Shopgirl Eats

From Cali, with love

2010-07-23T08:47:00.000-05:00

Husband and I took a recent trip to Northern California to visit the Wrangler and Bugsy. Bugsy suggested a breakfast restaurant in Occidental. While we drove the windy roads to this Northern California town, Bugsy whipped out her smart phone to show us the restaurant's website and, even better, its menu. I don't know about you, but I LOVE to read restaurant menus. I especially like to read the menus before I visit a place. I don't like to wait until I'm seated in the restaurant for the first glimpse of the menu. I want to know what to expect and have an idea of what I want to order. I'd much rather soak in the atmosphere of the place than spend the first 10 minutes with my head buried in the accordian, plastic-covered book. Plus, I find it exciting to read menus and start your mouth watering for something on that said menu. Thankfully, I found a kindred spirit who does this, too. Thanks, Anne, for making me feel like not as much of a food nerd!

Anyways, as I was reading the menu of this restaurant in Cali, two things jumped out at me: Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes and Organic Brown Rice Scramble. The first choice I knew I would love. As for the second choice, I was intrigued, but skeptical. The description: "Brown rice scrambled with eggs, green onion, feta, and spinach." My first thought, brown rice in eggs??? That sounded so weird to me and a little more of a "hippie" breakfast than I'm used to. But knowing I'd probably never find this dish on a menu at home, I decided to take the risk. I also ordered the pancakes. What can I say? I was on vacation.

The pancakes were amazing. The brown rice scramble -- out of this world! Everyone at the table raved after trying it. I think I definitely had the best breakfast at the table. The eggs were perfectly fluffy and beautifully studded with specks of brown rice. The spinach, green onions and feta perfectly rounded out the scramble. The flavor exploded with every bite and was not at all what I expected from brown rice in a breakfast dish. Brown rice notoriously has a bad rap for being bland. This dish helped me see that brown rice is what you make of it. It can be full-flavored if you do it right.

So, knowing that it maybe a long time before I would ever get that breakfast dish again, I had to make it back home. For me, part of the fun of going out to eat is finding inspiration for my cooking at home. If I eat something tasty in a restaurant, I often try to recreate it at home. It's like a challenge, a motivation to make restaurant dishes at home. This dish also kicks off my other feature I'd like to start -- I'm calling it "Oh, no, she didn't!" I love to put unexpected ingredients together. Sometimes it works out. And sometimes it's, well, a good story to tell. I also love a good challenge, so feel free to challenge me with ingredient combinations.

My take on the brown rice scramble is my Front Porch Frittata. Named as such because I ate it on our front porch. The recipe doesn't have green onions as I didn't have any at the time, but I would highly suggest them instead of the sweet onions I used. It just gives the dish the added flavor it needs. Another tip: make sure you turn your burner off after your put the frittata in the oven. Common sense to most, I know. Let's just say after I pulled the frittata back out of the oven, I might have placed it on the burner which may or may not have been still on. Continued sizzling could be a sign of a possible hot burner. I'm just saying. In case you weren't aware.

Front Porch Frittata

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced onion (or green onion if you prefer)
2 tsp minced garlic
5 oz raw spinach, coarsely chopped
8 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup cooked brown rice, cooled
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring the 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to a medium heat in an oven safe 10-inch frying pan. While the oil is warming, crack the eggs in a large bowl and whisk eggs with the milk, salt and pepper. Add the feta and brown rice and stir. Set aside. Turn on your boiler to the high setting.

Toss in the onion and garlic and saute' until onion is soft. If you are using green onions instead, they will need very little saute' time. Add the chopped spinach leaves and let them wilt ever so slightly. Add egg mixture and use a spatula to mix all ingredients together evenly. Let the frittata cook for 5-8 minutes or until it is set around the edges. Place in broiler for 5 minutes or until the middle is firm. Watch closely as this can sometimes go very quickly.

