Oven Proof

Gingerbread Waffles

2012-01-21T13:42:00.006-05:00

In December, my friend Cherie hosted a Chaos Cooking event. The idea is that everyone comes bearing ingredients, and cooks. It's kind of a demented potluck.

Since Cherie owns a waffle iron, I decided to make peanut butter waffles, with grape jelly and bananas to top:

I was inspired, and asked for a waffle iron as a holiday gift:

For my first homemade waffles, I decided to keep the holiday going and make this recipe for gingerbread waffles.

Waffles are very similar to a quickbread recipe - wet ingredients (butter or other fat, eggs, milk or other liquid, andin this case, some molasses) added to dry ingredients (flour, leavening, spices):

Ready to go:

The leftovers, ready to make like Eggo and go in the freezer for weekday breakfast!

Whole Wheat Cheddar Bread

2011-06-25T07:25:00.000-04:00

Whole Wheat, with salt, ready for yeast and water:

Kneaded, rolled, and cheesed:

And ready to rise:

Alas, it did not rise well. Too much cheese? It was delicious anyway.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

2011-05-31T07:19:00.000-04:00

I tried a new sandwich bread recipe, involving a loaf that I was not to knead, really, but stir vigorously, and knead a little bit. Here's that dough:

Risen a bit:

And then it went into the fridge for a day, and got giant!

The resulting light, fluffy, 100% wheat loaf was delicious...even though I didn't grease my pans well:

Cheesecake Blondies

2011-05-04T06:35:00.000-04:00

Instead of a regular chocolate base for cheesecake...cheesecake blondies:

First, the blondie batter - lots of rich brown sugar and butter:

Then the cheesecake:

And a swirl!

Cracked Wheat Bread

2011-04-29T06:40:00.000-04:00

Back to some bread, especially since I haven't posted in a while!

Bulgar. The base for this cracked wheat bread published by the NY Times:
Do not be fooled - this recipe is...more complicated that the much more famous "minimalist" loaf!

It involved a sponge, a dough, lots of rising...

More rising...

And when all was said and done, I probably need to make it again to get my loaves a bit lighter. But the flavor of this one is amazing, and worth another baking!

Chocolate Ginger Banana Bread

2011-03-27T07:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I didn't think to combine these three of my favorite things before - chocolate, ginger and bananas:

But a friend shared a quickbread recipe for just that. All mixed up and ready to go:

It didn't last 24 hours. And I didn't share!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

2011-03-12T17:51:00.000-05:00

Rice Krispie Treats are delicious and simple, but I rarely take the time to melt the marshmallows and make them:

But when you add peanut butter, like here, I just can't resist. I already have another bag of marshmallows in the kitchen, ready to go!

Bread I Like: Peter Pan Doughnut Shop

2011-03-05T15:57:00.000-05:00

A few classics from one of my favorites, Peter Pan:
Every doughnut I've ever had from Peter Pan has been a well done classic, but I keep returning to the chocolate coconut. This one here, together with a classic cruller, composed a post run snack!

Maple Oatmeal Bread

2011-02-26T17:24:00.003-05:00

Oatmeal, I've said before, is my favorite kind of sandwich bread:
This recipe from King Arthur adds a little Northeast flavor to one of my favorites.

Here's the dough, ready to rise - note, I did not add the "maple flavor" suggested in the recipe - just 100% maple syrup:

And risen. Magical:

Ready for the oven:

Lemon, Coconut and Ginger Energy Bars

2011-02-22T09:54:00.002-05:00

The recipe and full details of these lemon, coconut and ginger energy bars are over at Taste As You Go:
Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T16:15:00.003-05:00

It may be a little cheesy, but hearts and valentine's day do go together, so I made up this recipe to celebrate:
Tempted as I was to use a blueberry jam filling, I stuck with the raspberry jam so that I wouldn't be presenting friends with black hearts.

These cookies are not very interesting until they get shaped, but here is the butter, sugar, peanut butter and eggs, all creamed together:

The dough, rolled into balls and flattened:

And with preliminary heart indentations:

And the finished cookies, after baking, filling and baking again.

Pumpkin Muffins

2011-02-06T08:28:00.000-05:00

I like to make muffins and freeze them for a quick breakfast hot from the microwave. If they last that long, that is:

These pumpkin muffins, like all good fall flavors, start with a good dash of cinnamon and other spices. I particularly like to add a bit of clove and nutmeg:

Muffins are (usually) quickbreads, made with an oil or (applesauce as a substitute) but this recipe called for butter, creamed with sugar. yum!

Once the eggs and dry ingredients were mixed in, the final step was chopped pecans and golden raisins:

Straight into the oven:

Whole Wheat Cheddar Biscuits

2011-01-27T06:20:00.000-05:00

I love cheese:

So I added some to a biscuit recipe, instead of using all butter for the fat:

Ready to bake:

And melted, ready to serve:

Apple Pie

2011-01-24T18:25:00.000-05:00

This was my last apple pie of the fall (and I'm not posting it until now...), so I tried to make it a pretty one:

Apple Pie is best kept simple: thinly sliced, well spiced, not too much sugar and a touch of lemon for brightness:

A detail of the finished crust:

(Almost Vegan) Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-01-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

I altered the recipe for these delicious and (almost) healthy cookies from another running food blogger, Vegan by Valerie:
Although I'm not vegan (or even vegetarian) I love Valerie's site because she always considers nutrition and how she is going to be fueling her body for her running.

