A Week Excising Lefotvers...

As we prepare for next week's summer get-away in Salt Lake City, I sigh every time I open the refrigerator. The abundance of summer fruits and vegetables. The cheese, eggs and other dairy products. As much as I'm looking forward to our week away, I don't want to come back to new pets growing in my refrigerator... How will we use everything up before we leave?

Leftovers, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. How appropriate that I'm hosting installment #6 of Leftover Tuesdays -- I've got plenty from which to choose my contribution. Banana-yogurt smoothies, french toast with cherry compote and sliced strawberries, curried chicken salad, roasted root vegetables, cream of broccoli soup, an Asian green bean salad, sausage sandwiches with leftover homemade mustard have all graced my menu over the last several days.

But for my contribution to Leftover Tuesdays #6, I turned to the humble potato for inspiration.

Taking inspiration from Sher at What Did you Eat, I adapted her Poblano-Stuffed Portobellos to use a baked potato left from Saturday's visit to Izzy's Steaks & Chops' new (and apparently still somewhat secret) San Ramon location. I looked at her ingredient list and compared it to the contents of my refrigerator.

Onion? Check.
Baby Spinach? Check.
Rice? Substitute baked potato guts.
Cheddar? Check.
Oh... and some mushrooms... And some roasted corn and zucchini...

So for a 79c additional investment in a poblano pepper, I have Tuesday night's dinner. In addition to the environmental and ethical benefits, this leftover thing is great for my personal economy.

Bottom line, how'd it turn out?

Eons better than that other 79c staple from my college days!

Technorati Tags: Food Blog Event | Leftover Tuesday

Choco-leche Cupcakes Parfaits - Where did I fail?

Okay my foodie friends -- especially those of you with baking backgrounds -- help me out here...

Where did I go wrong?

I started with Shawnda's sinful celebration of refined sugar.

I planned to take it to work. One my colleagues is moving on, and we intended to commemorate the event as we always do... with obscene amounts of food. What's a few thousand calories among friends?

Since the cake as Shawnda created it looks a bit fragile and I have forty-five minute morning commute, I thought cupcakes might make a more portable option.

I followed the cake recipe as Shawnda published it, baking my cupcakes for about 20 minutes. I used this recipe for my dulce la leche.

The problem?

My little cakes didn't soak up much of the dulce la leche. It ran down the sides and coated my kitchen counter -- until I quickly transferred the cakes-in-progress to a cookie sheet.

But I wasn't going to be defeated by chocolate cake and scalded sugar milk. I broke out the box of dessert dishes I'd recently discovered in the last of my father's kitchen supplies, de-papered my cupcakes, breaking them in bits in the little bowls. As I spooned the dulce la leche over 34 individual little cakes I found myself grateful that Mo believed that more is better... To finish them off, I topped each cake with a spoonful of whipped cream and a sprinkle of toffee bits.

In the end my adaptation of Shawnda's confection was a hit with my tasters... regardless of how they looked, they *taste* phenomenal. And the individual servings actually worked to some people's advantage; an enforced portion control for those who wanted to indulge -- within limits. The biggest challenge was finding space in the refrigerator for 30-some desserts!

But I'm curious what you think... where did this fail? Did I bake my cupcakes too long? Not long enough? (They seemed neither dry nor overly moist) Were cupcakes themselves the error, with perhaps not enough surface area to absorb the caramelized milk goodness? Or should I have stuck with the sweetened condensed milk rather than adventuring on my own with the dulce la leche?

Inquiring minds want your input...

Technorati Tags: Dessert | Chocolate | Cupcakes | Recipe

Coming Soon -- Leftover Tuesday!

Originally launched by David over at Cooking Chat back in January, Leftover Tuesdays celebrate creative reinterpretation of ingredients lingering in refrigerators around the world: leftovers. I'm honored that David's offered me the opportunity to host the 6th edition on Tuesday June 26.

The rules are fairly simple:

• First, the easy part: have a leftover item on hand as a result of your cooking (or other dining) between Wednesday June 19 and Monday, June 25
• Second, make something new and spectacular with those leftover items and blog about this new creation by Tuesday June 26.
• Third, let me know about it. Send an email with a link to your post, the name of your new creation (and a 100x100 photo if you'd like that included in the roundup). Send your entries to dolores(dot)ferrero(at)gmail(dot)com by Thursday June 28.
  

