Recipe – Page 9 – Backdoor Hospitality

Almond Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Ben and I got to get away this weekend for the first time since before Tayers was born (August 2008 last nights away). It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful. If you’re a mother, can I just say that you need time away. Your kids will be fine. In fact, they’ll be the better for it. Heck, you both will be the better for it. And most likely, your husband has been wanting to get away with just you for quite some time. If you’re a single mom, then enlist someone’s help to give yourself extra alone time, because I commend your hard work & efforts doing this job alone. All in all–get away, don’t think twice, just do it. It will give you more to give back.

It was also over a year ago, with me 7 months pregnant, baking every single dessert for my dear friends (Tina & Jason) wedding. I had the privilege of making Jason his favorite dessert (Carrot Cake) and he would echo my praises when I say, “it is pretty much the best carrot cake EVER!” Then, for Tina as the gluten-intolerant gal that she is, I made chocolate truffle cakes with homemade raspberry puree. Her all-time combo is chocolate & raspberry. Well, after the day was over, I told Ben to remind me to NEVER do that while I was that pregnant again–no matter who is asking. But, lucky for me, I was blessed with a gift certificate to a local spa in town from my dessert making at 7 months effort. So on Saturday I finally used it (only about 17 months later) for my 90 minute Swedish massage. Heavenly!

Tayers chillin' with her papa (she has the charm factor going strong)

It even got me reflecting about my last massage (I was pregnant) and how maybe I’m ready for another baby. Well, let’s stop right there, because A. this will not be the place I will first be discussing such BIG ideas and B. I think the masseuse hit some pressure points leading to romantic, idealism babyland. Mental note: Kamille, enjoy your first over night away with your husband without thinking about adding more insanity quite yet.

We did enjoy our time together. Our room overlooked the water, we went on walks, ate some classical French food (some I will most likely not eat again), & had adult conversation without interruptions. We also had this Portugese Almond Cake with Apricot Compote. I enjoyed it, as I enjoy most anything with almonds. It reminded me of this Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake I made a while back, but haven’t shared it with you yet. And this seems as good as any.

Brown Sugar! and Almond Pound Cake (printable recipe)

This cake is adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. I made this pound cake, then whipped up some heavy cream for whipped cream and used my orange cardamom caramel to make an Almond Orange Cardamom Caramel Trifle. Down right dangerous, but I play high stakes. Also, go to Trader Joe’s to purchase Almond Meal for a cheaper price. I sifted my almond meal to separate the ground skin from the almond meat.

Ingredients

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour, sifted then measured
1 ¼ cups ground almond meal or almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 Tb vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
6 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. Spray two 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, set on medium speed, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy (3 minutes). Gradually beat in the brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar and continue beating until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold the flour and almond mixture into the batter by hand, using a rubber spatula or large balloon whisk, until no traces of flour remain.

Spoon the batter evenly among the two loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding onto the rack. Let cool completely on wire rack. The cake can be eaten, wrapped well in plastic & stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 1 month.

sorry about the horrible picture, but the sun had gone down

Homemade Graham Cracker Sandwich Cookies

I feel like there are definitely those that fall under the LOVE graham cracker category. I’m in the other camp, the “meh” camp. I can recall old roommates getting their sugar craving quenched by putting frosting on graham crackers. If there are graham crackers in our home, Ben will spread peanut butter on them. As for me, I would rather have nothing. The boxed graham crackers tend to have that mass produced taste and lacking in the honey factor (even though the box says ‘Honey Graham’).

So if you’re in the “LOVE” category, you need to make these and your admiration will increase exponentially, making you wonder what you were doing having a love affair with such second rate calories. If you’re in the “Meh” category, then this might be the start to a “beautiful friendship.” When you bite into these gems, you taste honey, then cinnamon, then a bit of nuttiness from the whole wheat, the richness of the butter with the bit of salt tying it altogether. That’s the graham without the frosting, so by adding the frosting it sends you over the top. Wow your family or guests with these nostalgic childhood snacks and I guarantee that in this instance–simplicity wins out.

