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So when I learned that my little Aerogarden offered a kit with cherry tomatoes I thought my md-winter dream of caprese salad might become reality. I'm not exactly a green thumb -- to my mother's great dismay I killed the unkillable palm tree and cactus in college -- but we had some luck with the aerogarden herbs last fall and I was willing to take a risk...
And as you can see from the over-exposed photograph above, I DID get tomatoes. Tasty tomatoes. They were slow growing, but the little buds after 8 weeks and the itty bitty orbs in the 12th week kept my attention.
I think I missed something in the instructions around properly supporting them though -- my plants caved under the weight of the fully ripened fruit, and each plant yielded about 30 tomatoes before completely giving in. So I'll call it a qualified success and try again next year...
April 29, 2009
Twenty dollars in tomatoes???
April 27, 2009
Cheesecake: The Sequel (or a tasty sauce hides a world of sins)
For someone with my (lack of) talent with cheesecake, we're headed for the homeowner's association planning meeting. Whee!
But I digress...
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. But she's given us a LOT of leeway in the execution. She challenged thousands of us to play with it. Make it unique. Make a showstopper of a dessert. Add flavor, sauces, decorations – dress it up and show it off.
Um... sure. You realize you're pushing buttons here Jenny. I thought I'd proved in December that I'm cheesecake impaired? You want me to get CREATIVE?!?!
So I took a couple of deep, cleansing zen-like breaths, rolled up my sleeves, grabbed an apron, said a silent prayer to Martha, Peabody, Shuna, Tartlett and a host of my other baking gods and goddesses... and made some minor modifications to the base recipe.
I went with a meyer lemon theme, paying homage to the fruit I played softball with in the back yard as a kid, never guessing I'd one day be spending $1.25 a piece for them.
I zested the lemon before I juiced it, and tossed the zest in with a combination of graham crackers and almond meal to form the crust.
I added a bit of limoncello to the batter.
And when the cake came out of the oven with a couple of crevasses (see... I TOLD you cheesecake impaired), I took a tip from Alton brown and decorated it with a sauce make of sour cream, lemon marmalade and candied meyer lemons.
April 09, 2009
Waste not...
Don't get me wrong... I love breakfast FOOD (I love almost ALL food), but if I had my way, my ideal day would start at the crack of noon. Until I was in my mid thirties, breakfast typically consisted of a can of Mountain Dew on my way to school/work. Diet if I was feeling particularly virtuous.
But continuing to enjoy good food as I make the transition into what a colleague calls "late middle youth" requires that I get and keep my (_]_) in gear. Unfortunately my schedule dictates that several of these butt-busting sessions happen in the early morning hours. And since the drama associated with passing out on Lizette mid-workout is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I find myself becoming better acquainted with breakfast.
One of my go-to (translated: "you can sleep an extra 15 minutes because this one takes no time to prepare") pre-workout breakfasts is the humble banana, smeared with a tablespoon of peanut butter. Potassium and protein both seem to fuel my workout, and a little natural sugar gives me an additional energy boost.
The problem? I'm picky about bananas. I like them almost green. If they've gone all the way yellow, they're over-ripe for me. And they cross my line very quickly, so if I'm not very careful this produces a lot of waste.
So I'm always on the lookout for good banana bread and muffin recipes -- a nice alternative to tossing a mushy banana into the blender for a smoothie. And I recently found a GREAT recipe over at Sugar Laws for some mighty yummy Banana Saffron Muffins. Easy to assemble and Katy's right: the saffron adds a subtle but distinct flavor and makes these muffins something special. An added bonus: they freeze well, and tossed in the toaster oven for a minute and then smeared with a bit of peanut butter it's every bit as quick and satisfying as the aforementioned standard.
And anything that affords me a few extra minutes of sleep is a VERY good thing. Just ask anyone who's had the misfortune of scheduling a 6:30 AM conference call with me...
April 08, 2009
What IS this?
Can anyone out there tell me what it is? It's fairly hearty, with a mild bitterness in its raw state.
Is it some odd breed of kale? Dandelion greens? Something altogether different? The only thing on the list that I couldn't easily identify in the box was green garlic, and I'm pretty confident it's NOT that.
And while we're at it, I'll take any ideas you have for what I might do with it...
March 29, 2009
Daring Bakers... Passport to Italy
Step aside Stouffers... this isn't convenience food. This is my GRANDMOTHER's lasagna. Or something damn close.
This month's Daring Baker adventure -- brought to us by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande -- takes us to Italy as it might have been in my great grandmother's era and proves that the simplest of recipes stand the test of time.