I will post a round up on or about Sunday July 1. Then we'll vote. Pick a couple of winners in categories to be announced soon.

Looking for ideas or inspiration to get you started? Check out the previous editions:

David's inaugural roundup in January.
Rachel hosts in February.
Megan offers options for every meal in March.
Ceres and Bacchus (what a *great* blog name) reminds us of the financial benefit of toting leftovers to work for lunch during the 4th edition roundup in April.
And Pam of Project Foodie continues the tradition of geographic and culinary diversity in May.

Technorati Tags: Food Blogging Events | Leftover Tuesday

Market Fresh Meal - Salmon

It's 7:30 PM on a typical Monday night. Your heroine's followed eight and a half hours of meetings, test plan reviews, performance evaluations and budget analysis with 45 minutes at 25 MPH crawling up the grade toward home.

The mission: a healthy, nutritious, balanced dinner... before the sun set *completely* in the west.

Fortunately my refrigerator's well-stocked with goodies from a weekend of market field trips.

I started with fresh Pacific salmon caught three days earlier off California's coast, one of a tempting variety of seafood offerings available from North Bay Quality Seafood of Cotati at my local farmer's market.

After a bit of recipe research on the web, I took my inspiration from Bron's Baked Fillet of Salmon with Sweet Chili Sauce, and while the salmon baked I created a salad base from a handful of farm-fresh romaine, onions, and avocado from my CSA box tossed with a vinaigrette made with the chili sauce.

By 8:15, I was sitting down to a delicious dinner composed almost entirely of local ingredients assembled quickly in my own kitchen, glad I hadn't given in to the lure of take-out. It wouldn't have been *nearly* as satisfying -- to eat or to blog about!

Special thanks to Alanna of A Veggie Venture, Jeanette of Matchbox Creative and Kickpleat from Everybody Likes Sandwiches for this adorable icon. "Blush" the Sweet Tomato will appear on blog posts around this world this summer when a blogger highlights the delights of the local farmers' market.

Technorati Tags: Recipe Salmon

It's Pretzel Time!

When I joined the ranks of the Daring Bakers a proud member of April's Epsilon class, I was excited about the challenges ahead of me, and the skills I'd develop as I approached each of them. I'd watched the previous months with a combination of awe and envy; I wanted to play along but knew my schedule wouldn't allow it at the time.

Enter one of our newest Daring Bakers, Tara of Should you Eat That, who has ambitiously agreed to go back and complete the coursework she's missed. Anxious to try some of the challenges I missed out on, I've decided to join her.

Our first course: Pretzels 101.

Back in November, our founders Ivonne (Cream Puffs in Venice) and Lisa (La Mia Cucina) decided venture together into territory neither of them had explored on their own. They pledged to take a single recipe for pretzels, each attempt it in her own kitchen, and post the results on the same day. Their pursuit of pretzels turned out to be a food-blogging tipping point... eight months later there are close to 70 of us communicating via email, text and instant message about the latest challenge.

Sorry... June's challenge is a story for another day. This morning I stepped back in time, pulling up the pretzel recipe that started it all and plunging in head-first.

I've never made soft pretzels before. I'd never *eaten* soft pretzels before. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect. In the end, with one exception easily attributed to user error I'm quite pleased with the result. I love how easily the dough came together. I elected to knead it by hand, and the process princess/efficiency empress in me loved coming away from that experience feeling refreshed both physically and emotionally. Who needs a personal trainer or a therapist when you're surrounded by flour, yeast, sugar, salt and water?!?

The human error? I failed to look at the pictures. My pretzels looked like hangman's nooses. Oddly macabre, but quite tasty. Fortunately John stepped in and showed me how to properly twist a pretzel.

To accompany the pretzels, I also made Golden Yellow Mustard, as published in this month's issue of Food and Wine magazine. French's, step aside. This is tasty (far less chemical in taste), inexpensive, and easy to make.

Curious how the others fared? Want the recipe to try them for yourself? Check out Ivonne's story, Lisa's and Tara's.

Technorati Tags: Daring Bakers

Hail, Caesar!

