The Not-So-Best Birthday Cake

Smitten Kitchen is one of my absolute favorite cooking blogs. She's far more a baker than I am. Baking involves things like being able to follow directions, measuring and correct ingredients. These, are not my strong suites.

But when I saw her post for a Best Birthday Cake, I thought it was the cutest thing ever and wanted to try it. Except that (any day now) I'm a whole year away from a first birthday party. And really, I bet the mom is going to want to bake the cake, not have me do it. You can imagine my excitement when two days after I saw the cake, a friend sent an email for a first birthday bbq. (for her puppy)

So, in honor of Maddie, I had to decided to make the cake.



Funny thing, when you wake up somewhere around 3 ro 3:30 in the morning, can't get back to sleep and decide, at 5:15am decide to get up, and bake a cake instead of continuing to just lie there.

Well, blame it on the hour, the tiredness or whatever you want... but I didn't precisely follow some of the directions. And I forgot to hit the pan for the second layer, so there were a few bubbles on the bottom! (and I doubted this myth, silly person that I am) And then the top layer wasn't fully cool when I placed it on the second to continue icing, so the top layer started sliding and wouldn't stop until I put the finished product in the fridge. And then upon eating... it's a little denser than it probably should have been. But I blame that solely on my direction following ability.


Ah well. I'm still really proud of my first ever cake from scratch AND layered cake effort. I may be a baker yet. maybe.

Tom Yum Inspired Cauliflower and Green Beans (an attempt)

Tom Yum is one of my favorite soups of all time. It's absolutely part of how I judge and remember a Thai food restaurant. Part of what I loved was the crisp, sweet spiciness of the cauliflower in the dish. The green beans weren't too shabby either.

So when I got both cauliflower and green beans in my farm share last week - I needed to try to emulate the wonderful, wonderful result that is vegetables in Tom Yum soup. You know, without the soup because I tried that once and am far from perfecting it.




This was a little over cooked due to multi-tasking. And a little too spice due to underestimating the chilies I was working with. But I'm determined to figure this shiz out.

Tom Yum Inspired Vegetables

1 medium head cauliflower
1 handful fresh green beans
(or whatever vegetables tickle your fancy)
2-4 shakes cayenne pepper
paprika

1/2 to 1 c chicken broth
2 dried ancho chilies (I wanted 1 birds eye chili)

Add chicken broth and chilies to sauce pan and bring to a simmer.

In the mean time, break down cauliflower into bite sized florets . Remove the ends from the green beans and cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch lengths. Sprinkle with paprika and cayenne pepper (Can you tell I didn't trust the chilies to be spicy? I'm bright.). Add vegetables to simmering broth. Stir to coat vegetables and work spices into broth. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Drain broth and return vegetables to pan. Saute for another 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

(I modified the written cooking times from what I did because, obviously, what I did wasn't quite right.)

Whip It Up: Week 4: Healthy Option (The official entry)

(See that picture next to it? That's what it was "supposed" to look like.)

This week's challenge is a healthy option. I (generally) try to eat well on a day to day basis. And because of this, I know that the (not so) occasional craving hits for something that is (far, far) less than healthy. So, why not take this week's challenge and embrace those cravings - just in a version that wouldn't derail a day's (or week's) efforts?



To keep the health factor rolling, I served it with simmered/sauteed green beans and cauliflower and mashed potatoes made with chicken broth, Parmesan, Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, and a touch of shredded reduced fat mozzarella. Delicioso!

Courtesy of Cooking Light... (originall recipe found here)




Pan-Fried Chicken

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt, divided

6 bone-in chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1/4 c canola oil

Combine flour, ginger, paprika, nutmeg cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt in a large zip-lock bag. Rub chicken with the other 1/2 tsp salt. Place chicken pieces in zip lock bag one by one. Seal the bag and shake. (Shake and bake! and I helped!)

Once well coated, remove from bag and place on a plate, platter, whatever you have (a rack over a plate is probably best) and put it in the fridge for an hour to an hour and a half to let the flour mixture settle on the chicken. Discard extra flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan and reduce heat to medium-low. The trick is finding the right temp - too high and the outer coating will brown well before the chicken is done cooking, too low and the chicken will absorb too much oil. Cook for 25-30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.

When the outer coating is brown and chicken cooked, remove from the pan and place on a platter with paper towels (really, the brown bags on a rack is better, but I don't have those). Let rest for 5-10 minutes, turn half way through.

Enjoy!

Because this is the healthy options week, here's the health information (Probably a little different because of my ahem modifications)

Calories: 245 Fat: 10.1g (sat 2g,mono 4.1g,poly 3g) Protein: 28.2g Carbohydrate: 9g Fiber: 0.8g Cholesterol: 87mg Iron: 1.8mg Sodium: 240mg Calcium: 17mg

So...
Was it easy?
Yes! I forgot to get the peanut oil, but the canola worked well. I also didn't' read some of the directions so well - so my spice ratio is different than the original.
Was it good?
Yes! ...but still not quite the fried chicken real deal.

Would you make it again?
To be honest, I think I prefer grilled chicken to this method...put perhaps.

