Things I wish I had known earlier...

The previous post reminded me of my 11th birthday. I don't use a lot of boxed mixes now, but when I was turning 11, I insisted on having a 12 layer cake for my birthday. Since I'm a DIY type of person, I figured, I could just go out and buy 12 boxes of cake mix and make myself a really awesome cake.

Just thinking about it now, I wonder if there were actually 12 different flavors out there. I know one layer was brownie, then the usual with the chocolate, vanilla, yellow, etc. Hm...

Anyway, the cake fell apart. It couldn't support the weight b/c the shape of each individual layer wasn't uniform...and it was really just awful looking. I ended up using a ton of frosting to try to "glue" it back together. I think part of it just jumped off the table in attempted suicide when I tried to put at the top of the cake.

So one thing I wish I had known then, but know better now is that...the layer should probably be flat before you stack them. (common sense, right?)

When the cake bakes up in the pan, it might stick to the side and rise up the edges of the pan, or it may puff up in the middle. I compensated by just flipping it over and hoping for the best b/c at least it would be flat for the next layer to sit upon. I was looking at a cake book a few years ago and when I saw the baker actually cut the cake to the proper shape and for smoother surfaces, I was totally floored. It just seemed genius!

Ok, now that I'm older, it seems silly to mention this. But in case you've never seen a similar book...when you pop your cake out and it's all sorts of funky at the top, just take a long knife (like a bread knife) and carefully cut off the uneven parts (the puffy middle or sticking sides) until smooth. Then you can add your frosting and whatnot and stack!

I think this might become a weekly installment b/c there's actually a lot of silly things that I know now and didn't know then. Like how to make smooth cheesecakes.

A Super Bday

Yesterday was a dear friend's birthday. By dear friend, I mean, she's practically the Lemonade of Lemonade Stand. You see, Lemonade Stand was her idea. She's kind of the mastermind of insane ideas. And I used the idea to write up a business plan in order to show my understanding of the business world in order to score a scholarship. And when we lived together, we'd spend a lot of weekend time baking, not to mention, she actually worked around delicious foods as a job (delicious except for that rose chocolate...which I ate to be nice, but I wish I didn't). Eventually, she moved on to her next great idea, but I stayed in the kitchen and managed to keep the idea alive.

So, when we lived together, she kindly shared a secret brownie recipe. I've only shared it with my brother, who, as I've previous mentioned, isn't much for the kitchen anyway. It's a secret that I can't share with the public, but I can tell you, it's delicious. It's insanely sweet and borders between being a fudge and a traditional brownie. People who don't even like sweets really enjoy these brownies. Especially with ice cream. After having made these, no other brownie seems to compare b/c they all just seem too...dry!

Inspired by Bakerella's Betty Crocker post, I used the Chicago Metallic Sweetheart Pan and poured a little bit of brownie batter at the bottom of each pan. Then I rolled up a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough (use your favorite recipe) and dropped it in the center. I popped it in the oven for about 30 minutes and I honestly couldn't help but eat one right away. It was good...more than good...and I told myself that it really couldn't handle extra chocolate ganache, but I figured it couldn't hurt anyone but my weight, and I did it. I've been making a lot of ganaches without butter, but I think the butter in Bakerella's recipe did the trick for this one. I'm glad I went with it instead of something else.


Here's the ganache from Bakerella:
Chocolate Ganache
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3/4 c heavy whipping cream
6 Tbsp butter

1)In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until just before the boiling stage.
2) Pour over the chocolate morsels.
3) Let stand about 20 seconds and stir until smooth.
4) Pour over brownies and let set before cutting.

I got impatient and stuck them in the fridge to cool down, so all of the ganache cracked.
Note: Try not to use a chocolate chip cookie dough recipe that bakes flat. My concern is that it'll flatten out and leave holes in your brownie! That's not what you want at all.

And when I was done, I boxed them up all pretty and rather than giving it to Lemonade, I took it to my gym. Lemonade had a bbq bday feast. It's probably counter productive to eat brownies while at the gym, but they were well received by everyone not prepping for the Golden Gloves. The chocolate chip heart brownies were such a hit with the owner, that he offered me a pair of free tickets to the next boxing match in exchange for a box! That's a $60 value for these brownies!

A New Year and Kalbi

Yesterday was the start of the lunar new year, and since we had a partial blackout, we didn't get to do much celebrating (aka eating). Well, today I brought home some kalbi from the Hanareum in New York and we ate our hearts out.

We have this wonderful family recipe for kalbi, which I'll try to share. The problem is that for this recipe, we use ratios (for example: equal parts brown sugar and soy sauce). I was perplexed by this for a while until I realized that within the past 30 or so years, our dinner table has gone from 2 members to as many as 7 and now 5 so the amount we eat keeps changing. This is why the ratio system works so well. It's something to keep in mind when cooking, but since at heart, I'm more of a baker than a cook, here's a breakdown as best as I can.

Kalbi

1 c brown sugar

1 c soy sauce (Kikkoman)

1/4 c rice wine

1/8 c sesame oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp minced ginger

1 tbsp minced onion

black pepper to taste (usually a pinch)

1 pack Beef short ribs

1) Add brown sugar to soy sauce. Stir until dissolved. Add rice wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, onion, and pepper. Stir before sampling and adjust to your taste.
2) Individually dip beef strips into sauce. Place in large metal bowl and pour sauce on top. Let marinate for at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours.

