10 Years of O-Yum-G ! (well, sort of)

Happy Birthday to O-Yum-G! Though, it took a Facebook reminder to let me know that it was on this day in 2014 that I posted my first blog here at O-Yum-G. (Bad blog mom here)

At the beginning, I was pretty faithful in posting various recipes, food adventures, and the results of my monthly Baking Club meetings. But over time, life and work got in the way and I posted less and less. And then suddenly, it had been 6 years since I last posted! Frankly, it’s a miracle I still knew how to post!

So in honor of 10 years since my first blog, I figured I’d share what my Baking Club was up to this weekend. This month’s theme was Yeasted Breads - they could be loaves, rolls, filled, savory or sweet - the sky was the limit - we just had to use yeast. Most of us in Baking Club are over-achievers, so we often make more than one thing! In part so that we have a back up in case something goes wrong (which is always a possibility when working with yeast) but also because when we’re researching recipe ideas, we get excited by so many options and it’s hard to pick just one!

So without further ado, here’s a look at the range of what we baked this weekend.

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LIBBY - No-Knead Everything Bread (via King Arthur Baking)
I picked this recipe first, because it was (in theory) easy and required minimal hands-on effort. I liked the flavor profile of the “everything but the bagel seasoning” and so quickly mixed up my dough ahead of its 12-hour rise journey. When it came time to shape it into a ball, the dough was still rather wet and slack, so I added some additional flour and prayed it would bake up enough. This is when I slightly panicked and decided to make a 2nd recipe (see below). In the end, it baked up well enough (though it looked like a UFO) and it did have a really good flavor. In the end, I probably won’t make this recipe again, but I definitely will steal the idea of using the everything seasoning in other bread dough recipes.

Russian Black Bread (via King Arthur Baking)
While things weren’t going so well in everything land above, I found this recipe for Russian Black Bread that called for a range of ingredients, all of which I just so happened to have on hand: rye flour, black cocoa, molasses, espresso powder, cider vinegar and fennel seeds. It turned out to be a beautiful loaf and I liked having something to bring to Baking Club that was just a little bit different.

KLARE - Nutty Fruity Sourdough (via King Arthur Baking)
Klare is our resident Queen of the Yeast - she has truly mastered the finnicky ingredient and is a wonderful bread baker. She made two recipes as well - both of which used sourdough starter. This loaf was delightfully studded with dried fruits and walnuts. This bread makes for a perfect piece of toast along slathered with salty butter.

Sourdough Focaccia (via Homestead and Chill)
Klare’s second recipe was a sourdough focaccia that was topped with grape tomatoes and kalamata olives. It was perfectly oiled on the bottom to give it that crunchy texture and on the top to enhance the flavor of the toppings. Had the perfect amount of sponginess and chew.

TONYA - Easy No-Knead Focaccia (via Bon Appetit)
We got a second taste of focaccia with Tonya’s recipe from Bon Appetit. This was a no-knead dough that used both olive oil and butter. Olive oil was used in the pan and shaping of the dough - and the butter was brushed on after baking and then sprinkled with a mix of garlic and herbs (Tonya used rosemary, thyme and basil). Having both the olive oil and butter flavors was awesome - plus the herby, garlicky topping. Chef’s kiss!

KAREN - Frøsnapper / Seeded Havarti Twists (via Scandinavian From Scratch cookbook)
Karen was gifted an amazing cookbook last year called, Scandinavian From Scratch, and this is the third Baking Club in a row she’s made a recipe from this book. All the recipes have been so good - and now it has me putting Norway, Denmark and Sweden at the top of my travel list!

These Seeded Havarti Twists, a variation on the Danish pastry known as Frøsnapper, are made from a laminated yeasted dough (similar to what you’d use to make croissants), and then sprinkled with cheese, dipped in poppy and sesame seeds and twisted. They’re crunchy, buttery, slightly cheesy and all the seeds give it incredible texture. They’re a perfect snack or served alongside a meal. While labor intensive (as all laminated doughs are), I have a feeling I may be making these in the very near future.

GINA - Pizza Party Buns (via King Arthur Baking)
And to give us yet another variation of what you can do with yeasted dough, Gina brought two filled/stuffed bread recipes. The first are Pizza Party Buns. Think of these as handheld pizza spirals and in the perfect form to take these on the go! The dough is rolled out and then pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni (or your favorite pizza toppings) are added on top, then rolled and sliced. The end result is a soft bread with melty cheese and pepperoni all curled up into the perfect bun.

Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Rolls (via NYT Cooking)
I love bread. I love spinach-artichoke dip. Put them together, and you’ve got magic. These rolls are made with an enriched dough - meaning they have milk, sugar, eggs and fat (butter or oil) - and make for the softest, most velvety dough. It’s a dream to work with. Other breads made from enriched doughs include brioche, hot cross buns and more.

To make these rolls Gina made balls of dough, flattened them out and filled them with a delicious, parmesan-forward spinach and artichoke filling. They got a little egg wash and sprinkling of sesame seeds before going in the oven. The rolls come out looking glossy and ready for their close up! I’m so excited that I was able to bring home two of these rolls, which will be part of my lunches this week.

An Irish(ish) Breakfast

I know that things have been quiet here at O-YUM-G, but it's our 4th Anniversary, and that calls for a celebration with a new post and a new resolve to post more in the coming year!

This year, I've had the opportunity to host a small group of people from my church for a Lenten Bible study.  We meet every Saturday morning and I provide a breakfast for them each week, ranging from the classics like pancakes and eggs & bacon to the more exotic fare of casseroles and bread puddings. 

Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd do something special and make an Irish(ish) breakfast.  After searching for what is traditionally included in an Irish breakfast (eggs, bacon/sausage, baked beans, grilled tomatoes) and determining that that wasn't quite what I was in the mood for, I came across something called "Bubble & Squeak".  With a name like that, how could you not be tempted to find out more?  Well, it's basically a hash made with leftover vegetables and mixed together with mashed potatoes.  It can be served with an egg or you can mix in bacon or sausage.  Recipes vary, as it's really more of a concept vs. a prescribed list and order of ingredients.  It came about as a way of using leftover potatoes, vegetables and whatever else was on hand.  They can be made large and cooked in a skillet or made in more individual patty-like servings and cooked on a griddle or even baked.  It sounded easy enough to me - so I added it to my menu.

Next, I wanted a baked good, maybe slightly sweet, to help balance the savoriness of the bubble & squeak.  I went back to my archives and found a recipe for Irish Soda Bread Scones that looked pretty good.  Called for browned butter (always a plus), buttermilk and cream (again, no complaints here!) and used dried cherries instead of raisins (sign me up!).

Now here comes the "ish" part of this breakfast menu - Shamrock Rice Krispie Treats.  I had been shopping at Aldi (my new fav grocery store) last week, and they had a giant box of Lucky Charms with all shamrock marshmallows.  It just leapt into my cart (even though I don't really like Lucky Charms) and I knew I'd figure out something to do with them.  I just can't ever pass up a seasonally-related food item.  But here's the thing, I wanted to do something with the shamrock marshmallows, but not necessarily with the rest of the Lucky Charms cereal.  So I sat there and picked out all the marshmallows and made traditional Rice Krispie treats and then mixed in the green shamrocks - best of both worlds!

To round out our breakfast, I also cooked up some smoked bacon and prepared a pot of Irish Breakfast tea. Our meal was complete!

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BUBBLE & SQUEAK

• 2 cups roasted vegetables (brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, onions, etc.)
• 1/2 cup frozen petite green peas
• 3-4 cups mashed potatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, add roasted vegetables and peas.  Mix together.
2. Add 3 cups of mashed potatoes and mix to combine.  Add additional mashed potatoes as needed, until mixture comes together and holds.
3. Divide mixture into 8 parts.  Form each part into a patty.
4. Cook patties on a griddle or skillet until browned on both sides and heated through.
5. Top each patty with a fried or poached egg, if desired. 

IRISH SODA BREAD SCONES (adapted from Baker By Nature)

• 1/2 stick (4oz) salted butter
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cups rolled or quick-cook oats
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream + 3 Tbsp (divided)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Sparkling or demerara sugar, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown it on medium heat.  Let cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and dried cherries.
4. Add browned butter, heavy cream, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
5. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until the mixture starts to comes together; use your hands to mix in anything hanging out at the bottom of the bowl.
6. Turn the mixture out on a lightly floured surface and gently knead until the dough comes together.  Don't overwork the dough.
7. Divide the dough into two balls; flatten each ball into a disc and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Cut each round into 6 wedges.  Loosely separate each piece from the round (this allows for more even baking).
8. Brush the tops of each scone with reserved 3 Tbsp cream and sprinkle with sparkling or demerara sugar, if desired.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops and edges are a nice golden brown.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Apple Dumpling Cobbler

My favorite season of the year has finally arrived! I love everything about fall...the changing leaves, the crisp air, the comfy sweaters and most of all, the flavors of the season.  I'm talking cinnamon, pumpkin and of course, apples.  

