Cakes and Rum Balls

December 22, 20107 Comments

I left Ithaca where it was a chilly 10F for California, where countless friends and family members had been bragging about the warm weather.

The second I landed, the weather turned rainy and cold. It’s been raining for 5 days straight. I have the worst luck.

So since I’ve been stuck at home, I ~~worked on the never ending report!~~ made a cake (among other things).

Okay really I made 2 cakes. Both were mistakes. My brother asked me to make a cake for a party he’s going to. For some reason I thought his party was on Monday December 20th. Nope, it’s on Thursday December 23rd.

Clearly a cake made on December 19th would be no good by the 23rd. So instead, I took one to a party, and another was made for family friends.

Chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse and frosted with raspberry whipped cream.

I didn’t try it, but I can only imagine it’s good.

Facebook wall confirmed.

Great!

Now, you know everyone favorite part of making layer cakes… leveling off the top?

Well I had a lot of leveled off cake tops after making 2 layer cakes. So instead of stuffing my face, which ordinarily is my favorite thing to do. I decided to make something exciting.

Chocolate Rum Balls

1 1/2 cups crumbled chocolate cake
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 tbsp dark rum
1 tbsp honey
Extra powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or melted chocolate

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Any good Guatemalan household has Guatemalan Rum…

Use your hands to form it all into a mass. Break off pieces and roll into one inch little balls.

Then you can roll them in powdered sugar, cocoa powder or dip them in melted chocolate. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve!

My brother gave one to my niece; she wasn’t a fan.

Me on the other hand… I’ve eaten about 5 today… Clearly I hated them.

Now I need to figure out what cake to actually make for my brother’s gathering.

In the meantime…

Pear Almond Galette

December 3, 2010December 3, 201011 Comments

Last night, I couldn’t sleep. Around 11pm, after a while of tossing and turning, I decided to just get up and have a glass of wine. Because really, wine makes life better.

Around midnight, while I sipped on wine and did everything BUT read about the global food system, I decided this was a good time to start baking. So I made tart dough, since the idea for a pear almond galette had been brewing in my head for a few days.

Galette Dough

adapted from Joy of Baking

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1 stick butter, cold and cut into pieces
about 1/4 cup ice water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or knives or your fingers, blend butter into flour mixture. Gradually add in ice water and mix using your hands until you get a ball of dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours (I refrigerated over night).

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out to about a 12-13 inch circle. It doesn’t matter if it’s a perfect circle.

Put the rolled out dough, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then put it in the refrigerator while you make almond cream (frangipane).

Almond Cream

adapted from Joy of Baking

1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Next, beat in egg and almond extract until smooth and sorta runny. Blend it one tbsp flour. Lastly, add almond flour and continue to blend until smooth.

Take the dough out of the fridge and spread the almond cream onto the dough, leaving a inch or two border all around.

Next, take some pears. I had some raggedy old ones that were on their last leg…

Peel, core and thinly slice. I used two but I wish I had used three because they definitely would have fit.

Arrange the sliced pears onto the almond cream part of the galette.

See I could have fit 3 pears… Oh well. Next fold the edges up over the top. Trim any excess dough.

Take one tablespoon of melted butter and brush it onto the assembled galette.

Then sprinkle it with sugar.

Bake at 375 for 45-55minutes. (Mine took about 50 minutes but start checking it around 45).

Allow it to cool. If it’s 28 degrees outside like it is here, putting it next to the window speeds up the process.

Once the galette has cooled

Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or creme anglaise.

Now I just need to figure out who to feed this to… Shouldn’t be that hard to find a worth recipient, right?

Pumpkins and Leftovers

December 1, 20106 Comments

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s throwing food away. After Thanksgiving, I was determined to not throw a single thing away. Not even the meat. I bought a twenty pound turkey, you better believe I was using every last bit of it.

