Pamela's Kitchen

Rustic Peach Cake

2011-07-06T13:35:00.001-04:00

Ok so I know it's been a long time since my last post but I have written some and for some odd reason I could not get them to publish, well after a little research I found it's a problem blogger is having with IE 9 which we just upgraded to. So now problem solved and here we go again;)

Fresh squash and zucchini in the market, fresh corn and tomatoes by the roadside all point to summer and it's official arrival but noting says summer is here like fresh peaches and I don't mean those pesky cling stone peaches the first to come each year but juicy free stone peaches.

Every summer as a kid our family would make what seemed like a long trek to Georgia to a farmer's market to buy peaches. Now I don't mean a few peaches but at least 3 cases of peaches and in case you don't know a case of peaches is 25 pounds..YIKES! Why so many? Well yes we loved peach pie but it was for canning, every year my mom put up jars and jars of peaches for us to enjoy all winter long. So for me fresh peaches and summer just go together and although I don't jar many for winter I do feel the need to buy that nostalgic 25 pound box, plus peach boxes are just the best for storage because they are heavy duty and wax covered.

If you've never bought 25pounds of peaches let me tell you it's a lot of peaches so now comes the fun part using all these peaches. Over the next few days follow my Fresh Peach Posts, to start them off is a new favorite Rustic Peach Cake

This cake is beautifully simplistic in both preparation and flavor a simple cake topped with peaches, not to sweet so it is perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or after dinner accompanied by vanilla ice cream or a late night snack with some Working Cows Dairy Organic Milk...YUM.

Rustic Peach Cake, from C.I., American Classics

Combine:
1 cup a.p. flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

Mix until light:
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
8 T unsalted butter, softened

Add:
2 large eggs
2 T sour cream (or whole milk)
1 t vanilla extract

Then add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix on low until just combined. Pour into greased and floured cake pan.

For peaches:
peel, pit and slice 2 medium peaches and toss with 1/4 c sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon then arrange in a circular pattern around the edge and in the middle of cake.
(*Tip: scattering some chopped, dried apricots or peaches over the batter before arranging the fresh peaches on top will soak up the excess peach juice and eliminate a soggy cake top, but this is kind of fancy and is optional.)

Bake @ 350 for about 35-40 min. I used a 9-in cake pan, but you could use a springform or any kind of cake pan for this.

Inspired Cooking

2011-04-05T13:32:00.005-04:00

I haven't posted in a long while but I have been cooking tons in fact so much I really havn't had time to do a whole lot of blogging. You know how sometimes you just want to make new and exciting food and nothing you think of really sounds good? Well that's been my delima for the last couple of weeks I feel like I've been making uninspiring food good but uninspiring. Sometimes you just have to mix it up and come up with some new ideas to keep the dinner table fresh. Last night was just the kind of night I knew I was doing something with pork tenderloin but what? While I love cooking with pork tenderloin because it is quick and easy to cook and always tastes great I needed some new flavors...hmmm instead of whole maybe medallions good, have oj and chipotles I see a sauce comming along. Now for sides well that's easy mashed sweet potatoes yummm and fresh asparagus on sale :) Dinner: Pork Medallions with Orange Chipotle Glaze Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus Turned out delicious with just enough heat to make it intresting, will make this one again
Get the recipe

Valentines dinner

2011-02-16T18:22:00.008-05:00

Valentines Dinner Veal Saltimboucco, Mushroom Risotto and Asparagus.

This dinner comes together so quick and easy the veal is sliced thin and sautees very quickly and the sauce is a breeze. Since I parcooked the risotto and just finished it right before eating this meal came together in no time and it made me look like a kitchen goddess...which for Valentines is always a good thing. I remember one year I had been busy all day cooked for a couple of people and in a rush tried to make Osso Bucco, a dinner that just takes time, and well it turned out well not good- I cried and we ordered Valentines Pizza. From then on I decided to make Valentine Dinners that are quick but fabulous and this is it!
Get the recipe here

Valentines

2011-02-14T17:13:00.006-05:00

What's not to like about Valentine's day? Even when I was single with no special valentine on the horizon I still loved this day, I was never the bitter single type. It's just a fun day to share you love with those special to you. When I was single and had the restaurant we did a very special Valentine's dinner with heart shaped food and I remember thinking someday when I'm married I will do this for my husband instead of for customers. Well that day did come and every year at the Loudon house we have a special Valentine's dinner complete with candle light and decorations.
Our menu for this year: Veal Saltimboucco,mushroom risotto,and roasted asparagus
and for dessert? Conversation Heart Cakes

Happy Valentine's from Pamela's Kitchen!

Follow up

2011-02-03T21:08:00.007-05:00

So a few weeks ago I posted that King Arthur baking across America was making a stop here in Birmingham and how thrilled I was and probably more information on KA then you really cared for. They came and I went.

If you have an opportunity to attend one of these demos I would urge you to go, it was fun! So I didn't really learn anything new but I think most everyone else did pick up some pointers. Not that they did not have good information but I've been making pie crust and sweet breads for a long time. But, since that was not my main objective I didn't mind. I am a food nerd and groupie, there I admit it and that is why I went. Like a Trekie at a convention you can't tell me anything new, I just have to go because it's who I am.

The cooking demo was good, it was fun meeting the staff but the best part was the giveaways oh now I've got your attention. I knew they had advertised door prizes yea, yea some measuring spoons or a rubber spatula, no I walked away with 15 pounds of flour, a popover mix, a bowl scraper, and $40 in gift cards! Plus coupons a plenty.

I racked up so well in the door prizes because in the afternoon session I had to take the kids who were out of school. Caleb was thrilled beyond belief that his ticket number was called and he won a bag of flour, "It's the first thing I've won in my whole life."

All in all it was a fun, exciting, and highly profitable day. So if KA is coming to your town GO and if you missed here in Birmingham maybe they will be back.

Artisan Ciabatta Rolls

2011-01-23T16:20:00.007-05:00

The first time I ever encountered ciabatta bread was at the Culinary Institute in my breads class and let me tell you it was love at first taste. Light yet chewy with an open interior (to hold all kinds of goodies) and a crisp crust. Oh the texture of that bread perfect for sopping up balsamic and the only bread for a true panani. Well the once obsecure artisian bread is now a norm at places like Wendy's and Arby's but if these are all you know of ciabatta bread you are sadly mistaken as they are a cheap over poofed version of the real thing.

In Italian Ciabatta means "slipper" refering to the shape of the bread short and wide. I have in the past made OK renditions of ciabatta but nothing like a true artisian ciabatta. So this week I challenged myself to make good artisian ciabatta rolls for sandwiches...hubs did not object ;)
After researching many recipes I found one that sounded like the bread I wanted to make and the technique was different than any I've used before which made it a challenge.

my ciabatta rolls

This dough is made with a sourdough starter or biga and is a very wet dough mixed completly with your hands. When I first incorperated all the ingredients I had a soggy mass and thought "this is never going to work", I wish I had taken pictures because it did. The other different thing about this bread is it is not really kneaded, which leads to the open texture, but instead it is just folded. This is truly an artisian bread made in the "old" style and well worth every bit of time and effort
I still think there is room for improvement but I was very happy with the first attempt and I can't wait to make these this summer to fill with a lovely fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella drenched with balsamic.
Wanna try your hand at cibatta here's the recipe

King Arthur is coming to town (set to tune of Santa is coming to town)

2011-01-05T12:40:00.007-05:00

Exciting news here at my kitchen King Arthur Flour is coming to town for baking classes!
I have loved KAF since my first encounter with them while at the Culinary Institute.Located in beautiful Norwich Vermont King Arthur Flour is America’s oldest flour company, founded in Boston in 1790 to provide pure, high-quality flour for residents of the newly formed United States. For 200 years they have continued to produce the highest quality flours and baking products.Their commitment to quality starts with the farmers and goes through the milling process to ensure you get the highest quality product and since the company is 100% employee owned they all take it very serious. I have always wanted to work for KAF, maybe someday hubs and I will retire to Vermont and that dream will come true. So until then you just get to hear me go on about what a great company they are. But back to the cooking classes they will offer 2 classes: pies and tarts and sweet yeast bread.Here's the schedule:
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pine Tree Country Club
5100 Pine Whispers Drive
Birmingham, AL 35210
205- 956-1555
Noon to 2 pm: Perfect Pies & Tarts
7 pm to 9 pm: Sweet Yeast Bread
And here's the best part...wait for it...it's FREE! Can't wait to see you there!

Merry Christmas from us to you

2010-12-24T08:37:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to all and to anyone whom I forgot to mail a card I'm sorry but enjoy here it is.

Personalize a free digital greeting card

Blog Worthy

2010-12-15T13:41:00.004-05:00

So a friend told me yesterday "I love the hot dog mummies on your blog but I want to see something new, I know you've been cooking all kinds of good stuff." I know I have been a blogging flake and I don't really know why I think it's just one of those things you have to start doing again to get excited about it. I wish you could see how many pictures of food I have just sitting there on my computer just waiting and hoping some day I will use them in a blog. Sometimes I just think things are not blog worthy and that no one really cares what my apple pie looked like, but yesterday I made cupcakes for Ella's ballet party that are defiantly blog worthy if for no other reason than I put so much work into them.

These are not hard to make just tedious a lot of folding and taping. The cupcakes were just your basic white with a cream cheese frosting but the Tu-tus were the hit of the party. Ok so I like to show off and be SUPER MOM there I said it.
So Mel I hope you enjoy the new post, leave me a comment or I might just leave this one up for 2 months;)

Halloween Fun

2010-10-30T08:57:00.005-04:00

If you are reading this I know it must be by accident because I haven't posted in so long, I promise to get better..do you believe me?
Anyway this is not my usual "fancy" food but it is fun and sometimes that's what it takes to get me moving.
How cute and fun are these mummy dogs?

I made these for the kiddos at this years pumpkin carving party kids and grown ups alike loved them!

They are so easy to make
1) Hot dogs
2) Bread stick dough- I made my own but you could use Pilsbury bread stick dough in the refrigerator section of you local store if you do that sort of thing;)
3)Mustard
Cut the bread stick dough into thin strips wrap those strips around the hot dogs, bake at 400 until bread is golden. Let cool for 2 minutes then dot on mustard for eyes, the kids had fun making the "bandages" bloody with katsup.

Enjoy..Halloween Fun

Yummy pastry with a funny name

2010-07-23T10:32:00.002-04:00

Looking for something yummy to make this weekend? May I suggest a batch of Kolaches, kolaches are a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits including poppy seed, raspberry, and apricot, to cheeses and/or meats inside a bread roll. Originally only a sweet dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States especially Texas.

At first glance they look like any bread based pastry but there is something about that dough it is so tender and light. With very little sugar in the dough the main sweetness comes from the fruit filling you decide to use this also makes the dough suitable for savory fillings traditionally sausage for a breakfast on the go.

The first time I looked over a recipe for these it the ingredients looked like all my other bread dough recipes but the big difference was in how the dough was made. I wondered would if combining the ingredients differently than usual would make a HUGE difference...yes it does! I filled these with apricot and homemade strawberry preserves but you could fill them with whatever you like I'm lemon would be good.

They are fairly easy to make and take about 2hours start to finish but some of that time is rising so the actual hands on time is much less. Whip some up this weekend put on a pot of coffee and enjoy...life is short eat kolaches! Get the recipe

It's over

2010-07-08T17:41:00.002-04:00

So the blogging sebaticle I took is over, that's just a new and creative way for me to say I'm bloggin again so check back often to find out whats happening in Pamela's Kitchen...Enjoy

Baja Fish Tacos

2010-07-08T17:17:00.007-04:00

Just a few years ago fish tacos were mainly a regional food found mostly in California and parts of Mexico but over the past few years they have gained popularity and are popping up on menus from Vancouver where my sister had them to Alabama where we are having them. This version is grilled, sereved with a Southwest Salw and are perfect for a light summer dinner or outdoor party. Since the temps here have reached into the 100's today I thought these fish tacos fit the bill for dinner tonight.
Get the recipe here and whip up some of these this weekend
Recipe from CIA

Fall is in the air

2009-09-17T14:22:00.002-04:00

For us here in Birmingham Alabama we have had a very mild end to summer and with a whisper of Fall in the air my thoughts turn to pumpkin! Yes it's that time again-YEA- pumpkin season. I wait all Spring and Summer to enjoy my favorite flavor pumpkin and spice.