3) Grill meat until browned.

Notes: If your meat isn't high quality (ie: has a lot of fat), then to make the kalbi tastier, mix the beef with the onion the night before. It'll add a little more flavor. Also, if you want softer meat, use a sliver of mashed up kiwi in place of the onion.
Usually, it should be 1/4 c rice wine to 1/4 c of sesame oil, but I bought the sesame oil at a corner store when I was in Manhattan so the flavor is really strong. To compensate, we use less sesame oil.

Above is how my mother makes it. I start with it and then I typically add in more brown sugar and soy sauce b/c I like both (~2 tbsp each). I like being able to lightly taste the sesame oil, so I'll add some if necessary. I love love love garlic, so I dump it in until the whole sauce is littered with garlic (~4 tbsp total). My mom likes the onion, I like using kiwi. I don't think it's a good mix to use both.

Final note: The problem with Korean food is that it never photographs well. Korean food just isn't pretty. At all. I've been to restaurants where they try to make it pretty and seen cookbooks, but it's just not attractive. I can't tell if it looks delicious b/c I know what it tastes like, but I can tell you that looking at a picture of kalbi isn't going to make you say, "Wow, that food looks just gorgeous!". Sigh.

xoxo,

lemonie

Whimsy & Spice

Last summer, I was blessed enough to get a table next to Mark, founder and baker behind Whimsy & Spice, when I was selling at the Brooklyn Flea. I also got the chance to see his two daughters and wife, Jenna. Although we didn't interact that much, I gave his youngest daughter a few treats and when I left, he gave me a brownie. I was on Etsy the other day and much to my surprise, I found them again!

I was so excited when I found Whimsy & Spice online that I went a little crazy and ordered practically one of everything. One thing I didn't order, which I think is probably their first shop staple, is the marshmallow. For some reason, I just get grossed out by chewing on marshmallows. What I did order was the brown sugar gingerspice shortbread cookies, the rose & black pepper thumbprints, the lucious brownies (espresso with dulce de leche), hazelnut whisky sandwich cookies, and the chocolate & butterscotch layered bar cookies. After waiting a whole week, (for some reason the commute from Brooklyn to New Jersey took priority mail like 4 days) I finally got them!

Gingerspice shortbread cookies: Really yummy. The ginger leaves a nice aftertaste that almost makes my tongue tingle.

Rose & Black pepper thumbprints: To be honest, I already knew I don't like the flavor of rose, but I was curious about the combination and I thought they were so pretty. The rose flavor wasn't as strong as it was for many of the other rose desserts I've had before, but it's still there. The aftertaste is strongly of black pepper.

Lucious Brownies: First thought - espresso! The dulce de leche takes a backseat to the espresso flavor.

Hazelnut Whisky Sandwich Cookies: This was a big winner for my mom. She doesn't like really sweet things in the first place (she claims it hurts her teeth). It tastes like the whisky is in the chocolate center so it's both strong and subtle. Not really sure how to describe it...it definitely tastes of liquor, but not of whisky. Hm.. The cookie is really tasty. Anyway, my mom was heading up to bed and she grabbed out off the table and ran like I wouldn't even notice.

Chocolate & Butterscotch layered bar cookies: The sweetest of the bunch! A very strong butterscotch taste. I can't taste the chocolate at all. The graham cracker is a nice touch though...b/c it gives some texture. However, since I never ate butterscotch as a kid, the butterscotch flavor is really intimidating.

So, my final review: My favorite overall was the gingerspice shortbread cookies and Lemon-zest agrees.. The hazelnut whisky sandwich cookie was a hit with one old lady. Lemon-zest scarfed down a thumbprint before even noticing that it had rose or pepper (really weird). Least favorite: chocolate & butterscotch cookies. I think the cookies are really delightful though. I think they're really cute to give away as gifts. The packaging is really professional, even though I know they're done at home b/c I read their blog. If you're into really sweet or really soft cookies/brownies, then this probably isn't for you, but if you're up for a little bit of adventure...you should give them a try. Or at least check out their blog.

xoxo,

lemonie

FYI...

I started this blog so I'd have a record of recipes, and my thoughts around baking b/c I wanted motivation to keep trying so I wanted to be able to see my final products on a page somewhere. I also wanted to encourage my sister, who loves both baking and plating, to keep trying. It's my personal record and I shared the link with one or two friends who I thought might care. With their encouragement, I've started to share with others and now that people are viewing it, it's time to start doing a much more diligent job when it comes to crediting.

Just to be clear, if you click on the name of the item above the recipe, it'll direct to the original source if online. Much comes from the great minds at allrecipes.com. Some stuff isn't online, some come from my mom, some come from a box of recipes I've been receiving from classmates since preschool (ie: the apple dumpling was from preschool and I have no clue who gave it to me, but I suspect a teacher did). A few are mine...or partly mine because sometimes, someone will be with me and we'll throw random things into a bowl and then when it's delicious, we have to work backwards to figure out what exactly went right, but it never comes out the same...(ie: that ever elusive Bailey's vanilla icing from 2 years ago...). However, as I start my amateur baking classes next week, there should be more of those to come. If they let me, I'm going to try taking pictures of the process as well. More info on that to come.

