Tales of a Kitchenphobe

In honor of Pi(e) day

2011-03-14T18:57:00.001-04:00

The Key Lime Pie from Longhorn Steakhouse. Happy 3.14 everyone!

Dinner at Jiko

2011-02-27T09:06:00.002-05:00

To say that I had been eagerly anticipating this meal for awhile would be a very huge understatement.

Almost as big an understatement as it would be to call Jiko our favorite meal of the trip. Possibly favorite meal of ever.

As I had mentioned in the beginning, Adam and I had originally planned for this trip to coincide with our 3-year anniversary, which was October 6th. And pretty much as soon as the trip was booked, we had Jiko reserved for our anniversary dinner.

And then...well...you know.

In between the time of our original reservation and our new one, a few menu changes occurred. The macaroni and cheese no longer accompanied the filet, which I had been considering having, but hadn't been totally fixated on having.

Unfortunately for my beloved Adam, a dessert he had been eyeing (nay, drooling over already), the Coffee and Koeksisters (spiced doughnuts), also disappeared. He was shocked. Dismayed. None of the new dessert offerings would ever take its place.

Well, we'd see about that.

On the way to Jiko:

We got there a bit early, and were told they wouldn't start seating until 5:30 (our reservation was for 5:35). We meandered around the lobby of AKL. We stood in the waiting area between Boma and Jiko. We then hung out in the bar area just inside the doors of Jiko, and then were called to our table.

When we approached the hostess stand with our now buzzing buzzer, the hostess handed us a card for our anniversary, which the staff had signed.

We thanked them for this unexpected and sweet gesture, and were led to our table. Some ambiance:

We were seated near the wall shown above, which subtly changed colors throughout the evening to represent a sunset.

Upon being seated, we were given two types of bread (honey wheat and flax seed) and tandoori butter.

I then notified the server about my litany of annoying food allergies, and he promptly brought out some safe bread and butter for my side of the table (the flax seed bread and regular butter).

I enjoyed the bread, it had a very nice flavor. Adam said, "the tandoori butter was very tasty, it went well with both of the breads. The flavor of the butter was strong, but not overpowering."

Next, it was time for appetizers. I had been looking at one in particular for awhile, and decided I couldn't not try it.

This is the barbecue chicken flatbread, and it is simply outstanding. I loved the barbecue sauce with the crispy sweet crunch of the apples and jicama. I was thrilled to finally get to try this, after seeing pictures of it for so long!

Adam had the Wild Boar Tenderloin for his appetizer:

He describes this as "wonderful, served over chakalaka, which was spicy, but just enough to contrast the buttery boar. There was a little mealie in the chakalaka, but it was more for the textural component." I tried a bite (okay, 2) of this, and thought it was delicious (possibly even a touch more so than my flatbread. And yes, I shared that too!)

For our main courses, I had the filet, which was served with fingerling potatoes and pole beans.

There were spices of some sort that I am unable to have in the red wine sauce, so that's why that is missing. I thought that the filet was a fantastic cut of beef, buttery and flavorful. I wished I had been able to try this in its true form, as it was very very very good, but was missing that unique touch that all of the dishes seemed to have. Definitely a delicious course though!

Adam then moved on to the Braised Berbary Duck

Honestly, I have never seen Adam enjoy a course more than this one. "The duck was like slices of filet mignon - it was soo tasty and tender. It was served over tandoori potatoes and chanterelle mushrooms, which were equally as good as the duck, and bruleed figs for a sweet component." I did not taste any of this, as I was afraid of spicy allergens within. It did look like a beautiful and delectable dish, and he literally cleared the plate.

For dessert, our wonderful server brought over an anniversary treat for each of us.

I received a sorbet sampler with triple berry, apricot, and strawberry sorbets. The strawberry and apricot were both fabulous, but the triple berry was honestly the best sorbet (possibly dessert) I have ever tasted. It was jam-packed with flavor and wonderfulness. I savored that little scoop like it was a precious treasure hahaha.

(The slightly impatient) Adam was given the Amarula Creme Brulee. He is not typically a creme brulee fan (I know, right?), but he called this "incredible". It had a layer of chocolate on the bottom that he said gave it a little something extra. I was unable to taste, just got to watch him swoon.

When we were about halfway through our desserts, our server came by and said that the only other dessert on the menu I would be able to have besides the sorbets was the chocolate cremeux cake, and if we would like to try that as well, he'd be happy to bring it over.

Adam left it up to me.

Oh, I was SO tempted. I kind of regret my decision now, but...

I declined.

Sometimes (rarely) I like to put up the appearance of being dainty, and didn't want to toss even more decadence on top of the already amazing meal. I was already stuffed. It would have been just in excess.

OH WHY DID I SAY NO????

I savored my last drop of triple berry sorbet, and thus concluded our anniversary meal at Jiko.

Despite thinking about this dinner for approximately 7 months, Jiko still managed to exceed our expectations. It was a wonderful meal from start to finish, with attentive service, beautiful ambiance, and delicious dishes. Absolutely our favorite meal of the vacation.

To conclude, a brief stop in the Beach Club on the way back led to this awesome chair find:

Doesn't it look like we took a little stroll through Pixie Hollow? Also: yes, it was cold enough for gloves!!

Casey's Corner lunch

2011-02-26T07:49:00.002-05:00

First, things we did not eat on the Jungle Cruise:

So after our filling Kona breakfast, Adam and I made our way around the MK. I continually reminded him that we had dinner at Jiko that night, so appetites had better be ravenous for then. No extraneous snacking!

Early on in the lunching time frame, we found ourselves in the vicinity of CHH, a CS I had wanted to try. However, after we finally found the entrance (a bit tricky coming from Fantasyland, at least for us!), it was bustling inside, and we weren't all that hungry, so we trekked on.

A bit later, around ::checks photo time:: 1 or so, we (read: I) was starting to get a bit hungry. I toyed briefly with the idea of getting a funnel cake from Sleepy Hollow (shockingly, a snack I didn't get during this trip at all), then remembered Casey's. Adam was on board.

While making our way over, I began to get nervous about crowds there, as it was pretty much peak eating time, and CHH was busy during practically breakfast. However, when we walked in, the stations were only about 2 people deep. Yay!

In keeping with my decree of having voracious appetites for dinner, we ate light. I had a hot dog, and Adam was originally going to get one as well, but then the corn dog nuggets caught his eye.

(I have no idea why I had my camera on the tungsten filter, sorry about the blue lunches. It's fixed for the Jiko pictures though, don't worry!)

I had heard all about the new buns for the hot dog, that they were using whole wheat buns now (which still doesn't make sense to me on items like a hot dog). They were obviously not squishy white bread buns, but they didn't bother me too much. They didn't fall apart or crumble when I ate. The hot dog was warm and perfect for a not-very-filling snack.

Adam called his corn dog nuggets "a nice little fast lunch, they were ok, standard corndogs, just miniaturized and put with spicy brown mustard."

I would definitely come back to Casey's, especially for a more full meal (I had opted out of having fries, but will not make that mistake again, especially with that melty cheese available!)

Kona Cafe Breakfast

2011-02-21T09:52:00.002-05:00

So you know that meal you've had in the past at Disney, that one that was SO good, and you just think about it and book reservations to go back and really really hope that it's just like you remembered? Especially since you've convinced your travel companion that it's awesome and a must-do?

Thankfully, some things stay the same (phew!)

So Adam and I headed off to Kona Cafe. Well, our journey to Kona began several months prior, back when we were scouring (read: basically memorizing) restaurant menus and I told him about the wonder and majesty that is Tonga Toast. He was in awe ("wait, it's FRIED?!?!"), I was giddy with anticipation. I had a plan, a plan involving some pancakes, pineapples, and macadamia nuts. I had seen way too many pictures of these to not try them for myself.

Onward!

Adam waiting patiently for his sugary fried dough. It has a banana in it. It's healthy fruit!

Speaking of healthy fruit, we both had orange juice. I had completely forgotten to tell Adam about the Lilikoi juice (which I'm absolutely positive he would have loved) until after we placed our juice orders. He was content with his choice (spoiler alert: he did absolutely love the Boma equivalent. Frunch? Jungle Juice? ::asks Adam:: West African Frunch.)

Pretty soon this arrived at the table

Syrup, butter, and strawberry sauce for the Tonga Toast. Oooh the giddy anticipation across the table was rising. Adam experimentally tasted some of the strawberry sauce on the end of his knife, and declared it delicious. I agreed, although it was a touch sweet for my taste (He loves sugary items - I once gave Adam pure cane sugar candies from Epcot, which were some of his favorites, just as a point of reference)

And the glorious moment then arrived.

Adam: "It was very good, the ham was very tasty, nicely grilled, and the tonga toast was great, both dips were really tasty although the strawberry definitely won out."

Along with

(I had gotten the pineapple and butter on the side)

WOW these were good! And dense! But tasty! And really, so filling! But just one more bite!

Or, as Adam puts it, "your pancakes were chock full o'nuts."

Now, I can eat pancakes pretty much anytime, anywhere, tons of them. I love pancakes. And I've eaten some dense pancakes before, but I was really surprised when I was only able to eat this much of them. (And this was with a bit of effort here, folks.)

These pancakes are PACKED with macadamia nuts! Delicious, but I had to leave a saddening amount behind. The sausage was just regular sausage. Not jam-packed with macadamia nuts, thank goodness lol!

Tremendously full, I then realized something...we get two beverages with breakfast! I'm going to assume this is typically used for coffee, especially at Kona, but neither Adam or I are coffee drinkers.

I do, however, enjoy a nice hot chocolate.

This may not look like much, but it was the best hot chocolate of the trip (this one may have kicked off a hot chocolate with breakfast trend for this traveler). And after I had ordered it, I realized that it would have been a good idea to get it in a to-go cup, as we were pretty much stuffed with pancake and French, er, Tonga toast by then. Just as I thought of this, the server came back, the hot chocolate already in a to-go cup! I praised his brilliance, and we were on our way, deliciousness in tow (I think I was spoiled by the chocolatey drizzle).

So did Kona Cafe live up to our breakfast expectations? Absolutely! AND we got to MK in time to see the opening show, which I hadn't thought we'd be able to, and hadn't seen before!

La Hacienda de San Angel

2011-02-19T06:51:00.002-05:00

After meandering around Epcot for a bit, Adam and I arrived at La Hacienda for our dinner reservation. I'd been sneaking peeks at the place from around the lagoon, and it looked like it would be a great dinner spot.

Inside, the restaurant is even prettier. I had known about the floor-to-ceiling windows along the dining room, but I just loved the little touches and details that themed the room, but didn't make it cheesy or overwhelming. It was just nice.

Some ambiance:

(Sorry about the used glasses in the top photo, I thought it sorta showed the window view. And that our former neighbors drank pink lemonade.)

And some hungry diners:

Having read all about the DDXP, and the sheer amount of food that accompanies it, I thought it would be wise to start off the evening on a lighter note, and had the Ensalada de La Hacienda.

I'm still not entirely sure what happened with this dish, as I had advised the server about my food allergies, and had asked for the salad without pine nuts. Apparently this led to the pomegranates (the draw of the salad in the first place for me) and dressing to be left off as well. So it was a pretty boring salad, just some cheese, tomatoes, and a bunch of spinach. Not bad, but not interesting.

Adam was a bit of a better orderer than I, he decided on the Taquiza.

According to him, "the tacos were very good, all had corn tortillas, but I'd have to say the rib eye taco was by far the best. It had a chipotle salsa on it that was really good, but the pork wasn't too shabby either. They were perfect little 2 bite morsels for an appetizer."

Partway through the course, tired of eating dry spinach leaves, I squeezed the lime from his plate over my salad. It was a citrusy improvement.

For our main course, Adam and I shared the La Hacienda, a mixed grill for two.

This included:

Steak, chicken, chorizo, vegetables, corn, corn tortillas, rice, and black beans.

I wasn't a big fan of the steak (I may have just grabbed a slightly fatty piece, Adam thought that it had a nice cilantro topping). The chicken was great, it had a sweet honey sauce on it that Adam went nuts over (he called it "delectable"). The little chorizos were good, they were little bite-sized ones, which I hadn't expected. The vegetables were just plain grilled vegetables, nothing bad. Adam liked the corn tortillas more than I did, but they weren't bad. The rice was good, as were the black beans.

The corn was where we were a bit divided. It had a vinegary pickled flavor, which I did not enjoy at all (and I did try a few little bites throughout the evening, just to be fair). Adam called the corn "amazing, a vinegary bite to a sweet corn that was very crisp and tasty." He's the one with the much more adventurous palate in our relationship, so I'm sure those of you with braver tastes than I will definitely enjoy it. Me, however, I will stick to those plain old grilled veggies.

For dessert, we both had the Tamal de Dulce, which (I know this sounds bad), I really hadn't expected to like.

Happily, I was wrong! I was afraid that it would be too sweet, but it really had a nice fruity flavor. Adam agrees, "The tamal was very tasty, not a whole lot of filling and was a little dry, but the strawberry coulis more than made up for it as there was plenty to saturate it."

Overall, we both really enjoyed our dinner here. The ambiance was very nice and the food was tasty. In my opinion, La Hacienda is a great addition to Epcot!

Beaches and Cream

2011-02-17T20:14:00.002-05:00

Actual Disney food now!!!

So Adam and I (fortified solely on a bagel and blue chips so far) checked in at the Yacht Club, dropped our bags off at the room, and scooted right over to Beaches & Cream next door. We had never been here, just had heard about it online, and were excited to have lunch here.

We walked to the podium at around 12:15, and I was surprised to be given a choice of a counter, table, or booth, all available right away, given the size of the restaurant. We chose the booth, and happily began to peruse the sherbet-hued menu.

We both decided on the Roast Beef Sub, which comes with cheese, peppers, onions, and (possibly) mushrooms. It is also accompanied by french fries and au jus for dipping.

I enjoyed this, it was a nice and filling meal after our journey to the World. Adam says that "it was good, a teensy bit dry, but the au jus was enough to make up for it, it had a nice flavor. The fries were run of the mill, and not very well salted."

Beaches and Cream has those fun squeezy bottles of ketchup and mustard, which Adam used to create a hidden condiment Mickey.

Adam ordered a strawberry malt along with his sandwich, which he really enjoyed: "very thick and malty, probably the best malt i've had since i was a kid."

