Vegetable Barley Soup

Nomtown.  This is just a perfect chicken-noodle replacement; sweet and a little salty, with nice chewy barley and delicious veggie chunks.  You could mix up a lot of things in this soup and it would still be excellent, but I have to say, this version is pretty awesome.

Notes: Used homemade chicken stock, tastytown.  Pretty standard, although I might use more barley next time; it wasn't as big a player as I expected.

zuppa

Eggnog!

This was TOTALLY WORTH IT.  100% worth it.  So.  Delicious.

Notes: Beat eggs separately and it worked out fine, kind of pretty with the foam on top.  Definitely grate the nutmeg on top.  Brandy & rum = EXCELLENCE.  Make this, it made me feel extremely pleasant.

NOG
Tasty-looking variations

Roasted Acorn Squash Soup

This was good, but not outstanding compared to other soups.  As good a use as any for acorn squash, I suppose.

Notes: definitely needed more ginger and sage than called for, a lot.  Just kept adding those and salt until it tasted good.

acorn?

Ultrathin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These were supposed to be super lacy and light, but I guess I didn't flatten them enough, or leave them out long enough--they turned out crispy but not a lot thinner than I originally spread them.  However, they were delicious--I'm usually a soft chocolate chip cookie kind of gal, but I really liked these.  They're big, and they're perfect for dipping in a glass of milk.  Nom!

crunch

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties

NOM cookies.  These are crispy and salty and sweet and suuuuper tasty.  Yes please.

Notes: When you get to the cooking stage, this will work out much better if you let the dough temperature come up a little bit before slicing or rolling in sugar; the sugar won't stick if it's too cold (and you definitely want the sugar to stick!), and slicing while still frozen makes it difficult to keep the cookies in the right shape before baking.  Also this dough is nomtown.

all day and allll night

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Lots of variations here--I only did one, with a graham cracker crust, cut into bars, and regular swirled into pumpkin.  All of the options below look like they'd be worth trying :)  Different kinds of crusts, etc.

Notes: none, followed the recipe pretty closely!

swirly bars

king arthur basics
another basic, all-pumpkin
all-pumpkin bars, neufchatel
two versions, both look great!
pretty swirl

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips

Made these puppies when a craving struck.  Worth it!  A nice peanut butter cookie, and the sugar on the outside is a good textural element--plus big chocolate chips inside, nom.  A pleasant snack, I think I ate six in one evening.

Notes: Use non-hippy peanut butter for the texture to come out right.  Didn't have peanut butter chips, subbed extra chocolate, wouldn't throw them on the ground.  Also next time use chunky pb, would be delish.  Made a ton of smallish cookies, probably about 35.

just eat em

Chocolate-Mint Brownies

Mom's favorite kind--a fudgy brownie with a thin layer of mint frosting, covered by a thin crunchy coating of chocolate.  These were extremely tasty, and just right for the season.

Notes: Used this brownie recipe, slightly different, since I didn't have any unsweetened chocolate on hand.  Any fudgy brownie will do.  Make sure to use foil or parchment so you can get brownies out of pan in one layer; frost and do chocolate layer while still in the pan to get the edges covered.  Frosting needs maybe a T more cream than called for.  I'd use darker chocolate for the top, think it would be tastier, and make sure to spread it really thin.  Store in fridge for maximum tastiness.

mom may be picky, but when this is the result it's hard to complain

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

These are kind of a lot of work, and definitely messy because of the cheese inside.  But!  They are pretty delicious.  Really liked the addition of herbs in the gnocchi themselves.  WAY not enough flour in the recipe, they were super sticky and impossible to roll out even after the addition of quite a little bit of flour.  So I think I'll stick to Mimmo's recipe overall--not worth the extra trouble, just make a great sauce.

Speaking of great sauces, eating these with some butternut puree with garlic and sage was good but not great--too much squash involved, I think.  Might just do my favorite brown butter with sage instead.  The puree was nice and would have been good with some pork or something.  Just not a great pairing.

Family loves these--and as long as you don't get so fancypants, they really aren't that hard to make.  Despite Mimmo's insistence on doing everything quickly so they're still hot, rolling them with fingers to make the right shape, and not mixing too much once the potatoes are riced, these came out soft and pillowy and delicious.  Forgiving!

ganokki?
puree

Applesauce

Made me a shit-ton of awesome applesauce!  And froze it for later.  Soooo tastyyyy.  The simplest thing in the world: cut up some apples, put them in a pot, just cover with water, add in a teeny bit of sugar and a dash of cinnamon, and you got yourself some nomsauce.  Food mill afterwards makes the nicest texture, and bonus, you don't have to peel them!

Such a lovely pink color with little flecks in it.  Freezes beautifully.  Jar up some o this stuff and eat through winter!  Hooray!

Classic Apple Pie

This.  Was.  Fabulous.

I just have to take a second to complain about baking with apples.  All these recipes say you need firm, tart, green apples like Granny Smith.  But I like using the ones from the market.  They are a little grainy, sure, but they are delicious!  I don't get it.

Anyway, this pie was fabulous.  Did an all-butter crust--I've never had to fight one so hard in my life!--but it worked out and was delicious.  Popped in the apples with sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and let them sweat; added flour for a less liquidy filling; baked it!  NOT for two hours, for heaven's sake.  One was plenty!  NOM PIE

NOM NOM PIEEEEE

Lemon-Pepper Vinaigrette, and Caesar

This is a nice lemon-based salad dressing--a nice change of pace from our usual vinegar, especially for that goofball Sam.  Would like to try the Caesar variation sometime.  Ate this on spinach, nom nom.

et tu?

Perfect Roast Chicken and Pan Sauce

My first roast chicken!  I was scared.  But there's no need to be!  I can totally do this.

Very simple method for roasting a chicken.  Salt it and put it in a hot oven for an hour.  I had two five-pound birds--smaller is apparently better--but they cooked nicely.  A little dry in the breast, but actually very nice overall.  Next time I'd try butterflying it to get more even cooking?

One with lemons and one with an onion--prefer that.  Skin did get nice and crispy but flabbed out during the resting period--look into throwing it back in at high heat to re-crisp.  Put carrots and onions underneath the birds and they got beautifully soft and melty, then threw them in the pan to make the sauce--maybe next time don't do that, as the sauce got a little muddled-flavored.  Bottom line: nice work, you made a chicken!

chickennnnnn
sauuuuuceeeee

plus some mashed potatoes--sort of lost my mind in the pre-dinner rush and put in way too much milk, and then burned the butter.  Doh.  So try these again, I bet they're delicious!  But they were still pretty good, as mashed potatoes are wont to be.

potatoeeeeeees

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Loved this!  Totally and completely delicious.  Tastes like bright, wonderful carrots, and the cumin adds an exotic, wonderful touch--definitely serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top.  Didn't have cumin seeds so just sprinkled on some ground stuff; I bet the toasted stuff would be even better.  Seriously delicious.

cumin makes me delicious

Three Sisters Chowder

A thick soup based on the Native three sisters--corn, beans and squash.  Add in some potatoes and sage, and you've got yourself a soup!

This was nice and filling, and plenty healthy.  But the flavors didn't really shine in any particular way.  I'd add more sage next time, could hardly taste it; and I added just a pinch of red pepper flakes for my spice-averse family.  This would have been nice to leave a bit chunky.  Very easy soup, comes together in about an hour.

chowdah eh?

Charred Brussels Sprouts with Warm Grapes

An actual recipe adaptation!  Of my own!  Perfect for my HUNDRETH POST!

Brussel sprout recipe and technique come from Kenji--the man is a genius.  Used some bacon fat from the freezer (only a little weird, right?), popped the sprouties in, let them get charred and delicious.  THEN, stirred in some grapes for a minute or two over low heat, just so they had time to get warm--served on top of some couscous with parmesan stirred in, for a salty element.  As dad put it, a very pleasing combination of tastes and textures--sweet, salty, and bitter, and char.  A success!

sprout!  grow!
another delicious-looking sprouts recipe

Caramelized Onion, Mushroom, and Goat Cheese Galette

Ohhhh my.  This one.  Is really, really good.  Not even hard--a few components, sure, but make the pie crust ahead of time and it's no big deal.  This is the way I like to eat!  Flaky pastry, lovely flavors inside, beautiful presentation.  Eat this!

I also made another one of these, with some pizza-like stuff inside it--tomatoes, zucchini, some other stuff.  Put some eggs on top in the last few minutes, which was not timed right but was a fun experiment--can do better next time!

Oh The French.  Good work, mes amis.

why are onions so delicioussss

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Beet Greens

This was extremely delicious!  Really bright, wonderful flavors.  Even Sam-I-Am, Mr. I Don't Like Vinegar, liked this.  Not much more to say--really liked it, would eat it all the time!

beets.  are.  the.  best!

Red Kuri Soup

Couldn't find a little sweet potimarron, so I did the butternut and chestnut variation--very nice.  Don't need any veggie stock or cream, which is kind of nice--used plenty of leeks, and the squash wasn't too hard to peel because it was nice and ripe!  Just simmer it up and then puree.  Plenty of salt, little bit of nutmeg and pepper.  Taste as you go!

As for toppings--tart apple is really nice.  If you do walnuts, toast them and cut 'em up small.

This is a nice, not-too-crazy soup for a weeknight.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.

TO FIND: Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan, p. ??

