Best of 2012 & A Gift

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've missed you. It was a crazy holiday season and I'm just now getting back to "regular life". Whatever that is. My apologies for neglecting the blog. It's been crazy. 

First, Thanksgiving. . .

then the break in. . .

then my husband was gone for two weeks. . .

then it was Christmas. . .

then my dad visited. . .

then it was New Year's. . .

then I got sick. . .

then I got a sinus infection. . .

then I pulled jury duty. 

Whew, so glad that it's all over. I have just about two weeks to relax (ha ha ha ha) until it's birthday season around here. So, until then, I'm just going to try and take it easy. Not dive into too many projects and just slow it all down for a while. What that means is that I haven't done a lot of cooking this last week and I've decided, for my first post of the New Year, to post a "Best Of". I've also got a surprise for you. See those super cute holiday measuring spoons at the top of the post. To my delight, someone slipped those into my stocking this year. Impractical? Yep, you betcha. Adorably cute, Rightey-O! I thought they were so cute in fact that I'm going to give some away to two lucky blog readers. Check the bottom of the post for more info. In the meantime, check out the most popular posts of 2012:

Cake Pops v2.0

Cake Pops, again? I know, seems repetitive, but wait. These are just a bit different. In talking, blogging, researching and reading about cake pops, there seems to be two different methods for making them. I tried the first method (crumbled baked cake mixed with frosting and rolled into balls) in my Blue Velvet Cake Pops post. So this time around I'm going to try the second method: dense cake batter baked into a ball shape. Visually, they look much the same but there are distinct differences in the taste and texture of the finished product. The first method doesn't need any fancy equipment. For the second method you need some way to bake the cake into a ball shape. So, off to the store I went. . .

Field Trip - Georgetown Cupcake

I didn't have time to cook or bake this week because we spent the week in Washington D.C.. What a great place. So, so, so much to see. We could have stayed another week or two and still not seen or done all there was to see and do. We'll go back, that's for sure. One thing I had to see was "Georgetown Cupcake", the crazy little cupcake shop form the TLC show "DC Cupcake". It was a bit off track for us but I was so close that I had to go. Here is how it went. . .

(And please don't judge me by my picture above. It was about 95 degrees and super humid. And we'd spent ALL DAY walking from monument to monument, museum to museum, and this is what I look like after 10 plus hours in the heat. WOW, please forgive. Oh and it's OK to hate my daughter because she seems to have survived the day and weather still looking adorable. Ah, youth!)

Blue Velvet Cake Pops

So I was all set a few days ago to post about Bread Pudding. Mmmmm, bread pudding, one of my absolute favorite desserts. I had never really made it so I tried a recipe from the internet and while it was pretty good, it wasn't perfect. And I wanted it perfect. So, we'll save bread pudding for another day, as soon as I get it perfect. Be patient, it's coming.

But, I bet you've been wondering what I was going to do with that leftover Blue Velvet Cake. Did you guess? Was Bakerella enough of a hint? Were you thinking Cake Pops? Well, if you were, you were right. Cake Pops. Blue Velvet Cake Pops to be exact. 

Wait. . .

I need to back up a bit. . . 

When I first heard of cake pops and cake balls they sounded kind of gross. I didn't think I'd ever make them. Then I discovered Bakerella and I really enjoyed her site. She's seriously the Queen of Cake Pops. Different cake ball and cake pops kept popping up on her blog. But I still wasn't ready to give 'em a try. Then my daughter caught wind of them and begged me to make them with her. So, I gave in and we made them to bring to a party. They were a hit. Everyone loved them. So, I was converted. Yes, they are sweet. But, they are supposed to be. It's cake and icing. So if you're skeptical, like I was, just give in a give 'em a try.

Anniversary Top 5

My apologies for abandoning the blog the last week or so, the Holidays just overwhelmed me this year. So much to do, so little time. Add to that, that I work in retail, grocery no less, and the Holidays become even that more overwhelming. But, whew, I made it. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz. The decorations have almost all been put away and as soon as the kids are back to school it will be "business as usual". Ahhhhh. Routine is my comfort zone. I know, so boring, but it works for me. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love the holiday season but when it's over, IT'S OVER and I want my routine back. And that's that!