I had asked our waitress earlier in the meal about non-dairy ice cream alternatives available (they offer Rice Dream and Tofutti products), the wheels in my head turning in the direction of a post-sub sundae. However, as I watched him delighting in his frozen treat (a teensy bit jealous), our waitress came over to let me know that they could make me a non-dairy malt with soy milk and either the Rice Dream or Tofutti, if I so desired.

Seriously?!?

I love Disney World.

Yes, vanilla please.

(Yes, that is whipped cream on top - I can have limited bits of dairy.)

I never knew non-dairy life could be so rich and decadent!! This was the perfect way to start our vacation, and Adam was thrilled I could join him for a malt, something we never even considered could be possible.

Filled with meaty and malty goodness, we were now ready to start our vacation!

I went to Disney!

2011-02-16T19:34:00.003-05:00

Okay, so that kind of lacks the same oomph as "I'm going to Disney!", but it was still pretty triumphant. Adam and I went to Disney for our anniversary, albeit 2 months late because of continued recovering. But we went!

To come are a few thoughts about the places we ate around WDW. To start, well, we had to get there, right?

Adam and I like flying to Disney - it gives us more time to enjoy the sights, sounds, and FOOD!

This was the first time we had ever flown JetBlue (loved it!), and hence, the first time ever enjoying these little cerulean delights of crunch. A little bland, but the color definitely makes up for it (I ate them on the way home too).

Once we get there, here's where we go!

Beaches and Cream (lunch)

La Hacienda de San Angel (dinner)

Kona Cafe (breakfast)

Casey's Corner (lunch)

Jiko (dinner)

Captain's Grille (breakfast)

Tangerine Cafe (lunch)

Boulangerie Patisserie (lunch)

Goofy's Candy Company (snack)

Raglan Road (dinner)

Grand Floridian Cafe (breakfast)

Kona Cafe (lunch)

Boma (dinner)

Kouzzina (breakfast)

Epcot snacks (lunch)

Narcoosees (dinner)

Boma (breakfast)

La Cantina de San Angel (lunch)

Kouzzina (dinner)

Captain's Grille (breakfast)

Rose & Crown (lunch)

I'll admit, it did take a few tries to remember the password for this...

2011-02-08T19:38:00.003-05:00

Oof, it's been awhile.

How've you been? Awful winter, isn't it? (For those of you in more tropical climates, whatev.)

Since we last spoke all those months ago, I've continued to recover from my mitral valve repair (slowly slowly slowly, but surely) and am just starting to really blow the dust off my baking and very slowly (I know I'm using that word a lot in this paragraph, but it's been the story of my life these past few months) re-enter the kitchen. Magic cookie bars. Those don't require stirring. (Yes, I am able to stir, but not doing so is less effort lol.)

Adam and I also went to Disney together, in a belated celebration of our 3rd anniversary.

Oh, and I also got two cute stripey shirts from Kohls.

Let's see if I remember how to post a picture...

awesome. Adam and I on our anniversary!

I'll be returning friends, I promise. Slowly but surely...this girl's new motto.

Returning

2010-09-16T13:38:00.013-04:00

It's been awhile, huh? Things have gotten a bit in the way of my culinary adventures lately...as I had said in my last post (in JULY!! Hoo boy...) I had to have heart surgery (which went wonderfully) and am recuperating (slowly but surely).

Oh, I also turned 25 since last we spoke (on July 17th, 2 days before the surgery). This was my cake (red velvet with cream cheese frosting and whimsical colored sugar):

Kitchen-related activities are still a bit of a challenge, so my camera has had a break from being fogged up with pasta steam, caked in cookie dough, and precariously balanced over a whirring Kitchenaid (such a little trooper).

Hence, I don't have a lot of food-related anecdotes as of late. But that doesn't mean that I can't dredge up some fond food memories from the not-incredibly-distant past, right?

Right?

This past December, my parents and Adam and I went to the happiest place on earth (no, not the baking aisle of Le Gourmet Chef), Disney World! Here are a few of the delicious items we dined on (descriptions from the restaurant menus where available)...

Breakfast at Kouzzina, Cat Cora's restaurant. Kouzzina, Greek for kitchen, is located on the Boardwalk:

Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast: Two Poached Eggs, Kalamata Olive Toast, Artichoke Spread,

and Sweet Potato Hash with choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage.

I thought that this was a great and different breakfast than the typical pancakes and eggs and potatoes. Not that I don't love pancakes. Actually, pancakes are pretty much my favorite breakfast. But back to this, very delicious.

Classic Golden Waffle: with Whipped Mascarpone Cheese, Honey, and Chopped Pecans

and choice of Bacon or Chicken Sausage

I should say now that I don't have first-hand experience with every dish here. Either my dad or Adam had this. Looks quite tasty, doesn't it?

French Toast: Golden Brown Thick Challah Bread with choice of Bacon or

Chicken Sausage

Again, either dad or Adam had this. How much more inviting does a dusting of powdered sugar make a dish? I must remember this more often.

What is a vacation without sugar-covered deep-fried dough? This particular specimen is from Sleepy Hollow in the Magic Kingdom:

I am a big fan of funnel cake. A big huge fan. Like to the point that I might have pointed out every single funnel cake stand Adam and I passed up until this one (with half-hearted excuses why I shouldn't have one then: just had dinner, it was 8 am, etc, etc...) when we FINALLY stopped. Yum.

Special touches can be seen anywhere, even in a crepe! (From Les Crepes de Chefs de France, France pavilion in Epcot)

Another tasty snack, this one with international flair. And musical flair too!

Right next door to the crepes you can quench your thirst with one of these slushes...available in Cosmopolitan (below), Grey Goose Citron Lemon, and Grand Marnier Orange. If frozen slushy drinks aren't your style, wine, beer, and champagne are also available (Les Vins de Chefs de France, France pavilion in Epcot).

Oh lovely French slushy, you are sweet and tart and pink and just so wonderful!

Back to a restaurant, this time Raglan Road, an Irish pub, in Downtown Disney!

Soda Bread and dipping oil with Guinness reduction.

Admittedly, when this first arrived at the table, I was not sure what to expect. Slightly sweet and warm and oh so good! I'd like 6 of these right now please!

Dalkey Duo: Dalkey-battered cocktail sausages with a Dalkey mustard dipping sauce.

Yes, that is a second order you see in the background. And yes, it was FAR too many little battered cocktail sausages. But if you're going to have far too many of something, little battered cocktail sausages aren't the worst thing. (I'd still vote for far too many funnel cakes or chocolate crepes though!)

Fish and Chips: Our famous beer-battered fish and chips served with fresh tartar sauce.

Fish and chips are a fairly recent addition to my diet, very enjoyable (you know, when there aren't any funnel cakes or crepes to be found).

Ok, ok, I'll stop.

Maybe. No promises.

Keen Eye for the Shepherds Pie: We give the traditional shepherd's pie (prime beef and lamb) a much-needed makeover with our contemporary twist to this favorite dish.

Adam's. He really liked this, loved the flavors.

Frozen Confection Time!! These are from The Fountain at the Dolphin.

Create Your Own Sundae: One scoop or swirl of your choice of ice cream, favorite sauce, and your favorite dry topping, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. (As seen in raspberry sorbet, caramel, and mini M&M's.)

Sorbet = gotta be Sara's! Very good, nice and sweet and frozen and tasty.

Coco Loco Shake: Chocolate and caramel cappuccino ice creams blended together, topped with whipped cream, malted milk balls and drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces.

Adam's. I can't attest to how this tastes, if I even gave cappuccino-flavored ice cream a fleeting glance I'd be awake for 3 days. Oh, and I can't have ice cream. LAME.

How fun am I to be around? I know, right?

My much-cooler-and-food-tolerant-than-me boyfriend seemed to enjoy this.

Disney World is home to some fabulous creations, among them is this: the carrot cake cookie (carrot cake cookie halves sandwiched via cream cheese frosting), found at Writers Stop in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

This is another item I can't attest to the taste of. But it looks ridiculously decadent though, doesn't it? I believe that was the consensus of those who indulged.

Or maybe a snack with a little more protein and a little less cream cheese frosting is called for? Chicken Tostadas from the Taqueria del Lago, Mexico pavilion in Epcot.

This I DID eat! Although I'm not really sure why we have a spoon here. Very fresh and warm and delicious.

When you are celebrating an occasion, as we were (Mom's birthday!), sometimes restaurants will acknowledge your occasion with a special bonus treat (usually in the form of a dessert). This was from Boma, located in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, a buffet bursting with all different types of African cuisine.

Okay, I'm going to plead the excuse of this was over 10 months ago. I'm going to go with fruity/jelly thing, appley/spicey thing, some sort of macaron, and possible chocolate truffle. The words were cocoa powder. I remember everything being very good (just not what everything exactly was).

Lastly, I had to end on a baked good, and what better than the fabulous and ginormic Napoleons from Boulangerie Patisserie, the French bakery in the France pavilion in Epcot?

(And yes, there are two photos of these. And yes, they are that good as to warrant that.)

Oh my goodness did you SEE this cross-section?????? Seriously, fabulous. FABULOUS!

So I hope to be returning to the kitchen soon (and not just to get a glass of water), stirring and mixing and setting off the smoke alarm. Oh we all know it's bound to happen. And I'll be there, preparing to recount the tale to you.

Lots of love,

Sara

Better than never, right?

2010-07-11T08:23:00.002-04:00

You know it's been awhile when you have to pause and try to remember your blogger password.

Yep. So how you been? Ahem.

Unfortunately, I don't even have a fun excuse for my absence, like I've been on a beach for a month or I was the grand prize winner in a chocolate contest and have been blissfully munching away.

I have to have heart surgery in a week to repair a leaking valve. This has been causing my energy to be depleted by even the teeniest of tasks, which in turn has led to a lack of activity in the kitchen. And in most of the places I've been occupying, really. But things will be fixed, everything will be alright, and I'll be back to my shenanigans in no time!

Alright, time to up the mood again. Who's up for some sangria??

Adam and I actually made this over a month ago for Memorial Day (before the turn of events described above), so these pictures are slightly...vintage? (An appropriate term when dealing with wine.)

What would a cooking adventure be without Adam playing with citrus?

It didn't take long for things to start becoming lovely...

I'll admit, I spent much of the afternoon opening the refrigerator door, retrieving a slice of lemon or lime and exclaiming "would you look at THIS?!?!?!"

I like to think that the rest of the people in the house were as impressed. They did a good job of pretending to be, anyways.

But, c'mon...

Gorgeous.

Sangria is fantastically easy to make, and wonderfully adaptable. I like to think there's not much you can do to screw it up, as I've made it several times in several ways and each time it has been tasty.

Here's what we did:

1 bottle of wine (we used a Pinot Noir)

1/4 cup of white rum

1/8 cup of Cointreau

1 lemon

1 lime

1 orange

1/4 cup of frozen strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries (I would probably eliminate these next time, they just became a bit mushy)

1/4 cup of sugar

1 12 oz can of seltzer (plain, or lemon-lime or orange flavored works well)

Combine everything except the seltzer into a large enough vessel, and refrigerate for a few hours (we left ours to steep for about 6 hours, I believe), stirring occasionally and looking at the lovely colors. Feel free to taste-test. You don't want to serve unfit sangria to your guests.

Right before serving, top it off with the seltzer. Enjoy!!!

Those of you with seasonal allergies may want to have an antihistamine at the ready.

2010-05-28T20:59:00.002-04:00

I found a dandelion.

Not exactly a rare discovery, I know.

But I hadn't taken pictures of one in awhile.

(And yes, I spared this flower from my making a wish. It had been such an agreeable photo subject.)

You really really should make this bread.

2010-05-23T14:44:00.003-04:00

I love bread.

I also love cookies and orange juice and listening to Disney songs.

But today, we're talking about bread.

Bread on its own is pretty wonderful. But when you're able to amp up the "good for you" factor with veggies and fruit and whole wheat in the bread, it's even better. And it's even BETTER when the "good for you bread" tastes even more...well...good than its counterparts.

Here, my friends, we have one of those breads, recipe courtesy of Jamie at My Baking Addiction.

If I can interject here for a moment while the bread is baking. I love frozen fruit. Frozen peas and corn too. They're so delightful for a quick snack while preparing a side dish. Frozen blueberries are my favorite in particular, however. Back when I was in middle school and high school, after I would come home, my mom and I would sit on our porch, talk about our days, and enjoy a refreshing treat of frozen blueberries and whipped cream. Hence my sneaking of blueberries throughout the making of this bread. It made it even more reminiscent and enjoyable.

Oh look, it's done!

Check out all of the blueberries inside.

Oh, how I am enjoying this bread. My very few adaptations to the recipe were to switch out half of the oil for applesauce (why not continue the fruit/veggie theme), and I eliminated the cinnamon (allergies). The recipe was still flavorful and wonderful-tasting, and I didn't feel as though I was skipping a major ingredient by leaving out the spice (although I'm sure it is even better with it included), which was appreciated.

Thank you Jamie for sharing this great recipe!

Baking for an audience. (Or, I'm no Sara Moulton, despite the shared first name.)

2010-04-28T19:26:00.003-04:00

So the day finally occurred. The Day.

The day where I would be baking in front of people not related to or dating me. A still forgiving crowd, albeit less obligated to be.

Hoo boy.

I pondered and thought, and decided to make a recipe which had served me well in the past. I even brought the dry ingredients (I was to bake in my friend's house, no less) in a plastic bag, so prepared was I. I felt confident, and a tad bit sassy, carting in my cocoa and flour and homemade vanilla (more on that on a later date).

I mixed together the ingredients, "borrowed" eggs and oil from my friend, and put the cakes in the oven. They baked. I made witty banter with my friends. I took them out of the oven. The banter continued as the cakes cooled. We ate dinner.

After dinner, the cakes still had not cooled to my liking. I thought (no, Sara, haven't you learned that thinking is BAD) that maybe they would cool down faster out of the pans.

I took one pan and hovered it over a plate, my friend peeking below.

I then heard the sound of disappointment. Ohhhh.

Where's the other half?

Found it.

(I'll clarify now that my cakes were not blue, the lighting made it seem that way. They were just brown. And misshapen.)