Banana Bread/Cake

Pioneer Woman's banana bread.  The woman hates bananas and this reflects that--it's light and tasty, but not really what I think of when I think of banana bread.  I added in some walnuts, and sprinkled the top with brown sugar and walnut chunks, baked in two bread pans.  Fluffy and satisfying, as far as it goes!

butter? check.

Simple Sauteed Cauliflower

A nice side of cauliflower, quick.  Just sauteed it in olive oil and salt, squeezed some lemon juice on top.  Nice to let it get brown and crispy.  I think roasted would be even nicer, but this is quick!

mm.

Cauliflower Soup

This has really nice subtle flavor, although apparently it caused some serious, um, digestion issues in the family.  Make sure to puree it smooth (but watch out for the blender--we had serious blender-explosion problems, Sam and I!)  Dorie, once again, knows her shit.  Drizzled some walnut oil on top, so tasty.  Also tried Parmesan, too gloopy.

TO FIND: Around My French Table, Dorie Greenspan, p ??

Acorn Squash Mousse-Soup

This was OUTRAGEOUSLY good.  Really light and pleasant, soooo tasty because of the brown butter--not exactly health food, and so beautiful-tasting it was almost a dessert.  I hardly thinned it at all, and consequently it didn't go very far, only four relatively light servings--it was so tasty this way though.  Didn't have milk solids, didn't miss them; didn't strain any of the lovely brown bits out, don't know why you would!

Really liked the maple syrup yogurt on top, was a wonderful complement.  Num num.

just eat it

Caramel Butterscotch Pudding

Wow!  Forgot how easy pudding is.  Whip up some caramel, throw some cornstach, sugar and milk in a pot, whisk it together and add some egg yolks--easy as, um, pudding.  This was a little achingly sweet for me, but I think with some whipped cream it would be really nice.

luscious.

Eggplant and Gouda Tartine

This is an excellent example of how great simple food can be.  A little messy to eat, but super, super delicious.  I can see how the smoked gouda would be nice--but even with normal gouda it was lovely.  I'd eat this little dressed tomato bit by itself--white vinegar is a yes!

Done a few of these sort of composed open-faced sandwiches recently--pesto or tapenade, a bit of cheese, tomato, and possibly a poached egg?!  Always pleasant.  Nom nom.

sammmmmmich

Vegan Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts

Nom nom--this is really good, despite its veganness!  Nice and moist, really lovely flavor.  Definitely add some walnuts on top there for crunch and contrast.  Didn't have all the spices at Allie's so I just threw some in there, added in some ginger, do what you feel like.  Also subbed in honey for maple syrup, worked just fine, although I'm sure the maple flavor would be a nice touch.

Normally I like to futz around until I find the perfect recipe, but I think I might be sticking with this one.  Hooray!

I will never let pumpkin leave me!

Ravioli with An Egg, plus some Browned Sage Butter

Back to the blog with a showstopper!  This recipe is gorgeous and definitely going to wow people.  Try to get pretty orange-yolked eggs for a nice effect.  These do look kind of funny because the pasta vacuums in so you can see the circle of the yolk.

Pasta dough was fine, would be really nice to have a pasta roller though.  Kind of a pain to roll out by hand.  Took a little while to get the hang of assembly, but the basic idea is that you should make sure the pasta square is big enough to hold the thing, at least 4.5" square.  Just moisten the edges--water would be fine, no need for egg whites?  Then lift the sides and cup when you're sealing so that you don't have to stretch the top piece of pasta.  Do the filling on top of parchment, easier to move it.

The sage brown butter was awesome.  I'd eat this on pastas all day long!  There is absolutely no need for so much of it, though--one stick of butter would probably be perfectly adequate.

Overall, YUM.  Definitely a project--took me most of the afternoon, though I could do it faster next time--but worth it for a special occasion, like getting back together with all my favorite Pawnlings :)

Butter!  Eggs!  My life!

No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread

Super easy, super tasty.  Just need the right kind of pot!

Notes: Left it for 24 hours, flavor was great.  The ceramic pot does not work so well, the bottom burned and stuck before the bread was really done; look for another option.  Did it from cold oven, 30 minutes high and 30 at 390F, and it was done before then but that might be the pot.  Tasty and good!

http://smarterfitter.com/blog/2009/5/10/100-whole-wheat-no-knead-bread.html#comments

Sabra Knockoff Hummus

This is the one I've been waiting for!  Here it is.  Super-creamy, awesome-tasting, stick-my-face-in-it hummus.  Super easy, especially if you already have a batch of frozen chickpeas :)

Notes: You could even use less than 2 cups chickpeas, it was even creamier with maybe 1/2 cup left to go, but then it's basically tahini and you're getting less beans.  Food processor is fine.  The key is to just process this to oblivion.  Just be patient, it will smooth out and be beautiful.

hummusoneverything

Cardamom Coffee Cake

This is THE BEST coffee cake, especially on the first day it's baked.  Moist and rich, the cardamom adds a really lovely undertone that you probably wouldn't notice unless you knew it was there.  This is my go-to.

Notes: Have made this several times in the absence of a bundt pan; a 9x9 brownie pan works fine if you halve the recipe.  Do the filling in one layer, so two layers of batter, much easier on this scale.  Buttermilk was milk+lemon juice.  Yumtown.

TO FIND: Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen, p.

Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies

These were not as classic and fudgy as I had hoped.  The brownie underneath was just kind of dry.  This might be because I forgot to add half the flour until after I had separated into pans, so they did get mixed a bunch, but I don't really think that was the problem.  Look for another version, cause I love me some cheesecake brownies!

sadbrownie:(

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

In a word, disappointing.  I love me some rhubarb pie and this just kind of mucked it up for me.  These flavors are meant to shine on their own!  Let them shine, pie!

Notes: Used CI crust, which I love, and 3 disposable pie tins used up a double recipe of both.  Oh and hell to the no on the lattice top.  I ain't got time for that bullshit.

sadpie.

White Lasagna with Asparagus and Mushrooms (and peas)

This was... not great.  It was edible and I ate it, but I wasn't excited about it.  Not what I pictured: a gooey, cheesy, soft and delicious lasagna with some nummy crunchy fresh veggies inside.  Kind of dry, and kind of boring-tasting.

Notes: I fudged on the veggie quantities a bit; less mushrooms, added a good layer of fresh peas.  The bechamel was really thick and difficult to spread, and that made it hard to cover everything, contributing to dryness.  Other than that, this was my first lasagna, and it was just kind of fussy.  I think I'd prefer to just make pasta, alfredo sauce, and throw in the fresh veg with some parm.  That's just more my style.

sadface.

Shaved Asparagus Salad

LOVE. this.  So fresh, crunchy, and bright!  Num num!

Notes: Used (untoasted) walnuts instead of pine nuts, liked it a lot, either works.  These proportions are just right.  A y-peeler would be best since with a normal one a lot of the asparagus ends up not getting shaved; but you can always just dip them in dressing and eat them!  Not a tragedy.

exciting!  salad!

No-Knead Focaccia

First successful no-knead bread!  This is extremely easy.  Came out tasting good, but the crust was kind of tough; not sure if it was overcooked, if it was because I brushed a lot of oil on it, or something else.  But pleasing for sandwiches and as a delivery vehicle for hummus!

Notes: Dough is extremely wet and sticky when spreading it into the baking pan, but if you flour the outside/top/your hands it's much easier.  Use less oil.  And I made my own Italian seasoning with some minced garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Pretty good but since I don't really eat a lot of Italian, I'd try some more Mediterranean spices next time (cumin, etc).  Dimples didn't really stick but who cares?  Eat bread, you'll forget all about it!

bread!

Pamplemousse Punitions

Sugar cookies with grapefruit zest in them.  Never made it to the oven, mostly because I am sort of unenthused about grapefruit.  But the dough made a good snack, with a little tingliness from the zest.

punishment?  i think not.

Rhubarb Cardamom Lime Muffins

YES.  EAT THE SHIT OUT OF THESE MUFFINS.  THAT IS ALL.

Notes: don't skip the crumb topping even though it seems fussy, although I used less than a third of it I'd say and it was plenty.  Cut the rhubarb into relatively small pieces, smaller than pie, it's nice to have them throughout the muffin and they're pretty mushy.  Batter is thick until rhubarb is added so let it macerate and get juicy for a while.  These puff up nice and round.  And are BEAUTIFUL.  And DELICIOUS.  EAT THEM ARRRRRR preferably while nice and warm.  Only unusual ingredient is lime (zest).

ARRRRRRRRmuffin

Best Cocoa Brownies

Yup I'd say yes.  I pretty much never met a brownie I didn't like but this is a mighty fine one!  And with just cocoa, too.  Will wonders never cease.

Notes: No walnuts please and thank you.  This is a weird recipe consistency-wise.  It's grainy when it comes off the double boiler, which is fine, don't wait for the sugar to dissolve--it smooths out with eggs and flour.  Beat it good.  And spread it in the shape it's going to end up in.  Underbake for awesomeness, and store in the fridge.  Or eat the whole pan in less than a day, like I did.  (Don't be like me--maybe?)

never met one i didn't like

Pink Lady Cake

Making and eating this cake was a good lesson about simplicity--as in, stick with it.  This was good, but ultimately I think too much was going on, and I'd rather have eaten a plainer cake.  Filled with lemon curd and frosted with 2/3 of the cream cheese frosting, this was just kind of heavy for my taste.  Puts me in the mood to make that beautiful lemon cake I've been looking at for a while now.

