Alaskan Dermish in the Kitch

Xtra-tufs Are a Win Win!

2011-11-09T14:34:00.001-09:00

This was my second year participating in the RBCA Annual Beer and Wine Tasting Event. Everyone gets a little sample size glass to take home with them. For those that don't drink, there are options as well. It is a fun event and a great excuse to get out of the house in November. In conjunction with the tasting, there is a Alaskan Chef Off and Dessert Challenge. The theme is always Alaskan ingredients. Last year I brought a little funk to the event with my root veggie macarons. This year I made these fun Xtra-tuf cake pops. In additon to the total Alaskan Xtra-Tuf theme, they were made with my chocolate stout cake recipe. The stout being Alaskan Brewing Company Stout. How's that for an Alaskan ingredient?

They were a hit with both the crowd and the judges. I took home first place in the dessert category. Congrats to Kevin Lane and his team at the Alaska Culinary Academy for winning the chef off appetizer portion. Yay for Seward talent! Seward locals took home both wins this year!

I have made these little bites a couple of times before. Due to their popularity, I have decided to give them a try on my Etsy shop. My cake pops are always made from scratch cake. The cake is dense and moist and as close to fudge as cake can get. Since our from scratch cake is so moist, there is no need for cloyingly sweet frosting. Our Xtra-Tuf truffles on a stick are so delectable that people that have sworn off super sweet cake pops are pleasantly surprised and come back for more.

In addition to the xtra-tuf design, I also make holiday truffles (hint hint) and wedding bride and groom ones too

Congrats to all the participants. We had a great time and look forward to next year's event.

Making it legal!

2011-11-07T15:28:00.003-09:00

We're back!

In case any of you noticed that my Etsy store and Facebook fan page seemed to suddenly get quit, here is why :)

My partner and I decided to make it legal and throw together a last minute wedding. Pure crazy! I finished a couple of scheduled orders and then promptly shut down shop so that we could focus on wedding stuff and take a little us time after the wedding.

We had an outdoor ceremony. Outdoor wedding, October, and in Seward, Alaska.... yup insert more craziness here! Here we are headed out for a few rainy photos after our ceremony under the trees.

Chubby cheeks! My beautiful mom and me back at the house for the reception. Xtratufs were definitely required that day. I am showing off my cozy slugs that ordered just for the wedding, love those things.

Our unfinished addition was the perfect place to party!

We had planned for everything to be as stress free as it could be. Word got out that I had opted to not make my own cake. We were calling it an "anti-cake xtratuf" wedding. Our fabulous friends just couldn't have that. A group of them worked hard to surprise us with 4 awesome homemade cakes. Never-mind that I look ready to salsa in this pic.

Better hold on tight. I have a knife!

Celebrating with a kiss :)

New Studio!

2011-05-17T10:00:00.001-08:00

Yay! It is finally done, well mostly anyway. There are a few little tweaks and additions I need to make but nothing that will prevent me working in the new studio.

If you haven't figured out from my cakes... I'm not afraid of color :)

Bridal Show Cake Pops!

2011-02-20T13:42:00.000-09:00

I had the pleasure of being given an opportunity by One Shot Photo to share some of their booth space at a bridal show in Homer. Best of all, they schlepped it all down for me.

After going through what seemed as an endless supply of ideas, I settled on these cake pops. They are the perfect sample size, travel well, and come with their own table service... the stick :)

Here they are all ready to travel the long drive to Homer.

Alaska "peeps"!

2011-02-17T12:08:00.003-09:00

The "peeps" are starting to arrive at my store. Some of you may remember these little guys. I thought they were to fun to keep to myself so I added them as my first Easter related item. Easter related might be a little bit of a stretch but they insisted and I am not one to get in the way of a bear, moose, or orca :)

For those wanting something a little closer related, stay tuned. I will be rolling out more traditional Easter related cookies, marshmallows, and peeps.

As always, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for the most up to date product info and specials.

Vegan Chocolate Caramels

2011-02-03T11:22:00.000-09:00

These little guys are so rich and full of vegan chocolate goodness. I bet you can't stop at just one!

My rich Vegan Chocolate Caramels have been added to my Etsy store. Stay tuned as I will be expanding my non dairy & vegan chocolate selection. For those that prefer the non vegan variety, I will be expanding those as well :)

More Valentine's Day Cookies

2011-01-20T22:29:00.000-09:00

Here is the rest of my Valentine's Day cookies on sale at my Etsy shop.

Love Cookies. These are close to 4 inches wide and come in a set of 4.

Pretty heart cookies with dainty flowers.

These darling little cookies are full of Valentine's Day cheer but without a heart shape in sight.

And even an Anti-Valentine Cookie!

Valentine's Cookies!

2011-01-17T10:27:00.000-09:00

Its starting to look a lot like Valentine's Day in my shop!

Valentines Marshmallows are here!

2011-01-16T12:03:00.000-09:00

They're light, fluffy, and melt in your mouth and available at my AlaskanDermish Etsy Store. More Valentines Day items to come soon.

We're on Etsy now!

2011-01-12T11:33:00.000-09:00

Howdy folks!

We have expanded our cake business to include edibles that can be shipped. Our new online store is located here. There is a widget on my blog showing my current Etsy items at all times as well.

Here is a taste of some of our items:

Caramels - IPA, Guinness, plain salted, and Vegan.

Cookies - Organic and Vegan. Valentines cookies will be available after this weekend :)

Custom Cake Toppers Too!

So to all those followers that aren't in Seward, there is no excuse now! And to those in Seward, pass this on to your friends!

I feel to the need to be liked!

2010-12-30T13:24:00.003-09:00

The Facebook Fan page for my cakes is finally up. Please come check it out and "like" me!

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!

2010-12-24T16:25:00.004-09:00

Sit down and grab a cookie or two. This is my cookie tray for the season. There are lots of choices, hopefully you can find at least one you like :)

Chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

Cut out citrus sugar cookies

7 layer cookies

Blueberry macarons

Raspberry Pomegranate macarons

Chocolate stars

Peppernuts

Guinness reduction salted caramels

Chocolate caramels

Chocolate peppermint marshmallows

Have a happy and safe holiday season everyone!

Halloween Sugar Cookies

2010-11-27T18:14:00.009-09:00

Lets go back to October for a bit.

This year I decided to focus on sugar cookie cutouts as I had several orders at the time and didn't want to spread myself to thin. This year I used my go to cutout recipe and a non dairy chocolate version.

Here is my favorite color theme. Since I am a creature of habit, I come back to them year after year.

Bats
Witch Hats

Ghosts

Tombstones

Skulls

Spooky Kitty Cats

BOO!

Ready to deliver!

Happy Belated Halloween!

Macarons!

2010-11-21T18:23:00.013-09:00

This weekend I participated in RBCA's annual fundraising event. We were all challenged to make desserts with Alaskan ingredients. In the name of growing local, I bring you beet, rutabaga, and blueberry macarons.

Did you know that macarons grow on trees?

I knew there would be berry desserts there so I wanted something a little funky and different. You all know how different I like to be! In addition to the powdered veggie roots, I also added some fruit teas from Alaska Wild Teas to sweeten the shells.

The beet macarons were filled with dark chocolate ganache. The rutabaga and blue berry macarons were respectively filled with citrus and blueberry French buttercream.