Homemade Graham Cracker Sandwich Cookies

(printable recipe)

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook, The Grand Central Baking Book, which is a bakery located in Seattle, WA & Portland, OR. The recipe calls to bake 15-20 minutes, but I found that a 15 minute baking time produces a softer graham (not as golden, but still wonderful). So start at 15 and add more time if you want them more crispy.

Graham Cracker Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, unbleached
1/2 cup (2.5 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (8 ounces, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey

Frosting Ingredients

1/2 cup (4 ounces or 1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (8 ounces) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tb heavy cream, 1/2 & 1/2, or whole milk

Directions

Combine the dry ingredients: Measure the flours, baking soda, salt & cinnamon into a bowl and whisk to combine.
Cream the butter, sugar, and honey: Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, both sugars & honey on medium speed for 3 – 5 minutes until light in color and fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrap the sides and bottom of bowl.
Add the dry ingredients and chill the dough: With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or up to 3 days.
Shape the cookies: Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and coat a rolling pin with additional flour. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thickness, then use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the dough into rectangles (however large or small you of rectangles you would like, I varied mine between 3×5 and 2×3). Prick the dough with a fork. Place the rectangles about 1 inch apart on the parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. The cookies should be dry, firm to the touch, and deep golden brown. Let them cool completely on the baking sheets.
Make the frosting: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and powdered sugar on low speed until well blended, then increase to medium speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and 2 Tb cream, and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute.
Fill & assemble the sandwich cookies: Find matching size graham crackers and using an offset spatula (or butter knife) to spread a layer of frosting on the inverted graham cracker. Put enough frosting to fill the middle and place the other graham cracker on top squeezing slightly until the frosting spreads to the edges.

New Beginnings & Chockful Blondies

Thursday morning is playgroup morning in our house. It typically goes like this,

7:00: Have Sweetpea go to the bathroom, change Tayers diaper, and try to allow Sweetpea the freedom a three year old needs in their independence of “I wanna do it.”
7:30: (takes that long because of the independence & finally asking for help) Go downstairs get milk for both girls, pick up Tayers because she needs her morning snuggles, start on breakfast.
7:45: Girls are at the table eating and I’m trying to make a cup of coffee.
8:15-8:30: We’re finally done with breakfast and clean up ensues.
8:45: change Tayers again and debate whether she will only have one nap that day, if two, hurry and put her to bed
9:00-9:15: clean up dishes, tell Sweetpea that I need a shower while she stays on the main floor dancing around imagining her life if she lived in Strawberryland.
9:45: I’m ready, but trying to get the girls ready (once again dependent upon Tayers nap). Get snacks together
10:15: somehow between 9:30 and 10:15 I have no idea where 45 minutes went, so I give into any expectation of getting to playgroup at 10:00.
10:20ish: We finally make it to playgroup

That’s typical Thursday morning; however, Tayers slept much longer and I was very casual & laid back letting go of any expectation I had on myself or my girls. And although we were an hour late upon arrival, I find that I am a better mama for it. So as we were pulling out onto the main road around 11:00 I was reflecting upon my day yesterday. If you were to have called me or unexpectedly dropped by for a visit around 1:00 yesterday, I would have met you in tears. It was one of those afternoons where I was finding myself to be short with my girls, missing connection times with my oldest, and feeling altogether crummy. The feeling which crept up was “these girls would be better off without me.” Of course, I know that’s not true, but we have these days.

All I could see were my failures, my areas of weakness and everything I lacked. It’s hard to get over these moments, because even though I know I’m forgiven when I ask for it–it still doesn’t erase guilt right away. But this morning pulling out onto the main road I was thinking about what I had read about a particular mother. She would normally overreact to her three and a half year old’s behavior or shenanigans, but she was implementing different behavior patterns for herself, choosing to act and not react and to live with the end in mind. This made me realize that there are many times when I have overreacted as a mama and I can recall many instances I’m not proud of, but it doesn’t relegate me to being that person forever. As it says in the Bible, “his mercies are new every morning.” That’s relieving for me to not just know, but realize it and apply it.