To kick off my pumpkin obsession I made pecan pumpkin muffins with whipped cream cheese these muffins are not too sweet, light and packed with pumpkin finished with lightly sweet cream they are the perfect companion to a cup of coffee or tea. Go ahead whip up a batch and sit back and enjoy the promise that Fall is around the corner. Recipe here

2009-09-03T20:57:00.003-04:00

When you can't be in Italy live like you are

Put out a plate of cheeses, meats, fruit and olives. Open a bottle of wine and sit back a spend a few hours eating and talking and somehow life is just a little sweeter...it's the wine;)

Daring Baker Time

2009-08-27T22:07:00.010-04:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonfulof Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular DobosTorte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate butter cream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.

I first encountered the Dobos Torta at the Culinary Institute, it was a staple of the pastry shop and a favorite of most. What's not to like in this "cake" thin layers of cake sandwiched together with chocolate butter cream a match made in heaven.

This torta is quite easy to put together if your not intimidated by the many steps. When making the sponge cake folding is the key also if you whip your egg whites a little less your sponge won't be as dry. The dryer the egg whites the dryer your sponge. For this cake the layers are all baked individually instead of being baked as a whole cake then split into layers. I must admit I thought about taking this shortcut but decided to be true to the recipe and bake each layer individually.

Look at those nice thin layers!

Like many of the bakers have commented I did not like this buttercream recipe. The only way I could keep it from turning to liquid was to keep it in the refrigerator even putting it together I also thought it was overly rich. Next time I make this I will use my old favorite buttercream.

I had no problem with the Carmel until it came to separating the pieces I tried to cut them and well they shattered breaking some of the pieces.
Since I had a problem with the Carmel breaking I decided to lay it flat on the cake rather than standing them up as is traditional.

I brushed the layers with Kahlua which did helped moisten them but wow did it add to the richness of this dessert. Everyone loved it but it was just way to rich for me and I knew we would never finish it so I took it to church. One of the older ladies at our church was telling me how much she liked it and I responded "yes but it is so rich it will hurt you" to which she followed "I like being hurt like that"

Check out all the other Tortes at The Daring Bakers Kitchen.
Thank you Angelia and Lorraine for this great challenge and once again can't wait till next month!

Wedding

2009-07-22T15:43:00.015-04:00

Here they are finally...pictures from the wedding I did a few weeks ago! Why has this taken so long you ask? Well July has been just a little crazy for me. The wedding was mid -July, the next week was my church's VBS- one week of 16 pre-schoolers-I was exhausted! Then because it's been that kind of month our computer died, I mean dead! So here I find myself almost 3 weeks later just now getting this post done. Better late than never, I guess.

Brides Table
Hot food upstairs...spinach artichoke dip, BBQ meatballs, popcorn chicken egg rolls and dollar sandwiches

Cold appetizers downstairs antipasti, hummus dip, domestic cheese and fruit

Claire and Brandon were a joy to work with, I always say I am not doing another wedding then I meet great people that I get attached to and just make it so much fun!

Instead of a grooms cake we had a chocolate fountain with lots of sweet things to dip cheesecake pops, pretzels, strawberries, marshmallows and brownies...lots of sweets yum

Mocha coffee punch
Once again I have declared never again, but instead of never maybe just I'll never do the food and cake again. I really did not plan on both for this wedding but about one month before the wedding Clarie said "oh yea I can't believe we haven't talked about the cake" know she would not be able to get a cake on such short notice I agreed to do it. Wedding cakes in July are just a bad combination and offer many challenges. It was so humid I could not get the initial to stick to the cake to save my life sorry Clarie but it just wouldn't work for me.

Congratulations to you both and may this be the start of a wonderful adventure!

2009-06-28T16:11:00.007-04:00

So here it is daring baker time of the month and yet again I haven't posted anything since last month..bad, bad, bad. Here in AL we have been extremely hot and honestly I just haven't felt like eating much of anything, unless it's cold.

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England

I was excited about this challenge because as I read the recipe I realized it was in fact an old favorite of mine I just never knew the name, I always called it Almond Tart. Anytime I want that perfect pastry for a cup of coffee this was what I would choose. The other thing that interested me in this challenge was the whole pudding/tart confusion.

My new favorite show is Gordon Ramsey's "The F Word "and every time he referred to the pudding course I was suddenly confused, did the English have a special course just for pudding? But as I watched I figured out pudding was synonymous with dessert...sometimes the English language can be so confusing;)

Is it a tart or is it a pudding?
Someone once said something like “The Bakewell pudding is a dessert.
The Bakewell tart is that girl over there.”

It’s a debate that rages on and we aren’t taking sides on this one. But we will say that many people call this pudding a tart.

So for this tart err pudding I had great expectations, I was going to get some local fresh blackberries or blueberries and make my own jam I had all these grand ideas whirling around in my head. Well they never quite made it out of my head and then I found myself scampering the night before posting date. As I dug around the refrigerator all I could find was just barley enough store bought raspberry jam and absolutely no almonds...I could kick myself for not buying them at the bulk store. I did however have almond paste and with a few variations I made it work, the texture was a little different than traditional frangipane but it tasted delicious! Maybe this is yet another evolution of the bakewell tart.

Shortbread Crust:
1 egg yolk
2 Tbs. very cold water
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into
1/4-inch cubes

In a small bowl, stir together the egg yolk, water and vanilla; set aside.

To make the dough by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and mix with a fork just until the dough pulls together.

To make the dough in a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, stir together the flour, sugar and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the butter and beat on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add the egg mixture and beat just until the dough pulls together.

Transfer the dough to a work surface, pat into a ball and flatten into a disk. Use the dough immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes.

To roll out the dough, on a lightly floured board, flatten the disk with 6 to 8 gentle taps of the rolling pin. Lift the dough and give it a quarter turn. Lightly dust the top of the dough or the rolling pin with flour as needed, then roll out until the dough is about 1/8 inch thick. Use a small, sharp knife to cut out a round or rounds 2 inches greater in diameter than your tart pan.

Frangipane:
1 rolled-out round of tart dough

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
1/2 lb. almond paste, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup raspberry jam
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Fold the dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9 1/2-inch tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough by gently running a rolling pin across the top of the pan. Press the dough into the sides to extend it slightly above the rim to offset any shrinkage during baking.

Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375°F.

Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or raw short-grain rice. Bake for 20 minutes, then lift an edge of the foil. If the dough looks wet, continue to bake, checking every 5 minutes, until the dough is pale gold, for a total baking time of 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a whisk, beat the butter until smooth. Add the almond paste, one piece at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. While continuing to beat, sprinkle in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the flour.

Spread the jam evenly over the bottom of the partially baked tart shell.

Spoon in the almond paste mixture and spread evenly over the jam. Sprinkle the surface evenly with the sliced almonds.

Bake the tart until the filling is golden and the middle is firm to the touch, 35 to 45 minutes.

All I need now is a cup of coffee...make mine iced;0

Check out all the other Bakewell Tarts here at Daring Bakers

The May challenge! | The Daring Kitchen

2009-05-28T09:13:00.012-04:00

It's that time again wow these months are flying by especially when you have a deadline...which I missed oops the holiday at the beginning of this week has me totally confused (not hard to do).

"The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers."

Strudel beautiful strudel made from a very simple dough of flour, water and oil stretched just as thin as possible not something I just whip up every day. I have made strudel one other time in my pastry class at the CIA well I helped make it, it was a group project. So I was very excited about this challenge as I found it a challenge and believe it or not I did actually finish early even though I am posting late, one of these days I will get it all together!

This month we had the freedom to choose the filling for our strudel and right off the bat I knew it would involve cherries, hub's favorite and almond my favorite, isn't it cute how we complement each other! I had planned on making an apple, bluecheese and walnut one also but well that just never happened...good intentions

All the components for strudel is very easy it's just the stretching that is a bit tricky and in my case the getting it on the sheet pan proved to be the most difficult.

here is my dough beautifully stretched with a few minor holes, not to bad I thought

added my crumbs and since I decided to make cherry strudel I thought some almond paste crumbs would be more tasty then the traditional bread crumbs...and I like the added sweetness.
Now this is where my troubles come in, because I was in a hurry of course I am taking this on at like 9pm, I did not let the cherry filling fully cool and it just melted the pastry in some places making it very difficult to transfer the the sheet pan not to mention getting cherry juice on my favorite antique table cloth. To quote my grandmother "the hurrieder I go the behinder I get" dutch was her first language so hurrieder works.

I did have a big blowout as I transferred it to the sheet pan, so to keep it from hemorrhaging cherry filling during baking I made a strudel bandage out of the extra dough and just sort of patched it not right but it worked.

I topped it with a bit more of the crumb mixture...I love crumbs and baked. Not the most beautiful pastry I've ever made but man was it tasty!

couldn't resist adding a glaze not traditional but yummy!
A nice hot cup of coffee and it's a good day. Check out the other strudels at The Daring Kitchen
Jump in and make one yourself the recipe is for apple strudel but you can fill it with just about anything. Apple Strudel Recipe

Bad blogger Good Cooking Classes

2009-05-09T08:10:00.005-04:00

Tomato Bruschetta Cooking Class on Food of Northern Italy

I must apologize to my followers there has not been much to follow lately. I don't know where time has gone but it has been flying, so many times I have thought I need to post that and just haven't gotten around to it. But those days are over so check back regularly to see what's happening in Pamela's Kitchen.

So just what has been taking up my time and what have you missed out on? I have started doing cooking classes. I have talked about it for a long time and this winter the opportunity arose at the local community school. So far I have done 6 classes at the school and 2 private cooking class parties. What is a cooking class party you ask? That's when you and a handful of your friends have me come into your home for a cooking demonstration and dinner. It's a lot of fun we talk, drink some wine, cook and then sit down to a GREAT dinner.

If you have missed my cooking classes here is some of the fun you have missed

learning to make fresh pasta

hands on rolling pasta

more rolling and cutting
separating the pasta

prepping shittake to saute

Cleaning a pork tenderloin

My favorite classes....so far the breads class which is my passion and the Italian Class my obsession!

Classes are ongoing leave me your e-mail for details or schedule a cooking class party!

Great New Site

2009-03-30T13:51:00.004-04:00

As most of you know I am a proud member of the Daring Bakers and now the new Daring Cooks. We now have a GREAT new web site, it is not only for members anymore but open to everyone. Full of great information, got cooking questions you can find the answer here. Click on the picture above for a link to this great new site and if you love to cook or bake think about joining up it's a great community.

Let me introduce the kitchen El Spatulla

The Chopping Ninja

The Mighty Flame

Miss Measure

Lady Whisk
The Vanilla Fairy

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna

2009-03-29T15:54:00.007-04:00

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

For those of you who know me know I have a love affair with Italy, the food the culture the lore. Years ago when I interned at Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham AL I asked the owner chef Frank Stitt what book as a young beginning chef should I read? With out hesitation he recommended The Splendid Table and the love affair grew! Not only is this a beautiful book but it is filled with great food and Italian culture. I have made many things from this book over the years and never been disappointed so I was tickled pink when this month's challenge was Lasagne of Enilia-Romagna.

Emilia-Romagna is located between Milan, Venice, and Florence, the heart and soul of Italian food. It is the home of balsamic, Prosciutto, tortellini and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. As stated in The Splendid Table "If only one word could describe Emilia-Romagna it would have to be rich. Not rich in the sense of fat, but rich in dishes of deep, layered tastes.

True to that description was the lasagna the flavors were rich, deep, layered and rustic while at the same time elegant.
The key components of the lasagne are:

Homemade Spinach Pasta

Country Ragu

Bechamel Sauce

That right lasagna with out red sauce, ricotta or even mozzarella, as I have always said Northern Italy it's more than red sauce.

The pasta came together nicely and the dough looked beautiful, I did try stretching it by hand and thought I was doing good but decided I was not getting thin enough and since I was pressed for time I broke out the pasta machine.