I had the chance to go apple picking this past weekend and came back with nearly a 1/2 bushel of apples - a mix of MacIntosh, Jonathan, Stayman and Golden Delicious.  When I returned with my haul of apples, I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to try first.  I came across a recipe for Apple Dumpling Slices via King Arthur Flour.  I liked the twist on a traditional apple dumpling and it reminded me of my favorite blackberry cobbler recipe.

Essentially, you make a quick biscuit dough, fill it with chopped apples and cinnamon, roll it up, slice it and place on top a layer of melted butter and then pour a sweet apple cider syrup on top. (And commence the drooling.)

The instructions may seem complicated (you are making 3 separate elements) - but everything comes together quite easily. This cobbler (as I like to think of it) is delicious hot out of the oven or at room temperature, with ice cream or without, with a fork or with your fingers.  Anyway you look at it, this is a delicious way to enjoy the flavors of the season!

APPLE DUMPLING COBBLER

adapted from King Arthur Flour

• 4 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups self-raising flour (*see note below)
• 6 Tbst cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour melted butter into 9x13 pan and spread evenly across the bottom.  Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, heat apple cider and sugar until sugar is melted and mixture is clear. Set aside.
4. Mix chopped apples with cinnamon.  Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, add flour and cut in cold butter until mixture is crumbly.  Add milk and mix just until dough comes together.  Knead gently until dough becomes cohesive.
6. Roll out dough into a 10x15 rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle chopped apples over entire surface of dough.
7. Using the long edge, roll up the dough into a log.  Divide into 16 slices (tip: start cutting in the middle and work your way to the ends.  The dough may be crumbly and the slices may try to fall apart - but don't worry, it will still taste delicious!)
8. Arrange each slice on top of the melted butter in the prepared pan. Pour the apple cider syrup over top of all the slices. 
9. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned and the syrup is bubbly.

*Note: To substitute for 1 cup self-raising flour, add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt to 1 cup all-purpose flour.

Marble Glazed Shamrock Cookies

Can you believe that O-YUM-G is now 3 years old?  Time sure flies when you're baking fun!

Since this blog was founded on St. Patrick's Day - I honor the anniversary with a St. Patrick's Day-related treat!  The blog first started with shamrock cookies decorated with royal icing.  The following year were easy-to-assemble pretzel shamrocks and last year I shared a recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies. 

This year, I give you these marble glazed shamrock cookies!  They are as tasty as they are pretty.  And the glazing technique is easier than you would think.  I also recently came across a fantastic sugar cookie recipe that has surpassed the tried-and-true sugar cut-out cookie recipe I've been using for the past 17 years.  It's THAT good.  Using a hint of almond extract and high-quality butter sends the flavor of this cookie through the charts.  You don't even need to make them look pretty in order to enjoy them (I actually prefer them plain!).  The best part of this recipe is that you don't need to chill the dough first in order to roll it out and cut out cookies.  That means you can get homemade cookies in your mouth all the faster!  

MARBLE GLAZED SHAMROCK COOKIES

Sugar Cookie (adapted from In Katrina's Kitchen)

• 1 cup salted butter, softened

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp almond extract

• 1 egg, room temperature

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350. In bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in extracts and egg and mix well.  Slowly add in baking powder and flour until just incorporated.  If mixture is a little dry, finish mixing by kneading the remaining dry ingredients into the dough with your hands.

Divide the dough into thirds and roll out onto a well-floured surface to about 1/4" thick. To ensure even thickness, place dough between two 1/4" dowels and run rolling pin over the dowels until all the dough is flattened and even.  Cut out into desired shapes.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Place cookies about 1" apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 6-8 minutes - just until set.  Do not overbake - you don't want to see any browning.  Let cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  Let cool completely before frosting/decorating.

MARBLE GLAZE (adapted from The Cafe Sucre Farine)

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/2 tsp almond extract

• 4 Tbsp milk

• Green food coloring (gel or liquid)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract and 3 Tbsp of milk. Add additional milk by the teaspoon, until it's a thick but drizzle-y consistency.

Pour about 1/4 of the glaze into a shallow bowl. Place 4-5 drops of food coloring onto the glaze and drag a toothpick through the glaze in a swirl formation to create the marble-effect. If using the gel kind of food coloring, dip end of a toothpick into the gel and then swirl through the glaze.

Take a cookie and place it top-side down onto the glaze.  Gently press down so that the glaze touches the full surface of the cookies.  Carefully lift the cookie straight up from the glaze and let any excess drizzle off.  Flip cookie right-side up and place on a cooling rack to let the glaze set.  When the glaze in the bowl has lost most of its marble-effect, add another 1/4 of the glaze and swirl in additional food coloring.  Repeat with remaining cookies and glaze.

Let the glaze set for about 1-2 hours. They can then be stacked between sheets of wax paper and stored in an airtight container.

Baking Club Adventure: Chess Pie

It was March 14, also known as Pi Day, or as I call it, the tastiest day of the year! My company had arranged for pies from a local bakery, Dangerously Delicious Pies, to be delivered and employees could come down to the lobby for a free slice of pie.  I chose a chocolate chess pie and it was incredible. I sent a picture of the pie to the baking club and we thought chess pie would make a great theme for our next meeting.

A few of the club members had never even heard of chess pie, much less tasted it.  For me, I had grown up with chess pie, as it is a staple recipe in any Southern woman's recipe box.  Both my mom and grandmother had their go-to recipes for Chess pie.

The origin of the pie's name is unknown - some say that because the pie is so sweet, it didn't need to be refrigerated and could be kept in a pie chest on the counter.  Others say it got it's name when someone walked into their neighbor's kitchen and asked "what's cooking in the oven?" and the neighbor replied "oh, it's 'jes pie!" (read that in a Southern accent!)  However it got it's name, I call it delicious - though not everyone in the baking club became converts.

Read on to see all that we made!

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LIBBY - Chess Pie

I chose to make a hand-written recipe from my grandmother.  Not only did I like the nostalgia of making something that she used to make, but this recipe also called for an unusual ingredient: grated American cheese.  I'm not sure why it's in there or what purpose it serves - but it's in the recipe, so I made it just the way she did!

Chess Pie

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. vinegar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. yellow corn meal
• 1 Tbsp. grated American cheese

Mix ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into unbaked 9" pie shell.  Bake in 350 oven for 50-60 minutes.

KLARE - Classic Chess Pie (via MyRecipes)

Klare chose a classic chess pie recipe that includes two of the distinctive ingredients of chess pie: corn meal and vinegar.  The corn meal (and flour) help to thicken and provide stability to the custard filling and the vinegar helps cut the sweetness of the pie.  The powdered sugar finish on top really makes this a most tempting pie!

GINA - Lemon Chess Pie (via Ezra Pound Cake and How to Cook Everything)

Like the chocolate version I had on Pi Day, chess pie can be adapted to incorporate various different flavors.  Gina chose a lemon variety that was very tasty.  Like the vinegar in the classic chess pie, lemon juice helps to cut down on the sweetness and provides a sharp, refreshing flavor.

TONYA - Brown Butter Chess Pie (via Joy the Baker)

All of us in baking club are huge fans of browned butter, but none more so than Tonya.  So it was no surprise that she chose this recipe. Sometimes you don't need to add a new ingredient to change the flavor of a dish.  Sometimes all you need to do is change the flavor of the ingredients you already have! The brown bits of butter are perfectly dispersed throughout the mixture so that every bite has that toasty, buttery flavor.

Caramel Apple Pie

It's beginning to feel a lot like autumn...all through the town... Not quite the same ring as the traditional Christmas tune, but we've finally reached that phase in the seasonal calendar where the leaves start to fall, there's a crispness in the air, the sweaters and boots come out and the apples are ready for picking.  I recently went apple picking and came back with a bunch of apples waiting to be turned into various treats. 

This weekend, I've used some of the apples in a quinoa, carrot & almond side dish and some more in a honey mustard chicken dish (o-yum-g - the sauce in this recipe is out of this world!)

