Bake 52 Week 2: Bran Muffins

Our challenge for this week was Bran Muffins.  I was excited to make these, because I love a good bran muffin.  However, I was not thrilled with this recipe.  I have had better.  But if you want to try them out anyways, here's the link to the recipe: sugarcoatedsaga.blogspot.com.  


The recipe calls for raisins.  I really don't like raisins baked into things, so I made half of the batter with craisins, and the other half with dried blueberries.  The dried blueberries were splendid.  


All in all, these muffins were just ok.  I would give them a 5 out of 10.  However, with a lot of butter added on top I would give them a 6 out of 10.

xoxo

j

Bake 52 Week 1: Quiche

It's a new year, and I have a new project!  I am a participant if a new online cooking group.  We all have the same cookbook, and every week one person hosts.  That means that the host gets to pick a recipe.  She also posts the recipe for everyone online.  This week the host is names Clare.  Her link is tylerandclare.blogspot.com and that is where you can find the recipe to the quiche that we have all made.

My sister, Rachel, and I are both home for the holidays in South Dakota so we were able to make it together.  It was awesome because she did the hard work (aka making the crust).  I don't do crust.  I just made the basic quiche recipe, and then added some green onions and bacon.  So here's a pic of our final product.

This is a great beginners recipe, because it goes in to detail about how to make it fool proof.  I would say that it's a keeper.  No complaints.

xoxo

j

Stuffing OR dressing?

I never knew the difference between stuffing and dressing until a few weeks ago.  I just called it all stuffing.  I figured that calling stuffing "dressing" was an old person term.  Guess what...it's not!  The conversation came about when I was talking to my mom about her famous stuffing recipe, which I will be revealing in this very post.  It was the first time that I would be making it by myself for Thanksgiving, so I had her on the phone with a ton of questions.  Thankfully, she walked me through the whole thing.  Anyways, she kept correcting me when I would call it "stuffing".  It was getting annoying.  Then she told me why I was wrong.  It turns out, "stuffing"  is actually stuffed into the turkey.  "Dressing" is the same food as stuffing, but kept out of the turkey.  It makes sense now doesn't it?   So I ended up making "dressing".  I am kinda grossed out by "stuffing".

I made two different dressing recipes for Thanksgiving.  One of them was Italian Sausage Dressing from "Our Best Bites".  I have to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with it.  I like my Mom's stuffing, excuse me, dressing recipe better.  Here it is!

Mom’s Turkey Dressing

(Makes enough for 15)

3 cubes of butter

1/2 c olive oil

4 or 5 sticks of celery

2 large sweet onions

1 large bundle of fresh parsley

3 12 oz boxes of seasoned cubed bread

1 can chicken broth (I use more)

Craisins (put in as much as you'd like)

black pepper to taste

1. Chop celery first and sauté it in a large pot with 3 cubes melted butter and ½

cup olive oil.

2. Chop parsley and onion while celery is cooking. When celery is soft, add

onion and parsley. Cook for approximately 5 minutes and add Craisins. Cook

another 5 minutes or until onions are clear.

3. In an extra large work bowl, place bread cubes, add hot vegetables and toss

until well mixed. Slowly add 1 can of chicken broth and toss again. Add black

pepper to taste.

4. Line extra large baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Spread dressing evenly in

pan and wrap until ready to cook.

5. Cook dressing for about ½ hour at 450 degrees and serve hot.

Note: Dressing can be frozen before it is cooked. Sometimes I freeze ½ of dressing

and eat the other ½.

*Notes from Jesse.  My Mom chops everything in the food processor.  It's so much faster.  Also, I added a little more chicken broth (about 2 cans total) than what my mom says to add.  I used 15 oz bags of the cubed bread, because that's all I could find.  It actually worked out better with a little more cubed bread.  I think my mom's vegetable to bread ratio is a little off.  And one more thing, I like to cook mine longer than 30 minutes.  I like it really crunchy on top.  That is a personal preference. 

So there you have it.

xoxo

j

Gingerbread Houses for Dummies

I am not a good gingerbread house maker.  I have made them a total of two times ever.  So if you are experienced in gingerbread house making, you will not find this post useful.  But if you are like me, I have a few helpful tips.

We had a group activity with Levi's classmates at HBS last weekend, making gingerbread houses.  They had a pretty brilliant idea, which is my first and most exciting tip.  The people in charge went to Dunkin Donuts and got a bunch of the to-go boxes.  That is what we used as our foundation!

This idea made the house building a breeze.  I think that is important.  I am the kind of person that would spend forever building the house, and by the time i'm done, I've lost all my steam for decorating it.  You will need to manipulate the box to your liking.  I tucked in the handles. Other people found really creative ways to get the box how they wanted it.
Don't be afraid to cut the graham crackers with a knife.  I used what was there, which was a plastic butter knife.  It worked just fine.  I also shaved down jagged edges.  I could have done a much better job, as you'll see in the pictures.
Toppings are everything.  Don't underestimate the power of cute candy.  