Allrecipes.com should be everyone's best friend. It's a great place to start.

Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

First of all, sorry for the lack of posting. I've been insanely busy. I'm enrolled in a haute couture school and the second semester starts this Friday and I'm rushing to finish all my homework for it! And next Sunday, I start my amateur baking classes at ICE in New York. I'm also trying to make an etsy page to host some chocolate chip cookie heart brownies I made. Most of you probably don't know this, but I'm a big supporter of Alex's Lemonade Stand for pediatric cancer. I try to donate when I can; I raise some of the money by selling treats. I'll post up pictures once I get it a little more settled. I'm probably going to be all sorts of unavailable until next week. Sigh...

Apparently my brother once bought an ice cream maker for my sisters. Considering that he makes my sister-in-law spaghetti for every special occasion and that's it, I assumed that he's incapable of making anything beyond boiled water so I was surprised that he took the initiative. Anyway, the thought of his ice cream maker inspired me to try making ice cream. However, the part of me that's a poor planner started making the ice cream before I realized that 1) I didn't know where the ice cream maker was and 2) No one was sure if it still had all it's parts. About 15 minutes in, the mom produced the ice cream maker, but once I had a moment to diagnose it, I realized it was missing the part that does the actual freezing. However, it's possible to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. David Leibovitz says so! Since I so adore him, I also trusted his love for salted butter caramel ice cream.


Honestly, the taste of fleur de sel is something I really want to love. It would be amazing if I could just wrap my taste buds around it and declare it delicious, but it seems to dominate every other flavor. I use it in macarons and usually, if I try to eat one the day I put it together, the salt is too overpowering for me to enjoy, but if I wait a day, the salt blends in and the taste is delicious. I figured that might be the case with this ice cream, but I have to take a few bites to adjust to the flavor of the salt before I can enjoy. The fact that I didn't use an ice cream maker perhaps means it didn't get enough churns to blend in nicely. I feel like I did something wrong, but I'm not sure what. I also think the color is too dark, so maybe I burnt the caramel? Even worse, today our electricity went wonk with only half the house working! Our foyer and kitchen lights weren't working, but the dining room and upstairs bathroom were. It was bizarre and Lemon-slice needed the internet, so we went to Panera's for the free wifi, not to mention the chocolate chip bagels...


When I came home to scoop out some ice cream for this picture, imagine my dismay when I discovered that some of it was oozing! It was solid yesterday! I think this means the fridge was also struck by the electrical outage. So, sorry for the picture. It doesn't look like ice cream at all, does it?


Sometime in the middle of my manual mixing, the missing ice cream machine part was found, but I was too stubborn to try it, and now I have this mess on my hands. I ate what I could, but the rest of the ooze had to be tossed. What a loss. But since it's gone, it means I can try again, right? I had some natural Breyers vanilla ice cream over the weekend and it was so delicious...it had something like only 4 ingredients and it was so much better than most vanilla ice creams I've had. I think maybe I'll start there next time. I'll go simple and use the ice cream maker and make a really delicious vanilla. Then when I'm feeling more adventurous, I can try out this candied bacon ice cream. It honestly sounds so disgusting, it might be delicious.





Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream by David Leibovitz


For the caramel praline (mix-in)
½ c sugar
¾ tsp sea salt, such as fleur de sel


For the ice cream custard
2 c whole milk, divided
1½ c sugar
4 tbsp salted butter
scant ½ tsp sea salt
1 c heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
¾ tsp vanilla extract

1. To make the caramel praline, spread the ½ cup of sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized, unlined heavy duty saucepan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or brush it sparingly with unflavored oil.
2. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it's just about to burn.
3. Without hesitation, sprinkle in the ¾ teaspoon salt without stirring, then pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet and lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.
4. To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they're floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl over the ice, pour 1 c of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.
5. Spread 1½ c sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized, using the same method described in Step #2.
6. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 c of the milk.
7. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160-170 F (71-77 C).
8. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.
9. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
10. While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti (about ½-inch, or 1 cm). I use a mortar and pestle, although you can make your own kind of music using your hands or a rolling pin.
11. Once your caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the crushed caramel, then chill in the freezer until firm.

xoxo,
lemonie

Single Serving Apple Pies

One of my problems with dessert is that I often can't limit myself to a single serving. I just don't know how to say no. However, when all you have is a single serving, there's not much you can do but savor each bite and wish for more...

So, introducing the single serving pies. I went out to Fish's Eddy during the week and bought a few 4 oz jars (I believe it's this: Kerr 4 oz quilted crystal jelly jars, 12 jars.). Anyway, since I had some free time today and I'm totally procrastinating from finishing the lacework on my nightgown...I decided to make some caramel covered apple pie. Due to my disease, "I like going for 2nds and 3rds without taking a moment to breathe," and b/c I saw cupcakes in jars on etsy yesterday, I put these pies in jars, too. They're incredibly cute! I'm also a big fan of apple pie crust, so the the increase in the crust to pie ratio is always a plus in my book.