Notes: Part of the problem definitely could have been that I didn't have enough strawberries, so I used a cup of puree and 1/2 cup water--so the cake ended up being a little wet and dense.  The flavor was good, but it was kind of overwhelmed by the heavy cream cheese frosting and the lemon curd filling.  Might be better on its own, actually.

then again i never turn down cake

Pecan Sandies

Apparently Pecan Sandies are a thing?  I don't know.  I just wanted some kind of crumbly cookies with pecans in them, and these didn't really satisfy that requirement--not crumbly, more hard-tack-y.  Not appealing, I know.  Notwithstanding, I ate four of them today and I'm probably gonna have some more in a bit.  They fill you up.  You know what?  Don't make these again.  I'm looking at what I wrote and obviously I'm trying really hard to sound nice about them, but the truth is there are many better ways to eat a bunch of calories.  Next time, make a pie.

sadcookie

Marcella Hazan's Famous Tomato Sauce

This is the simplest marinara there could possibly be, which means it's just begging to be played with.  For the first time round, I stuck to the recipe except I added a clove of garlic.  Left the soft beautiful onion in there, nom nom.  It didn't blow me away but was a perfectly good pasta sauce, perhaps because I'm just using Costco tomatoes (and they're diced?).  Satisfying and tomatoey, and not complicated--what could be bad about that?

saucy

Roasted Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

Made this with the glut of strawberries I have.  A fine way to use them up!  Did this with balsamic and I have to say, I've been eating this nonstop with some lovely soft cheese and bread, feeling very French.  The vinegar definitely adds an interesting savory touch, it's more complex than normal strawberry jam, which I like.  Yes, it's a lot of jam to use up in a week, but it's almost a week and a half now and it seems fine to me?  If it comes down to it, I'm not above eating with a spoon.

jammin

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart (Quiche)

Made this for Karmia dinner, came out lovely, just like any quiche worked out just fine.  Good flavors together--and I hardly missed the cheese :)

Can't quite get the hang of all-butter pastry dough.  Frustrating.

a tart for a... lovely person!

Maple Almond Butter Cookies

These are... a little weird.  But good.  But weird.  Okay, really what they are is hippie cookies, which have their time and place.  I think this would depend heavily on what kind of almond butter you're using; mine was Trader Joe's chunky unsalted, which I wasn't crazy about eating and was improved in cookie form (but what isn't?!).

Notes: didn't have any almonds but the butter was chunky, so that was nice.  I added a little bit of salt because the butter had no salt, and that was a good move.  I got 13 cookies of the size I wanted, which is good.  The first batch didn't look done after 10 minutes so I left them in and they got a kind of crumbly, but the second batch I took out at 10 minutes and that was better, they were soft and chewy and yum.

when is butter a bad thing again?

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

Contrary to popular opinion over at Smitten Kitchen, these are not just a vehicle for cream cheese, although the cream cheese certainly doesn't hurt.  I ate fully half of these without frosting and didn't regret it one bit.  Moist and filling, though not too heavy.  Nom nom.

Notes: I used walnuts, no raisins, that's the way I like it.  Halved it, no troubles.  Seemed a little oily to me, maybe cut down on the oil a bit--but they were nice and moist.  Grate the carrots half on the bigger grate, half on the smaller, nice textural contrast.  Flat on top, not domed, which is right for this kind of thing I think.

eat your... veggies?

Salted Fudge Brownies

chocolatefest

Leek and Artichoke Bread Pudding

One word for this: YES.

Sweet and salty and filling and delicious all around.  Eat it up, yum yum.  Used challah for the base and, um, it was awesome.

Notes: took a lot longer to caramelize the leeks than I thought or was suggested.  Just let them go until they're soft at least.  Didn't have lemons to zest so I skipped it, and although I think it would have been nice I didn't miss it.

murrr

Mango Quickbread

Roasted Broccoli

Grapefruit-Vanilla Curd

Brown Butter Winter Citrus Pancakes

panpake

Crab, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Beet Risotto

YUMMMMM.  I love beets, I love risotto.  This combines the two.  I am pleased.  And what's everyone on about with the leftovers being no good?  I mean sure, the texture isn't great, but cold out of the fridge I ate this for two meals straight, and I liked it.

Notes: Halved it and it worked great.  Eyeballed the cheese, more is better I say!  This risotto technique seems to be right; sweat onions, toast the rice, wine first, then broth till done, beets and cheese at the end.

Beet Risotto

Hollandaise Sauce

With lovely fresh pan-boiled asparagus OM NOM NOM

Yeah this.  Is awesome.  So much lighter and cleaner and tastier than restaurant versions, probably because it was ultra-fresh.  Even by the time I was finished eating it it was starting to glump up--so eat it right away!  I also saw suggestions that it can be held in a dish full of hot water.  Or... you could just eat it.

Notes: This is tricky, to be sure.  I 1/3'd the recipe because it was just me, and that was the right amount to eat but it was awfully tricky to do in this small amount.  I don't know if it's worth making more and just wasting it, but this is hard.  The main thing is to use a small bowl because whisking just one egg yolk is hard in a big bowl; I also think temperature regulation would be easier with more eggs.  While whisking in the butter I had a hard time keeping it at an appropriate temperature; can't be too hot or it will break, but if it's not hot then the butter won't melt in.  Check out alternate methods like doing this in the blender.  The proportions in this recipe are just right, follow them closely, with perhaps a little more lemon juice (I like it lemony).

yup

Cinnamon Roll Muffins

These... were not a success.

The biggest problem was that there was too much topping, and it all melted and spread out on top of the muffin tin and burned.  NO GOOD.  It also seemed like the muffins got all brown on the sides before they were done, so they were tough even without the burned caramely stuff.  I don't really know how to fix this other than to stir the topping in to the muffins more, and use cupcake papers, but even that seems doubtful... or cook them at a lower temp and for less time?  Unclear.  And sad, because I was excited about this.

:(

Maple Pecan Pancake Muffins

So... these are pretty awesome.  I was in a rush and didn't get all the temperatures exactly right, and I should have sifted the dry ingredients to get it to have a lighter texture, and I should have stirred it less... but still.  Nice and moist, especially because of the maple syrup, and I loved having the chunky little pecan bits in there.  These taste like a pancake.  Which is AWESOME.

Notes: Do brown the butter first and let it cool.  And just drizzle the maple syrup right on the top, trying not to get any between the paper and the pan or it will stick and tear the wrapper when you try to take it out.  If you drizzle and then add the pecan it looks prettier.  I made a double batch and it was 36 muffins plus I tried to make a little cake with the leftovers in a Pyrex dish, since I was in a hurry, but because Michael doesn't know what it looks like when a cake is cooked it was a FAILURE.  I laughed.  So one batch probably makes about 20 muffins... wow.

breakfast? questionable... but who cares?

French Lemon Yogurt Cake

The search for the perfect lemon cake continues.  Sigh.

I must say, this one is pretty good; the lovely tang from the yogurt comes through, and this syrup actually did mostly what it was supposed to, although it didn't sink all the way in.  I baked it too long (dang it) but it's still pretty tasty, with a nice texture and good flavor (I also skipped the zest because my lemons were looking a little old).  Maybe just because I overbaked, it seemed a little dry and could have been lighter.  Hard to say.  But a solid contender in the long lineup!

good for stuffing in your face

Leeks Confit

My love affair with the leek continues, and my love for the leek only grows with time and new recipes.  This is AWESOME.  Probably mostly because of the butter, let's be honest, but really--this is awesome.  Eat it on little crostini or spread on a sandwich with havarti, or in pasta, or JUST EAT IT WITH A SPOON.  So.  Good.

Notes: I halved it and did it for just over an hour and some bits were crispy at that point, which isn't ideal; you want them to be nice and soft and melty.  The ones on the edges were the ones that got brown, so stir often, probably more like every 10 minutes.  I do like it when they're nicely caramelized so doing this on the long end of the time is good.  Just watch it, you can't really walk away.

EAT ME

Homemade Wheat Thins

Okay so these are good, and I like eating them, and it's nice that you can decide for yourself how thin and how salty and how crispy they are... but let's face it, Wheat Thins does a pretty good job of making those choices for you.  I have to say, this is possibly the first time I have been defeated in the kitchen with little hope of coming back from behind and triumphing next time.  The only hope comes, surprisingly, from Mira, who looked up from her silent juice-making to suggest that where I could distinguish myself is in the flavorings, so I topped some of them with grated parmesan and that was pretty darn tasty.  Think about what mix-ins would be good here!  (Mushroom chips?!?)

Notes: it's tricky to get them to just the right stage of doneness; too little and they are kinda chewy, too much and they are slightly burnt.  I rolled them thinner than Wheat Thins and I'd think about starting to take them out around 6 minutes.  Salt fairly heavily on top; I'd actually up the salt in the recipe if I did it again.  Think of this like a pie crust recipe, the procedure is the same, you don't want to work the dough too much.  I forgot the vanilla and they were already a little sweet, I don't know why you'd want it?

The best part is you get to eat them with as much cheese as you want

Roasted Vegetable Ragu

This is DELISH and chock full of good vegetables.  Chop up the veggies as small as you like, personally I liked the big chunks.  It's a confusing recipe a little bit with the adding the liquid to the roasting pan; I just transferred to a baking dish at that point.  I'd suggest getting the veggies really roasted before adding the liquid but it's a matter of preference.  Served over polenta (using the recipe from the pear and gorgonzola recipe), this is really a winner and a stunning dish to serve.