Mothering is not for the faint of heart and it is probably the most self-realization journeys I will ever walk on. If you’re in this parenting boat, your past doesn’t dictate your future, even if you feel like the mess is too huge. If you’re marriage is weathering hard storms, your past doesn’t dictate your future, even if you feel like the mess is too huge. If you’re old & gray and you don’t know if it’s even worth it, your past doesn’t dictate your future, even if you feel like the mess is too huge. No matter where you are on life’s journey, your past doesn’t dictate your future, because there is always time for a new beginning.

If you’re new beginning is getting your health life back on track, then maybe stop reading right now and go to a different site. Because this chock full blondie is a different beginning, but one that will remind you that life is sane (in that small window of devouring them).

Chock Full Blondies (printable recipe)

Recipe is adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. You can add different nuts. The original recipe said to bake it for 30-35 minutes, but it took a lot longer than 35 minutes. It was more like 45 on my oven and I have an oven thermometer. When using a toothpick, insert it in the middle and pull it out. If there are a couple crumbs left–that’s perfect. You basically don’t want to pull out a toothpick with wet batter on it.

Ingredients

3 cups dark brown sugar

1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter

4 eggs, room temperature

1 Tb vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 baking soda

1 1/2 cups almonds, toasted & coarsely chopped

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

4 Heath or Skor bars, broken into bite-sized pieces OR a 14-oz bag of mini-heath bars

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with nonstick spray. Melt butter with brown sugar over medium heat in a heavy bottom pan. Stirring occasionally until butter is melted. Once it’s melted, let it gently bubble for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, vanilla & salt whisking them altogether and set aside. In small bowl, combine flour & baking soda together.
Once the sugar & butter mixture is cooled, add it to the egg mixture and combine. Add the flour mixture to the wet and combine till all the flour has been thoroughly mixed in. Add all the nuts & bolts (white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, almonds, broken toffee bars, & coconut). Stir till combined.
Pour into greased pan and cook for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean. Cool on a wire rack and cut into however big slices you would like.

Crafting Hospitality

Last night as I was pulling the pork apart, I was reminded of my soon to be brother-in-law’s art show back in August. You see, if you’ve ever met Bob without a long sleeve shirt on or a jacket, you are sure to notice the tatoo of a pig on his forearm. It’s quite catching and then a conversation into the land of pork and all things so wonderful around this magnificent of animals comes protruding forth. Bob is marrying my sister-in-law Amber(Ben’s sister) and I can wholeheartedly say how much we all love him and are very thankful he is joining the family. Not only can we talk food shop, but he knows a thing or two about pottery & ceramics.

It was in August that he had his senior project (via art show)/presentation, where he spoke briefly about his ceramic creations, we toured his exhibit, we ate his pulled pork (that he smoked), drank bourbon & whiskey, and had a wonderful time in doing it. What struck me most (that I have yet to encapsulate until now) on that idyllic Seattle summer evening was what Bob spoke about in regards to his work. He said (paraphrasing) that he viewed his pottery as a form of hospitality. He chooses to create cups, bowls, decanters–some of the more practical items with clay, in order to serve the food he loves (pulled pork, bourbon, waffles for post-Christmas breakfast) for people he loves.

It is through his passion of creating, molding, glazing & firing clay with his hands that he is creating unique forms of hospitality. We as the recipients get a taste of appreciation eating and drinking off these tangible pottery pieces. Bob delivers a bit of his passion & hard work (all forms of hospitable acts) to us. So if you’re one of those people wondering “how in the world can I deliver a bit of hospitality?” I would suggest making a special meal that took a bit more time for your family or guests, pulling out the nicer dinnerware just because, or even lighting candles to communicate that we can intertwine ordinary & sacred time together. Seeing that we take the time to give attention to details occasionally throughout our week.

