Christmas Day pics 2#

Happy 2010 to youes!

I've been off my computer for awhile now & been busy with "winter break" and all it entails. If you have kids you know this means that at the end of it all I can say with St. Paul the appostle, "And though I bestow all my time to go ice-skating, visiting, sleepover-ing, kite-flying, arcade gaming, stay up late making obentos & special snackies, ----- and have not done even ONE item of laundry or cleaning ------ I am nothing short of a large pile of denial.

And just for good measure I'll have you know that I have pronounced my good friend & uber-huge-footed friend Mark to be a regular "saver of my bakery"!! My DH & I had 48 hours of child free hanging out. Grabbed a hotel room in our old haunts and had a fabulous time doing as little as humanly possible.

We came home to a pristinly clean house & only one child with a self-inflicted black eye..."WHO? ME??"

Yeah, you know it.

So anyway, great times. But now I'm getting back into the game! And if you must know, I'm checking out my newly acquired massivonious of an ass the size of a small prefecture and alarmed -- not at the size of it.....but the fact that I'm instead focusing on the fact that there must be people who find big butts attractive.......right? Sadly the only thing that ever motivated me to exercise in life has been the proscpect of grunting forth spawn otherwise I counted upon my alien-like metabolism to take care of the rest. Gotta get some answers!

Well, lets do those pics already, Huh? Can't promise when I'll actually get around to posting about food again. So love & hugs to you till next time. Ciao!

Notice I was not invited to the party of pretty ladies pictures. I was excommed for my habitual foolish faces to the kitchen forever!
Now that's a Purrty Mama!

Waitin' for prezzies after one too many tootsie rolls for one child apparently.
Girls getting a typing game from Auntie Nina!
Ban IS the man!
Pictionary is SERIOUS business and the persons you want on your team are Nina & Mas!
Ah, yes I did some cooking too!

To Christmas & Back again.....

Everyone's blogs are viral with pictures of Christmas so I thought I ought to get in the act. My whole family (minus one Krumping brother) came to visit and when I was handed a slew of photos on my hard drive at the end of it all. I had to vow to a) never post another picture taken with my camera & b) get myself a decent camera.

It's a wonder you've looked at any of these photos of food. It's akin to someone making a really really BAAAAD movie trailer and expecting anyone to be interested in watching the movie.

Last night I made 2 turkeys, gravy & stuffing for my friends in Noda....was definitely feeling under the weather & am now wrapped in blankies drinking turkey soup to nurse me back to sanity. (Not likely)

Well....here are some pics. I'll probably put up a few batches I'm just too fond of the photography & camera. Food pics first, family next!

Stuffing it with......stuff!! Can you see the slab of butter under his skin?
seducing my sisters' taste buds with tomato, micro arugula, EV olive oil, balsamico & flur de sel. They will never be the same!!
The 2nd stage of peppermint meringues.Fruity mess for my Rustic excuse of a gallette!But that buttery crust was a dream, baby!! Aww---ka-POW!!!
molasses spice cookies, peanutbutter cookies, & iced cardamom sugar cookies


That's it for now. Gotta go & be sick now, catch you later!

Eggnog Latte.....and that's what it's all about.

The best thing about hosting an eggnog/cookie party for all your friends & their kiddos is.......
Eggnog latte in the morning, when all your kids are coming off of their cookie sugar high. This was premium eggnogg folksies. I'm not trying to brag here but seriously the custard was perfect in it's own right with vanilla beans speckling it with it's stamp of approval. I finally got my hands on nutmeg seeds to grate directly onto each portion. And a certain smart guest showed up and plunked down a tumbler on my kitchen counter when he walked in the door. "Merry Christmas, would you mind if I took some home with me?"

Needless to say, Eggnog was spilled, cookies were munched, prezzies were exchanged & it was a great noisy time!

