Flavors 518

We didn't travel anywhere for the holidays this year, and so far it has been really relaxing. I was wondering why people make the holidays into such a crazy thing, but then I thought of my favorite holiday things in the past. In 1990, my grandmother gave me a dollhouse she had made that had real electricity, actual newspapers and magazines, bacon and eggs cooking on the stove and a whole family complete with a dog and a pet turtle. It was awesome, and I am sure it was probably stressful for her to make that whole thing herself in addition to all that she did for all the other people in her life. The fact that I remember this fabulous dollhouse and that Christmas in general 22 years later must point to the fact that it is all worth the stress - at least maybe for relatives of small children. But for me now, let's hear it for the least stressful holidays ever. Brought to you by: French press coffee (so, so delicious). I got the Bodum 8 cup Brazil French Press for Chris...

Today I got a real tour of outer Troy from my lovely new friend and professional cake decorator, Sandy. When I first found out she was a professional cake baker I am pretty sure I mumbled something like "livin' the dream!" even though I worked really hard for and am really lucky to have the job I have. Hoping to learn a thing or two from her, I suggested we check out the Confectionery House in Brunswick. It was way cool. You could make any kind of candy or decorate any kind of cake with the supplies from here. I had fantasies of buying all the candy bar making supplies and coming up with a cool combination called "The Emily Bar" to show up to the food swap with and give as Christmas presents, but I couldn't think of what that bar would be so I gave up on the idea. I bought a cool angled frosting spreader type of tool, brioche molds. and this awesome bear pan. Watch out, everyone I know, I am going to start showing up everywhere with bear shaped cakes! ...

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia , I made the hazelnut biscotti. As with the pecan sticky buns , I tried to find someone else's house I could make them at since my husband is allergic to nuts. In this case, my friend Elizabeth agreed that I could use her kitchen. I mixed the dry ingredients all together at my house, and the wet ingredients (including eggs from my boss's backyard chickens), but then I realized I was late in going over there and skipped putting in the sugar. I got over there and she made a lovely cocktail with Hendrick's and an orange liqueur. It was delicious and refreshing. Their house is older with a lot of character, in contrast to my house which is new and might require less upkeep but might have less of a story to tell too. It is fun to see the inner workings of other people's kitchens - what awesome gadgets they have, cool books, different products or missing elements (my coworker doesn't own a fine mesh siev...

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie , using the book Baking with Julia I made the pecan sticky buns. My husband is allergic to nuts, and I was either going to leave off the pecans, replace them with sunflower seeds or just skip this one, but he suggested I go make them at someone else's house. It is quite an intimidating recipe. Check out some chatter about it here . You can read the recipe on Eat Drink Man Woman Dogs Cat and Cookies on Friday I started the brioche the night before. I thought it would be most powerful to use the dough attachment on my food processor, but by putting the ingredients in before the dough blade, some brioche dough got between the bowl and the blade causing my usually all powerful food processor to stop and overheat. I had to finish up the beating of the dough with my hand mixer. After I overheated half the appliances in my house, I couldn't believe how beautiful this dough was looking. I woke up at 6 am and completed the assembling and rolli...

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia,  I made the Hungarian shortbread. You can read the recipe on Cher's blog and also on 1smallkitchen . Check out some discussion about the recipe here . I used strawberry rhubarb jam that I bought at the shop at Indian Ladder Farms . Check out how my shortbread turned out. Great paired with coffee or tea.  I even packed some up to mail to my dad for his birthday.  Here's what I thought about the recipe: I listened to the bakers who thought we should bake the bottom layer for 10 or 15 minutes before applying the jam. That worked out well. My husband and my coworkers all approve of these cookies. I think you can tell whether people are just saying something is good, or if they really really like something. "Whoa, those are good! Seriously!" as opposed to "Thanks for making them!" One of my coworkers particularly like the crumbly nature of the topping. My hus...