Seems as though the cakes were more than very reluctant to leave the pans in their warm states. Really, who could blame them. It was nice and cozy in there. And they were about to be wrangled by yours truly into some sort of socially acceptable form (not really).

Despite the really awful looking cakes ("I'm sure they still taste good!" she was chiming in with at this point), I forged ahead. What other choice did I have? (Note to self: learn to make parfait or another broken-cake-friendly dessert.)

Already beginning to cave in on itself.

The plan was to cover the cake in ganache. While does cover flaws on a cake, it doesn't hide them. You know a problem is still there, but it does have the added bonus of a tasty layer on top.

Not bad, not bad...

Not good, not good...

At this point, Adam had the misfortune to wander in and ask,

(and we all know what he's about to ask)

"How's it going?"

I gave him my best "doom and destruction and horror and "Oh the humanity"" look, to which he replied (after hustling over to make sure I still had my limbs after my expression), "Oh, it looks fine."

Here, it just looks kinda like a mess. But not a sinking mess with a crumbling foundation. It's all about perspective, really.

After slicing the cake. No, the inside is not undercooked. It's just missing an essential ingredient we like to call cake.

When sliced, it sort of kind of maybe resembles a respectable cake. Kind of. Maybe.

Despite its cringe-worthy appearance, yes, again, the cake did not fail me. Really, how could you go wrong with chocolate and raspberry (the middle layer) and more chocolate. I know! Don't let the cakes cool entirely before slapping them together! That'll work out brilliantly!

Ahem.

So yes, the moral of the story is to be friends with kind and forgiving people (ones who enjoy cake are a nice bonus). Also to let your cakes cool before taking them out of the pan. But more about the friends (such as mine, who barely acknowledged that the cake was self-demolishing before their eyes, and only made mention of it to remark on its deliciousness).

It's that time of year that the world smells like a florist.

2010-04-11T13:33:00.002-04:00

I love looking at the pretty flowers and colors this time of year, don't you?

This is so much better than snow.

An idea for leftover Easter candy. Or that candy calling to you from the 75% off bin.

2010-04-06T18:35:00.002-04:00

So Easter was a few days ago, and I'm sure by now the baskets have been rifled through, the favorite candies picked out and long gone by 10:30 sunday morning.

Have you ever noticed that Easter candy is not just enjoyed through being eaten? Candies of all shapes and sizes are hidden, Peeps are microwaved and forced to joust.

Um, yes, I did say joust. Your family doesn't do this?

But if you do have any Peeps hanging around, here's a simple and delicious idea: Smeeps.

(I thought the photos detailed the process pretty succinctly, don't you?)

Re-attempting a previously failed theme. Is anyone else nervous?

2010-04-03T09:46:00.000-04:00

With springtime brings seasonal allergies; pastel-colored candies, tank tops, and disposable dinnerware; and the tuning up of the symphony of flip-flops, their slapping on the concrete as omnipresent as cicadas' buzz in the warmer months.

It also brings Easter.

Last year for Easter, I made these cookies, which were chocolatey and sugary delights (not to mention meticulously measured). This year, I began brainstorming early, trying to think of an absolutely fantastic contribution to the dessert table. Ideas bounced crazily around my head like a child that had eaten all the sugary confections I contemplated. Cupcakes? Cake? I pondered.

Finally, a few days before Easter, I walked into Michael's, saw they were having a sale on Wilton candy melts, and the decision was made.

Candy covered pretzels.

Yes, I know how this went last time.

With a profound sense of confidence that came out of I'm not really sure where, I bought a bag of purple and a bag of yellow. I was ready. So ready.

The only moment of indecision occurred in the supermarket, when deciding what shape of pretzel to turn purple or yellow. Seriously, who knew there were so many different shapes of little salted (or unsalted variety) pretzel? It was impressive. It was overwhelming. I pondered, looking at the thin ones, the thick ones, the short ones, the long ones, the honey mustard ones (those were ruled out fairly quickly), the rows and columns of pretzel that lay before me.

I eventually settled on (after consulting my mom's opinion on this decision as well) the square ones (the ones that look like you could play tic-tac-toe in them if you had a really really tiny writing instrument).

After being dipped in candy melts:

Well, that went pretty well, now didn't it? Not to toot my own horn over dipping half a pretzel in a chocolate melt, but the outcome was pretty crowd-pleasing. And there was no burned or crumbling chocolate in sight.

Today's lesson: Even if something goes pretty wrong the first time you attempt it, it may be worth it to try it again. Unless it was just doomed from the start. Then you could just try making these pretzels. They're quite good.

First day of spring! ...also, what I had for breakfast this morning.

2010-03-23T20:03:00.001-04:00

Hi there! Enjoying spring as much as I am?

As excited as I was for the arrival of spring, I didn't let winter fade away completely unnoticed.

The last sunset of Winter 2009-2010.

I awoke the next morning feeling happier...sunnier...warmer. (It didn't hurt that the temperature reached 73 degrees that day.)

My mom and I took a walk in the park, reveling in the spring-like warmth.

This bench is waiting and ready for visitors.

Hmm...could stand to look a bit less brown.

Admittedly, it still is a tad early in the season to expect leaves and flowers. But there were a few hints of the season to come back at the house.

And of course, how could I let the first day of spring go by without a free frozen treat?

Welcome, spring. You'd been missed.

And now, for the "also" part of this post. I enjoy oatmeal in the mornings, and I also like adding little "extras" into the mix (usually fruit). This morning was Apple Oatmeal.

I used quick-cooking oats, and diced up an apple into small pieces. I put half of the apple into the oats and water at the beginning of the cooking, and fired up the microwave. Shortly before the oatmeal was to be completed cooking, I added a few raisins, golden raisins, walnuts, and pecans (from a trail mix), then powered the microwave back on again for 30 seconds. Half a minute later, I added the rest of the apple.

I thought it would be interesting to have the two apple textures in the same oatmeal, and actually, it was. The apples that had been cooked were probably more what people would expect with a fruit oatmeal, softer and warm. However, I also enjoyed the crisp and fresh taste of the unheated apple in there. All a matter of personal preference - either form of apple (or both) is a great way (at least in my opinion) to start a spring day.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Easter?

2010-03-17T20:28:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

I'm sure you all have noticed the influx of Easter candy hitting the shelves, not-so-subtly hip-checking the discounted Valentines Day merchandise off of their prime real estate. Chocolate bunnies, pastel-colored eggs, brightly colored marshmallows...believe me, my mouth is watering.

And then my mouth stopped. And it stared. (Or maybe I'm talking about my eyes at this point, nonetheless...).

It was a car. With ears. A car with ears. EARS.

The car has ears, did you notice? 'Cause I did. How fantastic is this?!?

(Apparently this was not the show-stopping event to the rest of the world as it was to me, as evidenced by the massive gathering and gawking crowd seen here. Ahem.)

Anyone else spy any other holiday merchandising that practically had the soles of your shoes smoking with your sudden screech to a halt?

Pi(e) Day!

2010-03-14T16:02:00.002-04:00

Admittedly, food is on my mind quite a bit.

What do I want to eat now? What do I want to eat later? What restaurant is near where I am going? What type of cuisine will I want in a week? What type of cake was that we had at the birthday party two years ago in the place by the little bagel shop?

And more notably for today's post: "How can this relate to food?"

Some holidays go hand-in-hand with food. Thanksgiving. Some just sound like they should. Pi Day.

Yes, really. March 14th = 3.14 = oh, read about it here.

The thing is, pi sounds suspiciously like a beloved dessert. I am wholeheartedly willing to go along with this connection.

I love getting into the holiday spirit, don't you? (Totally fantastic theme shirt from cakespy)

(If you're more in a key lime pie sort of mood, this will not disappoint. I promise.)

Do you fondue?

2010-03-05T20:17:00.003-05:00

This week, mom and I went out to dinner together.

For those who have not fondue-d before, it is much fun. Various foods and courses are dipped into cheeses and broths and chocolates.

As with pretty much any other type of cuisine, I most anticipate dessert.

I'd say that's pretty good reason to be excited, don't you?

Valentines day treats

2010-02-23T19:18:00.004-05:00

My camera is now back in my hands, so I am able to share what I made for Valentines Day (only 9 days late!). Yay!

For this occasion, I originally planned to go to the supermarket and pick up some muffins for Adam and I. This (in my mind) transitioned to me picking up muffins or croissants ('cause really, what's more romantic than flaky pastry?). This then (again, all mental musings) transitioned to me making croissants ('cause really, what's more romantic than flaky pastry fresh out of the oven?).

I have found the correlation between time spent in the kitchen and time to ponder to be closely related. At least, personally speaking.

So yes, I made chocolate croissants for Valentines Day.

The first step was to go to said supermarket for the dough.

Don't look at me like that. I never said that they were from scratch.

I came up with the idea for these chocolate croissants a while ago. They are fantastically and ridiculously easy.

I used mini chocolate chips in the centers of these croissants, to make sure that they would be all melted when the dough was all puffed and golden.

I couldn't decide whether to pipe chocolate over the tops or to drizzle chocolate in a careless (but still loving) fashion with a fork. I didn't like how the drizzle method (bottom left) looked, so the rest were piped with melted chocolate.

And then I had to try one of the croissants. For sampling purposes, you know.

I then dusted the remaining croissants with powdered sugar.

So while I had been in said supermarket buying said dough, I had wandered past the bakery counter.

My eye then laid on the little bags the store provides for their bakery goods. It. Was. Perfect.

(And no, I did not steal the bag.

Me holding empty bag and wax paper: Can I have this?

Cashier: Sure)

Chocolate Croissants:

1 roll of refrigerated crescent roll dough

Mini chocolate chips

Powdered sugar

Separate crescent rolls, and lay flat. Put approximately a tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips in the wide end of each crescent roll. Roll up and bake as package instructions say.

Cool, then melt chocolate chips. Either pipe or drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the croissants. Dust with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

Winter. Ugh.

2010-02-18T19:56:00.004-05:00

Dear Winter,

Last time I ranted about your tendency to make things cold and snowy, I was kind of hoping you would take the hint and step aside gracefully for spring.

Not going for that plan, huh?

And yes, we did agree that you are pretty and sparkly, but could you make it look like this again soon?

Please?

(Note: I really did mean to talk about food-related topics this week, however, my camera with all of the related pictures on it was forgotten at Adam's house. Oops.)

Giveaway winner!

2010-02-11T18:25:00.006-05:00

Oh my goodness I enjoyed reading your tales of death-defying egg maneuvers, fossilized sugar sauces, oozing ice cream, and the finer details of baking soda and powder! Thank you to everyone who shared their less-discussed culinary moments.

And the winner is...

Congratulations Hannah!!!! Hmm...butterscotch blondies do sound good, I will proceed with caution...lol. Email me (kitchenphobe@yahoo.com) the address of where you'd like the prize to be shipped, and I will send it your way!!

Giveaway update

2010-02-06T12:06:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

I was alerted to some difficulty experienced with posting comments -- I changed some settings and hopefully everything is resolved now. Post away!

(Just a reminder, the giveaway is open through Wednesday, share your kitchen antics for a chance to win fun baking supplies!)

Thanks!!!

Sara

A celebration...and my first GIVEAWAY!

2010-02-03T07:11:00.003-05:00

Today marks one year.

I'm not sure if this should be considered a birthday, an anniversary, or just a general auspicious occasion of sorts. A celebratory event? Sure.

Yes, I did sing a little tune before blowing out the candle. It's lucky. I think.

One year ago today, Tales of a Kitchenphobe was begun.

This year has been filled with so much fun, laughter, and food. I've had my triumphs (Magic!; There's always a first time for everything; Aaaaannnd....part two!; Cookies! Yay!). I've had my less-triumphant days (Back in the Kitchen; When things don't go as planned; Adding a crispy layer to already cooked food...sounds like a plan to me!). But in the end, I've always known that however good, bad, or ugly things turned out, there would be a place for it here. And that Adam would always sample it.

Okay, speech over. Now's time for the fun part.

I decided the best way to celebrate this milestone was to thank you. Yes, you, my dear readers, who have come along on this wild, usually delicious, sometimes slightly scorched, adventure. Thank you for accompanying me.

And then I decided an even better way to thank you all was through presents. Celebrate my first blogging anniversary with my first giveaway. It seemed fun and appropriate.

And so, one of you will receive a present filled with fun baking accouterments. More specifically...

1 set of measuring cups

1 set of 4 different colored sugars (pink, orange, green, and blue)

1 container of multicolored sprinkles

1 set of 75 cupcake-themed cupcake wrappers

Baking-related stickers

(stack of blue plastic cups not included)

So for the past year, you have all heard about my cooking calamities. I'd like to hear some of your best kitchen mishap anecdotes. To enter to win the items shown above, please comment with your favorite tale. Also, please include your email address so I can contact you if you win! (I pinky-swear I will not use your email address in any other manner.) To keep things fair, one comment per person please!

The giveaway will be open for comments until 11:59 PM (EST) on Wednesday, February 10th. I will announce the winner (chosen at random) the next day.

Are you excited? I am! Good luck to all!!!

Driving home

2010-01-26T19:00:00.002-05:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Welcome readers, once again, to the inside of my car.

Yesterday I happened to have my camera on me, as I happened to notice that it isn't quite as dark out anymore while driving home, allowing me to see those last little bits of daylight.

Who else is looking forward to Daylight Savings Time? (Beginning March 14th, at 2 am - if you are curious.)

Banana Raspberry Breakfast Dessert Monster Bread

2010-01-21T10:11:00.004-05:00

You can't eat cheesecake for breakfast.

Okay, well...I have.

But it's not recognized as a well-balanced meal (although any type of fruit adornment certainly takes it in that direction). Sad, isn't it?

You can, however, have this for breakfast. I have. You can also have it as a little dessert item, perhaps with a little dab of whipped cream. I've done that as well.

Isn't it fun when foods can be repurposed into different mealtimes, based on the amount of sugary topping?

Raspberry Banana Bread...

I'm going into typing this thought realizing fully that it probably IS just me...

Is it just me, or do the raspberries look like little mouths? Perhaps the little mouths of little monsters?

Yes? No? Just me...I thought so.

Anyways, make this bread, enjoy it, and rest assured there's no monsters in it. Probably.

Hershey's has really good customer service. Want to know how I know?