Saucetime

Individual Flourless Chocolate Cheesecakes

Similar in concept to a cheesecake brownie, but the base is intense flourless chocolate cake--yes please.  Halved this and it made 9 cupcake-sized individual guys.  Delish, and perfect to satisfy the intense chocolate craving I was having!  The recipe is for a cake but really the muffin size was great.

Notes: The chocolate batter is really a mousse, and it starts to set fairly quickly after mixing, so if you want it to be swirled with the cheesecake you have to work fast (especially if doing this cupcake version).  But really I preferred the ones with the cheesecake just dropped in the middle, no swirling--the layers are more distinct, and you get a bigger bite of cheesecake with it.  Baked about 22 minutes, then cooled and chilled.  Make sure to butter (and probably flour/dust with cocoa) the muffin cups if you want them to come out perfectly.  I wouldn't use cupcake wrappers because I have a feeling these would stick to them pretty hardcore.

NOM

Chai-Spiced Pancakes

Num!  If you're going to make pancakes from scratch might as well make them exciting, am I right?  These are meh by themselves but when buttered and maple syruped they are marvelous--warm and nutty in your mouth, just like a good chai latte.

Notes: make the tea strong, let it steep for a while.  Mine could have used more chai flavor.  Otherwise pretty standard.

Griddle me

Lemon Loaf Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Finally--a success with a lemon cake!  Light and fluffy and moist, and importantly, not too sweet..  Had lent out my loaf pan so used a pie plate instead, worked fine although I did want to eat thick bread slices of it.  Cream cheese glaze = YES.  Just mixed it up according to what looked good; equal butter and cream cheese, a little vanilla, a little sugar.

Notes: none!  This is a super easy, super standard recipe.  Nothing to see here, move along, to cake, preferably.

tumtime

Blood Oranges in Syrup with Toasted Almonds

Served as dessert with my meze dinner party--a big success.  Light and refreshing at the end of a meal, and a lovely combination of flavors.  I also whipped up some lightly sweetened whipped cream to go on top, and added a dash of orange water to that too--very nice.  You don't really need that much syrup since the oranges are so lovely on their own; I used six oranges and probably need the amount of syrup called for, which is for 4 oranges.

ahhh.

Falafel

As a former member of Testimony would say, OHMYGERD.  These are awesome.  It's hard to believe you can make them at home, and when you put that sandwich together--pita pocket stuffed with tomatoes, Napa cabbage, falafel and tzatziki, you are just so proud of your dang self you could die right there and then.  They are crispy and spicy and flavorful and warm and just plain DELICIOUS.

Notes:  Do use dried chickpeas, not canned.  Use on the upper end of the cayenne for a great kick.  I processed everything but the chickpeas down first, since I wanted those bits smaller, then added the chickpeas and pulsed till it was a nice smallishly chunky texture.  Then add the baking soda and flour.  I liked that these were chunky in the end but they could be processed further to be less crunchy.  Refrigeration for a day or two was not a problem.

When frying, proper temperature is key; it really is best right at 375, though it's tricky to maintain.  Canola oil worked great.  They don't require much prodding but do give them a stir, and they're done quickly.  When done to perfection they will not be as brown as you think they should be; light brown with darker brown crispy bits.  YUM.

MUNCH

Pita Bread

So here was the true success in pitaland.  Somehow Deb's recipes always come out just right.  When directions are carefully followed, these are light and fluffy, puff beautifully, and store well in a plastic bag in the fridge (and hopefully the freezer too, with wax paper in between--we'll see)!  I was scared because of the hardness of the previous pita recipe I made, so I stuck with white flour only here, and although they were good I missed that wheat flavor so I'd sub in some wheat flour next time.  It's also nice that there's no kneading required after the first round, which I did in the mixer anyways, so it's a lot easier and less time-consuming.  Heat them up in a hot oven for less than a minute, and keep a warm plate ready to put them on.

Notes: Used about 2.5 tsp dry active yeast as a sub for instant, worked great.  Did this in the stand mixer, with KA flour you only need 14 oz, plus I added more as I went along so it wasn't too sticky.  But don't overdo it, the second batch where I restrained myself on the flour so the dough was scarily sticky was much puffier.  Knead for 10 minutes on speed 2.  Rising in the fridge for between 8 and 12 hours worked just fine, and didn't overpuff.

Pita-shaping technique: this is important.  Do small ones, I made 12 with this recipe and that was a good amount, otherwise it's difficult to get them thin enough without being too big to transfer to the baking sheet easily and effectively.  Dust each hunk with flour, shape into a ball, then on a floured surface with floured hands push down into a disk, rotating so it doesn't stick.  Let sit for 20 min under oiled plastic, then roll out on a floured surface with floured pin, rotating so it doesn't stick, until it's very thin, perhaps 1/8".  Let sit for 10 min.  Gently lift pita onto a cutting board.  I'm not sure what she's on about with the moisture level and spritzing, my spastic experiments (sans true spritzing bottle, caveat) indicated that this was not a big factor.  I think just don't use too much flour when making the dough and you're good to go.

Oven temp and regulation: this is also important!  When I didn't follow these instructions my pita didn't puff.  They were good but not the pockety goodness I have come to know and love.  Heat oven to 475 early on, and keep baking sheet in there on the lowest rack while it's heating.  When ready to bake pita, quickly open the oven, pull out the baking sheet, flip two pita at a time onto the sheet from the cutting board, and close the oven.  It shouldn't take more than 5 seconds if you've got it down.  Bake for no more than 3 minutes, and don't open the oven door before that.  Quickly wrap warm pita in kitchen towel and then into paper bag.  Then LET THE OVEN REHEAT for AT LEAST 5 minutes between batches.

pitapitapita

Meze Dinner Party

Last night had the old Testimony freshmen (minus Grace) over for dinner and went full throttle on the Mediterranean theme.  Falafel and accompaniments, so Israeli/Lebanese, but also a little Greek--not totally authentic but who cares because it was TOTALLY DELICIOUS.  The spread:

Pita
Pita chips
Falafel
Hummus
Pureed Beet Salad
Baba Ganoush
Tzatziki
Yogurt Cheese
Roasted Red Peppers with Feta
Home-cured Olives

Napa cabbage
Tomatoes
Cucumbers

Blood Oranges in syrup with Slivered Almonds

Pureed Beet Salad

Not sure why this is called a salad; it's like a beet version of hummus.  Um, yes please.  This is really very pleasant, sort of unexpectedly given the weird ingredients.  It's substantial and sweet and a little vinegary and just basically super nummy.  This was the only item to be absolutely devoured by everyone; there was hardly any left, and everyone commented on how good it was.

Notes: I pretty much followed the directions exactly, except I had a little under the requested amount of beets.  I'd go full throttle on the beets next time as their flavor is not the primary one.  Hold back a little on the vinegar and use at least 1 tb less oil than called for.  1 small slice of stale crusty bread.

TO FIND: "World Vegetarian", by Madhur Jaffrey, pg. 140

Hummus

Made this twice now, from two different recipes; the basic ingredients are always the same, it's just a question of ratios.  I like the Moosewood Cookbook version, but it needed a bit of olive oil to smooth things out.  Just keep running that food processor until you have serious puree.  Hummus is NOM in my mouth.

Notes: personal preference is to go light on the tahini and heavy on the lemon juice and garlic.  Also cumin is a definite yes, and cayenne depending on the spice level of the rest of the meal.  Fresh parsley is definitely worth it, and scallions are really nice.  When done right, this just tastes creamy and light and good and perfect for a snack or combining with other deliciousness.

TO FIND: "Moosewood Cookbook", by Mollie Katzen, pg. 100
To try: Roasted Garlic Hummus, roasted red pepper version!, this lovely smooth-looking version.

Hummus

Made this twice now, from two different recipes; the basic ingredients are always the same, it's just a question of ratios.  I like the Moosewood Cookbook version, but it needed a bit of olive oil to smooth things out.  Just keep running that food processor until you have serious puree.  Hummus is NOM in my mouth.

Notes: personal preference is to go light on the tahini and heavy on the lemon juice and garlic.  Also cumin is a definite yes, and cayenne depending on the spice level of the rest of the meal.  Fresh parsley is definitely worth it, and scallions are really nice.  When done right, this just tastes creamy and light and good and perfect for a snack or combining with other deliciousness.

TO FIND: "Moosewood Cookbook", by Mollie Katzen, pg. 100
To try: roasted garlic version, roasted red pepper version!

Pita Chips

UPDATE: Yeah so these were actually really hard.  I think the long cooking time was the killer.  BUT!  I cut up the less-hard ones and brushed olive oil on them and sprinkled with salt and baked at 375 for about 10 minutes (longer if pita is soft, presumably) and they came out crispy and delicious!  People enjoyed them.  Very crunchy.  Not sure it's worth it to make fresh pita just to turn it into chips, but as a saving grace for hard pita they were great!

Num!  This recipe is real good.  Used 1 cup of whole wheat and they were very nice indeed.  Not sure why they're supposed to be baked so long; other sites recommend a baking time of ~3 minutes, and these were certainly a little hard, more pita chip-y than put-falafel-in-me soft and pillowy.  But they puffed up beautifully!  Such a marvelous mystery.  And tasty too :)

TO FIND: "Moosewood Cookbook," by Mollie Katzen, pg. 113

Lemon Cornmeal Breakfast Cake

Num!  The only bad thing I have to say about this is that the frosting is a little sweet.  I don't know how to tone it down, but I'd like it to be more glaze and less a layer of sugar on top of my cake.  The cake itself is moist, tangy, light, and just right to eat in a nice little wedge for a snack.  Or, you know, breakfast.