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones...

When Katie from Other People's Food announced Caesar Salad as the theme for HHDD, I chose this recipe for Caesar Salad with Skewered Shellfish. Unfortunately, life intervened and I missed the deadline. (Checkout the roundup for some of the most mouth-watering interpretations of lettuce I've ever seen).

Fortunately for me, fellow Daring Bakers Kelly and Lis realized swimsuit season looms ahead. In response, they've temporarily abandoned flour, sugar, butter and eggs, embracing the ultimate diet staple: the salad. Their call for contributions to Salad 'Stravaganza gave me a second chance with Caesar.

We prepared the salad pretty much as-published, and although I suspect under nutritional analysis the dressing wouldn't qualify as light it was quite tasty and will probably become our go-to recipe for homemade Caesar dressing. Leftover salad dressing would make a great topping for grilled chicken or baked potatoes.

For the diet-minded, it could pretty easily be lightened without sacrificing much; the garlic, anchovies and Parmesan would more than make up for light mayo. One caveat on that note: this is probably *not* the salad for a first date...the garlic and anchovies aren't generally conducive to first kisses.

On the positive side this salad goes together quickly and plates beautifully. It would make a great light summer meal; grilling the seafood keeps the heat out of the kitchen.

Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods...

Technorati Tags: Recipes | Salad Food Blog Events | Salad Stravaganza

Learn! Laugh! Eat!

[Compared to cream, milk makes] the Kate Moss of ice cream. Sure, she's pretty... but not terribly satisfying.

-Shuna Fish Lydon

I *knew* there was a reason I liked this woman!

In a month full of work challenges and square dance event planning, your heroine needed a break. Thankfully, her personal hero was happy to oblige; he offered to fly solo at the last of the planning meetings so she and Tracy could escape into an afternoon of ice cream.

Off we headed to Poulet to relax, unwind, and learn the secrets behind perfect creme anglaise one-handed quenelles, and mind-blowing ice cream flavor combinations.

Shuna's classes offer an excellent balance of lecture and demonstration, sharing the "why" in addition to the "how," "when," and "what." Her ice cream lecture explained each of the key ingredients in an ice cream base and the roles they play: Egg yolks provide a rich mouth feel and act as stabilizers. Sugar aids in flavor infusion by increasing the temperature of the liquid, provides additional sweetness and lowers the freezing temperature of the final product. Milk and cream contain butterfats critical to flavor absorption; Shuna insists that for full flavor, full-fat is critical.


Moving into the kitchen, Shuna shared tips, tricks and stories from her 14 years in some of America's most famous commercial kitchens. She taught us techniques for sumptuous anglaise, showing us how she steeps to infuse flavors, and providing tips for ensuring a successful nappe out of the cream/egg/sugar liaison. She offered us a simple, sensational recipe for Butterscotch; and showed us how it develops from butter and brown sugar to oh-so-much more than a sum of its parts. She encouraged several of my classmates to play with her (ice cream) balls. And she taught us the secret to silky chocolate chip ice cream that poses no danger to your dental work.

From kitchen classroom we moved to tasting, and we had quite a menu to choose from. The products of our classroom adventure included the aforementioned butterscotch sauce over Cardamom-Coconut Chocolate Chip ice cream. In addition, Shuna offered tastes of Mango Sorbet, Rose Hill Goat Yogurt Granita, Butterscotch, Lemon-Thyme, and Browned Butter Pecan Ice Creams with farmers' market fresh apriums & strawberries, chocolate sauce and pecan vanilla shortbread cookies available for garnish.

We learned a lot. We laughed often. And we ate well.

What better way to measure a Sunday afternoon?

More images, courtesy of Kat at Kung Foodie.

Luscious Leftovers?!?

An extra sheet of puff pastry, courtesy of Operation St. Honore...

A handful of salad veggies on their last legs...

A third of a roasted turkey breast languishing in the back of the freezer.

And a little inspiration from the folks behind Leftover Tuesdays. A monthly event founded by David of Cooking Chat and hosted this month by Pam of Project Foodie, Leftover Tuesdays celebrate the scraps hiding in the refrigerator and freezer, and challenge participants to rescue, recycle and revitalize them rather than tossing them in the trash.