2010-01-15T21:17:00.006-05:00

The holidays, though less than a month past, seem pretty distant now. Bare and drying christmas trees litter the curbsides, the post-holiday sale items are now picked over and all that is left are bags of chocolate with less-desirable fillings and slightly dented candles. Most people have moved on from discussing what they served for the holidays, and are now considering what pink, heart-shaped, or chocolate treat to bestow upon their sweetie*.

I, however, still have a story to tell.

As you may have read, I decided to make the whimsically-decorated shortbread cookies for the various holiday gatherings I would be attending. But then I started thinking. (Things always become complicated when I start thinking. Note to self: Don't think.)

Maybe the shortbread cookies wouldn't be enough. Maybe they wouldn't provide a varied enough spread of dessert (pondered, despite that the places I was bringing the desserts to would also have other desserts). Maybe I should make something else.

Perusing the internet, I came across several incarnations of a similar recipe (like this one, and this one) involving a pretzel, a Hershey's Kiss, and an M&M. If you were feeling really crazy, a Hershey's Hug or a Rolo could be substituted.

Boy that sounded easy. And good. In my mind, the holiday crowds were already happily noshing on little pretzel chocolate bites, despite that I had not yet even gone to the store. The salty/sweet joy just seemed that attainable.

With a skip in my step, I headed to the grocery store, picking up the requisite pretzels, M&M's, Hershey's Kisses, and Hershey's Hugs ('cause I was feeling just a little bit wild).

According to some reviewers of the recipe, the hardest part was unwrapping the candies. AWESOME. Adam and I turned it into a race. Can you sense the joy? Are you beginning to try to guess where things went awry? 'Cause lets be honest, we all know they did. Especially when I started with "I have a story to tell."

What are some predicted endings? Every surface in the kitchen gets covered in chocolate? The pretzels catch on fire? The package of candy breaks and M&M's fall all over the floor like those little ball bearings, causing much colorful slippage?

Read on, my friends.

So I decided to make the Hugs versions first, noticing with delight that the pretzel equivalent of one bag of Hugs fit perfectly on my baking sheet.

I perched outside the oven door, watching the little Hugs melt for about 5 minutes, not exactly sure when to take them out, over-melting them slightly. We applied the M&M's, and were done with this batch.

Next!

We then repeated the same steps with the Hershey's Kisses, filling the sheet with the pretzels, then placing a Kiss on top of each. This tray went into the oven, while I began to watch.

5 minutes passed.

10 minutes passed. Still solid. Still Kiss-shaped.

15 minutes. The Kisses had absolutely not melted one bit. Adam attempted pressing an M&M into the top of one, and it crumbled and flaked dryly.

We exchanged disconcerted looks.

The previous batch sat in the other room, cooling.

I placed the tray back in the oven, "5 more minutes"

5 minutes passed.

Something, I'm not quite sure what, or how, had gone very wrong.

The Kisses were dry, burned on the tips, and crumbled when pressed. They were pretty much the complete opposite of the smooth melted chocolate I had read would result from this, supposedly in mere minutes. Not 20 of them.

As I'm sure you could imagine, the house was now filled with the oh-so-appetizing aroma of burned chocolate. Yum.

Adam, the portrait of a supportive boyfriend, will try anything I cook. Oh yes, he did.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO DON'T EAT IT!!!!" I shrieked, simultaneously fanning the wafting fumes of scorched candy out of our general direction while attempting to grab the sad-looking chocolate out of his hand.

"Maybe it doesn't taste that bad," he popped it into his mouth.

I tried to stop him, dear readers, I tried.

Needless to say, this batch went into the trash.

I began to wonder where I had gone wrong. An overwhelming amount of people, on multiple recipe sites, had had success with this, it seemed so logical and simple, what had happened?

Like a detective, I began to retrace my steps. The recently purchased bag of chocolate was not expired. The Kisses were kept at room temperature, unwrapped, then placed within minutes into the oven. I've grown accustomed to kitchen mishaps, but they can normally be pinned undeniably and with reason on me. I didn't grease the cookie sheet. I wok-fried cheese. I baked using wax paper.

I could not figure this out.

So I contacted Hershey's, explaining what happened, how befuddled I was, and how disappointing the results were.

Less than a day later, they responded, thanking me for contacting them, saying they understood my frustration of having disappointing recipe results, suggesting I go on their website for chocolate melting tips, apologizing, and saying that I will be reimbursed for my purchase in 2-4 weeks.

Really, I was pretty impressed, not only with the speed with which they responded, but to the level that they responded, especially given that I had not said I used a Hershey's recipe specifically.

Want to see what arrived in the mail, I'd say approximately 2 weeks later?

I wonder what's inside?

Oooh! A coupon!

And a note.

When I went onto the chocolate melting tips website, they did not have any information about melting chocolate in the oven, which leads me to believe that it is probably not the best way of doing so (although it seems to work for lots of people). If anyone does know what went awry, I am still pretty curious, feel free to share your wisdom!

* any suggestions for mine?

I promise to talk about food again soon. Just not today.

2010-01-10T21:07:00.002-05:00

Um, hi.

It's been awhile, I know.

If you're wondering why I have been pretty quiet for well, this entire decade so far...my computer was acting up, and I was backing up the overwhelming amounts of images and other files I have (which really, I should have been doing the whole time), and was nervous to upload new files from my camera if one extraneous USB plug might make the delicate balance teeter dangerously and spill pictures of burned cookies and the sky into a technological nether-world.

I'm securing my reputation as a technology genius right here.

So. Speaking of the sky...

I KNOW. I go on and on about how I haven't posted recently, and my first triumphant return post of the new year is of the view outside my bathroom window in the early morning. Where is the sweetened condensed milk? Where is the newly acquired parchment paper? The spills? The caked-on burned bits?

I promise that there is food-related fodder to come. Good stuff, too.

But for now, aren't the sunrises pretty? Isn't this worth me stumbling around half-asleep to try to capture the lovely pink clouds?

I think so.

My mom's favorite thing to bake.

2009-12-28T19:38:00.004-05:00

Hello, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Hope everyone is enjoying this special time of year, filled with twinkling lights, laughter, and that "ok sure, I'll have another" outlook to the appetizer/dinner/dessert tray. It's totally allowed.

The main reason that these wonderful indulgences are much more justified at this time of year is this when everyone breaks out their special [fill in name of food here]. That recipe they only make one or very few times a year, that one you really really love.

My mom's fudge falls into that category.

Every year I watch for a varying amount of time while she makes it, always fleeing while the sugar dramatically boils (which she says is her absolute favorite part), always excitedly tasting the end result. I've never actually made it, but this year, I did take a few pictures of the process.

And yes, I did stay in the room the whole time.

Haven't I become so brave?

Happy eating!

It's beginning to feel a lot like winter.

2009-12-20T20:48:00.002-05:00

Perhaps you heard about (or experienced) what happened in my area this past weekend.

It snowed. A few inches - unremarkable to many; disappointing to children (and adults) wanting to build snowmen but finding the covering way too powdery to even make a good snowball; generally annoying to yours truly.

I'm not really a fan of snow. Well, if it stays out of my way and does not affect the road quality, it doesn't really bother me.

Actually no, I still don't like it then either.

But I will give snow this - freshly fallen, untrampled and unplowed, glittering in the light...it is pretty.

I didn't spend this entire weekend being annoyed at cold crystalized water, however. I began assembling cookies for various holiday gatherings (began being the operative word here).

The first batch of cookies was the shortbread cookies first seen on Mothers Day. This time I kept everything but the raspberry jam, making a basic shortbread cookie with a special holiday touch of whimsical icing.

Personally, my favorites were the happy faces, the swirls, and the squiggles.

Hole in the middle of the bread egg (or, "Hey! Not dessert!")

2009-12-11T19:30:00.004-05:00

My dad taught me about this recipe years ago, cutting holes in the middle of bread and adding an egg in the subsequent hole. And snacking on the leftover circle of bread.

A critical, crucial step.

I'm not kidding here.

So in my house*, this is called Hole in the middle of the bread egg. Actually, I used to (up until about, oh, 3 months ago) call it "hole in the middle of the egg bread". It still sounds more pleasing to my ear, despite it not making much descriptive sense.

Let's go!

Create a hole in the center of the bread using a cup. Obviously, the more brightly colored cup you use, the better your end result will be. Duh.

Eat the piece of bread. Do it.

Add butter to a pan, and add the center-less bread.

Is anyone else reminded of Death Becomes Her? Such an awesome movie.

Add the egg, and salt and pepper if you wish (or any other egg accompaniment you desire).

Flip!

I have to admit, this was a bit of a nervewracking moment for me. Usually when flipping eggs, I have a fairly low success rate. With camera in hand, I felt even less prepared for the big moment. Surprisingly, it went pretty well.

And, eat.

*Other people know this dish by the name "Egg in a basket," "Birds nest," or a bunch of other names. I prefer to avoid the artistic terms for "bread" and "egg", and use the straightforward name for this straightforward dish. Up to you.

Fall

2009-12-03T19:17:00.002-05:00

Unsure of how much longer the crispy crunchy leaves will still be speckled amongst the grass, I decided to take this opportunity to take another close look.

Good morning!

2009-12-01T21:29:00.001-05:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

I'm not really sure what to say about this sunrise...

It's not the most colorful one I've seen recently (always witnessed while the camera is far enough away that by the time I get to it, the sky has morphed into its daytime shades).

But its still pretty.

Good morning, December! Happy to see you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:44:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

(Well, for those of you outside of the U.S., Happy November 26th! Yay!)

When one thinks of typical Thanksgiving desserts, the words "pumpkin," "apple," and "pie" come to mind. Which is all well and good, but I am planning on tossing a new player into the dessert table mix this year, with such keywords as "chocolate" and "cookie".

I don't think the table will protest.

And I'm hoping the people eating at it won't either.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The dry ingredients

That looks pretty creamy to me

Beginning to add the dry ingredients

After incorporating in all of the dry ingredients, I noticed that the batter was dry. Like, really dry. Like dry to the point that I thought that maybe possibly something could be awry, and it maybe probably was my fault.

The almost-forgotten eggs amongst the dry batter crags.

A sigh of relief and little mental pat on the back for remembering that.

I substituted chocolate chips because I had them already. Yay convenience.

Oh, guess what I bought?!

This should help. As a side note, the recipe called for ungreased cookie sheets, but I wasn't taking my chances.

Before being baked

Kitchenphobe's holiday tip: It's usually a good idea to remove any finger-adorning jewelry before rolling cookies.

Side note: My ring tells time. (The inside is a sundial). How awesome is that?

Oven-cam.

Post-baking

Hi there cookie

A pile of deliciousness.

Chomp.

With a texture akin to cake/a brownie, these cookies are wonderfully chocolatey and delightful. (A pause for irony—there is a Toll House commercial on right now). I believe that they will make a great addition to our Thanksgiving dessert spread.

Hope everyone has a relaxing, safe, and delicious holiday!

Salsa with Adam. The food, not the dance. But I'm sure we could learn the dance if we tried.

2009-11-18T21:15:00.002-05:00

Adam: Hey, let's make salsa this weekend.

Me: Okay.

Salsa is a fairly intuitive and easy process (which means I was fairly intimidated and attempting to deflect any questions asking my opinion on the product throughout). Adam did fine. Surprise, surprise.

So we combined tomatoes, and black beans, and onions, and jalapenos, and crushed pineapple, maybe some other stuff, a bunch of spices, and ended up with salsa.

And by we, I mean he. I'm still slowly chopping the onion into irregularly-sized pieces.

Pecan Lace...Somethings..

2009-11-12T19:51:00.003-05:00

So you know when you're walking down the aisle of a grocery store or some other purveyor of food items including cookies, and you see the one you just absolutely cannot resist. You stop suddenly at the box (or bag, or what have you) and begin a bout of mental fencing in your mind, arguing that while the cookies do taste good, you really don't absolutely need them for survival, as you do with say, oxygen.

But they're good. Oh so good.

No.

Soooo gooooooooood.

Oh, fine.

Yay.

This cookie for me is a Pecan Lace Cookie. I love their crispy texture, their nutty flavor, and their sweet...sweetness. And then one day, I found a recipe for them online. Honestly, as much as I love this cookie, I had never really sought out a recipe for one. It was one of those things that had never occurred to me that I could actually make.

And yet, this recipe seemed easy enough that I could. Let's see...

I began my recipe modification (a fancy term used here for laziness) with crushing the pecans in the same mixer that I made the rest of the cookies in. It seemed to work pretty well, and it was one less thing to wash later on. Cool.

Is it going to work? Oh, I just told you it did. Well it was a moment of anticipation for me.

Bwahahaha my plot worked. Hello there, finely crushed pecans.

After the pecans looked like that, I just put them in a bowl while making the rest of the batter, then added them back in after everything was combined.

Driiiiiip

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I began to swagger around the kitchen, boasting statements such as "If I take the cookies off of the baking sheet quickly, I totally won't need parchment paper."

You already knew that this was the helpful hint not to listen to, right? Yeah, just checking.

This is why.

Relatively undeterred, I took out my spatula and began a'scrapin. Pretty much the middle 80% of the cookies came up, leaving what you can see above clinging for dear life.

So, how'd they look?

Pecan lace bark? Pecan lace pieces? Pecan lace I shouldn't get any more fancy ideas?

Hey, let's drizzle them with chocolate...no one will be able to tell.

Okay, yes, while the delicate chocolate drizzle did not exactly camouflage the fact that there was not one whole cookie on that plate, there was one important thing to note.

These cookies tasted just like the cookies from the store.

Even better, they were arguably less effort to make than going to the store and buying a box.

I'm serious. These cookies are little fantastic sweet crispy bits of joy.

I highly recommend you make them. Just be sure to use parchment paper.

Aaaaannnd....part two!!!

2009-11-06T19:44:00.002-05:00

Hi again!

Did everyone have a good week?

Okay, so here is part two (of two) of the desserts made for Halloween. (Yes, I know people started talking about Halloween like last week, but it's still closer to Halloween than Thanksgiving, so I think it's fair game.)

(For part one, here you go)

I was very excited and nervous about this dessert, as I had pretty much conjured it up in my mind, and had no reviews or hearsay to lean on. All I knew that it might possibly through some shred of hope work and maybe maybe taste good.