Since the idea was for everyone to taste all three flavors I served them in paper cones.

Here they are all laid out and ready to place in the cones. The beet macarons were on sticks so that they stood up higher near the "peak" of the cones.

Ta-da!

Looking down at the display.

From the front.

Yum!

I had a lot of fun participating in this event and look forward to next year. The macarons went fast and I ended up serving my ornaments as well.

I also have to smile when I think of how many people ate veggies and didn't know it :)

Jungle Themed Baby Cake

2010-10-09T10:17:00.016-08:00

New pictures. Yay, about time I know!

In between keeping busy with cakes, buying a new house, and building a commercial kitchen on the premises I have neglected my blog. We are all dried in for the winter and will be focusing on the inside of the kitchen soon. Can we have a big WAHOO :)

Enough of the updates. Time for what you came here for... pictures!

What happens when you combine this monkey

with this lion

with a zebra

and finally this little giraffe?

A jungle baby cake of course :)

Free Enterprise Video Contest

2010-03-20T09:22:00.010-08:00

Hello folks!

I am competing in a Free Enterprise Video contest put on by the US Chamber of Commerce. This is for some mega prize money to help me take my cake making to the next step.

I need people to view my youtube video in order to be in the pot as a semi finalist. Only the most viewed videos continue on. Please help me by viewing everyday or several times per day if you can as there is no limit on how many times a person can view per day.

Feel free to copy the purple text of this post (below) and the video link in order to pass it on. If any of you want me to send an email out with the wording I would be happy to. Just drop me a line and then you can easily forward to friends and family.

Here is my blurb :)

I am competing in the the US Chamber's Free Enterprise Video Contest. The prize money for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd is $20,000,$30,000 and $50,000 towards the winning businesses or ideas.

The top 25 viewed videos go on to the next level. A panel of judges will decide the 5 finalists from the top 25. The finalists then go on to compete for votes to determine their prize standing.

The more views I get the more people I can reach out to for a final vote when the time comes. Also, I can't help but think the more views and activity the better I will look in front of the judges; as they will see that I am working hard for the money!

Here is the video. Please bookmark it and visit it every day through April 16th if you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyqa4xSwxoQ

Spread the word!

Monica Cooper

Alaskan Dermish

http://alaskandermishinthekitch.blogspot.com/

View my youtube contest entry - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyqa4xSwxoQ

Thanks for helping me get closer to my dream!

Cake Catch-up

2010-02-14T19:58:00.007-09:00

This cake was made to celebrate Pat Williams 100th birthday. It was a replica of the Ray Building.

Here is the real building.

Next is a Little House on the Prairie cake for a girls birthday party. The cake was a lemonade cake with brown lemon flavored butter cream.

There were lots of shingles!

I really enjoyed this one as I used to watch the show as a little girl too.

The last picture in this post is a sea star cake for a bride to be.

Tsunami!

2010-02-13T14:06:00.005-09:00

This project was for the Alaska region of the NOSB event.

Vanilla cupcakes

Chocolate

It looked neat all together.

Happy New Year - Two Ways

2010-01-03T20:55:00.020-09:00

Here are two totally different New Year traditions. I take that back. They share a round shape but that is where I draw the line!

The first one is the New Year Day cookie (Portzelky). It is a drop donut of sorts with raisins that I had growing up.

1 envelope yeast

1/4 cup warm water

5 1/2 cup AP flour

1 1/2 t sugar

1 1/2 t salt

pinch nutmeg

1 1/2 cup warm milk

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup raisin, currants, etc (plump the raisins in water first - blot dry well to reduce oil splattering)

Dissolve yeast in the water, let proof.

Mix flour, sugar, salt, and nutmeg together in large bowl.

Lightly beat eggs with the milk.

Add the yeast mixture to the egg/milk mixture and then pour that into the flour mixture.

Mix well

Stir in raisins.

Let sit until raised like a poolish (good and bubbly). Right before you begin to fry, tap the bowl on the counter or push down the dough a bit.

Drop by cookie scoop into hot oil.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Once drained roll in sugar and place on a wire rack to dry so they do not become soggy.

Some people cover them with glaze, others with sugar (powdered or fine). I usually go with organic sugar because I like look of the grains and they don't "melt" and make the fritters soggy.

I make mine throughout the year play around with what ever flavors and additives I have around. Craisins and orange zest was a favorite. Sometimes I add cinnamon or nutmeg to the sugar before I roll them in it.

Now for the unfamiliar tradition. Mochi!

From what I understand, these are a Japanese New Year custom. Since I don't have a steam kneader I opted to try the microwave rice flour version.

Microwave Chocolate Mochi (courtesy of Eleanor Urakawa and various tips I found on the web)

1-1/2 cups mochiko (rice flour)

1-1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Katakuriko (potato starch) or kinako (roasted soybean flour), for dusting

Filling

Mix mochiko, water, sugar, chocolate, and salt in a bowl. Lightly coat a microwavable bowl with cooking spray. Pour mixture into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a microwave cover. Microwave 3 minutes on low, then 3 minutes on medium and 3 minutes on high, for a total of 9 minutes. This varies depending on your microwave. Cook until it is almost translucent, stirring occasionally.

I choose two different fillings; nutella and a raspberry marzipan mixture.

Look at the beautiful new jar of nutella! It is about to be marred for life LOL!

Let the mixture cool a bit so that you don't burn yourself. Many sites said to roll it in a tube or flat rectangle and then cut. I found it best to just use a wet cookie scoop.

If you have silpat, I would strongly recommend it.

Dust the mat with corn starch or potato starch and plop down a scoop of the mixture.

Dip your fingers in the starch. Quickly but gently work the blob into a disk. Be careful not to drag your hands but to pat the dough instead. Don't let them rest on the dough or they will stick. If your hands feel sticky, wash and then re-coat with starch or the sticky on your fingers will stick to the disk and you will literally have a mess on your hands.

I read of sticky horror stories on the web but honestly did not have any trouble with these. But then again, dough and I usually get along :)

Once you have a disk, place in your filling, and then seal like a beggars purse.

Dust off the excess and gently turn the mochi so that the seam is on the bottom. You can choose to put them on a starched plate or in cupcake liners.

Let firm. They can be served room temp, chilled, or even frozen.

The Mochi was a fun little project. I am overall happy with they way my first try turned out. Next time I will choose a firmer filling that I can roll in a ball so they aren't so flat and there is also more filling. I also want to try the ice cream version.

Daring Bakers - Gingerbread House

2009-12-31T17:32:00.008-09:00

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I chose to use the recipe submitted by Y. You can find the instructions and both recipes here.

The dough handled well. There wasn't too much shrinkage and it was fairly sturdy. Instead of one large house I chose to do a gingerbread centerpiece. It was small and easy to tuck do in stages and tuck away while I worked on other Holiday projects.

The only problem I had was with the theft and consumption of my freshly baked pieces. I had a lot of irons in the fire the day I was baking these and had set them aside to cool. Matt was had been coming into the kitchen and was snacking on something. I had assumed he was eating the peppernuts that were also fresh out of the oven. Nope, was I wrong. I took a break and looked over to see him eating something square.

Me -Hun, what are you eating?

Gingerbread Thief -The ginger cookies.

Me - Honey, how do they taste?

Gingerbread Thief - Kind of blah.

Me - Uh, well those are for my gingerbread houses.