And then today, I found this recipe for a caramel apple pie.  The recipe came via King Arthur Flour and a local baker who won first place in the county fair.  It had so many things going for it: 1) buttery crust 2) caramel sauce 3) streusel topping AND 4) a lattice crust top.  

And my goodness did it deliver!  I probably could have gone with baking it a little bit longer for a crisper bottom crust (it was a tad on the "soggy bottom" side) - but still crazy delicious.  

If you're thinking ahead about your Thanksgiving menu or are just hankering for a good slice of apple pie - you should definitely check this recipe out!

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CARAMEL APPLE PIE (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup cold water

Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 cups apples, peeled, cored & sliced
• 1/2 cup caramel bits, divided
• 2 Tbsp milk or cream
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Topping

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter

1.  To make the crust, mix flour and salt together and cut in butter with until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add enough of the water so that the dough comes together.  Divide the dough into two amounts, one slightly larger than the other and flatten into a disc.  Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.  While the dough is chilling, peel, core and slice apples and place in a large bowl.  Add sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Toss to coat.  Melt half of the caramel bits with the cream and stir until smooth.  Pour over the apples and toss to coat.  Set aside.

3.  For the topping, mix together flour and brown sugar (you can use the same bowl the crust was made in) and cut the butter in until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.  Set aside.

4.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Remove the dough discs from the fridge.   Unwrap the largest disc and place on a floured surface. Tap the dough with rolling pin to soften the disc and make it pliable for rolling.  Roll dough out into a large circle and place in a 9" pie plate.  Sprinkle the bottom of the pie crust with the panko crumbs (these will help absorb some of the juices to prevent a soggy bottom).  Place the apples in the pie crust, reserving the liquid.  Cover the apples with the streusel topping.  Roll out the remaining dough disc and cut into strips.  Arrange on top of the pie in a lattice design of choice.

5.  Place on top of a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake in oven for 60-70 minutes.  If crust is looking too brown, cover with foil for remainder of the baking time.

6.  While the pie is cooling, place reserved apple liquid into a small saucepan.  Reduce liquid until thick and glossy.  Add in remaining caramel bits and cook over low heat until caramel melts, stirring constantly.  Add milk or cream for desired consistency.

7.  To serve, cut pie into slices and drizzle with caramel sauce.  Enjoy!!

What's For TV: MacGyver (CBS)

One of the trends I've noticed with this year's new series is the continuance of movie and TV reboots.  Last year brought us reboots of Minority Report, Limitless, Heroes and The Muppets (side note: all these were canceled after their first season).  This year is no different with Lethal Weapon, Frequency, The Exorcist and MacGyver (plus a few more planned for mid-season).  Let's hope a few of these last longer than last year's crop (my money is Lethal Weapon - one of my surprise favorites!)

As with the original series, the reboot of MacGyver features a government operative with a special knack for unconventional problem solving- he was the ultimate "life-hacker".  Rather than share some recipe pairings - I figured it would be most appropriate to share with you my favorite kitchen hacks - so you can become your own MacGyver of the kitchen!

TOP 7 BAKING HACKS

1. Use a plastic ziploc bag as a quick pastry bag.  Whether piping frosting or drizzling melted chocolate, fill the bag, zip close and cut the tip of one corner to the desired size opening.
2. Got an egg shell in your bowl?  Wet your finger with water and the egg shell will cling to your finger! 
3. Spray your pans with non-stick spray over your opened dishwasher door.  Any excess spray will land on the door and not your counter or stove top - and you'll be washing that door anyway, the next time you run a load of dishes.
4. Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to portion out equal sized amounts of cookie dough or muffin/cake batter.
5. If a recipe calls for oil, make a healthy swap for an equal amount of applesauce.
6. To quickly get eggs to room temperature (as often called for in recipes), place them in a bowl of warm water.  By the time you've gathered your other ingredients and ready to use the eggs, they'll be at the perfect temperature.
7. Make a box cake mix taste like homemade with a few simple substitutions & additions:
   1. Replace oil with melted butter
   2. Replace water with milk
   3. Add 1 extra egg
   4. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract
   5. For chocolate cakes, use hot water and add 1 tsp espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor

MacGyver airs Fridays at 8p on CBS.

4 Ways to Use a Jar of Salsa (Besides Dipping Chips)

When most folks see salsa, their immediate instinct is to grab a chip and dunk it in the spicy, tomato sauce. Me? I want to throw it into one of these four recipes and make me some dinner.  I know it sounds strange, but I'm not the biggest fan of salsa on its own.  I much prefer the flavors and ingredients it brings to a dish.  The main ingredients of salsa - tomatoes, onions and peppers - are staples of many dinner recipes, and a jar of salsa can act as an easy, flavorful shortcut.

All of these recipes come together very quickly and some use less than 5 ingredients!  And all are naturally gluten-free.

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One-Pot Quinoa & Salsa Chicken

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 16oz jar chunky salsa
• 2 cups chicken, cooked & chopped
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese

In a large pot, bring the 2 cups chicken stock to a boil.  Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa.  Once the stock has reached a boil, add the quinoa, cover and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

To the pot, add black beans, salsa, chicken and cheese.  Stir until all ingredients are mixed and cheese is melted.

Yield: 4-6 servings

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Mexican Lasagna

• 15 corn tortillas, cut in half
• 2 32oz jars chunky salsa
• 4 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded (see note below)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 4oz can chopped green chilies
• 2 cups Mexican-style cheese, divided
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, add cooked chicken, sour cream, black beans, green chilies, 1 cup of the cheese, cumin and black pepper.  Stir until combined.

In a 9x13 pan, spread half of one jar of salsa.  Arrange one third of the corn tortilla halves on top of salsa.  Spread half of the chicken mixture on top followed by the rest of the first jar of salsa.  Arrange the next third of tortillas halves, followed by the rest of the chicken mixture and half of the second jar of salsa.  Top off with the remaining tortillas and the rest of the salsa.  Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted.  Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Note: For quick shredded chicken, place chicken breasts in a large pot.  Fill with enough water to cover the chicken.  Over high heat, bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred with two forks or your fingers.

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Sweet & Spicy Crockpot Chicken

• 4 raw chicken breasts, fresh or frozen
• 1 packet taco seasoning or 1 Tbsp of homemade taco seasoning (see note below)
• 1 16oz jar chunky salsa
• 1 8oz jar peach preserves

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot.  Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken.  Add the jar of salsa and then the preserves.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  When cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken and mix with the sweet & spicy sauce.  Serve with rice or tortillas.

Note: To make homemade taco seasoning, mix up the following spices and store in an empty spice jar to always have taco seasoning on hand!

Taco Seasoning

• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

      Yield:  2 1/2 Tbsp

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Spicy Salsa Tomato Soup

• 1 64oz bottle Spicy V8 juice
• 1 32oz container chicken stock
• 1 16oz jar chunky salsa
• 1 can black beans

Add all ingredients to a large pot and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes.  Garnish with cheese, sour cream & chopped green onion, if desired.

Baking Club Adventure: Kouign Amann

It all started with an email from Klare back in November: have we ever eaten or made Kouign Amann?  The resounding answer was no...on both accounts.  Most of us had never heard of it, much less knew how to pronounce it (btw, it's QUEEN uh-MAHN).  But once we did our Google searches and figured out what it was (buttery, flaky, doughy deliciousness), we were all on board.

At its heart, kouign amann is a laminated, yeasted pastry, much like a croissant.  Where it differs is in its shape (either one big cake or individual muffin sizeand the addition of a sugar layer - the result is a muffin-like, French sticky bun.  The treat originally comes from the Brittany region of France and translates to literally mean "butter" (amann) "cake" (kouign).

This was definitely one of our most challenging baking clubs - from start to finish, kouign amann takes at least 24 hours to make.  Granted, most of that time is spent waiting - hands-on time is about 1 1/2 hours.  So it takes some time, preparation and planning when making kouign amann.  But I guarantee all that time and effort is worth it.

What was also fun about this baking club was comparing how different recipes were for the same baked good.  While the overall mechanics were the same, we each had different amounts of the ingredients and different techniques.  But all were delicious and worthy of being made again!

---

LIBBY - Kouign Amann (via The Kitchn)

What I liked about this recipe was how detailed the instructions were (3 pages of 21 steps!).  It also gave great tips about ingredients, techniques and equipment.  The only thing I would do differently would be to chill the dough after the second rise, before baking.  As any chef would tell you, chilled butter is absolutely key to working with laminated doughs (that's the main reason why it takes so long to make - you have to wait for the butter to chill after each time working with the dough).  I should have trusted my instincts - but decided to follow these instructions to the letter.  The flavor and overall end result weren't terrible - but I think a good amount of the butter melted out early on and mixed with the sugar to make a sticky, caramel sauce on the bottom of each muffin well.  Not pretty but still crazy delicious.  

