Iced Sugar Cookies

Cranky Cupcake Class

Constructive criticism:

1. Start the class on time.
2. Have finished products to use as examples, so students can see what they're working toward.
3. If a take-home decorating set is part of the price of class, be sure you have enough sets for the number people you allow to register for class.
4. Provide a plastic or paper cupcake box for transportation, so the cupcakes don't look like this when they get to their final destination:

Cane Syrup Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

The book says that the syrup "...helps keep these chewy, nicely spiced cookies exceptionally moist." Yep, that's what I'm looking for.

The only problem is that I ate mine warm from the oven as my 3 p.m. snack. So I don't know if they'll stay "exceptionally moist", but that's what I'm hoping for.

Cane Syrup Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies, The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett

Cardamom Milk Pudding

My parents will fall over laughing when they read this.

I am not a milk drinker, have never been a milk drinker, don't drink milk, don't like it, don't see the need to learn to like it, don't see the need to learn to drink it.

So why lately I am consuming copious amounts of milk products is beyond my comprehension. I'm on some sort of milk-product binge. Which is probably better for me than the coffee cake binge I was on, but I'm not sure about that. Food jags are food jags, right? Everything in moderation? Neither of these can be considered "moderate".

I've been eating vast quantities of yogurt. I -- the super-dark black coffee drinker -- have been making icy cold milky coffee. Separate and apart from my black coffee, which I'm still drinking. I finished several boxes of cereal that were in the pantry for my boy. For the milk. I couldn't care less about the cereal.

What's up with all the milk? "I don't know".

"That's a lot of dairy!" Yes, I know.

Today's milk: Cardamom Milk Pudding, Gourmet, June 2009. Heavenly!

Peach Crisp

Sunday family dinner, sitting around the table, laughing, happy mom.

Chopped Lamb Steak with Garlicky Spinach (and warm goat cheese on toasted sourdough) Food & Wine, June 2009 -- excellent

{not my}Homegrown Tomatoes

Peach Crisp with vanilla ice cream

Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

B'd N'd

*S*

Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake, Abigail Johnson Dodge, Bon Appetit April 2009

Squash

As Exhibit 4 in the Why-I-Don't-Need-My-Own-Garden-or-Farmshare Argument, I present to you a yellow crookneck squash from Casey's garden, sauteed with peppers and onions from Exhibit 3.

(In case you missed them, Exhibits 1 and 2 can be found here and here.)

Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

The raspberries didn't look pretty enough to justify their price tag.

Raspberry Blueberry Buttermilk Cake, Gourmet, June 2009

Happiness

Shrimp Salad Rolls with Tarragon & Chives

Summertime doesn't only mean gin & tonic, summertime also means Symphony in the Park. I enjoy putting together some pretty nice picnics. This evening's menu:

Chili Lime Cashews
Gin & Tonic

Shrimp Salad Rolls with Tarragon & Chives
Chardonnay

Lemon-Glazed Butter Cake with fresh strawberries

I forgot my bubbles & wand! pooh:(

Lemon-Glazed Butter Cake

Lemon-Glazed Butter Cake, wrapped in wax paper for a picnic.

Salmon with Baby Greens & Fennel

Fish with salad is my favorite dinner. I prefer a much more acidic vinaigrette, but overall I did enjoy this (because I made it much more acidic!). I love shaved fennel. And I love my fish monger, Mario.

Pan Seared Salmon with Baby Greens & Fennel, Fine Cooking #99

Green Beans with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette

I continue to enjoy the farmshare box that I picked up for Silke while she was on vacation. The other day someone asked me, since I seem to get so much pleasure from picking up Jess's and Silke's boxes for them, why don't I order my own? But don't you think that sometimes you get more joy from something you don't often get? If I felt that I had to pick up and figure out how to utilize a box of produce every week (or even every other), especially considering that my husband doesn't even like vegetables, that it might become drudgery?

Green beans with mustard-tarragon vinaigrette, Fine Cooking #82
Lamb Meatballs, Fine Cooking #93
Tzatziki, Fine Cooking #93
Pita

Insalata Caprese

Insalata Caprese, using amazingly flavorful tomatoes from my generous friend Silke's farmshare.