Gingerbread Thief - Oh... well I guess you will have garages now.

Me - More like carports!

It must have been a Christmas miracle because I had exactly enough!

American Girl Cake

2009-12-28T22:13:00.008-09:00

This cake was for a girl who has an American Girl doll. I was told that she has the doll named Kit and that she loves doggies.

The cute basset sitting in the American Girl shopping bag is Grace, Kit's dog.

I just wanted to snuggle it when I was done :)

Something Is Fishy With This Cake

2009-12-23T19:44:00.029-09:00

This Groom's Cake was requested as a surprise at the couple's reception. They had a beautiful wedding in Argentina and had come home to celebrate with friends and family. This was my first fish cake and let's just say, I learned A LOT more about trout than I thought I would ever know :)

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, the Bride requested mini desserts.

In the first tray:

-Berries and cream in candy cups

-Key lime mini cupcakes with key lime filling and cream cheese frosting

- Coconut and pineapple cheesecakes with ginger thin and coconut crust,a dollop of coconut cream on top, and dried pineapple pieces.

-Berries and cream in candy cups - again

-Spiced apples in phyllo cups with candied walnuts

- Homemade puff pastry with goat cheese and quince paste.

Finally, we have a repeat of the cheesecake, mini cupcakes, spiced apples and cream and berries to fill out the platter

All together.

Next time I will make more candy cups and cream. They were gone in an instant. I sent Matt to get the balance and the tray was empty before he made it back to the dessert table.

This was a fun project. I really enjoyed the variety.

Congrats again to the beautiful couple!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-16T10:39:00.008-09:00

Many of you have probably seen little cake balls pop up all over the place lately. These little guys are my kitchen sink of the truffle world. What few scraps that manage to evade Matt and his big glass of milk are frozen and set aside for this sort of project.

The version above was chocolate cake, chocolate cupcakes, a few vanilla cupcakes, a package of ginger thins that were going to waste, buttercream frosting, cream cheese, and a few Anthon Berg liqueur filled chocolate bottles chopped up for good measure.

The recipe is simple.

Crumble cake pieces, cookies, graham crackers, nuts, or what have you in a bowl. To this add frosting, fillings, jams, or cream cheese to the crumbs. Mix.

You don't need much frosting or cream cheese. A little dab will do it. As you work it the mixture will become tacky and hold together in a ball well. If you add too much it will become slimy. The cake scraps don't need much moisture to hold together. In fact just a splash of rum or liqueur works well in place of frosting.

Make balls with the mixture and set in the fridge or freezer to chill and firm up. You want a dense and tightly rolled ball, anything loose will come apart when you try to coat it.

Melt chocolate or candy coat. Dip the balls and set aside to dry. If you froze the balls remove them from the freezer and allow the chill to come off or the coating will crack.

Had enough scrappy goodness? If not, here is a post from earlier this year.

Happy Holidays!

Daring Bakers - Vols-au-Vent

2009-09-28T13:00:00.007-08:00

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

You can find the recipe here. The recipe is lengthy but not difficult. It is simple and only takes a little bit of planning. I have made puff pastry before and this recipe did not disappoint! As the recipe states, be sure to use good quality butter, use and oven thermometer, and chill the pastry shapes before baking.

This time I filled my pastry cups with Goat Cheese, quince paste, and fresh mint from a co-worker's garden.

And I since it is almost October, I couldn't help but play around. Below is a pick of some batty puff pastry.

Go ahead, try it. It is simpler than you think and you will never want the store bought stuff again!

An Alaskan Wedding Cake

2009-09-23T18:22:00.008-08:00

This wedding cake was for and Alaskan Bride and Groom that work at the Alaska SeaLife Center. It was a vanilla cake with strawberry and white chocolate ganache filling, white chocolate ganache layer over the cake, and then topped with fondant.

I was trilled to be able to make a truly Alaskan wedding cake topper! Thanks for the opportunity guys. I really appreciate it.

Here is a close up of the Bride and Groom.

Complete with a just married sign.

And finally a link to another xtra tuf post of mine.

Best wishes to the Bride and Groom!

Saltimbocca - BakeSpace Coast to Coast Challenge

2009-09-10T14:00:00.004-08:00

The BakeSpace Coast to Coast dish this round was saltimbocca. Here is my take:

Pork Saltimbocca On Grilled Polenta Squares With Grilled Green Pepper Puree.

Items needed:

Polenta-
Course cornmeal/Polenta
Water or broth
Butter
Olive oil for grilling

Saltimbocca-
Boneless porkchops
Prosciutto or ham
Herbs/seasonings of your choice
Garlic
Sour Cream
Shredded mozzarella
Fresh Parmesan
Sage - didn't have so used rosemary
Flour
Panko
Olive oil

Green Pepper Puree-
Green Bell Peppers, whole
Olive oil
Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated

Prepare your polenta using your favorite recipe or as directed on package. My basic recipe is as follows:

Bring 6 cups salted water or broth to boil. Add 2 cups polenta once the water starts to boil. Turn down to a simmer and simmer covered until it is thick and the grain is soft. Add a couple of tablespoons butter to taste. Be sure to use a deep pot and a long handled spoon because it spits as it simmers and trust me, those spit ups burn!

To make squares simply spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Use the bottom of another 9 x 13 pan to push down and compress the polenta so that you get solid and durable squares. Allow to cool in fridge for at least 30 min. I prefer a couple of hours.

On to the MEAT!

Pound chops until thin. I had a big package of Costco mile thick chops so I cut them in half horizontally. My meat mallet was no where to be found. I know I had one before I moved in with Matt but had a feeling it was outside in the storage building with all this his and her junk. Since it was cool and raining I decided to stay inside. While oinking on tummy warming polenta I found a citrus juicer to use instead.

To cheese or not to cheese. I elected to add cheese. The mixture spread below is a paste made with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, garlic, olive oil, sour cream, crumbled mozzarella, and freshly grated Parmesan.

Place prosciutto or ham on top of the cheese.

Lay down sage, if you have it. There was no fresh sage to be found in town so I used some organic Rosemary that I received in my CSA box. In hindsight this was A LOT of rosemary. I am used to the half/mostly dead fresh rosemary that we get in the store here. Next time I will add a bit less!

Roll up and wrap with plastic. Place in the fridge for at least 30 min. I prefer to do this so that I don't have to use toothpicks later on.

While the meat is chilling brush olive oil on a few bell peppers and grill until blackened. Set the grilled peppers to the side to rest.

Prep the polenta for grilling. Remove the polenta slab from the fridge and cut into squares.

Preheat the oven to 350. Pull the pork out of the fridge. Remove the plastic. Roll a very thin layer of panko and flour. I wanted a thin crisp layer, not a breading. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on a skillet and cook the pork until browned but not done in the center. Place the browned pork in oven to cook the rest of the way. Continue with remaining rolls if needed.

While the pork finishes in the oven grill the polenta. Brush one side of the polenta and also the grill with olive oil. Grill until crisp and grill marks appear.

Puree the bell peppers. Add olive oil and Parmesan to taste. Set aside.

Pull the pork out of the oven and let rest.

Brush the other side of the polenta with oil and flip to grill the other side. Remove from the grill.

Plate and enjoy!

Check out the other bakespace bloggers. Thanks to DDpie we have a clickable map of all the participants. How awesome is that!

And here is the BakeSpace link if you want to join in on the fun!