I finally played around with icing sugar & did some of my cardamom sugar cookies with deco. I quickly found that I have the patience of a squirrel on Red Bull and raced through them uncerimoniously. Maybe I'll have the kids do them next year.
Hunter was trying to use the ice-cream scoop to scoop out my last bit of sanity.
Ah....Bruschetta for my husband who did indeed let me take off to Chiba. What a swell fellow he is. But then he's the one who got a plateful of these babies on his desk. I made these of prosciutto, tomatoes, baby arugula, EV olive oil, balsamico vinegar & grey sea salt.


Hope your Christmas cooking is turning out.......and remember when you're in a jam.......BUTTER WILL FIX IT!!

PS. Since I know this is coming, just wanna say, if you call me on Christmas with a foodie question........pretend like you called me to say Merry Christmas first & I'll be happy to help in whatever way I can.

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

I promise to not do any more caramel after this but I had to give you this recipe in time for you Thanksgiving cooks.

This pie has a great way of making caramel that I think you "classroom scientific" type cooks will find fun. It involves smoking sugar in a pan & other such questionable behavior. But all in all quite interesting. Remember when they'd tell you that white sugar was brown sugar burnt? Well, caramel, apparently is white sugar burnt....and, gosh darn it.....somehow it's brown again. So, we're all good!

And the result is of course fantastic. The caramel will give your pie a really rich dark color (if you make your caramel right). And served at room temp with ice-cream. It was fantissimo! I'd say it's probably for a more grown up audience, esp if you let the caramel darken enough. I served it to my grandparents & was slightly embarrassed when Miss 2# announced, "Is that Rum? I knew I recognized the taste". heh!!

I've left the recipe in it's entirety as it's something you want to read through before you start.

You can also find my pie crust recipe here. Have fun!! And lemmie know what you're making for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to my unique Thanksgiving & contemplating what to make that won't involve baking anything other than the turkey in the last 4 hours before dinner. Any ideas?

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

1 9 inch single pie crust Partially baked & cooled

1 c sugar
3/4 c heavy cream
2 tbsp dark rum or cognac
2 tbsp unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces
1 c pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
pinch of nutmeg and allspice
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Getting ready:
Center rack in oven & preheat the oven to 350 f (175 c)

Sprinkley 1/2 c sugar evenly over the bottom of a large nonstick skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat & staying close cook until the sugar melts & starts to color. Once you see a little color gently swirl till it turns deep amber -- almost mahogany. The sugar will bubble up & foam & start to smoke. It's very dramatic & might make you think you've gone too far, but you want a dark (though not burned black) color; the darker the sugar the fuller the flavor. When the bubble s have gone from foamy to big & fat, you will probably have reached the right color. To check, drop a bit of the caramelized sugar on a white plate.

Lower the heat to medium, stand back & pour the cream into the skillet. The sugar will bubble & hiss &, if the cream was cold may even clump. Just continue to cook, stirring, and it will even out. Add the rum & butter & cook just until the caramel is smooth. Pour the caramel into a heatproof bowl or pitcher & cool for about 15 min.

Working with a whisk in a large bowl, beat the pumpkin to break it up & smooth it. Add the remaining 1/2 c of sugar & beat to blend. Whisk in the spices, salt, vanilla & eggs. beating until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the caramel. Rap the bowl against the counter a few times to de-bubble the filling then pour into the crust.

Bake for 45-50 min, or until the filling is puffed and set -- tap the pan gently and the filling won't giggle. A think knife inserted into the center of the pie will come out clean. It will also leave a gash in the filling but you'll be covering it with whipped cream.

Trasfer the pie to a rack & cool to room temp, or cool & refrigereate. When you are ready to serve. Spread the lightly whipped cream over the top of the pie.

Blessed Bread ALONE: Focaccia

Recently someone asked me how to make Focaccia & I directed them to my blog saying that I had posted the recipe. But after searching I realized that I had NO such recipe posted yet. I mean.....REALLY? I've been making this recipe nearly as long as I've been making pancakes! Great balls of steaming ooger! The time to post is now. (though technically this draft has been sitting on my dashboard for months)

Now, If I may let you in on a little secret:

You have permission to be a mediocre cook but if you can bake a loaf of bread you'll pass as a kitchen genius.