Tonight's family dinner made me happy. Very happy.

Pesto

Here's a tip for you. If you thought you'd have a nice caprese and then realized you wouldn't and therefore decide to make pesto with the basil that you've almost let go bad, then add a small handful of baby spinach. That'll green it right up.

Here's another tip for you. If you're going to taste the pesto straight from the food processor, unplug it first!!!

Ginger-Spice Sandwich Cookies...

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good.
But when she was bad, she was horrid.

Ginger-Spice Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Cream, Fine Cooking #99, page 68

Gin & Tonic

About 15 years ago, I lived in the cutest townhouse. My neighbor and I became close friends, partly through our mutual enjoyment of food and drink. We had some good times... a crawfish boil, caviar on tiny spoons, a salsa contest that brought sweat to his brow and tears to my eyes, and a Bloody Mary taste test during which his friend -- my future husband! -- arrived and promptly decided I'd be fun to date.

In the summertime, Cliff would knock on my front door with two highballs of gin & tonic. I'm not sure how a person can knock with his hands full, but he did. We'd sit on the patio, under an arbor of wisteria, sipping those refreshing drinks, sometimes reading quietly, other times chatting, deciding what to throw on the grill.

I came to associate gin & tonic with summertime afternoons on a patio. I'm not sure I could drink a gin & tonic in the winter. Memorial Day through Labor Day, like white patent leather shoes.

Cinnamon Squares

Baking From My Home To Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Cornbread

My friends Mark & Susan occasionally give me the turnips from their CSA share, because they don't care for them and I love them. I cooked the greens to have for my lunches (for dinner, I'll puree the roots with a russet potato, some leeks, and a bit of cream).

Last night, Susan asked if I'd used bacon fat in the greens. A true southern girl would have, but I didn't. Not because I'm opposed to it -- I LOVE BACON FAT!! -- only because I didn't have any. However, I did make cornbread, which is a "must" with turnip greens. Mmmm...

When I was real little, our cornbread was made with buttermilk and all cornmeal. No flour or sugar; that would be Yankee cornbread. But later my mom was given a recipe called California Cornbread, which tasted nearly like dessert to us and we often ate it for breakfast. I've adapted it since then, and without further ado, I give to you my standard cornbread recipe:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
4 T. canola (or other neutral flavored) oil

I've never written directions for it. Best I can tell you is to whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl (or more likely, I use the measuring cup I put the milk in), whisk together the wet ingredient. Dump the wet into the dry and stir just until it's all moistened; don't overdo it.

I cook it in my tiny (#5) cast iron skillet, but you could double the amounts and use an 8x8" baking pan. Cast iron gives it a better crust though, especially if you grease it first and put it in the oven while the oven preheats to 425 degrees.

My mother-in-law asked me once how long to bake it. I swear I was not being a smart alek when I said "until it's done". Honest. I don't know... 15 minutes? 20? It will have nice brown flecks on it, and if you poke it with a toothpick, there won't be any wet batter on it when you pull it out.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

My complaint with these cookies is that they are pixie-sized. When cookies are too little, you end up eating two or three anyway. Why not eat one big cookie to begin with? I guess I like hefty cookies.

Basic Whole Grain Cookies, by King Arthur Flour with optional add-ins of Michigan dried tart cherries & Guittard semi-sweet chips. Step-by-step demo here.

Spatchcock Chicken

Spatchcock is fun to say. The thing is, it's probably not nearly as much fun for the poor chicken as it is for me. It's as if I'm mocking it. I'm not. I swear I'm not. Maybe mock-mocking.

My original plan was to do a step-by-step demo, the way I did salmon steaks. But as I was shooting photos, what I realized is that the pictures aren't particularly flattering, and I'm not sure I want the evidence on my blog. If you just google "spatchcock chicken", you'll find demos galore, including youtube videos. So maybe you don't need me after all and could just take care of things yourself. That would disappoint me if it turned out to be true.