As for the ragu this was the first time I made the country ragu as it cooked it reminded me of beef bourgenon which makes sense because it uses the same basic ingredients. The ragu was simple to make it just takes a little time to develop the flavor.

As the recipe says "baking preforms the final marriage of flavors. The results are splendid."

What more can I say that is right on the results were splendid and the whole family agrees...in fact hubs ate 3 pieces this is a keeper!

I made mine in 2 smaller pans and threw one into the freezer for a later date. Thanks for this fun and yummy challenge and to see more results from the daring bakers check them out here!

Finish the meal with a little strawberry shortcake and I am fat and happy...life is good!

For the Love of Chocolate

2009-03-01T08:40:00.002-05:00

Daring Bakers challenge...chocolate and ice cream, YUM

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

This challenge was just fun the cake was quick and easy to put together technically it should be heart shaped but because I made it after Valentines mine are round. I made them in my silicone muffin pan and the recipe made 11 little cakes. I made Salted Butter Carmel Ice Cream from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop and let me tell you I fell in love with this ice cream

It is incredibly rich but the texture is smooth and the flavor over the top. Chocolate cakes, Butter Carmel Ice Cream and raspberry sauce is quite possibly the perfect combination.

My 3yr old said mom this is AWESOME! My 6yr old said mom how do you do it this is sooo good. I'm glad I can impress someone.

Thak you Wendy and Dharm for a fun and yummy challeng. Check out the other DBRs here

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Fresh Bagels

2009-02-19T09:48:00.003-05:00

There's noting like a good bagel, chewy on the outside soft on the inside. Great all by itself or just waiting for a variety of toppings. Unfortunately if you only eat store bought bagels you don't know just how great they can be, to you they are just another form of bread.
Izzy Cohen, a baker for most of his 78 years, says in my favorite bread book Bread from the La Brea Bakery "a lot of nothing passes for bagels. They're round, they have a hole." One key thing Izzy insists on for making real bagels is high-gluten flour Izzy says darkly" with out high-gluten flour you can not make a bagel"

Second key to making great bagels is the boiling of the bagel 20 seconds is the key and those 20 seconds are important. It kills off some of the yeast on the outside layer of the dough and makes a tight skin. It also cooks the starch on the outside layer which gives a bagel it's shine.

Third key step in bagel making is fermentation which is where the flavor develops. "
You can put sugar in there, you can put flour in there but if you don't have fermentation, all the flavor will be on the tongue, not in the chew. And the real flavor of bagels cones in the chewing." That is why this bagel is made with a sourdough starter to develop that flavor in the chew.

Since I could not find high-gluten flour locally I used King Arthur Bread Flour and added vital gluten to it. To make you own high gluten flour add 1tsp vital gluten powder for every cup of flour used. King Arthur does make a High-gluten flour but I have to order that from them no one carries it locally.
These bagels I cooked for different times some are perfectly golden some are not because I wanted to leave some for the kids that were softer... I bake to please! This bagel recipe came from Breads from the La Brea Bakery and requires sourdough starter, I will post the King Arthur recipe which does not have the starter, I think I will make those next just to compare flavors.

What happens when you have extra sourdough starter? You get bread and bagels in the same day

Valentine Treats

2009-02-13T12:02:00.005-05:00

Every February I get giddy about Valentine's Day, I find myself cutting everything into heart shapes, dying food pink something I would never regularly do, and wanting to make some exciting goodies for friends.
This year I decided I would make fortune cookies, I made almond and raspberry flavored decorated with chocolate and sprinkles. What fun they were to make! It did take me a little time to get the fold right I finally had to look at one I had from last time we ordered Chinese. I made these for my son's class they are quick and easy and take very few ingredients. Make some today for your Valentine...because everyone deserves a Valentine Treat

I Forgot

2009-02-06T09:29:00.002-05:00

I don't know what happened I just forgot all about the Daring Bakers this month! My husband had his 40th birthday at the end of this month and I was totally obcessed with making that a big deal and I did but in the mean time I just let Daring Bakers slip my mind. I appoligize to all my fellow DB and promise it won't happen again!

Great Granola

2009-02-05T18:11:00.004-05:00

Whats lumpy, bumpy full of nuts and fruit? That's right granola and I love it! Granola is one of those foods that has gotten a bad rap in the past but is making a come back. Maybe since we are all a little more concerned with our health we recognize it as good for us and not just "hippie" food. This is my basic granola chock full of oatmeal, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins it is a bonanza of whole grains and fiber. Lightly sweetened with honey not only adds to the healthiness but makes it oh so yummy! So put aside your notions of granola and try it again, it's a whole new age of granola!

I recently gave some to a neighbor who happily ate it up and asked if I could make her more. Of course I can but this time it will cost ya.

Want to try some great granola? Just let me know I love making the stuff and am selling it for $3.65 a pound

Eat it as a cereal, top yogurt with it or eat it like I do straight out of the bag as a snack!

It's GOOD!

Great Giveaway

2009-01-28T14:34:00.003-05:00

I have found a great site Secret is in the Sauce a group of bloggers dedicated to supporting one another. They have great giveaways and links to even more it has been so much fun discovering this site.
Now on to the giveaway this month they are giving away a Keurig Brewing System this baby can brew any hot drink you desire one fresh hot cup at a time. Want a chance to win this machine click here-giveaway but you better hurry the last day to sign up is January 31.

2009-01-14T09:24:00.004-05:00

Wow Happy New Year, I can't believe I haven't posted in 2009 yet. I have had the post holiday cooking blues. The first 2 weeks of January have been spent in a cooking funk...I think I used up all creativity at Christmas and just needed a break.

This week I was inspired by Gordon Ramsey's kitchen nightmares, in this episode he transformed a restaurant using Yorkshire Puddings and the Campaign for real gravy (click for link).
Remembering fondly my childhood days and my mom making popovers I was inspired! My kids and husband would love popovers or Yorkshire puddings and think I was amazing by making something so simple.

And yes they are really simple, just a few rules you have to follow
The biggest rule is NO PEEKING as tempting as it is do not open that oven door during the first 1/2 hour of baking or they will fall on you because they are leavened by steam.

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten*
2 Tbsp melted butter
2-4 Tbsp of roast drippings
* If you double the recipe, add an extra egg to the batter.

Method
1 Sift together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Form a well in the center. Add the milk, melted butter, and eggs and beat until the batter is completely smooth (no lumps), the consistency of whipping cream. Let sit for an hour.

2 Using a popover pan or muffin pan put at least a teaspoon of roast drippings in the bottom of each well or butter each well, and place in oven for just a couple minutes.

3 Carefully pour the batter the wells of muffin/popover pans, filling just 1/3 full. Cook for 15 minutes at 450°F, then reduce the heat to 350°F and cook for 15 to 20 more minutes, until puffy and golden brown.

Serve with a side of gravy or top with butter and jam, honey or any other topping you
wish.

The night I made these my house was a buzz with excitement and everyone was impressed.

Daring Bakers Christmas edition

2008-12-29T21:24:00.004-05:00

After a month off from daring bakers I was ready to go, I could not wait until I saw what lie ahead for Christmas baking. Would it be a grand layer cake or perhaps sugar plums the ideas danced in my head. I headed over to the daring bakers site and what to my wandering eyes should appear but a French Yule Log. Now like many people I thought a French Yule Log was much like a Buche de Noel but was I way wrong and after reading all 18 pages of instructions the difference was clear to me.

SO, what is a French Yule Log you say and how is it different from the Buche de Noel?

In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise and Buttercream type that we made last December, or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is also just a scrumptious dessert recipe.

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

This dessert contains six elements all of which we had to incorporate
1) Dacquoise Biscuit
2) Mousse
3) Ganache Insert
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert
6) Icing
But don't be intimidated as I found out if you just take it one thing at a time it will come together nicely. I made mine with almond dacquoise, chocolate mousse, chocolate praline crisp, and coffee creme brulee, chocolate ganache and chocolate icing.

It was challenging to make but fun some people warned that you will use every pot in the house so I limited myself to one and just washed as I went...worked pretty well I ended up with minimal dishes.
Check out all the French Yule Logs at the Daring Bakers Blog Roll
Find the recipe here to make your own

Stromboli

2008-12-11T14:00:00.003-05:00

Stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses, Italian meats or vegetables. Stromboli is reported to have originated in 1950 in Essington PA, just outside of Philadelphia, at Romano's Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, by Nazzareno Romano.

This recipe is long over due as the teachers of Caleb's school have been requesting it since I made it for them early November.

There is no set filling for the Stromboli, it is just the discretion of the chef so the possibilities are endless. This one I made for Caleb's teachers lunch was Italian Sausage and it was quite tasty!

I have named this Dano's Stromboli you can find the recipe here

Daring Bakers

2008-11-29T17:08:00.004-05:00

This month the daring bakers got back on the sugar high with a challenge from Dolores of Culinary curiosity and Alex of Brownie and blondie and Jenny of Foray into Food challenging all us daring bakers with Carmel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting courtsey of Shuna Fish Lydon http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2006/12/24/caramel-cake-the-recipe/)

Although this cake sounded delicious here I am with no cake for various reasons I won't list here. I am so sorry to have missed out on this challenge espically when I see all the beautiful yummy cakes from all my fellow DBrs. Check out all their great creations here http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/

Sorry I let you down fellow bakers but I am rested and ready for next month! Can't wait to see what we have and maybe I'll still make this cake just for fun!

I'll bring cupcakes

2008-11-22T08:04:00.005-05:00

It seems like lately I've been making a lot of cupcakes 1-because they are fun to make and so cute and 2-they taste sooo much better than the ones you pick up at the local grocery store 3- It is so fun to see the kids get so excited about what they are bringing and I love any chance to use my cupcake tree! So here's the latest in my cupcake making.

Caleb asked for Turkey cupcakes for his school feast so with the help of candycorns and coconut marshmallowes we have the cupcake known as the "Gobbler"

Ballet slippers and hearts delighted all the girls at Ella's ballet party!

Happiness in a loaf

2008-11-07T10:14:00.005-05:00

Bread is the most basic thing in life, man has been making it since the beginning of time. So why is it that something so simple can bring such feelings of pride and joy, yes joy. I think because bread is such a creation, especially when using wild yeast, you start with the most basic ingredients and when your done you have a beautiful burnished crusty bread.

I have been working on mastering the use of wild yeast or sourdough and today these loaves have hit the mark! Beautiful crust with an incredible interior crumb unless you've ever made bread you don't know how to appreciate these two factors.

In her book Nancy's Silverton's Breads she says your first loaf will not be as good as your third, fourth....and man is she right. As I have learned how to handle the dough, what qualities to look for and as the yeast has strengthened the loaves have progressively gotten better. Sorry to ramble but I'm so excited about this bread!

The other factor in this loaf that I think made a difference is the flour I used, I used King Arthur Bread Flour instead of General Mills Bread Flour...better flour=better bread lesson learned I will never go back the extra dollar is worth it!

This bread is Rosemary Olive Oil....YUM!

A Day Late

2008-10-30T20:18:00.005-04:00

What can I say but better late than never? Between babies being born, pumpkin carvings and trips to the pumpkin patch here I am a day late. For some reason I thought today was the post day but as I checked the kitchen forums low and behold it was yesterday.

A walk in the park I thought as I read this months challenge it seems like forever ago, I love pizza and make it every Friday night I have plenty of time and opportunity for this challenge. Yet here I am a day late posting my challenge and enjoying a great slice!

Thank you Rosa for this fun challenge that the whole family loved.

After I made the kidos their cheese and pepperoni, I enjoyed chicken, caramelized onion and shittake mushroom with a nice glass of red wine.

Gotta Love that pizza night no complaints at the dinner table :)

Check out all of the other great pizzas here

recipe coming soon....

It's Officially Fall

2008-10-19T17:04:00.005-04:00

Fall is officially here, I know the calendar has said so for a few weeks now but today I made my first batch of Pumpkin Doughnuts the true mark of Fall! This weekend the temp crept down to the forties and I got the doughnut bug.
Doughnuts are one of those things that just bring me great pleasure to make, I think because I have so many good memories associated with them. Every year growing up on Fat Tuesday my mom would make dozens of doughnuts, we would cover the kitchen table with them and then take them around to the neighbors and mom would let us eat as many as we could hold. So I carry on this tradition in my family...you just can't buy memories like that or doughnuts for that matter.
My neighbor J had asked a few weeks ago if she could help when I decided to make them so she came over this afternoon and we made doughnuts...how fun!