On January 7, 2012 it will be the official One Year Anniversary of my blog. I will officially have been a blogger for one whole year. YEA! Toot toot. (Tootin' my own horn here.) I set out to post one recipe a week and although I didn't quite do that, I did manage to post 54 times. So by my math (that being the math of an Art Major.) I think I did it. At least that's how I'm going to "spin it". Seriously the secret to inner happiness is "spin" and boy oh boy, I can "spin".

So before I move on to the New Year and new goals for the blog, I thought I'd be very cliche and recap the best of the past year. Assembled below are the top 5 post from the year. I hope you enjoyed them, I hope you tried some of them and I hope they worked for you. Seriously, if they didn't let me know! 

5. Ribs - I'm still making this recipe and it is absolutely a Family Top 5 around here.

4. Chili Frito Pie - Nothing more to say than "YUM!"

3. Pecan Tart - Oh how I love pecans.

2. Chocolate Cherry Cookies - Even though I really liked this recipe, it surprised me how many hits it got. You just never know.

1. Cinnamon Rolls - Since developing this recipe, I've made them over and over again.  They never disappoint!

And there you have it. My "Best Of" blog post. I am really excited for the new year and have a lot of goals for the blog. I got a book on food styling and photography for Christmas and hope to start improving on that front. I'm also going to try to get through a good chunk of my "Recipes To Try" file and I may be adding a few new sections to the blog. I've really enjoyed working on this blog and if you've enjoyed reading it, please pass it along to your friends because most of all I'd like to grow the blog and I can't do that without you. We're partners here, don't you see. You and me!

Happy New Year!

Becky

Please Be Patient

Dear Faithful Followers,

Please be patient. I've had a crazy couple of days and just now have my head above water.  I have not abandoned the blog. Far from it, I have many photos and recipes just waiting to be written about. Just no time. Time, time, time. It's always ticking away and I never have enough of it. I will post Candy Corn Cookies later this week and a great pork chop recipe next week. They are there, in the camera, just waiting for me. I hope you'll wait as well.

Thanks!

Becky

Ya Win Some, Ya Loose Some. . .

Doesn't this look delicious. I though it did, then I tasted it and it wasn't so delicious. How bummed was I? Very! Seriously, Praline Topped Baked French Toast Casserole? Do you blame me for trying this recipe? But it's inevitable, when you try lots and lots of different and new recipes, some just aren't good. But it goes with the territory, I accept it, I'm OK with a few disasters now and then.

Let me back things up a bit. A week or two ago I saw and episode of Paula Dean's show and she was making Baked French Toast. Looked delicious. But as with most of her recipes, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE Paula Dean, it was way over the top. Tons of butter, sugar, pecans, more butter, more sugar, etcetera. I loved the idea of baked french toast. Something to make the night before and then just bake off in the morning. It would be perfect for Christmas morning or anytime you're hosting breakfast. And, well, I've made breakfast casseroles before. The more savory kind with eggs, cheese, sausage and bread. They turned out great. The idea of a sweet french toasty version sounded awesome. So I though I'd give it a go. I Googled it and read a bunch of different recipes and finally settled on this one. A little less over the top than Paula's version but still with all the flavors and similar ingredients.

It was a flop. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I don't think I did anything wrong, I think it's just not a great recipe. It came out of the oven all puffy and crispy on top, but was totally undercooked inside, soggy and eggy. So I put it back in the oven for 20 more minutes. It came out more cooked but still soggy inside and a little too crispy on top. Then it sunk down quite a bit as it cooled. As I was making the egg/milk mixture it seemed like a lot for the amount of bread but I wasn't going to second guess the recipe. In the end it was edible but just not much flavor. Not sweet enough for French Toast, not un-sweet enough for a savory dish. It was just kind of blah. Ho hum. Not anything that I would want to serve guests. I am thankful that I didn't wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas morning to try this recipe.