The recipe works like one for a quickbread. First, the dry (note - instead of using pumpkin pie spice, I used a combination of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg):

and then the wet ingredients (note - here I used pumpkin puree I had made from a fresh pumpkin rather than canned, and I used an egg rather than egg replacer after speaking to a vegan friend. Incidentally, my vegan friend told me the egg would probably taste better than any replacement I could try):

Mix it all together, add your chocolate chips and bake!
Full Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat flour)

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

spices: about 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/4 t. cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 c. maple syrup

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 T. canola oil or coconut oil

1 egg (large)

about 3/4 c. chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all dry ingredients

3. Combine all wet ingredients and whisk until smooth

4. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until fully mixed in.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Form sticky balls from the dough (tablespoon size at least, I like mine larger) and place on buttered or oiled cookie sheets

7. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until cookies are cooked through.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2011-01-12T18:14:00.000-05:00

This is what I think of when I think of oatmeal cookies, no matter whether they are adorned with raisins, chocolate chips or coconut: oats, cinnamon, flour and eggs:

But this particular chocolate oatmeal recipe is built more like a brownie recipe - melted chocolate and butter, to which the other ingredients are added:

The shiny chocolate mixture getting the final crucial ingredient:

and ready to bake on parchment!

"Very Best" Oatmeal Bread

2011-01-08T18:03:00.002-05:00

I keep returning to this recipe for oatmeal bread. You start, basically, by making oatmeal:

While the oatmeal cools, you can gather the rest of the ingredients. The dough always mixes up easily, even when I add some whole wheat flour:

A smoothly kneaded ball, ready to rise:

And ready to bake! Predictably, I didn't manage to get a good sandwich shot of this bread for you...next time.

The Minimalist Bread: White Flour

2011-01-07T08:08:00.003-05:00

I did not knead this smooth looking lump of dough at all - this is the result of another iteration of the minimalist bread recipe. This time, I used all white flour:

It baked up lofty and crusty, a truly beautiful loaf:

Also, delicious!

Cinnamon Rolls

2010-11-30T18:07:00.003-05:00

The final sprinkling of cinnamon before you roll up the dough is my favorite moment of cinamon roll construction:

I tend to be patient and let my dough rise overnight, and then I can have a warm treat in the morning:

Of course, since these were traveling before being baked, I neglected to get a photo of the final product. Here is the final rolls waiting to be well wrapped against the elements:

What? No Kneading?

2010-11-19T07:13:00.001-05:00

It doesn't look like much, and honestly, it is no work at all. I've taken this recipe for "minimalist" bread with no kneading, and added some whole wheat flour (experiment to see what proportion you like):

The worst of it is flipping your dough into a couche, and then into a pan!

And yes, beautiful bread. Gently lifted out of my cast iron pot, here with tongs.

Bread Fail: Mom's Potato Bread

2010-11-18T08:02:00.003-05:00

Mashed potatoes:
In the past, I've made Mom's Potato Bread - the bread that started it all!

A few weeks ago, faced with leftover mashed potatoes, I made an attempt. I thought to myself that perhaps I could be healthier, and try adding some whole wheat flour.

I didn't even take any pictures. It was that bad.

Peanut Butter Brownies

2010-10-28T06:27:00.000-04:00

Friends, I have lost my camera. Therefore, I only have finished brownies for you, taken with a camera I now share:
Other things lost are a few batches of bread and a lovely layer cake with homemade lemon curd and meringue buttercream.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding

2010-10-24T18:16:00.003-04:00

I cubed some leftover raisin challah (it was a few days old):

Made a quick custard - milk, eggs, spices and a nice splash of bourbon:

mix it all together:

Then bake: bread pudding! You can't go wrong.

Popovers

2010-09-23T09:52:00.000-04:00

A rainy night and leftover soup compelled me to make popovers:

I used a new to me recipe that involved a blender. I used my immersion blender, and a larger than usual container:

This batter rests for 15 minutes, then off to the oven. done!

Raisin Challah

2010-09-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

I enjoy holidays associated with food, and well, when a holiday is associated with a bread, I am certain to make some:
Last week was Rosh Hashanah, and a common item on the table is a raisin challah, made in a round loaf.

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour, with a little honey and a lot of delicious golden raisins. Here is the dough, freshly mixed and a bit shaggy:

I kneaded the dough a bit although the recipe did not call for it. My dough seemed to need it:

After a rise and a bit of deflation, I started kneading in the raisins:

And eventually managed to col the dough into a spiral in my pan:

And here it is, risen, just before heading into the oven:

Bread I Like: The Black Hound Bakery

2010-09-15T06:21:00.001-04:00

These delicious cakes are also tiny, bigger than a cupcake and fun to share:

And elaborate:
The Black Hound Bakery also makes regular sized caked, cookies and other sweets, but I kep coming back to eat more tiny cakes.

Preview: Lemon Whipped Cream Cake

2010-09-08T19:14:00.003-04:00

I like making lemon flavored baked goods:

Like those that include a good homemade lemon curd:

And many, many layers:
video coming soon.

Angel Food Cake

2010-09-01T06:19:00.000-04:00

Angel Food Cake really shouldn't be too difficult. You just beat egg whites...

For a very, very long time:

And when they are finally done, sugar added and all:

Fold in a bit of flour and bake:
The batter can only be baked in this specific pan so that it can climb up the sides - and though it came out well...I neglected to get a picture of the final product.

