TRADITION!

Let's talk more about Valentine's Days of yore. I think the reason I like Valentine's Day so much is because my parents made it special by doing nice things for us. They snuck into our rooms while we were sleeping and left us valentine cards and little presents. Valentine's day was just a nice day to say "I love you" in a family kind of way. It wasn't just about romance.


And not just about the agony of deciding how to sign the Valentines I gave out to my classmates- should it be "from, Holly" or "Love, Holly"?

And another heavy thought for my first grade brain- what did it mean when that one boy gave me a real valentine- like a Hallmark card, not the kind with a picture of the Jetson's on it that came in a pack of 30?

Yes, I am grateful for my parents who made sure this day was about more than that.

It was about family. And sugar cookies. My mom always made the cakey kind with lots of piped frosting on top. They actually looked like valentines, and I thought they were so pretty. We decorated them with sprinkles and red hots.

This Valentine's Day I am lucky enough to be staying at my parent's house, enjoying cookies with excessive amounts of frosting.



These aren't as pretty as my mom decorates them, but they were delicious nonetheless!




Here is my Grandmother's recipe:

Nostalgic Valentine's Day Sugar
Cookies

1 C shortening
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 C milk
4 tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
4 1/2 C flour (about)

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add vanilla
and add eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and add mix dry in
with the wet. Roll out, use heart shaped cookie cutters, and bake at 350 for 8
minutes. Frost with buttercream frosting.

There is one little catch...

I don't care if it was created by Hallmark, I love Valentine's Day. I loved it even when I didn't have anybody to love, and I would merely hope that on that day, some romantic boy would do something crazy or romantic or unexpected to declare his adoration for me. That would have been so fun...

Sadly, after 4 years of marriage, it still hasn't happened. Ryan and I celebrated our first Valentine's Day together 3 weeks after we were married. Ryan celebrated by falling asleep for an all-night "nap" immediately after devouring the delicious meal I toiled over all afternoon for him. I celebrated by doing the dishes then watching TV. So much for the "honeymoon phase".

Valentine's Day has never really lived up to my expectations, but I still love it, so I wanted to share a few ideas for your Valentine's Day treats. Here's the first one!

When I saw this cake, by Peabody, I knew I couldn't resist making it. It is just so pretty and so PINK! Of course, hers was much prettier than mine so you should really check out her post. It is a white chocolate mousse cake with cranberry frosting.

I loved the cake- it got rave reviews all around. It was very moist, and kind of dense but still somewhat soft and springy. The taste was delicious and the white chocolate was detectable, but not too much. The cakes were very thin, so even with three layers and frosting it was not a tall cake.

The frosting. I loved the cranberry. The little, tart, juicy bits were perfect to offset the sweet white chocolate cake. But herein lies the catch. Check out the recipe. It is not a typo. It calls for 6 sticks of butter IN THE FROSTING! So, though delicious, it was pretty greasy. Not to mention that each (small) slice of cake I served contained 1/2 stick of butter (44 grams of fat and 400 calories!) in the frosting alone. Even I, The Glutton, could not stomach that. But I could stomach some of that- so I scraped off only half of the frosting and enjoyed the rest of the cranberry butter...er...frosting.

Next time I will experiment with the frosting- I think we could cut out a few sticks and still have a decent frosting on our hands. I'll let you know.

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

White Chocolate Mousse Cake
4 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 1 TBSP pieces, plus 1 TBSP melted
12 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
10 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup all-purpose flour
6 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 325F

Lightly coat three 9 x 1 ½- inch round cake pans
with some of the 1 TBSP melted butter. Line the bottoms with parchment paper, then lightly coat the paper with more melted butter.

Melt the chocolate and butter on top of a double
boiler.

Place egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla in the
bowl of a standard mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on high until lemon-colored and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.

Add the melted white chocolate and beat on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and set aside.

Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a balloon whip. Whisk on high for 45 seconds until soft peaks form, then add the remaining ¼ cup sugar and continue to whisk on high until stiff peaks form, about 45 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add about a third of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and fold to incorporate, using a rubber spatula. Add the remaining egg whites and fold until the mixture is uniform in color. Immediately divide the batter into prepared pans, spreading it evenly with a rubber spatula.

Bake on the top and center racks of the oven until a toothpick comes out clean , about 21-22 minutes. Halfway through rotate the pans 180 degrees and switch racks. Remove cake from oven and let cool
for 30 minutes. Invert the cake layers onto cake plates. Carefully peel away the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake layers uncovered.