Notes: Used whey from ricotta as a buttermilk sub and it worked fine, again.  Baked in a 9-inch cake pan, not a skillet, but it would be fun to use a skillet :)  Browned butter... is as awesome as I thought it would be.  The cake ends up flecked with lovely little bits of lemon zest and cornmeal and browned butter bits, and it looks very appealing as well as tasting delicious!  The recipe needs just about 1 normal-sized lemon.

Cakecakecake

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil

Made one serving of this and it was good.  Not sure it's worth the extra pot/work.  But good!

Pastatime!

Crusty Bread

A two-rise "artisan" loaf... just came out of the oven and I'm going to bed!  Will update with the end result tomorrow.  For now, the process:

Notes: I just did a third of it because I wanted just one loaf, which worked out beautifully, and I did a quarter of the flour as whole wheat.  A glug of olive oil, yes.  Measurements were a little difficult on this one, especially figuring out what to do with the yeast--I think mine is what they refer to as fast action, but I'm not really sure; I did about a teaspoon and a half, or 5g, of dry active yeast (for 1/3 recipe).  I really just need to get a bread book, all these different breads with different advice are too confusing.  Kneaded just about 10 minutes, marginally passed the windowpane test.  Rose just fine, an hour each time, plus the 15-minute pre-bake rise and just over 30 minutes in the oven.  The process is easy, it's actually very similar to the whole wheat loaf I made a few weeks ago so see how they compare?  I also did their strangely complicated loaf formation and I think I'll just stick to boules from now on, unless the result is obviously impacted in some way.  I must say it came out very pretty, with the flour and the nice slices on top.  Yay for bread, that's what I say.

UPDATE: results!  This was possibly the best loaf I have made yet.  The bread was soft and had a lovely crust; I guess the pouring-water-in steam bath idea works after all!  It didn't last super long, though, I guess it's unreasonable to expect it to last more than a week.  It was just the right kind of crustiness for eating with a meal.  Highly recommended.

Crusty Bread

Olive Oil Rosemary Bread

This was, in a word, not good.  The lack of salt was an absolute killer.  It was soft, the texture was good, but the fussiness of the baguettes plus the absolutely not good taste was not a winner.  I thought they would be crusty and they weren't; I only had a little bit of fresh rosemary so I used some dried, which was also a mistake, better to just leave it out.  All whole wheat flour is possibly not a good idea?  Need to do some experiments with this.  There have to be better all whole-wheat loaves out there.

Breadtime!

Meyer Lemon Curd

This was a second attempt at lemon curd!  I had a whole bunch of Meyer lemons this time, but honestly they were all pretty tart like regular lemons :(  Still, this came out beautifully.  It was lighter than my last version, more of a cream than a thicker, more pasty thing, probably because of the smaller proportion of eggs.  A little less lemony, too.  Anyway, as I suspected, lemon curd is pretty much awesome however it comes out.

Process: zest+sugar in double boiler, whisk in lemon juice and eggs, whisk over boiler until thickened, take off heat, strain out zest, stir in butter, chill.  CONSUME.

Curd

Meyer Lemon Pull-Apart Bread

To be honest, this made me sad.  Because it was so beautiful in the pictures, and it was such a work of art with all those layers, and working that zest/sugar mixture was making me absolutely drool.  AND I DIDN'T BAKE IT LONG ENOUGH, SO THE MIDDLE WAS GOOPY DOUGH = GIANT BOO.  Gave this to Allie to take up to Tahoe for the weekend--I hope she continues to bake it and it rights itself, but I have grave doubts that will happen :(

If this had gone according to plan, though, I think it would have been marvelous.  It had all the makings of greatness.  I was just impatient.  It was fun to pull it apart and the pieces that were done were delish... :(

Notes: I made the dough several hours ahead, then assembled the loaf the night before breakfast.  Don't be a dumbass and cut the strips the wrong way!  It was fine but why not just do it right, huh?  It's a lot of zesty mixture but it's good and worth it, don't be afraid.  Just be aware that if you do it this way you will need a long time to rise in the morning--an hour was not even close to sufficient.  And baking time will be long, (although I suspect their oven is low) so even though it's a pain in the ass just find a thermometer, and tent that sucker if/when it starts to brown too early.  As for the icing, I'd use it but make sure the cream cheese is soft and spreadable before stirring in the juice/powdered sugar--I didn't and it ended up looking like cottage cheese.  Not appetizing.  All around, basically a bringing-breakfast failure.  Lemon curd to the rescue!

To bread

Leek and Mushroom Risotto

A first attempt at risotto.  It was pretty good--the flavors were all there--but the process left the textures a little off.  I love risotto and view this as a recipe that can be improved to perfection!  (Also the parmesan on top is an absolute dream, do not omit this.)  Even half made too much, so I fried up little breadcrumb-covered patties the next day and the answer to that is YES.

Notes: Halved this and it was sort of difficult, because I used a big pot.  It doesn't need a big pot.  Even quarter it if it's just for yourself, cause leftovers while good are not an everyday sort of thing.

Technique to try next time: add in mushrooms/leeks at the end rather than leaving them in the whole time, they'll be crisper.  Do the wine first.  Toast the rice for a few minutes in the pan before adding liquid; and don't have the heat turned up so high.  This is going to take some refinement, I can see that...

To creaminess

Sweet Tart Dough

Dorie Greenspan's sweet pastry dough for tarts.  Can't be beat, and couldn't be easier.  Whir the dough together in the food processer, then press into the tart pan, freeze for half an hour, and bake.

Chocolate variety in the "Bonne Idee" is also perfection.  Just sub in a little cocoa powder.

TO FIND: "Around My French Table," by Dorie Greenspan, pg. 500.

Double Chocolate and Banana Tart

Made this alongside Dorie's lemon cream tart.  Very intense and very delicious.  Chocolate ganache over caramelized bananas in a chocolate tart shell, topped by more bananas.  Yes please.  I didn't do the apricot jam glaze because Roxy was obviously feeling very hesitant about it, but I'd do it next time.

Notes: none really.  It's a lot of moving pieces but none are really very complicated.  Just do the shell first and give it time; it has to be ready by the time the ganache is made.  Use Dorie's recipe for a chocolate tart shell, it was perfect.

TO FIND: "Around My French Table," by Dorie Greenspan, pg. 468.

Double Chocolate Mousse Cake

My first introduction to Dorie's new book, and quite a lovely one.  I prefer my chocolate cakes to be intense and dense, but this was as good a mousse cake as I've ever had.  I was impatient and rushing, and the textural contrast that was supposed to happen didn't really materialize; but that doesn't mean it wasn't good.  Also, get a springform pan, nincompoop!

TO FIND: "Around My French Table," by Dorie Greenspan, pg. 446.

Salmon and Tomatoes En Papillote

This is quite simply one of the most beautiful dishes I've ever put together, in all its glorious simplicity.  Roxanne and I did it for one of our Sunday cooking days, and I thought it was just magnificent.  We used tinfoil but for an elegant presentation use parchment.  I got lovely fresh salmon fillets and all the things layered in there--colors and textures--was a sight for sore winter eyes, especially since most of what I eat is singular veggies or soups or mashes of some kind.  Man.  I just can't get over how pretty it was.  Of course, it also tasted just wonderful.  Thanks, Dorie.

TO FIND: "Around My French Table," by Dorie Greenspan, pg. 302.

Swiss Chard Pancakes

Made these for dinner tonight looking for a way to use up some Swiss chard; frankly, I think I would have been better off steaming or sauteeing it.  These were kind of heavy and tasteless.  That sounds harsher than I'd like it to, I guess; it's not that they were terrible.  But I don't think I'd make them specifically again, although I have some in the freezer and I guess I'll see how I feel about them upon reheating.

General pancake notes: adjust the heat carefully.  On our stove at Idyllwild, medium is really plenty high.  Spread out the batter so they're thinner, it's much better that way.  Topped with sour cream, these were a perfectly passable meal.

TO FIND: "Around My French Table," by Dorie Greenspan, pg. 350.

Leek and Gruyere Souffle

Made last summer as a souffle-conquering exercise.  Turned out good, but a little watery; I can't help but think there is more flavor to be extracted here.  This does reheat well, though it doesn't re-puff.  Falls FAST after being taken out of the oven, but Mom and Sam didn't mind so much.  I dunno, this is fun, but it doesn't show off leeks to their best potential, which is kind of a shame.

TO FIND: "Cooking from the Farmer's Market", by Williams-Sonoma, pg. 142.

Zucchini-Feta Pancakes

I can't remember if I made these exact ones or not--I think I may have found a recipe for just straight-up zucchini pancakes online, but why not add some cheese?  In any case, these look like they're not too heavy with oil, a nice light way to have dinner.  Top with sour cream, yum.

TO FIND: "Cooking from the Farmer's Market", by Williams-Sonoma, pg. 110.

Baked Zucchini and Tomato Tian

Made this last summer at home, and boy was it good.  Just a lovely way to simply enjoy the flavors of the season, and so beautiful on the table in those layers.  Basically, saute some onions, put them on the bottom of a baking dish, and layer tomato and zucchini on top; bake until bubbling.  Gorgeous.

TO FIND: "Cooking from the Farmer's Market", by Williams-Sonoma, pg. 110.

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

One of the first things I cooked last summer at home; this was in regular rotation, everyone loved it.  Fresh herbs are best, if dried they're a little crunchy/chewy bit that's not entirely welcome; perhaps think about infusing olive oil if there isn't an option.  Plus fun urine times if you eat it a bunch!  An absolutely delicious way to eat this is next to the sauteed beet greens; just a little olive oil and minced garlic, and toss those puppies in there till they're wilted.  (Just try to dry them fully before popping them in the pan, otherwise the oil will splatter).  The flavors complement each other beautifully.