Treasure Chest Cake

2009-08-29T00:00:00.007-08:00

This cake was a fun one! Well they all are fun but this one let out the little kid in me. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream and fondant decorations. Oh and of course candy jewels and coins.

Here is a close up of the butter cream woodgrain. It took a bit to figure out the right look but it was so worth it and best of all I know how to approach it next time.

The party was complete with a sword fight between Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones.

Aww look, they made up :)

What a great party it was. The lucky boy's Mom and Dad are going to a hard time topping this one!

Dobos Torte - Daring Bakers

2009-08-27T22:50:00.008-08:00

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: ExquisiteDesserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Everything I have been making lately has been chocolate so I chose to do a lemon variety with lemon butter cream and lemon curd between the layers. I have had back to back cakes and totally rushed this..not recommended!!

The flavor was great and the sponge reminded me of a fluffier version of a tuile cookie. I made 3 small tortes and one was sacrificed to the quality control tester and immediately approved.

I will definitely make again but not using the butter cream in the recipe given. The butter cream was too finicky, especially in the stormy humid night we had tonight. It was also a tad greasy for my taste. Believe me, I love butter but this seemed more like a bowl of whipped butter with a little sugar and egg thrown in. Honey butter on cake maybe? Hmm, no that is an interesting idea LOL!

The caramel on top was fun and the next time I make it I will take my time and play with the sugar top more.

Check out Angela's site for the recipe.

Overall, this is a great cake that lends itself to a multitude of possibilities!

Paella - Bakespace Coast to Coast Recipe 2

2009-08-24T14:00:00.005-08:00

First of all, those of you who haven't checked out Bakespace, get on over and check it out! Over the last couple of weeks a group of us have been giving Paella our own personal touch.

My version is loosely based on this Epicurious recipe. I say loosely because I just kept throwing in things that I found in my fridge and freezer.

One thing I couldn't find was decent squid, clams, or mussels. The squid I found in town was packaged in a box with nothing to keep people out. You could literally flip the top of the box open and touch the squid. EWWWW!! I couldn't help but wonder how many people had poked at it before it reached me.

I did find a bag of "seafood mix". It had little bits of squid, clams, octopus, you name it. It being only a few bucks a bag had me worried. To try to remedy any terrible fishy taste I rinsed the mix well and let it soak in milk and cayenne for a few hours.

See? Soaking the mix.

Next, I made a fresh herb paste out of thyme, oregano, cilantro, cayenne, coriander, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Most was rubbed on the chicken thighs. A small portion was reserved for the onions. I grilled the thighs and set them aside.

Up next were the veggies. Onions, squash, red, green, and yellow bell peppers were grilled.

In a cast iron skillet I tossed in rough cut chunks of onion, thick cut bacon, salt pork, and the remaining herb paste. After the bacon was cooked but still soft I removed it from the pan to set with the chicken thighs.

Only Mexican chorizo existed in the local stores so I used andouille instead. This was sauteed with crumbled Italian pork sausage until both were well browned.

The sausage was added to the container with the chicken, bacon, and onions and left to rest.

Next in the skillet was the arborio rice. I didn't drain the grease and toasted it until golden and speckled.

In a large stock pot I poured in clam juice, chicken stock, a pinch of saffron, the rice and set to boil.

While the rice was boiling I deglazed the cast iron skillet with a splash of Guinness.

To the boiling rice and broth I added halibut cheeks, snapper from a fisherman friend, and shrimp. The seafood mixture was drained, rinsed, and added at this time as well. I forgot to take pictures of the fish but trust me, the cheeks were lovely!

After the rice had softened the resting meats and veggies were added. So was the contents of the deglazed pan and the rest of the Guinness. I threw in a few diced tomatoes and a can of Italian diced tomatoes for good measure.

I set this all to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Now that all said, I would LOVE to have a Paella pan as I think it would keep the quantity from growing on me. It was delicious but I ended up with a huge stock pot of paella. Thank goodness for a foodsaver!!

BTW, the leftovers are delicious rolled up in a tortilla with a little cheese and fresh tomatoes :)

Click the links below to check out the rest of the beeps:

http://peacefulcooking.blogspot.com/2009/08/paella-coast-to-coast-and-guest.html

And her guest blogger!

http://culinaryalchemist.blogspot.com/2009/08/spanish-fare-with-italian-flair-paella.html

http://sprytesplace.blogspot.com/2009/08/paella.html

http://myitaliangrandmother.blogspot.com/2009/08/paella-for-sea-fearing-coast-to-coast.html

Scroll down this page to see Martha's paella http://www.bakespace.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7196&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

Go ahead, give it a try! As you can see there are so many ways to make this dish.

Grilled Veggie Night - Meat free!

2009-08-06T22:16:00.019-08:00

Tonight was clean out the fridge/ grill what ever we can night. I think it was the first time Matt's grill has ever been used for a veggie only meal. I am surprised it didn't go belly up just out of shear principle!

Here is the tray with prepped veggies.

Seasoned corn
Green bell peppers - later sprinkled with basalmic
Onion halves
Squash
Diced potatoes with seasoning and garlic cloves
And last but certainly not least, one large onion cut onion blossom style with butter. Notice lots and lots of Kerrygold.

I said it was meat free.. butter free - no!

Everything was rubbed with olive oil and seasoned, then placed on the grill.

Wave hi to Matt's hand!

Look at that onion half. Oh it was so good!

For dessert, grilled stone fruit with blueberries and strawberries from our garden. Topped with a splash of heavy cream and a drizzle of agave syrup.

OINK!

American Eagle Shopping Bag Cake

2009-07-10T22:30:00.009-08:00

This one was for a young woman that LOVES to shop! It is a vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream and covered in mmf.

Fondant "tissue paper", gumpaste handles, and fondant flip flop.

Another flip flop and a very long fondant receipt. Did I mention that she really likes to shop?

Little clutch with stitching and button button detail.

This cake was serious fun to make. I hope I get to play with more bags in the future. Boy did that sound bad!

Happy Sweet Sixteen- Purse Cake

2009-07-07T23:51:00.012-08:00

This has been a week of birthday cakes. I have had 3 due in little less than a week. Not that I am complaining mind you. I have enjoyed the rush immensely!

The purse is a firm butter vanilla cake with simple vanilla buttercream under the fondant.

It was for a Sweet Sixteen party, can you tell :) I was told that the teen was so tickled that she saved the plaque part with her name.

Here is a closeup of the gumpaste handle. To form the handle I let it dry over a Moose's Tooth growler.

Another Angle.

Well back to work. One more cake due on Thursday. Then out to dinner for my birthday!

Liquid Sunshine

2009-06-04T22:19:00.010-08:00

It was misting outside so thus I required comfort food. Bonus, this one is super easy and quick too. Perfect for evenings when all you want to do is curl up with a blanket on the couch.

Stuffed Artichokes:

1/2 to 1 Artichoke per person
Rice - boxed mix or your own
Ricotta Cheese
Seasoned Panko
Seasoned Crushed Tomatoes

Clean artichokes. Cut off stems and remove coarse thick leaves. Trim off the points on the remaining leaves. Cut artichoke in half to reveal heart.

Tear out the heart. Yes I am cruel, I just rip it out :) Set the heart aside. Scoop out the fuzzy part and discard. Do this with the remaining chokes.