I have a lot of faith in myself, don't I? I feel as though I should disclose that I'm writing this right now eating chocolate chips with a spoon (why? I don't know), so people can accurately adjust their faith level in my abilities.

I call this...Caramel Apple Cupcakes.

Adam peeling apples. Yup, he's been put to work.

Grating apples. This one's all me. And no, I have no idea why my skin is magenta.

Originally I meant for these cupcakes to be normal (not sure what the actual name is) size, and had even bought little Halloween cupcake wrappers. Unfortunately, that pan went missing, so they had to be made as minis.

And leftover snowman cupcake wrappers had to be used. They're festive...just not for the right holiday.

Ooh I hope they taste good, 'cause this made A LOT of cupcakes.

I didn't call them caramel for nothing!

There, autumnal sprinkles will balance out the encroaching winter theme.

So I'm not even kidding when I say that this made a LOT of cupcakes. Like 90 cupcakes. Plus batter left over to make a little tiny cake. I mean, I know it would have yielded less cupcakes had they been made at their desired size, but if you want to feed a crowd via small desserts, this is not a bad option.

So not only did this recipe make a lot of cupcakes, it made a lot of pretty good cupcakes. (Phew, right?) At first when we tasted the cupcakes out of the oven, they got reviews of "pretty bland" (keep in mind that I have the spice allergy, so these cupcakes did not have the little kick that cupcakes with cinnamon or nutmeg would have). I'll admit, at that point, I was getting nervous. Several surfaces were filled with diminutively sized cupcakes. These had to work. (please?)

Thankfully, they were amply boosted by the caramel topping. I'm not sure that the sprinkles lent themselves to any flavor enhancement, but they couldn't hurt to add a little texture and cuteness. And really, how could I afford to skimp on the cuteness level?

So dressed and adorned and accessorized, these cupcakes are quite good! And really, pretty easy to make! Yay!

To make Caramel Apple Cupcakes (you know you wanna...):

- 1 box of yellow cake mix (sorry, I totally forgot to check what size the box I used was. But I don't think it matters too much. We'll go with "regular size")

- Whatever ingredients the cake mix says to add (feeling the love here, right? haha)

- 2 granny smith apples

- Caramel topping (I used a type in a squeezable bottle, it makes the process a bit neater)

- Sprinkles (if you desire sprinkles of the autumnal variety, I got the ones I used at Michaels)

- Cupcake wrappers (they help to keep the caramel sauce from dripping all over)

That's it! Oh okay, you do have to do this...

- Assemble the cake mix according to the box instructions, set aside

- Peel and grate the apples (I'm sure you could use the food processor for this, but I chose to be hands-on). Put the grated apples in a paper towel or two and blot up excess moisture (I thought this would be a good idea, as to not mess with the moisture level of the mix). You don't have to go nuts trying to dry them.

-Combine the apples and the cake mix, and put in a cupcake tin. I tried to fill them up about 1/2 - 2/3 of the way.

-I baked mine for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees, but I usually find I need to bake things longer than recipes say, so it's probably a good idea to start checking them earlier.

-When the cupcakes are cool (by the way, they can be frozen), top each with a squirt of caramel sauce, and spread the sauce to the edges of the top of the cupcake using the edge of a knife.

-Sprinkle to your heart's content.

Enjoy! Hope you like lots of little tiny cupcakes!

Halloween...part one.

2009-11-03T18:35:00.002-05:00

Oh yes, I said part one.

Part one of two, to be exact.

So the first dessert I made for Halloween was a cookie pizza. I had pondered and twiddled my thumbs thoughtfully for an embarrassing amount of time before Halloween, wondering what types of candy would work best on top of the candy pizza, eventually having to narrow down my list due to allergies/likes and dislikes/feasibility.

I knew, however, that it would start with a cookie. It always begins with a cookie.

And chocolate. A very welcome addition to any of my cooking adventures.

And candy. Hence, candy pizza.

In the end, I decided to go with M&M's (colorful, basic), and gummy worms (a different texture, slightly creepy for Halloween).

It was not until several hours later that I realized the gummy worms had faces. How weird is that?

Adam: "I'm not sure I can eat this now..."

But he and the rest of us did. And it was good.

A few details:

For this recipe, I used a chocolate chip cookie mix, and spread semi-sweet chocolate chips on top while it was still warm. If I were making this again, I would personally go with a different type of chocolate melted on top, perhaps dark, as it was a bit too much semi-sweet chocolate for my taste. This isn't to say I didn't finish my piece. Or that I didn't snack on it the next day. Just an observation...

I know, I know..

2009-11-01T20:58:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

I'm a bit of a slacker, aren't I?

I know...

However, HOWEVER...I did make some treats for Halloween, and DID remember to take pictures, so those will be coming soon.

Anyways...Happy November everyone! Who else misses when the trees and shrubs looked like this?

Yeah, me too.

Autumnal Moon

2009-10-21T18:21:00.002-04:00

While enjoying the last few comfortably-temperatured evenings outside, the moon caught my eye, passing through the clouds.

I thought this was kinda cool...

2009-10-14T20:20:00.003-04:00

So one day I was driving along, minding my own business, when I glanced down and realized that soon - quite soon, in fact - my odometer was going to look kinda cool for a brief amount of time.

I had to be prepared.

I couldn't miss this.

Camera in tow, I began to faithfully watch the numbers rolling (I mean, watch the road and occasionally happen to glance down), watching, and waiting. On the last mile, in order to avoid being on the highway during picture time, I meandered down a random residential street.

And then....THEN...

Totally worth it.

How could I pass up immortalizing this moment? How, I ask you?

Magic Cheesecake

2009-10-08T20:29:00.004-04:00

We last left with this...

"To come...did you really think I would let our anniversary go without baking? Actually, yes, technically I did..."

Oooh, she's being mysterious.

Did anyone guess what was to come?

Was the change in my header a total giveaway?

Cheesecake.

Except...

It was a no-bake cheesecake.

And...

I made it totally no-dairy.

No bake? No dairy? Is it still a cheesecake?

Cheesecake enthusiasts and purists would probably argue that, no, what I made was more along the lines of a frozen pie.

I say that Adam and I went out for cheesecake on our first date, and I was trying to be cute. So it's cheesecake. Anyone who says different can come talk to me and my springform pan.

Also, Adam has said that his favorite thing I make are the magic cookie bars, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate parts of those into the cheesecake.

Again, just for good measure, I bring you...MAGIC CHEESECAKE (kinda).

Crust, coming together...

Scraping down the bowl

Yes, I totally practiced opening a springform pan before ingredients were added. A good idea, if you haven't done it before. Or maybe just for me.

Not sure why the filling looks beige here.

Coconut, ready for the oven.

Getting there...

Me: Think I should put the coconut back in for more toasting?

Mom: I think you should stop right now while the smoke alarm hasn't gone off.

Closeup of the top of the cheesecake, after it was frozen for a day.

And with coconut added.

I was incredibly pleased with myself at this point that my idea worked.

Let's eat!

Mmmm...

So what have we got going on here?

Crust:

1 cup of Pecan Sandies cookies (I'd say about 8 of them would be good - I ground up 10 and it was too many)

1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of sugar

Filling:

8 ounces of non-dairy cream cheese (I used Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese - in my opinion, it has a great texture and taste)

1/3 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 cup of Cool Whip (thawed)

Topping:

Semisweet chocolate chips

Butterscotch chips

Toasted coconut (put as much shredded coconut as you'd like on a baking sheet, turn the oven to 350, and take it out every 2 minutes or so, tossing the coconut around, until it is dried and lovely golden hue)

To make:

*Crush the cookies, and mix together with the rest of the ingredients for the crust in a bowl until everything is lightly moistened and looks like it will hold up to be a mighty fine crust. Press the mixture into your springform pan, and refrigerate until you're ready to add the filling.

*Beat together the non-dairy cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice until it is smooth. Incorporate the Cool Whip. Spread the filling on top of your crust.

*Sprinkle the toppings on top of the filling (I added the toasted coconut after it had been frozen for awhile, but either way is ok)

*Freeze for at least two hours (I froze it for a day).

*Place in the refrigerator an hour before serving.

As I said earlier, no, this is not technically a traditional cheesecake. However, it is mighty tasty, and it does kind of look like cheesecake, if you're really looking to call it so. I had been plotting out this idea for awhile (yes, I had even made a little cross-section diagram at one point, seeing how to incorporate as much magic cookie bar as possible), and was absolutely thrilled it worked out as well as it did (it's the little things sometimes), not only that I had accomplished my goal, but had also created a dense and creamy lactose-intolerant friendly dessert.

There's always a reason to celebrate.

Hibachi!!

2009-10-08T20:25:00.004-04:00

So for our anniversary dinner, Adam and I went out for hibachi. What can we say, not only is it good food cooked in front of you, there is also the large potential for large flames and swinging knife blades.

And when that's done intentionally, it's even better.

Before dinner. Knowing there's a fire extinguisher nearby makes me feel better about the events to come.

"You ready?" the chef turned to me, as I sat with camera in hand.

"Ready when you are"

This fire is totally and absolutely necessary. Yup. Not just for the theatrics.

Onion volcano.

This one got lit on fire twice. Just because.

To come...did you really think I would let our anniversary go without baking? Actually, yes, technically I did...

Just wanted to say...

2009-10-04T19:49:00.006-04:00

Dear Adam,

One of these days, I promise I'll get all of my extraneous items out of your car, including, but not limited to (as we both know their tendency to multiply): the melted birthday candles, the mittens, and the cookie. Or maybe I won't. Who knows when you may feel the need to have a celebration, get chilly, or are hungry? Really, I'm thinking of you here.

Thank you for always being the person who will piece back together my cakes when half of them get stuck in the pan, who will immediately offer to eat the cookies I declare a disaster, and who will point at desserts in the store and say "I bet they're not as good as yours."

(Non-baking related, thank you also for always waiting patiently while I take a picture of a weed, parallel-parking my car, and the countless other things you do for me.)

Autumn has always been my favorite season, more so now as its brilliant skies and crisp air remind me of the beginning of our relationship and us eating cheesecake, walking around to find turtles, and watching movies . (I know you're also especially fond of autumn as it is the beginning of "jacket weather".)

Here's to us, and to the meals we've cooked together, the conversations and laughs we've shared, the thousands upon thousands of memories -- and all of those that we'll have in the future.

Happy 2 years together love <3

Love,

Sara

When things don't go as planned

2009-09-27T21:10:00.007-04:00

An alternative title for this post could be "This is Why You Do Not Bake On Wax Paper".

Now that everyone sees where this one's going, let's dive right in.

So this past week, I decided that a quick and simple dessert would be cake mix cookies. Cake mix. Rolled in sugar. Baked.

Sounds easy.

Too easy. (Well, for me. For any other person on the planet, right now they would be reading this shaking their heads enjoying a delicious cake mix cookie. I know how it is.)

Wow...so many of my ingredients are already in this pale yellow pile! This is great!

I should point out now that I was making lemon cake mix cookies. I'm sure they could be made in any cake mix flavor, but I've really only seen them in lemon and chocolate.

Maybe the chocolate mix would not have betrayed me so.

So. I really did read the instructions of the recipe (and it got so many rave reviews that I really can't put any blame on anyone but myself). And I began to roll out the cookies into little yellow ever-so-slightly-lemon-scented orbs.

And the dough began to ever-so-slightly glue itself to my hands. My now yellow and lemon-scented hands.

Spiky sticky cookies

I then got the idea (uh oh) to dampen my hands in between cookies. Which did help, as the cookies turned out smoother and my hands were less glued to every surface within 4 feet.

Brilliance at work

So my plan (a Kitchenphobe, a plan, Panama?) was to form all of the cookies, then roll them in the sugar. When I tried lifting the cookies off of the sheet, well, even I had predicted what was going to happen.

Sticky cookie residue

I persevered, maintaining a "let's see what happens" attitude.

Okay, looking better...

Oh boy, that looks like a mess.

This pan looks like even more of a mess, because I had gotten frustrated with putting cookies in rows at this point. "They're baking where I put them, damn it!"

Okay STOP. Imagine the sound of screeching brakes here. Or, more accurately, imagine the sound of a smoke alarm here. Or, you don't even have to imagine it. This is what happened, oh, about 12 seconds after I put the cookies into the oven, and persisted throughout the entire baking process, irregardless of magazine waving, window opening, and flat-out ignoring by/near/of it.

(Wow, how messed up was that last sentence?)

Why, oh why, did this happen? Please refer back to the alternative title of this post. Oh, you don't have to refer back, I won't make you do that. "This is Why You Do Not Bake On Wax Paper".

Why don't you bake on wax paper, my friends?

Because this happens.

Typing mmm or yum would be such a lie right now.

Yeah.

Gross, right?

Oh and the whole house began to smell like lemon plastic. My mom asked if they could be known as Lysol cookies.

Do you guys have disinfecting powers?

As you can probably tell, I didn't even let the cookies bake all the way. The smoke alarm was beeping. I had declared the cookies a disaster.

At least I didn't have to wait for them to cool to store them properly

I think if I had been baking for an actual occasion, I would have probably been more upset over my un-servable cookies. I chose to look at it as a learning experience.

And what was the moral of this story?

Don't use materials that can melt as a surface for preparing food (particularly where heat is involved).

Breakfast of Champions

2009-09-23T20:54:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

I know, I know, I didn't make this (was the content itself a giveaway, or the ubiquious paper wrapping?). I also didn't construct the streetlights in the last photo.

But (another teaser?) I will be back in the kitchen soon, once again taking the various baking items out of the pantry. Promise.

However, I couldn't resist sharing my absolute most favoritest breakfast EVER with the internet. It's a small world after all...

This, if you are looking at my meal questioningly, is a taylor ham, egg, and cheese on a bagel. And oh, is it good.

Does this exist in other parts of the world? I hate to think that this is just a regional staple, but I have a slight inkling that it might be. Consulting an information go-to, Wikipedia seems to confirm my suspicions. (Actually also, when typing in "Taylor Ham" to the search field, it automatically pops up with "Pork Roll". While these terms are considered synonymous elsewhere, in my head they are not. And yes, I am well aware I am opening this up for a great battle/debate/throwdown of Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll (and perhaps the ever-popular Hero vs Hoagie vs Sub vs Whatever Else It's Called In Your State/Town/House debate).)