I made these pumpkin doughnuts for the first time last year and what a hit they have been I have looked for to them all year and so have my neighbors and friends, I have had several requests.
Click here for the recipe

Bad blogger, Good Bread

2008-10-14T15:41:00.009-04:00

I have been a very bad girl not posting for such a long time and when I did it was to say I haven't done anything! BAD

Time has been a elusive thing for me lately just keeping up with school and homework (not mine my 6yr old's) and keeping the house clean is all I seem to do. I always tell myself I'll blog at night but then I end up passing out on the couch. Ok enough excuses all of that said to say I have been working on a baking project.

My husband loves sourdough bread I have long wanted to try my hand at wild yeast sourdough so finally I jumped in with both feet!

My guide in this journey? Nancy Silverton of La Brea Bakery...a bread goddess!

Her guidelines for making a starter is no simple process unlike some starters that are flour and water sitting at room temp for a few days with hers you first develop a culture for 14 days then feed the culture for another week 3 times a day before you are ready to make bread. Not a difficult process but a lot of details. It was so much fun watching the changes and the bubbles however the smell of stinky feet in the kitchen I could have done with out. I spent one whole day trying to find out what was making that smell before I discovered it was the culture! Because you use grapes to help ferment for a long time it looked like some kind of home brew gone wrong The ready starter

And then came the day of making the bread...had I done everything right? Would the bread actually rise with just the starter? Would I be satisfied with the final product? These were my questions.

The boules are shaped
Making the bread is a 2 day process and once again I followed her steps exactly.
The result?

Decent round loaves (didn't have proofing baskets)with a mild sour flavor and a beautiful irregular crumb and ohhh the chewy texture and crust...SUCCESS!
I don't think it's perfect but I am happy with the results and it is fun and yummy just trying!

Didn't make it

2008-10-01T11:36:00.002-04:00

Missed my first DB challenge I must sadly say! I was going to try and squeeze it in under the wire but it just didn't happen. With a sick family, babyshower and our anniversary going on this week I just didn't make it. Looking forward to next month

Raspeberry Ruffle Cake

2008-09-26T10:32:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday Rachel had her 30th birthday...Happy Birthday! We surprised her with dinner at Bottegga and because I think everyone needs a birthday cake I made Chocolate Ruffle Cake from Baking with Julia ( I have always wanted to make this cake). Filled with whipped Creme Fraiche and Fresh Raspberries this cake not only looks good but tastes great! The only thing I would do different next time is to wet the layers more it was a little more dry than I like but the flavors came togethere wonderfully.

This cake was fun to make, it had a lot of steps as Julia's recipes do but was oh so good, too bad I was so full from dinner to really enjoy it.

I learned 2 things from this experiment

1) made creme fraiche for the first time....very exciting, fun and easy

2) did not know you could whip creme fraiche

I did not make the ruffles or the chocolate band as the book says, I did not have the materials on hand to do that, so I improvised with dark and white chocolate shavings and ganache for the sides.

I will post the recipe to my recipe pages soon...it is quite long! But if you need a fancy cake this is the one for you.

Cup-a-cake

2008-09-13T09:06:00.004-04:00

When given the option ot make a big cake or cupcakes I will always opt for the latter. Cupcakes are just more fun, and don't pose the problems that come with a big cake...making sure it is level and even. Not to mention it is so much easier to transport cupcakes, and besides they are just so cute, fun and take us all back to our childhood.

These cupcakes were made for a baby shower of a friend chocolate and vanilla decorated with pink and brown dasies. Not only did everyone think they were oh so cute but they tasted great too!

Daring Bakers

2008-08-31T21:30:00.007-04:00

Inspired by the great French baker Pierre Herme Tony of Olive Juice and Meeta of What's for lunch Honey this months host chose chocolate eclairs! In a word YUM!

I have fond memories of coming home from school and finding much to my delight that my mom had made cream puffs and mom saying my favorite words they don't last long so we'll have to eat them up ohh the sacrifices we have to make!

I have made chox dough many times but not in a long time and although the dough doesn't give me much trouble I always have trouble with the size of eclairs. I am a horrible estimate of length I should never just eyeball things and once again I realize I made them to small...oh well I guess I just have to eat 2 or 3...4.

The only variation I made to Pierre Herme's Chocolate Eclairs was to add a Kahlua whipped Cream a great combination if I don't say so myself. They were very rich but oh were they good.

Thank you Tony and Meeta for a GREAT fun challenge. Check out all the other DBr's eclair creations here

Want to WOW your family? Get the recipe here

Back at long last

2008-08-30T17:46:00.004-04:00

Wow so it has been a month since my last post! I have been cooking just doing a poor job of keeping up with business. As the end of summer creeps ever closer I fondly remember all the great summer fruit we have enjoyed and the great pies they made. This time of year yields another favorite fruit and a new favorite tart...PLUM! which rhymes with YUM if I may.

I remember making a great plum tart last summer, but where did I write the recipe???Oh yea it was on a blue post it, but where did I put it when I decided it should be in a "safe place"? Oh yea I stuck it to the front of one of my favorite cook books..shew glad my filing system didn't fail me this time. Fresh plums baked in an almond filling with a flaky butter crust just wonderful with coffee and divine with a scoop of ice cream.

Plum Almond Tart recipe link now this recipe is safely stored on the internet but oh yes I still have it on the blue post it slapped to the front of my cook book.

Do I call them cupcakes?

2008-07-30T13:05:00.003-04:00

Do I call them cupcakes was the question asked my my friend M after eating the mini cupcakes I made for her baby shower. They are so delicious and cute, nothing like a typical cupcakes oh no these are grown up baby cupcakes. Flourless Chocolate with Raspberry Buttercream and Vanilla Bean with Zesty Lemon Buttercream were the flavors no you can't find these at the local grocery store.

I love making one bite desserts, I can justify eating 5 or 6 with "well they were so small"

This was my other baking project for this weekend along with the daring bakers challenge.

Not the most beautiful cake

2008-07-30T09:12:00.005-04:00

Yes it's Daring Bakers time of the month again! This month I had planned on sitting this challenge out as the temps here in Alabama are near 100 and the humidity is around 70-80% the thoughts of eating a rich buttery cake is just to much. On top of that I can't seem to cool my kitchen below 80, not good for buttercream!

But there at the end I did make an attempt, it was my sisters birthday and I could not make it to the party so I decided to send this cake for her birthday cake.

It did not turn out beautiful, every time I tried to pipe the border the buttercream kept melting and looked like a blob so I tried to disguise it with some praline crumbles on top which just gave it a messy look. Same problem with the writing sometimes melted butter would just ooze out.

I put a note on top that said "Don't look at it just eat it" because I knew it tasted great. Instead of making it with Hazelnuts I used pecans since I had waited till last minute I did not have time to hunt hazelnuts and besides I have LOTS of pecans.

Oh did I mention it had to travel 4 hours south, I put it on a slab of dry ice in a thermal bag and prayed that when they opened it, it was not in a puddle. It did work just FYI

I don't have any pics of the inside of the cake which I think is the most beautiful part, but reports back say it tasted great! I hope my sister enjoyed it and had a great birthday dinner!

Want to make this cake go to my recipe pages for the recipe. To see other daring bakers cakes go to the daring bakers blog roll

Glad I did not sit this one out thanks for the challenge...even if it did not turn out beautiful!

Buy a Cupcake Tree

2008-07-29T08:57:00.006-04:00

After searching the internet for cupcake trees, I found there was one company that sold one that was not cardboard and it was more than I wanted to spend.

So I had my husband design this one for me, it truned out great sturdy and easy to transport as it comes apart.
This one is has 14" bottom with graduated sizes to the 6" top.

We are offering these for order this tree is $100 and the tutu skirt is $50 Each one is made to order so it can be as big or little as you need and takes about one week to ship.

To order e-mail Pam at loudonp@yahoo.com please put cupcake tree in the subject line.

Peachy Keen Pie

2008-07-20T17:15:00.008-04:00

I am always playing around with the idea of businesses I would like to have and this weekend my idea was to be The Pie Maker (did you see Pushing Daisies) a store front with a counter displaying fresh pies where you can enjoy the comfort of a fresh piece of pie. Come to think of it I can't think of where you would go to buy a fresh pie, cakes are a dime a dozen but when you crave a fresh pie where do you turn?..The Pie Maker! These thoughts were inspired by lovely peaches from the farmers market.

One of my favorite food memories is of pie, as a child I loved (and still do) pie crust and my mom would give me all the pie crust scraps and I would roll them up with all kind of good stuff. That love has continued no matter how good a pie filling is if you don't have a great crust the pie is lost. I have found many crusts I like but my favorite for fruit pies is Dorie Greenspan's Almost good for everything pie crust. This crust is great because it has that great buttery flake and taste but also uses some shortening to make it easy to handle.
To quote my brother-in-law, picture perfect! OH yes it tasted as good as it looks! I don't think there is a more perfect dessert than fresh fruit pie with a scoop of ice cream!

Peachy Keen Pie

Ingredients

1 recipe Almost Good for Everything Pie Crust click for link

3 pounds ripe, firm peaches

1/4 C brown sugar

3/4 C sugar

1/4 C cornstarch

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3/4 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel, pit, and slice the peaches 3/4 inch thick. Place peaches in medium mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Gently stir the spice mixture into the peaches. Place the peach mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Top with crust or lattice.

Bake the pie until the juices have thickened, about 1 hour.

Serve at room temp with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream

The Great Zucchini

2008-07-14T13:06:00.004-04:00

No this is not some kind of optical allusion, the top zucchini is a normal size the bottom one however is a monster zucchini the size of my arm maybe bigger!

Not wanting to waste any more produce from our garden, we have had more cucumbers than humanly possible to eat, I decided to use these bad boys. Zucchini bread of course is the best option for huge zucchini, but I knew Ella would not eat it if she could see the green pieces so I went with Chocolate Zucchini Bread instead.

The kids loved it of course whats not to love chocolate, nuts, sugar and I tell myself it has veggies in it! I thought it was good but wouldn't go out of my way to make it again unless I leave the garden unkempt again.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 C brown sugar

1/2 C butter

1/2 C oil

1/2 C white sugar

3 eggs

1tsp vanilla

1 C milk

21/2 C flour

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

4 TB cocoa

2 C unpeeled, grated zucchini

Instructions:

In a very large bowl, cream together the brown sugar, butter, white sugar and oil

Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and milk

Add the flour, cinnamon, soda, cocoa, salt and zucchini

Grease and flour 2 bread pans. Pour the batter into the pans. Sprinkle 3/4 C chocolate chips and 1/2 C chopped nuts, I used pecans, on top. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until tester comes out clean.

Good with coffee or tea, can be used for dessert if served with ice cream

Daring Bakers strike again

2008-06-29T23:09:00.003-04:00

So this is my 4th Daring Bakers challenge and I could not have been more excited, I love dough!

In baking there are some thing that you make and you feel like you have created something and dough is one of those things butter cream the other. To me there is no greater joy in baking than making a beautiful, smooth, buttery smelling dough!

I first encountered Danish Dough in culinary school pastry class but we had big fancy machines to do all the rolling for us so it was really no sweat. Earlier this year after a VERY disappointing breakfast with store bought danish (don't judge we all do it sometimes:)) I decided that was it I had to make my own so I broke out my faithful Baking with Julia always the first place I turn with a baking challenge and made it step by step..what a snap I will NEVER buy that inferior tasteless danish again!

For this challenge I did wait to the last minute for some unknown reason and actually baked my danish the morning of the post date coming in under the wire. I made Cherry Cheese Braid and Bear Claws (filled with almond paste and cake crumbs) both simply were delicious and now tonight I have nothing to show for the effort! Oh well guess I've gotta make some more

I feel compelled to confess I did not exactly follow the rules in that I used the "quick" method where you cut the butter into the dough before making your folds. I think it does simplify the process and still make a great flaky dough
Look at those lovely layers!