So there are a couple of lessons to learn here.  Lesson 1: Always try a new recipe out before serving it for a special occasion. Lesson 2: Anyone can start up a blog and post recipes. Doesn't mean they're great and don't assume the blogger is an expert. (Heck, people may not like mine, I'm no expert.) Lesson 3: Go for the totally over the top Paula Dean recipe. It's probably the best and she is an expert.

So take it from me, if you try a lot of new recipes you're going to have a flop or two along the way. Don't let it discourage you, just learn from it and continue on your culinary adventure.

Restaurant Supply Adventure

I wanted to take a break from cooking this week to tell you about one of my favorite stores. No, not Nordstrom, but yes it is a favorite, not Target although I'm there 2 or 3 times a week. It's the Restaurant Supply and it's a great place for an adventure. If you live anywhere near a major metropolitan area you should be able to find one good restaurant supply store. They are usually in a warehousey type location and sometimes not in the greatest of areas (go during the day and take a friend.) but they are oh so much fun. Here in the Sacramento area I go to Cresco. They have everything including the kitchen sink. Literally, they sell kitchen sinks. You'll find any and every kitchen tool, pot, pan, and appliance that you can think of, in every variety imaginable. If they don't have it and they can't order it then it doesn't exist. The selection, quality and prices beats out the gourmet kitchen stores at the mall, the discount store and the bath and home store. Please go check it out:

They have a wide selection of graters.

If you need a strainer they've got plenty to choose from.

Even one as big as your head. WOW!

Perhaps you're looking for an ice cream or cookie scooper.

It takes all my will power not to buy one of each. I think it's the colors that suck me in.

How about a whisk.

This one is as tall as my 11 year old son.

Here's a pot for cannibals to envy. Seriously, how much chili do you need to make?

And who knew there were this many different thermometers?

Here's the best part of the Restaurant Supply Store: the prices. I bought one of these sets of measuring spoons for $10.99 at the high-end gourmet shop at the mall and the other for $2.19 at the restaurant supply. Can you tell which one is which? Really? Truth be told I like the $2.19 one better.

(Scroll down and I'll give you the answer.)

Here are a few of the things I got on my last trip (clockwise from top left.):

A 1/4 sheet pan, you really can't have too many of these and for $4.99 each, why not stock up.

A cover for a 1/4 sheet pan, this is going to come in handy.

A steamer rack. It's meant to go in the bottom of a big pot to steam stuff but I liked the size and the fold up feet on the bottom and am planning to use it to glaze cakes.

A cake ring. Because I've always wanted one, I know, I'm weird. I do plan to make the "Helga Cake" from Gesine's book. (click here for more info) and I'll need a cake ring.

A bowl scraper, because it was $.75.

Some spreaders, because they looked handy and again, under a buck, so why not?

This little cutting board because I had a wood one similar in size that I used all the time and it broke.

I also got a 10-inch cast iron skillet for under $8.00. I kid you not, UNDER $8.

All and all I only spent about $60.00 and came home with some great quality kitchen equipment and all sorts of ideas on how to use them. Oh man. . .I can't wait to get started.

So next time you're in the market to upgrade your kitchen equipment, skip the mall, skip the home & bath store and head over to your local restaurant supply. It's an adventure that won't empty your wallet.

Oh and the spoons on the left were $2.19 at Cresco, on the right $10.99 at Crate and Barrel.

The Basics: Marshmallow Dough

I've got a quickie for you this week. And here I am, just under the wire. Again. Another busy busy week. I keep waiting for "things" to slow down but I'm slowly coming to the realization that that may never happen. This is it, the pace of our life. Soon enough I'll be complaining that my children are all grown up so I guess I'll just shut it and enjoy the ride. Wheeeeee!