So, if you’re up for it…you could make this indoor pulled pork. I’m telling you right now that it takes time, but the end result is full reward. When I was pregnant with my youngest I got addicted to pulled pork sandwiches. And ya know that craving has yet to leave my system and I have yet to find a place in Bellingham that satisfies what I’m looking for. However, after eating this last night, I feel like I’ve found it. I was in line at the grocery store and I saw the Cooks Illustrated magazine with the words ‘Indoor Pulled Pork’ and knew I had to buy it, because I don’t have a smoker and C.I. rarely fails me. Well, after a total of 6 1/2 to 7 hours I finally got rewarded for my hard work (more like my patience). This would fall under the category of a comfort yet special dinner with a touch of Southern goodness.

Indoor Pulled Pork (printable recipe)

I think pulled pork topped with slaw is not only quintessential, but essential. These two have a symbiotic relationship, so don’t forget to top it with slaw. I used pork shoulder rather than pork butt and chose the Lexington Vinegar Sauce mainly because I had all the ingredients for it versus the other two options. I would wager to say that you wouldn’t be able to tell that this was cooked without the use of a smoker.

Pork:

1 cup plus 2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tb sugar
3 Tb plus 2 tsp liquid smoke
1 boneless pork butt (5 lbs), cut in half horizontally or pork shoulder strips
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 Tb ground black pepper
2 Tb smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Lexington Vinegar Barbecue Sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1 Tb sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

FOR THE PORK: Dissolve 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons liquid smoke in 4 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge pork in brine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
While the pork brines, combine mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons liquid smoke in small bowl; set aside. Combine black pepper, paprika, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and cayenne in second small bowl; set aside. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove pork from brine and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub mustard mixture over entire surface of each piece of pork. Sprinkle entire surface of each piece with spice mixture. Place pork on wire rack set inside foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Place piece of parchment paper over pork, then cover with sheet of aluminum foil, sealing edges to prevent moisture from escaping. Roast pork for 3 hours.
Remove pork from oven; remove and discard foil and parchment. Carefully pour off liquid in bottom of baking sheet into a fat separator (or a big enough bowl and use a baster to get the liquid below the fat) and reserve for sauce. Return pork to oven and cook, uncovered, until well browned, tender, and internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer pork to serving dish, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 20 minutes.
FOR THE SAUCE: While pork rests, pour 1/2 cup of defatted cooking liquid from fat separator (or from baster) into medium bowl; whisk into sauce ingredients.
Shred pork either with your hands or with two forks into bite-sized pieces. Toss with sauce and serve on warm rolls topped with coleslaw.

Making the Lexington Vinegar Barbecue Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with 1/2 cup of defatted cooking liquid and whisk to combine.

Easy Coleslaw:

1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced with chef knife

1 peeled carrot, grated

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 cup (2 Tb) buttermilk

2-3 Tb honey

1 Tb dijon mustard

splash of apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar, or lemon (basically you need an acid)

salt to taste

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and taste. If it tastes too much like mayo, then add a bit more honey, vinegar & salt. Dump on the sliced cabbage and grated carrot and toss.

Grapefruit Yogurt Loaf Cake

My freshman year of college I lived with my brother in a ghetto house, which happened to be in a sketchy neighborhood. It was also the year I was carjacked (whole other story) a block from where we lived. Although the house was small and a bit run down, it had about 12 redeeming qualities, which came in the form of lemon, orange & grapefruit trees. I would go out and pick lemons, slice them up and dip them in sugar. If I was feeling saucy, then I would sprinkle salt on them instead. Let’s just say I was in no danger of getting scurvy that year.

There were at least four grapefruit trees, producing big O.T.L. (Over The Line is a game in AZ, but I’ve never seen it anywhere else and the ball is about double the size of a softball) ball size grapefruit. Unfortunately, I never cared for grapefruit much. I wasn’t going to be cutting it in half and sprinkling it with sugar for a perfect morning breakfast like some. I ended up giving most of them away. It’s only now, about 12 years later, that I have really come to appreciate grapefruit juice with seltzer.

So, as I had this lonely grapefruit on my counter from our bi-weekly produce delivery, I wondered how I could make it into a dessert. After looking at Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook, I came across the Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe I had made a while back. And this is what I came up with to share with my friends and Ben’s co-workers. It isn’t overly strong like a lemon cake would be, but it’s nice & subtle. And it seemed to suit this Spring in January we’ve been experiencing this week.

Grapefruit Yogurt Loaf Cake (printable recipe)

This recipe is adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. It is a lemon yogurt cake using all whole-milk yogurt and more sugar in the cake part, while using less simple syrup for the cake. However, since grapefruit flavor is not as strong as lemon flavor, I found using 2/3 cup of grapefruit juice & 2/3 cup sugar was more adequate to give it that grapefruit flavor. Notes are in italics within the directions

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup plain whole fat greek yogurt
1/2 cup non-fat yogurt
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest (1 grapefruit)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan (I used a stoneware loaf pan and didn’t grease & flour after using the parchment and it worked fine)

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together both yogurts, 2/3 cup sugar, the eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 2/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the grapefruit-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. (You will most likely need to do this in batches allowing the cake to absorb the syrup. I poured the syrup on the top and turned it to its side to pour syrup on the sides, in order to really get the juice flavor into the cake.) Cool.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice (I only used one grapefruit, which measured barely above 2/3 cup of juice. I used some of the juice syrup to the confectioner’s sugar to make the glaze thin enough) and pour over the cake.

Spicy Caramel Popcorn

This morning I made this wonderful Grapefruit Yogurt Loaf Cake, but I decided I would share with you this Spicy Caramel Popcorn recipe instead and save the cake for a later post. I made this for our small group, because it was quick, easy & I figured people could munch on however much they wanted to fill their hand (or hands) with.

When it comes to popcorn, I feel like I could call my mom the Popcorn Queen. Growing up we never had microwave popcorn in the house or a popcorn air popper. I always felt a little deprived not having the microwave hydrogenated oil goodness that most families produced out of their pantry. And thinking, “c’mon mom, can’t we be like normal families and get the popcorn out of a box–we’re the weird family!” But, secretly, I was glad to know my mom didn’t have to rely on Orville to get us through a movie night, because she knew how to add just the right salt/butter/popcorn ratio to the pot. And as we heard what sounded like BB’s pellet against the metal, we instinctively pulled out the yellow/orange rubbermaid bowl designated “the popcorn bowl” (or occasionally my handmade ice rink for my Barbie’s).

If you’re in the mood for sweet & salty, then try this one. There is a bit of a spicy overtone, but nothing that makes your mouth water. It’s also perfect for packaging up for gifts, but be sure to grab a handful or two for yourself.

Spicy Caramel Popcorn (printable recipe)

This recipe comes from The Craft of Baking, which I checked out from the library. I’ve really enjoyed this cookbook as the author encourages you to build from the recipes she gives and making them your own. After originally posting this recipe, my friend emailed with a question about the high heat to make the caramel and having a problem with it boiling over. See my notes at the end of the recipe.
Makes about 4 quarts

Nonstick cooking spray

3 Tb vegetable oil

½ cup popcorn kernels

1 ½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp cayenne pepper

3 cups sugar

3 Tb unsalted butter

1 ½ Tb kosher salt

Lightly coat two large heatproof rubber spatulas and a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan or pot with a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels, cover, and keep the saucepan moving until all of the kernels have popped, about 4 minutes. Transfer the popped popcorn to the prepared bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.

In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda and cayenne pepper.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt, and ½ cup water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light golden-yellow caramel, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the baking soda mixture (the mixture will bubble up).

Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn. Working quickly and carefully, use the prepared spatulas to toss the caramel and popcorn together, as if you were tossing a salad, until the popcorn is well coated.

Pour the popcorn onto a large baking pan and quickly flatten and separate it into small pieces while it is still warm. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once it is cool, store it in a well-sealed airtight container.

Caramel popcorn will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

My Notes:

When making the caramel, the recipe says to not stir while having it on high heat. It is important not to stir caramel, in order to allow the sugar to “caramelize.” The sugar is going through stages and each of those stages cooks the sugar into a deeper color and deeper flavor.
However, if you do not have a heavy bottom pot, you may encounter burning much too quickly, boiling over, or cooking much too quickly before you hit the 10 minute time given.
The 10 minutes is a guideline, so pay more attention to color versus the clock.
It’s okay to swirl the pan. This will distribute the color, keep the sugar from burning, and help you see what the true color of the sugar really is.

Split Pea Soup

One of the things I love about food is it’s ability to create emotions and stories (well I guess that’s two). I’m sure we can all recall those certain foods, which caused stomach upset. Or better yet are the foods we ate once and have endlessly tried to recreate or capture that moment again.

Split Pea was the former in my food story recollection bank for many years. It was New Year’s Eve and I was seven years old. Our church had a Talent Show and being the center of attention seeker I am, I had a performance in mind. I practiced the song endlessly in my room, in the car and anywhere life found me. Well, wouldn’t you know it, come New Year’s Eve Eve…I came down with the stomach bug. No one else in my family did.

And somehow our good family friend offered to have me stay at their house, so my mom could attend the event. I was in the second day of sickness, so I wasn’t feeling as bad or in need of my mom. Although I was sad about missing out on the Talent Show, I was happy to spend the night at Mr & Mrs Sievert’s house. That is until she said she made some split pea soup, which was rare because I was not a picky eater. However, this was green mush that looked like what comes out of a body, not to be consumed. It tainted my view of split pea for sometime. But I’m glad to say that it all changed when my housemate made it in college using some ham from their family farm (does it get any better?).

What are some of your food stories or emotions? Ones you’ve run away from, ones that resurfaced (like the split pea) and you enjoyed, or ones you’ve tried to recreate?

Split Pea Soup (printable recipe)

This is such a forgiving soup. If you want to use some chicken or vegetable broth instead, go ahead. If you want more vegetables or less, go ahead. You can make it vegetarian easily, but I would recommend using some or all vegetable broth in place of the water, in order to give it that extra depth of flavor. If you are needing to serve more than 10 people, simply increase the split peas and water amount (ratio of water to split peas–2 or 2 1/2 cups to 1 cup).

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, medium chop
3 cups cubed ham, (I bought ham steaks from Costco, which is sold in three round slabs, 98% fat free but tasty)
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch slices
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups yukon potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes or chunks
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/2 – 3 cups dried split peas
8-10 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

In a dutch oven or large stock pan, add cubed ham & chopped onions over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally. If your meat or onion is sticking to the pan, then add olive oil. I didn’t need any, because of the condensation from the meat & onion. Cook until onions are softened and the some of the ham browns a bit.

Add minced garlic, cook for 30 seconds while stirring. Then, add the carrots, potatoes & salt and cook for 1-1 1/2 minutes. Add the dried split peas and pour 6 cups of cold water on top. If the peas & vegetables are not completely covered by water, keep adding one more cup of cold water until they are covered. Add the bay leaves. Cover & cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soup begins to bubble. Once it bubbles, turn heat to low and simmer–keeping it covered. You can still stir occasionally and checking to see if you need to add more water. It will take about an hour to an hour and a half to cook to completion.

The soup will be done once the split peas turn to mush. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaves and serve warm. This makes enough for 8-10 servings, so leftovers are a given for a family of four. Once the soup is refrigerated, it will congeal and you can simply add some water to reconstitute it.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Today is my little big girl’s third birthday. She came into our room at 6:00 to greet us with her sweet, “Good Mornin’!” Unfortunately, daddy informed her that it wasn’t waking up time and needed to go back to bed for a little bit longer. After about 45 minutes she came back in where we welcomed our birthday girl. I pulled her up into bed with me and retold her birth story as she stared off into space (which means she’s listening–just trying to picture it). We also cuddled while looking through photos and I couldn’t help but think, “three years ago at this very moment I was in transition getting ready to push my firstborn out to meet him or her.”

And I would definitely say she’s one of my greatest accomplishments. She brings excitement, new perspective, wild imagination, enormous honesty and a heck of a lot of fun. So when you’re almost three year old has been planning on having Rainbow Sprinkle Cupcakes for her birthday for almost three months now…what does a mama do? Go and buy the confetti cake mix from the store? NEVER! There are certain compromise-‘ables’ in the kitchen…ice cream, box brownies, take & bake pizza and more. However, when it comes to most baked items (aside from the brownies), I feel like buying something from the grocery bakery or especially from the box would be wrong for myself.