For my contribution, I combined my father's famous post Thanksgiving Hot Turkey Salad (yes, the one crusted in potato chips) and a more epicurian recipe for chicken salad I picked up at Whole Foods. The result, a tasty and economical solution to lunch at my desk this week:

Hot Turkey Salad in Puff Pastry

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
4 tsp honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
2 cups leftover roasted turkey breast, skinned, boned, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup candied walnuts
1 cup red seedless grapes halved
1 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced jicama
1 sheet puff pastry
mixed greens

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix salad dressing ingredients (mayonnaise through ground pepper) in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate 30-60 minutes.

Defrost puff pastry on counter for 30-40 minutes. Cut pastry into small squares (I used a 3 inch cookie cutter). Prick center of squares with a fork Position squares 1 inch apart on baking sheet coated lightly with nonstick spray.

Toss turkey breast, walnuts, grapes, onion and jicama in a medium bowl to combine. Add salad dressing and toss to coat.

Pile about 2 tablespoons turkey salad mixture on top of pastry squares.

Bake at 375 until pastry puffs and browns slightly, salad sets (15-20 minutes). Serve over mixed greens drizzled with balsamic vinegar or honey-based vinaigrette.

Technorati Tags: Recipe | Food Blog Event | Leftover Tuesday

Covered in Cream Puffs

Stay tuned... sordid details to come after we recover from the weekend...

For inquiring minds, sordid details involve alternate uses for the pastry cream. Most of them are rated G... :)

Update 5/29 - Okay folks, I've slept, I've showered and I've fixed myself a snack. My laptop battery's charged, my photos are cropped, color corrected and ready to go. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures with St. Honore as much as I enjoyed living them!

Those of you who've been around for a while may already know that one of our favorite extracurricular activities outside the kitchen is square dancing. And a few of you who know us personally or have been following very closely know that we've spent the past several years planning and promoting a dance festival for our regional association. A festival with over 700 attendees, scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend - May 25-27, 2007.

As a result, our free time has been at a premium for the last several months, especially on the weekends. The *perfect* time to join the Daring Bakers and commit to a Crepe Cake the piece de resistance in the world of pastry: Gateau St. Honore.

The pressure mounted in April and I bailed on the Crepe Cake. But I wasn't letting my Daring Baker buddies down two months in a row. No matter what challenge lay ahead, victory would be mine.

Then Helene of Tartlette and Dessert First's Anita announced their diabolical sadistic brilliant plan for this month's challenge: Gateau St. Honore. Puff Pastry. Pate a Choux for Cream Puffs. Diplomat Cream. Caramel. None of which I have any prior experience with preparing. I look at the calendar. Look at the three pages of instructions. Look back at the calendar. Fortunately, sleep is highly overrated... it doesn't look like I'm going to get much of it this month.

Even more fortunately for me, John's not just a wonderful, gorgeous man and a great dancer. He's also very comfortable, highly competent, and extremely happy working with me in the kitchen.

"Honey...?"

"Yes dear?"

"This month's Daring Baker assignment looks like a LOT of fun. Wanna help me make a St. Honore?"

"Sure. When's it due?"

Pregnant pause...

"Um... Memorial Day?"

After nearly asphyxiating with laughter, he agreed to pitch in and help out.

First stop, Home Chef for pastry tips. What do you MEAN I need to buy a $70 set? I need two tips, a bag and a coupler. Fine. Second stop, Sur la Table for pastry tips. Thirty bucks ($8 for the tips and $22 for other must have items I didn't know I needed until I saw them. Still better than $70.)

Third stop, Whole Foods for Dufour all-butter puff pastry. Hey, Anita and Helene say that frozen puff pastry is okay, and I'm challenged *enough* at the moment, thanks...

Once in the kitchen, the pastries actually came together fairly quickly. I'd considered a square or triangular base, but John thought our first attempt should be a traditional St. Honore so that's the road we took. The cream puffs were fun; I can guarantee we'll be experimenting with our new found skills with pate a choux and pastry bags soon.

It was the Diplomat Cream that gave us the biggest challenge. I'm not sure where we erred, but it came out more than a bit on the runny side. It dripped out of the pastry tip, oozed out of the bag, and ran down our fingers and our arms when we tried to fill the puffs.

