Filbert Gateau, who? The Daring Bakers Round Two

This post is really late, almost 9pm! I needed a program for photo editing and resizing because my last one just sort of stopped working.

Onto July's challenge of the Daring Bakers, number two for me. Back when I first saw Chris's post my first thought was shock, followed with disbelief. Swiss meringue butter cream, gateau, chocolate ganache, praline butter cream!? I had never met these folks in my kitchen before, but I was up to the challenge.

First things first, I bought Great Cakes by Carol Walter. I got a pretty good deal on amazon, and thought it might be good to own a book with such a title. She wasn't lying this book is filled to the brim with great cakes. Fantastic, impressive, delicious looking cakes. Its also filled with some of the best baking tips I've ever come across.

I'm getting sidetracked here, but this cake was an adventure for me. I don't know how I made it through this. I look back and have a good laugh about every step, every mistake, every cover-up. I knew this would be Josh's birthday cake. I read the instructions about ten times and realized I had very few of the ingredients or tools required. I got the hazelnuts about a week in advance from some little store down the street where the guy gives me free gum or fruit. I started out with over a pound of hazelnuts and by the time I was ready to make the cake I noticed that I mysteriously only had over a cup of nuts left.

I couldn't blame him, it was his birthday and he offered to buy more, but I didn't have time. So I made the praline with hazelnuts and walnuts for the cake. I bought the only pan I could find at the store was an 8x2. The recipe called for 10x2. I bought a little cake decorating kit for $5 too. It is plastic and basic, something you'd give to your child when they're having fun in the kitchen. Or someone like me.

Friday evening I started the Praline, it took forever to get the sugar to melt so I turned the heat up. I poured the mixture onto a lined cookie sheet and realized that the nut to sugar/brittle ratio was off. So I heated up some more sugar. This should have been where I stopped, but melting sugar was so fascinating to me. The sugar melted much faster this time and got a little to dark, but I poured it over the hazelnuts and brittle and let sit.

At this time I started putting the cake together. What I did to the almighty egg is something I never thought an egg could do. Ribbony yolks and fluffy egg whites. Egg, you're amazing! I made two mistakes, well three, I used walnuts, I didn't use cake flour, and I used 7 egg whites instead of 5. The recipe called for 7 yolks, my brain got confused.

After the batter was mixed, I poured it into the cake pan about 3/4 full and following the advice of my fellow bakers and poured the rest into cupcake tins. The cake didn't rise much at all, which seemed to be pretty common among the other daring bakers. It didn't fall, but it was a little over an inch and a half tall. I wrapped everything up and figured I'd deal with it in the morning.

Saturday morning around 6am I woke up to battle with the praline butter cream. Basically you turn the hazelnut praline into a paste and then add it to the swiss butter cream, it was amazing. What a genius idea! Seriously, who came up with that? Anyway, I read some of the madness folks were having with this butter cream so I prepared to deal with issues.

I got out the eggs for the great separation and got a little yolk in my egg whites. I simply thought "not a problem". Keep in mind I've never made a meringue before and was totally unaware of the sometimes picky nature of eggs getting fluffy. I found this out the hard way. I was beating and beating away, and they never ever formed peaks. Thank goodness for the internet and youtube, I quickly realized that in order for the meringue to form there must be no yolk or fat in the egg whites. Yup, that was it. This time I let the pure whites sit out for a bit and put a pinch of salt into them and got back to beating again. It worked! I made my first meringue! I folded in the butter and kept on beating with my old hand mixer from the 70's (thanks mom!). It was perfect, it came together like magic.

I put the praline paste into the butter cream and there is was: praline butter cream. Now, I just had to deal with making three layers out of my seriously short cake. I cut it in half, and it was wobbly and uneven and sad. I could just leave it like that. I couldn't give Josh a 2 inch tall cake on his birthday. What did I do? I put the flat cupcakes in the middle right between the layers, sandwiched there pretending to be a third layer. I built it up with the sugar water and apricot glaze and just merrily went along like it was normal to do it like this.