I baked 3 pies in jars and put 3 into the freezer to save for later. I ran out of jars so I put one in a ramekin. I'm too embarrassed to show the leftover scraps that I tried to make into an apple empanada. It started oozing in the oven! My lattice on the jar could use some work though...

The great part about the jar is that I can prepare these in advance, put the lid on and throw it into the freezer and when I'm craving some apple pie, I can just bake one up for warm deliciousness.

This also brings me back to preschool days where I learned how to make apple dumplings. It's really easy. Just take one of those cans of biscuit dough, chop up some apples and put a few pieces into the center of one of the dough circles and sprinkle with cinnamon as desired (adding a small amount of sugar might not be a bad idea either!). Then fold the dough in half, pinching the two sides together and use the prongs of a fork to decorate the edge. Pop in oven (don't remember temperature, but 350 degrees sounds about right) and cook until golden brown.

It's 2 AM and I'm insanely tired, but I want to finish this up, so I'll get right down to the real secret to this pie. It's the sauce poured on top of the apples. So use your favorite recipe for pie crust or buy one premade, add in the apples...and on top...

Apple Pie Sauce
1/2 c unsalted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 c water
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar

1) Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and stir. Add water and sugars and raise to boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour over apples.

Note: For these mini pies, I baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top of the crust was golden brown and I could see the apple sauce bubbling.

xoxo,
lemonie

Coffee-Hazelnut Chocolates

So I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to chocolate. I'm not much of a chocolate eater in the first place...I'll take a few pieces of dark chocolate if it's convenient, but I don't crave it. M&Ms...I usually never eat more than one b/c it's just too much for me. Then again, I'm more of a dark chocolate type of gal, rather than the sweeter milk chocolate.

However, it's the challenge of chocolate that really piques my interest. The whole process of tempering it just so...and keeping it in temper...*swoon* I really love trying to master anything that's tempermental. I've been reading up a lot on chocolate lately and it really blows my mind how many crazy things can be done with it. Whew. AMAZING. Anyway, one challenge I really wanted to try was the art of hand-dipped chocolates. I won't say that I was particularly successful at this, b/c hand dipped chocolates are true artisan treats and mine are lumpy. I had a tough time making the coffee ganache smooth, which had a role in the lopsidedness of some of the pieces. I also let Lemon-zest slice up the pieces and she looked like she struggled. I'm not even sure I let it set long enough b/c some of the pieces actually fell apart during chopping. Sigh.

This is a two-textured dipped center. Coffee ganache vs. a hazelnut milk chocolate praline. The texture is pretty interesting. Chewing on the praline is almost like chewing on raw sugar (ever eaten a sugar cube before?). I'm not sure if I'm in love with it or not, but that might be the non-milk chocolate loving part of me. If I make this again, I'll probably keep the milk chocolate in the praline, but dip it into dark chocolate.

Anyway, this recipe comes from the book, Making Artisan Chocolates by Andrew Shotts. Considering how expensive cookbooks can cost, this one is very reasonable at under $20. It's got a lot of recipes, and some good information...like the temperatures for tempering different brands of chocolate and a section on pairing chocolates with wine and...BEER. Not enough pictures, but the pictures he does have are really good. He taints the pictures though when you see his face b/c he looks so grumpy. It might be his "serious" face, but he looks like you shouldn't try messing with him when he's in chocolate mode! If you're looking for a good chocolate book that isn't a huge investment, this is a pretty good one. However, I have a different suggestion if you're trying to go $50+. Experiments from that to come...

Making Artisan Chocolates

(hehe, you can see my teethmarks.)

Coffee-Hazelnut Chocolates
Yields 42 pieces


For hazelnut praline:
98 g whole hazelnuts, skin on, toasted
196 g granulated sugar
21 g water

For milk chocolate praline:
91 g 38% milk chocolate, melted and cooled to 90 degrees
196 g hazelnut praline, room temperature
7 g cocoa butter, melted and cooled to 90 degrees

For coffee ganache:
119 oz 64% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
98 g heavy cream
21 g freshly ground coffee, preferably Italian
7 g light corn syrup
21 g salted butter, cubed, soft, but not melted
2 tbsp coffee-flavored liqueur

For foot:
147 g 38% milk chocolate, melted

Dipping chocolate:
2 lbs 38% milk chocolate, tempered
42 whole hazelnuts, skin removed, toasted

1) Hazelnut Praline: Place the toasted hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat. Cook sugar and water in saucepan over high heat until smoking dark amber caramel. Do not stir. Pour over hazelnuts. Let cool before breaking into pieces to place in food processor. Grind to a pasty liquid consistency.

2) Milk Chocolate Praline Layer: Combine chocolate and hazelnut praline. Add cocoa butter and stir until incorporated. Pour into pan that has been lined with plastic wrap and smoothed to remove wrinkles. Spread evenly and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove.

3) Coffee Ganache: Place chocolate in medium-size bowl and set aside. Combine heavy cream and ground coffee in a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Stir until mixture comes to a simmer, then remove and cover for 10 minutes. Then strain the cream through a fine-mesh slive into a clean bowl, measuring out 102 g. If necessary, add fresh cream to reach the required amount. Pour into a saucepan, add corn syrup and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a rapid boil, remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit for 2 minutes and stir to combine. Once ganache has reached 95 degrees, stir in butter and coffee-flavoured liquer. Pour ganache into pan over praline layer, spreading evenly. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.