Try it, next big meal take a little time to try out some bread and you'll have guests grabbing hold of your ankles refusing to leave. How do I know this? I am yet trying to shake off ankle holders now. (they are roughly between the ages of 5-1)

Honestly, people. This bread was one of the first breads I tried making & believe me, there's nothing like being hailed a genius when the only things you can actually make in the kitchen is scrambled eggs & focaccia. Observe:
Here I am posing as an impostor cook, looking smug, & mismatched. It's pretty obvious the only thing I've actually accomplished in the kitchen is drink several beers, make bread & successfully convince people I can cook. I admit I even pulled this on my boyfriend and he is yet still my boyfriend.

So please, pretend that you're not paranoid of yeast & get cracking: (Hint, the secret to a good focaccia is in the triple raising)

5 c of bread flour or all purpose flour (use 1/2 extra tsp of salt if using all purpose flour)
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2/3 c olive oil (You only need 3-4 tbsp for the actual dough, rest is for topping)
2 c warm water (40 c) (Set aside 1/4 of the water for yeast)

Dissolve sugar in warm water in a bowl sprinkle yeast on top & leave undisturbed for 10 min. Sift flour, salt together in large bowl. Make a well in the center pour yeast/water in & mix till blended (there will be lumps & crumbliness) then make another well & add olive oil & remaining 1 3/4 c warm water. Mix with wooden spoon till it comes together then turn out onto floured surface & knead for 10 min. (If you have a stand mixer you can knead for 6-8 min)

The dough should be soft but not too soft to handle. Add more flour as needed. Turn the dough into a oiled large bowl & set in the oven or warm place (covered with towel) for 1 1/2 hrs till it's doubled in size.

Lightly oil two baking trays, or of you like use two 9" cake pans (this will give you a much fluffier, thicker focaccia), punch dough down shape into two balls roll or press into the pans, cover the pans with towels & let it rise again for 30 min. Preheat oven for 200c (400f)

Using your fingertips press dimples all over the dough's surface. Drizzle the remaining oil over the bread. Sprinkle generously with seasalt.

The most traditional topping is rosemary sprigs. But there are heaps of toppings that you can choose from & or improvise with some ideas are:

sliced red onion
coarsely ground walnuts or pecans
black olives halved
sun-dried tomatoes
cherry tomato halves
sprinkling dried basil
fresh basil leaves
brown sugar (about 1 tsp per loaf)
bits of anchovies
parmesan cheese

Let the dough sit again for another 30 min then bake for 20-25 min till golden brown. And that's about it. Cut & serve warm.

I try not to let my foccacia get too "busy" with toppings. Usually pick 2 or 3, max, besides the olive oil. Of course if you add a pizza sauce & cheese before the toppings then "BAM" the evolution of pizza.

Also if you have a bread maker you can set it to "dough" and put the ingr. in according to the maker's instructions till the first rising

Well, that's it & as you can see I have no actual picture of the finished product & that is because no matter how much I make there is almost no left overs at all. EVER! Sneaky guests have been observed sneaking back into the kitchen at midnight with their head in the fridge eating left over focaccia straight out of a ziplock bag. (yeah, you didn't think I knew it was you, didja?)

Afterthought about bread sticks:

PS. If you wanna make bread sticks divide the dough after the first rising into walnut sized balls & roll out to about 10 in sticks. Leave to rise for 30 min, then brush with olive oil & sprinkle with whatever topping you like. (caraway, dried basil, oregano, sesame seeds, poppy seeds etc..) & bake for 15-20 min till golden.

PPS. A simpler option to toppings on bread sticks is to add seasoning to the dough before kneading.

