Baking Away the Winter Blues

Since it's been a brutally cold winter, I decided to stay indoors and try my hand at baking this weekend. I've never liked baking which is probably because I'm not particularly good at it. All of those measurments, proper cooking time, exact oven temperature...it's all exhausting. But, really, what warms you up more than a hot oven and a sweet treat?

I have found a blog, called Annie's Eats, that I've recently become obsessed with reading. It's a cooking and baking blog, but from what I've seen, she's really into baking. And I mean really into baking. Her desserts are absolutely beautiful and deliciously sinful. I mean, what can be wrong with red velvet cupcakes, giant double chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, and the ones that sent me to the kitchen, cookies and cream cupcakes. I'm defintely not as skilled at photograpy as Annie, but come on, doesn't just the sight of this cupcake make your mouth water?

So I set up shop at mom's counter and started my next kitchen accomplishment. Baking is not as hard as I remember, but boy was I ready to put those suckers in the oven. What's really labor intensive is all the cleaning up! Those big stand mixers can wreak havoc on your kitchen. But, after it was all said and done and the last cupcake was iced, I was ready for a taste of my worst enemy yet best friend.

I followed Annie's recipe to the exact teaspoon so there is no reason for me to type it out. Just click below and you'll be directed to her website. You can thank me later, but I don't want to hear about your skinny jeans being too tight. I have my own problems now.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

What's More Delicious than a French Macaron?

Finished products!

Nothing! Well, that's a pretty big statement, but after tasting those sweet, pillowy confections, you'll wonder how you've lived all these years without them. My love affair with these little gems started on our honeymoon in Switzerland (Zurich to be exact). Let me take you on a little journey to pastry paradise.

Obviously, Switzerland is known for it's chocolate. Some of the best chololate in the world is produced by the Swiss, and every street corner has a tantilizing chocolate shop with the most delectable sweets you have ever smelled and tasted. Adam and I ate truffle after truffle to find the perfect chocolate in Switzerland and the contest ended in a draw. They were all the most delicious truffles we'd ever eaten.

On our last day, while walking around Zurich, we stumbled upon this store called Ladurée and walked in and were immeditately greeted by the most amazing sight and the sweetest smell. Hundreds of little round pillow confections lined the glass counter of this pastel painted patisserie. Pink, yellow, mint green, light brown, black, white, you name it, every color in the book all in little rows like perfectly trained sugar soldiers.

We opted for the assortment box of 8. Four a piece seemed ample, but upon the first bite, we knew we had to have more. I remember the taste the chocolate, the vanilla, the pistacio, the rose, the caramel with salted butter...it was as if I was in confection heaven.

After we'd been home a few months, I was in desperate need of a macaron fix. Much to my disapointment and surprise, macaron's are difficult to find in the states, especially in Augusta. Most people think of the American macaroon when I mention these objects of my affection. The macaroon is the coconut drop with the cookie/cake-like texture. A macaron is a little round "sandwich" with a delicate, crisp outside and smooth, soft middle. Some local bakeries make macarons, but since Augusta is Augusta, there were none to be found. I figured if I can't find them here, I was going to make them myself.

I scoured the internet looking for recipes, but each recipe was different from the next. Apparently, you are learning a technique, and you must tailor it to suit your climate, oven temperature, quality of ingredients, and many other factors. You can't have a macaron with a cracked top, it must have "feet" around its base, it can't be too big or too small, the filling can't over power the cookie, the list is endless! This is a trial and error process and there was a lot of trial, a few errors and a good amount of success. Next time I attempt these little creations, I'll tweek some things here and there to get it just right. I am determined and until we get back to Paris or Zurich, these will just have to do.

There is not a recipe at the end because I'm still working on it and testing it. I do have pictures, though, so you can see the final products. They look pretty good and tasted pretty delicious too. I'll report back when they remind me a little piece of Paris or Zurich.



Batch #1 All cracked except the four on the bottom left



Batch #2 Chocolate ready for the oven




Batch #3 They all have feet!  But, their tops aren't smooth.



Bittersweet Chocolate Toffee Ganache for the middle



I Scream, You Scream

When I was a child and the snow fell, my mother always rushed to the kitchen and made snow ice cream and divinity fudge--egg whites, sugar and pecans, mostly. It was a lark then and I always associate divinity fudge with snowstorms. Eudora Welty

I can definitely relate to this quote by the great Eudora Welty except my snowstorm association only refers to the snow ice cream part. Unfortunately, my mother didn't make divinity fudge, but she did make the most delicious snow ice cream ever.