Cranberry Icing
1 ½ cups fresh whole cranberries
1 ½ lbs(6 sticks…yes 6) unsalted butter, cut into
1-TBSP pieces, softened
2 ½ cups powder sugar, sifted

Place cranberries on a baking sheet and bake in a 325F oven for 8 minutes, until they start to burst. Then put them in a bowl and place in fridge.

Place butter in the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low for 1 minutes, then increase
speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides. Add the cranberries and mix on low speed for 15 seconds, increase to medium speed and mix for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl.

Gradually add the powder sugar while mixing on the lowest speed until combined, about 1 ½ minutes. Scrape down again. Beat on
medium-high for 1 minute until very soft and fluffy. Remove bowl from mixer, and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the icing until thoroughly combined.


To assemble the cake:
Remove the cake layers from fridge. Fit a pastry bag with a large star tip. Transfer 1 cup of the icing to the pastry bag and set aside at room temperature. Use an icing spatula to evenly spread 1 cup of the remaining icing over the top of one of the cake layers, to the edge. Use a wide utility turner to remove the second layer from the cake plate and place it on the icing. Spread another cup of icing over
that layer to the edge. Top with the last layer. Gently press the layers into place. Using a sharp knife to trim away any rough edges around the cake. Spread the remaining icing evenly over the top and sides of the cake.Using the pastry bag, pipe a ring of 8 to 10 evenly spaced cranberry icing stars along the outside edge of the top of the cake. Refrigerate cake for at least 1 hour before cutting and serving.Heat blade of a knife under hot water and wipe dry before
cutting each slice. Slice the cake while still cold, then keep slices at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
*Source: Adapted from I’m Dreaming of a Chocolate
Christmas by Marcel Desaulniers

LMP

I have an announcement to make: From now on I will refer to lemon meringue pie as LMP. I earned it during this month's Daring Baker's challenge.

LMP is not usually my cup of tea- why make LMP when lemon bars have a higher crust-to-curd ratio? So I have never made it before, but I really enjoyed making this month's challenge. Learning how to make a classic dessert is always fun, and it makes me feel nostalgic even though I have no recollection of eating homemade LMP in my childhood. Or ever. So I guess I've only had store-bought, maybe? Luckily this concoction was much yummier.

My husband was a big fan of this pie. The extra sweet pie crust offset my (too) tart lemon curd filling. If I were to make this again I would add the lemon juice gradually, and taste-testing often, as I have a sneaking suspicion that some lemons are just more tart than others.

Also, the filling wept like a baby after we cut the pie. Is this normal for LMP? I wouldn't know. Many Daring Bakers complained of soggy crusts, but my brilliant husband stored our pie on a sland so all the liquid drained away from the pie- so the crust stayed good for at least 2 days.

The crust was...different. It had an unusual amount of water and sugar. It was butter based. Pretty much it was a sugar cookie. I think it worked well with the filling, but as the recipe is written I found it almost unworkable. Next time I will add the water gradually, as I ended up with a sticky mess that couldn't be made into crust. So I reworked it, probably destroying any possibility of flakiness. Then I think I undercooked it a tad (I hate my new oven. hate.) I made the crust a little bit thicker than my normal crust just to balance out the lemon filling, and that detail was appreciated by Ryan.

I thought the meringue was perfect- and so beautiful! Sometimes the egginess of it grosses me out, but this was a good meringue recipe.

I discovered during this challenge that LMP is a LOT more labor-intensive than lemon bars. Advantage lemon bars again. So, if you are a die-hard LMP enthusiast, or you are feeling nostalgic, see the recipe below. And visit other Daring Baker's blogs right here. Otherwise I refer you to the recipe that would turn anybody into a believer- Mrs. Dart's Lemon Bars.

Lemon Meringue Pie
Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL)
fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract

For the Meringue:
5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20
minutes.Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by
rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture
will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust.
Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.

For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

What's the buzz?

There's something different about The Glutton.

Have you noticed my new accessory in the box to the right? I thought I should explain myself. I haven't sold the blog, I have just entered into a symbiotic relationship with Foodbuzz- I give them a spot on my website and they give me a spot on theirs. So if you visit Foodbuzz and look up a Raleigh zip code- 27614, for example, then you will find my blog listed, as well as some other local blogs and restaurant reviews and such. Better yet, look up your own zip code because Foodbuzz connects the online foodie world with your local food scene. I am enjoying it- and I am not even qualify as a foodie. Don't I have to swear off cake mixes for that?