Light Wheat Bread

2010-08-29T09:24:00.002-04:00

This slightly rough looking dough, set to rise, is made partially with whole wheat flour, and some oatmeal, for a hearty, yet light, texture:

It was still a litle lumpy looking when I rolled it into a loaf:

But rose nicely:

And sliced into nice sandwiches:

Bread I like: Tai Pan Bakery in Chinatown

2010-08-19T06:56:00.000-04:00

Come to New York City and visit this (or any, really) bakery in Chinatown, and try something new - maybe a tart made with matcha, or beans:
Or even some of the simple, light cakes above.

There are more elaborate creations too:

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

2010-08-15T19:01:00.000-04:00

They don't look like much here:

I was interested in this recipe because it's written similarly to a brownie recipe - mix together eggs and sugar, then add chocolate melted with butter:

Add flour:

And in this case also add coconut, and bake!

Brownies: A New Recipe to Try

2010-08-08T16:37:00.002-04:00

How bad can a recipe be if it includes three sticks of butter?

And mixes up nicely in one bowl?

The New York Times has never let me down with new and delicious brownie recipes before, and didn't with this rich treat.

Challah

2010-07-25T08:50:00.003-04:00

It's farm share season again, and in addition to the fresh produce in my kitchen, this means I have a lot of farm fresh eggs:

Clearly, I turn some of them into dough for Challah:

Once the dough is well kneaded, I set it to rise:

A few hours later:

I split the dough into six parts:

And braided it:

Yum.

Bread I Like: Art and Soul

2010-07-22T07:50:00.003-04:00

It may not look like much:
But this is a delicious pull apart bread brought to you before your entree at Art and Soul, a hotel restaurant in Washington, D.C. run by Oprah's former chef.

I have to also suggest that you try their bloody mary. It comes with candied bacon.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

2010-07-12T08:03:00.002-04:00

I am forever cursed with bananas too brown for me to enjoy. Not that I mind.

This time I added pecans and used some buttermilk:

Next time, a little more green on the ends - or baked. I don't mind:

Bread I like: Garlic Knots

2010-06-22T07:50:00.000-04:00

They don't have to be the best garlic knots ever:
But whenever an Italian spot puts garlic knots in the bread basket, they become Bread I Like.

Microbrewery Bread

2010-06-17T07:34:00.000-04:00

This bread is made with beer. Oh, and whole grains, too:

I started with the whole grains - oats and part whole wheat flour:

Added beer:

kneaded until smooth - this dough was great to work with:

And let rise, twice. I was hurrying my bread to the oven and missed a good picture of the dough overflowing the pan this time:

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake

2010-06-11T07:20:00.000-04:00

I've gone back to this recipe again and again. It makes a beautiful cake, even when my bundt pan doesn't quite cooperate and I end up missing a chunk:

The recipe itself is simple. Creamed butter and sugar, eggs, flour and leavening alternated with buttermilk. Frozen berries are used as they have less tendency to sink to the bottom of a cake pan. The berries I used were harvested locally and stayed in my freezer for a late spring treat:

The finished cake, before it was turned out:

Bread I Like: Gourdough's

2010-06-01T07:15:00.002-04:00

I visited Austin, TX recently and was introduced to their favorite form of street food, dispensed from Airstream Trailers. This particular trailer, Gourdough's, makes doughnuts to order from a menu filled with delights.

You can order doughnuts with maple and bacon, or peanut butter and jelly, like we did, or even get one with fried chicken. It's called a "Motherclucker."
(pardon the red tinge - red umbrella and a sunny day in Texas.)

Dinner: Biscuit Dogs

2010-05-30T08:02:00.002-04:00

Last week, we had a few days of 90 degree heat, and I had some buttermilk in the fridge. As soon as it broke and I could turn on the oven, I used that buttermilk to make buttermilk biscuit dogs:

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-23T12:39:00.002-04:00

I love chocolate chip cookies. Who doesn't?

This recipe is even better: only 6 cookies fit on my giant cookie sheet. I use about 1/3 cup dough for each cookie, and 1/2 butter, 1/2 shortening in the recipe so they remain nice and soft:

Irish Soda Bread Muffins

2010-05-17T18:45:00.000-04:00

I didn't just make Irish Soda Bread this year:

I made some in muffin form for breakfast. Win!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-05-09T08:10:00.003-04:00

It should come as no shock to see peanut butter waiting to be mixed into the soft butter in my mixing bowl:

Once that was creamed nicely with the sugars, eggs were added, followed by flour and leavening:

A few chocolate chips were needed and I scooped them on to my cookie sheets:

Yum.

Irish Soda Bread

2010-05-05T07:50:00.002-04:00

I love Irish Soda Bread any time of year, although come spring, I always make some for St. Patrick's day(and neglect to write about it in a timely fashion):

Soda Bread is leavened chemically, and American style has raisins and fennel or caraway seeds. This particular version called for fennel:

I used yogurt for some tang as the liquid once I mixed my dry ingredients:

The thick batter that resulted made a chewy, tasty bread:

Chocolate Chunk Bundt Cake

2010-04-30T19:17:00.002-04:00

I love bundt cake, and I love adding delicious bits of chocolate and nuts to make a simple and delcious cake even tastier:

The base for this cake was basic: butter, eggs, sugar, to which flour and leavening are added:

The thick final batter:

I layered the batter with chunks of chocolate and pecans:

And baked until golden brown and slightly cracked on top.
After baking, I promptly forgot to photograph the final cake - it was eaten too quickly!