All the kouign amann

Yeasted Dough (detrempe)

Ready to rise

Dough after 1st rise

Difference between European and standard butter

Forming butter block

After first turn

Seeing the layers of dough and butter

Sugar layer before final turn

Ready to cut after final turn

Ready to put in pan

Shaping the pastry

After 2nd rise

Flaky, buttery heaven

Ready for its close-up

KLARE & TONYA - Kouign Amann (via Bon Appetit/Epicurious)

Both Klare and Tonya chose the same recipe - so it was fun to compare the same recipe from two different kitchens.  In this recipe, the butter is incorporated via large pats of butter on top of the dough vs a butter block and the sugar is also added at this initial phase as well, before the first fold and turn.  The sugar continues to be added at each turn by sprinkling the work surface with sugar and rolling the dough out on top of it - as well as adding sugar on top.  Klare also chose to make hers as one large cake in addition to individual pastries.  Consensus was...big or small...they all taste incredible.

Klare's large kouign amann

Tonya's individual kouign amann

GINA - Kouign Amann (via Cake Over Steak)

The recipe Gina used was probably the most different from the rest we tried.  First, the butter was creamed with sugar. Then the dough (which also had sugar in it) was rolled out and then cut into two equal rectangles.  The butter was spread on top of one of the portions of dough and topped with the other (so a dough-butter-dough sandwich).  After all the requisite turns and folds, the dough was shaped by rolling it into a log and slicing it into 12 equal pieces.  There was also not a second rise called for in this recipe, rather one last chill session after the shaping.  

Gina's kouign amann

Kenda Cake!

Today has been a fun day - it's where my professional and personal passions have come together...in a cake!  We had the pleasure of hosting Lt. Joe Kenda at the office today - to help kick off a new season of Homicide Hunter, which (shameless plug) premieres tonight at 10p on Investigation Discovery!

To mark the special occasion, I made a special cake for Kenda - a two-tier, 20+pound creation representing a police officer's uniform and including a few special ID touches: the ID logo and Kenda's catch-phrase "my, my, my" on the back and a talking Kenda bobble-head as the cake-topper.  The bottom tier was a 4-layer chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and the top tier was a 4-layer yellow cake with vanilla buttercream.  

I had a lot of fun making this cake and it was extra special to share it with Joe, his wife Kathy and the rest of the ID team.  And I think folks had a lot of fun eating it, too!

Photo credit: M. Mikrut

Photo credit: A. Snead

Obrigada, Rio!

I don't know about you, but I've had so much fun watching the Rio Summer Olympics these past two weeks.  We've had some incredible stories and wins for the American team - and for Team Maryland!  Having visited Rio three years ago, one of the draws of watching this year's coverage of the games was seeing the stunning scenery in Rio and remembering my trip there.  

Another way to remember my trip was to make some Brazilian treats - which I shared with friends at an Opening Ceremonies party.  The treats included Pao de Queijo (cheese buns), brigadeiro (a Brazilian chocolate candy) and caipirinhas (cocktails made with cachaca).  These classic Brazilian recipes are pretty easy to make and most of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

So as the Olympics come to a close tomorrow night, raise a caipirinha and take a bite of brigadeiro to say "Obrigado, Rio"!

Pao de Queijo via King Arthur Flour

These buns are naturally gluten free and made with tapioca flour.  They're flavored with garlic and cheese and best served warm.  They're great on their own as a snack or served as a dinner roll or as a side to a salad or cup of soup.

Pao de Queijo

Brigadeiro

These delightful chocolate confections are a cinch to make and only require 3 ingredients! They're a rich and smooth truffle-like candy that are then rolled in chocolate sprinkles (or rainbow ones if you're feeling extra festive).

• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp butter
• Chocolate sprinkles

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and mix to combine.  Stirring constantly, cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until a spatula dragged through the middle of the mixture reveals the bottom of the pan and the mixture stays separated for 2-3 seconds.  Pour onto a sheet pan lined with parchment and chill for 1hr.  Roll into teaspoon-sized balls and roll into sprinkles.

Buzzfeed recently came up these other variations on this theme - I'm excited to try out the cookies & cream version!

Brigadeiro

Caipirinha

Whether on the beaches of Copacabana or island hopping in Paraty, one thing we could always find was a fresh caipirinha.  This cocktail is just about perfection - bright lime muddled with sugar and topped off with ice and cachaca, a white rum distilled from sugarcane.  They can be strong but they are so refreshing on a hot day.

• half a lime, cut into quarters
• 2 teaspoons sugar (preferably turbinado or demerara)
• crushed ice
• 1 2/3 oz cachaca

Muddle the limes and sugar in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass.  Add enough crushed ice to fill to the top and top with the cachaca.  Makes one drink.

One of the best (and strongest) caipirinhas we had in Brazil - made by a little old grandma!

King Arthur Flour Bake-cation: Day 4

Today was the last day of our pastry class and while I'm sad it's over, I'll be glad to get home to my kitchen and try these recipes all over again! 

On the agenda for today was chocolate, nuts, more chocolate and buttercream! First, we made nut dragees, which are like a fancy version of M&Ms. Our instructor, Melanie, selected hazelnuts for us, but you can use any round nut like hazelnuts, macadamia nuts or almonds. Nuts like pecans and walnuts get a little trickier because of the nooks and crannies.

When you're working with nuts, it's always a good idea to toast them first. This really brings out the nuttiness and flavor. If your nuts have skins on them, you'll need to remove the skins first before coating them in sugar and chocolate.  

blanched and roasted hazelnuts 

Next, you make a light caramel (from sugar and water), coat the nuts evenly with the caramel and then spread out on a pan to cool.  As they cool, break them apart so each one is separated. 

Hazelnuts coated in a light caramel

Now comes the fun, magic part! To get the nuts perfectly enrobed in chocolate, you get three metal bowls that have been in the freezer. Pour nuts into the first bowl and then pour a ladle full of chocolate over them. Stir the mixture until the chocolate sets and the mixture looks dry - none of the nuts should be clumped together. Then transfer the nuts to the second frozen bowl, add chocolate and repeat the process. Keep going through the third bowl. Transfer the nuts to a pan and return the three bowls to the freezer to chill again. Once they're cold, repeat the chocolate coating process three more times, moving the nuts from one bowl to the next. When all the nuts have been coated, you can start eating them just as they are or tossing them in confectioners sugar or cocoa powder. 

Coating the hazelnuts in a layer of chocolate 

the hazelnuts after three coatings of chocolate

Before we started making our truffles, Melanie gave us a quick history of chocolate and shared with us some pictures from a trip she took to a Mexican cocoa plantation. We learned that cocoa beans are harvested from ripe, red pods that are about the size of a football. The beans are then laid out in the sun to ferment, then dried and roasted. The outer shells of the beans are cracked and discarded, leaving the "nib" of the bean. Those nibs are then ground to produce cocoa liquor which is further processed to make cocoa powder and chocolate bars. 

A cocoa tree pod - they're ripe when they turn red

the inside of a cocoa pod - about 20-50 cocoa beans per pod (takes about 400 beans to make one pound of chocolate

Cocoa nibs 

Now back to our truffles! Once we had them scooped and rolled into balls, we had to temper some chocolate to use to cover our truffles. Tempering is a process of heating and cooling chocolate to specific temperatures in order to stabilize the cocoa butter crystals. This ensures a shiny and smooth consistency when fully cooled. 

There are several methods of tempering, the easier methods being the seeding method and the table method. The seeding method involves heating your chocolate to the appropriate melting temperature and then cooling it to the correct working temperature by adding in small amounts of chopped, tempered chocolate to the bowl ("seeds"). By adding room temperature chocolate, it helps to naturally cool the mixture to the working temperature. 

Another method of tempering chocolate is the table method. Just like in the seeding method, the chocolate is heated to melting temperature, but instead of cooling it with solid chocolate, the chocolate is poured onto a marble or granite slab and spread around with metal utensils. This method does have the potential for a lot of mess, but looks like such fun!

Our instructor, Melanie, tempering chocolate via the table method. 

Once we had our tempered chocolate ready, it was time to coat the truffles. Melanie showed us an ingenious method for dipping truffles in chocolate. Wearing gloves, dip three fingers into the chocolate and transfer a good amount into your other hand's palm. Then place a ball of ganache in your hand and roll it in the chocolate in your hands. This method allows for a thinner and more even coating of chocolate and less of a puddle when you set the chocolate ball on a pan. The other benefit is that you don't cool down your melted chocolate by dropping chilled balls of ganache. 