By the way, there is something else that is different about The Glutton. We have moved into our house (hooray!) so I plan on upping the requency of my posts- at least until the next kid comes along (2 months! ahh!). So , now that I'm officially in North Carolina, what I'm trying to say is "Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

Logs. Yum.

Just a little disclaimer: I am having issues with my camera card and loading pictures. I have been putting off posting because of it, but now I have decided to go ahead and post without the pics for the time being. Bear with me.

Ah, the Yule Log. A treasured tradition for many; my family thought The Log was just hilarious. Here is the picture of Ryan and I holding the Yule log. He is laughing because he just learned that this was my own creation. What's so funny about that?

My sister thought it was unappetizing to decorate a cake to look like a rotting log with mushrooms growing on it. I'm not sure why everybody else kept laughing at The Log, but that's what they did. Maybe they couldn't help themselves because it turned out so darn cute.

I loved this challenge because. It was really fun to decorate. I had more fun with this than with any other Daring Baker challenge yet. It doesn't get better than wood-graining a cake and sculpting little mushrooms out of marzipan. A good time was had by all.

As for the taste, it was pretty good. Classic, light cake with classic, fluffy buttercream frosting on the outside. I made mine chocolate as I don't do coffee. I also chose to use almond flavoring in the filling, which I enjoyed. It went over okay, but we had some leftovers, so I think I will try a different recipe next year. Yep, I will be logging it up again next Christmas.

New Additions

After much ado about almost losing my hard drive, I am back to blogging (but without pictures for the moment). You'll also have to excuse my writing and lack of train of thought today. Ryan is listening to the Smashing Pumpkins and it's really hindering my creativity.

Now, about food. A food blogger, even a less-active food blogger, shouldn't let thanksgiving go by without blogging about it. Especially if the food was as spectacular as ours was. I'm not taking the credit for it- it's so good to be with Mom and Dad for the holidays!

First of all, our turkey was the moistest and most flavorful its ever been, thanks to Elise (and her mom) from Simply Recipes and her fantastic turkey instructions . My mom used the Williams-Sonoma brine and spices, with Elise's roasting instructions. Simply Recipes is my go-to blog when I need step-by-step, tried and true instructions for basic things. Every recipe I have tried from Simply Recipes is fantastic. I am especially a fan of Elise's curry chicken salad, and I add a scoop of homemade apricot chutney, which makes it even better. That's a tangent worthy of another post.

Back to Thanksgiving 2007 . This year the gravy was outstanding. It was perfect gravy, enhanced by the lovely turkey-roasting herbs from Williams-Sonoma. You've gotta try the herbs.

For my contributions to the spread, I made two new items. Two new additions that are now traditions for me, they were that good.

I bought the crystallized ginger for Molly's Cranberry Chutney last Thanksgiving, but I didn't actually make it until this year. We really missed out. Visit the first food blog I was ever addicted to, Orangette, and just look at this beautiful and festive-looking chutney. I actually don't think very many people ate any on Thanksgiving day (its our tradition to set out some cranberry relish or sauce, which only one or two people taste, then we put the leftovers in the fridge because we can't throw away all that perfectly good relish, and it doesn't see the light of day again until its thrown away a week or two later.)

I wasn't a total convert until friday, when I made a leftover turkey, cranberry chutney, and havarti sandwich. The Sandwich was even better than Thanksgiving dinner. I'm thinking of roasting another turkey justs for sandwiches.

Last, but certainly not least, is our new addition to the pie line-up. It's Mrs. Dart's mixed berry pie. If anybody out there has tried Mrs. Dart's lemon bars, you know that her baking is a force to be reckoned with. This latest pie is being added to my mental list of desserts to impress company with, if I should ever need to impress anybody. If we ever invited anybody over...

This pie is our favorite one from the Dart Thanksgiving, provided it's with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It features a delicious combination of berries and (surprise!) apricots, which I think is worlds better than any single-berry pie.

Here is the recipe. Oh yeah, Ryan swore that it had to be Mrs. Dart's pie crust recipe (an all-shortening crust with a bit of vinegar, water, and egg). I couldn't resist trying out Elise's combination butter/shortening crust, which was amazing (even Ryan liked it a lot). The butter/shortening crust had a little more flavor, and it has sugar in it, so it was a little sweeter. So choose your crust recipe according to your tastes.