At this point, one of us decided to taste it. And discovered that it ranks right up with with Fiorello's Caramel Balsamic Gelato and less than a handful of other foods. It is the perfect substance for licking off someone you love. Fortunately, the recipe makes WAY more pastry cream than you need. :)

We stashed *most* of the cream and the components in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, after which assembly was much easier (although the cream puffs became a bit chewy).

By this time it was pushing 4 AM and I abandoned the caramelized sugar (the one component of this creation with which I *did* have previous experience) in favor of sleep before sunrise.

So that's my story. For forty-some others, check out the Daring Baker links in the right hand column or the roundups posted at Dessert First and Tartlette.

Technorati Tags: Daring Bakers

What to make of white?

I considered going back to my Italian roots and creating a dessert featuring ricotta and mascarpone...

I played with the idea of offering a simple angel food cake glazed and adorned with coconut and bananas...

I googled "meringue" and "pavlova" in search of inspiration in egg whites...

What has me pondering foods with more flavor than color? Seven Spoons' chosen theme for Sugar High Friday 31: the many shades of white.

In the end, I took inspiration from the bold flavor combinations I experienced and the techniques I learned in Sunday's 'Eggbeater' Ice Cream class (more on that very soon), my recent foray into the world of Rocky & Bullwinkle, and playing with my new pastry tips (more on that in yet another upcoming post).

The result: Coconut Ginger Mousse

4 tablespoons water
1 envelope (1 tablespoon) plain gelatin
1 cup whipping cream, plus 2 tablespoons
12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut meat
2 knobs fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
6 egg yolks
9 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 cup finely minced fresh ginger
5 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

Dissolve the gelatin in the water in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the cream, evaporated milk, coconut and fresh ginger in a medium-sized enameled or stainless steel saucepan. Place over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 15-20 minutes until flavors are nicely infused.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks until well blended, then gradually add all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, whisking to thoroughly incorporate sugar.

Immediately begin adding the warm milk in a thin stream, whisking continuously.

Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and stir over low heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Patience is critical here. Keep stirring. Refrain from boiling to avoid curdling the custard. When thick, stir in the gelatin and the minced ginger. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl.

Let the custard cool (to speed up the process, set the mixing bowl in a larger bowl of cold water or cracked ice). Set aside.

In a separate (clean and dry) bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the final tablespoon of sugar and the salt, and beat until the whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the custard mixture and stir carefully until well mixed.

Pipe into serving dishes and hill, covered, for at least 3 hours.

Garnish with candied ginger and toasted coconut immediately before serving.

Coconut-Ginger Mousse inspired by this recipe from the Dayton Daily News.

Technorati Tags: Recipe | Dessert | Food Blog Event | SHF | Sugar High Friday

Remembering Jo...

Born at the dawn of the Great Depression in a small Midwestern town, Joan Louise Cramer was the daughter of an elementary school teacher and an engineer with a passion for the carnival life. She married her high school sweetheart and together they moved west to build a life and a family together.

Jo wasn't the domestic type, at least in the traditional sense. Early in their marriage, her husband kicked her out of the kitchen (though his story's a bit different) his domain for all but a handful of her trademark recipes.

So I have a limited collection of "food memories" of my mother. Limited, but strong.

In the third grade, my birthday fell on Holy Thursday, a few days before Easter. Mom arrived in my classroom that afternoon with refreshments for my classmates. Thirty white cupcakes, frosted in pale butter cream, topped with green coconut "grass," sprinkled with brightly colored jellybean "Easter eggs," a pipe cleaner serving as the handle of the mini "Easter baskets." The cakes was probably Betty Crocker. But Mom made them. For me. And in that moment, that's all that mattered.

She also made the flakiest, most tender pie crusts I've ever encountered. With lard. I have the recipe, but sadly I never worked with her to understand the method -- and my pie crusts pale in comparison to hers.

She had a passion for food photography that drove me to distraction as a teenager. "Mom... just put the camera down and EAT." Wherever they are now, she and my dad are having a really good laugh over that...

She hated tomatoes, and had so extreme an aversion to onions that my father had to pulverize them to get them past her.

She loved mallowmars, raisin bread, and chocolate cake with fluffy white icing.