Start your rice. Add a little bit of extra water or broth. Tear the hearts into small pieces and stir into the uncooked rice mixture.

Place the artichoke halves in the rice so that they touch the bottom of the pan and are mostly covered with liquid. A skillet with lid works really well.

Cook until rice and artichokes are tender and liquid is reduced. Keep in eye on the artichokes so that they do not overcook. Remove early if necessary.

Place artichokes on an oven safe pan. Fill with rice. Top rice with ricotta and then panko. Broil until the panko is browned and the cheese is warm.

Plate and serve with remaining rice and crushed tomatoes. Simple and easy.

Now throw what you can in the dishwasher and curl up in front of the TV with a big bowl of comfort!

Luau Party For the TYC Fundraiser

2009-05-31T13:30:00.021-08:00

This fun project was for a fundraiser for the TYC in town. It was aboard the Renown Tours Glacier Express catamaran. Their helpful crew even cleared out a few rows of seats to make room for a dance area on board. My son goes to the TYC, Teen and Youth Center, afterschool. They also have camps for school inservice and vacation days, as well as summer camps. My son loves it and always has a great time!

Done plugging local businesses, now back to the cake :)

The cake was a chocolate devils food cake with chocolate buttercream between the layers. On top of that a layer of ganache and then the fondant.

Here is a close up of the button and stitching detail. The buttons were a fondant and gum paste mixture with fondant "threads".

Cupcakes to match. These were a simple vanilla butter cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting. The flowers were fondant mixed with a bit of gum-tex to make them firm and more durable.

I have lots of cake scraps bagged up in the freezer. At the last minute I pulled some out and made boozy cake bon bons. It was a 21 and over party with a bar on board so boozy desserts were in order. This recipe is based off Bakerella's cake pop recipe. I used scraps of devils food cake and a brown sugar cream cheese frosting with coffee flavored Kaluha in it. Then dipped the frozen balls of cakey frosting goodness in a chocolate ganache and topped with fondant flowers left over from another luau project. As I mentioned, these were a last minute thought so please ignore the finger prints and drips. Thank goodness the lighting on the craft was dimmed!

Here is a shameless sign that Josie from the TYC made for me. Thanks Josie!!

Finally, here is a pic of the entire spread before everyone boards and I head off the boat.

Graduation Cake

2009-05-19T21:55:00.010-08:00

Lesson learned.. make sure your hands don't have flour on them or you risk letting your laptop slide through your fingers...as I did. My laptop was fine but the A/C adapter was bent. The $ spent on a clutz proofed warranty paid off and my replacement adapter was promptly shipped.

It worked out well, the last couple of weeks have been crazy cake weeks and I didn't have time to play on here anyway :) Now that I have a charged battery I can post the pics.

This cake was made for a young woman graduating from High School. I was given a free license with the cake. Yellow and Green are the school colors and this is the result.

More cakes to come!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

2009-04-26T23:06:00.018-08:00

These are a favorite staple at my house. They start disappearing before I can even get the dough in the fridge to chill. My boyfriend, the consumer friendly judge, refers to the chilled dough balls as little turds. Little turds that he greedily pops in his mouth and runs with his Cheshire grin beaming brightly. Be forewarned..make a double batch. I always make a double and then turn around and make another double. These freeze well, if they survive the turd thief.

This recipe comes courtesy of Martha Stewart. The original can be found here. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies

I have tried little tweaks but honestly this recipe is pretty much perfect. The only things I can suggest is to be sure to use fresh ground spices if you can and instead of semisweet I use bittersweet or a blend of bittersweet and milk. Sometimes I roll the chilled dough in a mix of cinnamon and sugar instead of plain sugar. These always come out very thin crisp out layer and a chewy rich center.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies - adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons fresh ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 nutmeg (grated)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature ( 4 oz)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
7 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
1/4 cup large grain organic sugar
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and fresh ginger on medium speed until lightened, about minutes.

Add brown sugar, beat until combined.

Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water.

Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.

Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture.
Mix in chocolate

Chill for 30 minutes. When chilled roll into balls or use a cookie scoop. You can bake at this point. I usually scoop the balls to single layer pan and freeze for an hour. They bake up a little thicker and chewy and moist straight from the freezer.

I did want to get pictures of the dough before I rolled them in sugar and baked. However the turd thief came home from poker early and they were in danger of being devoured before I could get them in the oven.

Once chilled, roll in sugar or as mentioned earlier cinnamon sugar.

Place about 2 inches apart and bake in a 325 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Or until the surfaces begins to crack and the insides of the cracks look slightly dry.

Let cook 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Cinnamon Rolls

2009-04-21T20:23:00.016-08:00

For the last couple of weeks I have been deep in an IT project at work. Monday afternoon I came home, it was a nice day out and the kitchen was warm, and I needed to lose myself in a creative but devoid of thinking project..hence cinnamon rolls!

These little buggers have been in my repertoire for years. I can almost make them in my sleep; dancing around the kitchen in a smooth rhythm.

The dough is a subtly sweet dough that I use for anything from danishes (with addition of a butter block) to bierocks. The dough is very stable and with a few modifications it can used for a variety of uses. That said... sorry Charlie but no recipe on this one. It has taken 15 years of tweaking to get my signature dough and I very rarely give it out. So those that have it, know you are a rare breed to get a copy.

A pile o' buns

A variation of the top picture. I like the top one because the the cinnamon roll is in focus, but in this one his eyes tell the story.

Yummy!

No Bake Cookies

2009-04-17T17:50:00.008-08:00

It is Friday and my co-workers needed a chocolate fix. Or at least that is what I told myself was the excuse to make cookies over my lunch hour.

Apparently my excuse was valid as I have no cookies left! So instead of cookies you get the note left for me in my empty container.

Most of the recipes are pretty close to the same. This is my tweaked version.

1 1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup brown (dark or light) sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup peanut butter
3 cups steel cut oats
1/2 cup chopped peanuts, pretzels, lo mein, whatever you like (optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 T corn syrup (clear or dark)

Line cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.

Combine sugar, butter, cream and cocoa in medium saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to rolling boil. Keep boiling for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat

Add peanut butter. Stir

Add oats, peanuts or other additions, vanilla, and corn syrup. Stir

Drop by heaping teaspoon or small cookie scoop.

Let cool and firm up. For the lunch hour variety, stick the cookie sheet in the freezer while you eat your lunch.

Homemade Peeps, Alaska Style

2009-04-12T20:38:00.013-08:00

Marshmallows are surprisingly easy to make. Go ahead, turn your nose but these infinitely better than their cousins in the plastic bag. And best of all, with a few modifications you can make any flavor you can dream of.

Make the marshmallows as directed in this recipe. Add the coloring midway through the whipping so that it disperses evenly. Once the marshmallow is set, cut out and roll in sugar.

This was my first time making homemade marshmallows. I followed the recipe as directed but they came out crinkly. The mixture set up as I was pressing it into the pans. In the future I think I will whip it a little less so that I get a smooth surface. Also, the sugar didn't stick at first so I used a barely damp pastry brush to wet the surface of the peep and that did the trick.

We woke up Easter morning to fresh snow. These guys enjoyed their frolic in the powder :)

Potato Wrapped Snapper

2009-04-08T22:10:00.021-08:00

We picked up a bag of snapper from one of our friends the other day. I wanted to do something different than our old standby. Fish is an easy and economical food for us in this town. This coming year we plan to fill our freezer thus I need to expand my fishy recipes. This one is definitely a keeper!