Cookie Time: Pistachio Cookies

Been awhile since I actually took the time to photograph something I made. Perhaps it's just the soon coming adjustments I'll be making but I've been itching to make something with pistachios for awhile now. It's mainly because of this wonderful business:

This my friends is pistachio butter, given to me by my fantastic friend, Kari. I'm slightly ashamed to say all I've done with it until now is snitch from the jar & spread a little on some left over tortillas (don't ask me what possessed me to do that!) It's very much the same consistancy of goma paste. And it has the most unbelievable nutty flavor almost like.....I dunno......say....PISTACHIOS, maybe! (Been a long day & I'm running out of adjectives!)

So....I scrounged around & threw all hopes of finding a reliable recipe to the wind & do what amaturs do best....totally freaking wingin' it. I took from a little of this & a little of that. And if you must know, the product wasn't half bad.

Here's what I did:

Creamed together 1/3 c of shortning, 3 tbsp of pistachio butter & 1/2 c of both brown & white sugar.

I put together my "drys" in another bowl & whisked them to mix: 1 c flour, 1/4 tsp b. soda, 1/2 tsp b. powder & a few shakes of salt (I could've stood to add more salt in hindsight)

I then proceeded to add a tbsp of my much loved & cherished sexy friend Disaronno. (aww-ka-pooow!)
Mixed the dry in with the wet & it kneaded with my hand till it was well blended. Rolled into a log. :) (Sorry, can't type that, w/o getting a bit pre-schoolish) Wrapped in wax paper & set it in the freezer for 1/2 an hr. Meanwhile I preheat the oven to 200c (400f).

Cut the dough into 1/4" slices & topped with roughly chopped shelled pistachios. Loaded them onto wax paper and start handing over the snitches of cookie dough to the kids for dear life before there's an ugly "Kitchen coup".

Baked for approximately 6-8 min & cooled immidiately on a wire rack.

And there you have it. Not half bad tasting if I do say so myself. The consistancy was closer to shortbread than cookie but that's fine for me. I probobly could've stood to put....I dunno an egg yolk? But then maybe that would've turned it a bit too cakey. And I'm sure if I had used butter instead of shortning the texture wouldn't have been as flakey. Call me old school but the little brown sugar lumps that wouldn't be smashed were like little drops of caramel goodness in there & I was a happy camper. (even though my 3 year old dumped my ice coffee in the sink so she could drink water from my glass!!)

Yes Sir, somethings put a smile on my face & make my little world go round!!

Berry-Berry Yummy Cobbler

Dear Sister that I love,

This post is for you! You know who you are, because you're the only one whose trying to click on that picture to enlarge it & then make it your wallpaper. You're also the only sister that's capapble of doing this:

to a raspberry cobbler.

So, I hope you don't mind if I share your secret with the world. Because simple things in life that make you cozy your knees up under your massive sweater while you swivel around on Daddy's big chair & giggle with our cornball brothers, while slooooooowly enjoying this cobbler -- should not be kept secret. Besides, the more people who we can pass the word to, the greater the chance of you walking into some stranger's home & having them shove a massive cake pan of crispy/gooey warm fruity goodness under your nose for you to cherish. Can't argue with those kinda odds.

So here we go:
I know you're partial to raspberries but since we happened to get mutant strawberries for very cheap & frozen blueberries (non-mutent, I think) we'll go with that. Chopping them up just seemed like the right thing to do. Since I think a "whole strawberry" would just be too much "gooo" for me.
I got myself 4 cups of fruit. I didn't forget to rinse the frozen blueberries since the last time I didn't they turned my muffins positively greenish black with all the icy blueberry juice surrounding them.

Now, since you know I ain't a rocket scientist & I don't do this from scratch, lemmie just give you the specs on the "drys": 1 1/4 cup of flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt.

I gave them a little whisking around because it also made me feel good. And this is a "feel good" kinda snack. (truth: Erika wouldn't leave me alone unless I gave her something "useful" to do)

Now since you're preheating your oven to 175c anyway, throw in 1/2 c or 1 stick or 113 grams of butter into a 9" cake pan or casserole dish.