Paper thin ribbons of spinach-speckled egg pasta, bathed in alternating layers of a beautiful butter-nutty bechamel, a beefy bolognese courtesy of Tyler Florence and a sprinkling of piquant parmesan cheese.
Real food. Simple ingredients. And a moderate amount of elbow grease. With the exception of the tomatoes in the sauce and the spinach in the pasta, nothing out of a can, a jar, a plastic bag or a cardboard container.
Lynne Rossetto Kasper's Lasagne of Emilia Romagna warms the heart and soothes the soul -- and thanks to the ladies hosting the March challenge it's my new go-to recipe when I've got an afternoon to kill and I'm looking for old world comfort food.
Under the wire...almost
The March 2009 challenge was 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.
March 25, 2009
I'm Ba-aaa-ck!
Another one of those parental prophesies is coming true. Time DOES go faster with every passing year. Didn't we just celebrate the new year...how the heck did it get to be SPRING?!?!
I haven't slept through the last twelve weeks, really. While my diet continues to shift as I try to strike a balance between what's good for me, what's good for the community, what's good for the planet and what *tastes* good, I've still got a healthy dose of the culinary curiosity that prompted me to start this journey three years ago. I've eaten well, and I've got a large stash of archived photographs to prove it. And I'm rearranging my recreational time over the next couple of days to share some of it with you.
Coming soon to a your favorite feed reader:
- The Daring Bakers haven't excommunicated me! I've got tuilles! I've got a chocolate valentino! along with a handful of January Tuesdays with Dorie...
- A couple of fantastic Tyler Florence recipes...
- Several selections sourced from this winter's CSA bounty...
Hang in there; I'll wrap up the rewind as quickly as possible so we can move on and enjoy the spring bounty before summer is upon us.
January 05, 2009
Couscous? Or Quinoa?
As John has mentioned several times, I should have invested in a label maker at the same time. Because the post it notes I chose to employ have long lost their sticky-ness and several of the plastics in my pantry now contain mystery ingredients.
Rigatoni is pretty obvious. So are raisins, pine nuts and cornmeal. But when I pulled this recipe for Eating Well Magazine's Cauliflower and Couscous Pilaf and perused the pantry for ingredients, I wasn't sure whether what I had on hand was couscous or quinoa. I decided it didn't matter, that except for cooking time they'd play equally well in the recipe.
Turns out what I have is quinoa. It added a nice nuttiness and a bit of a chewy texture to the final product, which I supplemented with a bit of flaked poached halibut for added protein.
Tomorrow I head to Staples for a label maker!
January 01, 2009
Reflections...
If I believe the pundits and their sound bites, 2009 is going to be a year of change, of hope, of growth and renewal. And as I reflect on my personal journey in 2008, I find myself a year ahead of the curve.
I set some lofty goals at this time last year. As is typical for me I met some of them, abandonned others and set a few new ones as circumstances changed along the way.
Professionally I'm now managing the closure of that career-defining project. It's had its ups and its downs, we've navigated an inordinate sea of obstacles along the way, but it's been a tremendous learning experience and we're going to emerge with a set of solutions that truly take us to the next level.
Personally my transition's been even more dramatic. I've rewritten this paragraph a thousand times trying to get the words right, and in the end it comes down to this. Somewhere amid the milestone celebration, I grew up. It's as simple and as complex as that. I'm no longer play-acting at this whole adulthood thing. I don't have all the answers and I probably never will, but I'm starting to GET it. And I understand the differences therein. Who knew.. life DOES begin at 40!?!
And certainly my most significant personal accomplishment in 2008 is a physical one. I've shed a substantial amount of weight in the last twelve months. If you've been paying attention along the way you know it hasn't been about self-deprivation... I've eaten well and indulged on an often-enough basis.
What's different this time? I've shifted focus. While I know what I want, I'm no longer obsessed about numbers and deadlines to the exclusion of all else. And I've changed the way I "keep score." An indulgence (or two or ten) doesn't make me a failure -- it just requires me to rearrange columns A and B a bit to make everything fit, so that I'm taking some step each day toward meeting my goal. And I'm working out. I know myself well enough to realize that despite Lizette's protestations to the contrary I will NEVER enjoy exercise (sweating SUCKS), but the process works and I'm enjoying the end results. After a year of hard work, I'm two sizes smaller. I've got more energy and more stamina. Less of me hurts. I'm sleeping better, my focus is clearer, and I'm getting a lot more out of my day. I call that progress.
December 31, 2008
In what's turned out to be a New Years Eve tradition...
1. 2008.
2. When Nicole paired me with Steph over at the Cupcake Project for Taste & Create VI, it took no time at all to decide which of her recipes I would try.