In memory of my mother, I share the recipe my brother and I requested the most often during the spring, a cherry cheesecake of sorts clipped from one of her women's magazines and and assembled from supermarket convenience foods, but prepared with love and care.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jo's Quick and Tasty Dessert

Graham cracker crust bottom of square pan
1 large package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Prepare Dream Whip according to directions on package. Blend with cheese mixture. Pour over graham cracker crust. Pour Comstock Pie Filling over cream cheese mixture and chill.

Technorati Tags: Recipe | Dessert

Follow the yellow brick road...

“The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick.” - Frank L. Baum

An international 20th century pop-culture icon, the yellow brick road led Dorothy and her companions on their journey to the Emerald City -- and in the process taught them to live.

Another yellow icon, the bright plastic awareness wristbands remind us that every day, millions of people around the world are living with, through, and beyond cancer.

Yellow, for cancer?

A cancer diagnosis is one of those life-altering events for which there is no preparation. With its discussions of staging, metastasis and survival rates, it's difficult not to get buried in feelings of helplessness and despair. I love that Lance Armstrong chose yellow as the symbolic color of cancer awareness. Cancer is cold and lifeless. Yellow is cancer's antithesis. It fights back. It provides contrast. It's tenacious and honest. It offers courage, hope, light and life.

So when Barbara of Winos and Foodies announced A Taste of Yellow to commemorate LiveStrong Day -- in honor and celebration of those living with cancer, I knew I wanted to participate.

LIVESTRONG Day is the Lance Armstrong Foundation's grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country.

I've written before about how cancer has touched my life. John's grandfather. His father and mine. Too many of our friends. Breast cancer. Lung cancer. Lymphoma, prostate cancer, bladder cancer. As their bodies betrayed them, these everyday heroes faced their mortality head-on -- and learned something about living in the process. Even more amazing, through their examples they shared those lessons with all who love them. Whether or not they overcame the diseases they faced -- they lived proudly, joyfully, with honor and dignity -- and taught me the importance of doing the same.

As a small expression of my gratitude and my love, today I bake for each of them.

I chose a Vanilla-Infused Golden Saffron Cake as my "Taste of Yellow". Vanilla for its elegant simplicity, and saffron because many cooks consider it an indulgence for special occasions. My cancer heros have taught me that each day the sun rises is cause a special occasion, and a homemade cake fresh from the oven is plenty reason for celebration.

1 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 Tablespoon sugar

1-1/3 cups cake flour
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 large whole egg
2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 375. Using paper towel, coat 9-inch round cake pan with butter. Dust lightly with 1 tbsp sugar.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and baking soda) with a whisk. Set aside.

Stir saffron threads into two tablespoons milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup milk, egg, and one teaspoon vanilla. Add cooled saffron mixture and whisk well to incorporate. Marvel over brilliant yellow color.

Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and whisk gently to combine. Resist overmixing -- whisk only until ingredients are well-incorporated.

Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Let cake cool for 15 minutes and carefully de-pan onto festive plate.

While cake cools, stir water and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in remaining teaspoon vanilla.

Poke holes evenly in the cake with a wooden skewer. Spoon the vanilla syrup over the top of the cake. Let cool to room temperature.

Garnish with lemon zest, candied ginger, or fresh red/blue/blackberries.

Bon Appetit!

Recipe inspired by Peggy Trowbridge Filippone's Golden Saffron Cake.

Technorati Tags: LIVESTRONG Day | Taste of Yellow

A glimpse inside the chill chest

I couldn't resist Sam's recent invitation to a bit of culinary exhibitionism...

So there you have it -- my obsession with artisan condiments, jams, jellies and yogurt, my carefully packaged CSA bounty, two dozen farm fresh eggs originally destined for a future in chocolate crepes, a tray of deli meats and artisan cheeses and oh-so-much more -- my refrigerator, exposed.

An added bonus -- I got quite an abdominal workout crouched on the kitchen floor trying to get it all in...

A failure in my first semester

I entered the month of April with the best of intentions. My number 2 pencils sharpened, my college ruled paper in pristine condition, I was a proud freshman "Daring Baker," eager to join 13 other ladies in the Epsilon Class and forge ahead with our very first challenge.