Look, I know you're thinking, "Butter, Margarine, same thing!"

To that I say, "SILENCE or VIOLENCE"!

If you've gone as far to get a 380Y bag of raspberries, go over to the dairy section & get a 370Y block of butter. After all, this is cobbler!

Give it a few minutes in the oven & swirl the butter around a bit. Not because it needs it as much as it's sort of a little game I play to see how close I can get it to the edge of the pan without spilling it........yeah, that's the kinda game you'd play too isn't it?

Your wets: 1 cup of milk & 1 tsp of either almond essence or vanilla essence! Let's walk on the wild side & use almond. I know you wanna! Could it possibly get any easier? Just pour it into the dry & blend till just combined. I know you're not the type to over-mix but still I have to warn you anyway. Tough cobbler is just not romantic in the slightest bit.

And now for the fun part! (as if up until now you haven't just been a blasty-blast) The part where I pour with my left hand & simultaneously take pictures with my right hand & try to do it artistically at the same time. Whatever that means.....I think it means, just plop that batter in there already.

Now take a moment to observe. See the ring of butter around the edge?

I think it's time for a "moment".

That sweet sister, is sheer goodness & love in a cake pan. I tell you things just don't get any better.

Well, now............I think they just did. Things got much much better!

There's nothing like a massive pile of berries plopped on top of your batter of goodness. And no, you may not snitch more than 5 pieces of fruit. Stop it already! I think I could've stood to spread it out more evenly but I have a certain fondness to the crusty edge so I kept it to the middle & pressed it down into the batter a bit.

Let's just have another moment shall we?

.................
.................
........be still my beating heart!

Now it's time to put our baby in the oven. Surprisingly long cooking time (50-55 minutes) gives you plenty of time to clean up, change into your jammies or go get yourself an ice-cream to top it with. You thought I forgot that? NEVER!!

Now, let's see how things went.

Well now, if that doesn't just beat all. The edge should be browned crispy and the cobbler gets softer & softer as you get nearer to the center it may be somewhat soft or gooey looking. So, there you have it. If you've got any shread of sanity (of course you do) you'll do as I say & consume this after it's cooled down for about 10 min & top it with ice cream.

Well, that's it, sister! You know that bite there has your name on it. The one where the ice cream is melting down the side of the cobbler & is silently begging you to save it before it all melts away!

I love you & when you come by this way, there will most certainly be a healthy bowl of this "berry good cobbler" waiting for you.

Mucho love,

Your silly big sister

PS. I'll bet this cobbler would be just as good with any juicy fruit, mango, kiwi, peach, nectarines or even apple.

Pumpkin Muffins

This is a gooood Muffin. It took me a little by surpirse when it was done. As they seemed so crisp on the outside I was almost sure they would be dry inside. But they were oh-sooooo soft & moist

I was in a hurry & didn't add any rasins or nuts but if I make them again, I think I will for sure. Acutally when I was eating them I was almost sure I heard rasins soaked in rum whispering in my ear "You should've put me in.....nya ha ha!!" Well, OK, next time! I think it would've been the clincher. So again from Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking, From My Home to Yours" here they are: (My comments in blue)

PUMPKIN MUFFINS
Serves 12

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature (Please use butter!)

1/2 cup sugar (I just used 1/2 a c of brown sugar & nixed the other 1/2 c)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree, about 1/2 a 15-ounce can (Fresh is best!)

1/4 cup buttermilk (Whole milk is fine)

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch allspice

1/2 cup moist, plump golden raisins (If I had time I would've soaked them in rum for about 1/2 an hr)

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter till soft with an electric mixer. (I used my stand mixer, worked great) Add the sugars and continue to beat til smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the vanilla, pumpkin and buttermilk. (Don't worry, the 'curdled' look is natural)

Now use the mixer to combine the dry ingredients and wet batter but just until barely combined. (Too much mixing will create small holes in the muffins while baking.) (Again, I caution you to NOT OVERMIX, just till barely mixed) With a spatula, stir in the raisins (and the toasted nuts, if you prefer them inside versus on top, as the recipe specifies).