With that in mind, try to remember that less is more.  It's so easy to get carried away with decorating when you have so much cute candy in front of you.  I'm not really sure how to stop.  I wish I had a good tip for that.

Last tip is to pipe the icing on.  I think that one is a no-brainer.  I'm pretty sure that most people know to do that, but thought i'd put it in just in case.

I'm sure there are a billion icing recipe's out there, and if anyone has a great one please pass it on!  Here's an icing recipe from a friend.  I've never actually made it, but she says that it's reliable.  

Icing

3 egg whites, room temp.

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Combine all ingredients and beat for 7 to 10 minutes. Spread as desired.

Well, I guess it's time to reveal the gingerbread house that I made.  I'm actually really embarrassed by it.  Here I am, giving these tips, while I've made a pretty sad looking house.  

Ok, I doubt anyone fell for that one.  Here it is:

Yet, another lie.  If only.  This is the look I will go for next year.  I grabbed these pictures off of the internet.  Is that legal?  Ok, here's the REAL thing:

Ugh.  I really don't like looking at it.  It doesn't even have a chimney!   But I can tell you one thing . . . that foundation is a strong one!  I could throw this baby off of my balcony and it would still be intact.  I will try to do better next year.  At least now I know how to make these.  It can only go up from there right?

xoxo

j

Baking Club

I am participating in this online baking club.  If anyone is interesting in joining, here is the link to the info about it.  My friend, Amanda, is hosting it.  There are only 2 more days to sign up, so hurry!  It's going to be a lot of fun.  Anyone can join.

http://girlplusfood.blogspot.com/p/bake-52.html

Here is the book we're using:



I love her blog.  I cook things off of there all the time.  I especially love her Chocolate Chip Muffins, Cornbread, Caramel Pecan Pumpkin Pie, and Strawberry Shakes.  The next recipe I plan on trying is these Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.  They look amazing.

xoxo

j

12 + thoughts on frosting

Whoa, I just realized that I have 12 followers!  I need to start blogging again!  I don't want to disappoint my 12 faithful followers.  Truth is, I still cook and bake.  I just got lazy with taking pictures, transferring them to my computer, writing a post, and getting pictures onto the blog.  Can you blame me?  I am seriously impressed with all you faithful bloggers out there.  I don't know how you can create awesome things, AND take the time to blog about them, especially since most of you are Moms with kids.  Hey, that's a good blog post idea...maybe one of you can write about the behind the scenes.  I would like to read that.  You could write a guest post on my blog, for my 12 followers of course!  Any takers? Rachel? Amanda?  Pioneer Woman?  Yeah right, you don't read my blog even though I talk about you all the time.

So here's my latest venture...

And here's what I have to say about it.  I made these for a friend's baby blessing reception.  I started out using the Perfect Cupcake Frosting from Our Best Bites (love that cookbook and blog).  Well, it turns out that I'm not a fan.  It was a lot of work and only frosted 10 cupcakes.  It also tasted way too buttery, and trust me... that's big for me to say.  I love butter.  I have lived a week without milk and eggs, but when I ran out of butter I made a B line for the store.

 So, I won't be making that recipe again.  I ended up frosting the rest of the cupcakes with canned frosting... I know.  It wasn't so bad.  It was a lemon flavored kind.  I whipped it up in the Kitchen Aid for a few minutes.  It got nice and fluffy.  I actually think that it looked a bit better than the other frosting too.

So i'm still on the search for the perfect frosting.  In the end, none of that really mattered anyways.  The cupcakes ended up falling up-side down off of the table.  My cute 3 year old neighbor may have had something to do with that.  It was pretty funny.  I wish I would have gotten an after picture!

xoxo

j

p.s. Just in case anyone is interested, I've added the recipe for cooking a live lobster to the lobster post.   It's at the very bottom of the post.

UPDATE!!!
What the ...  I only have 11 followers now!?!  I guess they aren't so faithful after all.

I'm back with a lobster attack!

The other day I was in Harvard Square, enjoying the lovely weather.  I randomly decided to stop by the farmers market.  I came away from the market with a bag of delicious chocolate nuts and a live lobster.  Yes, you read that right... A LIVE LOBSTER!!!  And boy do I have a story for you!  It started out as an exciting, spontaneous purchase.  The lady that sold it to me was a fisherman's wife.  He caught the lobster, and she sold them.  The lobster I bought had only been caught the day before.  She showed me a picture of their boat and everything!  It was a true New England experience.

I made several mistakes following my purchase.  First, I called my Mom.  Thinking she would be proud of me, I excitedly told her what I had just bought.  Then she asked me, "So are you going to cook it, or take it to the bay to set it free?"  That's when the panic set in.  For the rest of my walk home I was agonizing over that question.  Was I actually going to kill a lobster, and then eat it???

