry for at least 6 hours (or overnight) before you stack them on top of eachother.

There you have it. Cookie decorating 101. (Oh, there’s sooooo much more I could say – but that would just be whining.)

Comfort and Joy

Tonight was all about comfort food. For some reason I have been craving a good, hearty meatloaf. I really have no earthly reason why, since I could never stand to eat my mother’s.

(Mom, if you’re reading this I apologize for being the extremely picky eater that I was. I now know – after watching Megan pick through a slice of meatloaf like she was looking for a speck of dust – how you must have felt all those nights when I wouldn’t eat what you fixed for us. We all know what they say about paybacks. Well, it’s true.)

So, like a woman possessed by a mysterious meatloaf craving I spent the better part of an hour taking the following recipe and making it my own. (See notations) I started with this recipe because I’ve had the meatloaf at Cap City Diner before and it’s very good. I just wanted to tweak it a bit. We had it with mashed potatoes and baked asparagus. Comfort food doesn’t get any better than this. And certainly early March is rife with comfort food opportunities. Although since I’m starting to see commercials and magazine spreads advertising spring clothing, I think I better lay off the comfort because it’s causing me discomfort when it comes to buttoning my jeans. The diet starts Monday, folks.

Warning: This recipe is not on the Surgeon General's list of Heart Healthy Cuisine, but ya only live once, right?

Cap City Diner Meatloaf

Meatloaf:
2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms **I used regular button mushrooms**
2 TB diced white onion,
1 TB olive oil, ***omitted, used bacon grease***
1 lb. ground beef,
1 lb. ground pork,
10 oz. Ground veal **I omitted**
***I added 5 slices of cooked bacon, diced***
1 egg,
3/4 cup bread crumbs,
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh parsley,
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme,
1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage,
2 1/4 tsp minced garlic,
2 1/4 tsp heavy cream,
***I added cubed mozzarella cheese***
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce,
1 tsp salt,
1 tsp pepper

BBQ Sauce:
1 1/2 cups ketchup, ***I used 1 cup***
1 TB Worcestershire sauce,
1/4 tsp garlic powder,
2 1/4 tsp molasses,
6 TB brown sugar,
3/4 tsp salt,
pinch cayenne pepper,
1 tsp cider vinegar,
6 TB water,
2 TB honey, **I didn’t have any, so omitted**
1 TB fresh orange juice, **used the stuff in the carton**
1/4 tsp black pepper

To make the barbecue sauce, in medium saucepan combine first 12 ingredients. Stir well. Simmer for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

***Cook bacon in a skillet, remove bacon and use remaining grease*** to saute mushrooms and onion until tender. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine meats, egg, bread crumbs, herbs, garlic and cream. Mix well. Add mushrooms and onions. Add 2 TB of previously prepared barbecue sauce.

Add remaining ingredients; mix thoroughly. Place mixture in a loaf pan, pushing down firmly to pack meat into place. Cover with foil. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes. ***I ended up cooking mine for 1 hr 10 minutes because it just wasn't getting done. Start with 50 minutes and check it often. Could just be me!*** Remove foil; cover meatloaf with desired amount of barbecue sauce. Cook uncovered for an additional 10 - 15 minutes. Serve with barbecue sauce. Serves 8.

Don’t leave us hangin’ dawg!

It’s been a while since I offered up a recipe for my blog-reading pretties. Apologies for that but I haven’t been cooking a lot of normal food lately. I guess that’s the curse of baking for a business – you spend so much time in the kitchen making baked goods that the last thing you want to do when you’re done is cook dinner. But without further ado, please enjoy this recipe for Baked Cheesy Mashed Potatoes. It is quite yummy. Dave and I ate almost half of it – just the 2 of us.

Baked Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup whole milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.
Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes.

Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.

Bake, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. I turned on the broiler for the last 2-3 minutes of baking to brown up the bread crumbs into a nice crunchy crust. Yum!

Lookin' for some sugar in the Windy City

What do you usually feel like doing on a Saturday when it’s 5 degrees outside? Hibernate, perhaps? Take in a movie, you say? How about conducting a whirlwind 9-stop bakery tour of Chicago? Ha! I thought not. Market research in the baked-goods industry is not for the faint-hearted or unbundled.

So now you know what I was doing last Saturday. My faithful and wind-chill impervious friend Caron agreed to be my chauffer/tour guide/partner in crime for this expedition around the city. Armed with a list of places known for their baked goods (mainly cupcakes), a camera, and multiple layers of clothing – including ear muffs and warm hats – we set out. The goal was to gather samples from all bakeries and take them someplace warm for a taste test. Since my host for this weekend, dear friend Cynthia, was suffering through a bad cold we decided to comfort her with sweets so we headed for her house.

Here’s a summary of our trip. (For the purpose of brevity I will spare you the gossip and witty commentary that Caron and I exchanged throughout the afternoon – despite it being the best part of the trip!)