This week, I've got a super simple. I mean SUPER SIMPLE recipe for you. Two ingredients simple. Some may call it Marshmallow Fondant but I've seen recipes for that and it involves melting marshmallow, adding stuff, mixing, greasing, bla bla bla. Way too much work. I call this "Marshmallow Dough", or "Poor Woman's Fondant". I've used it in place of traditional (i.e. EXPENSIVE) fondant and it works like a dream. I've covered cakes, decorated cookies and sculpted roses. The only difference I've seen between this handy concoction and fondant is the cost (way cheaper) and flavor (way better, tastes like marshmallows). So mix some up and get to experimenting. I'll post later on how to cover cookies so stay tuned.

Here's all you need: 1 jar marshmallow creme (7oz.-ish) and powdered sugar (3-1/2 cups to start and more for kneading and dusting.)

Just dump it in a bowl and start stirring. Takes a bit of elbow grease but keep working it until all the sugar is incorporated. Half way through you'll be convinced that you have too much sugar but KEEP GOING. It will get there. You may have to get your hands in there (dust them with powdered sugar) and knead it, do what ever you have to do, just get all the sugar worked in.

Alternately you can use the dough hook on your mixer. BUT. . .make sure you have a pretty powerful mixer; only use the dough hook, NOT the beater or whip; and watch your mixer close to make sure it's not stressing the motor. If it starts sounding or smelling funny, turn it off IMMEDIATELY! Do not use a hand mixer, you'll burn it out. OK, fair warning.

Half way through it will look crummy, like this. But keep going.

Eventually it will look like this. If you aren't using it right away wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a zipper bag, squeezing out all the air.

I really like this for covering cookies because it's firm enough that you can stack or wrap the cookies but it isn't completely hard when you bite into it. I used it on these cookies adding the detail with royal icing.

And these cookies, possibly the coolest cookies in the universe. I'll show you how I did it later next week. For now, mix up a batch of marshmallow dough and play around.

Marshmallow Dough

1 jar marshmallow cream (7oz.)

3-1/2 C. powdered sugar.

Combine marshmallow cream and sugar in a large bowl stirring until most of the sugar is incorporated. Finish working the sugar in by kneading. Wrap tightly until ready to use.

Mandelhoernchen Melancholy

If you read my post earlier this week then you know last weekend I had a disaster in the kitchen. I was pretty bummed. Mandelhoernchen was a recipe that I had been searching for for over 10 years and I was so excited to finally find it and be able to make it. You can imaging my disappointment when it didn't turn out as expected. But, alas, if you are going to try new things, you just have to accept that they won't always turn out right. The point is, keep trying. 

Through my years of cooking, or learning to cook, there has been lots of trial and error. In the early days, mostly lots of error. But a mistake is only a mistake if you don't learn from it. Believe me, I've learned A LOT. With each recipe, regardless of outcome, you learn about the ingredients, the technique, the flavors. You learn about what works and what doesn't, that's really how you get good any anything. Whenever my children get disappointed that they aren't "good" at something, sports, a musical instrument, cooking, I tell them "You have to be willing to be bad if you want to be good." No one starts out an expert at anything, the trick is to keep trying, keep learning. And even, like me, the veterans make mistakes from time to time. 

So what did I learn last weekend? Hmmmm, let's start by examining the mistakes, they are so obvious now, in hind sight.

First Mistake: I made my own almond paste. Now this isn't really a mistake as I think it turned out pretty good. It was easy to make and if you've seen the price of almond paste you'll know why I tried it this way. Much, much less expensive. But almond paste isn't an ingredient that I'm very familiar with. I have used it just once or twice before so I wasn't super confident about how mine turned out. The smart thing would have been to purchase some and compare it to what I had made, just to be sure. But I didn't.

Second Mistake: Because I was uncertain about the consistency of my almond paste, I added some additional liquid (in this instance, Amaretto) just to loosen it up. Shouldn't have!

Third Mistake: Per the recipe, I went the "short cut route" and used my food processor instead of my mixer. Should have used the mixer so that it would mix rather than cut up the ingredients.