But, I took it a step further. Seeing as how the cupcakes were rounded it was leaving a rounded trianglular shaped gaps around the edges, so I did was any normal person would do and cut up more cupcakes to fill in the "voids". That was a total of, oh, 11 cupcakes used. And they were thicker than the other layers. Just in case you can't quite picture this sad incident, I took some time to create an illustration:


At the time, I was in a certain mindset where this seemed liked a completely normal solution. I get everything together and put it in the refrigerator and got ready for the chocolate ganache. The ganache was wonderful, very easy to put together and it flowed nicely over my uneven and slightly unfortunate cake.

The cake was lopsided and bumpy, nothing that butter cream dots and star can't cover up! I scrawled happy birthday right across the top in my best icing writing. And showed it to Josh while I watched my butter cream starts start to slide down the side of the cake.


We ate a piece right then, and I will say it was interesting. We both agreed "interesting" was the right word. It was edible, but the texture was different. Both dense and fluffy at the same time. I'm confident that it would have been better if I used hazelnuts instead of walnuts in the cake, everything else seemed to work out individually, but together were just very awkward. I wish I could have tried someone else's cake to get an idea of what this should really taste like.

All in all, I'm really glad I tried this cake. It was daunting and mocked me the entire time. I learned how to make ganache, melt sugar, whip up meringue and so it was a good learning experience if anything else. Check out the other Daring Bakers for some really great looking cakes!

Food Inventory: Week Two

Last week wasn't perfect food-wise as there were a couple of chinese take-out nights. Saturday, we ate out like we always do. But, I will say we did eat at home a lot and I got pretty creative with our meals. I have a bunch of recipes/photos pending!

I made: tomato bisque, broccoli and whole wheat fettuccine alfredo, lasagna (cheated on this, bought ingrediants for it), chili, curried egg salad, blackened chicken salad, tuna salad sandwiched and tonight I'm making chicken enchiladas.

The List Updated:

1 block (about 8oz) Monterey jack cheese (block was bigger than 8oz., more like 16! now have about 8 oz. left)
1 ounce pepper jack cheese (will sneak this into tonights meal)
1 head romaine lettuce
1 container of baby spinach arugula
3 zucchinis
2 1 tomato
2 1 large yellow onion
21 cartons of eggs
1/2 loaf whole wheat bread
2.5 packages of 6 whole wheat buns
one whole wheat par baked bread round
1 frozen pot pie
2 frozen onion bagels
*1/2 container fresh parmesan cheese (* added one brand new container)
2 1 packets instant sugar free pudding
3 1 can (2.7 oz each) tuna in water
2 cans pinto beans
3 1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sweet cream corn
1 can chick peas
8 3 cans kidney beans
1 can clam chowder
5 cans diced tomatoes 5 cans in one week!
2 1 can chicken broth
1 jar clam juice
1 box whole wheat fusilli
2 boxes organic whole wheat spaghetti
1 box tricolor pasta bows
1.2 boxes rice noodles
1 box penne rigate
1 box whole wheat couscous
1 box steel cut oats
1 bag instant brown rice
1 box low carb angel hair
1 box whole wheat fettuccine
1 box uncle bens chicken and broccoli
1 box lasagna noodles
1/2 bag carolina rice
1/8 box vermicelli
1 bottle white wine vinegar
1/8 aunt jemima lite syrup
one sugar free maple syrup
annie's whole wheat alfredo bunnies
one box smart balance instant oatmeal
1 box success brown rice
one bag clam chowder soup mix
one bag hot and sour soup mix
1 bag whole grain rice pilaf
1 box simple harvest oatmeal
1/2 bag mixed noodles
small bag of white rice
1 bag whole wheat egg noodles
garlic herb mix
mandarin orange dip mix
maple dip mix
1 dry bean soup mix
1/2 large container oatmeal (not instant)
1 jar dried beans with spices
22 packets of instant oatmeal
4 containers slim fast
5 packets of ramen
light corn syrup
2 containers of salt
1.5 bags of all purpose flour
3/4 bag whole wheat flour
1/4 bag sugar + 1.5 C vanilla sugar
1 jar vanilla extract
1/2 bag brown sugar
4 packets of instant yeast
1 box baking soda
1 can baking powder
1/2 container cocoa powder
1 box swiss miss hot cocoa mix
1/4 box super fine sugar
1 box cornstarch
2 bags frozen vegetable stir fry
3 teriyaki burgers
3 dr. pragers meatless tex mex burgers
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 lb. ground chicken
7 5 packets of frozen chicken breast
54 packages frozen broccoli
1 bag flax seeds
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 package turkey bacon (*wasn't sure if this was still good, and now confirmed, probably shouldn't eat)
1 helf quart whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 container vanilla fat free yogurt
1 3/4 package muenster cheese
8 whole wheat low carb wraps
cucumber ranch dressing
tomato ranch dressing
1/2 1/4 bottle red wine
lemon and lime juice
olive oil
2 4 sticks unsalted butter (* added four sticks)
6 green tea bags
5 iced tea bags