Potato Wrapped Snapper

Fish - any fish would work. Salmon would be good too.

Seasoning or marinade for the fish

Russet or other starchy potato - peeled

Potato Starch

Italian Panko
1 Clove Garlic - pressed

Seasoning for dry mix

Cut fish into 2-3 inch x 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces. Marinade or otherwise season. This can be done the previous day.

Using a mandolin, CAREFULLY, slice the potatoes. Paper thin is best. Mine doesn't go that thin so I will tell you what I did about that later on. Do not rinse potatoes. The unrinsed starch will help them stay folded on the fish.

Mix potato starch, panko, garlic clove, and any other seasonings. Set aside.

Lay down the potatoes like so on a piece of plastic wrap. As mentioned above, my mandolin only goes so thin. To make the slices cooperate I placed them in the microwave for about 45 seconds. They came out flexible but not cooked all the way through and nice and tacky.

Spread panko and potato starch mixture on the slices.

Top with a piece of fish.

Fold the potato around the fish and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap. Continue with the rest of fish.

Pan fry at medium - medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side, or until the fish is done and the potatoes are browned.

Place on a bed of rice and top with your favorite sauce.

Thank you Dennis!

Yam Gnocchi...You Say Ricotta, I Say Potato

2009-04-05T12:49:00.015-08:00

When I need something rich and a total carb and butter load, I turn to Gnocchi. Or in this case, I had too many root veggies rolling around and had to use them up.

Some like potato. Some like ricotta. I like a combination of both. Or a combination of what veggies I have running amok in my kitchen. Beets, yams, sweet potato, turnips, and parsnips all work well. It is also a great way to use up extra leafy greens such as kale, chard, collard greens and spinach. When that is the case for me, I steam then process in a blender or processor and strain out the excess moisture.

I have no recipe for mine so here are a couple of basic but sturdy recipes from Epicurious.com

Ricotta Gnocchi
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ricotta-Gnocchi-242001

Potato Gnocchi

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gnocchi-101335

For this batch I used yams, sweet potatoes, russets and ricotta.

First I formed a soft tender dough until it felt right and rolled into little ropes. Next I cut the rope into pieces about the length of the first knuckle of my index finger to tip.

Next, I rolled them into balls.

And then from there rolled them on the back of a floured fork. Here is my little army awaiting the boiling water.

I like mine boiled and then pan fried until brown and crispy. To this batch I added some chopped apple sausage.

It was the perfect comfort food!

Getting back into the swing of things.

2009-03-30T17:58:00.029-08:00

OK, I have been seriously negligent about updating my blog. It is time to get back to it. My hard drive is fixed and my computer is working better than it did when it was new. So I have no excuse now :)

Just because my computer was down doesn't mean that I wasn't cooking. I have lots to catch up on. Here is a fun one. This was from our annual golf tourney on the mud flats this month. It is our way of staying sane during the sloppy time (break up) between winter and summer. This year it was brutally cold so we happily let the tide push us back towards the bonfire. Here is an ice tee just to prove my point!

And here are a couple of beautiful views!

Who can resist a pic of happy dogs?

Since xtra tufs are a way of life a good portion of the year and a requirement for the golf tourney, I was sure to include them on the cupcakes.

Real xtra tufs

My version. I regret that I didn't plan ahead. These were thrown together the day of. The event is annual, so it wasn't like I didn't know it was coming :)

The orange triangles that look like slices of cheese are replicas of the tourney flag. It is an orange pennant hung on a golf club. The material has a golf ball hanging from a short piece of chain. On windy days it can be down right dangerous to be near it! Each year the flag is embroidered with the current year. I had hoped to replicate something like that but alas... I didn't plan!

We had a fabulous time and the cupcakes (frozen from the cold day) were enjoyed....by the bonfire.

Now for the food part. These were chocolate stout cupcakes with silt colored Bailey's cream cheese frosting. All decorations were MMF.

To all my friends: Bug the heck out of me if I do not post again soon!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T22:46:00.019-08:00

We have been busy preparing for Halloween over here and I haven't had a chance to post. Here are a few Halloween pics to hold you over. Stay tuned for the detail posts next week. I will have plenty of time to post while I am stuck on my butt after knee surgery. That is only if I am not too loopy to type :)

Key Lime Ghosts

Mummy Meatloaf

Body Part Cupcakes

Tombstone cupcakes

Colorful Spiderweb Cookies

2008-10-15T21:32:00.018-08:00

It is that time of year again! It is time to start getting carried away and wrapped up in cutout cookies. Boy, I sure do find a way to get wrapped up. These cookies were made a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the beginning of October. My boyfriend was away visiting family so for several days I immersed myself in cookie baking and decorating.

I like to use a recipe from kitchengifts.com. I have used it for years and it is very reliable and easy to work with. And the best part is that it tastes great! Sometimes I use almond, sometimes vanilla, always whatever citrus zest I have.. you get the picture. As with most of my recipes, it is one that you can adjust to fit your mood or event.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt

Combine dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients a small amount at a time. Stir together until well incorporated.

Chill dough

Everyone has their thickness preference. I like about 1/4 inch. Roll the dough and cut into desired shapes.

Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350. Watch the edges closely. They will turn from lightly browned to crispy critter in a heartbeat.

Cool and then decorate.
---------------------------------
Why do I cut off the edges of my dough? Because I can :) No, really, I am persnickety. If I cut off the edges there is no chance of a cookie with sloping edges.

I let the first layer of royal icing dry overnight.

The next day I finished decorating.

Another pic just because I like all the bright colors!

And another :)

Ummm.. Veggies!

2008-10-07T21:24:00.005-08:00

I have been having a bit of a veggie kick lately. Maybe the fall weather is making me crave fresh veggies while I can. Or maybe it is that everyone has been going their own direction so I have time for me food. Either way, my waistline certainly isn't suffering!

For this dish I roasted golden beets. To that I added romano beans, cremini mushrooms, a shallot, bok choy, and some of the roasted macadamia nuts I picked up at the fair. I lined a plate with wilted purple kale and served the veggies with wasa crackers and black olive hummus.

The dish grew like a taco salad does on you. It left me with plenty for the next few days. I certainly didn't complain!

Music Fair Food

2008-10-07T19:45:00.006-08:00

I am so far behind on posts. The pictures have been piling up and I have no excuse. Wait, I was working on Halloween decorations.. I think that qualifies as a worthy excuse :)

Logan and I went to the Music Fair a couple of weekends ago. It was chocked full of live music and crafts. There was even a kiddo area where the kids learned to ride unicycles, juggle, spin plates, and other fun things. I was pleasantly surprised to see some yummy and healthy food booths.

I loaded up on hummus, veggie pot stickers, no sugar added granola, and seasoned macadamia nuts. The granola was a bar but it suffered a cosmetic misfortune when Logan dropped it on my rig floor. I am still finding pieces of it in my upholstery. Oops :)

**Rig = vehicle, car, truck and so forth to all you lower 48ers.

Lemon Cucumbers

2008-09-27T22:04:00.002-08:00

These little golden balls of cucumber arrived the other day. I set them aside while I unpacked the box. Out of site, out of mind. There they sat. Silly me! Good thing I found them and rescued them from their dark corner and safely placed them in my happy tummy!