Fourth Mistake: I added all the egg whites at once and the whole thing turned into a big gluey mess. Should have added them one at a time, checking the consistency along the way.

Fifth Mistake: I tried to "fix" it. I just started to add more and more almond paste and some sugar into the processor thinking it would get thicker. Instead it just got lumpy and then my processor started sounding and smelling funny. I'm praying that I didn't burn out the motor. I haven't turned it on since, I'll keep you posted on it's fate. Have you seen the movie "Tin Cup"? You know the scene where he just keeps whacking at ball after ball, trying to make the shot. Doesn't know when to give up and ends up losing the tournament? Seen that? Well, that was me in the kitchen. Just didn't know when to call it quits.

At the end of it all I was out, 2 pounds of home made almond paste, sugar, eggs, possibly my food processor, and my ego. I don't even want to think about all the time I spent, blanching, peeling and grinding the almonds for the almond paste. All that work and it ended up in the trash. (Except my food processor, I hope!)

So what did I learn? Lots! First of all, make sure your are familiar with the nature of an ingredient before attempting to make it on your own. Second, don't take shortcuts, even if the recipe says it will work. Third, know when to recognize that things have gone wrong and know when to throw in the towel and start over. And lastly, try again.

Almond Paste Comparisson
Left: "Odense" Pure Almond Paste, the smoothest. Middle: My home made, definitely the best almond flavor!
Right: "Solo", kind of bitter, kind of oily, smoother then mine.

I'm happy to report that my second attempt at Mandelhoernchen was a success. I used store bought almond paste, purchasing two different brands just to compare. I added the egg whites one at a time until the consistency was right. I followed the recipe exactly as written, no short cuts. And they turned out just as I had remembered. Delicious, chewy, crispy and almondy. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I will most surely be making these again. I need to play around a bit with the recipe before I'm ready to post it for you but I promise I will. 

So please, go forth, try new things and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Learn from them, you'll be happy you did.

Becky

Thoughts On Healthy Eating

I realized the other day that I haven't put together a "mission" for this blog. Kind of a simple definition as to why I started it, what I hope to accomplish and my thoughts on food and my background. I think it's time to do that. So here goes. . .

I'm not a dietitian. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a food scientist.  I'm not a expert on food or professional cook. I have no formal education or training when it comes to food. What I am is a wife and mom who loves to read, bake, cook and create. I have an addiction to cookbooks and food blogs and I probably need help! It all started back in the 70's when as a kid I used to watch "Master Chefs" on PBS after school. Then came cable TV and the Food Channel and it was all over for me. I was officially obsessed with food. Reading, researching, baking, creating and driving my family crazy. 

Both my parents have had cancer; Dad's been in remission almost 30 years, hallelujah, Mom passed in 2008 from a 10 year battle with breast cancer. (Love ya Mom!) Both my husband's parents have had cancer as well; Mom passing in 1995 and Dad currently in remission. Both my maternal grandparents and my paternal grandmother (and her sister) had cancer. Cancer, cancer, cancer, I just can't get away from it. What caused their cancers? Environment? Lifestyle? Genetics? We may never know. What does it mean for me? My husband? My children? Who knows. What I do know is that we've got a darn good reason to live a healthy lifestyle. If, god forbid, any of us do get cancer, I want to make sure we've got healthy bodies to fight it.

When my daughter was born I became a ferocious label reader; vowing to make sure she had only the healthiest of foods. As you can imagine I quickly became overwhelmed and virtually paralyzed trying to shop for groceries. Nitrates? GMO? Organic? All-natural? Free-range? High Fructose Corn Syrup? Artificial Colors? Artificial Flavors? Trans Fat? Saturated Fat? What did it all mean. There were so many conflicting stories about what was "safe"; what caused cancer; what was "healthy". I had to find balance. To commit to a strictly organic, free-range, all-natural lifestyle was both expensive and logistically difficult when you're trying to work and raise two kids. On the other hand, everything in the "main stream" grocery aisles had some sort of "no no" ingredient. So where did that leave me? 