While I usually don’t eat meat, I would rather eat it than throw it away. So I make turkey noodle soup, using a sad looking turkey carcass (I’ll spare you the photo), some whole wheat pasta that’s been in the cupboard since August 2009 and a rather boring assortment of vegetables. The result:

Not too exciting… Turkey noodle soup. But don’t you worry. I brown-ified it and made it a million times better.

The magic additions? Lime, sour cream and Goya Adobo seasoning. Tastes like home.

In addition to a turkey, I also had half a large can of pumpkin puree sitting in the fridge. No way that’s going in the trash. 2 solutions: Pumpkin Pizza and Pumpkin Biscuits

Pumpkin Pizza was inspired by a Well’s Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe that someone brought for Thanksgiving. I made a few changes.

Pumpkin Pizza

inspired by Winter Squash, Onion and Pine Nut Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough (I used Eating Well’s whole wheat pizza dough recipe)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter or olive oil
1 onion, sliced
about 1/2 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese
1-2 tbsp pepitas

In a skillet, heat butter or oil (or both), add onions and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes until caramelized and sweet.

Preheat oven to 400F. Make the pizza dough, shape into whatever pizza dough shape you would like.

In a bowl, mix together pumpkin, sage, nutmeg and salt. Spread onto pizza dough. Next layer on caramelized onions and pepitas. Top with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes or until dough is golden.

Pretty delicious. Definitely would make it again.

As for the pumpkin biscuits… who doesn’t love a biscuit.

Pumpkin Biscuits

inspired by Eggs on Sunday

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin, sage, nutmeg, salt mixture (same as pizza above)
1 tbsp yogurt (or more as needed)

Preheat oven to 450F. Combine dry ingredients. Cut butter into the flour mixture, then add the pumpkin mixture. Using your hands combine to form a ball. If you need extra moisture, add some yogurt (I used about a tbsp). Once the dough is sticky but well combined, roll it out. Using a cup or biscuit cutter, cut into 5 pieces. Bake for about 9 minutes.

Goes great with turkey noodle soup!

Now that I used up all my canned pumpkin, I just need to find something to do with these sugar pumpkins…

What should I do with these??

Turkey and the Rest of Thanksgiving

November 26, 2010Leave a comment

Thank goodness for 20lbs of turkey. Brined overnight in a solution of broth, crystallized ginger, allspice, fennel seed, lemons, oranges, molasses and salt.

Then rinsed and patted dry then rubbed with butter, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (like the song). Then stuffed with apple, onion, lemon, and garlic and of course bathed in a beer.

Then it baked forever (or maybe about 4 hours), breast side down.

So finally it was ready

And I lifted it with my bare hands. What can I say? I’m bad ass like that.

So Matt and I made this turkey and some pumpkin risotto. Check out the co-chef’s Movember Moustache.

Feel free to donate. He may look like a creeper for the month, but it’s for a good cause.

All my wonderful (non-moustached) friends brought some delicious stuff

Everything was soooo good! Seriously delicious.

And C.J. brought Four Loko because who doesn’t go crazy on Thanksgiving.

So then of course, there was dessert (which I completely forgot to photograph) and dancing. Overall, although I missed the family a bit, it was a great Thanksgiving!

Thanks for coming friends! You all made Thanksgiving great!

Creamy Potato Leek Soup: The Cure for the Forgetful

November 16, 20107 Comments

I have a tendency to be very forgetful. Aside from the little things like forgetting to pick up shoes ~~or forgetting to shave my legs~~, there are the more important things in life like remembering to pick something up for a friend (sorry, Sara!!!!).

Consequently, I’m a fan of reminders.

I remind myself to sleep, exercise and eat well by leaving notes for myself.

I sometimes forget to eat protein. So then I make up for it… 1 cup milk + 1 scoop protein powder + 1/2 cup mango chunks… blend, blend, blend…

I, apparently, also need a reminder to wash my travel mug daily so as not to depend on jars for transporting beverages.

I definitely don’t need a reminder that ugly omelets

made with egg beaters, cheddar cheese, mushrooms, onions, oregano and paprika have tons of protein too.