Spoon batter into lightly greased/sprayed medium-size muffin trays (papers work fine too) and fill. Sprinkle chopped toasted nuts on top, pressing gently into the batter.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a thin knife inserted in the center of a test muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and the baking tray, let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the baking tin and serve. Best served warm for breakfast on a cold morning.

Sticky Cinnamon Rolls

The great thing about these cinnamon rolls is that you can make them the day before & leave them in the fridge overnight, baking them fresh in the morning. Giving everyone the impression that you are an early morning over-achiever when in fact you. Believe me, to a tired husband who hasn't had his coffee yet, pulling this out of the oven is like "The parting of the Red Sea & now THIS!!".

Mind you, I don’t take take these babies lightly. Nor do I make them very often for fear that I’ll find certain little boys will turn into sugar crazed lunatics like the time they emptied a garbage can out the 2^nd floor window. But they make for a great brunch or special occasion breakfast & though the list of ingredients looks long, if you look closely sugar & butter are used in the rolls, filling, & topping. So hey ho, let’s go!

I am embarrassed to say this recipe stems from my very first cookbook ever & though I'm pretty sure it's not the worlds best cinnamon rolls, they work fine for me. (I've adjusted the sugar content according to what I thought was sweet enough but not too bland!)

The rolls:

4 c all purpose flour

¼ c brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 packages active dry yeast (or 5 tsp)

1/3 c butter or margarine melted & cooled

1 c very warm milk (scald it on the stove & cool down)

1 egg

Mix ½ flour, sugar & yeast in a large bowl. Add warm milk, margarine & egg, beat with stand mixer 1 min, or with a wooden spoon till it’s blended well & easy to handle (pulls away from the side of the bowl) Turn onto lightly floured surface & knead for about 5 min till smooth & elastic. Turn into greased bowl cover & let it rise for about 1 ½ hrs in a warm place.

Now we’ll make the topping (which incidentally starts as the bottom):

2/3 c brown sugar

1/3 c butter or margarine

¼ corn syrup/golden syrup/ mizuame (god forbid)

½ c pecans or walnuts

Heat the sugar & butter to boiling in a small saucepan till totally melted & well blended. Stir in corn syrup. Pour into an ungreased 13x9” casserole dish & make sure it spreads over the whole bottom. Drop the nuts evenly over the sauce.

Grrr....are you a nut nut? Man, I am!

And now for the filling, don’t you dare get tired & quit halfway, that would stink & you’d be left with lots of nuts & brown sugar in various locations in your kitchen making for a pesky snitching problem tomorrow morning:

2 tbsp butter softened so it’s easily spreadable

½ c raisins

5-6 tbsp brown sugar

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

Now grab the dough & punch it down. (Whether you do this lovingly & gently or actually “punch” it, it’s sooo much fun!) On a lightly floured surface flatten into a rectangle about 15-10”. Now spread with butter, mix the sugar/cinnamon & dust over the dough & sprinkle the raisins last.

Roll it up at the 15” side & cut it using a string (ooooh, it’s just like play dough time) into 1 inch rolls. Place them like so onto the baking pan.

Now if you’re going for the over night thing here’s the part where you cover with kitchen wrap & store in your fridge till you bake it.

If you can’t wait (yeah, you know who you are!) and must have it ASAP, cover it again with a towel & wait 30 min, then bake in a preheated oven at 350f (175c) for 30-35 min till golden brown. Turn them over quick before they get stuck forever that way.

And now take a moment to watch the caramel drip down the sides of the rolls. Better yet gather your family together & watch the caramel drip down the sides of the rolls for approximately 3.5 seconds & then regret it as they trample you down in a caramel dripping craze to get a piece.

And there you have it folks. Go forth & make some great rolls.