Mrs. Dart's Mixed Berry Pie

2 9-inch pie-crusts (a bottom and a top)

filling:
2 C mixed
rasberries, blackberries, and blueberries

8 to 16 oz canned apricots, cut into fourths

1 can of cherries, NOT cherry-pie filling. You want unsweetened canned
cherries that you find near the pie filling or by dried
fruits

1 C sugar (or sugar to taste)

3 T tapioca beads

1 T lemon juice

-prick the bottom crust and prebake it at 350 degrees until it just barely
starts to get golden. This keeps it from getting too soggy when you add the
berries.

-mix filling ingredients gently, so as not to demolish the berries.

-dump the filling into the prebaked crust. Dot with 2T butter. Place
your top crust over the top and flute the edges. Cut a few slits in the top
crust. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg plus 2 T. cream, mixed) for
a shiny, professional-pastry chef kind of finish.

-cover edges of pie with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50
minutes.

-allow to cool for about 25 minutes, it should be perfectly warm for
serving with a scoop of ice cream

Bostini Cream Pie

What an appropriate time for the Daring Bakers to celebrate Boston.

This month we made delicious Bostini Cream Pie. It was a delicious mini chiffon cake with an orange twist, sitting in a bath of creamy custard and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Boston Cream Pie being one of my favorite desserts, I was excited to try this month's challenge. It was a hit with the whole family, and luckily the "8-serving" recipe actually made 20 servings (I made them in muffin tins as I do not have 7-oz ramekins). Leftovers were delicious, too, though I prefer it fresh so the cake is room temperature.

I liked the cake, but it doesn't compare to my favorite Boston Cream Pie. That's why I might not make this recipe again. My favorite is located at some very old restaurant in Boston. I don't remember the name of the place, just the loud-laughing drunk girl, good company, and delicious Boston Cream Pie with sliced almonds stuck to the side.

It wasn't too difficult to make. I have always had good luck in making custards and puddings, but this one started to get lumpy on me. I think I heated it too quickly. I salvaged it because I didn't have another 4 cups of heavy cream to spare. Also, the chiffon cake can be fussy. I had two muffin tins, and one I cooked until they were golden, the other I took out a few minutes before. They were done, but not at all golden. They looked kind of sickly white, actually, and I was worried about them. Turns out that sickly white made for a better texture.

If you decide to try the recipe, you can find it here http://alpineberry.blogspot.com/ . Note that you will need a LOT of cream and like 20 eggs.

Oh yeah, and here's a picture of last month's challenge. I cannot beleive I never posted about it because it was really to-die-for. The dough was so yummy with a hint of lemon. I only made the sticky buns, but if I was making the cinnamon rolls, I would add butter to the cinnamon filling. Other than that, they are perfect! Try this. http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/2007/09/30/a-daring-bakers-ode-to-buns-cinnamon-and-sticky-that-is/

Daring Milk Chocolate-Caramel Tart

Sad to realize that I post so little now that I will have two Daring Baker posts in a row!

This is what we made this time. Looks right up my alley, right?

Well now that I am openly pregnant, I can tell you that most of what I say, think, and taste can just be disregarded. (on that note, maybe you should check out the other Daring Baker's results and opinions with this project. They look beautiful! Find the daring bakers blogroll here http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/)

I only ate a small peice of this and I ended up throwing most of the leftovers away. I don't blame the recipe, or even myself. I shall blame the baby because on a normal day I would love a rich, homemade tart created with some of my favorite things- chocolate mousse, a buttery hazelnut crust, and caramel. The components sound too good to be true.

But, unfortunately, lately I prefer doritos. (?)

My family liked the tart but they thought it was too rich. Everybody's favorite part was the chocolate mousse which they were using as strawberry dip. I think "to-die-for" would be an appropriate phrase to describe it, though I can't remember how they described it.

I am telling you what THEY thought since I am just no judge of food at this time. Hence the lack of food blogging.

The tart was easy to make, but since the mousse was the biggest hit (and it took only 5 minutes to make) I think that is the only part I will make again (as a strawberry dip, of course!)

FOR THE RECIPE: I must refer you to one of our lovely hosts this month, Patricia at Technicolor Kitchen http://technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com/ or Veronica at Kitchen Musings http://kitchenmusings.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/08/of-chocolate-an.html

Daring Strawberry Mirror Cake

Last month I joined a group called The Daring Bakers. This months challenge was Strawberry Mirror Cake. It was a challenge for me, as it was quite time consuming (especially with a toddler clamoring to be a part of it all).