Anyways...if this doesn't exist by you, I'm very sorry. Because it is simply the best way to start your day, no matter what you call it (although I personally will hold fast to my naming beliefs).

Streetlights

2009-09-20T19:17:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

I like this picture. I like that you can't tell where it is (not that there's anything to hide). I like that all of the glowing lights are ever so slightly different.

I didn't even take out my camera with the intent of the vague streetlights - my camera was still on the macro setting and I thought "why not?"

Happy Birthday Adam!

2009-09-15T21:41:00.005-04:00

Okay.

I really didn't mean to leave you guys hanging with a mere tease of dessert for that long. I could make excuses, say that I didn't want to reveal the birthday dessert treat before Adam's actual birthday occurred, as to not ruin the surprise.

I'm not going to make excuses - that's lame.

What I will do, which is decidedly (decided by who? me.) not-lame (which makes it instantly lame by calling it that), is show you several pictures of desserty deliciousness and call it a day.

Yup, that sounded good to me too. Perfect.

So what did I decide to make for Adam's birthday??

Malted Milk Bars

Ready? Let's go.

I would like to start off by saying that I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES. Having dealt with baking things that just would not let go of the pan, I refused to let that happen again. I read AND followed the "preparing of the pan" instructions.

I know, that's really pretty remarkable for me.

A vertiable fortress of non-stick

Look at that greasing of the pan and aluminum foil job. Nothing's gonna stick there.

(It's probably not a good sign how much of a look of satisfaction I had already)

Dry ingredients

Pre-meltage

Post-meltage

This totally gross-looking picture is sugar and vanilla. And by the looks of it, I'm pretty sure I would be able to have the bowl all to myself. Yay.

Four eggs. 'Cause the recipe said so. I'm such a good listener.

The batter beginning to come together

Hey batter batter batter batter...okay I'll stop now.

The brownies, all baked

[For accuracy purposes, you can now stop here and come back in a day to finish the recipe. That's what I did.]

[Also for accuracy purposes, you can totally not realize you don't have powdered sugar on hand until you've already mixed together part of the topping. Or you can be totally prepared with all ingredients on hand. Someday I'll be like that. Ha.]

Oooey gooey topping.

Oooey gooey topping, meet brownies

Bashing candy with a wooden spoon is fantastic for letting out all that frustration at yourself for not realizing you didn't have powdered sugar.

Ta-da!

Oooh. Ahh.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Check out that topping action

Happy birthday Adam!!!

So was the birthday boy happy?

Adam (entirely un-prompted for the blog, btw): Have I ever told you that your brownies make me happy I'm alive?

I think that's pretty good praise, don't you?

A bit of a tease, really

2009-09-04T21:00:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

So Adam's birthday is rapidly approaching, and I have been pondering the celebratory confection for some time. Should I make a cake? Cookies? A pie?

I have an idea in mind....but he (and by proxy, you as well), will have to wait...

(Oh yes, and so this post wasn't entirely me being vague, here is an incredibly close picture of a leaf. Enjoy, and have a safe and fun holiday weekend!)

Back in the Kitchen

2009-08-29T08:43:00.004-04:00

Recently I've been hearing some feedback from the peanut gallery that while photos of grass blades or fruit or my feet are all well and good, aren't I supposed to be, well, cooking?

This is true. And they are right.

Coincidentally (conveniently?), these comments happened right around the time I heard rumor of a "National Cake Day". As I said before, is this a real holiday? I have no idea. Is it a fantastic reason to bake a cake? Absolutely.

(Yes, any day is a fantastic reason to bake a cake, but doesn't celebrating something make the entire occurrence seem that much more festive?)

Okay. So. Cake. What to make? What to make? What to make? I wanted something fun and festive, and above all, crowd pleasing.

I'm all about my audience.

My mom likes chocolate cake. My dad likes vanilla cake. I like cake.

Hence, the idea for the chocolate/vanilla cake was born.

However, we have seen before how I like to go with a theme and turn up the voltage a little bit. Nothing too major...if a cookie is to have one type of chocolate, why not two?

So for the chocolate layer of the cake, I decided to add white chocolate chips. For the vanilla layer of the cake, chocolate chips would be added. Oh, the craziness.

(I would like to point out, before any visual evidence of this weekend is revealed, that in my mind right now, I envisioned a delightfully speckled cake - much to the likeness of a domino). Let's see how this goes.

For the chocolate layer, I decided to go with a tried and true recipe, which has been seen in such posts as the cake I made for my parents anniversary. A new player was tossed into the mix for the white cake.

Ready? Set? Let's go!

I know we've seen this recipe in progress before, but I liked this picture.

The two cakes, bonding before going into the oven together.

The white cake, fresh out of the oven and springy to the touch.

Okay.

Did you guys miss me and my kitchen antics (calamities?)?

Remember how I thought it would be delightfully clever to intermix chocolate chips of the contrasting color into each of the layers? Remember how I had visions of dominos dancing through my head?

Half of my vision came true.

The white cake is a sturdy, lovely, cake with a thick batter. The chocolate cake is baked with a liquid batter. This means that you are putting the structural equivalent of hot chocolate into your oven. This made me incredibly nervous the first time I was baking this recipe (but really, when am I not nervous in the kitchen, ever so slightly?), but trust me it is an absolutely fantastic chocolate cake.

However, and I did not think of this prior to adding the white chocolate chips, a liquid batter is not conducive to supporting chips or other add-ins (at least, from what I have seen. If anyone has any technique, please let me know!), as they will sink to the bottom of the pan. When I added the chips, they promptly sank. I stirred them slightly.

I paused.

I then put that pan, along with the cooperating white cake layer pan into the oven, my mind whirring about what the cake would look like when it came out of the oven. Maybe all of the white chocolate chips will be beautifully adorning the cake, and when I take it out of the pan, I won't even need to frost the top of the cake! my mind thought.

Um, sure.

I would really really like to emphasize that this cake really is a great cake recipe. Really. Really really. It's my fault for getting whimsical.

Are you ready? I wasn't.

eep.

Basically, yes, all of the white chocolate chips had sunk, and stuck to the bottom of the pan, taking the center of the cake with them.

I would also like to reassure you all that you are first and foremost on my mind, as my very first reaction was not to cry, or laugh, it was to grab my camera and start clicking.

The cake. With a giant crater out of the middle.

Upon seeing this destruction, Adam, who had been helping and cracking little humorous quips throughout the process, promptly grabbed the missing piece, and returned it to its home, all the while reassuring the small crowd that had gathered around the sorry little cake, "It can be fixed! It can be fixed!"

Looks good to us.

Looking at the heap of chocolate cake one more time, I swiftly began to cover it with heaping amounts of whipped cream.

(Whipped cream! Not only does it taste good, it covers a multitude of baking calamities!)

Huge giant hole out of the middle of the center? I see nothing.

Then, with a small audience (of two), I deftly plopped the vanilla layer on top of the chocolate layer, only getting it off-center by about an inch.

Looking like a cake...

Even though this layer was whole and healthily sprinkled throughout with semi-sweet chocolate chips, it too got smothered in an even-thicker layer of whipped cream.

In my house, there is never any objection to copious amounts of whipped cream frosting.

We could have stopped there.

But we didn't. The cake was assembled. The whimsy and excitement in the room was becoming rapidly infectious. We saw every reason ever justifiable to add more sugar to the mix.

Wheee!!! Sprinkles!!

Oh man...this is looking good.

Proud and relieved, I then walked away for a moment. Probably not even a moment. A second. A millisecond.

However, this was enough time for the Zest King to begin to play with some of the abandoned objects on the table.

I'd like to point out that the cake was still sitting right next to this bowl.

He then made sprinklehenge.

I then put away the sprinkles. And the cutlery.

And, most importantly, the cake.

Later, sliced.

So...how was it?

Are you all perilously on the edge of your seats?

IT WAS DELICIOUS.

Working from the plate up, the chocolate layer was rich and moist, without being overwhelming. Appearances aside (and really, appearances didn't even matter when the cake was assembled), the cake was fantastic, as I had remembered it being. The white layer was lovely and delicately flavored, a delicious compliment to the chocolate (although I would absolutely recommend this cake making a solo appearance as well. This is not a recipe that needs to only be performing backup. Main stage, baby!). The whipped cream frosting? While it is my favorite frosting (tied with cream cheese frosting), and I could be arguably biased, it was a perfect frosting for this cake, light and airy in contrast to the different layers of cake texture.

I'll say it again...DELICIOUS.

My slice of cake, mid-way through eating.

I realized this isn't the first time I've shown my half-eaten food close up on this website. Is that gross? I'm not sure. (Is that gross, that I don't know?)

Check out the layers.

So as the sun began to set on National Cake Day (er, weekend), we relaxed, full of chocolate and vanilla and cream.

And sprinkles.

You can't forget the sprinkles.

I spy with my little eye something damp

2009-08-25T19:53:00.002-04:00

Hello friends!

I hope you're all having a good week, thinking good thoughts and treating yourself with chocolate or other what-have-you goodies.

It's time for another installment of "Kitchenphobe wanders around her backyard," the post-rain edition.

Wet blades of grass

Going in for a closer look...

A spiderweb across grass blades

Who else has No Doubt stuck in their head right now? I totally do.

So. Rumor has it that National Cake Day is on Saturday...I'm not entirely convinced this is real or true, but nonetheless I plan to celebrate. At the very least, it will be Cake Day on Tales of a Kitchenphobe. We're all about the festivities here.

Just peachy

2009-08-19T20:43:00.002-04:00

I really really love the months when snow isn't on the ground. Particularly the months that bring juicy and delicious fruit. Such as peaches.

I love peaches. Perhaps it is because of their beautiful color. Perhaps it is because of their slightly fuzzy skin. Perhaps it is because they are bursting with fresh and sweet goodness.

I think it's because of all of these things, really.

I should really make something with this, shouldn't I? Take advantage of the baking possibilities while they are in season?

This means I'll have to stop eating them long enough to bake them...

No promises, guys.

Bright colors

2009-08-15T19:40:00.003-04:00

When the weather is bright and sunny (finally!), I like to go out and find things that are bright (and sunny?) as well.

Along with flowers, frozen confections, candies, and handbags also fall into this category. Just sayin'.

Black-eyed Susans

Getting a bit closer...

...and closer...eep!

(Ironically, I did once have a purse the same vibrant yellow as these flowers. Then the strap broke. Ah, memories...)

Cookies from afar!

2009-08-10T20:16:00.007-04:00

Alright...

This post requires a bit of a confession on my part. A secret, if you will.

Except really, its not that much of a secret. The evidence is easily found around anywhere I spend any considerable amount of time.

I really really enjoy a genre of books that is often referred to as "chick lit". Essentially, fiction targeted towards young women. And before you mock, or scoff, let me just say that they are very enjoyable and intelligent and maybe its nice to read about a happy ending once in awhile. I love the masses of pastel-color books with curlicue fonts and little cartoons of shopping bags or women striding across the cover that I have acquired.

Ahem.

Okay, so the point?

Chick lit books are awesome, and you should totally read them and brighten your day.

Ok, that wasn't my point, but it is true.

So a few times in a few of these books I know and love, a certain cookie is mentioned. (It is worth mentioning that several of the books that I have are set in England.) Every time this cookie would be mentioned, it would pique my interest. Then, I began to notice it again and again, and started to wonder what is with this cookie? Is it that great a cookie?

More importantly, I began to feel a bit left out and was starting to wonder, probably a bit more than is normal, what am I missing out on???

SO...

Cut to Adam and I in Bermuda, and us wandering into a convenience store. Ironically, the thought of these cookies had not crossed my mind once while we were in this BRITISH TERRITORY. I'm sure no one is surprised now to hear that, while wandering the food aisle, I stumbled upon these.

"OH MY GOD IT'S THEM!!!!" I not-so-subtly screamed in a tone that not only could Adam hear me, but so could the cashiers, the people wandering around the toothpaste aisle, and probably the people on our cruise ship a few blocks away. "I READ ABOUT THESE!!!" I was now clutching the package.

If you have never heard of these cookies, they are called Digestives, and as far as I can tell, are really only sold in European countries (and written about in books with plotlines set there). For even more info, here's the Wikipedia description.

(You'd think, given my reaction, that I had bought at least 3 boxes. My friends, I simply (and gleefully) bought the 1. Really, I'm not sure why I didn't stock up. Perhaps if I didn't enjoy them? I mean, it's not like I can run down to the store and get more very easily. Apparently I exercise great restraint in my fits of joy.)

Are you ready?

I know I am...

(Really, I'm not sure that you needed -or wanted- a play-by-play of me eating a cookie. But I provided one. How thoughtful am I?)

The verdict...these are amazingly great!!! They are, as I'm sure you can tell, a chocolate layer on top of a biscuit-y cookie. They are not too sweet, the perfect little mild cookie. They are also remarkably light. If these were available closer to home, they would definitely be in my regular cookie lineup.

Note: In case you are curious, the books that (I am pretty sure) Chocolate Digestives are mentioned in (that I have and that I can think of right now - please keep in mind they could be (and probably are) in many more) are:

The Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella (I know they are in Shopaholic & Sister, likely they appear in others)

Swapping Lives by Jane Green

Where I was

2009-08-09T08:21:00.004-04:00

Last week, I went on my first-ever cruise - headed for Bermuda!

Plentiful and delicious food?

A destination with crystal clear blue waters?

As many desserts as I wanted???

Needless to say, it was a great time :)

To come: a cookie purchase based on a book. Seeing how most of my cookie purchases have little to no motivation behind them, this seemed like a fantastic reason to stock right up!

Handing over the blogging reins...

2009-07-29T20:58:00.010-04:00

I'm sure many of you have noticed by now that there are many people in my life with much more kitchen confidence than myself.

Actually, I'm sure many of you have noticed by now that there are many people in the world with much more kitchen confidence than myself.

Baby steps, people. We're getting there, one cookie at a time.

Perhaps it is time to hear from one of those people. Someone who doesn't panic when their cookies are slightly different in size. Someone who makes fun of me for feeling that way.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please welcome Adam to Tales of a Kitchenphobe.