saturday in pictures

Penelope

This is one movie I've been wanting to see since its release in 2005, but forgot all about it until I read Heidi's post. The movie really is, full of charm and her bedroom is amazing. Who wouldn't want Penelope's bedroom and wardrobe for that matter? The visuals were Amelie-esque (another gem) with lots of red and green and depth.

Sometimes I'm surprised when this sort of movie gets lost in the shuffle, because it really is wonderful in its own way. I don't think Josh was overly excited to watch it, but after watching it he seemed to really enjoy it.

Edit: I felt like my original post was a little mean, so I just left it at this :)

The Boss of You

My sister recently gave me two awesome belated birthday gifts. The first one was plaid chucks, and the second was a gift card to barnes and noble. Thanks sister!

I couldn't wait to go to go to the barnes and noble in union square. Its funny, when I go to the book store with little money I quickly find hundreds of books I want to take home, but when its a gift card I feel like the pressure is on to find the perfect book, or two.

The first one I got is called The Boss of You- Everything a Woman Needs to Know to Start, Run and Maintain Her own Business, written by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears. I've only made it through the first few chapters, and while some of the questions are really hard to answers, the advice is priceless.

Right now, my favorite section is about defining success. I took a few marketing/business classes in college, and the definitions for personal success were pretty rigid and narrow. So many times the advice is written towards huge business people with profit in mind. What is success? The answer is different for everyone and I think that is an important point to realize.

The book is focused primarily towards those who create small businesses from home. Even more so with the internet, so many people are creating cottage industries on their own. The range is everywhere, internet marketers to crafters to photographers to illustrators.

Josh is a good example and inspiration for me, as to someone who was tired of doing meaningless tasks at his job. I love that instead of saying "this sucks, I'm stuck" he went home and basically figured out a way to make a living from his tiny run-down studio apartment. The internet is still so new to a lot of people, and the marketing rules are the same, but vary greatly to real-world advertising.

The thing about being an entrepreneur is that, it is a lot of hard work. The cool thing is, you're working hard towards your own growth and success. Every job I've ever had, I was working hard for someone else's goal and profit. It didn't matter how much or little work I put in, I always got the same amount back, while someone else was profiting. I get that, that is apart of the game and being self-employed isn't always stable or easy.

Right now, I can't afford health care (its $860 a month, by the way. Who can afford that?!) but my goal is to be able to afford it in the coming months. I hate the idea that a "real job" is stable. At my last job, I didn't even have insurance for six months because they didn't pay the bill. They were stealing my 403b money, and I don't think I'm alone in the world in dealing with employer corruption.