Bread I Like: Diner Toast

2010-04-22T07:51:00.002-04:00

You've had this toast before:
It's the same thing every time, available in white, whole wheat and sometimes rye. It's pre-buttered and slightly salty, and there should be grape jelly in individual containers alongside.

I like toast from the diner alongside my eggs, fresh, not homemade, crispy, thin, and perfect, alongside my bottomless cup of coffee.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

2010-04-18T17:55:00.002-04:00

Chocolate Chip Biscotti:

I made these and double chocolate biscotti in one go, adding cocoa powder in place of some of the flour to make the extra-chocolatey version:

Mixed quickly:

This dough is baked into a log, sliced, and then baked again until nice and crisp:

All you need is a hot cup of coffee:

Oatmeal Toasting Bread

2010-04-11T09:42:00.002-04:00

Oatmeal:

This recipe from King Arthur makes one of my favorite whole grain breads. When I was putting together the ingredients, I used some whole wheat flour in place of about half of the regular flour to up the grain content:

The dough smooths out nicely after kneading:

And after a first rise, was soft and malleable. You can see where my fingers dented the dough:

The bread rose well, and once it was baked...well, we ate it so fast I neglected to get a finished picture. yum!

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

2010-04-03T07:45:00.000-04:00

I love a pretty swirled cupcake:

This was a quick recipe - mix up a peanut butter swirl, melt some chocolate and butter...

Add some sugar, eggs, then flour to the chocolate mixture:

Dollop into cupcake tins:

And baked!

Bread I Like: 1942

2010-04-01T08:25:00.001-04:00

That's right. Eat some bread.

Ciabatta

2010-03-29T07:54:00.000-04:00

After making wild mushroom ciabatta, I decided to try to improve my skills on the basics of this rustic bread and make it from just flour, yeast and water. Here is the basic sponge that has been sitting overnight next to the additional flour that will be added:

The dough came together more easily without the addition of the soaked dried mushrooms, and felt better to the touch, despite the lack of fat from the olive oil that had also been part of the mushroom loaf:

The bread rose well...before:

And after!

I split the loaves before setting up my couche:

And then left the bread to rise once more:

The finished loaves - this time, with better structure. I'll be making this one again soon!

Wild Mushroom Ciabatta

2010-03-27T10:01:00.005-04:00

I was making soup for dinner, so I went a little wild with my ciabatta. Clockwise from top left: sponge, dried mushrooms soaking in warm water, minced garlic, and fresh mushrooms:

Once everything but the mushrooms and garlic were mixed in, this dough looked like a bit of a mess:

But after some rising, it was time to shape the bread and mix in the fresh mushrooms and garlic, by now sauteed in a bit of olive oil. Here, the bread is stretched out so I can fold in the mushrooms:

Sprinkled on top before I wrapped the dough back over for another rise:

Once the mushrooms were incorporated, this dough sits in a couche (well floured kitchen towels, basically) to rise so that it doesn't lose the proper shape:

And from the couche, into the oven...and soon after, to the table!

Blueberry Banana Pecan Muffins

2010-03-22T19:03:00.000-04:00

Blueberry muffins. I can't ever resist:

I also added some mashed banana to this recipe - any variant on a banana bread is fine by me:

The resulting batter looked...curdled, if I'm being charitable:

The resulting muffins, though, made for a delicious breakfast!

Life, Not Baking: 5K with the Team

2010-03-14T13:26:00.005-04:00

Training for The San Diego Marathon is going well. The weather is warming, the days are longer, and we're getting into some distance.

This week, I finally attended team speedwork instead of stubbornly sticking with my morning treadmill routine, and I was rewarded with a PR (personal record) in our 5K (3.1 mile) speed trial - 7:53 per mile. I had never raced, or even tried to race, a 5K, and hadn't even signed up for the distance in the past few years.

Next Wednesday? HILLS!

And please don't forget - donate HERE! You might just get a package in the mail...

Cinnamon-Swirl Bread

2010-03-13T11:58:00.000-05:00

A nice white bread, wrapped with cinnamon and sugar:
On such a rainy day in the Northeast, I'll be making some bread. This recipe is a really nice version of a cinnamon-swirl bread, and not too sweet to become the basis for a good sandwich.

Once the dough is mixed and has risen once, it is flattened out and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar before being formed into a loaf:

Then, it rises:

The final, golden brown loaf:

Sliced and ready to become toast!

New Classic Brownies - Recipe included!

2010-03-10T07:42:00.002-05:00

This recipe is worth reposting - if I need a quick chocolate dessert, it's a go-to:
I recently made both the above brownies, with pecans, and a recipe of plain brownies. I wouldn't be opposed to white or regular chocolate chips, or maybe some shredded coconut...next time!

Sauteed Spinach and Mushroom Pie

2010-03-06T07:57:00.000-05:00

This doesn't look too much like it could be dinner:
I added sauteed mushroom, spinach and garlic to this mixture of ricotta, eggs and a bit of cheese and spice and rolled out some pastry dough.

The unbaked result:

And the top of a nicely browned pie:

Bread I Like: The Bread That Started It All

2010-03-01T19:47:00.003-05:00

This is the bread that started it all: Mom's potato bread:

Mom came down to the city for a day recently, and carried in her bag a fresh loaf of bread for me, and one for my brother. Mine lasted...at least 36 hours.
Thanks Mom!

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

2010-02-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

This may look like standard pizza dough:

But I put it in a cake pan:

And let it rise, so I could make a Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza:

The assembled toppings: homemade pizza sauce, cheeses and sliced spicy sausage:

And the finished product:

Sliced!