3. When I was in high school, my mother had a bit of an infatuation with several of the 'personalities' on QVC.
4. Dorie suggests that you serve her Gooey Chocolate Cakes with something to play off of their chocolatey interior.
5. ...to ditch the ATM card in favor of cash.
6. No, I'm not a Barefoot Blogger.
7. I've been invited to blog for Blake over at Blake Bakes.
8. A week or so ago, fellow Dorista and Daring Baker Susan over at She's Becoming DoughMessTic put out a call to action I couldn't ignore.
9. Hello there, long time no see...
10. Um... hello? Is this thing on?
11. We were surprised that we really enjoyed the food served on our Caribbean cruise with Holland America back in 2006; we expected it would be hard to find excellence in mass-produced food.
12. I came really close to bailing on this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe.
There you have it. The first sentences of the first posts for each month of 2008. And once again from mudbugs to caramel cake, it's been a wild ride through the magical, mystical world of food. And again this year I want thank each and every one of you for joining me. However you choose to celebrate tonight's turning of the page, please raise a virtual glass with John and me, join our toast to health, happiness, hope, laughter and love in 2009.
December 30, 2008
Sa-aaaaaanta!
Collin asked you very nicely. I begged, pleaded, cajoled... everything short of offering you my first born.
But no Wii for me underneath the tree.
I got your note. I understand demand's a little high this time of year. And that part of me that responds to guilt trips is GLAD Timothy and Tina in Texas had their best Christmas evah because of my sacrifice.
I also appreciate you putting in a good word with Cupid. But February's a long way off. There are seven Dorie Tuesdays to traverse before Valentine's Day. That's a LOT of butter and sugar buddy...
I give you this week's indulgence: Tall and Creamy Cheesecake chosen by Anne of the eponymous Anne Strawberry. Okay, so mine's not exactly tall or particularly pretty. Despite the water bath AND my tallest springform pan, we had a bit of overflow. And I was able to distribute the caloric love by using this as my contribution to the dessert buffet at a dance we attended in the city. My tasters didn't care that it was short and ugly. It WAS creamy and they had no complaints about the taste.
So that solves this week's "how do I keep this off my hips" dilemma. But have you looked at the list for January? French Pear Tart? Berry Surprise Cake? I'm glad you liked the cookies. Care to join me in one of the January delights? You can bring the elves...
Oh, and Cupid? You're welcome to join us too.
December 29, 2008
The Daring Baker 2008 Season Finale: Entremets
It's been quite a season for the Daring Bakers. Canadian Baker Jen cast the tart and tangy lemon in the January episode: Lemon Meringue Pie. February brought a guest appearance by Julia Child; March was the month of Dorie's Perfect Party Cake. April Popped, and in May we headed for the Opera. Over the summer and into the fall we were allowed to choose our own star for June's Danish Braid, the setting for July's Filbert Gateau and the supporting cast for Eclairs, Lavash and Pizza. In November it was my turn to choose the leading lady, and with Alex and Jenny's able assistance we put sugar in the spotlight.
And now we're down to the season finale, and what a finale it's turned out to be. 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 Entremets, a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.
And...action!
A frozen confection constructed in six acts: a Dacquoise (or nut meringue), a freezer-stable mousse, a creme brulee insert, a ganache insert, a praline feuillete insert (a candy and crushed crunchy cookie layer), and icing. Hilda and Marion gave us a basic plot, some guidance on casting and a script from which to work, but left a lot of latitude for editorial license and creative direction.
I started with a hazelnut dacquoise, a vanilla bean brulee and a coconut and "Special K" feuillete, all of which took up temporary residence in the garage freezer for an overnight rest. So far, smooth sailing.
Assembly also went without much of a hitch. Dissolving the cocoa powder in the icing presented a bit of a challenge but again, it didn't seem to have a negative affect on the finished product.
I LOVED this challenge; it epitomizes my Daring Baker experience. I'd never have approached this recipe on my own. And given the amount of effort it required I'd think several times before attempting it again. But before the Daring Bakers I'd have dismissed it as above my head. And there's a fair amount of pride in knowing I'm capable of creating a beautiful and delicious showpiece dessert.
Cut!
That's a wrap.
But stay tuned... the 2009 series premiere airs January 29.
December 27, 2008
Mushroom Soup to soothe the soul
John's still not feeling well. His cold seems to have settled in his chest and shows no signs of evacuating any time soon. And he's damn tired of Robitussin and orange juice.