This entry is very scattered, but I feel like I'm new to all of this and still finding my own niche's and grooves with working for myself. I'm not a very disciplined person by nature, so that is a huge hurdle for me. Also, creating and sticking to schedules around here, is simple unheard of. Which makes the line of work time vs. other time very blurry. I don't know what the coming months hold for me really. Maybe I'll be in a place financially to do an apprenticeship, or volunteer, or have a part time job doing something I really like, or take classes to learn something new. Maybe I'll get really into having an etsy shop. Maybe I'll do some freelance design or photography work. We'll see, I'm still asking questions and finding new answers.

Using it up

Its day three of using the food we already have and its becoming an obsession! Is it sad that I really get excited about this? I've been looking at food/recipe blogs for ideas and just googling ingredients to find recipes.

Once I get my software up and running again today I'll post pictures and recipes. So far we've had:
red wine tomato bisque
blackened chicken salad
broccoli and alfredo on whole wheat fettuccine
and curried egg salad

Taking Inventory

I've mentioned too many times that we're moving, and will probably fill up a good deal more of my virtual space with moving talk. Yesterday, was the day of realization that its actually happening the 20th of august and in one month from yesterday we will be taking the 9+ hour drive down to VA with our two cats and some other random belongings.

I've been thinking more and more lately about the economy and being more resourceful and self-reliant. I don't pride myself on being overly academic, well read, or athletic, because I'm not most of those things, but when it comes to being resourceful and creative I can take the cake. It swells my heart and I take great pride in the ability to make something out of nothing. And I love seeing the same traits in other people. I think this is why I love creative bloggers and historical shows such as the house series.

I want to work more on myself and my abilities. I'm figuring out, for me, that creativity comes out of a place of frugality rather than abundance. To me, a true measure of a great cook is not just someone who can create masterpieces out of the finest ingredients, but someone who can create meals with very little. There is so much information and inspiration for art on the internet. I can't even begin to think of all of the design blogs who gather information. While I love that, there comes a time when our minds become cluttered with too much information. And our own creativity can get lost in the masses of inspiration we consume. I say we loosely, mostly, I mean me, but I know other people can relate. Creativity is about seeing an object in a new way and giving it a new life or purpose.

An empty soup can, can take on many different roles if you see the potential. I'm finding that there is greatness in the balance of too much and too little.

I was looking through the pantry, refrigerator and freezer yesterday and realized that while I felt like we didn't "have anything to eat". You know, when it feels like all of the usual quick things are gone and everything else requires time and thought to make? I realized that we actually have a lot to eat, and a lot of food that I do not want to take with us. I took a closer look and noticed that with a little creativity and planning, we could realistically eat nicely for the next month without buying a lot more food. I can't even begin to say how much food we've wasted, forgotten vegetables in the white drawer or bags of rice that get lost in the back of the pantry.

Its not about money, we have money to buy more food and go out to dinner, but why? This seems more fun anyway, figuring out ways to make what we have work, while buying the occasional fresh foods. I will update my inventory list once a week, and post about the food I make with recipes.

The List:

1 block (about 8oz) Monterey jack cheese
1 ounce pepper jack cheese
1 head romaine lettuce
1 container of baby spinach (or arugula, I can't remember)
3 zucchinis
2 tomatoes
2 large yellow onions
2 cartons of eggs
1/2 loaf whole wheat bread
2.5 packages of whole wheat buns
one whole wheat par baked bread round
1 frozen pot pie
2 frozen onion bagels
1/2 container fresh parmesan cheese
2 packets instant sugar free pudding
3 cans (2.7 oz each) tuna in water
2 cans pinto beans
3 cans tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sweet cream corn
1 can chick peas
8 cans kidney beans
1 can clam chowder
5 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth
1 jar clam juice
1 box whole wheat fusilli
2 boxes organic whole wheat spaghetti
1 box tricolor pasta bows
1.2 boxes rice noodles
1 box penne rigate
1 box whole wheat couscous
1 box steel cut oats
1 bag instant brown rice
1 box low carb angel hair
1 box whole wheat fettuccine
1 box uncle bens chicken and broccoli
1 box lasagna noodles
1/2 bag carolina rice
1/8 box vermicelli
1 bottle white wine vinegar
1/8 aunt jemima lite syrup
one sugar free maple syrup
annie's whole wheat alfredo bunnies
one box smart balance instant oatmeal
1 box success brown rice
one bag clam chowder soup mix
one bag hot and sour soup mix
1 bag whole grain rice pilaf
1 box simple harvest oatmeal
1/2 bag mixed noodles
small bag of white rice
1 bag whole wheat egg noodles
garlic herb mix
mandarin orange dip mix
maple dip mix
1 dry bean soup mix
1 large container oatmeal (not instant)
1 jar dried beans with spices
22 packets of instant oatmeal
4 containers slim fast
5 packets of ramen
light corn syrup
2 containers of salt
1.5 bags of all purpose flour
3/4 bag whole wheat flour
1/4 bag sugar + 1.5 C vanilla sugar
1 jar vanilla extract
1/2 bag brown sugar
4 packets of instant yeast
1 box baking soda
1 can baking powder
1/2 container cocoa powder
1 box swiss miss hot cocoa mix
1/4 box super fine sugar
1 box cornstarch
2 bags frozen vegetable stir fry
3 teriyaki burgers
3 dr. pragers meatless tex mex burgers
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 lb. ground chicken
7 packets of frozen chicken breast
5 packages frozen broccoli
1 bag flax seeds
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 package turkey bacon
1 quart whole milk
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 container vanilla fat free yogurt
1 package muenster cheese
8 whole wheat low carb wraps
cucumber ranch dressing
tomato ranch dressing
1/2 bottle red wine
lemon and lime juice
olive oil
2 sticks unsalted butter
6 green tea bags
5 iced tea bags

Brian Wilson and the weekend so far

Thursday evening we headed out to Coney Island for the free Brian Wilson concert. It was really amazing for me to get to see him play live. A few weeks ago at the gym I watched his tribute concert from 2004 (I think) here in new york, right before he released Smile. I know more about his genius because of Josh. While I watched the tribute concert I had to really hold myself back from crying on the stationary bike (that would have been a sight.) And during moments at the Coney Island concert.

We didn't bring the camera, but thanks to the power of the internet, I found some pictures from the night.



Click here for more pictures.

Yesterday morning I woke up super early before the heat set in, to finish baking birthday dessert which I will post about later on in the week. Later on in the afternoon we went to union square for a walk around the green market before seeing The Dark Knight. I'm really going to miss the farmers market when we leave, I've never experienced anything quite like it before.

Our dark knight showing was at 3:46. We wanted to get into the imax theater, but it was sold out until tuesday at 10am. When we got there, there was already a line of people sitting waiting for the doors to open for seating. I've never been into the batman series, and never really watched the movies as a kid. But I will say while I'm not a super hero/action fan person, I liked the complexity of the story and the characters. I was genuinely surprised by a lot of the choices that were made, which for me, if it had been another way could have been more predictable, but wasn't.

We had Mexican for dinner, walked around, got ice cream, came home, watched half of melinda and melinda. And that was the birthday weekend :)

Also, I found this blog today: crazy like whoa. Its written by a guy named Paul stepped out of his life and into a life on the road as he documents his findings and new perspective across the country. A pretty interesting read, and now I even more want to go on a road trip.

A pre-birthday ode

Not much exciting has been going on, at least not much worth writing about. I could do a play by play about how there is very little packing going on around here and a lot of me sort of staring at boxes and staring at stuff, but little of me putting stuff in said boxes. However, this is a special week as Josh turns 31 on Saturday. 31, unlike 30 lacks any type of specialness or milestone.

But, because it's him, to me, makes it a day worth celebrating. Or any day for that matter. I don't talk about our relationship a lot on blogs, because its kind of weird to write "oh! by the way, I love Josh" or if I go any further I would get soft and warm and would possibly melt. It's been almost seven years since we met and I have to say its been a very interesting ride. Not one without bumps or with total perfection with songbirds fluttering consistently in the background. But, I have to say that because he is in my life I consider myself in the category of those that get really lucky.