Every frittata recipe I've ever seen say to flip the frittata onto a plate. I've never successfully been able to do this. So, if you can, more power to you! And, please, share your tips.

I've Never . . . Made Flour Tortillas

2010-07-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

What a perfect day Iowa summer day! I'm sitting at my dining room table with our windows wide open listening to chatty birds, backfiring cars and enjoying the light, cool breeze making my bright yellow curtains float off the ground. It seems like the perfect day to start one of my new blog features I hope to make a weekly entry. I'm calling it "I've Never...." This idea was born out of many youth and college years of playing a game by this same name that is meant as a way to get to know people in a nonthreatening way. Apparently, there is a board game by the same name now. Who knew?

The basics of the game? You gather chairs in a circle but have one less chair than people. One person starts the game by standing in the middle and stating one things they have never done -- like, "I've never traveled overseas." or "I've never eaten a bagel." All those sitting down who have done that very thing must get up and find another seat. Whoever cannot find a seat must stand in the middle and share their "I've never." My investigation online tells me that you can make this into a drinking game. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that my many experiences with this game included no chugging of blue concoctions housed in glass test viles. At most, I may have had a can of Diet Mountain Dew (my caffeine of choice during college) nearby.

In my food blog form, the "I've Never..." will be exploring foods that I've never eaten and/or made before. I've already got a list of items going from the kooky (eggs boiled in tea and spices???) to the simple (baked apples). Life is too short to not to try new things, right? I also would love to hear your "I've Never's..." in the world of food...and even your adventures in trying new things in the kitchen.

So, in this first installment I made my own whole wheat flour tortillas. Why? Well, we had veggie tacos on the calendar for dinner the other night and I didn't have any tortillas at home. It was as simple as that.

I do have vivid childhood memories of homemade tortillas made by mom in our carpeted galley kitchen. These tortillas were very hard to resist right off the stovetop, especially when they were folded around a pat of melting butter. It's like that bread basket sitting right in front of you....you know your meal is coming soon but you just can't resist the warm doughy perfection.

My attempt at tortillas certainly don't fit "warm doughy perfection" but for a first attempt, I'm happy with the result. They are not even close to perfectly round and ended up a little dry from me overworking them with the rolling pin but I kind of like their scraggly appeal. I will definitely make homemade again as they were super easy (aside from my lack of dough rolling skills) and cooked very fast once you rolled out the dough.

Do you make homemade flour tortillas? What's your favorite recipe? Any special tricks?

Here is the link to the recipe I used for my first ever flour tortillas. Husband and I enjoyed them filled with pinto beans, caramelized onions, avocado, locally-made salsa and cilantro from our garden. Divine.

Have a wonderful July 4th weekend!

A shaky-leg, heart-thumping kind of decision

2010-06-28T01:09:00.000-05:00

Why, hello, there! Long time no see. So sorry for my absence, again. Ugh. Life has been interesting as of late as I've been feeling my way through a new daily schedule. It's been weird and a little uncomfortable. It's been exactly what I needed.

The journey behind this decision brings me back to vacation days as a little girl at my paternal grandparents in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. My grandparents lived on the outskirts of this small, slightly touristy town in a two-bedroom log cabin at the base of a mountain. Every morning, I would drive with Grandma into town for her part-time job as a librarian in the sleepy library. Some days I would hang out with her surrounded by paper and curled up in the basement reading a mystery of some sort like Nancy Drew or Encyclopedia Brown. I would often take a break and walk to the local pharmacy for a chocolate malt. And then some days she would drop me off at the Olympic-size pool on the edge of town.

