The weekend, in brief

I'm trying something new this year.  It's a project not unlike the one picture a day or a picture for every meal project.  I'm not sure what it means yet but it is a great way to chronicle the fun, the mundane, and the little things that inspire me.

Getting ready to re-paint a chair for my vanity

New hobby - indoor rock climbing

Delicious meatball sub at a friends house - too bad about dem Bengals

Still loving winter vegetables - Brussel Sprouts stalk 

AYCE Indian - Garlic Naan

Earl Grey shortbread cookies

We bought a Groupon for indoor rock climbing at Planet Granite in San Francisco.  Planet Granite is a great space with a fantastic view.  It's situated in the Presidio with a killer view of Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge.  It is an indoor rock climbing, bouldering, and yoga gym.  The facilities are amazing and the location is perfect from our house.  We can ride our bikes there and after climbing go for a run along the bay with the breath taking sights.  We took a belay class and then tried out various routes.  It's a bit of an addiction because it is challenging, a little bit scary, and requires a good amount of problem solving and working out solutions.  I'm excited to learn and improve my skills and not be such a "gumby".


I've been obsessed with Earl Grey flavored desserts for some time now and specifically I was thinking about the shortbread sandwiches cookies I had a bakery in LA called Twelve Centimeter.  It is light and delicious and I couldn't wait to make my own.  The recipe is so easy and delicious with the lime and orange zest really bringing out the flavor of the Earl Grey.  Of course because the tea is the main flavor, it's important to get a really quality tea.  The recipe is in grams which was a bit of a hassle but all worth it in the end.  These little cookies can be dangerous - so easy to pop in your mouth!

Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes, you have to try something different.  Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie and my husband is no different.  I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and these are so so good.  It's a Jacque Torres recipe, how could you even go wrong?  The salt really brings out the bittersweet chocolate and the cake flour makes the cookie nice and soft.

Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 extra tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate disks (at least 60% cacao content)

sea salt

1.  Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 2 ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, pressing the salt into the cookie so it sticks, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.  Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.  Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

The one change I made to the recipe is the cookie size.  I use 2 oz. balls of dough versus the suggested 3.5 oz.  Be careful how much you salt each cookie, I find that being diligent and careful with the salt is the only way to go because you want all the cookies to be uniform with the correct amount of salt.  I wouldn't salt much more than the picture above.  Try this cookie for something a little different.

Baked Custard with Fruit

It is an embarrassment of riches to have so much delicious local fruit that you just can't eat it all. Between my farm basket, sporadic visits from my in-laws, and the abundance of farmers markets, I have to come up with ways to eat all the fresh food I have in ways that are not just cutting it up and taking a bite. This is a simple recipe to utilize fresh fruit or frozen fruit. It's essentially a baked custard and it takes minutes to prepare. It will fill the house with the smell of baked fruit and is always pleasing. It is a great dessert after a long day at work. The recipe is courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Ingredients
1/4 stick of butter
1/4 cup of milk
3 large eggs
1/2 sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups fruit (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, whatever you have on hand)

Set oven at 400 degrees. Put pie pan in the oven with the butter to melt it. Mix all the ingredients together except the fruit and the 1 tbsp sugar. Mix well smooth. Pour into pie pan and add fruit. Sprinkle the sugar on top and bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the middle is firm. Heat broiler and broil for another 2-3 minutes until the sugar on top caramelizes.

Cheesecake Lollipops with Bacon

For the Superbowl, my friend Neil has a big party where he gets a taco guy to serve authentic Mexican food to your hearts content.  It's an awesome affair and aside from chips and dips, I wanted to make something that didn't compete with Mexican food and could win over meatheads everywhere.  I saw this recipe and thought I would put a little spin on it and cover my cheesecake with dark chocolate and an assortment of toppings.  I rolled them in bacon, Heath Bar, sprinkles, or salt.

So yummy!

The recipe is a fairly simple cheesecake, baked and rolled into balls.  I have never made a cheesecake before but it seemed pretty simple.  If I were to make a real cheesecake, I probably would not use this recipe because it wasn't the best I've ever had but once it's covered in chocolate and bacon, it's less about the cheesecake.  Use your favorite cheesecake recipe (or have a little help from the store).

Not the prettiest cheesecake I've ever seen

You can use a cookie scoop to make balls of cheesecake and put a lollipop stick on top.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes.  This is important because the balls will be frozen and will help the chocolate to harden.

Once frozen it's easy to dip in chocolate and cover in your favorite toppings.  I highly recommend the bacon as it's that sweet and salty goodness in the perfect size bite!  The Heath Bar was also delicious, as are most candies that are hard enough to stick to chocolate, unlike a gooey candy like a Snickers Bar.  I would recommend the salt but only very very sporadically, too much will throw off the flavor of the cheesecake.  The sprinkles were just my nod to the team I was supporting that day.  Go Packers!