Note the near perfect round shape and cleanliness of Melanie's truffles and pan!

We soon found out that practice really does make for better looking truffles. Ours were not so round and clean.  Part of the issue was that we made our ganache with predominantly milk chocolate and we should have reduced the amount of cream we used to compensate for the milk in the milk chocolate. Since we didn't, we had a much softer ganache, which made for somewhat difficult rolling and coating of chocolate. But still tasty, nonetheless!!

The wreckage of our truffle coating process

But once they were gussied up in cocoa powder, powdered sugar or sprinkled with sea salt, they don't look so bad!

All of our chocolates packaged up!

The last thing to do before the class ended was to assemble and decorate the other vanilla chiffon cake. First step was to slice the cake into two layers. We also had one-half layer leftover from when we made the parfait on Day 2, so I decided to make mine a three-layer cake. I also chose to fill each layer with the leftover lemon curd from our lemon tartlets on Day 1. 

All my layer cake components at the ready

Then we used a small amount of frosting to create a crumb coat and then chilled the frosting to set it. 

Finally, we put the finishing layer of frosting on the top and sides of the cake and smoothed it out. Then we put the remaining buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and piped out decorations to finish our cake. 

The final three-layer vanilla chiffon cake with lemon curd filling!

Mom and me with our decorated cakes!

Once our cakes were done, we had a little "graduation" ceremony where we presented with certificates of completion and then we took a class photo with our instructor Melanie.  

KAF Pastry II - Class of 2016!

Our wonderful instructors Becca and Melanie

It's been such a wonderful week being here at King Arthur. I've loved being able to share this experience with my mom and to be in the company of fellow bakers who have a passion for creating homemade treats. I can't wait to come back for another bake-cation and try my hand at more new recipes and techniques!

Thanks to you all for following along on our journey - keep coming back to the blog for more posts on my adventures in baking! 

King Arthur Flour Bake-cation: Day 3

Well, our week is now half-way over but there's still so much deliciousness to get to!  

Now that we reached day 3 - it was time to finally prep our puff pastry for baking.  We rolled it out into a giant rectangle and then docked it with this fancy roller that gently poked the dough.  Docking helps steam escape and prevents giant bubbles from forming when in the oven.

The docked puff pastry dough, prior to baking.

As with all the other steps in puff pastry, we needed to chill it one last time before baking in the oven.  While we were waiting for that to happen, we turned our attention to the assembly of the Sacher tortes.

First, we had to make the chocolate glaze that was going to cover the entire cake.  It was surprisingly easy and with only two ingredients: chocolate and boiling water.  Today's instructor, Becca, made a big batch for the entire class to use, and because of the large amount, she used an industrial-sized immersion blender.  Normally, you wouldn't ever mix chocolate and water, but because of the power of the immersion blender, we're able to create an emulsion where the water droplets become dispersed throughout the chocolate and a glossy glaze is formed.

Industrial-sized immersion blender in a bucket of chocolate glaze.

Once we had the glaze prepared, it was time to assemble our Sacher tortes.  First, we had to split the cake into two layers and cover the bottom layer with apricot preserves - the hallmark ingredient of a traditional Sacher torte.

We're (apricot) jamming now!

Then we poured that sumptuous chocolate glaze onto the top of the cake and with a spatula, evenly spread it across the top and along the sides of the cake.

The finished Sacher torte!I

Inside the Sacher torte

Another pastry down, it was time to start the prep on our next creation: chocolate truffles!  The step we were tackling today was the ganache.  So we heated up some milk and honey and poured it over a mix of milk and dark chocolate chips.

Adding our boiled milk and honey over a mix of milk & dark chocolate chips

Then we gently whisked the mixture, being careful not to add too much air.  Looking a little not-put-together right now...

Getting closer...

It's perfect! And now we pour onto a sheet pan, cover it with plastic wrap (to keep a skin from forming) and let it chill in the fridge until we're ready to work with it tomorrow.

Our chocolate ganache - Mom (Linda) and I will be sharing this batch, so we labeled with our name...times two!

While we were making our chocolate ganache, our puff pastries were baking and cooling. And ta-da! Isn't it beautiful?! So flakey, so buttery, so golden-y!  Some of you may be thinking, "umm...where's the puff"? Don't worry, the layers are there - but we actually inhibited a full on puffing by placing another sheet pan directly on top of the dough.  This ensured that the pastry would rise evenly.  And because we were going to be slicing this and layering it with pastry cream, we didn't want the pastry to be too thick (or else it'd be extra hard to eat).

So here's the pastry cut into thirds in strips and the bottom layer covered in a layer of piped pastry cream.  We put the middle layer on, piped another layer of pastry cream and then topped it with the final layer of puff pastry.

Napoleon assembly

Then we decorated the top with a layer of white icing and stripes of melted chocolate.  To make a pretty design, we dragged a toothpick across the top in alternating directions.

And voila! A finished Napoleon!  The last step was to put it in the fridge to let the icing set before slicing it into individual portions.

One of the key things we've learned this week is that pastry is really all about the assembly of multiple components, many of which, take time and patience.  After working on a number of elements over the past few days, the actual final assembly of our desserts came together rather quickly and today we completed our Napoleons and Sacher tortes.

A completed Napoleon

Cross-section of the Napoleon

Our sliced Napoleons

The last task of the day was to make Italian meringue buttercream to be used in the assembly and decoration of our vanilla Chiffon layer cakes.  An Italian meringue buttercream starts with water, sugar and corn syrup, heated to the soft ball stage (238 degrees).  Meanwhile, you whip egg whites and sugar into a meringue.  Once the hot sugar mixture is ready, you stream it into your bowl of egg whites and proceed to whip until the bowl is no longer hot and feels about ready.

Our instructor had us make a giant batch for the entire class, so we used a commercial-sized stand mixer with a 20-quart capacity.  After we had incorporated about three-fourths of the hot sugar mixture, our bowl was nearly filled to the brim...we're going to need a bigger mixer!

Though our 10 POUNDS of butter was ready and waiting, we were running out of room in our mixer bowl!

Fortunately, an even bigger mixer was in the commercial pastry kitchen next door - so off we went on a field trip!  But first, we needed to put on hairnets, since we were entering a commercial space where food was being made for public consumption.

Rocking the hairnet.

We quickly became friends with this lovely 60-quart mixer which was plenty large enough to accommodate our big batch of buttercream.  So once we were back in action, we finished adding the rest of our hot sugar mixture to the meringue.  Once the bowl felt cool enough, we slowly added giant pats of softened butter and let the mixture whip until it was light and fluffy.

Finally found a mixer big enough for the job!

Our finished batch of Italian meringue buttercream.

Before we left the commercial pastry kitchen, we got to have a little tour and a peek into one of the walk-in refrigerators.

The walk-in fridge that is bigger than most walk-in closets!

Panoramic view of a professional pastry kitchen!

So now Day 3 is a wrap and we've got just one day left.  Tomorrow, it's all about chocolate and cake decorating...can't wait!

King Arthur Flour Bake-cation: Day 2

Today started with another full agenda: more puff pastry work, Bavarian cream, parfaits, Sacher tortes and pastry cream.  If some of that sounded like I was speaking another language, don't worry, keep reading and all will be explained!

Yesterday, we made the dough portion of our puff pastry - the "le detrempe."  Today it was time to make our butter block - the "le beurrage."  We started off by using a European butter - which has a higher fat content (about 83%) than regular butter.  Butter is made up of two things: fat and water.  When you bake with butter, the fat melts and the water becomes steam, which creates rise, or the "puff" (hence, puff pastry).  It's essentially your leavener, whereas in cakes you might rely on meringue (as we did yesterday with the chiffon cake) or using a chemical agent, like baking powder.  But you want to get just the right amount of puff - so for puff pastry, it's important to use European butter, because it has higher fat content, thus a lower amount of water and it results in giving you just the right amount of steam. 

European butter - has a higher fat content and is optimal for puff pastry

We measured out our butter and then began beating it down into a four by four inch square.  This is rather fun to do - especially if you've had a bad day and need to let out some aggression!

A perfect 4x4 inch butter block!

Next, we rolled out our dough just large enough so that we could fold it over our butter block and fully encase it, like an envelope. 

Enveloping the butter block with dough

A perfect puff pastry dough package - no butter peeking out anywhere!