Stop #1 Alliance Bakery 1736 Division St, Chicago (773)278-0366 http://www.alliance-bakery.com/bakery.com/
Alliance is set in an old bakery building, complete with old neon sign. However, the stuffy old exterior belies a progressive interior – complete with colorful fondant cakes, pasteries….and cupcakes. Alliance’s cupcakes ranged in flavor, however we ended up selecting a Chocolate cupcake with Chocolate frosting and a Carot Cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Packaging was interesting – they use cylindrical pre-fab paper wraps that provide a little more cake than your standard cupcake baking papers. They were similar in size to the cupcakes I produce by baking in a ring mold. Packaging consisted of a pink cardboard carton – which was too big for the 2 that we ordered….so there was risk of tippage and commingling of frostings. I don’t have a picture of the Alliance bakery because it was here that I discovered that my digi-cam was in desperate need of a battery recharge. Drat.

Stop #2 Caron’s Two-Flat South Lincoln Square area, Chicago
Ingenious woman that she is, Caron suggested we get her camera and swap memory cards. That way we wouldn’t have to mess with getting the pictures to me. Problem solved, and…we’re off.

Stop #3 First Slice 3744 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago (773 506 1719) http://www.firstslice.org/w.firstslice.org/
First Slice is not a bakery – but we were famished, so Caron suggested this new little gem. First Slice is a small restaurant that was founded as a vehicle for raising money to provide food to Chicago’s hungry. It is a self-funding charity that gives Chicago’s hungriest access to food that sustains both body and soul. They do so by bringing together community subscribers, homeless individuals and families to share in the preparation of nutritious meals. We had lunch there, and were able to continue our quest for yummy desserts by having one of these. This is a Chocolate Espresso Shot. It’s kind of like a flourless chocolate torte, however it is extremely moist inside. Almost too moist, we agreed, however still tasty.

Stop #4 Cupcakes 613 W. Briar Place, Chicago (773-525-0817) http://www.cupcakesacrossamerica.com/
I had a special reason for wanting to visit this place – I used to live a block from where they are. It’s a good thing they weren’t yet in business when I lived there because I would probably have become a regular – and my pants size would have become an XXL. It’s a cute little place. All they do is cupcakes – as the name implies. They feature 6-8 varieties that change weekly – and are receiving a lot of national press right now. Caron and I chose 3 to take with us: Vanilla with Champagne buttercream, Red Velvet and Violet with White Chocolate Buttercream. They charge a stiff $3.00 each and packaging consists of a clear plastic clamshell container like you’d get at Kroger/Jewel, etc. When asked why they did not package their cupcakes in the Chinese take-out containers as advertised they explained that they had problem with the cupcakes tipping over in them, and that it was currently being assessed as to whether anything could be done to prevent this. Boo Hiss! I thought it was a very clever packaging idea – however if it ends up impacting the look of the product, I guess it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Stop #5 Sweet Mandy B’s 1208 W Webster Ave Chicago (773-244-1174)
This is another bake shop that’s getting a lot of press right now – even on a national level. Their schtick is to produce fresh-baked goods that are as close to what mom made as possible. Their store is very charming with lots of room to sit and linger, the selection is broad and the added benefit is their sushi bar-like counter where you can sit and watch the creation of many types of baked goods. In terms of cupcakes their selection was very narrow – vanilla and chocolate. We got one of each, plus a piece of this gooey apple caramel cake for good measure.

Stop #6 The TAG Outlet Store 1730 W. Wrightwood, Chicago
Ok, so this wasn’t a bakery stop – but a girl’s gotta shop. I never miss an opportunity to stop at TAG when I’m in the city, even if I don’t buy anything – which I didn’t this time. That’s not to say that I didn’t want to…..I was just exercising my little-used fiscal responsibility (hi, Sweetie!).

Stop #7 Vanille Patisserie 2229 N Clybourn Ave Chicago (773.868.4574) http://www.vanillepatisserie.com/
This place is beautiful. Beautiful food, beautiful décor, beautiful packaging. You name it. Beautiful. They didn’t have cupcakes, but focus mostly on chocolates and beautiful individual desserts. So – we ordered a profiterole tart and an iced sugar cookie. The packaging alone was worth the order. Look at these beautiful boxes. Unfortunately when I asked if their packaging was custom-order the woman behind the counter sniffed and said she had no idea. Interestingly enough – Caron and I looked through their photo books of cakes they have done and they are not above doing character cakes. Kind of an interesting juxtaposition, don’t you think? One more beef here – the cookie I bought – a little purse – had these pearls on them which we discovered to be inedible. Why would you put something inedible on a cookie?? Why?

Stop #8 Southport Grocery 3552 N. Southport, Chicago (773) 665-0100 http://www.southportgrocery.com/
This is not really a grocery, but a conglomeration of trendy table service restaurant, pre-made take-home meals and a few packaged grocery items. They were identified by Chicago Magazine as having the best tasting cupcake in town – out of a dozen or more that they samples. I bought one chocolate and one vanilla (both with vanilla buttercream) and we moved on.