A Simple and Well Deserved Dinner

2008-09-22T21:52:00.007-08:00

After a morning of cutting firewood followed by an afternoon of baking muffins, I needed something simple. This fit the bill!

A little Boursin. A little bit of cremini mushrooms and shallots. Slices of toasted italian sourdough. Don't forget the glass of wine :)

Company Muffins With A Hidden Surprise

2008-09-22T21:18:00.009-08:00

I have a confession, I LOVE apple butter. Sorry dear loved ones. I don't mean to scorn our love.. but ummmmmmmmmmmmm apple butter! I no longer can eat it but that doesn't stop me from wanting to see it spread on food for nothing more than old time's dreamy sake.

This week I have a few pears, apples, and a hodge podge of nuts to use up. The company muffin recipe I have is a great base recipe to use with ever you have handy. This time I decided that since apple butter and muffins was already a given, why not add the apple butter before baking and save my family a step. See, aren't I considerate ;)

Company Muffins
Recipe from Simply in Season

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat bran or rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl combine and stir well.

2 large apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
1 1/2 cups carrots (finely shredded)
1 cup walnuts (chopped) or flax seed meal
1/2 cup raisins

Add and stir to coat. Make well in center

2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

In a separate bowl mix together. Pour into flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven at 375°F for 18-20 minutes.

I never stick to the recipe and add nuts, fruit, and spices to suit my whims.

This round I used organic carrots from my CSA box. Yum. They were so tender and sweet. Notice the sunlight? After 21 straight days of rain I sure did!

My pears were starting to get squishy but were still great for baking. And since I am rarely satisfied with one variety, I made an apple one too!

Now about those varieties I mentioned. One batch had pears, pecans, and chocolate. The second batch had pears, walnuts, almonds, and apple butter. Before I put on the streusel topping I spooned some apple butter and another dollop of batter.

Now go rescue that fruit rotting away in your fruit bowl. This is a great recipe to play with.

Harvest Day

2008-09-14T16:27:00.007-08:00

Today I harvested the last of my strawberries and rhubarb. The raspberries are nearing the end but I still might get a few more days of picking out of the bushes. Everything is now all washed, chopped, and packaged for freezing. Wahoo!

My handy Ulu made quick work of the over 16 cups of chopped rhubarb.

CSA Box For Wednesday September 10

2008-09-14T16:11:00.008-08:00

I signed up to receive a CSA box every week. My boxes come from Full Circle Farm in Washington. Don't know what a CSA is? Click this link to find out.

The boxes are like a little present to myself each week. When pick up day comes I can't wait to go unwrap my little brown paper wrapped bundles of organic goodness.

This box included:

Gala Apples
Bunched Carrots with greens still attached
Cucumbers
Bi-Color Sweet Corn
Limes
Peaches
Flavor Heart Pluots
Red Flame Grapes
Breakfast Radishes
Orange Tomatoes
Cremini Mushrooms
Romaine Lettuce

Pane Siciliano

2008-09-10T20:54:00.018-08:00

One of my favorite bread books is The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. It is my go to book when I want to try something new. Even though the book is packed full of wonderful pictures, it is his writing that pulls me in. I can picture every twist and fold of the dough in my head without ever looking at a picture. Or maybe I am just a visual person, who knows LOL!

It has been hard to find specialty flours in this sleepy town. Anchorage isn't much better. So for that reason, I haven't been able to play with this book as much as I would like. Luckily I did have some Semolina flour on hand.

Reinhart's recipe for Pane Siciliano is an easy recipe to work with during the week. This is a several day process that requires very little active time. It is also ideal because if something comes up there is nothing wrong with letting it ride in the fridge overnight.

Day 1 - I started with a pate fermentee. Let it rise, degas, and then store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Day 2 - Remove the pate fermentee from the fridge and cut up in small pieces to de-chill. Add this to a fresh dough. Let rise, shape, cover, and stow away in the fridge overnight.

Day 3 - Remove from the fridge, let rise, and bake.

This was done in between my other projects, work, and family. Hence the reason it is a good bread to make during the week, but also the reason I don't have many pictures this time around.

Here is what the bread looked while waiting for the oven. The bread really soaks up the flavor of the sesame seeds. Combine that with the semolina and you get a pleasantly nutty bread.

I used a steam pan. No comments from the peanut gallery about my stove please :)

Finished spiral!

That 45 minute wait for it to cool down was a killer. I didn't think I was going to make it through. Thank goodness I have some self control. Hey now, easy, I didn't say I had a lot, but I do have some!

Pig in the blankets

2008-09-08T21:03:00.014-08:00

After Saturday's UFC night, I had some extra bierock dough left over. Those things have been very popular lately so I have had a lot of scrap dough to play around with.

This time I made pig in the blankets for my son's school lunches. It is pretty straight forward. I rolled out the dough and used a pizza roller to cut out strips about an inch wide.

Since everything is better with cheese, I cut a slit in the dogs and added a few small strips of muenster cheese.

Aren't I creative? I managed to get the strips of dough and dogs in one shot. It was getting late and I was getting tired.

Gently wrap the dough around the dogs. Make sure the dough is wrapped tight but don't force it. Seal the dough by wetting the end of the strip with water and pressing it against the bottom.

Let proof and bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes or until golden.

My son came home today and told me that all the kids at his table thought I should sell them to the cafeteria. How funny!

My last ditch effort to hold onto summer.. Key Lime Cupcakes with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

2008-09-07T22:14:00.045-08:00

This weekend we went to a UFC fight night get together. I always enjoy trying to come up with something new to tantalize their taste buds. The only real requirement is that the goodies be something that they guys can pick up easily and take to the couch during the short commercials. The hosts are great about letting me know the main dish ahead of time.

The theme this Saturday was Mexican. My spicy pizza bierocks are always a hit so that was a given. Key Lime Cupcakes sounded like the perfect match to a spicy and heavy meal. I suppose I could have made them a bit lighter and not so rich. But what is the fun in that!

I chose to modify a coconut cupcake recipe from the Barefoot Contessa

Here is the recipe per Foodnetwork.com

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Here is what I changed

I didn't have extra large eggs. 1 extra large egg is about 4 Tablespoons
No vanilla or almond extra. Instead I used about 4-5 Tablespoons key lime juice
3 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons cake flour instead of AP flour
No coconut
Added lime zest of 2 limes

Simple Key Lime filling recipe -
I don't know where I originally found this. But I have been using it for years.

5 egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
Whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Start by juicing the limes. I like to use a garlic press to juice them. It is fast and efficient.

My helper came away from his mp3 player for this... well sort of.

See? All squished.

Ignore the brown peels. Beggars can't be choosers when it comes to produce in this town.

Pour the sugar and lime zest into a small bowl. Using your fingers, mash around the zest and sugar just as you would crumb together butter and sugar. Continue until all the sugar is moist from the oils in the zest.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar/zest mixture until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time until well blended. As mentioned earlier, I didn't have any extra large eggs. To accommodate the recipe I whisked 6 large eggs together and then measured 20 Tablespoons of this mixture (1 extra large egg = 4 Tablespoons).

Mix in key lime juice

Alternate in the flour mixture and buttermilk. Adding only about a third of each and stirring until fully incorporated before adding another third.