Back to my story, on the rare afternoons it would snow during my childhood, mother would send my sister and me outside with large bowls in our arms and thick gloves on our tiny hands to collect every fresh flake of clean snow from our patio furniture. Then, to our delight, mom and her two girls would spend the rest of the afternoon making and eating snow ice cream all the while wishing for more snow.

Now, every time it snows, my brain automatically conjurs up sweet memories of cold afternoons at home playing in the snow, warming up by the kitchen fire, and making our favorite, once-a-year treat, snow ice cream . On those days, mom let us take over the kitchen and do things our way. Whether we were clean, messy, or ate of the bowl, she didn't care . My love for the kitchen was born because of these moments and the all too rare snowstorms.

It snowed here last week. Well, actually, it just flurried a lot. Not one flake stuck to the ground, cars, people...nothing. But as the snow swirled and drifted about the sky, I couldn't help but think back to those snow ice cream days when it finally dawned on me that those days are the reason I crave ice cream in the winter. For an unknown reason, there's something that draws me to icy substances in icy weather. I'm not sure if I'm a glutton for punishment by filling my cold body with cold ice cream or if I just really like that it keeps its same frosty consistancy until the last bite. In the South, from April to October, as soon as you step out of the ice cream parlor, your frozen sweet treat turns into a drippy, melted mess on a cone.

Since there was no snow on the ground or patio that day, I knew I couldn't make snow ice cream. So I decided to do the next best thing. Get out the trusty ice cream machine and make my own icy concoction. Making ice cream can be time consuming, but if you choose the right kind of ingredients, it's a cinch, except for the whole churning thing, but at least we got our work out for the day. Making ice cream from a machine that day may not have felt like old times, but at least the family spent time together making and eating it, but most importantly, it gave us a chance to reminisce about fond memories and snow ice cream.

Eggnog and Fudge Swirl Ice Cream

3 1/2 cups store bought eggnog
4 tbs. brandy
1/4 cup store bought chocolate sauce

Add eggnog and brandy to an ice cream maker. Prepare ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. Drizzle in chocloate sauce and cut through ice cream with a spatula to create swirls. Freeze for a couple hours and top with more chocolate sauce.

Who Bakes from Scratch Anymore?

When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste. Laiko Bahrs

I love desserts, but I have never claimed to be a baker. I like cooking because it's not scientific. Baking requires precise measuring, correct temperature of ingredients, proper procedure, perfect oven temperature and a score of other important factors to create perfect baked goodies. When I'm cooking, I like to throw in a little of this, toss in a little of that and cook a little longer than I should because the rest of the meal isn't quite finished. With baking, precision matters.

My disintrest in baking is not for lack of trying, I swear. Everytime I cook a big, fancy meal for friends or family, I try my hand at baking a tasty treat, and 9 out of 10 times, a flop comes out of the oven. I don't know even know why I continue to torture myself and my guests. Baking, well not necessarily the baking part, but the prep work, takes me twice as long as the actual meal. And for what? An over or underbaked cake, burned caramelized sugar, flat-as-a-flitter cookies, and the list goes on. I suddenly realized that maybe I should try an easier technique that prevents me from cranking up the oven.

Last Sunday afternoon, a wonderful idea came to me...have mom, dad and Adam over, wine and dine them, and convince them to help me decorate the Christmas tree. I told them of my plan and instead of moaning and groaning about decorating, they were thrilled. The powers of persuasion and homecooked food prevailed once again.

I decided upon an easy dinner of grilled filet mignon, oven-baked potato wedges, and steamed asparagus so I could concentrate my efforts on dessert. I crossed my fingers and kissed my elbows that my chocolate pie would come out like a chocolate cream pie should: delcious, fluffy, and full of rich chocolate goodness. So I decided upon a no-bake cream pie recipe. When I used to see "no-bake," imediately, the thought of the famous Jello no-bake cheesecake popped in to my head. That is what I wanted to stay away from, but let's be clear, there is nothing wrong with the Jello no-bake cheesecake, I just wanted to make my dessert from scratch (with only a little help from the grocery store*).

After all the dinner plates were taken off the dining room table, I made my grand entrance with my chocolate pie. The sights and sounds of delight from my guests put a smile on my face but a extra beat in my heart. What if they hated it? What if they spit it out? What if they threw it on the floor and the dogs wouldn't even eat it? I was panicked. But, at the first bite of the perfectly cooked custard, I knew no one will ever skip dessert at my house again.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cream Pie
adapted from Lillian Chou

Store bought 9" graham cracker pie crust*
For the filling:
6 oz. fine-quality bitter sweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao)
2 tbs. cornstarch
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
2 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into chuncks
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
For whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
6 tbs. confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Chocolate curls for garnish

Melt chocolate in microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes, at 30 second intervals stirring after each interval.

Stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons brown sugar in a small bowl.

Whisk together whole eggs and yolks in another bowl, then whisk in cornstarch mixture.

Stir together milk, cream, salt, and remaining brown sugar in a heavy medium saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat. Pour half of milk mixture into egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking, then pour egg mixture into remaining milk mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into melted chocolate and whisk in butter and vanilla.

Transfer hot filling to crust and chill, its surface covered with parchement paper, until filling is cold, about 3 hours.

Whipped cream:
Beat cream with confectioners sugar and cinnamon with an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks. Spoon over chilled filling.

Chocolate curls:
Take a vegetable peeler and peel chocolate shavings from a chocolate bar. Sprinkle on pie and enjoy.

Matt's Big, Fat Surprise Celebration

"May you always be surrounded by good friends and great barbecue." Famous Dave

My dear friend Jennifer, who's been by my side since grade school, is now living in Columbia, SC, with her wonderful husband, Matt. They got married last October and are a couple that most married people envy and all single people dream of. I have a special connection with Matt for a few of reasons. First, we both know how handle Jennifer who can sometimes be quite the spitfire. Second, I love spending time with the two of them, and never mind being the third wheel when I visit them in Columbia. Last, and most importantly, we share the same birthday, except he is exactly one year younger than me. And these are the reasons that I didn't think twice about getting in the car and driving to Columbia last Friday afternoon to help Jennifer throw Matt a surprise birthday party.

The afternoon of the party, Jennifer needed help running errands, setting up the house, getting the food ready, and making sure she didn't forget anything important. Since I do this kind of thing for a living, I took off work a little early to help her. Thankfully, our friend Charlise also decided to take off early to help out. I showed up just in time to accomplish one of the most important tasks of the day, buying the beer. Five cases of various brands later, we were on our way to the grocery store to pick up the remaining items on our to-do list, which included the ingredients to make banana pudding, the second dessert behind the iced pound cake Charlsie kindly baked.

A barbecue dinner is possibly one of the easiest parties throw because, in the South, you can't drive down the street without coming across a bbq restaurant or two or three, most of them prepare excellent pork shoulder, ribs, chicken and sides, and all of them cater. For this party, we fulfilled our guests wildest bbq dreams and served spicy and mild pulled pork, Sunbeam white bread, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans, and hash and rice.

Since my friends know how much I love to cook, they ran errands while I set up shop in the kitchen to make the banana pudding from scratch. I missed them while they were gone, but I actually loved being in Jennifer's new kitchen cooking with her new utinsils she received as wedding gifts and drinking a very cold Miller Lite on an extremely hot September afternoon.

I remember making homemade banana pudding as a child, but I'd forgotten how long it took to make it from start to finish. I'd also forgotten the sinful taste of rich buttery vanilla custard layered with fluffy whipped cream. And to make it even more decadent, the addition of cruchy vanilla wafers and the distinct flavor of its namesake ingredient, sliced bananas (no instant banana-flavored pudding here), make it truly Southern and perfectly suited to end a barbecue feast.

After what felt like hours standing over a hot stove, constantly stirring and watching the creamy mixture tranform into a thick pudding, I finally constructed it layer by layer to make the best banana pudding ever. If you don't believe me, ask the hoards of Friday's guests who almost finished the entire pan in near record time.

There were hours of girl bonding, beer drinking and barbecue eating for a regular Friday night, and we loved every minute of it. I hope Matt enjoyed his party as much as the girls enjoyed preparing for it. Happy birthday, Matt!

Banana Pudding
From Paula Deen Celebrates! by Paula Deen

1-12 oz. box vanilla wafers
1/3 cup unsifted cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups whole milk
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. butter, cut up
5 perfectly ripe bananas, yellow with a few brown spots (personally I like fewer bananas)
1 cup whipping cream, whipped with 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Line the bottom of a 13x9" glass casserole with about half of the vanilla wafers.