::steps aside::

First, I would like to thank the lovely Kitchenphobe (also known as the love of my life, and yes, I am going for the nauseatingly cute here) for allowing me to guest post. This is not my first appearance in this blog, as I have popped up a few times, the Zest King, Adam, and any other alias I have gone by, and my hands have been photographed several times. Today I am here to recite a recipe Sara and I experimented on this past weekend.

I want to begin by saying that I am by no means a trained chef, but I am a master at eating and enjoying food, but I'm not sure whether or not that gives me license to do anything in particular, but you get my point. I will also apologize preemptively, as I do not cook via measurements, so I will guesti-approxi-measure everything for you, as well as give you some substitutions you may enjoy. The veritable feast I have been referring to consisted of sautéed asparagus, extra creamy macaroni and cheese, and a savory pork tenderloin with fruit. A list of ingredients for this recipe appears below.

Pork Tenderloin

Asparagus bunch

Box of Macaroni and Cheese

1 apple cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips

1 pear cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips

1 plum cut into 1/5’’ by 2’’ strips ( You can substitute any fruit you like here, but I find that berries tend to break down too fast in the cooking process and become paste and softer fruits tend to burn.)

3 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 tablespoons + 4 teaspoons honey

4 pinches course ground sea salt

2 pinches fresh ground pepper

2 pinches garlic/wine seasoning (can be substituted for 2 pinches garlic and 2 pinches dill, or any other flavor combo you enjoy)

I personally love to cook with pork, as it has a neutral flavor and tends to take on the flavor profile of whatever it is cooked with a little better than beef or chicken. For this recipe, we found 2 beautiful, thick cuts of pork tenderloin. Season one side of the pork with a pinch of salt as you melt 1 tablespoon of butter into 1 tablespoon of olive oil at medium high heat. When the butter begins to brown, put down the seasoned side of the pork to brown. Season the other side with a pinch of garlic/wine seasoning. You are looking to brown each side of the pork and give it some nice carmelization. This should take about 5 minutes on each side.

As you are browning your pork, arrange 75% (minus the bits you munched on while slicing) of your sliced fruit onto a baking sheet (I always line mine with aluminum foil for easy cleanup) and drizzle 3 tablespoons of honey over it. Arrange the fruit into one layer (you can arrange them into concentric circles, happy faces, anything you’d like to keep it fun) and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Once the pork is browned, lay it on top of your fruit and drizzle a teaspoon of honey over each of them. Pop it into the oven until it is fully cooked (internal temperature of 160-175 degrees or until it is white throughout and the juices run clear) which should take about 30 minutes.

After the pork is in the oven, take the sauté pan and deglaze it over medium low heat with a tablespoon of butter and about 3 teaspoons of honey. Once everything is nice and hot, toss in the remaining bits of fruit and sauté until the fruit is nice and tender. Add this to the top of the pork when it is about 2/3rds of the way cooked (after about 20 minutes). Don’t be afraid to let this mixture sit as you wait for the 2/3rds mark, as it does need a few minutes to thicken off the heat.

Next we move to the asparagus, my favorite vegetable. Use the snap trick to get rid of the ends (snapping off the bottom by bending it upright in order to see where the natural break is, and then cutting the bunch there) and then cut the sprigs into thirds at an angle (purely for presentation, no practicality here). First melt 1 tablespoon of butter in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until the butter begins to bubble. Begin to sauté your asparagus with a pinch of pepper and 2 liberal pinches of salt. This is actually the one of the easiest vegetable recipes I know apart from boiling broccoli. All you need to do from this point is sauté the asparagus with an occasional toss until the desired tenderness. I personally like to give it a nice char and leave it a little crunchy.

Finally, we come to the macaroni and cheese, and I am not ashamed to say that it comes from a box. This is probably due to a childhood love affair with the blue box. Just follow whatever instructions and enjoy. This part is definitely interchangeable with any particular side dish you enjoy. A nice rice or potato base side dish would do quite nicely. Once all is cooked, plate and enjoy.

I do hope you enjoy, and I encourage you to add your own flair to this or any dish. And most of all, I hope you enjoy everything from the preparation to the digestion. Bon Appétit.

Waiting

2009-07-26T20:07:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Lately while waiting for a friend or a tv show or whatnot, I enjoy pulling out my camera and seeing what I can see from where I am. This normally includes my shoe, fingernail, or perhaps what I am snacking on at the moment (another usual favorite is the radio in the car).

This was taken at the mall, waiting for my friend.

The more I wait, the more I see.

It's my birthday, and I'll eat souffle if I want to...

2009-07-21T19:47:00.002-04:00

Really, I can't think of a much better way to celebrate a birthday than by sharing a chocolate-y dessert with a loved one.

And so that is what was done. At the Salt Creek Grille, with Adam (aka boyfriend, aka grill master extraordinaire, aka the king of zesting).

He has a lot of aliases, doesn't he?

Anyways, on to dessert. This is the Chocolate Ganache Souffle, otherwise referred to as the dessert of awesome deliciousness. Or whatever you choose to call it.

This souffle by any other name will definitely taste as sweet.

Before

And yes, that is Adam's impatient spoon looming in the foreground.

And after.

Yum.

Scenes from Piermont, NY

2009-07-14T20:25:00.002-04:00

Cakes

2009-07-07T20:13:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Lately I've noticed that there are a lot of shows on TV about making cakes. And, really more specifically, not just making cakes -- but making amazingly gorgeous cakes that, for the most part, resemble pretty much anything else on this planet besides cake.

Not that I'm complaining, really. I regularly watch the shows that I have heard of in this genre. The fantastically gorgeous cake genre. The genre that I watch, and long to be a part of.

Oh, how I wish that I could create a random object out of cake, and have someone say "is that cake?".

Do I really wish that?

I'm not entirely sure that I do.

I'm not entirely sure that I'm not completely okay with the way that my cakes look right now, as seen in exhibit A, where they are slightly lopsided (nothing that can't be fixed with a healthy dollop of whipped cream), fillings pour out onto the plate after being sliced (yum), and they resemble nothing else but cake.

But despite its appearance, I know (well, I'm not entirely confident, it IS me) that it tastes good. Not that the other cakes that resemble animals and buildings and other foods (oh my!) don't look like they taste amazingly scrumptiously good.

To be honest, their cakes look like they taste ridiculously amazing.

But my cakes have heart. And spunk. And charisma.

Even if they really do look like just a cake.

During a respite from the rain

2009-06-30T18:30:00.004-04:00

I know I've been talking about the weather too much.

I'm like that person in the elevator or another confined space that you have absolutely nothing to talk about with, so one of us brings up the weather and suddenly are forced to talk and hypothesize about the topic that is usually at the back of people's minds unless they have an upcoming event. Do you think it's going to stop raining soon? I heard that its rained more than double what it typically rains for this month.

And so on.

It rapidly comes to the point where you are wishing that you hadn't brought up the weather in the first place. But had you brought it up? You can't even remember at this point, and are uncomfortably trying to think of ways to get out of the situation.

Why, oh why don't elevators have more accessible escape routes?

So yes, I know that I have beaten this topic into the ground. But this is not me promising that I am going to stop. Because the rain hasn't stopped. And who am I to argue with the persistence of weather?

Anyways...the first day of July is tomorrow. And in honor of that, I thought that it would be appropriate to post something bright and colorful.

Hi there, bright and colorful

My, you are quite bright and colorful.

Breathing in the essence of the bright and colorful.

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is.

What kind of flower is this?

Whatever kind of flower it is, rest assured that it is being incredibly well-watered.

Rain, rain...haven't I told you to go away enough times?

2009-06-28T10:23:00.002-04:00

Shockingly, it rained for most of last week.

AGAIN.

There were a few exhilarating breaks in the precipitation, however, where a small flicker of blue sky would peep through the clouds, and we would smile, stare at it, and call others over to see too, as though we had never seen the sun in our lives.

Well, it had been awhile.

One of the storms last week brought with it foreboding dark skies, hail, and those raindrops that are so big and heavy they sound like hail (you know which ones I'm talking about), and the general attitude of "isn't this entirely unnecessary? Could the weather at least pretend to let me fathom stepping outside for a refreshing breath of air, as opposed to the refreshing gust of whipping winds and rock-hard rain that I know would greet me?"

The storm, as storms tend to do, did end, and after that we relaxed on the porch to take in the dripping wet scenery.

Chillin with a frosty Poland Spring

As a short amount of time passed, we noticed that the sky was turning colors that it did not normally have a tendency to turn. Pinks and oranges and purples filled the sky.

Oooh. Pretty.

The clouds look so much less threatening when they're pink and not dumping buckets of rain on you, don't you think?

As I speak (er, type) the sky is once again blue, it is 75 degrees and partly cloudy, the birds are chirping happily, and the foliage is dry. Call me optimistic, but I'm holding out hope for the weather today.

There's always a first time for everything

2009-06-24T18:28:00.002-04:00

Not too long ago for the first time I entered the kitchen with actual intent to cook.

Soon after followed the first time I made blondies, and the first time I made a cake with multiple layers (hey, two is a multiple).

And now, for your viewing pleasure...

The first time I made a pie.

A Key Lime Pie, to be exact.

Ready for the oven?

Ready!

That was my personification of the pie, which immediately then bothered me that I was giving a personality and the ability to answer questions to an object that was about to be put into a 350 degree oven.

Let's move on, shall we?

Adam, or the King of Zesting, as he deemed himself during this baking session, took my camera at this point.

Regaining control of the camera, I then temporarily forbade Adam from eating in order to take this picture.

And this picture as well.

And to mark this adventure up on the proverbial baking experience scorecard...it looks like pie...tasted like pie...fairly obviously IS pie...

I'd say that this was a successful branch into another slice (get it?) of the baking world!

A family tradition

2009-06-22T18:38:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Some families may have traditions involving a certain sport, or a holiday. One of my family's traditions is balancing eggs on end on the solstice.

Yes, this can be done.

No, seriously.

What is a solstice, you may ask? In my entirely un-technical and un-scientific means of plodding through the definition, it is an event two times a year when the earth is turned farthest or closest from the sun.

And that is how you can balance an egg.

ta da!!!

If you would like to read a much more specific and detailed explanation of this astrological phenomena, Wikipedia provides that, charts, diagrams, and images.

Also, it is said that with enough patience, you can balance an egg any day of the year on its end. But you can also have an easter egg hunt or count down the seconds until midnight any other day of the year as well, but it is certainly not as fun.

Also (also), I'm not a very patient person. I like to wait until the planets are tilting and aligning for when I defy gravity.

M&M Shortbread Cookies UPDATE

2009-06-18T20:52:00.002-04:00

This wouldn't be tales of a Kitchenphobe if there weren't mishaps to report. Then it would be "tales of someone who knows entirely and completely what they are doing in the kitchen and never has any issues," which I do think would be a good blog as well, however and again...not me.

Normally when I bake, I will do so ahead of time, and will freeze the cookies for later. I had not done this with the original version of this recipe, as I had made them the day before, however, I had decided to freeze the M&M variation.

Irony of ironies, does everyone remember my little confident quip I was happy to see that the color did not spread out too much on the cookie?

When, oh when, am I going to learn to keep that mouth of mine shut?

The cookies went into the freezer colorful and lovely.

The cookies emerged from the freezer colorful and lovely.

Gradually, however, during the defrosting phase, the color of the M&M began to fade.

Oh, this wasn't supposed to happen

These looked much more attractive before

They may not look as good, but they still do taste as good

It is noteworthy that the freezing did not affect the taste, just the aesthetics of the cookie.

It is also noteworthy that the appearance of the cookies did not deter the recipients, and every last one was eaten.

The moral of the story is: don't judge a cookie by its cover. Also, don't freeze these cookies.

A variation on a theme...

2009-06-15T20:06:00.002-04:00

Since making these cookies, I've been thinking of other various items that could be put in the middle.

The first "alternate item" idea I had was M&M's.

I actually thought of this the day after Mothers Day (the occasion I originally made the cookies for), and was slightly disappointed that I had not thought of it earlier so there could have been an "M for Mom theme". But the originals worked out perfectly well anyways.

So FINALLY, I decided to experiment and make these M&M Shortbread Cookies.

Before baking. As with the raspberry version, I indented and "M&M-ed" before refrigerating to avoid cracking.

Post-baking. I was happy to see that the color did not spread out too much on the cookie.

Cookies in all of the colors of the M&M package rainbow.

So were they good?

M&M's and shortbread? I really can't see how that could be a recipe for anything but goodness.

Any other suggestions for what would be a delightful addition to the shortbread?

Enjoying the warm weather

2009-06-10T21:39:00.002-04:00

Ah, lovely springtime weather. I know I don't get to spend as much time as I would like to outside. Not that I am the type of girl that is lacing up her hiking boots, packing a nutritious yet energizing snack, and carabining across a stream. Not that there is anything remotely wrong with being that girl, more power to you.

I just really don't like bugs. Or anywhere that's disconcertingly far from a coffee shop.

Not that I even drink coffee, a coffee shop just seems to be a good marker of a populated area.

Anyways.

I didn't even have to leave the sidewalk to find this little nugget of nature.

Closer...closer...closer...it's probably a good thing this leaf isn't a person, because it could be slighly awkward at this point.

A branch in the grass. Not clever, I know.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day! Enjoy the outdoors (however far outside you choose to travel)!

Magic!

2009-06-07T18:26:00.004-04:00

Do you believe in magic?

More specifically, do you believe in cookies that require no mixing?

Imagine a toss of sparkly dust into the air and a wave of a wand over a hat here...fanfare...and...TA DA!!!! Magic Cookie Bars!

And without further ado, I present "Cookies in 6 Easy Steps" (well, 7, if you include the actual act of putting them in the oven).

Step 1 - Butter

Step 2 - Graham Cracker Crumbs

Note: Here, there is supposed to be an additional step involving the addition of walnuts. However, my dad is allergic to nuts, and I wanted these cookies to be a happy and magical experience for everyone.

Step 3 - Butterscotch Chips

Step 4 - Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Step 5 - Coconut

annnnd lastly, Step 6 - Sweetened Condensed Milk

And with a wave of my oven mitt, 1, 2, 3...they're done!

Is anyone getting sick of my magic humor?

Too bad.

Oh, alright.

Cutting the cookies into squares. I cut them while they were a bit warm still, so that is why the chocolate looks all ooze-y.

Warm magic cookie bar, fresh out of the oven.