Spatchcock chickens cook more quickly and more evenly than trussed birds. Plan ahead when you do it. Shove some herbs under the skin (eek! the poor chicken gets ravaged! I feel bad enjoying it so much!) and sprinkle it liberally with kosher salt. Leave it uncovered (or very loosely covered if your chicken has any remaining modesty -- mine apparently does not) in the refrigerator overnight.

When you see it the next day, you're going to think I'm crazy and that I've ruined your dinner, because it's going to look withered and dry. Which is going to result in amazingly crisp skin, but supermoist meat. And you'll thank me. Endlessly.

European Peasant Bread

The house smells good this morning!

European Peasant Bread, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day

Pepperoni Pan Pizza

Frnakly, there's no better pizza than what Eric and I make using Peter Reinhart's dough and our very own freshly made ricotta. But sometimes the men in this house want deep-dish pepperoni pan pizza. And if I'm going to eat deep-dish pizza, especially if it's going to have meat on it, then I'd rather eat this than some cheap take-out.

(Although, now that I think about it, this was super yummy too!)

Pepperoni Pan Pizza, Cook's Country, 4/2006

Rice Krispy Treats

As if I haven't had enough to eat already today. And Thursday I get DEXA'ed. What am I thinking? I should have had that done 3 weeks ago!

Supermoist Banana-Nut Muffins (sans nuts)

For the most part, I'm not crazy about nuts in my baked goods. This was confirmed by a bite or two of banana walnut cake on a picnic last week. Imagine my delight when I read the note at the bottom of this recipe:

Flavor Variation: My kids would never forgive me if I didn't share one of their favorite versions of these muffins. On occasion, I substitute an equal amount of semisweet chocolate chips for the chopped walnuts.

Sold.

From the author who gave me my signature cookies and my signature cake, as well as too many other favorites to single out one (even though I just did), Abigail Johnson Dodge, The Weekend Baker.

Ciabatta

So many breads and so little time to bake them! Things end up being on my to-do list for far too long, until just the right opportunity prompts action.

Not this time. The March & April 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated includes an article entitled "Discovering Authentic Ciabatta". Opportunity. Action. Dinner tonight. With mussels steamed in white wine.

Vanilla-Coconut Cupcakes

There is no coconut meat (or as my favorite uncle would say, "hair") in these. Coconut milk is reduced on the stove-top until it's the consistency of creme fraiche. It gives both the cupcakes and also the frosting a delicate hint of coconut flavor.

Happy birthday, BFF.


Vanilla-Coconut Cupcakes, Abigail Johnson Dodge, Bon Appétit April 2009

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie?

Cook's Illustrated calls this the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie. Not being a connoisseur of the finer points of chocolate chips cookies, I shall reserve judgment.

I will go so far as to say that the one that I ate was worth far more than the flour tortilla I traded for it.

Potato Rosemary Bread

"Lately I’ve been feeling low,
A remedy is what I'm seeking..."

I'm oddly out of sorts. I thought baking might be the cure.

Potato Rosemary Bread, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads

Yogurt

There are lots of ways to incubate yogurt at home, and this recipe by Harold McGee (author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen) has to be one of the easiest.

Maybe I'm hungry, or calcium deficient, or just a pig, but I could slurp up vast quantities of this. It's not too tart to eat plain, but it's also delicious with a little swirl of maple syrup, honey, or homemade lemon-ginger marmalade. I know, because I've already tried each of the aforementioned combinations.

Vol-au-vents

Last week, I ran a personal best at the Boston Marathon -- 3:29:38, six minutes faster than my previous fastest marathon -- and two days later my birthday made me the youngest in a new age division (45-49). Clearly, a celebration was in order.

Special occasions and special friends deserve special food. One of my dearest friends, and the one who's been instrumental in my recent running successes, has a fond memory of vol-au-vents, special occasion food indeed.