Tonight we had a very healthy dinner of cod with lemon quickly sauteed and roasted purple potatoes. We also had some Benzinger white wine, where we visited on our honeymoon . Then I started paging through some cookbooks for dessert, since it is the weekend after all. Check out carrot cupcakes above from Ad Hoc at Home (one of my all time favorite cookbooks).  Things I think about this recipe: There is no beating cream cheese frosting. Seriously, is there anything better? No, I don't think so. Oh my goodness. What is the difference between cupcakes and muffins? I didn't find my paper baking cups until after I was baking them, and my husband was shocked I was just baking them in my muffin pan that I had rubbed with butter and drizzled with some flour. He said he thought the difference between muffins and cupcakes was the paper baking cups. I think the difference may be the texture. You can just yank muffins out of the pan without losing half of it, but cake you want to...

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia I made the lemon loaf. My husband has just chimed in that "It is not too sweet, the use of real lemon really makes a difference, and it is a perfect snack". I agree. It is good for breakfast, good for a snack, good for inviting your friend over for a spot of tea and a screening of "Murder She Wrote" (hopefully one of the ones that take place in Cabot Cove). It is very versatile, and somewhere between a dessert and a breakfast item. Here is some chatter about the recipe . One issue that I can address is the one of cake flour. I did not find cake flour in my grocery store. So it is a good thing that my kitchen companion Joy the Baker explains in her book how to replicate cake flour when you cannot find any. "Set a fine mesh sifter over a medium bowl and lay a piece of wax paper on the counter. Put 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the sifter. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch t...

I'm thrilled to be one of the people chosen to write out the recipe for this week with Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia . If you check out what other people are saying about this recipe , they've summed it up pretty well - it is a sweet crust with a savory filling with the salty bite of prosciutto. Could it use some vegetables? Possibly some nutmeg? All the other bloggers who said that may be right. I do think though that the ricotta filling (I did buy ricotta made with skim) mixed with eggs is probably lower in fat than a quiche filling made with heavy cream - so that is a bonus. Overall, we liked it and my husband even immediately got up for seconds. It is a nice hearty dish that seems ideal cut up in slices and served at room temperature for a dinner party. It would probably be good for a brunch dish with a nice green salad. The other bloggers are right to point out that the fillings can easily be changed up. One problem I had: I read in Thomas Keller...

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia I made Irish soda bread. Check out the discussion about the recipe here . You can read the recipe here . Here's mine: And served with bacon, eggs, and salad: Here is what I thought about the recipe: It was super easy, took about an hour to make, and has little fat in it. All wins. Mark Bittman has a yeast bread recipe that just rises while the oven preheats, and I never thought it was that great of a recipe since it did not have time to develop. With this soda bread it isn't like you are hurrying it along, it is just meant to not take that much time to make. We love buttermilk (like in buttermilk poundcake !) and we are always looking for ways to use leftover buttermilk. We think it adds a good flavor without a lot of fat. Next time I have 2 extra cups of buttermilk I will just make this. The recipe says it is only good for a few hours, but I made mine on Sunday and it was still good for breakf...

The winter holidays obviously can cause a whole range of emotions in people - they are weighed down with memories of past Christmases, especially if people or things are now gone. Also, places that mean one thing on other days of the year can have other connotations on Christmas. They are weighed down with expectations, pressures, and comparisons. The sentence "But its Christmas!" seems so much of a stronger thing to say than "But it is President's Day!" It seems a bit like weddings - what other thing has such strong expectations attached to it because it happens to be a certain day on the calender? That being said, most other Christmas breaks I have had I have traveled farther than this year. The college where I work does a campus shut down during this week to save money with energy costs. It is the sort of thing where you don't want to know what day it is, because you don't want to know how fast it is going by ( like our honeymoon ). It makes me thin...

 This is mostly for my mom. I thought maybe it would help out other people to type it here. Mrs. Anderson's Baking Ceramic Pie Weights - fabulous for making tarts and quiches and way less messy than trying to make your own with rice and beans and foil. Also, clean up very easily. I would love to take a bread making class at King Arthur's Flour in Vermont, but the classes are kind of expensive. Wine cork kits from Wine Enthusiast - we have the oval trivet one and we love it. It is fun to preserve your memories of drinking wine, and they look cool I think. Also, you can always use another trivet (would love another oval one). When I was 21 I got a Pier one papasan chair for my birthday. Then I moved to NYC, and never got to bring my chair with me. Finally, this labor day I drove home and was able to bring it back. Problem was the pets had lived all over the cushion, and my husband is allergic to dogs, so now I need a new cushion .  I'd like this label saver an...