Check out more delicious danish creations at the Daring Bakers Blogroll

The recipe is quite long but if you want it check it out here

Summer Solstice Dinner

2008-06-23T20:40:00.005-04:00

This weekend we had our second farm dinner which marked the Summer Solstice June 21 2008, the food focused on fresh, local produce and Alabama products.

These are just a few pictures from that night as I am waiting an e-mail from one of our guests with more pics, I got busy cooking and did not have time to stop for pictures.

It was a beautiful evening on the farm, the threat of rain cooled it down enough that the temperature was great we did have a rain scare just before dinner was served as a few large drops of rain fell but God held off the rain until later in the evening. It was a perfect Midsummer's Night!

For more pictures go to Waterberry Farm

Sweet Basil Pesto

2008-06-09T19:22:00.003-04:00

With Summer in full swing here in Alabama the beautiful produce is starting to fill our markets. There is never a better time to eat Fresh and Healthy than in the summer so much goodness to choose from. My favorite thing to grow and eat is basil, it's just not quite summer until you have nice fresh basil. This weekend I harvested my basil and OH MY I had a ton! So when life give you basil you make pesto of course.

Pesto is a sauce that originates in the city of Genoa in the Liguria region of northern Italy (pesto alla genovese). The name comes from pestâ "to pound, to crush", from the Latin root pestle (traditionally made with mortar and pestle), in reference to the crushed herbs and garlic in the sauce. Pesto is traditionally used on pasta but I love to use it on everything from pizza to sandwiches.

Sweet Basil Pesto click here for recipe

Daring Bakers 3

2008-05-27T09:34:00.007-04:00

The Daring Bakers brought it this time, for this months challenge they chose an Opera Cake, almond cake layered with Chocolate, Butter cream and coffee syrup the twist you could not use those dark colors and flavors.

We had to keep the basic elements but use only "spring" flavors.

cake
syrup
butter cream
glaze
mousse - optional

For me the biggest challenge was in what elements would I choose the options are endless, but after a little thought I decided to go with my favorites

Almond Cake, Orange syrup, Raspberry Butter cream, White Chocolate Glaze I had planned on doing a white chocolate mousse but was pressed for time the day I made it and quickly scrapped that idea.

Almond Biscuit (cake)

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided

2 large eggs, at room temperature

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup cake flour

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Make the almond biscuit
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Butter a 17 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch jelly roll pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Lightly butter and flour the sheet, shaking off the excess flour. Set aside
Using a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade, process the almonds to a very fine cornmeal-like texture. Place the ground almonds in a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the sugar.
Using a handheld electric mixer, beat 1 whole egg into the almond mixture. Beat the mixture on high speed for 1 minute. Add the second egg and beat on high speed for another minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. The mixture should be pale yellow in color.
Place the egg whites in a 4 1/2-quart bowl of heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the wire whisk attachment. Beat the whites on high speed until they are frothy. Slowly add the reserved tablespoon of sugar and beat until the whites are slightly glossy and stiff peaks form.
Sift the flour over the egg-almond mixture and , using a large rubber spatula, fold in the flour until incorporated. Gently fold in the whites in two batches. Fold in the melted butter, making sure it is completely incorporated into the batter.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared pan in an even layer approximately 1/4-inch thick. Tap the pan lightly on the counter and smooth to remove any air pockets.
Bake the cake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment paper and cool completely. Cut the cake into 3 equal portions, each 5 1/2-inches wide. If the cake will not be assembled until the following day, wrap securely in plastic wrap, placing a piece of waxed paper in between each layer.

Orange Syrup

1/3 cup Orange Juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Mariner liqueur

Make the sugar syrup

In a small heavy saucepan, combine the juice and sugar, . Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear.
Remove from heat and add the liqueur, set aside.

White Chocolate Glaze

7 ounces Swiss white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup heavy cream

Make the white chocolate glaze

Melt the white chocolate with the heavy cream. Whisk gently until smooth. Let cool for 10 minutes and then pour over the chilled cake.
Using a long metal cake spatula, smooth out into an even layer. place the cake into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set.

Raspberry Butter cream-German butter cream custard base

1 Cup Sugar

6 Egg Yolks

3/4 C milk

4 Sticks cold butter, cut into 1" pieces

1/2 C Raspberry Sauce

Make the Butter cream

In a heavy sauce pan combine milk and half the sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Over medium heat bring the milk mixture to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour HOT milk mixture over egg mixture quickly stirring and return custard to the pan, and over medium heat bring to a simmer stirring until thickened.
Pour custard mixture into the bowl of a standing mixer, on low speed mix the custard for 5 minutes reducing the temp. with the mixer at medium speed begin adding the butter one piece at a time, not adding another until the first is completely melted. Continue adding butter at this rate until you have added 3/4 of the butter. The butter cream will appear broken right before it comes together don't give up keep adding butter
At this point drizzle in the raspberry sauce *note the butter cream my take on a curdled look DON'T Despair! *Begin adding the cold butter again this time softening a little in your hand, continue adding butter until the butter cream has a smooth consistency. Whip on high speed for 1 minute. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before assembling cake.

*If at any time the butter cream look broken or is not thick enough add cold softened butter 1TB at a time until you have desired consistency.

Assemble the cake

Place one of the biscuit rectangles onto a cake board of the same size. Using a pastry brush, generously soak the cake with the orange syrup.
Using a long straight spatula spread a thin layer of white chocolate glaze
Place 1/3 of butter cream onto the cake and using a long, straight spatula, smooth into an even layer.
Continue layering until you have used all 3 layers, finish the last layer with butter cream topped with the chocolate glaze. Refrigerate until the cake is set and top with fresh raspberries.

Check out all the other Daring Bakers Opera Cakes

Friday Night Pizza Night

2008-05-24T10:22:00.005-04:00

I haven't posted in so long! This month has just been crazy busy...school ending, mother-in-law visiting and babies being born- oh no not me!

Through all this I have been a cooking fool but just haven't had the time to blog it all!

This month I decided to make Friday Pizza Night at our house, every friday we have pizza and watch movies or play games. Kidos love it and look forward to it all week, so do I ;) Feast your eyes on these lovely pizzas

Cheese for my 3 yr old
Pepperoni for my 5yr old

Pesto, chicken, and olive my hubs

Look at that golden crust...pizza happiness!

Perfect Pizza Dough

1 TB yeast

1 TB sugar

1 1/3 C warm water

2 3/4 C flour

1/4 C corn meal

3TB Olive Oil

1tsp salt

In a stand mixer bowl dissolve the yeast in 1/3 C warm water.

Add remaining ingredients, with dough hook mix and knead until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.

Continue to knead for about 2 min..I do not over knead pizzadough

Remove dough from mixing bowl and put into large stoneware oiled bowl to rise.

Put in a warm place free of drafts and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.

Heat oven to 525

Divide dough in half and roll into rounds (starting with round dough helps make a round pizza)allow to rest.

Shape into pizza by either rolling out or streatching dough into a round pizza.

Place dough on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal (if you don't have a peel use the back side of a sheet pan dust well) or if you don't have a pizza stone in your oven put on a pan

Top with your favorite toppings and bake until dough is golden and cheese is melted.

Enjoy hot yummy pizza right from your kitchen

Cookies,cupcakes and pricnesses oh my

2008-05-01T17:05:00.007-04:00

I have been baking up a storm here lately, food has been flying out of this kitchen I haven't been able to keep up with it all. So in an attempt to catch up I am rolling it up into one GREAT BIG Baking Blog Bonanza so here goes

First Cookie basket for a lady that works with my husband. She was recovering from srugery and what could make you feel better than 3 dozen cookies. I've been wanting to make cookie baskets for a long time now and this was a good opportunity

The basket included chunky chocolate, double peanuttny peanut butter, and snickerdoodle

With that done I moved on to my daughters birthday cake...individual princesses for a 3yr old she is a girl that knows what she wants! I finished these at about 10pm the night before her birthday...I think they turned out pretty well

And like that wasn't enough I volunteered to make cupcakes to take to story time at our library. So Sunday night once again I was baking cupcakes and whipping up a batch of icing, my kitchen has that fine dusting of powdered sugar everywhere!

Challenge #2

2008-04-27T07:56:00.008-04:00

This months challenge was from Elle at Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah at Taste and Tell, they challenged all us Dbrs to make cheesecake pops. How fun! I was so excited about this challenge, no sweat I have been making cheesecake since the 5th grade - my mom made them for a local restaurant and I think 26 in one day was the most we ever did.

so making cheesecake does not scare me. Then there's the chocolate yet another place to go wrong but there again when I was in high school I made chocolates to sell to a coffee house in town..still can't eat a chocolate Easter bunny.

So for me this challenge was a walk in the park, a lot of fun! I waited until I was down to the wire because when they announced this challenge I knew these would be perfect to serve at my daughters princess tea! And oh were they popular "little bites of heaven" and "2 oz of pleasure" were just some of the comments.

*The only changes I made to the recipe was to add 1tsp of lemon zest, I think the lemon brings out the flavor of the cheesecake. Also in the future I think I would lessen the sugar amount to 13/4 cup they were a little sweet for my taste after you get the chocolate on.

I dipped mine in white chocolate,drizzled with pink and added pink jimmies to some, just beautiful for a princess party!

* I wasn't sure on the size of my scoop, but I think it was smaller than 2oz because I made 36 and still have more to make...poor me :)

Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed.

Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition.

Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature.

Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate.

In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations.

You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set.

Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Check out Daring Bakers new forums, a place for all bakers to connect and talk about their one true love...baking. no really it is a wealth of information

All the goodness, none of the trans fats

2008-04-16T22:05:00.007-04:00

Sometimes I feel like a bad mom for always saying no at the grocery store. How could a sanck cake that looks so good be so bad for you? How do you explain that to a 5yr old and does he really want to know. My answer has become, mommy can make better ones (my kids are rightfully convinced that nothing you buy is as good as mommys') So at my son's request we made "Hostess cupcakes" we had a great time and what sweet rewards.

Just one bite and you are a kid again!

Bake yourself happy today!

Strawberry Panna Cotta

2008-04-03T16:56:00.010-04:00

My husband thinks I am a goddess anytime I make panna cotta, one of his favorites, little does he know it is a simple dessert that really requires very little time. Althought pana cotta is simple to make it remains an elegant dessert, this time I flavored it with pureed fresh strawberries and served it with Lime Meltaways.

I don't really make panna cotta that often...I think it's good to keep him wanting. Oh the power of being a goddess!

I decided to make Strawberry Panna Cotta this week because I had an excess of strawberries and I thought it is truly a Spring Fruit Sensation
For panna cotta

3 cups sliced strawberries (1 lb)

1 3/4 cups well-shaken low-fat buttermilk

6 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin, from less than 2 (1/4-oz) envelopes

1/4 cup whole milk

1/4 cup heavy cream
Make panna cottas:

Blend strawberries, buttermilk, and sugar in a blender until very smooth, then pour through a very fine sieve into a medium bowl, pressing hard on solids. Discard solids.

Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small bowl and let stand 1 minute to soften.
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture, stirring until dissolved.
Whisk cream mixture into strawberry purée and pour into molds.

Chill molds, covered, until firm, at least 8 hours.
To unmold, dip molds in a small bowl of hot water 2 or 3 seconds, then invert panna cottas onto dessert plates and remove molds.

Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes to soften slightly.

Organic Strawberries compliments of my parents farm see here

Strawberry Salad

2008-03-31T14:11:00.010-04:00

Every year when the strawberries are ripe I eat just as many as I can before the days become to hot for these sweet little jems.
I have great food memories of strawberries growing up from growing to preserving, but the best one hands down is every year when strawberries were ripe and plentiful mom would make a pound cake, whip some cream and slice fresh strawberries we would have what my family calls Strawberry Dinner! Cake and Strawberries for dinner I thought my mom was the coolest, to this day I can't think of a better way to mark Spring!

I still love strawberries for dessert but my obsession this year is a Strawberry Mandrin Orange Salad with Spicy Balsamic dressing. Mike over at Mikes Table is hosting a Strawberry Seduction Challenge so to be different I decided to enter a salad. Look for a Strawberry Shortcake Recipe coming soon, these days I feel the need to eat a salad before my cake and strawberries.