Even though I was impatient to taste this, I would recommend waiting a bit until the cookie firms up and holds its shape. Unless you're okay with having your fingers covered in chocolate and butterscotch.

It's alright, I am too.

Cooled down, ready for its closeup

The verdict? I thoroughly enjoyed these cookies, they are definitely sweet, but I think that its okay once in a while for a dessert to not be subtle in its flavors. Too often you get a kiss of chocolate, a hint of vanilla. This dessert is more of a WHAM! POW! of sweet and chocolate and butterscotch and graham cracker.

It's in your face.

This dessert would absolutely tell you its real opinion on that outfit you're wearing.

Now then, I'm going to go about making them disappear (couldn't resist one last one).

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-06-05T20:26:00.006-04:00

Admittedly, I do not cook dinner a lot. I'm more of a dessert gal, as can be seen from most of the cooking adventures on this blog.

What can I say, I like a recipe. (Yes, I know dinners have recipes too, but I also like sugar and chocolate and whipped cream and fruit. Show me a dinner with that.)

Left to my own dinner devices, well...breakfast went so well this morning, why not do it again?

Oooh, how I love when I can conjure up justifications for my behavior. I totally thought out my actions in a thorough and rational manner, as opposed to I cracked an egg and ate.

So one night, I decided to make an omelette. Crowd, how do we think this went?

Well, typically, omelettes do not have sugar or chocolate or whipped cream or fruit in them, so I'm not sure why she's even going here.

Let's read on, shall we?

Tomatoes are totally a fruit. Ha.

Ham, for some meaty goodness.

The eggs, stirred, salted, and peppered.

Things went fairly swimmingly (or egg-cellent, if you're into food puns), until it came time to move the eggs around the pan. Were you to attempt this food combination in an omelette, I would recommend (now based on experience), that you use only the solid portion of the tomato, rather than that plus the seeds. The seeds and gelatenous center of the tomato seemed to add too much moisture to my poor little omelette, and it swiftly fell apart.

No worries, we'll call it scrambled eggs!

That doesn't look too bad, does it?

Ok, it probably looks awful, BUT IT DID NOT TASTE AWFUL. It actually tasted pretty good. And before people think that things went terribly, horribly wrong, I added mozzarella to the mix at the end, because

a) I am a wild and crazy girl

and

b) things had already fallen apart (literally), so really cheese couldn't hurt things at this point.

The next breakfast for dinner adventure was french toast. This dinner contained sugar AND fruit (and technically could have included chocolate and whipped cream as well if I were so inclined), so it was absolutely an acceptable dinner in my book.

Being a wild and crazy girl, I like to also french toast apple slices (I'm not sure if "french toast" can count as a verb or as a cooking style, but I am using it as such) to go along with the party. My usual method is to french toast the bread slices, then dip apple slices into the batter and pan fry them until they get soft and slightly browned on the outside.

They are quite delicious.

And look at me, having a "method" of doing things. Ooh. Don't I think I'm fancy.

Whole apple

Sliced apple

Bread, being french toasted

Cooking...

Even though this dinner came out slightly better looking than the previous breakfast attempt, it was no less tasty.

Does that make sense in the least?

Okay. Ahem.

Both were good. Breakfast is good. Especially when they are passed off as dinners. The only thing that could be better is dessert for dinner.

Blogging makes me hungry

2009-06-03T20:45:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

It's a hard job, but somebody has to bumble around the kitchen and take random pictures of the surrounding foliage.

Phew.

(By the way, this is one of these cookies that I had been keeping in the freezer. Still good!)

Cheesecake

2009-05-28T21:26:00.002-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Wow. Wow. I have to think of another word to say besides wow.

Beyond wishing I was able to bake like this, I'd love to pull off this dramatic of a presentation with one of my baked goods. The dripping swirl between the two sauces absolutely enchants me. And the fact that it is dripping ever-so-artistically down cheesecake makes it THAT much more irresistible.

No more words, time to eat.

(If anyone else would like to experience this gorgeous and delicious dessert, it is the Brownie Sundae Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory)

Sunny day, sunny flower

2009-05-25T18:39:00.001-04:00

Originally uploaded by Kitchenphobe

Who doesn't like a little sunshine in their day? And it's been such a lovely holiday weekend (despite it not being sunny the entire time), I'll spread a little more sunshine here.

Ah spring...the juxtaposition of beautiful flowers and allergies.

2009-05-20T19:01:00.003-04:00

I took these pictures of this plant with two different light settings on my camera. I didn't set out to do this on purpose, to end up with a "compare and contrast" sort of result (who else really disliked that essay question - please explain your answer).

What actually happened was as I was taking pictures, I began to wonder why the flower was looking incredibly vibrantly pink,

when in reality, it was more of a red?

Whoops.

Well I like them both (so there, picking only one answer!). The first picture of the flower seems as though it would be at the point in the movie where everything has just appeared in color for the first time, and the scene is dripping in royal purple, lime green, and bright citrusy orange. The second picture is softer, more subtle. This is the flower that would appear at a moment of reflection or romance in our theoretical film (ooh la la).

The question that remains is would there be any interest in a film that expresses all of its plotline's emotional turns through photographs of plants.

Condensation

2009-05-17T19:30:00.002-04:00

While dictionaries and Google and other resources may have more scientific definitions of the word condensation, for me, it is something pretty to take a picture of.

Cookie has to mean "I love you" in some language.

2009-05-11T20:09:00.009-04:00

This Mothers' Day, I decided to say it with cookies.

More specifically, cookies that I made, not baked goods from the grocery store.

Although those are good too. They are usually much prettier colors and more adorned with sprinkles and toasted coconut and icing swirls than my baked goods are.

So my desserts lack accessories. They still have spunk and attitude.

And love. Lots and lots of love.

Here is the baked good of choice, shortbread cookies with raspberry filling and a sugary glaze.

Ok, I'll admit it (it's baking confession time...uh oh...), I found this recipe about a week before Mothers' (its it Mother's? One mother? Multiple mothers? I've been assuming plural) Day, and thought it would be a great, classy cookie choice.

Classy cookies? Oh yes, in my mind, these were the little black dress of cookies.

And then I began to think. I hate when I start thinking. That is when over-complication starts.

"Were these cookies boring?" my brain would ponder, "should I choose something more daring, possibly the fuschia tank-top of cookies? What is the fuschia tank-top of cookies? Am I thinking too much about this?"

YES, BRAIN. YES YOU ARE.

But this was for the moms. And I wanted it to be perfect.

So, in the end, I went for the class (also, the raspberry jelly had already been bought). Sorry tank-top, maybe I'll find and make you for another, feistier holiday.

Ok, on with the shortbread...

Butter and sugar. How proud would Paula Deen be?

I am a big fan of reading the comments that people post about recipes. A few of the comments on this recipe talked about making the indentations in the cookies BEFORE refrigeration, so that the cookies don't crack as much. I thought that this was pretty logical advice, and rolled the dough into balls and indented them pre-fridge.

The cookies glisten with a buttery sheen.

I indented the cookies with the end of the handle of a wooden spoon. Does anyone else want very specific directions while baking? While indenting, I was constantly wondering "how deep do I indent?"

Well friends, I'd say about as deep as in this picture. Or as deep as you'd like. This truly is a personal preference step.

Nervously indenting to various depths.

I'm sure you have noticed that some of the cookies are a bit cracked. I'm really not sure how big of an issue this really is, but I tried to smooth out the cracks as best as possible.

I thought that this cookie may become a troublemaker if left alone.

Ah, that's better - straightening up and flying right.

(what does that expression even mean?)

The directions for the cookies said to fill them with jelly before baking, and then you can top them off afterwards. While doing the second filling, I wondered why I had to fill them twice. My incredibly scientific theory on this one is that the first round of jelly keeps the indentation from poofing up while cooking. The second makes them full, as the jelly settles a bit while cooking.

Yes, poofing. It's an incredibly scientific term.

Oh, and also about the filling process. I put the jelly in a plastic bag, closed it (important step), mooshed it around until it was smooth, and then snipped off the tip of the baggie for jelly-piping. It worked quite well. I recommend it.

(Are we all surprised that both "poofing" and "mooshed" are words flagged by spell-check?)

The tray of cookies pre-baking.

A word of warning. Ok, several words.

You may not want to stray away too far from these cookies while baking. I know it is me, but the smoke alarm went off twice while they were baking (unusual, even for my track history). My theory on this (again, highly thought-through) is that the jelly causes this, as when I pulled out the cookies, there was a bit of steam coming out of the center of the cookies.

Just a heads up.

Want to see what the cookies look like out of the oven?

Aren't they charming and adorable?

Yummm

Hey there cookies, it is taking a lot of willpower not to eat you.

On one of the trays, I had dropped a little bit of jelly while filling. Doesn't it look just like a Craisin, post-baking?

I wonder how many of these are in 100 calories?

Okay, the cookies were really really really good on their own. But I wasn't stopping there. The recipe had glaze in it. So I was making the glaze.

A note about the glaze: the glaze needs more water than is listed in the recipe. I added small splashes of water until it became gooey and glazey (also, amazingly not a word). I'd say it took about two splashes of water. Just use small amounts and work up.

Although really, if you added too much water, I'm pretty sure things won't entirely fall apart if you add a bit more sugar to even things out.

Check out my kitchen confidence!!!!

The cookies, post-glazing.

Check out that presentation.

Okay, okay. I was wrong to ever doubt these little amazing cookies. Boring, they most certainly are not (classy, oh yes they are). The shortbread is flaky and wonderful, the glaze, while also a nice decorative touch, does not make the cookies too sweet, and the jelly is a nice fruity treat in the center.

Make them. Make them and enjoy them and love them, because I and the moms (my aunt and my grandma) that I gave them to absolutely did.

Found in the grass

2009-05-06T21:19:00.001-04:00

While looking at the grass today, my eye caught something purple and lovely.

It's probably a weed. I have no idea really. I don't mind if someone tells me that it is.

I still think it's pretty and purple and lovely.

Tis the Season

2009-04-29T19:27:00.001-04:00

The ice cream truck just drove by, playing a tinny chime version of "Deck the Halls".

Happy Anniversary!!!

2009-04-27T19:13:00.006-04:00

Tomorrow is my parents' wedding anniversary, so Adam and I decided to do something special for the occasion for them. Their wedding cake was a Black Forest cake, so this was the baking adventure I decided to embark on.

Essentially, I made a chocolate cake, and topped said cake with whipped cream and cherries.

Oh yes, and kirsch (cherry liqueur). Can't forget the cake cordials.

Adam helpfully mixing the dry ingredients together.

Ooooh, batter-y goodness.

Ta-da!!! The first part of the master plan is complete.

Not to jinx myself, but this baking business seems to be going a bit smoother as of late. These cakes exited the pans in a calm and orderly fashion, leaving behind just a light kiss of cake in the pan for a taste. These cookies had behaved pretty civilized and lovely as well. I believe I am liking this trend.

Oooh, am I confident to have just said that, since a big moment in my kitchenphobe life is about to happen.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the first time that I ever put together a layered cake.

TWO layers here, people! This is multi-dimensional! Reaching for the stars!

Ok, ok, on with the cake.

Layer one, and all is well. Cake, whipped cream, cherries.

::fanfare::

I was impressed with myself. It was not only layered, but it was staying that way! The cake came out slightly uneven, but what is whipped cream if not a wonderful mistake-cover-upper?

Have a slice, why don't you?

I didn't anticipate a negative outcome from the pairing of chocolate with whipped cream and cherries, and I was definitely not disappointed. The flavors were delicious together, and the kirsch added a little bonus cherry kick (it had been brushed over the tops of the cake layers).

And since I am me, we have just successfully had dessert first. I love dessert.

Okay, on with the meal, and on with Adam taking the kitchen reins.

The menu (probably should have started with this, in retrospect):

Penne a la vodka

Chicken with prosciutto and herbs

Asparagus with shallots

Roasted garlic bread

Black Forest cake (but you knew that already, didn't you). Hey, I'm still bursting with pride. I'm going to mention that cake for awhile.

Sorry I don't have a lot of pictures of the actual meal being cooked. I was wandering, Adam was cooking, dishes were sizzling away and being put together faster than I could grab my camera.

Prosciutto. If you don't like prosciutto... :(

Asparagus and shallots

Vodka sauce

Mmm...asparagus all roasty-fied

Needless to say, dinner was delicious, and was enjoyed by all (especially the anniversary couple). Happy anniversary, mom and dad!!! :)

Snacktime!

2009-04-21T15:07:00.003-04:00

Time for another 100 calorie snack installment! Although today, we are deviating slightly - the snack in question is a mere 90 calories.

To fit with our theme, we can envision 10% more snack for the true 100 calorie experience.

Or we can just go with it.

Without further ado, Quaker Granola Bites - chocolate flavored.

Check out the explosions of chocolate/granola goodness.

Upon opening the pack, I discovered 12 granola bites, and one huge ginormous granola godzilla towering over the rest. Did we like the alliteration there? I did.

I decided to count the big guy as two granola bites, bringing our total up to 14 bites.

I hope that granola "bite" over there is a gentle giant.

Slightly dramatic shot of the bites.

These were a great little snack. I felt as though I was being particularly healthy because of the granola. They were also an adorable (can a little orb of granola and chocolate be "adorable"?) little size, great for a bite size treat (which I suppose was the point, what with them being called granola bites). Yes, I'd even classify the larger bite as a bite. Perhaps as a bite and 5/8ths.

If we want to be specific, that is. :)

I Love My Family

2009-04-14T18:12:00.007-04:00

Easter was a fun-and-family-and-food-filled celebration this year.

Sounds like a good combination to me.

Early morning on Easter. 8 is early.

My mom gave me an adorably themed bunny cookie, continuing with this week's cookie trend.

It's cooking bunny!!! She doesn't look very kitchenphobe-y, what with her confident wielding of that whisk. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from her skills.

This is an official product here, people

VERY tasty??? The packaging cannot lie!

Out of the box...isn't she cute?!? I especially like her hat.

And if you thought you were only getting a cookie, you are sorely mistaken. This confection comes with a poem as well. Guess where it's from haha.

My favorite part about getting candy. Or cookies. Or any dessert.

Saving the most whimsy for last, in the midst of the Easter antics, my aunt gave a Peep a rockin' hairdo.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Three cheers for Elvis Peep-sley!