Then it was time to start making the puff pastry magic. The way that puff pastry gets its layers is through a process of rolling out the dough, folding it on top of each other and repeating at least 4 times. At the beginning, we had three total layers: dough, butter and dough.  Once we started folding and rolling it out, the layers grew exponentially. Most classic puff pastries get almost up to a thousand layers!

When starting out, we learned it's important for the dough and the butter to be about the same temperature and consistency.  Think back to when you've tried to spread cold butter on a piece of bread - basically, it doesn't spread and you end up tearing the bread.  Same principle applies here.  By having the dough and butter at the same temperature, they play along with each other very nicely.  To help tenderize the cold butter and make it more pliable (without making it warmer), we learned to firmly tap on top of the dough package with our rolling pin to help soften things up before starting to roll it out.

Once it was a bit more pliable, we rolled the dough out into a long rectangle with a short side closest to us.  Then folded it into thirds (top folded down and then bottom folded up), turned the dough so that the short end was again closest to us and rolled it out again.  Then we folded it one more time into thirds.  By this time, the butter had gotten too soft to keep working with it, so the pastry went back into the fridge to chill.

First rolling out of the dough to 8 x16 inches

Here's my dough after two single folds (two rounds of rolling out and folding like a business letter).  At this point, we have 19 layers!

After the second fold - 19 layers of doughy, buttery goodness!

While our puff pastry dough was chilling, we turned to the chiffon cakes we made yesterday.  It was time to take them out of the pan and cut one of the cakes into small cubes.  The other cake is being set aside for us to work with on Day 4.

Two chiffon cakes, ready for duty!

Cubes of chiffon cake for Bavarian cream parfaits

Once we had our cake cut into cubes, we focused on making our Bavarian cream.  This is a mousse-like cream that is thickened with gelatin vs. corn starch or egg.  We also added some fresh fruit puree to the mixture to give it a great flavor.  Then we built individual parfaits layering cubes of chiffon cake with raspberry or mango puree and throwing in some fresh blueberries as well.  I don't think they look the prettiest - nor did they seem to taste super great.  But once they had a chance to set up in the fridge, the flavors really gelled together and this was quite the delightful and refreshing dessert. 

Our individual Bavarian parfaits - mine are the pink ones, Mom's are the pink and yellow ones (she wins the presentation points!)

While the parfaits chilled, it was time to move onto something chocolatey (yum!) - a Sacher (SOCK-er) torte.  It's a traditional Viennese cake filled with apricot jam and covered in a chocolate glaze.  Similar to the chiffon cake, we had a batter made with fat, butter, egg yolks, sugar and flour  - and in this case, also chocolate - and then had a separate mixture of whipped egg whites and sugar.  Again, this cake relied on leavening from the air in the creamed butter and sugar, the air in the sifted flour and the air in the whipped egg whites.  Once the two mixtures were folded together, it was into the pan and then the oven to bake. We'll see those cakes again tomorrow for the final assembly.

Folding the egg whites into the chocolate cake batter

Sacher torte ready for baking

Lots of cakes ready for baking!

The last thing we did today was make the pastry cream for the Napoleon pastries we'll complete tomorrow (that's the treat that all this puff pastry work is building to).  And speaking of, we had a bit more turning and folding of our puff pastry dough to do before the end of the day.  We turned and folded our dough a few more times until we had a total of 289 layers (if we were to roll and fold it one more time, we'd have over 1,000 layers!).

But back to the pastry cream. This is a delicious cooked custard that is comprised of milk, sugar and eggs and is thickened with corn starch.  We started by boiling milk and sugar together (by adding sugar to the milk, it helps keep it from scorching on the bottom of the pan).  Meanwhile, whisked together cornstarch, sugar and salt and then added eggs.  Once the milk was ready, we tempered the egg mixture by adding a little bit of the hot milk and stirring it and then adding the egg mixture to the rest of the hot milk.  When eggs meet heat, they start to cook right away.  So if we were to have poured all the egg mixture straight into the hot milk, we would have had a scrambled mess and there would be no way of correcting it.  So adding a little bit of hot milk to the eggs, it eases them into the heat and keeps the overall mixture smooth.  Then, while constantly stirring, we heated the pastry cream until it was boiling in order to activate the corn starch and its fullest thickening potential.

Fresh local milk for our pastry cream

Everything was going great until we tasted the cream - and it just wasn't right.  We could really taste the corn starch in it (not pleasant) and were kind of bummed that we had gotten this wrong.  Our instructor had enough extra ingredients for us to try again - so back to the beginning we went.

Since we were making a double batch of the pastry cream, we thought we had maybe measured the corn starch wrong (which was Mom's job).  Turns out, we measured the milk wrong, using only the amount for a single batch - not a double.  So we had half the liquid we needed - no wonder it tasted like corn starch!  Well, measuring the milk had been MY job - so this mistake was squarely on my shoulders...oops!  At least we were able to try again and get a MUCH more satisfactory result!

The BAD pastry cream on the left...the CORRECT pastry cream on the right

Tomorrow, we get to actually bake the puff pastry and assemble our Napoleons as well as finish making the Sacher tortes.  Looking forward to sharing tomorrow's learnings with you!  Here's to no more near-fiascos and accurate measuring!

King Arthur Flour Bake-cation: Day 1

After four years away, I'm finally back at King Arthur Flour for a four-day baking "camp" or "bake-cation" as a fellow student called it!  This time, it's all about pastry, and I brought my mom along with me!  

The baking education center where we learn all the things

We arrived at King Arthur's beautiful campus a bit early to scope out their store and grab a bite to eat in the cafe before class began at noon.  We were then greeted by our instructor Melanie and her co-instructor Sharon and got settled into our work stations.

First on the agenda was to make a tender tart dough that was going to be the base for some lemon tartlets. When making dough for tart crusts, you can either take the fresh dough and press it into the tart or chill the dough for about an hour, roll it out and then form it into your tart pan.  Since we were going to be making two 4-inch tartlets, I decided to give both methods a try and then compare and contrast as we went along.

Pressing in the tart crust!

Trying out two methods of forming tart shells: pressed and rolled

Once our dough was chilling, we moved on to the next recipe: a vanilla chiffon cake.  We learned that, unlike most pastries, which have their origins in Europe, the chiffon cake is purely an American invention and was developed in the 1920s.  It combines the essence of a sponge cake and an oil cake so that you get the lightness of a sponge with the tenderness of an oil cake.  

Aerating and lightening your ingredients is important at nearly every stage.  Dry ingredients are sifted twice to ensure even distribution of the ingredients and to aerate them for lightness.  The egg whites are whipped to stiff peaks and the added sugar helps aerate the egg whites into a perfect meringue while the cream of tartar provides stabilization.  Side note: learned the fascinating history of cream of tartar - it comes from the crystals that grow in wine casks and is then ground into a powder after fermentation!

Mom really knows her sift!

Chiffon cake in-the-making: egg white meringue on the left to be folded into oil/egg/flour batter on the right

Once we had our dry ingredients mixed with some oil, egg yolks and vanilla, we carefully folded in the egg whites until we had a nice thick batter and then divided into two cake pans.  They were baked in a walk-in oven (at least 6 people could fit in there, if you tried!) and were set aside for us to use in other recipes on Day 2 and Day 4.

Chiffon cakes ready to bake!

After the chiffon cake, we started in on puff pastry.  Traditionally, a well-made puff pastry takes THREE days to make!  We started with just the first part, the dough or the "le detrempe".  We started with 3 simple ingredients: flour, salt and butter.  We worked the butter into the flour and then added cold water to form the dough.  This is a similar process to making biscuits, scones or pie crust.  But then we kneaded the dough to form more of its gluten structure.  Once we had our ball of dough - off to the fridge it went to chill overnight - we'll see it again tomorrow.

First stage of puff pastry - the le detrempe

Then it was back to our tartlets - this time to prep them for blind baking (a fancy way of saying we're going to bake the crust without any filling).  But in order to make sure the dough doesn't puff up in the middle or slide down the sides, we filled them with beans to help keep the dough in place.  The crusts were baked with the beans for about 8-10 minutes and then removed and back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes, until fully baked and the edges and bottoms were browned.

Baked tartlet shells - ready for filling!

Last, but not least, we made our lemon curd filling.  I've tried making lemon curd before - and to not very great result.  So I was eager to learn the secret to a good lemon curd.  Turns out it's patience and quite a bit of butter.  The curd was made with fresh lemon zest and lemon juice along with some sugar and eggs.  It was then cooked over a double boiler until the egg mixture reached 175 degrees and just started to thicken.  Then the bowl was removed from the heat and we started adding in 6 ounces of cold butter, one cube at a time.  It probably took about 10 minutes to get all of the butter added in and fully melted and incorporated.  Then we poured the curd into our shells and let them set up in the refrigerator before decorating with some fresh whipped cream and local, hand-picked blueberries.