4) Adding a foot (makes it easier for dipping): Pick up both sides of plastic wrap to remove ganache from pan. Flip over onto a baking sheet, praline layer side up. Peel plastic off praline. Heat chocolate until completely melted and spread a thin layer over chocolate ganache. Put in freezer for 2 hours to set.

5) Cutting the filling: Remove the layers from the freezer and gently flip onto a parchment paper-lined cuttingboard so the foot is face down. Using a sharp, nonserrated knife, trim all four edges. Cut into squares and separate onto parchment paper. Allow squares to sit overnight at room temperature to dry.

6) Dipping: Place onto the middle of a dipping fork (large dinner fork will do) and completely submerge into tempered chocolate before pulling out. Repeat as necessary. Gently tap the handle of the fork and scrape the bottom of the fork against the side of the bowl to help remove excess chocolate. Transfer onto a clean sheet of parchment paper to set.

7) Decorating: Tap the end of a 908 Ateco pastry tip in the middle of the top of the dipped square, then place a toasted hazelnut in the center. (which I didn't do)


Obviously I love torture b/c this whole process took me FOREVER.

(p.s. I think I also made my best set of macarons yet today. I'm going to try again over the weekend and will post!!)

xoxo,
lemonie

Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel Cake

Lemon-slice has struck again! Since our mom's into nuts, lemon-slice is into making desserts with nuts in them. I love pecans in desserts. It's such a nice texture. =)

This cake smelled heavenly coming out of the oven. Maybe b/c I also love the smell of cinnamon and sugar together. We ate this at night. We're not a big fan of sweets in the morning, but I imagine this would be good with some coffee.

Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel Cake

1 3/4 c flour
1 1/4 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 c unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan
2) In a bowl, stir together the flour, 1 c of the sugar, and the baking powder. Mix in the butter with fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3) Add egg, milk, and vanilla and stir until just combined. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
4) In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 c sugar, the cinnamon, and the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the surface ofthe batter. Using a table knife, cut gently down through the batter at intervals of 2 inches to spread some topping into the batter.
5) Bake about 25-30, until passes toothpick test. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serve warm.

xoxo,
lemonie

A Banana Day!

Lemon-slice is really all about the fruits. Anything that has fruits, she wants to try making it. That's how we ended up buying a half dozen bananas today....
And those bananas ended up in half a dozen stomachs.



Banana Crumb Muffins
1 1/2 c ap flour 1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 mashed bananas
3/4 c white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c butter, melted
1/3 c packed brown sugar
2 tbsp ap flour
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp butter
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12 muffin tray.
2) In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 c flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3) In another bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, eggs, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups.
4) In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, and cinnamon. With fingers, mix in 1 tbsp butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle over muffins.
5) Bake 18-20 minutes, or until passes toothpick test.



Banana Nut Bread (Williams-Sonoma)
2 1/2 c whole-wheat flour, extra for dusting
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c unsalted butter at room temperature
2 c sugar
2 c mashed banana
4 eggs
1 c chopped walnuts

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans and dust with flour.
2) In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3) In another bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until blended.
4) Beat in the banana, then beat in the eggs until completely mixed. Stir in nuts, add combined dry ingredients, and stir until blended.
5) Pour and scrape the batter into the 2 prepared pans.
6) Bake about 1 hour or until it passes the toothpick test.

xoxo,
lemonie

Tagliatelle Bolognese

When it comes to pasta, I feel like you really can't go wrong with bolognese sauce...unless you're vegetarian, but I'm the complete opposite - I really love meat.

Today's MLK Day. I had made plans to go to work today, but was pleasantly surprised when I got an email on Saturday letting someone on the team know that I won't be in the office on Monday. How exciting! It's like a snow day! And it really was a snow day, too. The snow has been pouring down heavily all day. Lemon-slice and I braved driving on roads covered with 1-3 inches of powdery snow (how come there were no salt trucks?!) to buy crafts and to go grocery shopping. Lemon-slice wanted to make a fried pumpkin pastry for her Spanish class and I wanted nothing more than some warm bolognese in my stomach. Her pastry proved a greasy failure, but oh boy, I was more than pleased with the bolognese sauce...even if I had to do a few subs.


Tagliatelle Bolognese
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 peeled carrot, diced
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed, finely chopped
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 thin slices of pancetta, finely chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c white wine
2 c light meat stock/beef stock
5 fresh sage leaves
1 bay leaf
1/3 c heavy double cream
1 lb tagliatelle or purchased fettuccine
1 c grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a large casserole dish over medium-low heat, melt 2 tbsp of the butter with the oliveoil. Add pancetta and saute until just starting to crisp (~3 min). Add onion, carrot, and saute until aromatic and lightly golden (~8-10 min).
2) Add ground beef, pork, and veal, stirring to break up. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add a generous pinch of nutmeg. Raise the heat to medium and saute until meat is lightly browned.
3) Add wine and summer until amost completely evaporated. Add stock and cook until reduced by half.
4) Add tomatoes, sage, and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
5) Add cream. Adjust seasoning to taste.
6) In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Salt thewater, addpasta, and cook until al dente. Drain and put in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp cheese. Toss so butter melts. Add sauce and toss again gently. Serve immediately.