What I've come to is a 80/20 philosophy on healthy eating; 80% healthy/20% don't worry about it. How does that work? I try to buy organic as often as I can. However, if I can't find an organic version of whatever I need, I don't worry about it. I avoid nitrates in lunch meat but if we are out at a baseball game I go ahead and let my kids get a hot dog and I don't worry about it. I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, artificial color and artificial flavor in the majority of foods that we eat day to day. We don't deprive ourselves of sweets and treats but do try to keep them homemade where I can control what goes into them. Every once in while I'll splurge on a box of Fruit Loops or Oreos and I don't worry about it. Basically, I try to keep the foods at home as healthy, organic and all-natural as I reasonably can. And for the one or two times a week that we eat out, I don't worry about it. Kind of an "all things in moderation" mentality. And well, for the past 13 years, it seems to be working for us. All healthy, all thriving. Amen!

What does all this mean for this blog. Well it means that you'll find a wide variety of recipes that fall all over the healthy eating food spectrum. For example, a recipe for an "everyday" dinner dish will most likely lean more to the healthy side. A post for Birthday Cake, no so healthy. Cookies need butter and sugar and I love butter and sugar so I use butter and sugar. I don't make low fat cheesecake or whole wheat pizza crust. I do use all natural meats and organic dairy and produce when I can find them. Again, it's about finding a balance for yourself and it's different for everyone. For most recipes you can substitute an organic version of the called for ingredient and by all means please do. This isn't a healthy eating blog. It isn't an all-natural or gluten free blog. It's not meant to advocate any particular lifestyle or diet. What it is is a chronicle of my passion for food, cooking and baking. Things I've learned about, things I want to try, things that have worked for me and things that I want to share with you.

OK, so that wasn't a simple definition, but I think you get it. Where I'm coming from. And I'll say it again: I'm not a dietitian. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a food scientist.  I'm not a expert on food or professional cook. I am a wife and mom who loves to read, bake, cook and create. . . and I'm a Food Blogger thanks to all of you.

Bon appétit!

Becky

Blog Housekeeping

I just wanted to quickly post to let you all know about some exciting updates I've made on the blog today.

First, my self imposed goal is to post a new recipe every Monday. (or Tuesday if I'm running late. . . which seems to be about 50% of the time. I'm working on it, please be patient with me.) However, I may post other times in the week if I am so moved. I'll keep the content mostly related to food but I may throw in a curveball here and there just to keep things interesting.

Second, I feel the need, for some reason, to apologize that the blog is so simply designed. You wouldn't be able to guess that I was a graphic designer for over 10 years by the look of things. In my defense I left the world of graphic design to be a "stay-at-home mom" just as web was taking off. So, most of my experience is with print media. I am determined though to conquer the web. I am furiously reading through "Blogging For Dummies" and will continue to tweak and improve the blog as I learn. This is a journey and I'm glad you are along for the ride. Stick with me, it will be worth it, I hope!

Third, I need your HELP. Right now my goal is 100 followers. If you haven't already, please consider becoming a "follower". (I really dislike that term, the blog community needs to come up with a better word, it sounds so submissive. . . passive. . . any suggestions? Let's think on it!) I'd also really appreciate it if you'd pass the blog link along to your friends, post on your Facebook page "Like" my Facebook fan page Becky Bakes, and cooks too. and tweet about it. I want to do some fun things for you like some "give-aways" but need more followers to do so.  So let's get the word out.

Lastly, check out the updates I've made today. There is an option to subscribe via email which saves you from having to check the blog for updates, you'll just get an email when I post something new. There is also a link to follow me on Twitter. If you aren't on Twitter, I encourage you to sign up, it's lots of fun!

Well, that's about it for now. I'll have a new recipe for you on Monday, just haven't decided which one yet. Drop me a comment and let me know what you'd like to see: Dessert? Cookies? Dinner Ideas?

Cheers,
Becky