Ginger Apple Crumb Pie

2010-02-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

It looks like an average apple pie, but this recipe is loaded with fresh ginger:

I usually have a lot of apples around, so this seemed like a perfect experiment:

I thinly sliced the apples:

And tossed them with the sugar and spices, and prepared the crust:

The crumb topping...well. It was a bit sweet for me, but a nice change. Here it is pre-baking:

Life, Not Baking: The San Diego Marathon

2010-02-16T20:41:00.003-05:00

This is me:

I'm a runner.

Recently, I decided to take on a bigger challenge for my next race, the San Diego Marathon. On June 6, 2010, I won't just be running 26.2 miles for me. I'll be running for a cure, a race with no finish line.

I'm doing this race with Team in Training, a group that started racing for charity in 1988 that has since raised more than $1 Billion dollars for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This money directly benefits research as well as patients and the community.

I'm asking you, dear reader, to take a moment to look at my fundraising page - my goal is high, and I need your help.

And if I don't know you, or, say, haven't seen you since high school, I'll even bake up a dozen cookies and mail them to you if you can dedicate $50 or more of your charity budget this year to my fundraising for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Stollen

2010-02-12T15:02:00.000-05:00

One last holiday recipe - Stollen, from a recipe published in the New York Times in December. I had never made this traditional bread and wanted to bring an extra treat to my family gathering.

I started with a lot of spice:

fruit soaked in rum:

And a started that had been rising since the night before:

The finished dough:

rising and loaf shaped, finally, before baking:

and after, coated in ginger-sugar after a soaking with melted butter:

Days later, powdered sugar-coated and ready to give:

Superbowl: The Savories

2010-02-08T08:10:00.003-05:00

It's the day after the Superbowl and my food coma hasn't gone away:
Our fantastic host made an array of delicious dips, recipes here. Pictured: beet, chickpea and almond dip, caramelized shallot and blue cheese dip, and in the back, white bean dip. Don't forget the homemade guacamole, or the spinach and avocado dip heating in the oven.

Superbowl Sweets

2010-02-07T15:21:00.003-05:00

It's Superbowl Sunday. Time for some treats:
Pecan Bars

Chocolate Sugar Cookies (note: I made these normal cookie sized, rather than huge as directed in the recipe)

And cupcakes!

(made with greenish frosting, yes, but I failed at making proper grass)

Pizza dough: With Beer!

2010-02-04T19:20:00.002-05:00

In search of a quick dinner, I picked up a six pack and made this recipe a little healthier by adding some whole wheat flour:
Once the ingredients were mixed, kneaded and risen, I shaped the dough into a rimmed cookie sheet to make a big, doughy pizza crust:

Topped it, baked it...and ate my dinner!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-01-31T08:12:00.000-05:00

Once in a while I like to pretend that cookies can be good for me. In reality, this means "less bad." Here, I've mixed peanut butter into my creamed butter and sugar for a hit of protein in an old classic:

A lot of peanut butter:

That wasn't quite enough, so oats, too, went into these cookies:

The cookies, pre-baking:

After, they had a little bit of a healthy look with the oatmeal texture, but it was entirely erased by the delicious taste (and the chocolate).

The Cookie Project: December 2009

2010-01-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

I made a LOT of Christmas Cookies this year:
The table above has about a thousand cookies, of a dozen varieties.

I started a week before I was planning on baking, by mixing up cookies and wrapping the dough in plastic to be stored in the fridge:
For cookies I hadn't made before, I wrapped them with the recipe.

For simpler cookies, I made a note of the cookie type, and how they needed to be baked:

Here's a video of the process when it was finally underway:

It took two days of baking, but cookies were shipped far and wide, and brought to many friends locally.

When Christmas got bit closer, I pulled the remaining cookies out of my fridge and added a few varieties that my family always makes, including Rugelach!

And a classic sugar cookies - Sand Tarts, from my grandmother's recipe:

On Christmas morning, I also made cinnamon rolls. Here they are, ready to be flipped out of the pan:

To really celebrate December, I also made time to make latkes. It was my first attempt, but fried potato tends to be well received...especially when you add a little sour cream and applesauce!

White Bread

2010-01-24T09:05:00.000-05:00

I always go back to a basic white bread once in a while. Just unbleached bread flour, yeast and salt:

This simple but slightly rough mass kneaded up well, though it looks a bit lumpy here:

And rose beautifully:

Split into loaves:

And a few magical hours later...

Fresh bread:

Just waiting to be toasted:

Normandy Tart

2010-01-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

This fall, I got a little bit behind in both using all the apples I had, and in writing about it. These apples were destined to be homemade applesauce:

Once they were peeled and chopped, I added a bit of water and let them cook until they were mashable:

Next up? A shortbread cookie-like tart crust:

I filled the crust with the cooled applesauce:

And layered thinly sliced apples above the applesauce, using a firmer cooking apple that would hold shape through baking:

After a quick glaze, the tart was baked...and eaten.

Food Fail: Disney World

2010-01-17T11:00:00.000-05:00

Trust me:

This is not a delicious brownie, despite the delicious-looking Mickey Sprinkles.

It was overpriced.

It was dry without being the slightest bit cakey, and the scant frosting lent it no fudginess.

Disney World food just isn't nearly as good as I remember from childhood (and the characters aren't as friendly as at Disneyland!).