TO FIND:  "Cooking from the Farmer's Market", by Williams-Sonoma, pg. 89

Mushroom Bolognese

This is a veggie version of bolognese pasta sauce.  It's good; it's hearty and chunky, which I like.  It's a good staple to have around for a quick meal.  I wouldn't say that it's rapturous, but it really is a good recipe and something I was more than happy to eat for a while.  It's easy, too.  And frankly it's just fun to make your own pasta sauce and put it in that store-bought jar.

Notes: none that I can remember, I made it a while ago.  Pretty easy as I recall.

Saucetime

Mushroom Bourguinon

A veggie version of my beloved Boeuf Bourguinon.  Although it's probably best if you don't think of it that way, and think of it instead as a think, hearty mushroom stew that can be served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes or just scooped up with some thick bread (or over polenta?).  Definitely got better with time, and makes a lot so there's plenty to freeze.

Notes: I had 1 lb white button and 1 lb shiitake, which was fine though kind of a waste of shiitakes.  Forgot to add the flour (ie make a roux to thicken it) at the right time, so I just made one separately and added it; this may have contributed to needing all of the cornstarch at the end, but in any case it was fine.  Go easy on the pepper, I overdid it this time, but as always be generous with the salt.  I kind of liked it with the potatoes, especially in terms of leftovers, but they could definitely be taken out, and pearl onions would have been nice to add in any case.

Bottom line: this was just comforting and I liked it more and more as the week went on.  A keeper.

Mushroom Bourguinon

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay so I love Orangette and am pretty much willing to do whatever she says, which is why I made these cookies.  Also they sounded really appealing to me.  And I confess that at first I was disappointed; the batch I made straightaway (or maybe even the next morning) was not that exciting, and tasted like dry whole wheat rather than a cookie.  But oh, the wonders of the fridge; after 36 hours or so, the batch I made was exquisitely good, deep and nutty and I absolutely could not stop eating them.  I need to figure out a way to suspend this flavor so they can be freezer cookies and I can eat them all the time.  I was too afraid to try last time, because I wanted to eat them so badly.  These are from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain, which looks fascinating and great--so this is a mental note to myself to check it out.

Notes: White whole wheat flour is definitely the way to go here.  I chopped the chocolate myself, which is quickly becoming my favorite way to make chocolate chip cookies; the little bits made them beautiful as well as spreading out that lovely chocolate flavor.  Good straight from the oven or at room temp with tea or milk.  Age the dough, preferably at least 48 hours, for the love of all that is good and holy.  You won't regret it.

Sing a song of wheat and chocolate

Soft Snickerdoodles

A really good solid recipe for snickerdoodles.  What I like about it is that they're very soft and flat and you can just cram it right into your mouth and it tastes like all the things you want it to taste like: cinnamon and sugar and vanilla and butter.  Just right at any time.  I don't really like the more craggy sugar cookie style, where they're harder or even more chewy.  These melt in your mouth.  These are a staple.  And they couldn't be easier.

Notes: none!  This makes about 40 good-sized cookies.  Oh, and you don't need nearly that much cinnamon-sugar, half it and you'll be fine, although you can always eat the rest on toast :)

Doodlysnicker

Meyer Lemon Cake Cookies

These are basically little flat cakey things with a powdered sugar icing on top.  If that doesn't sound terribly appealing, that's because it isn't.  I dunno, just not my style of cookie; I mean I won't turn them down with a mug of tea, but it's not what I'd pick given a choice.  I did these because of all the lemon cookies I looked at I thought they would ship the best, and they probably will, they just don't taste that great; the lemon flavor is not nearly as strong as I wanted it to be.  Try a lemon cream cheese frosting and a more sugar cookie-like base next time.

Notes: Cookies don't taste of lemon at all, even though I doubled the lemon juice involved.  I doctored up the icing to be more lemony, skipping water and adding lemon juice, but it was still way too sweet.  Corn syrup helps to keep it the right consistency.

Lemon Cookies

Sweet and Salty Brownies

These are just as good as I was expecting them to be; that is to say, AMAZING.  Dense and fudgy and, yes, sweet and salty.  Not really so much of a pain in the butt, especially compared to the cake of the same name!, and totally worth it.  Totally totally.  And so pretty, especially with the flakes of sea salt and chunky sugar on top.

Notes: Didn't have a 9x13 so I made it in an 8x8 and an 8x6, which worked out fine but left fewer inside brownies without crusts, and also made the caramel situation a bit more complicated.  A bigger pan is better, that's all I'm sayin'.  Both the caramel and the batter came together pretty easily; assembly was another story.

Listen carefully: don't. overdo.  the. caramel.  It's not worth the trouble.  There will be extra, so just save it an eat it on ice cream or something--is that really such a terrible outcome?  Don't put too much brownie on the bottom layer, you want to make sure to have enough for the top (this trouble was exacerbated by the two pans).  Drizzle the caramel pretty much in the middle, and don't worry about having a solid layer.  Leave a good inch or more at the edges before dropping on the top layer; the caramel will spread out once brownie is on top, and it's really best if there's no caramel touching the edges.  It doesn't burn exactly, but it gets hard and chewy and it's just not what you're looking for.  The batter is thick and doesn't spread easily, so drop it on in small bits, and start at the edges to prevent caramel from spreading too much.

Took me almost an hour to bake these.  Not sure if that's because I'm a moron and I lined the whole pan with parchment paper instead of just the bottom--uh hello doofus--or what, but especially since I used the smaller pans it was very confusing.  Also could have had something to do with the caramel leaking out.  I got 28 3-4 bite brownies out of this, and they're so intense that I wouldn't have wanted them bigger.  And apparently they freeze well, although I wouldn't know.  *wipes mouth*

Despite mishaps and confusion, these are a chocolatey caramely bomb of goodness.  Eat 'em up.

Brownies Ho

Homemade Oreos

NOM!  Made these because I was dying to and also for care packages for Greta and Sam.  Very fun.  They do taste suprisingly like Oreos; next time try the similar Malted Milk sandwich cookies and the Salt & Pepper sandwich cookies from Baked, both available on the Serious Eats website, the filling is very similar.  Please GOD eat them with a glass of milk.  SO GOOD and it's true, they are awesomely and strangely similar to Oreos.

Notes: Used my Penzey's natural cocoa rather than Dutch process and added 3/8 tsp of baking soda to compensate, didn't detect any problems.  1 cup of sugar was plenty.  The cookies are cutest (and therefore best and most enjoyable) when they are actually oreo-sized, which is a shockingly small amount of cookie dough.  It says to use "a rounded teaspoon", and they'll come out about right if you use a little less than a teaspoon, rounded, rather than a round ball protruding from the teaspoon measure.  You don't really need to use that much filling, it should be thin; I definitely had some leftover filling, but not enough to decrease the recipe significantly, just undershoot a little bit.  The recipe made almost 30 cookies and some were monsters, so if this isn't for a crowd half of it would be just fine, thank you, and it's not an ideal candidate for freezing.

In sum: a fun project!

Homemade Oreos

Whole Wheat Bread

Another attempt at making a basic, everyday sort of bread.  The best so far, I think--nice and substantial, and kept for a full week wrapped in a plastic bag on the counter without drying out.  Not a terribly interesting bread, and not crusty or anything, but good as a basic bread.  Ate it with hummus, and with mushroom bourguinon, and as eggs in a hole, etc, and it was perfectly serviceable, soft and moist with a nice crumb.  I'd like to find a way to up the proportion of wheat flour in my bread, though--I'm getting a little concerned about how much white flour I eat, especially with all the baking.

Notes: Ended up kneading a lot longer and adding, I think, more flour than was called for.  Mixed everything in Cleo and then turned out to hand-knead; kneaded one loaf probably 10 minutes, the other 15, before the windowpane test was remotely passable.  I'm not sure it made any difference, they were basically indistinguishable after baking.  Not sure if this is why, but despite cutting the cute little x in the top, the bottom bust out pretty seriously on both loaves.  The OP's loaves look like they have a better crust than mine--I'm going to have to experiment with the whole steam bath thing.  Very nice that the rising time is only 15 minutes; total, this took less than two hours.

Try freezing one of the loaves next time before baking.  I was lucky to have guests to help me eat up both in one week.

Whole Wheat Bread

Cream Scones

These little beauties are a lovely plain scone recipe (I skipped the currants entirely and was pleased about it) that can be eaten at any time, and are lovely with a cup of tea. They are not dense, but rather almost biscuity, and come together quickly and easily. They have a nice light flavor and texture. Heat them before eating, or just freeze them and then pop them in the oven when you want one; it's quick and they're so good this way. Eat up.

Notes: I didn't have quite enough heavy cream and subbed in a little bit of milk, but I'd do all heavy cream next time; why not? Doing this in a cake pan, cutting into triangles with bench scraper, worked beautifully.

These may or may not have seduced a boy. We'll see.

UPDATE: Yup.

Spread some lemon curd or honey or chocolate ganache or jam or really just about anything on this and MUNCH.

No-Knead Bread

Been hearing a lot about this puppy, decided to give it a shot; questions remain, but a good basic starting point. This halved version of the recipe was a good amount; half of that was a good-sized loaf, and the rest could be refrigerated until next time, which I'd like to try for flavor anyways.