I got stuck on a few of these ingredients at the grocery store. For one, they didn't have pancetta so I used thick bacon (which seemed to have completely disappeared after the sauce was done...). I also couldn't find ground veal, so I just added in more pork and beef. Lastly, I used ground sage leaves rather than fresh ones. One thing to note is...I felt like I put in a lot of tomatoes, and then during dinner, there was some commentary on their disappearance. I blamed it on Lemon-zest, who claims to be allergic to fruits and vegetables, but it's actually a mystery to me. I assumed they got crushed while being stirred around in the pot, but when I looked inside to investigate...they left no trace! Tricky tricky.

Well, the bolognese sauce was well received. Definitely a keeper as is. The 2-3 hours spent committed to the kitchen though...not high on my priorities list so this recipe will probably only come out on special occasions when I need to impress someone!

xoxo,
lemonie

Baked Chicken Teriyaki

As much as I love baking, I don't cook enough. Maybe it's because I'd eat a baguette with some olive oil and salt over a real meal any day. I actually knew someone who lived off of bread and butter in high school...and got scurvy. Imagine that, a high school student in New England getting scurvy in the 21st century b/c he didn't feel like going to the cafeteria to get free food! (although the food in our dining center really wasn't very good...)

So in order to avoid scurvy, it's important that I start learning how to cook. One of my favorites is chicken...so, I'm starting with chicken teriyaki. Full of flavor, and not that many calories!
This chicken was a huge hit at the dinner table. There's 5 mouths to feed and I made 10 thighs thinking that we'll have some left over for tomorrow. Nope. Hungry dad ate 4 pieces on his own.



Baked Chicken Teriyaki
1 tbsp cornstarch 1 tbsp cold water
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c cider vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
12 skinless chicken thighs


1) In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3) Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased pan. Brush chicken with the sauce, turn pieces over and brush again.
4) Bake in the preheated overn for 30 minutes. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes. Turn pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Delicious. Just plain delicious. Part of me wants to slather a ton of sauce on each piece of chicken, thus increasing the ratio of sauce to chicken, but that's the greedy part of me b/c the sauce was present in every bite. This recipe's a keeper!

xoxo,
lemonie

Jessica's 1st Birthday Cookies!

Today's Jessica's first birthday! Jessica is my cousin Patty's daughter. Since my mom knows best about the proper gifts for someone reaching this milestone and b/c I'm broke, lemon-rind and I used our baking skills to provide gifts for the party itself. We made sugar cookies! I baked them and cut out the circle shapes, and lemon-zest took to frosting. She wrote "j" on them and don't they look so pretty?! I got a little too excited about putting them into the box so I didn't let them set properly...and when they got into the box, some of the frosting got mushed. =(

I'm still out on the quest for the perfect sugar cookie and frosting. There was one recipe I used a while ago with cream cheese that I really liked, but I didn't have cream cheese on hand so I turned to allrecipes.com to find a good alternative.



Rolled Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 c softened butter
2 1/2 c white sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 c ap flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1) Cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
2) Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt.
3) Cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
5) Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool completely.

These cookies are a dream to work with. They roll well, they bake well, and after baking, they literally just slid off the sheet.




I tried two different frostings. This one is the glossy pink one above. It's very pretty, but I wasn't a huge fan of the flavor. The cookies weren't very sweet, and I can taste the corn syrup on the icing, so the overall flavor seemed to be the corn syrup!

Glaze Icing
1 c confectioners' sugar
2 tsp milk
2 tsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp vanlla extract
Food coloring

1) In a small bowl, mix sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla until icing is smooth and glossy. If too thick, add more corn syrup. Add food coloring.

This one tastes better, but just isn't as pretty. =(

Frosting
4 c confectioners' sugar
1/2 c shortening
5 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring

1) Cream together sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually blend in milk and vanilla with electric mixer until stiff. Color.

I hope the cookies are well received! Next time I make cookies, I'll probably go back to my trusty cream cheese recipe...it's sweet and soft...so it can handle the pretty glaze much better b/c the corn syrup taste isn't as overpowering.

Cornbread for Breakfast!

A couple months ago, I became obsessed with the pandebono served at Calle Ocho on the Upper West Side. It was really delicious, but somehow I failed at recreating it...even though the chef gave me the mix in a box! Wanting to make it on my own, I spent a few weeks trying to find the right kind of cornmeal, but that didn't even help. I gave up and channeled my baking towards macarons.

However, I still have like TONS of cornmeal. They're just waiting to make it into my tummy, so this morning while lemon-zest was sleeping, I made cornbread. The texture was great and the crust was good, but the bread itself was missing something. My thought is...it's missing butter. It could use more butter for that really unhealthy delicious taste, which I compensated for by spreading some on top! Maybe that's why it tastes that way...to encourage you to spread some on.

Cornbread

1 Stick Butter

2/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1 c buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 c cornmeal

1 c ap flour
1/2 tsp salt

1) Grease 8 inch sq pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) In a large skillet, melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Beat in eggs.