Fill cupcake pan, with liners.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

While the cupcakes are baking make the filling.

Beat the egg yolks. Add lime juice and condensed milk. Cover and chill until slightly thickened. Mix in whipped cream. I normally make my own but was in a time pinch. So this time I used a carton of extra creamy whipped cream. Put mixture in fridge until you are ready to use.

Cool the baked cupcakes completely.

Prepare them for filling by using a paring knife to cut a cone out of the top. Slice off the majority of the cone, leaving a flat plug.

Spoon the filling into the hole in the cupcake and top at with the plug. Be careful not to over fill or the plug will lift.

There you go. Here is the cupcake looking like nothing happened!

Frost with your favorite icing. I had some left over Bailey's and cream cheese frosting in the freezer. Yes, I keep frosting in the freezer. All you have to do is thaw in the fridge and then whip for a few seconds to fluff it up again.All you have to do is thaw in the fridge and then whip for a few seconds to fluff it up again.

See!

Now here is what they look like inside.

Focaccia in 2 hours? No way, Yes way!!

2008-09-01T12:34:00.035-08:00

I have been too busy playing outside to devote time to bread making. This Labor Day weekend was wet and cool and it put me in my winter baking mood. Well sort of.. I wanted something low maintenance that I could leave at a moments notice if the sun did decide to shine. It never did shine but it was warm and homey in my kitchen.

2 Hour Focaccia Bread
Adapted from King Arthur's Flour

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons good quality olive oil(plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups A/P flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 heaping cup cheese of your choice
Fresh or dried herbs of your liking

For the cheese I used an 80/10/10 blend of Mozzarella, Provalone, and Mild Cheddar. The herbs used were a mix of fresh and dried herbs that I had handy (fresh rosemary, fresh cilantro, dried oregano, dried basil, fresh coarse cracked black pepper, and fresh thyme from my garden).

Preheat the oven to 425. The recipe calls for 375 but I prefer a hot oven.

Combine all ingredients, except for cheese and herbs into your mixer. Use a paddle attachment to combine on high speed for 60 seconds.

While the mixer is working, grease a 9 x 13 pan with olive oil. Don't be stingy. I used a smaller 7 x 11 glass pan. This is to be sandwich bread for my son's school lunch so I wanted it a bit thicker.

The dough should look like this.

Add the cheese to the mixer bowl and stir to mix in.

Scoop out the dough and spread evenly in pan. Wet your hands first!

Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. It is cool outside but not cool enough to turn up the heat. We built a fire in the wood stove last night and although the fire is out the stove is barely warm. The yeast likes this spot :)

Let sit for an hour or until doubled.

Drizzle with olive oil. Then wet fingers and poke the dough to leave the dimples.

Sprinkle with herb mix.

I added a few sprinkles of lavender garlic rub for fun.

Bake in oven for 35 -45 minutes at 425, until golden brown.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove carefully and place on a cooling rack. If you leave it in the pan your crust will be soggy.

I still prefer traditional focaccia. The crumb and chew isn't the same but the flavor is good. One certainly can't complain about how easy it is. Besides, my son likes this better because it is soft and a bit fluffy. It also holds up well for packed lunches and doesn't become soggy.

Hmm, I see an organic tomato and cucumber sandwich on 2 hour focaccia calling my name!

Enjoy.

Strawberries... FINALLY!

2008-08-30T20:14:00.004-08:00

Here is my first bowl of strawberries from our garden. It has been a long wait but they are finally here. I know some are a bit ripe. They will be the first victims :)

Green Chili and Cheese Loaves

2008-08-25T21:37:00.007-08:00

So what do you do with all the scraps from the bierocks? Well you make Green Chili Cheese Loaves of course!

Gather all your scraps and knead together. Let rise again until fluffy. I cheat by putting it in a covered container in the microwave and nuke it for 20 seconds. Let it hang out in the microwave for about 10 minutes and check before using a second nuking if needed.

Roll out the dough and sprinkle cheese and left over green chili peppers. Don't be skimpy!

Roll up like a cinnamon roll.

Slice into approximately 4 inch pieces.

Then set each piece on a cut end and pull down the layers like a flower.

Let rise and bake.

Tadah!

Pizza Bierocks - My first official post!

2008-08-25T19:29:00.028-08:00

First of all - Welcome to my blog! I am finally jumping on the food blog bandwagon. Although I started this page years ago, I never really utilized it.

So without further adieu, I bring you Pizza Bierocks. I chose this as the recipe to start with because it is a variation of a traditional Russian/German Mennonite food back home. A bierock is similar to a Runza. Never heard of either? Well they are a kind of a pocket sandwich. Traditionally bierocks are filled with cabbage and hamburger. Although the dough may vary, the filling is pretty much the same, except some may add cheese or potatoes. Since I am always the different one..hence the reason I found myself far away from home and up here. I love to fill them with what ever my little heart desires. The pizza has been my most popular one. Closely followed by a breakfast style filling.

Let's get started!

First, start with your favorite dough recipe. I choose a sweet bread. The sweet of the dough brings out the usually salty/savory filling. Be sure to choose an enriched dough. That is one with a little butter and milk to keep it supple and relaxed. You want a nice happy and mellow dough for this.After you have made the dough and it has risen, roll out dough to form a rectangle. Cut the dough into the shape you prefer. I prefer a finished round shape. For mine I make a cardboard template that is 5.5 inches square. Cut the dough into the shape and let rest. Resting the dough is key. Remember you want happy mellow dough!

After the dough has rested and is slightly puffy and very relaxed roll it out slightly. I usually cut about half a dozen and then let that rest, reserving the rest of the dough in a covered bowl until I am ready for it.

Here is a square rolled out slightly with the filling and ready to be shaped. Choose what ever filling you want. For these I did a spicy pizza filling (pork, chicken, beef in a typical Italian/pizza sauce). To that I added Tabasco, chipolte chili pepper, green chillies, roasted red pepper, and roasted green pepper. It gave it just a small bit of heat that one can feel after a few bites. But nothing that really distracts from the pizza flavor. Once cooled I mixed in a pizza blend of cheese to taste.

Now pick up opposite corners and bring to the center, like this.

See how you can see the filling bulge against the dough? Nice relaxed dough...

Now bring up the opposite corners and press together.

Finally gently stretch up the remaining "corners" and gather the dough at the top. I like to pick up the dough and give it a gentle bounce and then gather any remaining give. This gives a nice snug fit against the filling so that you don't end up with a huge pocket of air that minimizes the heft of your filling. Or at least how full it appears to be by the lucky consumers. Press the gather tightly.

See how nicely the dough cooperates when it is happy?

Now I like to turn over the ball and make sure there are no big ripples, tears, or thin spots. Small ripples will puff out during the baking process.

After it has passed my inspection, I turn it back over and snip off the excess.

Make sure all seams are good and then turn back over and give it a few gentle love taps where needed to spruce up the ball.

Place on silpat covered sheet and egg wash.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes in a 375 degree oven, rotating once. Or until browned and you are satisfied with the sound of your thump on the top of the bierock.

Yummy! After I bake them I like to brush on butter to keep the dough soft.

Here my little guys are all lined up for the big guys tonight!

If you want to see what the insides look like.. well then, bake them and find out :)

Thanks for ready my first post everyone. I hope you enjoyed it as much I have enjoyed creating it.