My second mistake was that I kept my purchase a surprise for Levi.  Once again, I really anticipated that Levi would love the idea that I bought a lobster on a whim for dinner.  Well, when I came home and showed him my big surprise he was less than impressed.  He said, "I'm not touching that".  My lobster enthusiasm was completely deflated and the guilty conscience kicked in to full gear.

My third mistake was this.

We became friends with the lobster.  We named him Poseidon.

p.s.  I mopped my floor before and after Poseidon touched it...just in case you were wondering

That night we went out for pizza.  The next 24 hours were an absolute hell as I stressed about what to do with the thing.  It was awful.  He was in an insulated bag that was kept in my refrigerator (that's what the lobster lady told me to do if we didn't cook it that night).  All night and the following day I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that there was a live lobster sitting in my fridge.  I felt sick to my stomach.  Twice when I opened my fridge I could hear it squirming around in the bag.  It was horrifying!!!  I consequently avoided opening my fridge for most of the day.

So here I was, about 24 hours after I bought my lobster, still trying to figure out what to do... be the real chef that I want to be, or return the lobster back to the sea.  As soon as Levi got home from school I asked him what we should do, and he said that we should cook it.  He made it clear that I needed to finish what I started.  He was right, and I knew it.  

Everything looks great and under control in the picture right?  It was... and then directly after it was taken all hell broke loose.    

I am not joking when I tell you that my lobster got an adrenaline rush.  He knew what was about to happen to him (Levi read about this online and apparently it's a normal thing.  Of course Levi conveniently forgot to warn me about that until it was too late).  I had never seen our lobster so lively up to that point.  He was slapping his tail up and down so hard that he whipped my hand and I dropped him on the counter.  It was wiggling all 8 legs like crazy, trying to get away.  It scared the heck out of me!!!  This lobster was ready to pounce.  I seriously thought it was going to jump off of the counter and attack me.  I could have sworn that it was hissing at me.  So all the while, I was screaming at the top of my lungs!  Levi was yelling at me to pick it up and throw it in the pot.  Poor little Woods was sitting on the kitchen floor bawling because he was so terrified.  So I was screaming, Levi was screaming, and Woods was screaming.  It was total chaos.  My heart is pounding right now just remembering that crazy moment.

Finally I swallowed my fear, picked the lobster up, and threw him into the pot just as fast as I could.  This was proceeded by slamming the lid on as hard as possible.  I did not want this thing jumping out of the pot and attacking me.

Here are some pretty sweet action shots.  It shows the sequence of events perfectly.  Thanks to Levi for being the photographer, and my mentor.

Throwing the lobster into the pot.

I am freaking out in this picture, because the lobster was still moving in the pot!!!!!

I did it!!!  I was about to drop dead at this point, as you can see.  

 It was such a relief to have it over with.  I killed a lobster.  That sounds awful, but it was a huge burden that was lifted off my shoulders.

This is all the meat we got out of it.  Not much...

 We really did eat it and here's the proof.

 It tasted like any normal lobster.

Cooking a live lobster is not for those with weak stomachs.  Not only is cooking it traumatic, but trying to figure out how to eat it is almost just as bad.  As you may have read in a previous post, eating a lobster is disgusting.  There are numerous surprises that you will find inside.  After all is said and done, I am feeling mixed emotions.  I am proud of myself for doing it, but I did have a sick feeling in my stomach for the next two days.  I contemplated becoming a vegetarian for about a day...but I had signed up to bring pulled pork sandwiches to a potluck the following evening.  Now I am just feeling grateful for those who are willing to provide meat for me.  It takes a certain kind of person, and it's not me!  I won't ever cook a live lobster again, not in a million billion years.  But I will say that it was one of the main events of my year.  I will never forget our lobster experience.  It will always be a fun Boston memory to look back on.

Levi and I also decided that we probably won't want to eat lobster ever again.  In the words of my Mom, "We've had our lifetime quota".  

xoxo

j

p.s.  Our lobster pooped all over my kitchen in his crazy rage.  It's hard to see because we have speckled counter tops, but it was every where!  It was slightly disturbing, especially since I still had to eat the thing!  Not the most appetizing way to prepare to eat a lobster.

P.s.s.  You'll notice that I never used the lobster's name, Poseidon, through out the post.  Before we cooked him, It was fun to refer to him as Poseidon.   After I killed him, it was just too sad to call him by his name.

P.s.s.s.  I'm ignoring the fact that I haven't posted on this blog in months.  Let's just pretend that it never happened.

UPDATE!!!

I've had a few people ask me how to cook a live lobster.  Here's my recipe:

Recipe for cooking a live lobster

Boil a full pot of water (salted so that your lobster feels safely at home, before he returns "home")

Throw lobster in

Slam the lid on tight

Run for you life

But seriously, you can just look it up online.  That's what I did.  Good luck!