Life, Not Baking: The 2010 Disney World Marathon

2010-01-16T18:44:00.000-05:00

January 10, 2010: My Fourth Marathon:

Light Wheat Brioche

2010-01-14T20:26:00.004-05:00

This is a healthy improvement on a rich a delicious brioche:

I used a mix of whole wheat and regular flour in both the sponge:

And the resulting dough, pictures just before the butter was worked in:

It takes a bit of kneading to get the butter absorbed and distributed:

Once the butter was in and the dough fully kneaded, I set it to rise:

A few hours later, I took this dough and set it for a second rise in the loaf pans:

Yum.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

2010-01-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

I sometimes ask myself what could be better than a good oatmeal bread. I don't have an answer, really. It's continually been my favorite to bake and eat. This time, when I was steeping my oats, I substituted a bit of the white flour for whole wheat:

I ad my doubts - the dough was looking pretty ragged pre-kneading:

But it smoothed out...

And rose beautifully:

The second rise in the loaf pan was also encouraging:

And the finished loaf was light, hearty and delicious!

Pumpkin Corn Muffins

2010-01-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

This is another magazine recipe:
I can't resist fall issues of any magazine that involves food, really. What else would I do with all of my pumpkin?

This is a quickbread, which means a three step recipe - 1. prepare dry ingredients:

2. Prepare wet ingredients. 3. Add wet ingredients to dry:

And then pour into prepared tins (or pan, if you follow the recipe more closely than I did) and bake!

Coconut Macadamia Cake

2010-01-02T15:13:00.004-05:00

I love coconut, and I love making cakes:

This elaborate recipe seemed to be just the ticket for a recent celebration.

The first step was to melt sugar in a skillet and coat the macadamia nuts:

Once those were cooling, I moved on:

The pastry cream was next. I cooked together egg yolks, sugar, milk and cornstarch until it was thickened, and then whisked in vanilla and set it in the fridge to chill. To the side, you can see the egg whites, soon to be beaten into the cake batter, and behind that, a covered bowl where butter is softening, ready to be creamed:

The next step was the cake batter. This mixture below was almost ready...

Once it was lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites, off to the oven:

I chopped my macadamia praline rather than grind it while my cake layer cooled:

I was all set for the most fun part...

Construction!

Whole Wheat Pecan Bread

2009-12-19T06:40:00.000-05:00

After my last experiment, I set out to try another whole wheat recipe. This Whole Wheat Walnut Bread (I substituted pecans) was delicious, if a bit on the dense side of hearty:

The dough, thankfully, was smoother than the last whole wheat bread. I took it as an encouraging sign:

Soon, the warmth of the dough had clouded over my plastic wrap:

I used a slightly smaller bread pan and hoped that this would rise well:

And once the dough crested the top, into the oven it went!
This loaf is particularly nice for peanut butter and jelly.

Bread Fail: Whole Wheat Bread

2009-12-17T07:09:00.002-05:00

I've made breads I didn't love, and cookies that weren't quite right. Nothing compares, though, to this seemingly innocent piece of dough that looks a little shy of ready to go into the oven:

Part of it was a time crunch - I just didn't give the poor dough long enough to rise, and gambled that it would all turn out ok. I mean, looking above, it rose quite a bit from this:

And it had all started out so well, with a starter, soaker and plenty of hard to work with whole wheat flour:

Here's the pathetic finished product. It was...dense:

Earl Grey Tea Cookies

2009-12-10T07:50:00.000-05:00

My fridge is slowly filling with logs and packages of dough like this, ready to be baked into Christmas cookies:
The dough log above is from this recipe - a friend sent it to me a few weeks back thinking that it would be a perfect elegant and quick treat for unexpected guests. After all the Christmas cookie baking is done, I'll need to keep a log of this dough in my freezer!

The recipe is quick - first the butter is creamed:

Sugar is added, and then you add flour, leavening and ground tea - I used a green tea with mango instead of the Earl Grey called for in the recipe.

Slice the chilled log of dough, bake and eat!
You may have noted that I didn't follow the recipe directions here - I don't keep a food processor on my counter, and although that makes this recipe easier, this is a recipe that is easily adapted to a hand mixer - or even just a sturdy spoon.

Welcome to My Kitchen: December Baking

2009-12-07T07:53:00.002-05:00

December.

Eight pounds of butter, fresh from Costco.

A fresh bottle of molasses.

Cinnamon.
It can only mean one thing, really. The Christmas cookie baking has begun!

College Cookies

2009-12-02T08:08:00.003-05:00

I like magazines, and I also like cookies. I'll at least glance through a free magazine for things that might be useful, like cookie recipes, and as luck would have it, MORE Magazine came through with a free issue distributed at the MORE Magazine Marathon and Half Marathon Expo. And it involved butterscotch, which I never use, so I pulled it out for the start of cookie season!

The recipe is a fairly basic creaming of butter, sugar and milk at the start, followed by adding eggs, then spices, flour and leavening:

Then a few treats: oats, raisins, nuts and then butterscotch chips:

The resulting complex and sweet cookie is a keeper for my recipe box:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T12:44:00.004-05:00

I don't take any responsibility for the bird...
But I do make a few things for the Thanksgiving table every year. A quick roundup of the holiday weekend!

For the turkey, a bacon and bourbon flavored onion jam, from this treasure trove of recipes, and a cranberry and dried cherry sauce:

Cinnamon rolls from my grandmother's recipe (instead of dinner rolls. just think of them as pre-buttered!):

And an Alsatian apple tart, a pecan-coffee tart and pumpkin pie from the best recipe I've found online:

I'll be eating plenty of leftovers this week.