Celebration

Over the past two years, pretty much ever since I started this blog, life has been changing at speeds I'm unaccustomed to. I'm trying to take it all in stride and maintain a positive attitude. Some days and situations can get me down and I think today I just really needed to celebrate something.

I have never baked a regular cake before, like a made from the box cake, just not from the box. I've made flourless cakes and unusual cakes but never just a standard chocolate cake with a buttercream frosting. I wanted to try to make a multi-layer cake and frost it to try some techniques I've seen and heard. I searched cookbooks and television shows and the internet before I landed on a recipe from epicurious.com. I chose it because it had coffee in it for depth of flavor and also buttermilk which I love. The buttercream frosting also came from epicurious and it was absolutely delicious although very buttery. In the future I may decide to use a different buttercream recipe to use less butter but this one was very delicious with the cake.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients:

3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut

1½ cups hot brewed coffee

3 cups sugar

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

2 teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

1¼ teaspoons salt

3 large eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1½ cups well-shaken buttermilk

¾ teaspoon vanilla

• The recipe called for a 10 x 2" cake pan but I used a 9" x 1.5" and it turned out fine. I made three cakes so I just weighed the batter and then divided it by 3. That way I knew each cake would have the exact amount of batter.
  
  
  Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. I greased the sides first with butter then added the wax paper on the bottom and greased that as well. You could add a little cocoa powder at the bottom to further ensure the cake comes out from the pan cleanly.
• Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
• Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour,cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer).
• Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well.
• Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Bake for 35 mins and upward until toothpick is clean.
  
  
  Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
  
  
  Vanilla Buttercream
  • 4 large egg whites at room temperature for 30 minutes
  • Rounded ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1⅓ cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
    
    
    • This recipe begins two fold, making a simple syrup and beating the egg whites. Do not start beating the egg whites until the syrup reaches a boil.
      
      
      Combine whites and salt in a very large bowl or stand mixer.
      
      
      Stir together water and 1⅓ cups sugar in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil over moderate heat, without stirring, brushing any sugar crystals down side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in water.
      
      
      When syrup reaches a boil, start beating egg whites with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until frothy, then gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat at medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. (Do not beat again until sugar syrup is ready.)
      
      
      Meanwhile, put thermometer into sugar syrup and continue boiling until syrup registers 238 to 242°F.
    • Immediately remove from heat and, with mixer at high speed, slowly pour hot syrup in a thin stream down side of bowl into whites, beating constantly. Beat, scraping down side of bowl with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes in a standing mixer or 15 with a handheld. (It is important that meringue is properly cooled before proceeding.)
    • 
      With mixer at medium speed, gradually add butter 1 piece at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated. (Buttercream will look soupy after some butter is added if meringue is still warm. If so, briefly chill bottom of bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.)
      
      
      
      • 
        
        Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all of butter is added but will come back together by the time beating is finished.) Add vanilla and beat 1 minute more.
        
        
        When the cakes are cool and the buttercream is ready, it is now time to assemble the cakes. If you have one, use a cake stand. Cover the stand with pieces of parchment paper, maybe use about four pieces that you can easily remove out from under the cake. The parchment paper will stop the buttercream from sticking to the cake stand and it can be easily removed once you are finished frosting.
        
        
        To get the cake layers ready for frosting, brush off any crumbs. Make the each layer is level and if not shave some off with a knife. Place the first layer on the parchment covered stand. Frost the top and place the second layer on. Repeat until you are done with layers. Once the cake is assembled cover the top and the sides with a minimal layer of frosting, just enough to cover all the surfaces. Place cake in the fridge for about 30 mins to harden the frosting. This will make it easier to frost the rest of the cake if there is already a harden surface to spread the remaining frosting. Frost as much as you like and you can either make it smooth or a more creamy look. And ta-da hopefully you will have a delicious and beautiful cake.
        
        
        

Not yo Mama's average Brownie

I consider myself to be more of a cook than a baker and have been dubbed "The Alpha Cook" at home. However, I live with the Beta Eater and he claims to be the Alpha Baker to compliment the Alpha Cook.

While procrastinating on a paper, the Beta Eater found this interesting recipe for brownies which is made by substituting black beans for flour. After flexing his baking muscles, the results were wonderfully fudgy and moist brownies. The flavor was very similar to a traditional brownie. The black beans were un-noticeable and offered only a healthy substitute for those who need or prefer gluten free foods. The brownies have to be kept in the fridge in order to retain their shape.

The recipe can be found in this book Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener by Ania Catalano.

Black Bean Brownies

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (canned is fine)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive)

¼ teaspoon sea salt

4 large eggs

1½ cups light agave nectar (honey is a fantastic substitute)

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan (or jellyroll pan) with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well. Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.