Mix cornstarch, sugar, and salt in the top of a double boiler. Slowly add the milk and cook over simmering water until the mixture is thick, 12 to 15 minutes.

Beat the eggs in a small heatproof glass dish and add about 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs. Stir, then add the eggs to the double boiler. Cook for 1 minute more. (The custard should be about the consistency of mayonnaise. If it's not, keep stirring over simmering water until it thickens.) Add the vanilla and butter and stir until combined. Turn off the heat, transfer the custard to a bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and allow the pudding to cool to room temperature.

Slice a generous layer of bananas over the vanilla wafers. Cover with about half the pudding. Repeat the layer-vanilla wafers, bananas, and pudding. Top with a thick layer of whipped cream. Serve at room temperature, or cover with plastic wrap and chill.

Food of the Gods

What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate. Katharine Hepburn

There are many things in this world that make me sublimely happy, and surprisingly, not all of them have to do with my love of food, but then again, most of them do. Beyond food, watching the rain over the ocean at dusk realizing just how small I am, catching a whiff of freshly cut grass on a balmy summer morning, the long hard embrace of a friend who has been absent for many years, the silent moment of prayer before the first hymn sounds, the look of pride in your parents eyes the moment they know they succeeded at the world's hardest job, feeling a sense of total accomplishment as an event unfolds beautifully makes me feel unbelieveably content and absolutely satisfied. But, when it does comes to food, I can't imagine life without my daily indulgence of rich and velvety dark, milk or white chocolate.

The chocolate plant's botanical name is Theobroma cacao, which literally means "food of the gods." How appropriate, right? In my opinion, chocolate is the exactly that. Luckily, I have the opportunity to feel the higher power everyday when I drop a piece of chocolate in my mouth and let it melt into a creamy liquid that shoots through my body like a powerful drug. It is, thankfully, a powerful substance, and, when eaten in moderation, can be good for you. I'm sure we have all heard that dark chocolate is good for the immune system, and I'm also sure all of us, at least once in our lives, used these medical findings as an excuse to gorge ourselves in the glory of the food of the gods. No wonder the Aztecs and Mayans used it as currency and drank it's precious liquid from golden cups.

Much to my surprise, there are people on this earth who claim to dislike chocolate. I honestly don't have patience for these people. I've always believed that people who don't like coffee or chocolate are traitors to the human race. Sorry, but I do. I suppose that's why I feel it's my duty to convert these haters into lovers. I'll now share with you a true success story: My friend Janna never liked chocolate. She was a sugary, fruity candy person (which completely grosses me out, but I'll save that for a later post), and a piece of chocolate would send shivers down her spine though not in a good way. I was convinced I could change her mind and her confused tastebuds. We started out small, a fun size Snickers here, a miniature Twix there. Then, after a few weeks, I brought out the big guns. We made our first excursion to La Bonbonniere, makers of fine Belgian chocolates by hand using old-world techniques. After careful consideration, I decided Janna should sample a white and milk chocolate seashell with a chocolate and hazelnut cream filling. It was apparently a jolt to her senses as we have been regular customers since that momentous first bite. These days, I'm proud to say, Janna is a chocolate lover, not quite a chocohaulic, but we're making progress.

I'm not much of a baker, but a few days ago I caught the brownie bug, and just had to bake a pan. I'll admit, I'm not a fan of pre-packaged mixes. I don't feel like it's real baking, and I figure if I'm going use a good deal of my daily intake on dessert, then it better be made from scratch and worth every calorie. So I searched for the perfect brownie recipe, one so chocolate-laden that at first taste makes your mouth beg for milk. After all the precise measuring, slow additions of ingredients, and toothpick testing, I savored my first square of a perfectly rich, fudgy brownie. It doesn't take much to win me over, but I knew I'd made the ultimate dessert when Janna took one bite, closed her eyes, and said, "Ooh, now this is a brownie."

Kahlua Brownies
Adapted from Elise at Simply Recipes

2-11.5 oz bags good quality 60% cacao chocolate
1 cup butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbs. and 1 tsp. Kahlua
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease an 8x12.5 glass baking pan with Pam. To a microwave-safe bowl, add chocolate and butter. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals stirring between each interval being careful not to let the chocolate burn.

Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate mixture, Kahlua, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.

Sift the flour onto a piece of wax paper. Slowly add to the bowl, mixing well after each addition.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert brownies onto a wire rack and let cool. Cut into small squares; they are very rich. Serve with ice cream and a big glass of milk.