Salad

1head Bibb Butter head
1 60z can Mandrin Oranges
1 pint Strawberries
1/2 C Sugared almonds almonds -recipe below or store bought

Dressing

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons honey
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 small shallots, finely minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Whisk together first 7 ingredients until blended. Gradually whisk in olive oil.

Arrange lettuces on plate, top with oranges, strawberries and almonds drizzle with Balsamic dressing. Makes a great side salad or add smoked turkey for a light lunch.

* Sugared Almonds

Sugar Almonds
4 Tbls. water

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Grease a jelly roll or similar pan and place two forks by it.
Combine water and sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat until this forms a thick syrup. The water will boil off.
When the syrup is ready, remove it from heat, gently add in the almonds, and stir constantly. Continue to stir until the sugar syrup begins to crackle, which does not take long and occurs while the syrup is still liquid.
Place this over heat again.
The sugar will crystallize and form a white grainy coating; continue heating and stirring until all the sugar is melted again.
Remove from heat and pour onto greased pan.
Separate the almonds with the forks, working quickly before they cool and fuse together.

First Challenge

2008-03-30T16:03:00.013-04:00

I was so excited this month because I finally got signed up with the daring bakers and the first challenge was to make The Perfect Party Cake from Baking from my home to yours by Dorie Greenspan (a must for all who love to bake). I had looked at this cake so many times and just needed the inspiration to make it.

Layers of tender lemon cake filled with raspberry preserves and light yet rich lemon buttercream, don't be fooled by the light appearence of this cake it is very rich.

"Mom this is better than chocolate!" exclaimed my 5 yr old son after his first bite, and with that said what else can I say for this cake! Thank you dairing bakers for this challenge and I can't wait for next month check out all the other DBrs cakes here
The only changes I made to the recipe was omiting the coconut and I could not resist more preserves on top! Oh yes I did not have 2- 9" pans so I cooked it in 1-8" pan with 4' sides so I had to use a longer cook time thus the brown edges and top but brown edges are always my favorite!

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream

1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper.
Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).
To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream.
Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake

Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.
Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator.
Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold.

Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Finally

2008-03-12T22:28:00.004-04:00

I am so excited to announce that after quite some time of trying to join in with the Daring Bakers that day has finally arrived, after an ordeal of wrong e-mail addresses and blogger errors I am finally in and can't wait to take part in this month's event. So check back at the end of the month for the results.

Crazy for Rhubarb

2008-03-12T10:39:00.009-04:00

Rhubarb is a very old plant. Its medicinal uses and horticulture have been recorded in history since ancient China. Earliest records date back to 2700 BC in China where Rhubarb was cultivated for medicinal purposes.
In 1778 rhubarb is recorded as a food plant in Europe. The earliest known usage of rhubarb as a food appeared as a filling for tarts & pies.

Strawberries and Rhubarb are a classic combination the sweetness of the strawberries balances the tartness of the rhubarb.This strawberry rhubarb coffee cake is a favorite of mine, the cake is light and buttery topped with the sweet tart fruit...simply delicious.
As the name suggests it is meant to be eaten in the morning with a cup of coffee which is delightful, but served with a cream sauce or ice cream it makes a lovely simple dessert.
I first made this last Spring and have now waited longingly for a whole year to make it again, finally that day has arrived, and like my fall obsession with pumpkin here we go again.

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
Filling:

3 cups fresh sliced rhubarb or 13-ounce package frozen
16oz strawberries, sliced- you can use frozen
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch

Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, softened

Batter:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

For filling:

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, and half the sugar in saucepan; simmer, covered, about 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch to fruit mixture. Cook and stir until thickened. Set aside to cool.

For topping:combine all ingredients until crumbly; set aside.

For batter:
Combine dry ingredients.
Cut in butter until mixture makes fine crumbs.
Beat together the milk, eggs and vanilla.
Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

To complete: spoon the batter into prepared pan. Spoon cooled filling over batter. Sprinkle topping over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until cake tests done.
Cool slightly before cutting.
16 servings or can be easily halved

All things Italian

2008-03-10T09:57:00.003-04:00

Calling all those who love to cook, eat and savor Italian food for a round up of All things Italian

Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita ’s Event: Festa Italiana. All Entries due March 22nd. Please click on either of their links for participation guidelines!

Even if you don't wish to take part visit these sites for Italian Inspiration, these ladies are the real deal

New favorite

2008-03-08T17:17:00.004-05:00

For those of you who know me I am slightly obcessed with whole grains...is it possible to get enough? I have found a new product I love...Eagle Mills Whole Grain White Flour. You can use it cup for cup to replace white flour and it gives you 9grams of whole grains per 1/4 cup serving. This is done with a flour called Ultragrain..well actually a special milling process.

The Ultragrain milling process retains the fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients concentrated within the bran and germ, while yielding whole grain wheat flour with a taste, ultrasmooth texture and appearance more similar to traditional refined white flour.

I can still taste a slight difference, but my family hasn't noticed so I won't tell them. For me this is an easy way to get just a little more whole grains in our diet. And with that said I think I will have another chocolate chip cookie....they are good for me you know!

Pork beautiful Pork

2008-02-21T16:13:00.005-05:00

I am such a fan of pork tenderloin, not a cut of meat I ever had growing up but can't imagine life without it now.

Why such a fan of pork tender you may ask? It's inexpensive, cooks quickly, it mingles well with lots of different flavors and oh yes it's not CHICKEN...I don't know about you but sometimes I get Chickened out!

This is a quick and easy entree I made recently and the kidos said "mom I like this chicken"

Very Yummy a keeper!

PORK MEDALLIONS WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR
pork tenderloin, sliced 1″ thick, pounded slightly to flatten
flour, 1/4-1/3 cup
salt and pepper
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4-1/3 c. chicken broth
1 T. fresh sage, chopped

1. Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish; dredge pork in the flour.
2. Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan or skillet to medium high. Saute pork, in batches if necessary, a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove pork from pan and set aside, covered with foil.
3. Deglaze pan with the vinegar, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring, to reduce the vinegar a little.
4. Add the chicken broth to the vinegar and return the pork to the pan, along with any juices that may have escaped from the meat.
5. Add the sage and continue cooking, turning the pork over, for a few minutes until the reduced sauce is dark and shiny.
6. Serve the tenderloin slices with the sauce.

I served it with mashed sweet potatoes and blackeye peas with okra...mmmmm

Love is in the Air

2008-02-14T11:25:00.001-05:00

So pretty and yummy I have to show the picture twice:)

Pretty in Pink Rice Crispy Treats Valentines for kindergarten

What could be more on Valentine's Day than tender shortbread filled with raspberries?

This rich cookie is a variation on a personal favorite the Linzer Torte, the Linzer Torte is made with a shortbread nut crust and raspberry filling absolute perfection in my book. Why the name Linzer you may ask? Because it originated in the town of Lintz Austria...I can't believe you don't know that!

With the sweet little heart window I think this cookie makes the picture perfect Valentine and the best part it tastes GREAT too!

Lemon Curd

2008-01-25T08:16:00.001-05:00

Lemon Curd...life dosen't get much sweeter or tart than this. We have the English to thank for this tart, sweet, light and buttery spread that is how the English use it most often as a spread for toast or scones at tea. But in my opinion you can do almost anything with it...it makes the perfect tart filling, is delish on toasted pound cake, yummy on a blueberry muffin lemon and blueberry a classic. You can layer it like a parfait with fresh fruit dip shortbread cookies and the perfect filling for a cake. Any way you choose to use it you just can't go wrong!

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

how to make
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 min. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

few tips for best results

With the right utensils and technique, you can make perfect lemon curd every time.

Use a heavy-based, nonreactive saucepan — Stainless steel, anodized aluminum, and enamel all work well. Some materials, such as plain aluminum or unlined copper, will react with the acid in the lemons, discoloring the curd and giving it a metallic flavor.

Stir the sauce often to keep it creamy and to prevent burning — Stirring the mixture keeps the protein molecules in the eggs from bonding too tightly, resulting in a creamy, rather than solid, curd. Be sure to scrape the spoon along the seam where the bottom and the sides of the pot meet -- an area prone to burning.

Don't let the curd boil —
Boiling can cause the curd to curdle. Take your time and keep the heat moderate. Eventually the curd will thicken to the proper consistency.

The curd is cooked when it reaches 170°F, but you can see that it's cooked when your finger leaves a clear path on the back of a spoon

The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. For a double recipe, use a large saucepan and allow for additional cooking time.

Lemon curd freezes well

Tightly covered, lemon curd will last about a week in the refrigerator. Because I always like to have some lemon curd on hand it will last for months tightly covered in the freezer.

It doesn't freeze solid, which means you can spoon out exactly what you need when you need it.

from Fine Cooking

Weekend Food

2008-01-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

Kido's pizza with just pepperoni and cheese
mom and dad's pizza with black olives, mushrooms and pepperoni Look at that beautiful crust

Ok so it's not perfect...I called it the "elephant man pizza" had a little trouble with stickage on putting it into the oven, not enough cornmeal!
For some reason I reserve some foods for the weekend, I think of these as fun food you know not your everyday meal. I think because the weekends are more relazed and less predictable. So this weekend we did pizza, nothing fancy just your plain old pizza...but boy was it good!

Making GREAT pizza at home is easy I think the key is a really HOT oven so the pizza cooks fast. Since I am a bread person the crust is a very important factor and for a good crust there again you need a HOT oven! I baked these at 525 and was very happy with the results

My favorite pizza crust

1 TB yeast

1 TB sugar

1 1/3 C warm water

2 3/4 C flour

1/4 C corn meal

3TB Olive Oil

1tsp salt

In a stand mixer bowl dissolve the yeast in 1/3 C warm water.
Add remaining ingredients, with dough hook mix and knead until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
Continue to knead for about 2 min..I do not over knead pizza
dough
Remove dough from mixing bowl and put into large stoneware oiled bowl to rise. Put in a warm place free of drafts and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.

Heat oven to 525

Divide dough in half and roll into rounds (starting with round dough helps make a round pizza)allow to rest.
Shape into pizza by either rolling out or streatching dough into a round pizza.
Place dough on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal (if you don't have a peel use the back side of a sheet pan dust well) or if you don't have a pizza stone in your oven put on a pan
Top with your favorite toppings and bake until dough is golden and cheese is melted.

Enjoy hot yummy pizza right from your kitchen

Mardi Gras

2008-01-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

Mardi Gras is coming up quick, it is earlier this year.

If you need a King Cake or any celebration fixins I'm your girl! Don't settle for those previously frozen King Cakes get the real deal baked fresh from me...you won't be disappointed

Pick your filling: Traditional Pecan and Spice $10.50

or Almond (my personal favorite) $15.00

and of course it has the traditional baby inside.

Also available

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Shrimp and Andouille Jambalaya

Chicken or Crawfish Etouffee

Crawfish Etouffe in Puff Pastry

Cold days and Comfort food

2008-01-05T09:10:00.001-05:00

2008 has started off cold here in Alabama, we had an overnight temp of 16 the other night! Now I know my Northern friends would tell me to quit whining but that was our first real cold weather-of course this week end we will be back to 70...it's just crazy

When the temperature drops my need for comfort food increases, so Thursday Chicken Pot Pie fit the bill..warm, rich, fatty and simply delicious. Roast Chicken, Vegetables and brought together with a creamy chicken veloute (gravy in culinary talk) and as if that is not enough it is finished off with cream buiscuit top YUM!

Filling
1/2 Roast chicken (I use rotisserie from Sam's saves a step) picked off the bones and chopped
4cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 chicken bullion cubes

5tablespoons butter

1cup onion chopped

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 sliced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
1cup package frozen lima beans, cooked until just tender

1 cup frozen corn

2 stalks celery, sliced and blanced for 2 min

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For Cream Biscuits:

2 cups *self-rising flour, plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and cream until the dough forms a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with additional flour. Fold the dough in 1/2 and knead 5 to 7 times, adding just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to your hands.