Next I need to find a way to remind myself that produce doesn’t last forever.

So if you’re forgetful like me and have a few leeks sitting in the back of your fridge for nearly a month, here’s something to save the day.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
3 leeks, sliced, white part only
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp dried thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pot. Add leeks and garlic, cook until leeks are tender about 10 mins. Add potatoes and thyme, cook for 10 more minutes, add broth and simmer until potatoes are tender. In a small bowl mix cream with a bit of the soup, add mixture to the rest of pot. Add salt and pepper. Allow to cool then blend and reheat if necessary.

Serve with goat cheese!

Don’t forget to make this ASAP!

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 13, 20105 Comments

I don’t think I’ve ever met a person with a sweet tooth the size of mine.

I can pretty confidently say that I would almost always choose something sweet over salty, and if I could, I would eat only dessert and never eat a real meal.

Okay maybe I’m exaggerating, but I love sweets.

Regardless, sometimes we all need a break from our dear loves.

Sugar and I are taking a break. Not for long. For two weeks, until Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, I bid sugar farewell by making some Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies for my class this past Wednesday.

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar (Note: I used all plain white sugar)
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
zest of 3 oranges
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add vanilla, eggs and orange zest. Add dry ingredients (except chocolate chips). Mix until combined, fold in chocolate chips.

Chill the dough while you preheat the oven to 350F. Bake tbsp sized amounts of dough for about 9 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Pretty tasty. They were gone in about 5 minutes! I say that’s a good sign.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Fall Cake

November 11, 201019 Comments

It feels like fall. That’s probably because it is.

Lately, we’ve had daytime highs of 43F. To most Californians that would sound like winter.

Most mornings it’s below 30F. Most Californians (including my former self) don’t even know what that feels like.

Regardless of what fall looks and feels like, I generally have a vague idea of how fall tastes.

At work, there is a cake called the Fall Collection. I’ve never tasted it in it’s full glory, but I’ve tried pretty much all the component parts: Gingerbread Cake, Pumpkin Ginger Cheesecake, Caramel Pecans and Vanilla Buttercream.

Sounds like fall.

I was inspired to recreate it.

I won’t lie. This was sort of a process. It pretty much requires two days since the cheesecake has to cool completely and set.

BUT totally worth it.

Start with the cheesecake. I used good ol’ Paula Deen’s recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake. I’m not 100% pleased with the recipe, I think it could use a little more spice. But definitely not bad for my first try at cheesecake.

I didn’t have a springform pan, so I greased and floured two round 9″ baking pan and lined the bottom with wax paper to keep it from sticking. After baking and letting it set overnight in the fridge, I used a knife along the edge of the pan and turned the pan over. The cheesecake slipped out pretty easily.

The next step was the gingerbread cake. Using this Food Network recipe, but adding extra crystallized ginger. Great flavor, but would like it to be a little less dry (or maybe I just overbaked it a bit).

While your gingerbread cake is cooling, start making the caramel. I’ve never had my caramel turn out right. This time it did! It was great! Thanks to Yummy Supper!

Toast the pecans and mix it with the caramel.

Then the layering can start.

Start with the gingerbread cake. Put it on a plate, remove some of the cake to make a little well for the caramel pecans. This will keep it from overflowing.

Next, place the pumpkin cheesecake layer. My cheesecake had a little bit of a well in it naturally (mistake maybe?), the well allowed me to pour more caramel pecans in there and keep them from flowing out.

However, if you, unlike me, make perfect cheesecake that is flat on top, you can create a barrier with buttercream that will keep your caramel from flowing all over the place. Which leads to the next step, frosting.

Make traditional vanilla buttercream with butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Frost the cake all around.

Lay it on there thick, because we could all use a little more buttercream in our lives.

Layers of Lunch

November 3, 20109 Comments

Yesterday, I had a meltdown. I cried in the hallway on campus and in the computer lab for probably at least an hour… maybe two.

This had something to do with it.

But really that was only the tiniest part of it.

Today was a better day. I went to the gym. I made split pea soup and layered it with sauteed kale.

Then I shared it with a friend.

Why not bring your friend lunch in a peanut butter jar? Especially if she sat with you through a meltdown.

Then I went to class. Got a little frustrated. Went to Wegman’s to buy baking supplies.

Tomorrow will be even better.

My Mission for the Perfect Pie

October 25, 2010October 25, 20102 Comments

Lately, it would seem, that it has become my mission to make the perfect pie.

Let me explain a little bit as to how I came to this conclusion.

Friday, my eyes were extremely itchy and watery. Allergies? Maybe. I took an anti-histamine to see if that would make it better. Interestingly, my eyes began to hurt even more. The only solution I could think of was making an eye appointment for the next day and going to bed… at 6pm.

I woke up the next morning, around 6:30am to severe eye pain, blurry vision and such light sensitivity that I could barely open my eyes. My eye doctor appointment wasn’t until 11am. After sitting in my room with the curtains closed, feeling somewhat like a mole rat…

I got a ride to the eye doctor. Only for the doctor to tell say “Wow, your cornea look like meat!”

What do you say to that?

Oh, and how does this relate to pie?

Well, subsequently for the next two days, I couldn’t look at a computer screen, watch television or really spend a lot of time in the sunshine or other well lit areas (i.e. Wegman’s). Instead, I decided baking would be a good idea.

Minimal staring required and a rolling pin doesn’t emit light. Problem solved.

I should also mention that my gift to myself for being sick was a pastry blender.

Nerd. I know…

So that night, I made two pies: Assorted Squash and Apple.

Assorted Squash Pie is basically a pumpkin pie but instead of pumpkin I used butternut squash and some other type (maybe a sweet dumpling squash?).

Tasty but pumpkin still wins.

Then the apple pie. I wish I could say it was amazing. It was alright. I used Joy of Baking’s recipe. The crust is great. The filling… eh? Not amazing. It turned out runny.

I was not pleased. Plus the slices just looked a little sad…

That was last week.

Last night, I decided I needed to make another pie, because when you’re sick with the flu what else are you supposed to do? Sleeping and resting doesn’t seem to be in my vocabulary.

Apple Plum Pie

1 recipe for pate brisee (like Joy of Baking’s)
For filling:
5 small apples
4 plums
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
few shakes of nutmeg
juice of 1/2 lemon
3-4 tbsp flour

Peel and slice apples, sliced plums. Combine in a large bowl with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon. Allow to sit for at least half an hour. Toss with flour. Place filling in prepared pie dish. Put top on pie. Chill in the fridge while oven preheats. Preheat oven to 425F. Bake 45-50 minutes.

So this time I learned from the runny filling and used 3 tablespoons of flour and skipped all the simmering of juices and such. I also learned that to keep your crust from shrinking you need to let the dough rest for a while so the gluten can develop. A few hours in the fridge should do it.

I also learned that forgetting about your pie is bad.

It burns. Funny how that happens, right?

So this pie neared perfection. Except I burned the lattice top.

I’ll try again soon.

Mexico

October 18, 2010October 18, 201010 Comments

Sometimes we all do things we regret. This week I did a few, or maybe just one.

I didn’t tell my parents I was going to Mexico.

Big mistake.

They freaked out after not hearing from me for days. My mom called the Cornell Police Department to report me missing. It was a fiasco.

But I don’t regret going to Mexico. It was pretty much amazing.

I seem to have anxiety attacks prior to flying, but luckily I had delicious Ghiradelli Chocolate from Foodbuzz Tastemakers to calm me down. Definitely don’t regret eating those.

I also don’t regret spending my fall break doing research.

I met interesting people.

Tried interesting things… like Pozol… Corn and Cocoa beans milled together, then made into a dough that is then dissolved in water to make a thick drink.