I think it took me three days. I made strawberry puree, strawberry juice, strawberry gelatin, cakes, cut out cardboard to insert in the pan, and dirtied almost every bowl in my mom's house. That is a lot of bowls.
The cake was not quite my style as far as desserts go, but trying new things is what being a daring baker is all about, so I am so glad I joined and participated in this challenge.

This could be a beautiful dessert for a special occasion. My cake was not so beautiful- notice the lumps and unnevenness - but it could be a beautiful cake under different circumstances. It had a nice, creamy, fresh strawberry taste to it.

For the recipe, and a picture of what this cake SHOULD look like, visit our lovely host's blog: http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2007/07/30/mirror-mirroron-the-wall/ .

Before all you lovers of stawberries jump up and go buy the ingredients for this cake, revert to 7th grade for a moment and take this brief quiz to find out if its right for you:

1. what does jell-o mean to you ? (a) a box of powder
or (b) mashed up strawberries cooked with water, sugar and gelatin, then strained and chilled

2. would you rather make a dessert that is (a) tasty and rustic looking OR (b) beautiful and bakery-like

3. Do you have 5 hours to spare (give or take a couple)?

If you answerd B, B, YES, then you should totally make this cake!

if you answered A, A, and NO, then see other desserts featured on The Glutton. Or make strawberry shortcake, which has all the good elements of strawberry mirror cake, but without the time investment and needed experience as a pastry chef.

UPDATE: later on the day of posting, I have checked out several other fellow Daring Baker's Mirror Cakes (and you can do it too, http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/). I have been put to serious shame! What beautiful cakes they have created! How smooth are their mirrors, how velvety their bavarians, and how embarrassing to showcase my little frumpy!

We've got a hot one tonight!

Inspired by the weather, I decided to have a go at homemade frozen yogurt. So first I looked at the Cook's Illustrated recipe for strawberry yogurt, and also at David Lebovitz's vanilla yogurt recipe from The Perfect Scoop. Since all the food bloggers (including me) worship the ground he walks on, I decided to trust David Lebovitz more than Cook's Illustrated and adapted the recipe to make strawberry-banana. And David did not dissapoint. He never does.

This beautiful and thick frozen yogurt was sweet, tangy, and so rich even I could only handle a small bowl. That's saying something.

The banana really added to the creaminess, and balanced the tartness of the strawberries and yogurt. I only added one banana, and it was barely detectable. Next time I will add 2.

It is a really simple recipe, but you do have to think ahead because draining the yogurt takes 6 hours. Plus, if your ice cream maker is like mine then you need to freeze the canister for 24 hours. Then, once the yogurt is made, I like the texture best after it has solidified in the canister in the freezer for about 3 hours.

It sounds so complicated, but its really not so here is the recipe:

3 C drained plain yogurt (start out with 5 or 6 C of yogurt, it
drains down to 3. drain for about 6 hours in a mesh strainer, maybe lined with
cheesecloth. After draining, it will look thick, as in picture.)
3/4
C sugar
10 large Strawberries, cold & sliced
2 ripe bananas,
refrigerated (I used 1, but I wish I had used 2)

Mix drained
yogurt with 1/2 cup of sugar and let sit for 1 hour.

Mix 1/4 C sugar
with sliced strawberries and mash a little with a potato masher. Let stand for a
few minutes and then stick the berries in the freezer for about 15 minutes or
until the juice is starting to freeze so they are nice and cold.

Mash
banana with a fork and place in the freezer until you use them, to make sure
they are cold.

Stir yogurt again and make sure sugar is dissolved, then
add it to your ice cream machine (If your machine is like mine, then you'll need
to add it after its already churning).

I added the fruit after the
yogurt churned for a few minutes, but the yogurt is so thick I think it would be
fine to add it from the beginning. Now freeze according to the ice cream machine
directions.

Serve it as soon as its done churning if you like it extra
soft, or freeze it for a few hours to let it firm a bit. Enjoy!

The New Old Standby

This is my new standard chicken salad recipe. It is available at wholefoods.com , along with a plethora of other recipes. It's a handy resource, too, because the recipes come with the nutritional information (if you're into that. But for this recipe, don't be).

I am without words to describe the tastiness of this salad. The dressing is just right- tangy, with a hint of honey. The celery and pecans add crunch and the grapes (you MUST add the grapes or substitute apples) are essential to the fresh, sweet taste of the salad. Ryan was raving about it- and he's not usually one for chicken salad. I left the celery out of the pictured batch, and it was just as good (or better, in Ryan's opinion). Also, I used canned chicken, which made this salad a cinch to put together. Let the flavors mingle overnight before serving.