Whip It Up: Week 3: Regional Favorites

I've lived in Boston since the fall of 2001. I guess that makes it just shy of 8 years. Since I've moved, I've been made aware, time and again, that there are a number of New England traditions of which Connecticut is entirely unaware. There's no clam bakes - but perhaps that can be blamed on the shore line being entirely taken up by the Long Island Sound, and not an ocean (by any stretch of the imagination). There's the undying loyalty to the Sox, but maybe that's because of the proximity of NY and the number of people residing in CT that work there. Connecticutioners completely lack any sort of accent. On the plus side, the pizza's actually really good.

But then there's the lack of Baked Beans, brown breads and fanaticism of Italian Sausages. However, since I now associate myself with Boston far more than Connecticut, I figured it was about time I tackled this rampantly regional dish.

Now, when I mentioned that this plan to Matt, he so kindly mentioned that his Grampy was an award winning baked bean maker. Well crap. Talk about expectations. Of course I couldn't make any recipe other than his Grampy's. But then, how could I ever live up to a blue ribbon legacy on my first attempt?? Well, in short, I didn't. First of all, Grampy's recipe, along with most Boston Baked Beans, calls for salt pork. Which I don't eat. I will count this as my saving grace. The two recipes couldn't possibly be the same, and I'm off the hook.

(also, I've never had and am sort of afraid of brown bread. only one, one!!, friend has ever said it's good. and again, this was when I was talking about making this dinner. so, i went with northern style corn bread)

Grampy's Boston Baked Beans

1 lb great northern beans

3 tbs molasses

1 tsp dried mustard

3 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs catsup (or 6 packets, you know, whatever you happen to have)

2 slices turkey bacon (not in the original recipe)

2 thick slices uncooked, fatty corned beef, cubed (also not in the original)

1 small onion, fine chopped

Sort and soak the beans overnight. Drain well and pour into a bean pot (or a casserole dish with a lid, like I did, if you don't have a bean pot).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine molasses, mustard, brown sugar, and catsup. Combine well and add to beans as well as the bacon and corned beef. Stir until well mixed. Add water to cover. Place lid on the pot and put it in the oven for 5-6 hours. Check periodically, stir and add water as needed. You don't want it to get dried out. For the last half hour or so, let the sauce thicken without letting the dish dry out.

Upon removing and tasting, we decided to add some salt and a little more brown sugar.

Twas delicious, but I've still some work to do before I live up to Grampy's legacy.

For the corn bread, I followed this recipe. Before posting it to my site, though, I want to tweak it. First thoughts are it needs more salt and sugar.

So...

Was it easy?

Yes, exceptionally so.

Was it good?

As mentioned above, yes, very good. However - it's not there yet.

Would I make it again?

Again yes. Hopefully at some point with supervision/guidance from Grammy or Mary Jo.

Unexpected Goodness

I have, what is probably an irrational, distinct dislike of Martha Stewart. So imagine my surprise when trying to figure out what was in my farm share last week and then figuring out what to do with my apparent fava beans, I came across a person who modified a Martha Stewart recipe that I wanted to try.

But then when I went to make it tonight, I figured out I had only the orzo and shallots. And so using it as an inspiration, that is where our two recipes part ways. Whew.


Orzo with Green and Fava Beans

1 1/2 c. dry orzo pasta
1 shallot diced
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs capers
1/4 - 1/2 c. shelled fava beans, white casing removed
1 c. green beans, cut to 1" lengths
1 glug white wine (about 1/4 cup)
1 tbs dijon mustard
6 - 7 slices turkey bacon
2 tbs fresh diced parsley
shaved parmesan
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 415

Fill a medium pot with water, salt lightly and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to directions on the box. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

Place turkey bacon on a baking sheet and place in oven until crispy. About 15 minutes. No need to flip. Remove from oven until cool. Dice/crumble.

Add olive oil to pot. When heated, add shallots and capers until shallots are translucent. Add white wine, dijon mustard. Combine well. Stir in cooked orzo and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and add parsley.

After plating, top with parmesan shavings.



Personally, next time, I wouldn't add the capers. That's it. I would have liked more fava beans as well, but I used all I had. The contrasting crunch of the green beans was very nice.

Room for Improvement

Since starting this blog, something has become more and more obvious to me.

I direly need a new camera. The one I have is only a few years old. However, it takes forever to turn on, does not have a micro-zoom (or whatever the take pictures of things, like food, close up feature is called), somehow it needs to be really bright or the picture comes out fuzzy, even with the flash a lot of the time.

Just generally, it's no longer cutting it.

I want a small one that I can put in my pocket. I can't tell you how much I loved being able to keep my camera in my side pocket while hiking the Inka Trail. Easy access = key, even for a camera.

It has to be easy to use. I've been known to threaten physical violence against electronics, and mean it.

Ideally, it would be able to take pictures of the beautiful vistas from hikes and ocean visits, antics of friends and glamor shots of my kitchen adventures (food porn) all equally comparably well.

And probably some other features I want but am forgetting.

So I ask, what do you use? What should I look for? Do you know the perfect camera for me?

Joy!

My first ever hobo submission got a mention in this month's post!!! An actual food blog. That people actually read. Linked. To. My. Page.

...I'm such a dork.

But this totally made my night. The fantastic dinner of black bean burgers and healthy potato skins definitely helped. But when I sat down at the computer to do some work, at midnight, I wasn't looking forward to the next hour. And then I saw Thursday Night Smack Down's post.

**squeal**

This, of course, means I need to play again next month. And need to step it up. Hopefully it'll be a long time before she realizes I don't eat pork. I think it'll lower my standing in her eyes.