3) Combine buttermilk with baking soda before adding to pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt. Pour into pan.

4) Bake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Make sure to store right away or else it'll dry out!

xoxo,

lemonie

Nutella Rolls

Still on the Nutella binge, I sought another recipe. This one hails from pastry chef, Carine Goren. It's very buttery and flaky on the outside and soft and gooey when you bite into it...but not as pretty as it should be. Upon reflection, I think I made the pastry too thin so you can't see the contrast between the Nutella and pastry when I cut into it. Sigh...food can't always be pretty, right? But I'd like it so much more if it were gorgeous and tasted gorgeous.

However, this is much better than I expected. I really like the buttery taste of the pastry!


Nutella Rolls
3 1/2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 c powdered sugar + extra for dusting
250 gr cold butter, diced (comes out to about 2 sticks + 2 tbsp)
2/3 c milk
Nutella (spread as desired...I used close to 1.5 c)

1) In food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, powdered sugar, and butter until blended.
2) Add milk and continue until dough is formed.
3) Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
4) Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each piece into a rectangle 1/2 cm thick.
5) Spread Nutella onto each rectangle. Roll into a log. Place logs on baking sheet.
6) Bake 30 minutes, until golden.
7) Let cool. Slice cookies into 2 cm slices. Dust with powdered sugar.

Note: This is so delicious when it's warm and straight out of the oven that I didn't even let it cool down. I think I prefer it warm...which also contributed to the Nutella spreading everywhere! If you're not so concerned with these being pretty, cut up and eat right away. Also, a glass of milk is absolutely required!!!!

xoxo,
lemonie

Attack of the Nutella!

It's so cold today! The weather is below freezing, I'm tired b/c an ill timed nap yesterday left me restless all night...and well, I needed to cheer myself up.

For some reason, I've never eaten Nutella before! Kind of crazy, right? Well, I've heard so many good things that I decided it was time to try the hazelnut spread. I meant to put it on some of the Italian bread I was munching on after dinner, but somehow ended up eating ALL of the bread before I remembered! So, then I thought about where else I can put some Nutella...and thought...haven't I seen it on the menu for creperies?! Dessert time!!


To make 4 crepes

Crepes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c milk
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 c flour
1 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Whisk ingredients together until smooth. Spoon about 3 tbsp crepe batter into hot pan over medium heat, tilting pan until bottom is evenly coated. Cook 1-2 min to a side, or until golden brown.

Then I spread the Nutella on it, folded it up, added some strawberries and strawberry ice cream. Delicious! Also, probably not a good 10 pm snack.



I also made a Nutella ganache and used it on some leftover macaron shells from Joe's special order.

Nutella Ganache
1/4 c heavy cream
1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate
2 tbsp Nutella

Bring cream to boil. Pour over chocolate (you don't want to overheat the chocolate by putting it into the saucepan while it's on the fire! It'll burn!!), add Nutella, and stir until blended.

I think I liked this ganache more than the Nutella by itself!

xoxo,
lemonie

Gifting macarons and truffles!

So Joe gave me a special request for cake truffles...and then I decided to use him as a guinea pig for these macarons and the flavors.

The cookie recipe is courtesy of baking goddess, Tartlette. I've been trying at macarons since September...I can honestly say that many poor eggs suffered at these hands as I tried to recreate Tartlette's beautiful macarons. For some reason, it took me a really long time to grasp the consistency of meringue that was required. Sadly, mine never seem to be as tall as hers...and sometimes they're hollow! Plus, I have a tempermental oven with hot spots. =( I think the oven is older than I am so I'll have to forgive it.

Fillings:
chocolate ganache with Bailey's...the Baileys however was overpowering so I'll have to remember to cut back next time.
dulche de leche made from condensed milk
vanilla buttercream.




Plus cake truffles with red velvet & cream cheese frosting and german chocolate cake and peppermint frosting. No recipes this time, but I hope you enjoy the view!

What's inside?

Yumminess!

Snickerdoodles and Honey Walnut Bread

Snow storm! I can't remember the last time I remember the snow falling down like this...well, then again, snow falling in New York City is rarely memorable. Snow in the suburbs where it gets the chance to rest peacefully is different...and much more beautiful! However, the problem with snow in the 'burbs is that it makes the roads tough. The roads got so bad that lemon-zest couldn't make it to her party. Boo!

Today's lemon-slice's big day. With the snow piling up outside, we really have nowhere to go and nothing to do but stay indoors. Lemon-slice cleared out her schedule and rolled up her sleeves and took to baking! And lemon-zest took to eating.


Snickerdoodles
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 c sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/3 c flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 c softened butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2) Stir together the 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
3) In another bowl, whisk together four, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a large bowl, combine butter, 3/4 c sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until well blended. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and blend until incorporated.
5) Roll 1 rounded tsp of dough into a ball and dip into cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place dough balls onto ungreased baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
6) Bake 8-10 minutes until round, flat, and light golden-brown.

Note: Delicious when warm, especially with cold milk!