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 tsp honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste Salad
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced

Prepare the dressing by thoroughly mixing together all dressing ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. (Can be prepared up to 2 days
ahead.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a
baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until
completely cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from baking pan, cool at room temperature for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.

When the breasts are completely chilled (at least 2 hours refrigerated), dice into
bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery
and dressing.

Wild Rice Chicken Salad

"Tuna salad, chicken salad, macaroni salad? Who the hell cares! It's all just another word for 'mayonnaise'!"
-Roseanne*

I love all kinds of salads. If I had to choose one food to eat for every meal, it would probably some sort of chicken salad. Mixtures and assortments of foods are delicious, especially when bound by some sort of deliciously high-calorie dressing, be it mayonnaise or not.

This is a new recipe for Chicken Rice Salad that I acquired from Sara at our enrichment recipe swap. Last month's topic was salad, and everybody raved about this one. I think it is pretty flexible, as you could add any leftover vegetable odds and ends or really anything else that strikes your fancy. You could substitute the regular peas for snow peas. Make it without the chicken if you want to. BUT I wouldn't swap out the avocados or the chopped pecans, as they balance a very acidic dressing. When I made it at home, I didn't really follow the measurements for the vegetables and I served it in a pita (though it was also delicious on its own).

* If I remember correctly, this show was forbidden in my house. Somehow I watched it anyway. Sorry Mom. I guess you found the Roseanne family trashy and offensive, but somehow I have remembered this quote for years because to me, it was offensive. How could she insult some of my favorite salads like that? And also, is she right? Because if she is, that means I like mayonnaise a whole lot more than I thought. I'm not a food snob or anything, but that is so trashy.

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

2 Packets of wild rice mix, prepared according to directions
(the packets I used contained about 2 or 3 servings each)
juice of 1 small
lemon
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

4 chopped green onions
3 oz snow peas
1 diced red pepper
2 avocados
1 C chopped pecans

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 t
salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 C rice wine vinegar

stir the rice, chicken, vegetables, and pecans together. Add some of the
lemon, but not all as you will add the rest to taste later on. Emulsify dressing
ingredients in a food processor or blender and stir about half of the dressing
into the salad and taste. Add more to taste and allow salad to sit overnight to
allow flavors to mellow and blend. Keep the dressing and lemon juice- you might
want to add more tomorrow.

Mrs. Dart's Lemon Bars of Enlightenment
I have had these lemon bars twice and both times they have schooled me. First I had them when the lovely Mrs. Dart, my mother-in-law, made them. That is when I learned that lemon bars can be downright addicting. Before that day, I actually thought I disliked lemon bars. These babies could change anybody's mind.

Now for the second bit of wisdom imparted from these luscious bars: I learned that my oven is really unneven. Notice the bar in the back, left side of this picture has almost no lemony filling, but the bar in front has an abundance of filling. Watch out for oven uneveness, because the extra lemony ones can be tart enough to give one a sore throat when one inhales 3 at a time in a response to hunger so strong it could only be church-induced.

Here's the recipe. Make it sometime, you might learn something.

Lemon Bars of Enlightenment

Crust:
1 C Butter (I softened it, and that
seemed to work)
2 C flour
1/2 C powdered sugar
dash of salt

Mix.
It will be crumbly. Press lightly into 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for
10-15 minutes and cool slightly. Don't turn off the oven
yet.

Filling:
4 beaten eggs
6 T fresh lemon juice
2 C sugar and
1/4 C flour stirred together

Stir all the filling ingredients together
and pour over pre-baked crust. Bake all together at 350 for 25 minutes.
Optional: dust with powdered sugar.

Real Gluttons Eat Pie for Dinner
This is another item I made for the Register's farewell fete.

Need an easy and delicious idea for dinner? A substantial appetizer for a party? Don't know what to feed your vegetarian friends (not vegans)? Do your arteries need clogging? A tomato-basil tart is appropriate for almost any occasion.

This one is especially easy because it is made with store-bought pie crusts. It is especially delicious because it includes 2 Cups of mozzerella cheese in addition to tomatoes and basil.

I made two versions: one in this pie dish, and another in a 10-inch springform pan. I actually prefer the latter, now that I have tried it, because the crust looked kind of pizza-like instead of so pie-like in the pie dish. It actually looked elegant with the tomatoes piled high inside. Yum!