Founded by Lisa and Ivonne last fall, the Daring Bakers group has grown to 29 members over the last several months, tackling such culinary challenges as biscotti, croissants, and that southern favorite: red velvet cake. In April they invited me to join the best fed sorority on the Internets.

As the group has grown past the point where it's easy to come to consensus on which recipe to use in a given month, we have adopted a hosting system. Each month a hostess chooses a challenge recipe, and each of us spend the month attacking cussing at perfecting it. We've committed to using the same recipe because part of the fun to see how the different interpretations turn out -- even when the recipe itself is not a success.

Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas was our hostess/class leader for April, and she chose Martha Stewart eye-candy in the form of this sensational-looking Chocolate Crepe Cake. Chocolate crepes. A meringue-like hazelnut cream filling. Chocolate glaze. And caramel-candied hazelnuts. This group doesn't call themselves Daring Bakers for nothing...

I procured the hardware, a cast-iron crepe pan. I studied the recipe. I spent an hour on You Tube watching videos of people making crepes with the ease with which the average American adult ties his shoes. I studied the recipe some more. I sourced the ingredients with the exception of the elusive hazelnut cream (while Martha promises I can find this at Whole Foods, it's not on the shelves of any of the 7 stores within a twenty mile radius of my home).

But in the end April proved to be a very busy month, and I failed to carve the three-to-five hours necessary to actually make the components and assemble the cake. So you'll have to check out other Daring Baker blogs (links below) to see how the cake turned out...

And stay tuned to see how I fare with May's challenge

Crepe Cakes - The Good, the Bad, the Beautiful -- both the Martha-philes and -phobes among us struggled with this one:
Quellia of All Things Edible recommends a strong dose of patience to get you started.
She stood up for Martha during the tough times, but Mary of Alpineberry was ready to shred this recipe.
Becke of Columbus Foodie claims no such allegiance to the Martha and admits the recipe kicked (_]_), and not in a good way.
Ivonne of Creampuffs in Venice skipped the fussy pastry cream for a hazelnut staple of sorts: Nutella.
Peabody had... all *sorts* of colorful things to say about this recipe.
An A-student after my own heart, Mercedes of Dessert Candy creates a confection worthy of the magazine cover.
Laura of Eat! Drink! Live! presents another glorious piece of Martha-inspired food-porn.
Elle of Feeding my Enthusiasms breaks the momentus task into achievable tasks -- and creates some scrumptious looking photographs of her results.

Stay tuned for more crepe cake goodness coming soon!

Technorati Tags: Daring Bakers

April Showers...

A brief break from things culinary to share an image that recently caught my attention -- screaming "Spring!" and reminding me that every day brings something beautiful...

Muffin therapy...

You know it's time for a break when you start speaking in problem statements, looking at your world as a series of visio diagrams and harvey balls.

The problem:

1. A general frustration with office politics, stalled projects, and mundane tasks, and a desire to escape to a desert island.
2. A bunch of bananas browning on the counter top.
3. A propensity to choose highly processed, nutritionally deficient meals-at-my-desk during the busiest days of the quarter at work.

The solution: 15 minutes with Google and and evening at the *kitchen* island, making these sensational Banana Crumb Muffins.

Like several of the bakers that took the time to leave a review of the recipe, I chose to give the muffins a nutritional boost by replacing 1/2 cup of the white flour with whole wheat and using canola oil instead of butter. I toasted a quarter cup of hazelnuts, pulsed them in the food processor to beget a "finely chopped" product, and added them to the crumb topping for a bit of additional texture.

They turned out perfectly -- moist and full of banana flavor without being overly sweet. A single muffin paired with a cup of goat milk yogurt made a satisfying breakfast. And they proved more popular than the bakery bagels and the Krispy Kreme donuts on the breakfast buffet at work.

Technorati Tags: Recipe | Muffin | Breakfast | Banana

And now, for something completely different...

We bring out the WABAK machine Kitchen Aid and whip up some Moose! mousse. Chocolate mousse. With a twist. And an apology to my friend Peabody -- although I hope she's not the only one to get the reference!

Earlier this month Helene of Tartlette announced that the theme of this month's installment of Hay Hay it's Donna Day would be mousse -- and your heroine started some intensive internet research -- into obscure chocolate mousse recipes, and Rocky & Bullwinkle references...

I'll spare you all any more moose quotes (for now) and get straight to the recipe.

I knew I wanted chocolate. And that I wanted to play with spice. But a Google search for 'chocolate + chipotle' didn't provide inspiration. So I turned to a gem I recently uncovered at the local library: Robert Wolke's "What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained". A retired chemistry professor and syndicated columnist, Wolke provides the science behind the art of cooking in layman's terms -- and a fair amount of entertainment sprinkled in his education.


Hey Rocky... watch me pull a rabbit out of a hat...

And there it was, on page 30 -- the mousse recipe I wanted to try. Rich, intense chocolate flavor. With not an ounce of butterfat. No... Basque Chef Teresa Barrenechea of Manhattan's Marichu -- who Wolke credits as the brain behind the recipe -- uses olive oil to provide a subtle smoothness.

Hmmm... top quality chocolate, top quality olive oil, with a hint of chipotle to make it my own... Yes dear reader, I've found my contribution to HHDD 11.

Chipotle-Chocolate Velvet Mousse (adapted from What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained)

6 ounces high-quality semisweet dark chocolate, chopped. I used Guitard Callebaut.
3 large eggs, separated
2/3 cup powdered/confectioner's sugar, sifted after measuring
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (or 1/4 cup double-strength coffee at room temperature)
2 tablespoons creme de cacao
1 generous teaspoon chipotle powder
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in a microwave oven. Be careful what kind of bowl you use. My bowl -said- it was microwave-safe, but apparently the molten chocolate provided a bit too much thermal shock. Fortunately, chocolate is a staple in my kitchen... Short on disposable bowls? You can also use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Allow chocolate to cool.

2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and confectioner's sugar with and electric mixer at medium speed. Add coffee, chipotle powder and creme de cacao; beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. Add the olive oil and mix well to ensure it is thoroughly incorporated.

3. Here the instructions suggest washing and drying the beaters thoroughly, ensuring they are completely free of oil before beating the egg whites. I tossed the stand mixer beater in a sink full of soapy water and pulled out the hand mixer. In another medium bowl, beat egg whites until nearly stiff. Using a whisk, fold the egg whites into the chocolate, 1/3 at a time, until all patches of white disappear. Do not over-mix.

4. Transfer mousse to a pretty bowl or individual dessert dishes. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

As I'm performing step 4 and eyeballing a sink full of dishes, I think perhaps this recipe's a lot of work for 6 somewhat small servings.

A couple of hours later -- after the dishes are done and Leeza Gibbons has made her graceful exit from the dance floor, I'm ready to grab a spoon and dig in. And I instantly reevaluate my assessment of the serving size. It's not heavy, but this is a very rich mouse. A cross between mousse and ganache. The chocolate hits you first. Followed by the chipotle warmth. It's sweet, with a savory tease that keeps it interesting. I decide immediately I'm going to make this again -- next time replacing the chipotle with a wasabi-ginger blend that's been languishing in my spice drawer waiting for the appropriate application.

Boris: How many u’s are in Moose?
Natasha: Let’s see M-U-S-E, two.

Update 24 April 2007 - check out 53 more creative applications of the mousse concept at Helene's Round Up of Hay Hay Donna Day 11 Entries. There's some fantastic stuff here!

Technorati Tags: Hay, Hay, it's Donna Day | Food Blog Events | Recipes | Dessert

Odd Easter Holiday Scenes...

The holiday buffet's changed a bit since Gianni arrived on the scene last fall...

Gourmet goodies still abound, but baby formula joined beer, wine, and a bevvy of non-alcoholic options at Nicole & Kerry's this Easter.

Captured this image so we can torture him with it when he's in his twenties... thought you all might enjoy it.

Me? I skipped the formula, opted instead for a nice chianti, and loaded up on devilled eggs, pasta with pesto, roast beef and my secret Easter guilty pleasure -- pistachio fluff!

By the end of the afternoon, Gianni had competition for a nap in the baby swing...

Milestones...

...to John and me...

(this is what happens when someone *else* is in charge of the cake..)

Eggs!

Happy Easter, Passover, Spring... whatever you celebrate!