Rising: This straight up did not rise the way it was supposed to. Not sure if I should have left it for longer (Mark Bittman's recipe would suggest yes), if my yeast is funky, if it wasn't warm enough out in the kitchen, or what. Not sure. So yeah, it was pretty flat, but it still tasted good! The slashes made little to no difference as far as I could tell, which I have to believe is a result of the non-rise.

Shaping: This is very, very wet, and I did not shape it as well as I wanted to. LOTS of flour should be used during this step, and don't let that dough be the boss of you! I suspect if I had been more aggressive in pulling it around to be the shape I wanted, it would have risen better.

Crust/baking: I put it on a cookie sheet, on cornmeal, and it came out fine. As Budget Bytes suggested I brushed it with water and the crust was good, but soft and not beautifully artisan--try the steam on the pan next time.

Frankly, I don't understand the aversion to kneading--it's fun and it feels good!--but this is an interesting method with reasonably good results, and one that I definitely want to experiment with, especially since it uses AP flour. Try her no-knead ciabatta also, although it requires whole wheat and bread flour.

Breadtime
No-knead ciabatta

Lemon curd

I used rough estimates from several different recipes to make this little beauty, based on what I had and what I felt like using, and it turned out perfectly. I imagine that some variation on this theme would be permittable, as it all comes together in a smooth, luscious, why-yes-I-will-gladly-eat-the-whole-jar now sort of way. Any of the flavors being more pronounced would not be the most terrible thing. My tweaks, which sadly I did not really record faithfully, produced about a Bonne Maman jam jar-sized batch. NOM.

Notes: My curd didn't thicken up like it said it would on the stove; just use the temperature and it'll be fine, it thickens when chilled (and when butter is added!). I whisked in butter after straining the zest (which you should definitely do) and that worked nicely. Be sure to continuously whisk this puppy on the stove--for real. It doesn't take long. Vaguely, I remember using 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, several tsp of lemon zest, 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks, and a stick of butter. Maybe. But I've been doing a lot of baking with lemons recently, so who knows?

These are all for reference, with various amounts and directions; the basic recipe is simple though, so just familiarize yourself again with these.
Eat it with a spoon, you won't regret it.
This is approximately the method I used, zest added with other ingredients not at the end.
For reference.
More sugar, less lemon; not crazy about that idea!
More.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

Let me tell you something. This was A PRODUCTION. And unlike everyone who has praised this cake to high heaven, I'm not totally convinced; I wasn't absolutely blown away, especially given the amount of work it was and my expectations for a salty, caramely, chocolate deliciousness bomb.! It certainly didn't send me into fits, nothing too unusual or difficult, just a lot of moving pieces (and definitely a serious clean-up job). But I think a large part of that has to do with refrigeration. If it had been at room temp, I think it would have been absolutely divine. To be honest, though, I'm not sure it beats my standby marvelous chocolate cake, blogged below, and that's a lot less work and fuss!

Notes: many! Let's take them one by one.

Cake: This cake is nice and nondescript; with all the other things going on, it wasn't really the star player, but it's not like it was a fussy recipe or anything. Your basic chocolate cake, and only uses cocoa powder which is kind of nice. I had 3 9" pans so I used them, sue me. A thicker layer would have been better, I can't deny it, but the thought of baking 3 8" cakes in succession just kind of wore me out. Definitely freeze for a while before frosting. I only did for an hour or two, I think. See Assembly notes.

Salted Caramel: I overdid this a little teensy bit and it was just slightly burned, but still tasted delicious, just be sure to watch it closely. I actually would have liked to have more of it for the cake; I didn't end up tasting it really at all in the finished product, which was really a bummer. Maybe 1.5 it, reserving extra for drizzling :)

Whipped Caramel Ganache Frosting: This was really an outrageous amount of frosting, I have no idea why anyone would need so much of it. I probably used 2/3 of it and that was too much. I'd 3/4 it at the very least, especially if smaller cakes are used! Sheesh. Wasted some of my precious Valhrona that I carried in my suitcase all the way from France on extra frosting that I ended up throwing away :(. This didn't really taste like caramel at all, even before its time in the fridge, but that's not to say it wasn't delicious. Consistency is the biggest issue here. It was lovely and light before its time in the fridge, and I guess I thought it would stay that way, but no dice; in the fridge for 30 min or so, I could rewhip to a good texture and frost. More than that and it was too hard, although I don't know what would happen if you let it come to room temp and rewhipped.

Assembly: ah, assembly. A challenge, to be sure. From start to finish, this took me something like 5 hours, which makes doing it the day of difficult, but sadly that's what I'm going to have to recommend for maximum tastiness. So here's my final breakdown: the caramel can definitely be made ahead with no problems. I'd imagine the cake could be made the previous day, frozen, and left at room temp for a while to defrost the day of, or to be safer it should be made day-of and just frozen for half an hour or so. But the frosting should be made, chilled for just a bit, and then spread on the cake, which should be served very soon afterwards.

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS: Caramel day-ahead, refrigerated.
Day-of: Bake cake, trim, put in freezer while making frosting. Make frosting, put in fridge for 20 min; take out cake to return to semi-room temp; take out caramel. Wait for frosting to chill; take out and re-whip. Pipe a rim of frosting onto bottom layers, fill with caramel, and plop those babies on top of each other! Frost cake, top with sea salt, serve soon afterwards, hopefully without needing to refrigerate finished cake.

CAAAAAAKE.

Dorie's French Lemon Cream Tart

Do. Want.

This is absolutely delicious. Here at the house we only have 11" tart pans, so I 1.5'd both the filling and the crust; the crust amount was just right, but made WAY too much filling. I'd stick to 1 next time. It's kind of hard to eat the filling on its own because it's so light and sweet, so making lots of extra is kind of a waste, sadly. Served with fresh berries on top, this was a winner. It's very light and refreshing; I did this along with Dorie's heavier chocolate-banana tart and the contrast between the two was nice, I think. It's not intensely lemony (although I was just slightly under the amount of zest and juice required, I think it was good this way), more a light lemon cream as the recipe describes.

Notes: make sure to chill the lemon cream long enough before serving, both in the container and in the tart shell. I didn't have enough time and it was not at all set, which was fine taste-wise but not a great presentation. Don't be afraid to whip it in the blender for a while, I think this probably contributed to texture issues since even after a few days in the fridge it wasn't exactly set. I ended up using various citruses because I ran out of lemon, and it was delicious, don't be afraid to do this again. Next time I'd like to put a pretty little candied lemon slice on top :) As for the shell, just press it right into the pan, spreading out the clumps before pressing to decrease the amount of force needed.

Yum yum, in my tum!

Such a good little tart.

Corn Chowder

This soup is not terribly complex but makes for a marvelous winter comforting soup, thick and delicious. I substituted with what I had on hand and it worked out just great.

Notes: I added a tb of olive oil instead of bacon. Don't let the mirepoix get browned, especially the onions, just soft. My mirepoix was pretty chunky and I liked it that way, made the soup have a nice texture. I used canned corn, 1 15 oz can, and subbed the corn juice plus enough water to get to 2 cups for the veggie stock; it was good but I can see how veggie stock might be even better. I also used 1/2 c heavy cream plus 1 1/2 c milk rather than half and half, and this was a good level of creaminess so I think I'd do that again. One big Yukon rather than fingerling potatoes, can't imagine there'd be a difference. More salt and pepper are necessary than you think.

I expect to get about 4 meals out of this, less than most soups, so maybe double it and freeze some; it's supposed to freeze well and I can see enjoying this for a few months, on and off, during the winter season.

Corn Chowder

Homemade Marshmallows

One of the trifecta of Christmas presents this year.

These, like so many things, are SO much better homemade. They're soft and pillowy and deliciously melty in hot chocolate. They aren't really even difficult or messy! They don't keep long, but they're still nom nom in hot chocolate or other melty applications for a while. Great for gifts, people are super impressed.

This is another recipe that begs to be played with. Roll it in crushed peppermint sticks, dip it in chocolate, cover it in caramel. I may be repeating myself here... but NOM.

The Alton Brown basic.
Wrapped in caramel

Truffles

Made these for Christmas presents this year--a big hit! I did them in groups of four, two coated in cocoa powder, one coated in dark chocolate with a few grains of sea salt on top, and one coated in white chocolate. The sea salt was by far my favorite, but the other two were also magnificent and the variety was good. Big hit with everyone.

White chocolate was tricky because it hardened up much faster than the dark, so I added a few drops of olive oil to it after research. That made it possible to coat the truffles, but the coating was thicker and didn't harden up completely afterwards. The dark chocolate coating was perfect, light and thin and crackly. The method in this recipe works really well--the gloves, and the five-station setup.

Make sure that the truffle insides are nice and cold before coating them--it'll go on smoother and thinner. As for the ganache, when piping, use a nice big tip/hole in the bag so that it goes on in one blob, not little poo spirals.

Now that I've mastered these basic ones, try some more interesting flavors! Links below.

The classic. Eat these.

White Chocolate Saffron Truffles
Goat Cheese and Red Wine bittersweet chocolate truffles... um YES PLEASE
Search Tastespotting for other flavoring combinations!

Ricotta Cheese

My first cheesemaking adventure! This was quite a process and pretty much didn't go at all according to plan. I'm really not sure where I went wrong, but regardless, I got some delicious cheese out of it, which I then used in my Spinach and Mushroom Canelloni--see that post!