Tomato-Basil Tart
1/2 (15-oz) package refrigerated pie crusts
2 C shredded mozzerella cheese
4 T fresh basil, divided
3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t fresh ground pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

Place crust in 10-inch pie pan or springform pan and prick the bottom and sides with a fork. Bake crust for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle cheese over crust and top with 3 T basil. Arrange tomato slices on top and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 35 minutes. Top with remaining fresh basil and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Achtung. Because somebody told me that means "caution" in German.

Oops. I looked it up and Babelfish disagrees with that translation, so maybe a German can let us know.

I'd been waiting for an excuse to bake this. This is a very dangerous cake to have just sitting around your fridge begging you to eat it and with no one there to help you finish it off. That's why I say achtung. Better have a group of 15 or so people to help you out. I thought a going-away party for the Registers was the perfect reason for some serious flourless chocolate cake.

And serious it was. It was like eating a truffly (but so much better because a slice of cake it so much more fit for this girls chocolate cravings than a couple of measly truffles). It was the smoothest, silkiest flourless chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Maybe that has something to do with the the 3 (!) sticks of butter in one 9-inch cake. Maybe.

I did not have the time to take a picture of the whole cake, but it was coated with a beautiful, smooth ganache that made it look so elegant. After everybody left the party, there was just this one little peice left. And I saved it for you. Ryan wanted it but I saved it for you.

Smooth Operator Intense Chocolate Cake
Adapted from "Chocolate Intensity" in Tish Boyle's The Cake Book

Makes one 9-inch cake
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used around 70% cacao), finely chopped
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350º F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round and butter the parchment. (If you're using a pan with a removable bottom like a springform, make sure to wrap the pan with 2 or 3 layers of foil, so water from the water bath can't get inside the pan)

Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, stir butter, sugar and milk until the butter is melted and mixture has just started boiling.

Pour the hot mixture over your chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until blended. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Slowly add about 3/4 cup hot chocolate mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly. (Tempering the eggs with a little bit of the hot chocolate mixture will prevent "scrambled eggs" when combining the two mixtures.) Add the egg mixture to the hot chocolate mixture and whisk to combine well.

Strain the batter through a sieve (to catch any cooked egg bits- I skipped this part, because I thought my batter looked quite free of scrambled eggs but then I detected one or two teeny egg bits in my slice of cake) and then pour batter into prepared pan.

Set cake pan in a large roasting pan and fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center is shiny and set but still a bit jiggly.

Transfer cake pan to a cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a cardboard round on top of the pan and invert the cake onto it. Remove pan and carefully remove the parchment paper. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours before glazing with chocolate glaze.

Bittersweet Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove pan from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute then gently stir until chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Gently stir in the vanilla.

Transfer glaze to a small bowl and cover the surface of the glaze with plastic wrap and let cool for 5 minutes at room temperature before using.

To glaze the cake:Place the chilled cake, still on the cake round, on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Slowly pour the hot glaze onto the center of the cake. Smooth the glaze over the top and sides, letting the excess drip onto the baking sheet.Scrape the extra glaze from the baking sheet and put it in a small ziploc bag. Seal the bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners. Gently squeeze the bag over the top of the cake to drizzle the glaze in a decorative pattern. Refrigerate the cake at least one hour before serving.

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me
When Pennsylvania finally started to defrost a couple of weeks ago, I had the desire to come out of hibernation and maybe visit the neighbors, assuming they still lived next door. That was anybody's guess since I hadn't seen them in 3 months. Of course, I put off making the cookies until we saw snow again. Anywho, I made a new sugar cookie recipe this weekend. They were delicious and buttery, almost like shortbread cookies.

Ryan couldn't stop eating them before I frosted them, but then we liked them even better when we put almond-flavored frosting on top (pink and yellow, to celebrate "spring").

I forgot to take pictures of the final product, but I did take pictures of the dough, which was strangely mealy until I pressed it together into a ball. I guess that's how it is supposed to be.Thanks to elise at Simply Recipes, since I stole this recipe from her post that you can read right here. (note: yields 5 dozen cookies??! I scarcely got 2 dozen. what is wrong with me?)