I only apply this to me and not anyone else, because it’s more of a standard I’ve somehow put upon myself. But probably the bigger reason is wanting to give a ‘from scratch’ gift to the people I love. It’s my way of letting them know I’ve taken my time to cook or create something unique & special (and yummy, because isn’t that one of the biggest reasons) for them.

Well, there was a picture in a cupcake book of a Rainbow Sprinkle Cupcake, which my oldest salivated over. And since I know she was thrilled when she got an ice cream cone at her grandparents house, I suggested a Rainbow Sprinkle Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes for her birthday. Her eyes lit up even more and today it was everything she (and I) dreamed of. These were actually quite delicious cupcakes. So just because you’re over the age of 24, don’t overlook the taste, the airiness and the delicate appeal of Ice Cream Cupcake Cones.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes (printable recipe)

This recipe is adapted from Perfect Cupcakes. I was originally going to make only six of these for the kids, while making a more “adult” dessert using the Meyer Lemons I have in the fridge. And you know, I’m glad I didn’t, because these are some pretty good cupcakes. I know the cake flour is essential to this, because it has the lowest gluten content among flours. But the texture combination of the airy cupcake, creamy buttercream and crunchy & chewiness of the cone is really well-rounded. Like I said, they’re not just for kids. **Disclaimer: 9/20/10 These cupcakes should be made the day of or else you will end up with quite soggy cones. As for filling the cones, be sure you don’t overfill them, because they will erupt everywhere. I fill my 2/3 full; however, I have a reader who recommends 1/2 full.

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups (180 g) cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (120 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (170 g) whole milk
1/4 cup (30 g) multi-colored confetti sprinkles
12 cupcake sugar wafer cones

Vanilla Buttercream

3 cups (490 g) powdered sugar
1 cup (250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the wafer cones in the muffin pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter & sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add half of the flour mixture, then the milk and then the rest of the flour mixture until well blended. Fold in the confetti sprinkles into the batter. Using a small ice cream scooper/cookie dough scooper, divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake cones.

Bake the cupcake cones for 20-25 minutes. When you press lightly in the middle of the cone, they should spring back. Let them cool on a cooling rack until they’re completely cooled.

Meanwhile, start the buttercream while the cupcakes are cooling. Combine butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed at first to avoid powdered sugar from flying everywhere, then turn to medium. Beat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Then, add the heavy whipping cream and beat for an additional 2 minutes. If you want to add food coloring, do so now.

Prepare a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Turn down the opened end of the bag one inch down. Using a rubber spatula, fill the bag with the buttercream. Twist the bag, in order to keep the frosting from squeezing out. Pipe the Vanilla Buttercream onto the cupcakes and sprinkle with additional confetti sprinkles.

Posole

…and my daughter LOVES dinner. When my oldest was a baby and young toddler she loved food. The only food she rejected by 11 months was broccoli (still does & I still serve it). I could count on her to fill mama’s affirmation piggy bank when it came to dinner time with her moans of glee. When she turned 18 months, I thought I had it made because she never turned to the dark side (a.k.a. the food refusal face) and I must be doing something right. She ate veggies and I rarely gave her sweets, then it was around 22 months or so and little by little…another food was on the banned list.

Now as we celebrate her birthday week (turning three or “free”), she continues to throw a curve ball during dinner time. As I wait for her to say something like, “This is too gross for me!” She says, “I like my Posole!” Yes, I train my daughter in all things food.

A.) Don’t buy eggs with cracks…to which she continued chanting in the store to check-out.

B.) “Add a little cardamom & nutmeg”…she says this during pretend play (or was it while teaching a baking class about cardamom to her papa & auntie?)

C.) I say, “this is Posole, it’s part of your heritage,”…to which she replies, “more pork.”

And to that I say, “Eat more pork and make yourself some Posole!” It’s like eating pockets of tamales in stew form…doesn’t get much better.