I used Version #1, with the lemon juice. According to other versions, more lemon juice is needed? I didn't use a thermometer, but I don't think that should make a difference. This ricotta did not drain AT ALL the way it was supposed to. Maybe I used too many layers of cheesecloth? Maybe I should have spooned in the curds rather than dumping the whole thing in? Maybe my curd was just weird? I don't know. All I do know is that it took a lot of work and a lot of mess and there really wasn't a whole lot of cheese at the end. I really liked the flavor and everything, and I would make it again if it were really as easy as it's supposed to be. Eat it warm with olive oil and salt, nom nom, or another way.

Next time I'd like to try Kenji's method--microwave that shit. Way less work and mess.

Version I used--hmm.
Food Lab version--tested and tried, and super easy!

UPDATE 2/11: Did the Food Lab version--pop some vinegar and salt in the milk, microwave, drain the whey. OMG do this if you're going to make ricotta, sooo much easier. I used white wine vinegar and the flavor was pretty strong, not sure if there's a less intense vinegar to be used but if so try it. Also two cups of milk makes a fairly substantial amount of cheese, and it really is best when eaten warm, so if making for a crowd that's fine but if it's just for myself I'd make less. Triumph!

Molten Chocolate Cakes

These little lovlies worked out perfectly! I made them in my french silicone flower mold and they came out beautifully; I also did some in a muffin tin and they were good but not quite as good. The bigger size ment a bigger, meltier center. Perfect warmed up in the microwave, there's no loss in quality when done this way, and don't forget to put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Notes: Don't overdo it, I did these for 13 minutes and they were perfect; overcooking means a significantly less marvelous dessert. One square is an ounce of chocolate.

Oh. Hi there, tasty friend.

Lemon Loaf Cake

A variety of the Barefoot Contessa's lemon loaf cake. I was looking for a good recipe to use my Meyer lemons from the farmer's market and settled on this one. The verdict? A solid choice for a soft, delicious, lemony cake to eat at all times. Pretty tart, which I like, but I'd like to try it again with just Meyer lemons because I think it would be even better. It's a very pretty slice; I really like having the visible pieces of zest in there.

Notes: I didn't realize how little juice I would get from the Meyer lemons, so I used 8 small Meyer lemons (which was the right amount of zest), just over 1/4 cup juice, plus one regular lemon, which was about another 1/2 cup. So make sure to get enough Meyer lemons. Used whey from ricotta instead of buttermilk, and it had a lovely texture so that worked well. I'm not quite sure why, but it's a very moist cake, almost falling apart; I didn't need to poke the top before adding the lemon syrup, because it soaked it right up, but only went in about 1/2 an inch. The bottom is nice and firm, actually, and it's a nice contrast. The icing didn't sit on top, it sank right in too; either the cake is too porous or the icing is too thin, but I didn't want to add any more powdered sugar. Regardless, it was delicious.

This didn't store super well. It was best right out of the oven, still a little warm; as time went on it got kind of soggy. It was really good for the first day or so, but after that... eh. The sugary part of it became overwhelming, when really I wanted a texture and flavor that would go with tea in the afternoon.

To the cake!

Michael's Challah

My first challah! Delish. Very dense. Eat warm, for sure; apparently dipping it in salt is what you do? and that's super good. Also really good with butter, and adding a little jam to the mix makes a wonderful breakfast.

Notes: It was tough to braid this; research how long it should rest to let the gluten relax, I think that may have been my problem. It was hard to get the strands to stay stretched out enough to braid them. I was also a little uncertain how long to knead, and they turned out just fine, but I may have overdone it; try using the mixer next time.  UPDATE: Turns out the rolling of the strands is highly dependent on the moisture level of your hands/the table; it's apparently the surface that matters.  Weird but true.  Doesn't need a ton of kneading.  But I'm still confused about the amount of flour that should be added; this time I added some but not as much, and it was still sticking to the sides of the mixer when I stopped.

Be sure not to overcook it; try taking it out when it's just lightly golden brown on top, before the suggested time is up; took one out at about 32 minutes and it was good, try 30. Halved it and got three good-sized loaves, which froze beautifully until needed (after braiding, wrap them up in plastic wrap and freeze; let rise for 1.5-3 hours before baking). Make sure to egg wash the whole thing for that nice shiny crust.



Miriam’s Challah
5 lbs minus 2 cups bread flour (15 cups)
4 cups water, lukewarm
1 tbsp sugar
5 packets yeast
1 ½ cups oil
2 cups sugar
1 ½ tbsp salt
3 eggs + 1 for egg wash

In large bowl, combine flour, 2 cups sugar, and salt. Allow yeast to bloom in water with 1 tbsp sugar. Once bloomed, make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour yeast, oil, and eggs. Mix well. Allow to rise at least 2 hours in a warm place.
Knead dough. Break off a piece and say the prayer. Braid loaves. Allow to rise another 45 minutes. Brush with beaten egg. Garnish with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Coat in egg wash. Bake at 350 40 minutes or until golden. Makes 5-6 loaves.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is everything mac and cheese should be: creamy, cheesy, comforting. The little zing of mustard is a lovely addition.

Notes: you don't need nearly as much crumb topping as they say you do; eyeball it, but make sure the butter is at the right temperature (pretty soft but not melting) or it will clump weirdly. Bake it long enough that it toasts the crumbs on top. Pay careful attention to the roux and the cheese sauce in general, adding things at the right time; the first time I made this it was heavenly, the second time a bit dry and not quite right, I think because I overbrowned the roux/butter at the beginning. This is best when it first comes out of the oven but can easily be reheated.

Hello lover.

Pan Seared Polenta and Pears with Gorgonzola Sauce

BAHHH I guess I am getting my favorites out of the way first. This is SO GOOD. I'm used to making fairly simple food, with ingredients that sort of go together instead of playing off each other. The contrast between the three elements of this dish is phenomenal. It blew my mind. EAT IT.

It's also very rich to eat as a meal, which I did, but it's an awful lot of fuss and timing for an appetizer. I guess you could get the sauce done ahead of time, polenta all chilled and cut, and pears cut up as a last thing; then saute the pears and polenta at the same time (if you have confidence you can keep track--scary!) while heating up the sauce. But it's risky. But so good! Maybe eat just a little bit of this with a nice green salad or something. Yeah. That'll happen.

The polenta by itself is unbelievably good. Make extra and eat a bowl of it before putting the rest in the fridge to chill.

Notes: I cut the polenta into squares several inches; it was also fairly thin, less than half an inch, so I only seared the top and bottom, not the sides. It was delish this way but I imagine that a bigger, creamier center in cube form would be marvelous.

I also used plain ol' bleu cheese because I had it on hand and was dying to make this, and it was marvelous. I imagine gorgonzola would be wonderful too! Subbed veggie stock for chicken and can't imagine there was a difference. Add the cream first; I added the stock, and since I halved the recipe and there was so little of it, it did something strange with the roux and I think the texture was a little off as a result.

Try to get the top of the polenta as smooth as you can when putting it in the pan to chill; it will make for a crisper, more beautiful seared piece later on.

To the food!

World Peace Cookies

These cookies... are good. I'm not exactly sure why, but they are not quite what I was envisioning. They flatten out a bit more when baked than the pictures at either of these blogs suggest they will. And the contrast, to me, is not that strong. But they were good enough, and they intrigue me enough, that I want to make them again. And they are actually very good warm out of the oven! Plus these are the first cookies I've made that I actually froze half the dough to put in the freezer. THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. I bake and eat two of them at a time. YES. Next time try using the other version, those photos look better anyways.

Notes: I used Ghiradelli baking bars for the chocolate chunks. Also, I did use the Penzey's cocoa powder, which is not unsweetened, so maybe that has something do to with it. I also used the chunky sea salt, and it gave a noticeable uneven saltiness to the cookies, so do try to find fine salt. Don't overmix, calm down. Cut the chocolate chunks down to a reasonable size, don't try to make them big; it makes it difficult to slice even cookies out of the log. And make sure to cut nice thick cookies, don't try to stretch the yield by skimping. They are much better thick.

UPDATE 2/20: These are still in my freezer in a log and every once in a while I'll pull it out, slice off two, and bake them.  This is so great.  And when you eat them straight from the pan, while they're warm, they're really just what you need when craving chocolate.  They've grown on me, I'll say that.

First-Found Version
Version I Used

Chocolate Layer Cake

This cake is for an occasion--a big one. I made it for Allie's wedding shower in both cake and cupcake form; it was lovely both ways but I think better as cake, as the ratio of frosting to cake was right and it didn't dry out as much. I also made it for Mom's birthday in the summer, and for Greta's graduation party. Dust it with powdered sugar (cut a design out of paper as a stencil--so fancy, oh my!) and put raspberries on top; I also accompanied it with raspberry coulis, straining out the seeds so it's just a delish sauce to drizzle on it once it's cut. Seriously, so good. Also UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS chilled in the fridge (was leftovers, incredibly, but I'd do a whole one this way), cut into thin slices, and drizzled with olive oil and sea salt. OMFG.

In conclusion: MAKE THIS CAKE.

Notes: I'm pretty sure I used Ghiradelli and it worked out fine. Use the coffee and make sure it's hot; it adds an delicious dark undertone without tasting at all of coffee. And make sure to use big enough pans! It puffs up considerably, and WILL overflow if the pans aren't tall enough/you use 9" pans instead. I don't think I had to chill the frosting before using it, but I can't remember--the point is, this takes a serious amount of time and effort, so don't try to leave it to the last minute.

okay MAKE THIS CAKE.

CAKE.