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

2009-11-24T07:52:00.003-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
With turkey being served in two days, my thoughts are even closer to one of my favorite pies - pumpkin. I tried this variation a few weeks ago to see if there was a way to successfully combine the overly sweet pecan pie into something I would like as much as my favorite.

Once the pie is ready to be baked, it is essentially a layer of pumpkin pie topped with a layer of pecans, and then the sweet pecan filling:

The pie itself is easy to make - just mix together a half recipe of pecan pie filling:

And use your blender to mix up a quick pumpkin pie filling:

The end result, while delicious, cannot compare to a plain pumpkin pie, at least for me. But I'll probably still make it again to make sure!

Light Wheat Bread

2009-11-20T06:38:00.000-05:00

I tried to make a 100% whole wheat bread recently and managed fail completely. This recipe is a nice balance between white flour and whole wheat flour - the whole wheat is a bit harder to work with so the white flour is a nice balance:

My whole wheat flour ready to mix with bread flour - the ratio was about 1:2.

You can see that this dough look a bit tougher than a white bread even before I knead it:

It smoothed out nicely and I set it away to rise:

After an hour or so:

Once the dough had risen, I shaped it into a loaf:

That rose rather nicely, in the end, pleasantly surprising me after my last run in with wheat bread!

Bourbon Apple Pie

2009-11-17T07:32:00.000-05:00

I visited Mom just after she had gone apple picking:
She helped me pack my bag to head back to NYC with a good number of apples, including some red delicious that she thought might make a good pie. Red Delicious apples are traditionally a terrible pie apple, but something about the ones she picked over the weekend said pie to her - luckily, she was right.

I mixed up a quick crust:

And the spiced my chopped, peeled apples in preparation for the secret ingredient - bourbon:

After dotting the top of the filling with a bit of butter I was ready to top my pie:

The finished product - a little tart, with the sweetness of the apples balanced with alcohol:

Matt's Almond Joy Birthday Cupcakes

2009-11-14T17:15:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Matt!
My brother's birthday is today, so I made him some cupcakes (and a miniature cake) from this recipe, per his request to use chocolate, coconut, nuts and a seven-minute frosting.

The cake recipe uses both cocoa powder and melted unsweetened chocolate, being mixed into the creamed butter and eggs below, to make an intense yet light cake:

And instead of making two final cupcakes I made use of my mini cake pans (about 4 inches across) to make a little celebration cake:

The cupcakes baked beautifully:

And once they were done I mixed up a seven-minute (or boiled) frosting. Here is the final step, vanilla being added to the beaten egg whites, sugar, water and cream of tartar:

The final product, topped with a little bit more coconut:

Whole Wheat Corn Muffins

2009-11-14T06:35:00.000-05:00

The quickest treat I make with any regularity is probably muffins. Here, my dry ingredients - flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal and leavening:

Pour in the wet ingredients (milk, butter and eggs):

and twenty minutes later, muffins!

Apple Pie

2009-11-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

My kitchen was overflowing with fall fruit:

Naturally, I peeled and sliced some apples...

Rolled out some dough...

Crimped the edges after filling my crust...

And made a pie!

Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread

2009-11-07T17:47:00.004-05:00

I took a break from pie in order to make a portable pumpkin treat to bring along with me when I visited my parents - Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread, recipe courtesy of the Serious Eats blog:

It starts like a recular quickbread, but then the secret ingredient is added - Olive Oil!

And, of course, pumpkin. This is some of the pumpkin I cooked down and pureed at home:

The final step is stirring in nuts and raisins, if you like, after you've added your flour and leavening:

Three loaves ready for the oven:

And ready to eat!

Libby's Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin. Sometimes you just want to transform it to the simplest of pumpkin pies. Here, I've mixed together pumpkin and eggs as a base for the classic recipe from the back of the can of pumpkin you find at the grocery store:
The pumpkin I used here was from a cheese pumpkin that I sliced, cooked, pureed and then stored in my freezer so that I could make pumpkin pie as soon as I felt a chill in the air.

The full set up, before the addition of the evaporated milk:

And once I had given that a good stir, I poured the filling into the graham cracker crust I made earlier and pre-baked:

The finished pie was the perfect classic, aside from a few burnt edges - I had neglected to protect the edges of my pie with tinfoil. oops.

Welcome to My Kitchen: Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-30T21:31:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween!

I'm not much of a traditional pumpkin carver. I like to heat up my oven as I slice a pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and place my pumpkin cut side down on an aluminum foil lined sheet:

And forty-five minutes to an hour later at 375 degrees:

I let my pumpkin halves cool, and scoop out the flesh:

Once it's been run through the blender, I'm really ready for pumpkin pie season:

And I usually have a few extra cups of puree that get frozen for my next pumpkin pie fix:

Cheddar Biscuits

2009-10-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Cheese, specifically, sharp cheddar and freshly grated parmesan:

Cheese, added to a biscuit base of flour, cornmeal and leavening cut with butter:

The result: Cheddar Biscuits:

I made these from the recipe above, though I skipped the scallions as I didn't have any in the fridge. A drop biscuit method made the savory treats a nice, quick addition to dinner.

Pizza

2009-10-19T20:38:00.000-04:00

Pizza just tastes better coming from your own oven:
I decided to try the King Arthur Flour recipe for pizza crust this time. The recipe offers a number of variations for different styles of pizza, and I thought a deep dish crust was just what I needed.