Sugar Cookie Recipe number one

Cookies:

3 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soft butter

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 tbsp cream

1 tsp vanilla

Icing

1/3 cup of softened butter

1 pound of confectioners sugar

About 1/4 cup of milk

Almond extract, to taste (1 tsp-
ish)

1 Sift dry ingredients (use a real sifter), cut in butter and
add other ingredients. Blend thoroughly; chill for several hours.
2 Break
off a piece of dough the size of an orange and pat it flat in your hand. Using a
rolling pin, roll on dough on floured board (best to use a 2/1 ration of
flour/sugar - 4 Tbsp flour mixed with 2 Tbsp sugar) or between wax paper. (It
helps if you flour both sides of the dought.) Roll out to about a 1/4 inch
thickness. Cut out and put on silpat-lined or ungreased
cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes at 400 F. Remove the cookies from the oven as
soon as you see them turning color at the base of the cookie. Let cool
completely.
3 Mix icing ingredients together until smooth. Separate into
different bowls, add food coloring to achieve various colors. Spread on cookies
with a butter knife, use cake decorating piping equipment to add decorative
accents. If you want the sprinkle type decorating candies to stick, brush the
cookie with clear Karo syrup and then sprinkle.

Makes
Scarcely 2 Dozen Cookies

THE Cheesecake would probably have been the perfect cheesecake if only I had made it perfectly. I decided to take advantage of this girl's quest for the perfect cheesecake. I, too, would like to eat perfect cheesecake. She was scientific about it in a way I wish I was, but I will never be, so I just decided to take her word for it that THE Cheesecake is what we have been searching for. Thanks for doing the brainwork, Kitarra! Whoever you are!

I love that this cheesecake has no crust because it allows the velvety texture to shine. And was it ever velvety. It was practically winter formal wear. It was just the right density- dense but not dry. The taste was also very nice and tangy with just a hint of lemon.

If you make it- be sure to get your springform pan water tight (via directions in the recipe) I didn't do a good job and some water leaked into the cake, so some spots on the bottom were not velvety like they should have been. Also- you might want an oven thermometer if your oven (like mine) doesn't have 200 degrees on the dial. This can also create some texture issues.

Before I link to the recipe, here's my take on a hard-to-find ingredient, and also a warning on the time consumption of baking this cake. She calls for kifir cheese or labnan, a type of cheese. In my searching I discovered that they are more commonly spelled "kefir" or "labne". You can make the cheese if you buy your own kefir, or you can use her suggested substitution, drained greek yogurt. That is what I did. I don't know what the difference is between greek yogurt and regular old plain yogurt. It tasted like it was full-fat and thicker than your average american-made yogurt. I think you could easily and undetectably substitue sour cream.

Finally- read the baking directions before you decide to start making this at, say, 9 o'clock at night (start at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, turn oven down to 200 degrees for an hour, loosen the cake, bake again for an hour, turn up the heat again....) Consider yourself warned.

Without further ado, here's the link to the recipe, plus the creator's novel of comments about her quest.

Very Bitter Greens
Is it not true that certain plants are bitter tasting as a warning that they are actually poisonous?

If so, then I don't know how on earth broccoli raab came to be acceptable for human consumption.

Broccoli Raab is actually pronounced like "broccoli rob". It is also called broccoli rabe or rapini. Last night I made broccoli raab with sausage and grapes.

Somebody must like it, but Ryan and I couldn't even eat our dinner so I am not posting the recipe. Maybe we just aren't the healthy vegetable-lovin type. Rachel, if you want this recipe, then email me.

TURNIP THE HEAT, IT'S COLD IN HERE

In an effort to mature my palatte, I have decided to incorporate vegetables that I have never tasted, prepared, and/or never enjoyed into our dinners. Feel free to join me in my adventures, or send recipes you love for vegetables that are generally less-loved.

First up: turnips. So ordinary, but I have never tried them. Plus: they are available at the pathetic produce section of my most local grocer.

I made these pureed. No exact recipe is needed. That is, if you know how to make mashed potatoes. In fact, for thickness, throw a potato or two in with the turnips. I used 2 turnips and one potato.

Peel and cut the potato and turnips into cubes. Boil them (in a pot of boiling water, of course) until the turnips are very soft. They take longer than potatoes alone- about 20 minutes total. Then drain the potato and turnips and puree them with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. No milk is needed because they should be thin enough.

MY VERDICT: Turnips do nothing for me a potato can't do better. Not bad, though.Here's to an effort towards a well-rounded palette.

Join me next time for adventures with broccoli rabe!

Sweet Seduction
Sugar High Friday #28

There is nothing in my house that is more seductive than these molten chocolate cakes.

I will keep this short because my words pale in comparison with the deliciousness of molten cakes.

In short, here is a link to the recipe. My advice is to use the best chocolate you can afford. I like 70% cacao for these cakes. They are best topped with ice cream or whipped cream and, most importantly, rasberries.