Honey Walnut Bread
1 c milk
1 c honey
1/2 c sugar
2 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted
2 egg yolks
1/2 c chopped walnuts

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2) In a saucepan, bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add honey and sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Cool until lukewarm.
3) In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
4) Add melted butter and egg yolks to cooled honey mixture and whisk until blended. Add to dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly blended.
5) Add walnuts.
6) Pour batter into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake about 65 min or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cajun Chicken Pasta, Baguettes, and Berry Cobbler!

It's a pretty quiet day...for some reason, I keep feeling like it's the calm before the storm. Maybe because it is! Things are going to get hectic for a few days, so I guess I was a little restless in anticipation. Lemon-slice and I channeled that energy into making Sunday dinner.

I think it came out pretty well! We had a lot left over though. We were a little too ambitious and completely made enough to feed a village. Looks like we'll be eating leftovers tomorrow. Everything was delicious and I don't mind.


French Baguette
1 c warm water
2 1/2 c bread flour
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast

1) Mix together water, bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to make dough. I used the dough hook on the Kitchen Aid.
2) When dough pulls away from the sides, place dough ball in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.
3) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut in half (2 8x12 rectangles). Roll up tightly. Let rise until doubled.
4) I completely forgot to do this step...but you can put slashes on the loaf. Then mix an egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water to make the crust crispy.
5) Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Cajun Chicken Linguine
3/4 pound linguine pasta
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
3 red bell pepper, sliced
3 green bell pepper, sliced
12 fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 green onion, chopped
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Note: This was to serve a family of five, but there was a good chunk left over...

1) Boil pasta in lightly salted water until al dente (~8-10 min)
2) Place chicken and Cajun seasoninng in plastic bag, shake to coat. Saute chicken in butter on a large skillet until almost tender (5-7 min)
3) Add peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Saute and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4) Reduce heat and add cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add linguine, toss, and eat through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Three-Berry Cobbler
Filling:
1 1/2 c hulled, sliced strawberries
1 1/2 c raspberries
1 1/2 c blackberries
1/2 c sugar

Biscuit crust:
1/3 c unsalted butter (roomtemperature)
1/3 c sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 c all purposeflour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c milk

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a deep baking dish.
2) In dish, combine berries. Sprinkle with sugar, toss, and set aside.
3) Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
4) In another bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Add alternatively with milk to butter/sugar mixture.
5) On a lightly floured surface, roll out or pat the dough into the shape/size of the baking dish. Lift the dough to cover the fruit. Crimp or flute the edges and cut slights for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.
6) Bake about 50 minutes or until the top is golden and the berries are bubbling.

Note: tastes delicious with ice cream!

xoxo,
lemonie

New Year and Sticky Buns

Happy New Year!

To celebrate 2009, lemon-slice and I went into the kitchen and baked up a storm. We cracked open a Williams-Sonoma cookbook and made blueberry scones, lemon-slice muffins, and sticky buns. The scones were unsightly, the lemon-slice muffins were far too tart, but the sticky buns...oh the sticky buns were wonderful!

My NYE was quiet...curled up with the family, watching Mamma Mia and munching on unhealthy snacks (popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels...). I couldn't imagine it better any other way!

My resolution this year is to run a mile in 7 minutes. About a month and a half ago, I stared running on the treadmill as part of my warm-up. By running, I mean, I managed to run for like 3-4 minutes and then I'd have to stop and pant for two minutes, before running another 3-4 minutes. Then I'd just "walk it off" for another 5. Now that I can run a full mile without stopping, I'd like to be able to do that within 7 minutes!

Sticky Buns

4 1/2 - 5 unbleached bread flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 package quick-rise yeast
1/2 c water
1/2 c milk
3/4 c unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 coarsely chopped pecans

1) In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine 1/2 cus of the flour, the granulated sugar, salt, and yeast.
2) In a saucepan over low heat, combine the milk, 1/2 c water, and 1/4 c of the butter and heat to lukewarm.
3) Gradually beat the milk mixture into the flour mixture.
4) Beat in the eggs, then gradually stir in 2 1/2 c more flour to make a soft dough that holds its shape.
5) Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding flour as needed. Knead until smooth and elastic.
6) Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover and let rise about 1/2 hours in warm place.
7) Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut in half. Using a rolling pin, roll out each half into an 8 by 15 inch rectangle.
8) Spread the rectangles with 1/4 c of the remaining butter, dividing it equally.
9) In a bowl, mix 1/2 c of the brown sugar, and the cinnamon and sprinkle half of it over the dough pieces.
10) Starting with a long side, roll up tightly andpinch the seams to seal. Cut each log crosswise into 10 equal slices.
11) Butter one 9 inch round and one 8 inch square cake pan.
12) Add the remaining 1/2 c brown sugar and 1/4 c butter to the remaining brown sugar mixture and stir.
13) Toss in pecans and sprinkle over the pan bottoms.
14) Place 9 dough slices, cut sides down and almost touching in the square pan. Place 11 in the round pan.
15) Cover with kitchen towel and let rise until doubled. (60-75 min)
16) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Uncover loaves and bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.
17) Invert pans onto a plate and serve warm.

Notes
One sister was really not into the idea of pecans, so we omitted them on the pan version and they became delicious cinnamon buns!

xoxo,
lemonie