As luck would have it, I've been collecting a series of books, The Good Cook: Techniques & Recipes that were published by Time Life in the late 1970's. They were edited by Richard Olney and include detailed instructions and classic recipes. Some of the books are relatively easy to come by on Amazon or Ebay. Others are pricey and difficult to find. I currently own fifteen of them. On the cover of Hors d'Oeuvre happens to be a picture of vol-au-vents, and inside there's a step-by-step tutorial.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right. Right? Because you know, just buying empty puff pastry shells in the frozen section of the supermarket would be a hellavalot easier. Let's just say that mine came out looking "charmingly homemade".

Double-Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Attract me, till it hurts to concentrate,
Distract me, stop me doin work I hate...

Double-Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake, by Abigail Johnson Dodge

Seeded Multigrain

This is the third of three recipes I had planned to test before buying Kneadlessly Simple. I mixed it yesterday afternoon. (Have I mentioned how much I love my heavy-duty dough whisk? why yes, I think I have.) The dough then sat in a covered container on the countertop, to slowly rise for 12-18 hours.

My original plan had been to start its 2nd rise after my workout this morning. But it's storming and my friend sent a note "I'm inclined to bail. You?" Grrr...

I'm flexible, right? I'll bake.

First I needed to make a final decision about which Dutch (French!) oven to use. I have a couple of smalls and I have a couple of larges. I need medium. I considered splitting the dough into smalls. I didn't want to. I vacillated. I coveted Corey's oval one. I decided to use my gorgeous red 7-quart le Creuset. I oiled and floured it and put the dough in. Only to change my mind. Again. I got out an oval ceramic casserole, oiled and floured it, and moved the dough. I decided there was no way it was going to be big enough. I decided the lid wasn't going to be tight enough. I decided that I don't have good decision-making capabilities that early in the morning.

Whatever. It was on its second rise. Which (of course!) is when the rain stopped and I wished my original workout plans were still on. But by then I was committed to the damn bread.

Oh! I used my new Thermapen. LOVE it! I will go out on a limb now, and contradict Nancy Baggett (heresy!): In my opinion, her breads need to bake to a higher temperature than she states in the recipes. For this particular loaf, the directions say "until an instant read thermometer registers 204-206 degrees". However, at 207 it was was still wet in the middle. I had the same issue with the Cheddar & Chile Bread. My recommendation is to let it go until 210. If it starts to brown too much, tent it with foil.

The verdict? Great crust! Excellent nutty aroma and flavor. All around quite good.

Small Batch One Bowl Mocha Truffle Cookies

Strange what desire will make foolish people do. Here's an example of the sort of trouble one gets into when one does something one shouldn't be doing. But the power of suggestion is strong: "What are you doing today?" and then, when I didn't answer quickly enough, "Working? Baking?"

Although I had other things to get done, idea of baking had been planted in my head. Then Anna posted a recipe that 1) is small batch, 2) requires only one bowl, and 3) she tagged "exceptional". Suddenly the urge to bake overtook me.

I am a compulsive taster of raw batter, and while the cookies were in the oven, I licked the bowl. I can safely report that the batter is delicious.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a good grip on my tea towel when I pulled the pan out of the oven. I'd love to be able to tell you that my kitchen floor is clean enough to eat off of. It isn't. Not today, anyway.



Fortunately, I didn't drop eleven of the sixteen. For unrelated reasons, I'll hold off on a eating a baked cookie and get back to you on that.

Small Batch One Bowl Mocha Truffle Cookies

Lemon Bundt Cake

Some things make me smile out loud. Lemon-y things, for example.

Lemon Bundt Cake, Cook's Illustrated, January & February 2006

Baguette

A couple of weeks ago, Jess and I exchanged emails about her new perforated baguette pan, and the fact that I owned one that I had never, ever, ever used. I very much want a homemade baguette for a special occasion coming up soon, so I figured I should get on it and practice.

Rosemary Focaccia

We're going to a party this afternoon, and when I looked at the invitation again to get the address, I realized it's a potluck. Oops. What to take, what to take? This focaccia is a stand-by. I always have the ingredients on hand, it's fast, and everyone loves it.

By the way, if want to try baking bread, but you're scared, this is the recipe for you. I posted it the first time I made it, which made me think: Wow! I've had Not As Good As Pork Cracklins for a long time! Since October 2004!