So with the leftover mushrooms from Christmas dinner and a quick romp through the internets, I whipped up a soothing mushroom soup. With inspiration from Crabby, Giada, Julia and Ina I knew it would be a winner, and it was. I used half and half rather than whipping cream because that's what I had available, and it was still creamy enough to feel indulgent without completely clogging the arteries. And John declared the warm earthy mushroom flavors exactly what the doctor ordered.
December 26, 2008
Remembering Mo...
And while I didn't learn nearly as much about cooking and baking as I could have or should have from him, he remains one of my primary inspirations in the kitchen.
Those of you who've been here a while know that John and I host a gala open house the Saturday before Thanksgiving every year. What started as our housewarming party in 2000 has evolved into an annual tradition we're proud to say is a must-attend event on many of our friends' calendars. What most people don't realize is that the whole open house concept wasn't mine but my father's.
Mo hosted his annual open house on December 26 -- though only a handful of his guests knew the significance behind the date. Like we do, he invited friends from all aspects of his life, and did nothing to coordinate introductions. And like our open house, it worked. People mingled, discovered surprise connections with other guests, and often in the process we learned new things about our friends. The only place we stray from Mo's model is that our menu is built on appetizers and finger food -- because growing up that's what *I* wanted to contribute to his menu and he insisted appetizers were a waste of everyone's appetite for the "real food."
So the BIG open house in my childhood home happened at Christmas time. But my father opened his home and his kitchen to his friends on a smaller scale on a weekly basis. Over the years Maude and Dick, Lou and Maria, Carol and Ken, Neal, John and Ruth, Henri, Lorraine, Donna, Julie, Bob and Joanne had standing invitations to dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. And most of them occupied a regular spot at the dining room table.
While John's and my weekend social life tends to be more outwardly focused (with three weekends in four often dedicated to dance events), we're looking at 2009 as an opportunity to entertain on a smaller scale.
And what better date to launch a new tradition than Mo's birthday???
So we put together a simple but satisfying menu and celebrated a belated Christmas with some of our dance friends. We built the menu around a main course I found over at Closet Cooking: Maple and Chipotle Roasted Turkey Breast. Our protein was pork tenderloin because I couldn't find a whole turkey breast at any of my regular marts of trade. On the side we served Warm Leek Salad with bounty from the CSA box, a simple spinach salad sprinkled with dried cranberries and walnuts, and Cooking Light's Colonial Corn Pudding. For dessert we offered a tray of Dorie Christmas Cookies.
We ate. We drank. We enjoyed each other's company.
I like to think Mo would have been proud.
December 25, 2008
Buon Natale
It's a smaller celebration than usual this year.
John's sister and her family came back from vacation in Florida with the stomach flu.
So it was just mom and dad, John and me for dinner. An intimate dinner for four featuring three courses from Fine Cooking magazine's Modern Christmas Menu and a Dorie delight for dessert.
At center stage was a Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin Roast with Double-Mushroom Ragout -- a hit around the table. We paired the tenderloin with Cinnabar's Limited Edition Teroldego - a varietal prevalent in northeastern Italy but still a bit of an anomaly in Northern California. Fruit forward and food friendly wines are our favorites, and this one screamed "roast beast."
In supporting roles were Lemon-Thyme Spinach and Individual Savory Horseradish Bread Puddings, both of which received mixed reviews. I personally adored the spinach and already have plans to stir the leftovers into scrambled eggs for breakfast. Others found the dish a bit too lemon-forward for their tastes. The bread pudding suffered from the opposite problem, as the horseradish kind of got lost in the mix.
We wrapped up the meal with Dorie Greenspan's Real Butterscotch Pudding, proving again that there is no kill like overkill. Butter. Whipping cream. Egg yolk. Sugar. And a splash of scotch. What's not to love?
Christmas means something slightly different for everyone. For John and me, a huge part of the joy we get from the season is in sharing good food with the people who matter the most to us. Nothing would please us more than the opportunity to break bread with each of you who spends a few minutes of your day here catching up on our latest food adventure. For now, we hope you enjoy our virtual feast and we wish you the merriest of Christmases, the happiest of Hanukkahs, the most peaceful of Solstices, the most joyous of Kwanzaas, and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.
December 23, 2008
TWD: Real Butterscotch Pudding
Stay tuned... this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, chosen by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases will be the closing act in tomorrow night's Christmas celebration dinner with John's family.
From the archives...
Dorie's got a bit of a dessert legacy to live up to. In 2007 we served the Daring Bakers' Yule Log challenge for our Christmas Eve finale.
December 20, 2008
Cookies to cure the common cold
So while he reaches for the Robitussen, some Kleenex and a warm blanket, I head to the kitchen not because he's requested chicken soup or oatmeal (MY comfort foods when my nose is running and my chest is tight) but chocolate chip cookies.