Posole (printable recipe)

Recipe is adapted from Gourmet. As I said, I find the hominy reminiscient of the cooked masa found in tamales. This is not overly spicy. If you avoid spicy food, then add sour cream as dairy lessens heat. Plus, my 13 month old & almost 3 year old ate it asking for seconds & then some.

Ingredients:

2 dried guajillo chiles

2 dried New Mexico chiles

2 cups water

2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 can of stewed tomatoes, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used about 24 oz)

2 (29 oz) cans white hominy, drained & rinsed

Directions:

Stem and seed chiles. Combine with 2 cups water in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, and simmer until softened, about 15 minutes.

Transfer chiles, with cooking water, to a blender. Add remaining ingredients except pork and hominy and blend until smooth (use caution).

Transfer chile puree to a 4-quart heavy saucepan, stir in pork, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add hominy and simmer, covered, until pork is tender, about 30 minutes more. Skim fat from sauce and season posole with salt to taste. Serve with sliced cabbage, corn tortillas, sliced radishes, lime wedges, sour cream, fresh cilantro, or tortilla chips.

Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Scones

I have been thinking a lot about New Year’s Resolutions of late and whether I want to participate in them. I read recently on Simple Mom blog, where she renamed resolutions as “goals.” Now that’s my kind of anti-resolution, yet wanting to participate sort of thinking. As I have personal goals within my physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual being, there are also those goals, which aided in the advent of this blog. I have a couple, or a few, or…well maybe a few times a couple times a few more cookbooks in my library. And as I love food, there are so many tastes I haven’t experienced. But even more, as an avid baker & cook, there are even more foods I have yet to handle myself.

To say browsing through a cookbook to untouched foods is a bit daunting is an understatement. Seriously, where does one begin? Especially, considering food is ever evolving while your budget is not. All of this aimless wandering got me thinking about people and their bucket lists. The typical bucket list encompasses the places yet traveled or adventures yet conquered. And although I have places yet traveled and adventures yet conquered…it is the food yet melded, the dough yet risen, the desserts yet tamed in my red kitchen. Life is too short and I feel it only necessary to create a Baking Bucket List (more on this list later).

There are many categories in the baking world I have made many of, while other categories are completely lacking. One category that I know quite a bit about is…scones, which is good for me and you. Because if you stick with me on this, you will be happy at the end of eating them. I remember volunteering to make a breakfast item for a bunch of college students many years back. I intended to make cinnamon rolls (long story for another post), but it didn’t work out, so I bought this tiny, modest scone cookbook (before food blogs & quick recipe find). Only pictures of scones lie on the cover, while the rest are drawn. It goes to show that great cookbooks aren’t all about the pictures. These scones were have a hint of Meyer lemon, subtle tartness from the cranberries, richness from the cream & butter and sugary crunch from the turbinado sprinkled on top.

Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Scones (printable recipe)

This recipe is inspired from the Cran-Orange Scones found in my trusty scone book, Simply Scones. This dog-eared cookbook warrants fantastic scone results and has never failed me yet.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, drained

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice, freshly squeezed

2 tablespoons heavy cream (you could substitute whole milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of one Meyer lemon (for more flavor, add more zest)

coarse sugar for sprinkling & heavy cream for glaze

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F. Put parchment paper or silpat sheet liner on a baking sheet, set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the cranberries & 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Let stand about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder & salt. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture.

In another small bowl, stir together the eggs, juice, heavy cream, vanilla & Meyer lemon zest. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture and combine using a fork. After the mixture is 3/4 combined, add the cranberries to the dough. Combine the rest until all of the dry mixture has been combined with the wet, forming a cohesive mound. Being careful you don’t over mix or over handle.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, or directly onto the parchment and gently pat it into a 9-inch diameter circle. Cut about 1/8 inch into the dough, creating 8 slices (see image above), but not cut through the whole way. Lightly brush the scones slices with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 25-27 minutes.

Remove baking sheet to a cooling rack and leave for about 5 minutes. Cut all the way through the initial cuts and serve warm as is.