Stop #9 Sweet Occasions 5306 North Clark Chicago 773.275.5190 http://www.sweetoccasionsandmore.com/
Sweet Occasions had chocolate and vanilla cupcakes….and this awesome looking chocolate cake with peanutbutter buttercream frosting. The thing was 5” high if it was an inch. So of course we took all three!

Onward to the tasting. We laid everything out at Cynthia's house and cut the cupcakes into 4 bites. Then we made plates of everything (it took 2 per person to hold all of this) and got to work. Here are some conclusions:

Pricing
The range for cupcakes was $1.75-$3.00 with $2.00 being the most common. Cupcakes, which was the only all-cupcake bakery charged $3.00, which seems a little steep for what you get. On the other hand, Alliance Bakery charged $1.75 and had the largest cupcakes we found. I decided that while Columbus is not familiar with cupcake pricing, so $2.50 might seem expensive, the cupcakes I make are larger than normal, individually wrapped and tied, and are also filled. (None of the cupcakes we tried were filled…just frosted).

Packaging
I wish Vanille Patisserie did cupcakes – because I would love to see how they package them. Their packaging is awesome. They definitely get the big thumbs up. The others were just thrown into a bakery box or plastic clamshell. This is another area where I can differentiate myself.

Overall Taste
The four of us decided that Southport Grocery’s vanilla cupcake with vanilla chocolate buttercream was the best tasting of all that we tried. I would say the Champagne buttercream cupcake from Cupcake was #2.

Frosting
We noticed that some bakeries are still using Crisco-based frosting, which none of us cared for. It gives a gritty feel when chewing. We also noticed that some of the buttercream frosting was a bit too buttery. Note to self: Make sure to balance the butter flavor with other ingredients. Another favorite was the peanut butter buttercream. I think I’ll take a stab at that….and the Champagne buttercream too.

Best of the non-cupcake desserts
Our favorite was the profiterole tart from Vanille Patisserie. Aside from being a work of art, it was delicious. A close second was the apple cake with caramel topping from Sweet Mandy B’s. What’s not to love about caramel apple? My take-away here is that I need to start developing some individual desserts focused on apple. (I love apple-based desserts anyway,)

So there you have it. I suppose this post isn’t so interesting….unless you plan to go to Chicago sometime soon…or of course you live there. At any rate I do have some new ideas for my business….and a couple extra lbs and frostbite to show for it. Thanks so much to my homies who made this possible!!

I'm such a tease!!

Watch this space, because early next week I will report on some interesting market research I am doing in Chicago this weekend. I'm taking the digi-cam so you guys can see what yummy treats are being concocted in the windy city these days. Prepare to drool.

Is this still on?

Well kids, I’ve really let you down this week, haven’t I?  I guess that’s the price I pay for having some actual business!  I had an order for a cheesecake (New York style) for Valentines day.  Cheesecakes are great because they are relatively easy to make.  It’s the decorating that takes a while.  I decorated this one on Monday night while my niece Amanda was here visiting.  She and I talked while I piped whipped cream and made white chocolate hearts.  I strategically placed a strawberry on top of every whipped cream spiral.  She then had the dubious honor of witnessing the final decorating fete – where I attempted to insert a delicate white chocolate heart into the top of each of the strawberries.  After some salty language and a few failed attempts, I mastered the technique, to rousing applause (which was completely in my mind).

The gentleman at work who ordered it reported in that his wife and everyone in his family loved it.  Success!

Last night I was busy making a cake for a baby shower we held at work today.  I didn’t take a photo of it because I’m not promoting the fact that I sometimes break down and do something ‘theme-like’.  More on that in a minute.  This cake was constructed of golden butter cake and strawberry mousse filling with fresh strawberries ,and was crowned with white chocolate buttercream frosting.  (I’ll confess that I’m not a big white chocolate fan, but it’s not too bad when you mix it with cream cheese and butter! Ha!)

The frosting was a bit ivory in color so I used that as my base color.  I tinted (cringe) some frosting to pink and blue and used that to write the inscriptions. We have 3 babies coming into the lives of folks in our department – one woman is having a girl and one of the guys’ wives is having twins – boy and girl.  So I used tinted icing sparingly – just enough to get the message across that this is a baby shower cake.  I really do need to work on how I might satisfy that request should I receive one again.  I guess I should just tell people that I’m very minimalist when it comes to decorations.  Quel dilemma.

So that’s it for now.  Well – that’s not it, completely.  I’m still working behind the scenes to get the administrative side of the business going, but that kind of stuff is boring. (As if this stuff I’ve just typed isn’t boring!)  One exciting thing – I got word from the state of Ohio that I have dibs on the business name “Buttercream” for the next 10 years!  Hah!