Finished tartlets!

We learned a lot today and covered a range of techniques: creaming, foaming, laminating and thickening.  We started on the makings of several recipes for which we'll build on in the upcoming days and we had our fully completed lemon tartlets to take home and enjoy for dessert (and breakfast tomorrow!) 

Come back tomorrow to see what we learned on Day 2!

Blueberry Custard Streusel Pie

It's berry season and one of my favorites because of all the delicious ways you can use berries.  I recently went blueberry picking and came home with a big bucket of blueberries.  I ate some, froze a lot and baked with the rest!  

I love making pie and what's better in the summertime than a blueberry pie?  So I did a little research and settled on a blueberry custard streusel pie.  I liked the idea of a custard-based pie as it would add a little more stability and flavor to the filling.  And who doesn't love a crunchy, nutty, streusel?  This was a delicious pie and a recipe that I'll keep on file for the next time I have a bucket of berries!  The only change I would make is to blind bake the pie crust first to ensure a fully baked bottom (mine was slightly underdone).

Blueberry Custard Streusel Pie

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Crust

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 2 to 3 Tbsp cold water

Filling

• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Streusel Topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted & chopped

To make the crust, mix flour and salt in a large bowl.  Add shortening and using fingers, work the shortening into the flour until resembles pea-sized crumbles.  Add enough water to make the dough just come together.  Turn out onto a floured surface and roll about 1/8th inch thick. Transfer to a pie plate and crimp crust as desired.  Line the pie crust with a piece of foil and add ceramic pie weights or dried beans (these help keep the crust from creating bubbles and the sides from sliding down). Blind bake in a 425 degree oven on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes or until the crust is just turning golden.  Remove the foil and weights and return crust for about 5 minutes or until the bottom of the crust looks dry.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling.  In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, sugar, egg, flour, vanilla and salt.  Gently fold in the blue berries.  Pour into the crust shell.  Cover the edges of the crust with foil (to prevent burning) and bake for 25 minutes.

While the filling is cooking, prepare the streusel.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and flour.  Work in softened better until you have coarse crumbles.  Add in the chopped pecans.  After the filling has baked for 25 minutes, top the pie with the streusel topping and return to oven for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the pie is set and the streusel is browned.

Let the pie cool for at least 15-20 minutes and serve warm or refrigerated and serve chilled.  Enjoy!

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BONUS!!  

If you happen to have lots of blueberries like I did and want another pie-in-the-sky idea...here's another pie recipe!  This recipe was featured on the cover of Southern Living a few years ago and it looked so tempting, I had to make it.  The secret ingredients?  Honey and balsamic vinegar!  Though I would consider adding a splash or two more of the vinegar, as once the pie was baked, you couldn't really taste the balsamic - but you could taste that it was a tasty pie!  And I can't resist the look of a beautiful lattice crust.  Find the recipe here.

Baking Club Adventure: Whole Grain Bread

Back in February, the baking club decided to go the more savory route with homemade whole grain bread for a little change of pace.  After our first attempt at meeting was thwarted by the snowstorm of the season, we met in early February to try a bunch of different whole grain loaves along with some tasty flavored butters and jams.

Keep reading to see how it all turned out!

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LIBBY - Seeded European Peasant Bread

I received a bread baking cookbook from a friend called The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. All the recipes are based on the concept that all you need to do to make bread is make a large batch of a master recipe, store it in your fridge and then when you want bread, pull of a chunk, let it rise and bake!  Essentially, it's just five minutes of work to assemble the dough and then it's letting the dough and oven do the rest!

• 3 cups lukewarm water (100 F or below)
• 1 tbsp of granulated yeast
• 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup rye flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 5 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup seed mix (use your favorite seeds, I used sesame, poppy, sunflower, amaranth & millet)
• cornmeal and/or parchment paper to line cookie sheet

In a large bowl or lidded plastic container, mix the water, yeast and salt.  Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until fully mixed (may need to use wet hands to add in all the flour). Cover the dough (not airtight) and let rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on the top), about 2 hours.  From here, you can either bake your first batch or put the dough in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake.

When you're ready to bake, dust the surface of the dough in the container with some flour and take out about 1/4th of the dough.  Coat it with some more flour and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides and rotating the ball as you go. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with some cornmeal and allow to rest and rise for 40 minutes.  While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place a baking stone or baking sheet in the middle of the oven and let it heat for 20-30 minutes.  Place an empty metal tray on the lowest shelf.  When the dough has risen, sprinkle with flour and slash the top, about 1/2 inch deep.  Transfer the dough to the baking stone/sheet in the oven and pour one cup of water into the metal tray on the bottom and quickly close the oven door.  Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and firm.  Allow to cool on a rack before eating!

GINA - Easy Seed and Grain Loaf (via BBC) and Sesame & Flax Seed Oat Bread

Gina made two different seed loaves. One made with a mixed grain flour, poppy & sesame seeds and sweetened with a bit of honey.  The other was made with a wider mix of seeds including black and white sesame, chia, pumpkin, flax and sunflower seeds and sweetened with maple syrup. Both were delicious and had great nutty flavor from the seeds.

TONYA - Classic 100% Wheat and Whole Wheat French Baguette

Tonya also made two different loaves - one using 100% white whole wheat flour, sweetened with honey and baked in a traditional loaf pan.  The other was a whole wheat take on the French baguette.  It was warm, crusty and the perfect vessel for some butter and jam!

KLARE - Classic 100% Wheat (via King Arthur Flour), Wheat Berry Bread & Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread with Raisins

Klare was the winner in the most-loaves-of-bread-baked department!  She made three loaves for us: a classic 100% wheat loaf, a wheat berry bread and a whole wheat oatmeal bread with raisins. All were delicious and I especially loved the red wheat berry bread for which she cooked the wheat berries the night before and then added them to the dough.  They added a great chewiness to the bread.  And the oatmeal bread had a delicate sweetness thanks to the raisins. 

Summer Sangria

In the summertime, cool cocktails are a must, especially when faced with hot, humid nights.  My solution is to make a pitcher of this super easy, super tasty summer sangria!  It all starts with one of my favorite wines, a sweet shiraz by Jam Jar.  Add some fresh strawberry puree, orange juice and a little triple sec and you've got yourself a winning concoction! 

Summer Sangria

• 750ml sweet shiraz or other sweet red wine
• 4oz orange juice
• 4oz fresh strawberry puree (about 1/2 cup whole strawberries)
• 2oz triple sec
• fresh strawberries and blueberries

In a large pitcher, add wine, orange juice, strawberry puree and triple sec.  Stir.  Add in fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.  Add additional fresh fruit per glass, as desired.

Baking Club Adventure: Cookie Exchange!

I realize it's May and we're talking about Christmas cookies - but the way the weather is behaving, it might as well be December! (Christmas Eve was MUCH warmer than it is today!)

One of the things the members of the baking club told me when I first joined, was that they did an epic Christmas cookie exchange every December.  Each member would make four dozen of four different kinds of cookies...that's 16 dozen cookies...per person!! Needless to say, I was excited and intrigued and started making my list of cookies I wanted to make last June (hey, it's never too early to think about Christmas!).

When December finally came, I took off a day of work just so I could focus on baking cookies - and it was a delightful vacation day, well spent. The day started with an 8:30am showing of the new Star Wars movie, a stop by one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants for lunch to go, and then an afternoon in my kitchen with Christmas music playing in the background.  Heaven.

Keep reading for all of our cookies and some recipes!

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LIBBY - Spritz Cookies, Pecan Pie Bars, Rosemary-Lemon Shortbread, Italian Seed Cookies & Cheddar Cheese Wafers

In the end, I made 5 different kinds of cookies - a mix of classics that I used to make with my Mom and some new ones.  I even included a savory "cookie" for variety.   Here are some of the recipes I made:

PECAN PIE BARS

I love pecans but am generally not the biggest fan of pecan pie.  The ratio of crust to pecans to sweet, gooey filling is all off for me.  There ends up being way too much of the gooey stuff and I can really only take a bite or two before it's too much.  But these bars are a game-changer. A thick, slightly sweet crust is the base for the perfect blend of filling and pecans.  There's just the right amount of each component - and I dare you to eat just one!

Crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:

• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups Karo light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

Grease bottom and sides of a 10x15x1 inch baking pan (a half sheet or jelly roll pan will also work fine).

Prepare crust: In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat flour, sugar, butter and salt until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press firmly and evenly into the pan.  Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes.

While crust is baking, prepare filling: In large bowl, stir eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until blended.  Stir in pecans.  Spread evenly over hot crust. Return to 350 oven and bake for 25 minutes or until set.

Cool completely before cutting.

ROSEMARY-LEMON SHORTBREAD

These cookies are a variation on a shortbread recipe my mom received from a friend back when we were living in Germany in the 1980s. It called for rice flour before that ever became a common ingredient you easily find in the regular grocery store.  We often would replace the rice flour for another cup of regular flour - which never affected how quickly they were eaten! Since the shortbread is cut into 1" squares - it makes for a lot of cookies (up to 16 dozen) - and perfect for a cookie exchange or to give as gifts! 

• 1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• 3 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon rind
• Sanding sugars (optional)

In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and add sugar.  Slowly add in flours and then the rosemary and lemon rind. Pat in a half sheet or jelly roll pan.  Pre-cut the shortbread into 1" squares and prick each square with the tines of a fork.  Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes until light golden brown.  Sprinkle with sugars (I either use clear sparkling sugars or seasonal red & green sanding sugars.)  While still warm, re-cut and prick the squares.

Variations:  Instead of rosemary & lemon add: 2 tsp cinnamon or 1 cup mini chocolate chips or 1 cup roasted pistachios, finely chopped.

CHEDDAR CHEESE WAFERS

Cheese wafers are a classic Southern staple, especially at the holidays.  Whenever I'd travel to Louisiana to visit family, I could always anticipate finding a plate of these at any one of my relative's homes.  It wasn't until my Mom moved to Tennessee that she discovered this variation on the cheese wafer, with the unexpected-but-delightful ingredient of...Rice Krispies!

• 2 sticks butter or margarine
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (best if you hand-shred from a block)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cups Rice Krispies

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and cheddar cheese.  Add flour, salt and cayenne and mix well.  Add in Rice Krispies and gently stir in until fully incorporated.  Shape the dough into small balls (about 1 tsp) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten each ball with a fork and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  These don't get brown - so be careful not to overbake.

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GINA - Caramel Oat Lace Cookies, Hazelnut Kisses, Dulce de Lece Macaroons, Crunchy Almond Cookies & Triple Chocolate Drops (clockwise from top)

Caramel Oat Lace Cookies - via The Washington Post

These are a lovely cross between candy and a cookie, with hints of citrus and cardamom.  They look so fancy and elegant and would make for a perfect after-dinner treat, served with coffee or tea.

Hazelnut Kisses (Baci di Dama) - via The Washington Post

OMG - these were pretty much my favorite cookies of the whole bunch.  What's not to love with hazelnut shortbread cookies filled with homemade nutella?  While I gave away most of my cookie haul as gifts, I kept all of these for myself (sorry, not sorry!).

Dulce de Leche Macaroons - via The Washington Post

If you love the flavors of coconut and caramel - these cookies are for you!  They are an easy 5-ingredient cookie that come together in one bowl - and can be made in advance.

Crunchy Almond Cookies - via The Washington Post

These French cookies are dairy free and just four simple ingredients.  As a lover of anything almond flavored - these cookies weren't almond-y enough for me.  I would add a bit of almond extract to amp up the almond-ness of these cookies. 

Triple Chocolate Drops - via The New York Times

These cookies have it all: looks, taste and chocolate!  And not just one kind of chocolate...three! (technically four, if you count the semi-sweet chocolate shavings on top). The white chocolate glaze is really the shining star in this cookie - the smooth, creaminess of the glaze is the perfect pairing for a rich chocolate cookie base.

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KLARE - Bullseye Chocolate Mint Cookies, Chocolate Raspberry Pinwheels, Ribbon Cookie & Orange Coconut Cookie (clockwise from top)

Klare got very creative in the kitchen with her cookies - making little tweaks here and there to make these cookies her own.  She also figure out how to be the most efficient with shaping and baking her cookies...all of these are slice and bake cookies.  It's amazing how different they all look - round logs, square logs, spirals and layers.  They're quite pretty and the flavors of each one are unique and so delicious.  The bullseye peppermint cookies taste like there's a peppermint patty hidden in the middle!

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TONYA - Salted Dulce de Leche Thumbprints, Sicilian Almond Cookies, Chocolate Caramel Chews & Fruitcake Cookies (clockwise from top)

Salted Dulce de Leche Thumbprint Cookies - via Baked by an Introvert

These are just delicious...and dangerous!  It's much too easy to knock out four or five of these little one-bite cookies in the blink of an eye! The soft and tender shortbread cookie and the pool of ducle de leche with the sharpness of sea salt all make for a winning combination.

Sicilian Almond Cookies - via The Washington Post

Another call for almond lovers - these almond and cinnamon cookies get an extra dose of cinnamon when they're rolled in a cinnamon & sugar mixture right before baking. 

Chocolate Caramel Chews - via Rose Levy Beranbaum

These cookie bars have some of my favorite things layered one on top of another: crust, caramel, chocolate and nuts.  And they play together nicely in this cookie playground.  In a sea of round cookies, these triangle treats will surely stand out on any cookie platter!

Fruitcake Cookies - via Ina Garten

I think in the world of fruitcake, you're either a lover or a hater. I happen to fall in the latter camp - but my Mom LOVES her some fruitcake - so she was very excited to try these.  These cookies do require some advance planning - first you have to make your candied fruit mixture and let it sit overnight before you prepare the cookie.

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So when the day was done, we sampled 18 different kinds of cookies.  I loved the diversity of flavors, ingredients and techniques but most of all enjoyed sharing this time with my fellow bakers.  So which ones are you going to put on your Christmas baking list for this year?  It's never too early to start planning...after all, Christmas is just 216 days away!!

Brunch Bonanza

I'm writing today from sunny (but windy) Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I'm on a retreat with women from my church and having a wonderful time relaxing, praying, playing games and of course, eating!  I signed up for making breakfast for our group this morning - and had two recipes in mind to make: scones and an overnight crockpot casserole.

When I first came on this retreat, I made buttermilk scones, using a recipe I had gotten from my bread baking class at King Arthur Flour.  As soon as they came out of the oven, they were devoured in less than 10 minutes and I was told I wasn't allowed to come back on future retreats unless I brought these scones with me.  So for three years running, these scones have made an appearance, and if you're not on time for breakfast - you'll be out of luck!

The other recipe I made for breakfast is a spinach, sausage & egg casserole.  I've been making this recipe for years - but recently converted it to be made in a crockpot to feed a large group of people.  It's so easy to assemble the night before and makes your kitchen smell amazing when you wake up.

See below for the recipes!

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Buttermilk Scones (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 Tbsp cold butter
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips, chocolate chips or currants
• 1 egg yolk (reserve egg white)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3 Tbsp buttermilk powder plus 3/4 cup water)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Note: if you're using buttermilk powder, add it in with your dry ingredients - don't mix with the water.
3. Using a pastry cutter or working quickly with your hands, cut the butter into the flour mixture.
4. Mix in the cinnamon chips, chocolate chips or currants.
5. In a small measuring cup, add the egg yolk and enough buttermilk (or water if using buttermilk powder) until you reach 3/4 cup.
6. Gently stir in liquid mixture just until the dough comes together.  You might need to use your hands to bring it all together.
7. On a lightly floured surface, briefly knead the dough.  Flatten the dough into a disk about 3/4 inches thick.  
8. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut into eighths and separate the wedges slightly.  
9. Whisk the reserved egg white and brush the tops of each wedge.  Sprinkle coarse sparkling sugar over the top.  Note: If it seems the butter has gotten soft during some of the previous steps - chill the dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.
10. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned.

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Spinach, Sausage & Egg Crockpot Casserole

• 1 (1lb 14oz) bag of frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes
• 1 (16oz) bag of frozen chopped spinach
• 1/2 (10oz) bag of frozen diced onion & green peppers - thawed and diced
• 2 (10-count) boxes of frozen turkey sausages (like Banquet)
• 1 (8oz) bag of shredded cheddar cheese
• 16 eggs or 1 (32oz) carton of egg substitute
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1. In a large crock pot, mix together potatoes, spinach, onions & peppers, sausage and cheddar cheese.
2. Pour egg substitute and milk over the potato mixture and season with salt and pepper.  Mix well. 
3. Cook in crockpot on low setting for 6-8 hours.