I briefly considered last summer's infamous New York Times recipe, but abandoned it quickly when I remembered it required an overnight nap in the refrigerator. So I turned to Dorie... and she delivered these:
(Dorie Greenspan's) Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (with my editorial comments in italics)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (1 1/4 teaspoon if you really like salt) - I added the extra 1/4 teaspoon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips or 2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans - I skipped these because John's a no-nut chocolate chip purist
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. I used one and just waited for it to cool between batches.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about one minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. On low speed or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate chips (and nuts).
At this point the dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen. If you'd like, you can freeze rounded tablespoons of dough ready for baking. Freeze the mounds on a lined baking sheet, then bag them when they're solid. There's no need to defrost the dough before baking -- just add another minute or two to the baking time. FAR superior to anything you find in your freezer case at the grocery store.
Spoon the dough by lightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet(s), leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls. I LOVE my cookie scoop -- makes this task so-ooo much easier. And some advice... leave the space between these guys. They spread like mad.
Bake the cookies -- one sheet at a time and rotating the sheet at the midway point -- for 10-12 minutes or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center. They may still be a little soft in the middle and that's fine. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for one minute, then carefully transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature. Warning. If your audience likes soft warm cookies as much as John does, shoo them away from the cookies until they cool a bit. Straight out of the oven they smell heavenly but they're molten and will burn your tongue.
Repeat with the remainder of te dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.
And in the end? John likes chewy chocolate chip cookies. I prefer mine crisp. Most recipes end up disappointing one of us. Not this one. The best of both worlds.
Thanks Dorie. I think John will agree... MUCH more satisfying than Robitussen!
From the archives...
In 2006 I engaged in one of my favorite non-baking obsessive compulsive behaviors...
Our Christmas dinner in 2007 combined the best of healthy and heart-warming.
December 18, 2008
I WON! It's HERE!
Not Bingo. Not the lottery.
Ed McMahon's never darkened my doorstep with the Publishers' Clearinghouse grand prize.
Hell, I go to Vegas for the FOOD.
But something prompted me to reply to Anne's post in search of must-have holiday foods. First, I had an answer to her question. And second I LOVED the retro-modern look of the apron prize from Phase Three.
Imagine my surprise when I learned I WON!
It showed up in the mail yesterday and I couldn't wait to show it off. Apologies to Anne for borrowing her image of my beautiful new apron, but I wanted to show it off and I can't find a way to model it AND photograph it.
Now excuse me while I head off to break it in...
From the archives...
In 2006 we shared a "food first" with friends.
December 16, 2008
Santa baby...
Collin was right. Aunt Dolores NEEDS a Nintendo Wii Fit.
You thought LAST week's Dorie assignment was a caloric nightmare?
Ha!
In this week's installment, Heather from Randomosity and the Girl chose to tempt us with Buttery Jam Cookies. And let me give you a hint big guy... if the word "butter" is in the title the final product's not likely to bode well for the diet. Even if they do taste like butter-coated ecstasy on a plate.
Furthermore, Dorie claims the recipe makes forty-some cookies. I got less than half of that. Twice the butter love.
Knowing full well that left alone on my kitchen counter, these babies *wouldn't* be left alone but would wind up basting my midsection in saturated fat, I've stashed them in the freezer until we need them for next week's cookie tray.
But I'm only human Santa. Sooner or later I'm going to give in to butter-basted temptation. And I've been good. Pleeeeease... bring me a Wii. I'll leave a couple of these guys by the tree...
From the archives...
Menu for Hope III had raised over $25,000 by December 16 2006... go check out the stash being offered and give generously to Menu for Hope V!
In 2007, a 19th century salty snack replaced the microwave version in my kitchen.
December 13, 2008
An impromptu breakfast of champions...
Grab the little plastic container with about 3 egg whites in it from the back of the top shelf. Add another little plastic container with a half cup of leftover sauteed mushrooms. And the last handful of the baby spinach leaves that were the base of last night's salad. The little bag of diced red bell pepper down there in the crisper. And the last couple of sprigs of thyme from the aerogarden.
Now let's add a whole egg and a pinch or two of kosher salt so it's not *completely* virtuous.
Toss the empty containers in the dishwasher and the foodstuffs in a saute pan liberally coated with cooking spray, olive oil, butter, or the fat product of your choice. Stir constantly over medium heat until the egg whites are nearly cooked through, or soft scrambled.
Plate and serve with toast and a couple of mandarin oranges.
Yum!
From the archives...
In 2007 I made a bit of soup for John's bocce buddies.