So, this is what yeast looks like when you let it sit 15 minutes in water and flour to bubble. yum!

Combined with the rest of the ingredients, it looks a bit more appetizing:

This dough kneaded nicely and formed a nice, smooth ball, smoother than I expected from the way the recipe was written:

Halfway through rising:

And ready to shape!

I stretched out the dough and placed it into my large rimmed cookie sheet:

And was surprised at how much it puffed up in this second rising:

A pre-bake and some toppings later (chicken sausage on one half, extra cheese on the other), it was dinnertime:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread

2009-10-17T11:27:00.001-04:00

I usually spread my peanut butter on bread after it's baked:
But I found this fun looking recipe on King Arthur Flour and decided to give it a try.

The recipe had an oatmeal bread base, which was mixed into a flour, honey, water and yeast mixture:

More flour and whole wheat flour are added until a nice soft dough is formed:

Quite a bit of flour had to be added while kneading to get this dough smooth and ready to rise:

Once the bread rose, it was time for some fun:

I split the dough in half and rolled it into a rectangle, similar to how a regular loaf of bread is made. But This is then spread with a bit of peanut butter and then jelly (I used a fig jam), and rolled up for a swirl of tastiness:

Once these loaves rose:

I baked them into an unusual sandwich bread:
Another time I'll roll my dough a bit thinner and attempt a bit of a tighter loaf for a better spread of the peanut butter and jelly - but this bread was still a big win.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie

2009-10-15T08:07:00.000-04:00

It doesn't take much of October to pass before I feel the need to make a pumpkin pie:

For a custard filling like this, I usually blind bake the crust, filling the aluminum foil lined pan with pie weights:

Then, the pumpkin:

This particular filling was a bit tangy and very smooth and rich from the added sour cream:

And the slightly pale finished pie didn't last long in the fridge:

Summer Bounty

2009-10-13T04:49:00.000-04:00

I've made a ton of stuff this summer with vegetables and fruit from my CSA, but I don't usually bake with vegetables:
So here are a few things from the summer that have gotten overlooked.

Pizza, this time with fresh arugula scattered on top:

Mustard greens sauteed with garlic and onion, served with italian sausage:

A garlic scape pesto, with pecorino cheese and pecans:

roasted beet salad, with plenty of goat cheese:

Potato salad with lots of fresh dill:

And a chicken from Awesome Farms, ready to be roasted with red skinned potatoes, onion and garlic:

Oatmeal Toasting Bread

2009-10-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

It comes as no surprise that I found another recipe for an oatmeal bread to try - and it is the best recipe thus far:

It starts with the oatmeal:

Which eventually gets kneaded from a gloppy, sticky dough to a nice, smooth mass:

After a first rise, I rolled it into a loaf and set it to rise again:

This dough really rose beautifully:

The finished product was perfectly toasted, light, and made delicious sandwiches:

Popovers and Boeuf Bourguignon

2009-10-08T07:10:00.000-04:00

I've seen and heard a lot this summer about Boeuf Bourguignon, but I had never attempted the dish. A few Sundays ago, I decided that I would try this recipe, a version that doesn't include peeling any pearl onions, and realized that the perfect side dish would be popovers. I tried a new recipe for those as well, from King Arthur Flour:

The finished Boeuf:

I had to start the Boeuf Bourguignon hours before dinner, with bacon and onions:

Meat was browned and coated with flour, and then stock and red wine were poured over and a bouquet garni was added to the mix:

Three hours and a handful of chopped mushrooms later, the pot of the stove had perfumed the apartment and we were very much ready to eat, even though this stew wasn't about to win any beauty pageants:

With dinner almost ready to serve, I mixed my popovers: room temperature eggs, milk and melted butter, mixed with a bit of flour:

Until it resembles thin pancake batter. I poured the batter into a well buttered muffin tin and left the drips to show just how thin this batter should be:

Fresh out of the oven, they were the perfect light, eggy choice for the rich beef stew:

Lemon Meringue Pie

2009-10-05T21:22:00.004-04:00

I have fond memories of a restaurant we used to visit at the mall, long closed, called The Pie Plate. I always got Lemon Meringue:
I'm not sure how I had never made a lemon meringue pie before this, but I'll be making more of them.

The pie starts with a crust (rolled as always between sheets of waxed paper to keep my counter clean):

The filling is a homemade lemon curd made with lots of fresh lemon, both the zest:

And plenty of juice:

This is cooked and whisked from this state:

Until is is properly thickened, and then poured into the pre-baked crust and refrigerated:

A quick meringue and toasting, and it's done!

Peach and Pecan Upside Down Cake

2009-10-02T19:19:00.000-04:00

The last of the summer's peaches, sliced and ready for this recipe:

I took the time to properly arrange the peach slices, but didn't have a good selection of pecan halves on hand, so I used the broken pieces:

There is also pecan, finely ground with spices and flour, mixed into the batter:

Whipping together the batter was the easy part of this recipe, in between all of the arranging, slicing and dicing:

And the resulting batter was thick and rich. I shouldn't tell you this, but I did lick the bowl:

The cake looks sort of unremarkable when it was ready to come out of the oven:

But once it was flipped over...

yum!

Cheesecake Brownies

2009-09-28T20:35:00.002-04:00

I needed something a little fancier than brownies:

Step one: melted chocolate and butter mixed with sugar and eggs:

Once flour and vanilla was added to the chocolate mixture, I whipped up some cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and vanilla:

And a quick swirl later, they became an elegant dessert: