Bring Food

Gingerbread Castle

2009-12-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

Little Miss K and I do gingerbread houses most Christmases. When she was younger, we did prebaked kits:

(Yes, that is a cookie cutter stuck to the roof--do you have a point?)

Last year, however, we entered a local Gingerbread House Contest and made our first from-scratch gingerbread house. Crazy process with frosting everywhere and candy canes flying in all directions, but Little Miss K and I are fans of the madness so we had a lot of fun.

So much fun, in fact, that we decided to do it again! Little Miss K is the design lead (all design decisions are hers to veto at will) and I take up the engineering. This is what she came up with:

And this is how it went down:

And this is the final result:

Crusty Bread and My New tools

2009-11-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

Made a classic French boule bread yesterday and I got to use some of my new Pampered Chef stuff in a nice way,

namely my Classic Batter Bowl

and my Large Round Stone with Handles

I used the recipe in Julia Child's The Way to Cook, though any number of French bread recipes would do it here. This recipe uses 3.5 cups flour and makes 3 18" baguettes or 1 12" boule, and it doesn't use a poolish or starter. I doubled the yeast because I just didn't have the time for the slower rises.

The ingredients are:
1 pkg yeast
1/3 cup water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3.5 cups flour
1 Tbs whole wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup water

but Julia's instructions are very well done and very detailed--I recommend taking a look at the book.

I usually just eyeball the dough during rises, but Julia is a little particular about how much it should increase in each rise, so to make things easier on myself I dumped the dough into my batter bowl with the measure on the side and found it a nice way to see how much it had risen compared to the initial size.

Then, to get the perfect bake, I put my baking stone into the hot oven for about 20 minutes to get nice and hot for baking the bread on. Once I had the dough shaped and risen, slashed and ready to go, I just used my large cutting board as a peel and slid the dough onto the stone.

Ended up with a very nice loaf of bread with a beautiful crust--check out the underside of that thing.

I make bread fairly often, though not always artisan style, of course. Still, it's fun once in a while to make something very special.

Cost of Dinner - Pot Roast Edition

2009-11-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

So my little family and I were eating dinner tonight and we were talking about home cooked food and high-fructose corn syrup (we're a real interesting bunch, clearly...). And we were talking about the price of food, and how it was pretty darn cheap to make things that way.

And I thought about it, and how a few years back I had costed out my bread recipe and my sweet rolls, to see just how much I saved, and I thought it might be interesting to do that for the meal tonight, too.

It's fall now, I had an in and out kind of day, so I threw a pot roast into the crock pot with potato and carrots, and made crusty bread when I got home. I made the pot sauce into gravy and that was that. So, here's what we had:

$5.09-- half of a 3.4 lb. Beef Round Eye Roast at $2.99/lb on sale or $10.17 total (I cooked the whole thing but have 2/3 to 1/2 left over for another meal)
$0.60 -- (give or take) for 4-5 fresh carrots from a 2 lb bag ($1.79 per bag), peeled and cut after purchase
$0.90 -- (give or take) for 3 potatoes from a 5 lb bag ($3.50 per bag), peeled and cut after purchase
$0.10 -- ok, now I'm just guessing -- what do you suppose a shake of sage, thyme, salt and pepper and a glug of cider vinegar cost?
$0.60 -- 3.5 cups King Arthur Flour (= 1 lb) from a 5 lb bag on sale for $2.99
$0.15 -- 4 teaspoons yeast (appx. 2 packages) -- I buy my yeast at Whole Foods in 1 lb bags for appx $5.00 a bag (a 1 lb bag is appx. 64 packets worth) -- the same amount of yeast bought in packets at $1.99 for 3 packets would come to $42.45, not much of a deal.
$0.20 -- this is another guess, I used 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and some water all around. I also used 3 Tablespoons flour to thicken the gravy and a little butter on the bread, but how picky can you really get?

For a grand total of $7.64 or $2.55 per person, I fed my family of 3 a beef dinner with carrots, potatoes, gravy, and fresh baked crusty French bread. Not to bad a deal I think, and we have some leftover veggies and a bit of bread for another meal, too.

It's a Spritz!

2009-11-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

I've wanted a cookie press for the better part of the past 30 years. Sometime along the way I saw one in a cookbook and thought they were wonderful--beautiful cookies combining the joy of piped cake decorations and play-doh, what's not to love?

My mother did not think a cookie press was a good idea at all, she said spritz cookies don't taste very good (note: not true with these cookies!), so the idea went into the backroom of wishes, the same place where I put those other wayward plans like being on Dance Fever with Deney Terrio and becoming the first woman to play Major League Baseball (obviously there are many good reasons for many plans to go directly to that wayward plan place and stay there, please just STAY THERE).

Well, along came my recent Pampered Chef gift certificate and the catalog included this beautiful piece of cookie forming gorgeousness: The Beautiful New and Improved Pampered Chef Cookie Press (cue angel music...). How could I refuse?

So it arrived and Little Miss K and I mixed up a batch of the Spritz Recipe from Joy of Cooking. Apparently some recipes are more cake like and some are crisper--these were heaven itself with buttery crispness and just the right amount of sweet, vanilla, and almond--these are very, very good cookies.

But, I do hear you, that's all well and good, but what about the cookie press?

Fabulous fun! Little Miss K and I took turns trying out the press and we used every disk except the extruder and the potato ricer. It takes some practice, each disk requires a slightly different touch and some are easier that others. We had some perfectly lovely cookies, some a little off, and some that we just scooped up and put in the bowl to be put back in the cookie press for another shot.

Next time I think we'll also use parchment instead of greased cookie sheets. It's sometimes a fine line between not enough dough to stick to the sheet and too much dough making a smooshy mess. I think parchment might cling the dough better and make that fine line a little less fine--we will see.

Fortunately, we were just baking for us--I would definitely recommend practice before you plan to use these in public. The good thing is the cookies are delicious. Very, very, very good. I think we'll find the time to practice again soon!

Piece of Pizza Pie

2009-11-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

As promised, here's the first up from my brand new Pampered Chef haul (hooray!). That very day we grabbed that baking stone and made us some pizza!

And when I say we, I mean mostly Little Miss K--her adoring mom mostly sat around taking photos and being my usual adoring self.

What to know something great? I was thinking about the cost savings of this pizza--and I'm going to skip ahead just enough to let you know it was delicious and every bit as good as pizzeria pizza--all together it cost us $4-$5--and no gas, plus Little Miss K gets to eat so she doesn't need tipping.

So anyway, here's the process:

We made dough from the Betty Crocker cookbook recipe, which is a double portion of the dough recipe here:

1 Package (appx. 2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve the yeast in the water, add everything else until well mixed. Kneed until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Press pizza dough into a 15" diameter circle on your baking stone (or cookie sheet).

Toss gratuitously to impress others, if desired.

Spread pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce over crust.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella, or Italian blend, or mozzarella and cheddar to form a thin layer over sauce (I keep a few kinds of shredded cheese in the freezer--it doesn't mold there and you can just sprinkle the frozen cheese--it works just fine). Bake for 20-25 minutes, till crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Enjoy (and pat yourself on the back while thinking of what you'd rather do with the saved cash)!



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Enabled (new stuff!)

2009-11-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, I seem to have that cooking monkey on my back (figurative, not literal) and, like all good addicts, I have a few good enablers to keep me in it.

First and foremost are Mr. K and Little Miss K, who constantly make me feel that homecooking is what makes life worth living (love you guys!), but my big brother, it turns out, is my foremost tool enabler. Birthdays, Christmas, kitchen things are always a hit, and the wife of one of his good friends is a fabulous cook--she gives him good advise and the good goods flow.

A package came yesterday from a recent gift certificate spree from Pampered Chef (bless you, bro!)--want to share the joy with me?

(woo-hoo!)

Funny thing, Little Miss K took all the pictures and they're uncropped--she actually shot them "Muppet Babies adult" style--funny kid!)

For those of you who don't haunt the Pampered Chef pages (which included me until this gift), those pictures (and those not pictured) are:

Collapsible Strainer
Cutting Board with Measure Cups
Gravy Separator
Large Round Stone with Handles
Cookie Press
Pie Gate
Chef's Silicone Basting Brush
Bamboo Specialty Cooking Set
Measure-All® Cup
Classic Batter Bowl
Mini Measure-All® Cup

Fun, fun, fun! Coming soon--food made with those items!

(but, till then, also from last night, here's a preview:

)

A Chicken in Every Pot

2009-11-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ever have one of those days?

I'm a homeschooling Mom, which in some ways helps me cook and bake more easily--mix bread, teach grammar, punch down dough, answer math question, start to shape loaves, explain a bit more math, finish loaves, explain why she simply has to do math whether she likes it or not, let loaves rise, tell my angel princess to knock off the drama and just do the stinking math--you get the idea....

But life is life and motherhood is motherhood so there are obviously those days on a regular basis--you know, the ones where you're driving to whatever activity, biding your time, hustling the kiddo to get ready to go, stopping at the CVS, a "quick" trip to the grocery for milk, pop into the bank, finally home at 7:00 and wondering what on earth you're going to feed these people.

Couple that with trying to spend as little money as possible on food (despite rising food costs!) and possibly attempting to feed the family nutritious foods while you're at it...

This is why I love my crockpot.

Check this action out: sometime in the morning I grab a raw chicken (cheap broiler/ fryer not the more expensive roaster), toss it in the crock. Dump a little something on top (salt and pepper? garlic powder? soy sauce? mustard and honey? vinaigrette salad dressing? apricot jam? I've tried it all and it's hard to go wrong here) . If you feel like it peel some carrots and toss them in on top (or get the baby carrots--whatever). Potatoes if you have them, or don't bother, doesn't matter much.

Call it done and go on with your day.

This way, when you finally stumble into the house at the end of the day, you open the door to the lovely scent of supper ready. Let me repeat: the lovely scent of supper ready! Yes, that's right, Supper Is Ready.

Of course, chicken in the crock looks a little pasty for most people's tastes. Let's face it, you want this:

Source: Norman Rockwell Museum in Vermont

And this is not the same thing:

Not a problem, I use my "superior presentation skills" and carve it in the kitchen. Ha! take that pasty chicken!

The meat is so moist and tender from the crock pot. Really good. And you can pour the drippings into a gravy separator and thicken it in a pot on the stove (stir in 1 Tablespoon corn starch (mixed with a little cold water) for every cup drippings) and...voila! gravy!

This never ceases to make my little family happy and make me look like a good cook...roast chicken dinner on a busy day. Easy, cheap, and good...Love it when a plan comes together!

Cake Wreckage

2009-11-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Oh my! I had found this site, laughed my fool head off, forgot all about it, had a chat about it at work in the context of some bad cakes, laughed my fool head off, forgot all about it, got a call today from my husband (who works in a bake shop) asking for the web address to share it with a co-worker, opened up the site again, laughed my fool head off all over again.

I just love this site. Please check out www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com

You will see the most amazing cakes--some beautifully amazing and plenty more what the heck amazing.

Some of the comments (and some of the cakes) are a little off color, but it is just so funny

Or maybe my sense of humor is just that odd? Whatever. I love it.

I Made that Chocolate-Cherry Brioche

2009-11-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

Remember the Chocolate-Cherry Brioche I wanted to make? Well, today is the day...

Actually, last night I started it, since it can use a nice rise overnight.

I had a minor glitch of my own making (usually that way, isn't it?)--this time I somehow managed to delete the last ingredient in the dough...so here I am mixing it up in my trusty Kitchen Aid and wondering how a brioche can have no butter? and, where is this stickyness they speak of?

Obviously time to check the King Arthur site, which would have been more helpful except for one thing...why on earth is the King Arthur site down now when I really, really need it?

Figuring it was a time for action, I compared the ingredients I had with the Brioche recipe in the Joy of Cooking and figured that 3/4 cup very soft butter would do the job--dough looked right (which is to say sticky and soft but getting better) and I was back in the running.

So I was over by 50%--better that than a Brioche that's not buttery, that's what I always say (or at least what I would always say if I really did go around chatting about brioche all the time).

Butter in place, everything mixed with the paddle mixer, I moved on to the dough-hook. They certainly weren't kidding when they said it would be "sticky mess"--basically, it was like the hook dragging through mud, nothing forming, nothing clinging, nothing pulling from the sides of the bowl. Not at all!

But true to description, after about 12 minutes, the stuff really had transformed. I threw in the chocolate and cherries and had this:

Truthfully, the chocolate and cherries didn't work in all that well with the bread hook, so I took the whole gob out and kneeded it in a bit better. After that I threw it back in the bowl with the cover and followed directions (ok, maybe I'm just not that good a follower, 'cause I didn't grease the bowl--I rarely do anyway because the bread always unsticks just fine without it (what with the worked up gluten and all), and since this already had almost half a pound of butter in it I figured I might just be good to go as is).

After that bit of rebellion, I really did follow directions and this morning I smashed it into a long rectangle and dumped cocoa and sugar all over it:

--all directions should be this much fun!

So, that just left me to roll it up (shoving the random popping out cherries and chips, enjoying the little clouds of cocoa-sugar that puffed out between the bits of stuff in the dough), and drop it into my greased 9" x 3" springform pan. Looked like this:

I dutifully waited 3 hours till it was puffed (Note: there is a reason why they say puffy instead of, say, "doubled" or even "risen"). Three hours later I had this:

Puffy might be charitable here, but it seemed good enough for me.

I never did get out to get the large crystal sugar that looks so cool, so I just dumped lots of granulated sugar on it--enough to show up after baking. Mine took closer to 45 minutes to bake--might be due to the extra butter, might be due to the cold house--but here we go:

Lovely, no? and the house sure smells good.

I've got to tell you, is this stuff is very, very good. Tender, flavorful, moist, soft, crisp "crust" but not crusty. And that extra butter? Didn't hurt a bit.

Can't wait for that lovely guy I married to come home and smell this house! Of course, while we wait, my sweet daughter and I are going to be munching on brioche...

A few words about pie crusts

2009-11-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

I absolutely adore a good pie crust. Truth is, not much makes my husband or daughter happier than a good homemade pie (as happy, sure, but happier?). And since part of my joy in cooking is joy in having people swoon, that works for me.

Sure, you can buy a nice refrigerator pie crust, or even a disposable tin already set with a pressed in crust, but you and I both know it isn't the same thing. And making a crust takes more effort than not, but not that much effort, especially considering the joy and wonder you're getting out of it, right?

Over the years, I've come to really appreciate my 40th Anniversary Betty Crocker Cookbook. My mom is solidly Joy of Cooking, so that's where I started my life of cooking, but I find their breads a bit dry and poor textured, and their fruit pie fillings always seem to be too runny. With time I've come to go appreciate Joy for variety and more variety, but Betty is my go-to.

Still, Betty's pie crusts are a bit lacking.

Who would have thought there'd be any difference at all? but after a few disappointing Betty crusts I knew it wasn't just a bad day in the kitchen, it really was Betty.

Turns out Joy has different proportions, better proportions by a long shot. It isn't that there's any difference in how it's made, just what size measuring cup you use. It's all in the shortening, more shortening that is.

Of course, Joy specifies crust for 9" pie and most pie plates you pick up are at least 9 1/2 and besides extra crust for high rims and little cut-outs is always nice--I tend to make a recipe and a half for a covered pie. Fractions, no problem--this is pie!

So, without further ado, The Perfect Pie Crust (2 single crust or 1 covered pie) at least according to Mrs. K consists of:

3 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar (unless it's a pot pie or other savory thing, of course)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup shortening

And I know, I know, refrigerator crust is so easy and the Doughboy so cute, what's the harm in that? No harm, of course, and Mrs. K loves the Doughboy, too, but some day when you're not in a hurry and want to treat yourself to something not very hard but very special, promise me you'll give it a try?

Puff Piece

2009-11-03T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite "what the heck am I going to make for dinner" dinners. It's based on a recipe from Seventeen Magazine's "Now You're Cooking" regular feature back in the early '80s (yes, Mrs. K did clip it and save it all these years--even as a young one I liked good food ideas).

I love it because it (a) uses things I usually have on hand, (b) goes from start to table in about 30 minutes, and (c) tastes really good and looks cool, too.

Fruit Puff Pancake

2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium apples peeled, cored and sliced, or 3 ripe pears, or 1 to 1 1/2 cup other fruit sliced (unless it's small enough like blueberries--adjust sugar if it's more sweet or tart, and omit cinnamon if it doesn't really go with the fruit.)

3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400. Place 12 inch ovenproof skillet with the butter in oven a few minutes to heat and melt butter.

Meanwhile, peel or slice fruit if necessary and toss with the sugar and cinnamon.

In medium bowl, whisk flour with 1/2 cup milk (mixing some of the milk first gets the lumps out). Whisk in remaining ingredients till blended.

Remove skillet and swirl to coat with butter. Dump in fruit to make a fairly even layer. Pour batter over fruit.

Bake uncovered 28-33 minutes until puffy and golden brown. Get everyone to the table to admire it before it deflates!

Serves 3 to 4.

Mmmm...Look what I want to bake...

2009-11-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

It's getting cold here and the leaves are mostly done turning and falling. Just in time I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.

Doesn't it look good? I don't have the sparkling sugar, but I may have to get some both for this recipe and to make pretty pies this fall.

It seems like a very nice way to warm up the home on these chilly days.

Chocolate-Cherry Brioche

Dough

2 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk, white reserved for topping
1/4 cup lukewarm water
8 tablespoons butter

Filling 1

2/3 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
2/3 cup dried sweet cherries

Filling 2

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process

Topping

1 large egg white (reserved from dough) lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
2 to 3 tablespoons Swedish pearl sugar or coarse white sparkling sugar

Directions

1) In a stand mixer or in a bread machine, mix together all of the ingredients to form a smooth, shiny dough. Don't worry; what starts out as a sticky mess becomes beautifully satiny as it kneads. If you use a stand mixer, this dough takes longer than most to develop, so be prepared to let it knead for up to 15 minutes. A bread machine will mix and knead this dough perfectly using the dough cycle. We don't recommend trying to knead brioche dough by hand; it's simply too sticky.

2) If you're using a bread machine, add the chocolate chunks and dried cherries about 1 minute before the end of the kneading cycle. Let it complete its entire dough cycle, then cover the bucket with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough for several hours, or overnight. If you've kneaded the dough in a stand mixer, add the cherries and chocolate at the end, form it into a ball (it'll be very soft), place it in a greased bowl, cover the bowl, and it let rise for 1 hour. Then refrigerate the dough for several hours, or overnight. Refrigeration will slow the fermentation and chill the butter, making the dough easier to shape.

3) Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and place it on a lightly floured work surface.

4) Shape the dough into a 24" log. Flatten it out so it's about 6" to 7" wide. Don't try to make it perfectly even; it'll look ragged.

5) Make the filling by whisking together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Brush the dough with milk or water, and sprinkle the sugar/cocoa filling evenly over the dough. Starting with a long end, roll the dough into a long log.

6) Lay the log in a lightly greased 9" round cake pan that's at least 2" tall. You can coil it into the pan, or simply make it into a circle. Pinch the dough together where the ends meet.

7) Cover the pan, and allow the brioche to rise for 2 to 3 hours, till it's quite puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

8) Brush the risen brioche with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the pearl sugar or coarse white sugar.

9) Bake the brioche for 20 minutes. Tent it with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until it's golden brown and its interior registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer.

10) Remove the brioche from the oven, and after about 5 minutes loosen the edges, and carefully turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Yield: one 9" brioche.

-Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour

These days I only use King Arthur Flour because I know I can count on it. I've had some bad experiences with bread made from store brands--not enough gluten I think--needed to use more flour (which cuts out the cost savings) and the finished bread came out with less flavor and worse texture, not so good a use of my time, and hardly a way to tempt my family.

Beginning with Cookies

2009-11-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Where to begin this blog? I'm thinking you can never go wrong with cookies. We made a batch of sugar cookies the other day (Husband and Daughter made the dough (Betty Crocker Cook Book recipe--always a winner. Daughter and I cut, baked and painted.)).

Want to see?

We rolled and cut (this is a the "after" with a cool rolling pin shaped cutter where all the pieces fit together--love it <3 )

Put them on a cookie sheet (threw parchment paper over the sheet to make it easy to slide them off--that's my lazy side).

See the roller cutter?

and to the right are these cool Williams-Sonoma "stained glass" cutters I got last Christmas--I don't see them online so I'll have to describe. They have regular cutting edges, but after you do that you press the spring piece in the middle and it cuts a few more shapes and presses pretty little design dents. You're supposed to fill the inside holes with crushed hard candy to melt it into the "stained glass" but Daughter and I couldn't be bothered this time. Still the shapes and dents make a very pretty cookie.

Cooling (see the pretty not!stained-glass ones?)

Painting. We mix powdered sugar (about a cup), milk (about a teaspoon or so) and 3-4 drops liquid food coloring (the kind you get at the grocery). Daughter likes to make a plate "palate" and mix, blend, and add more drops of color. Me? I guess I'm less picky because I just use whatever colors seem close to a good fit.

Drying the frosting.

Yes, the snow-man does have on shades--I smeared a drop and had to turn it into something.

Yes, that is the doughboy--Mrs. K may possibly have once bought a bag of Pillsbury flour just to get that cutter.

Did we really make more Christmas shapes than Fall shapes in the middle October? Yes we did. We like the shapes. Please don't judge.

Done! Just got that cake dome from Crate and Barrel (gift certificate shopping!)--love how it makes snacks look like display things. And having them out reminds us that we had fun making them. And also, this way they're easy for Mrs. K to get at and eat.

A few words about this recipe: These are from the Betty Crocker 40th edition cookbook--the new one has "low fat" and "no roll" sugar cookies--that's not what this is.

These are, to my mind, the perfect sugar cookies:

Lightly buttery, with a hint of vanilla and almond
Sturdy enough to frost but with a crisp "break with the bite" texture
Roll well
Don't rise or puff too much, don't melt and flatten when you cook them (it's just plain irritating when you cut cool shapes with dent details and have them puff into blobishness when you put them in the oven)

But, don't plan to mail these--far too crumbly to make the trip!