There is a specialness and tenderness about him that I've never seen in another human being. He's always rooting for the underdog and even though I give him a hard time about it, will always push you to think again, take a second look and really see whats happening to change your perspective. Josh really cares for people, genuinely, there is no falsehood behind his intentions. You know that quote, the one about the real measure of a person is how they treat those who can benefit them in no way? Thats Josh.

I've seen him dispose a lot money to countless beggars and performers here in NY, without any regard at all to how it makes him look. He doesn't even consider those things. He doesn't care what their story is, but its likely, the more sad the story, the more money he gives. He even sponsors a little girl in India, but never tells people about it in a proud or boasting way, or at all. Me, I would tell everyone, and then question them for not considering doing the same. I'm working on that!

With him the old saying is true: when you know, you know. Its just right. Thank you Josh for bringing out the best parts of me, and for constantly believing in my abilities and seeing my potential when my eyes are closed. Thank you for your constant support and admiration. And thank you for being you, unlike anyone else.

Happy Birthday, I love you very much.

Lemon sugar cookies

Inspired by Martha's giant sugar cookies, I made these: lemon sugar cookies. Basically the same recipe except I added the zest and juice from one lemon. They turned out really well! Chewy, fluffy, sugary and lemony. I used an ice cream scoop that resulted in equally round cookies. I think next time I will use less flour, the recipe calls for 2 cups, I would use 1 1/2 cups instead for a more dense/chewy/buttery cookie. Josh really liked them too, he even closed his eyes while eating them which means they are really good.




You can find more pictures on my flickr page.

take me to tahiti

Back in April/May I was experimenting with washing my hair with baking soda, which lasted for exactly four weeks. I had visitors and places to go and I felt like my experiment wouldn't carry me through without a lot of "did you forget to wash your hair today" comments? What can I say, I'm one weak girl. I did however start washing less and using far less shampoo.

And then I found a chemical-free vegan shampoo and conditioner from a very nice lady named Tina at Gudonya Too. Who sent me more shampoo and conditioner when mine got lost in the mail. Thanks Tina!
I really love the products and I use the shampoo almost daily. It suds up, and cleans my hair without stripping it. I couldn't resist the Tahitian vanilla or strawberry scents. They come out in a thick paste, good for massaging. And they smell so good! If you're looking for some natural/affordable/good smelling shampoos and conditioners take a look over at Gudonya Too on etsy. I've also got my eye on the sugar lips, sugar scrub.

PS: how excited was I to get on tastespotting yesterday? very!

I love it when I find a simple recipe and even more when I happen to have all of the ingredients for it on hand. Not 15 minutes after the July issue of Bon Appetit arrived in the mail was I in the kitchen chopping vegetables and heating up the oven for Balsamic Roasted Vegetables. To be honest, I've never roasted vegetables and I'm pretty sure I've never had them. Which makes me wonder if I've been living in a cave full of skillet, steamed and even microwaved vegetables. A serious mis service to vegetables. I'm sorry vegetables for treating you so poorly in the past.



I felt very smug serving and eating them: no wasted vegetables, simple ingredients, and delicious results.

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

6 servings

Recipe by Kelsey Nixon and Shane Lyons

July 2008

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
• 2 large red onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
• 1 1-pound eggplant, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/2 pound yellow squash (about 2 medium), cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), cut into 1/3-inch-thick rounds
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in garlic, thyme, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss onions and next 6 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add dressing; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around edges, about 35 minutes.

double chocolate cookies

We went to a friends birthday party on Saturday, which in turn was a good excuse to bake cookies. Buying gifts can be tricky at any age, so why not cookies? I gathered a bunch of recipes over the week and finally settled on martha's double chocolate cookies.

They didn't disappoint, and were really good a few hours after baking. Chocolaty, chewy and slightly salty. I finally used the homemade vanilla extract thats been patiently brewing for a couple months in the back of the cabinet.





You can see more photos on my flickr page.