*If you don't have self rising flour for 2C flour add 3 tsp baking powder and 1tsp salt now you know how to make your own:)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add1/4 C flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the chicken, and veggies and mix well.

Divide the filling equally among 6 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an -inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with butter, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl.

Brush with melted butter. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Well I started this last week with it was actually cold, now this week it is 70 again you just can never tell in the south

The parties are over

2008-01-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

So here it is 2008 and already Jan 3rd and this is my first post of the New Year, I am such a bad person:) Christmas was great as always, the kids had fun, the adults had fun with the kids and everyday we had some great food. Here's a run down of the GREAT food we had...it's OK to be jealous.

Sunday Dec 23 was Mom's Birthday Dinner
Shrimp and Grits with a tomato Cream Sauce..need I say more
Pear, pecan and blue cheese Salad
Yule Log Cake YUM!

A day of rich, fat food...life is good! Sorry no pics we ate it all up to quick:)

Monday Dec 24 Christmas Eve Dinner
Pork Rib Roast with garlic herb rub...yes I Frenched out the ribs a lot of work but worth it
Roast Butternut squash with apples and cranberries
Steamed Asparagus
Sweet Potato Biscuits
Christmas Jello layers of green, yellow, and red..yes I know not exactly gourmet, but it is a family tradition and we all love it!
Desserts o'plenty...Dark Chocolate Cheesecake, pecan pie, cookies of all varieties and pumpkin pie

and as if that wasn't enough we still have Christmas Day
We have gotten in the Tradition of doing a brunch:
Spinach Egg Strata
Candied Bacon..YUM
Apricot Candy Cane, Sweet bread filled with apricot jam and shaped into a candy cane Family Favorite
Beef Burgeon
Cheese
Fruit
More Cookies :)
Complete with Coffee and Pommosias

For the adults in my family Christmas is not so much about the presents and more about Family, Food, and good Conversation!
Of course I did not make all this food my self, I am but one in a cooking family and for me that is the biggest part of the fun..cooking together.

Now back to real life

Cookie daze 4

2007-12-17T13:12:00.001-05:00

Today's installment is my absolute favorite cookie, I wait all year to make these and Christmas just can't come until I have my Jam Trumbprints!

Growing up my Grammy always put Jam Thumbprints in the box of cookies she sent us and they were always my favorite so this recipe and tradition is in honor of her!

It is also an entry for a Christmas Cookie blog bake off, to check out other great Christmas Cookies go to http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/ or http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2007/11/christmas-cookies-from-around-world.html

Jam Thumbprints
2/3 C Butter
1 1/2 C All-purpose Flour
1/2 C Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla
2 slightly beaten egg whites
1 C finly chopped pecans
1/2 C jam...I always do apricot and raspberry but you can do whatever you like

In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until softened.
Add about half the flour, add the sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat till thouroughly combined . Stir in the remaining flour, cover and chill about 1hour

Shape the dough in 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in egg whites, then in pecans. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Using your thumb, press an indention into each cookie. Fill with 1/2 tsp jam. Bake in 350 oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies from sheet and cool on wire rack

Makes about 42

Now it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, if I can just not eat them all before then, so far I have made 2 batches of these and will need to make more before Christmas :)

Not Martha's Christmas Cookies- Cookie Dayze3

2007-12-07T10:27:00.001-05:00

Today was "baking with the kidos" day, Caleb was out of school so we made some good old fashioned cut-out cookies. They may not be the most beautifully decorated cookies, but let me tell you they are yummy and the kids are think they are works of art. The other neat thing about this cookie project is we used the same cookie cutters that I used as a kid with my mom. So maybe it was a Martha moment with HEIRLOOM Cookie cutters:)

Butter Cut-Out Cookies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

2large egg yolks

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat the butter and both sugars in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.

Add the egg yolks, vanilla mixing until fully incorporated.

Slowly add the flour mixture, and continue beating until the dough comes together, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide dough in half, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Roll dough between lightly floured parchment, or waxed paper, until about 1/3-inch thick. Transfer sheets to a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into desired shape using a cookie cutter, place them on ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies. (Gather the dough scraps together, pat into a disk, chill and reroll.)

Refrigerate cookies while preheating the oven to 375 degrees F, for at least 30 minutes. Bake the cookies, until the bottoms are golden, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on shape.

Cool on sheets until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool. Decorate as desired and serve, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.

Let the Christmas Memories Begin

Cookie Dayze 2

2007-12-06T07:35:00.001-05:00

In keeping with my theme so far of classic Italian Cookies yesterday I made
Italian almond-iced Christmas Cookies. Like many Italian cookies these are made to dunked in something delicious before they are eaten. First try dunking these in Grand Marnier and then into espresso...ahhhh simple pleasures.

italian almond-iced christmas cookies

yield: about 6 dozen cookies

ingredients: the cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

the icing
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon egg white
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 colors of food coloring, of your choice

make the cookies:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 sheet pans.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Mix the eggs and sugar in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) until pale yellow and fluffy.
With the mixer running, drizzle in the oil, vanilla, and almond extract, and mix.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your hands, form into logs 1 inch in diameter.
Working in batches if necessary, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices and arrange the cookies on the sheet pans.
Bake until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

make the icing:
Whisk the milk, egg white, confectioners' sugar, and almond extract together until smooth. Divide the icing into one large and two smaller batches. Leave the large batch of icing white; color the two small batches to your liking.
When the cookies are cool, dip the tops into the white icing.
To drizzle the cookies with the other colors, dip the tines of a fork into the icing and wave it over the cookies.
Let set in a cool place 1 hour.

(recipe from Butter,Flour,Sugar,Eggs by Gale Grand)

Cookie Dayze

2007-12-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

Christmas is fast approaching and boy has my cookie list grown this year. I am in full "cookie mode" I want to post a new cookie daily but not sure if I will keep up with that so check back often for the latest cookie.

To kick off my holiday baking I wanted to make a cookie I discovered last year

Ricotta Cheese Cookies, simple cake like cookies with a hint of lemon not the fanciest cookie on the platter but definatly one you keep going back for.

2 Sticks Of Butter At Room Temperature

2 Cups Of Sugar

1 (15 oz) Container Of Full Fat Ricotta Cheese

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten

Dash Of Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Finely Chopped Lemon Zest

4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Glaze:

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

MilkColored Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients together until combined.

The dough will be moist.

Drop by a teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes until firm.

The cookies will be golden on the bottom, but will remain white on top.

Mix in enough milk to make a glaze that can be brushed. Lightly coat the tops of each cookie with the glaze and sprinkle with the colored sprinkles.

Let dry fully before storing. Freeze well up to 2 months

The Forgotten Berry

2007-11-19T09:47:00.001-05:00

Cranberries for me truly mark the Fall season, you know Fall has finally come when you see cranberries in the stores. But they really only get one day to shine, so I try enjoy them in every way. I like them preserved, cooked with rosemary and orange, and yes I like the jelled out of the can a Thankgiving classic:) But my favorite must have for Thanksgiving is Fresh Cranberry Relish and since I have had several requests for the recipe here it is:

Cranberry Relish:
ingredients

1# Cranberries
3 Apples
1 whole orange
1 C crushed pineapple
1/2 C nuts, ground
2 C sugar

directions
Coarsly chop cranberries, apples, and orange in a food processor ( I usually do cranberries and orange together and apples seperate) In a large mixing bowl add crushed pineapple nuts and sugar. Mix and refergerate for 1 day.

Enjoy along side all your thanksgiving favorites and look for more cranerry recipes soon!

Possibly Perfect

2007-11-12T08:23:00.001-05:00

So are you looking for the perfect Fall cookie?
Of course, who isn't! Well I think my Chewy Ginger Cookies are possibly that cookie. Trying to get away from the crazy pumpkin kick I've be on I decided to make something totally different, a ginger cookie:). This cookie is the perfect combination of butteriness, spice,and just a hint of saltiness all baked up in a chewy not crisp cookie. Pair this with a cup of tea or coffee and sit back and enjoy all the beauty of fall.

Ingredients:

¾ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 tsp. baking soda
2½ cups flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
extra sugar for coating

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350°F (200°C).
Cream the butter and the sugar.
Add the egg and stir in the molasses.
Combine the baking soda, flour, spices and salt in a separate bowl.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures.
Shape into small (2 cm diameter) balls and roll in granulated sugar.
Place on greased cookie sheet. Do not flatten balls.
Bake for about 11 minutes.

The Obsession Continues

2007-10-30T18:29:00.001-04:00

It's that time of year when the weather gets cooler, the days get shorter, the leaves start to fall and anything pumpkin spice is all I want to eat! Yes it is official this year I am pumpkin crazy I just can't seem to get enough. Sunday I made Pumpkin Doughnuts and let me tell you they are GOOD, dangerous to have around!

Spiced sugar

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Doughnuts

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk

1 cup canned pure pumpkinCanola oil (for deep-frying)

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

4TB Whipping cream

PreparationFor spiced sugar:

Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

For doughnuts:

Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended (mixture will be grainy).

Beat in egg, then yolks and vanilla.

Gradually beat in buttermilk; beat in pumpkin in 4 additions.

Using rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 4 additions, blending gently after each addition. Cover with plastic; chill 3 hoursSprinkle 2 rimmed baking sheets lightly with flour.

Press out 1/3 of dough on floured surface to 1/2- to 2/3-inch thickness. Using 2 1/2-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out dough rounds. Arrange on sheets. Repeat with remaining dough in 2 more batches. Gather dough scraps. Press out dough and cut out more dough rounds until all dough is used.

Using 1-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out center of each dough round to make doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Pour oil into large deep skillet to depth of 1 1/2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 365°F to 370°F.

Fry doughnut holes in 2 batches until golden brown, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, until golden brown, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 1 minute per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to paper towels to drain.

Cool completely.

For powdered sugar glaze:

Whisk powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons whipping cream to blend. Whisk in additional cream, 1 teaspoon at a time, to form medium thick glaze. Can be made up to 3 hours ahead.

Add doughnut holes to bowl of spiced sugar and toss to coat. Spread doughnuts on 1 side with Powdered Sugar Glaze and sprinkle with spiced sugar. Arrange doughnuts, glazed side up, on racks. Let stand until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes.

Now all you need is a cup of coffee, a quiet moment, your fresh Pumpkin Doughnut UMMM...Fall Bliss

Tales of a wedding caterer

2007-10-20T20:58:00.002-04:00

Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words that is what I give you, because my brain is tired and my body is sore. The cake white cake with cream cheese icing and edible glitter and rose petals

Buffet Tables
Chocolate Table with doughnut holes-which were eaten like no one had ever seen them :)

Fruit with cheese tortamore fruit and cheese

Cookies and milk table..instead of a grooms cakeGrits table with cheese grits in the chaffer and tomatoes, scallions, and bacon toppings

Caleb and Amanda are about two of the sweetest people you will meet and they are the sister and brother in law of Donnie and Melanie our dearest friends so I was honored to be able to do this for their family and I wish the Newly Weds all the best. And with that said I don't think I will do another wedding for a long time! It's a lot of work!

Feeling like a looser

2007-10-10T17:47:00.000-04:00

I feel like such a baking looser....I feel like I haven't made anything exciting in soo long. Well last week I did make a GREAT Pumpkin Apple Strusel cake but we yummed it up before I could get a picture...maybe I will post the recipe with out the picture.

I am getting ready to cater a wedding and yes make the cake too so that has been occupying my time. I have this desire to do all kinds of baking but we can only eat so much. I am going to experiment with pumpkin cheesecake soon I will keep you up dated on that.

Organics

2007-10-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

I have started another blog, this one is for my parents and their organic farm check out this link for some great pictures of the farm. Check back often for farm news, special offerings,events, and of course great recipes

http://waterberryfarm.blogspot.com/

Little Ears

2007-10-02T10:35:00.001-04:00

With a taste of fall in the air I have started getting that fall cooking bug, I just love fall food!

So this week I went out on a limb and tried brussel sprouts out on the fam, I wasn't sure how this would go over but I figured with pasta and bacon how could you go wrong.

This dish is supposed to be made with orecchiettie, a pasta that is supposed to look like "little ears." Well I checked at a couple of stores and no little ears were to be found, so I decided to make my own.

About half way through I think I got the hang of it, some of the first ones did not resemble ears at all. I think they were a little thicker than they should have been but none the less tasty. And yes even the kidos liked it, I would highly recomend it for a try.

Orecchiette with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

This hearty pasta dish is truly perfect in autumn, when Brussels sprouts are at their peak of flavor.

ingredients
1/2 cup hazelnuts (2 ounces)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
Salt
1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered if large
3/4 pound orecchiette pasta
3 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (3 ounces)
Freshly ground pepper

directions
Preheat the oven to 375°. Spread the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast for 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Let the nuts cool, then coarsely chop them.

In a small saucepan, boil the chicken stock until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes; keep warm.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Brussels sprouts, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the Brussels sprouts and pat them dry. Return the water to a boil. Add the orecchiette and cook until al dente, 12 to 15 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Add the butter to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until browned and nutty, about 3 minutes.

Add the Brussels sprouts and hazelnuts and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Add the orecchiette along with the reduced chicken stock and simmer, stirring, until the sauce is slightly absorbed, about 2 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano cheese, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Garnish with the bacon and the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and serve.

Falling for Fall

2007-09-23T16:52:00.001-04:00

The days have gotten cooler, the mornings are crisp, and a change is in the air I can feel it and within my soul I know Fall is on the way! I just love this time of year and a few weeks before it is really fall I get so excited about all the "new" food I can make. This year I have let my obsession start early, what is my obsession you ask PUMPKIN I think I might wear my family out on it.

Today to offficially kick off the Pumpkin Season (yes it gets a whole season, only to be followed by cranberries:) I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, simple but YUMMY and I have waited all summer for this.

So give it a try and sit down with a warm cup of coffee and just enjoy the beautiful days ahead!

*I also learned today that if you change the setting on your camera to macro you can see all those yummy crumbles! This is a learning process :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

STREUSEL TOPPING
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips

COFFEECAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 9 x 13 pan.

FOR STREUSEL TOPPING:

COMBINE flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly; stir in nuts and chocolate chips

FOR COFFEECAKE:

COMBINE flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in pumpkin and vanilla extract.

Gradually beat in flour mixture.

SPOON half of batter into prepared cake pan.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup Streusel Topping over batter.

Spoon remaining batter evenly over Streusel Topping; sprinkle with remaining Streusel Topping.

BAKE for 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Cooking blind

2007-09-11T11:38:00.001-04:00

Sometimes when you head into the kitchen blind with no plan but inspiration from one ingredient you come up with some of your best dinners. This dinner was inspired by beautiful thin asparagus that was in the veg drawer and despritly needed to be used. But what would I make?? Should I roast it, steam it and make some sort of salad,crepes the old stand-by, maybe soup...no too hot.

Asparagus Risitto with Chicken Milanese

And then it happened inspiration Risitto

Oh was it good, quick and easy too. And once again it was an easy way to "sneak in" a veg that the kids usually won't eat just plain.

Asparagus Risitto
1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)

Blanch asparagus pieces in large pot of boiling, salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse asparagus under cold water. Drain asparagus well.
Bring chicken broth to simmer in small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and keep broth hot.
Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add rice and stir 3 minutes.
Add dry white wine and cook until liquid evaporates.
Continue cooking until rice is tender but still slightly firm in center and mixture is creamy, adding chicken broth 1 cup at a time and stirring almost constantly, about 20 minutes.
Add blanched asparagus pieces and stir until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat. Add 6 tablespoons butter and stir until incorporated.
Stir in grated Parmesan cheese. Season risotto to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4.

Chicken Milanese
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Using meat mallet or rolling pin, flatten chicken between sheets of plastic wrap to thickness of 1/2 inch.
Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend.
Mix panko, 2 tablespoons parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper on plate.
Dip chicken in beaten eggs; turn to coat.
Dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating completely.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add chicken and sauté until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plates; sprinkle with lemon juice.

Makes 4 servings.

Prep the chicken up to the cooking point and refigerate, then make the risitto the chicken cookes so fast everything should come together at the same time.
**This chicken recipe also make a GREAT chicken parmesan.

Birthday Brunch

2007-09-03T17:27:00.000-04:00

When 2 girls turn 35 I think that needs celebrating and even though it was way late the Best way to do that I think is with a yummy brunch. And oh the fun we had!

On the menu :
Spaghetti Carbonara
Blueberry Muffins
Crossiants with Nutella
Cranberry Twists
Summer Fruit
and Iced Coffee

Yes I know it was a lot and as I getting everything ready Amy asked if the neighbors were coming over, no I said nothing says celebration like a big spread! Ok so we did eat to much and I wasn't really hungry the rest of the day but birthdays come but once a year!

Crusty

2007-08-28T13:14:00.001-04:00

Crusty is generally not a good word when it comes to food, unless of course you are talking about baguettes. I has been some time since I've made baguettes, but with spaghetti on the menu last night the bread gods called my name. Technically they were not long enough to be baguettes and to long to be batards but they fit on the sheet pan I have :) So whatever you want to call them they were yummy hot from the oven!

Why does making beautiful bread bring my such satisfaction?? Maybe because I know for every beautiful loaf I make, I know I have had at least 3 ugly ones to get me there :)

Ingredients for French bread baguette recipes:

4cups Flour

1 tbsp. Dry Active Yeast

1-2 tsp. Salt

2 cups Warm Water

Oil for bowl

How to make it:

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour and the salt.

2. In another bowl, combine yeast, warm water, and half of the flour/salt mixture. Using your hands, mix until it forms a dough. Then, cover with a dish cloth and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. It should triple in size.

3. Gently incorporate the rest of the flour/salt, using your hands.

4. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. It should be supple and elastic when you stop kneading.

5. Lightly oil a bowl. Place dough in bowl. Cover with a dish towel. Let sit for 1 hour. It should double in size.

6. Preheat oven to 450°F. Knead again. Then cut dough into 3 parts and form each part into a long baguette. Place on a baking sheet. Let sit for at least 20 minutes

.7. Place a bowl of water in the oven. Bake baguettes for about 25 minutes (maybe less). Remove the bowl of water after 15 minutes of baking.

Voilà!

Yummy Summer Pasta

2007-08-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

Looking for a quick yummy pasta great for a summer night? Well you're in luck because this pasta is just that! The sauce is sort of a spinach pesto with goat cheese added which gives it the perfect creaminess, if your not a garlic nut then you might want to cut down on the amount but I thought it was GREAT!

I wasn't sure how it would go over with the kidos but they loved it. It was a great way to get spinach into Ella who can be my pickiest eater.

1pound Penne pasta

3/4tsp salt

3 Garlic Cloves

2 Ounces Goat Cheese

1 Ounce Cream Cheese - my fat watching friends you can use reduced fat

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

6 Ounces Spinach Leaves

2 TB Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Penne and cook about 12 minutes. Drain, reserving 1C of the cooking liquid.

While the pasta cooks, mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese,3/4 tsp salt, pepper and half the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl. Add the drained pasta, then scrape the cheese mixture over the pasta and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and diced tomato. Serve and ENJOY

cake pictures

2007-08-22T14:22:00.001-04:00

Wedding cake 9-16-06

Wedding cake 5-11-07

Birthday cake

Sweet Pea Cake- Courtney's Baby Shower cake

Graduation Cake

Quick Cake for garden party

Birthday/ Graduation cake for dental school

2nd birthday with Elmo cupcakes

All the cakes I have made in the past year

Brownie Babe Entry

2007-08-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

After discovering Once Upon a Tart, a blog I couldn't resist just based upon the name tarts are my favorite, I found out about the brownie babe competiton and yes found my new calling in life. I have put may hours in thinking about what I would make- my triple chocolate, Java Chip, or Famous cheesecake -I couldn't decide but today the fat hit the pan with my Brown Butter Macadamia Nut Blondies. That's right the girl known for her dark rich brownies has opted for a blondie but it was the brown butter that lured me.

The brown butter along with brown sugar and more vanilla than usual made for a Yummy butterscotch flavour. But since I thought to really be a brownie babe they had to have some chocolate so I added the chocolate drizzle and a little white chocolate too just for kicks.

And now the part you have been waiting for...the recipe, I know you wanted a bite, but you will have to make your own!

1/2 C butter

2/3 C Brown Sugar

1/4 C Sugar

1 large Egg

1 Egg yolk

1 TB Corn Syrup

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 C Flour

1/4 baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 C Macadamia Nuts, toasted & chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch pan lined with foil.

Sift together flour,baking powder, baking soda, and salt set aside.

In a large heavy sauce pan, melt butter, then bring to a boil stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and sugar.

Let cool to barely warm and stir in the egg, yolk, syrup and vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture and macadamia nuts.

Scrape into the pan, bake until the top is golden brown about 25 minutes

Cool completely in the pan on a rack

Best served at room temp. if eaten cold you loose the flavour of the brown butter

Drizzle with chocolate and white chocolate to finish and ENJOY- YUM YUM

recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking

Crazy Baking Weekend

2007-08-06T10:52:00.001-04:00

This was a crazy baking weekend! Saturday I made the bread, because I had to we really needed bread. Then I decided my life would not be complete if I did not have some Blueberry Peach cobbler so I whipped some up and ate it hot from the oven with ice cream. And finally for my Sunday School group I made a Ricotta Cherry Tart, I am always looking for something new and different for them. I hadn't made this in years but it was just as Yummy as I remembered. I also wanted to make my brownies for the Brownie Babe competition but we have WAY to much to eat in our house, not that anyone is complaining...so I will probably do that today :)

Our Daily Bread

2007-08-04T18:08:00.001-04:00

Today is Saturday so you know what that means...time to bake some bread! For two days now I have had to turn my son down for sandwiches because "mommy did not make the bread" but happily today I could say yes I did make the bread and what Beautiful bread it was.

Golden brown, nice crumb, great texture and flavor to die for, a basic whole wheat sandwich bread hot from the oven-nothin better!

Recipe:

1 TB Yeast

1 1/3C Water

12oz Evaporated Milk

4 TB Butter

1/4 C Honey

1 Tsp Salt

5-6 C King Arthur whole wheat Flour

In the bowl of an electric mixerdissolve yeast in 1/3 C warm water, let stand 5min
Combine milk, honey,and butter in micorwave proof cup and heat to just warm to touch.
Add milk mixture to the yeast, add 3 cups of flour and mix
Put the dough hook on and add the remaining 2 cups and salt, knead for 10 minutes adding flour by 1/2C as necessary. Until the dough is soft and supple.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bow, cover and allow the dough to rise till puffy about 60 min.

Shape the douth into 2-8inch logs and place in greased loaf pans. Allow the bread to rise for 40-60 min

Bake the bread in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 35-40min or until it sounds hollow when thumped.

Remove from pans and cool on a rack for at least 20minutes before cutting...if you can wait, then my favorite part cut off the heal end and enjoy Hot bread right from the oven- this is only right of the baker SWEET REWARDS

Flower Garden Cake

2007-08-03T09:37:00.001-04:00

This is little cake I made as a sample for a wedding, alright my cake baking friends I know I did not spend the time to really get the icing smooth but my kitchen was about 1000 degrees and did I mention I made it from start to finish in about 2 hours...I should win a speed record or something:) Anyway thought it was cute, I love anything covered in flowers!

Just a basic white cake with an almond scented buttercream - very yummy even better if served with a raspberry sauce YUMMY

Brownie Babe

2007-07-31T14:16:00.000-04:00

I am so excieted about this!!! Brownie Babe competiton hosted by Once Upon A Tart. Basically everyone bakes brownies photgraphs them and enters the competiton..the prize a brownie babe apron I MUST have that apron:)

This is exactly the thing I need to do just for fun:) Yes for me it is fun!

So in the next few day look for brownie pics....if you don't see them tell me to get on the ball I only have until Aug 16th to get it done.

Addiction

2007-07-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

No it's not drugs or alcohol but I have become addicted to blogging and reading food blogs. It meets a need in my life to connect with the culinary world and for just a moment I am more than mom-not that that's not great but sometimes I long to be just me:)

So now I have dedicated a blog to just the world of food and my place in that world, I hope it will be a place enjoyed by many.