Not only was the pool expansive, but in addition to normal diving boards, they had diving platforms from Olympic-lore. Three levels of platforms hung over the water, each level given you more street cred than the others. I remember my shaky legs ascending the steep, narrow stairs past the first platform, then the second platform, and on to the third. On that platform I was surrounded by giggly teenage girls, pubescent boys and muscled, hairless men in Speedo's. I stood out with my arms crossed over my one-piece which covered my pillowy stomach and flat chest. I tried to quiet my wildly beating heart and my shivering goose-pimply legs. I watched as the men in Speedo's jumped quickly and nimbly off the platform. The teenagers seemed like jumping off was the last thing on their minds. My turn seemed to be now or never. I shuffled slowly and looked down to the awaiting water to make sure no bodies remained in my path below. I walked a few steps backwards and ran over the edge, my arms and legs waving like they were made of jello as my body descended to the sun-reflecting water. And then it was over...the cold water met my feet with a loud clap and water soon greeted my nose and mouth with a whoosh. I journeyed back up to the surface with my kicking legs. My lungs gasped for air as they also fought with the water that I swallowed so swiftly. Minutes of fear that seemed like hours and days were ended with exhilaration and an unsureness if I would do it again but so very glad that I at least tried it once.

My recent life decision has been, for me, like my jump off that top platform. Many visits to that pool I promised myself I would take that chance but I never did. But the day came finally when I could not hold myself back any longer. Fear would hold my hand and leap with me. Fear would become my friend. Lately, I'd forgotten how good a friend fear can be. I needed the reminder that fear is the catalyst for growth and self-discovery. I'm ready to embark on a new discovery, Ala Christopher Columbus. Fear will be my shipmate and not the storm that forces me to turn around to calmer waters. I am ready. In the meantime, kitchen adventures await and I cannot wait to spend more time slicing, dicing and writing.

With the beginning of this new path, I thought I'd redesign the look of this blog. Like me, I felt like it needed a fresh start. I'm not sure I'm done with it yet but for now I am enjoying the brighter design. What do you think? I also plan on adding a couple of weekly features (you'll have to wait and see!) along with the storytelling that I enjoy so much.

Although I have been absent from my blog, I am still doing a fare bit of cooking and baking. I actually had a cupcake recipe I wanted to include in this entry, but I have yet to find the recipe that I scribbled down. Time to start a recipe notebook so that I don't mistake my torn pages as trash. :)

Until then, I hope some pictures of recent food ventures will suffice. See you soon, with recipes.

Yolk on the walls

2010-03-21T10:36:00.001-05:00

Husband and I love breakfast. Not the take it on the run, wrapped bagel in a napkin that you eat as you pretend you can drive perfectly well while juggling feeding your face and steering. We love the getting up early, out-to-eat lazy breakfast that can only come on the weekends. It's our favorite thing to do and the meal that we eat out the most. Which is odd -- as breakfast in and of itself is really pretty easy to make at home and pretty easy to make as tasty as you can find in a restaurant. Maybe it's the treat of a weekend when it's nice to have someone else cook comfort food for you. Or maybe it is a sign that Husband and I do have a bit of obsession with eggs and salty meats. Did I mention we have a painting of bacon in our kitchen? And one of our kitchen walls is the color of an egg yolk...oh, man, I just now realized that. How funny.

One of the reasons we make a production of breakfast on the weekends is our schedules do not allow for a hot breakfast during the week. It's darn near impossible. So, I'm always trying think of easy things to have on hand that are perfect for lives on the go. I've made homemade granola that we eat with creamy and tart Greek yogurt. I've also done overnight oats that soak in yogurt and are accented with nuts and fresh fruit. For me, I tend toward a baked good for a quick breakfast. It's a little harder to find a baked good that satisfies that pastry craving while still filling you up and not being wholly unhealthy for you.

A nearby bakery has delicious banana chocolate chip muffins which I thoroughly enjoy. So, I thought I would try to make a pastry that reminded me of this banana/chocolate combination but would still be hearty enough for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

When I try to make a baked item a little healthier I do a few things: 1) I substitute part or all of the flour with a combination of whole wheat flour, wheat germ and flax seed meal. You could substitute the whole of the flour with whole wheat flour but I find that whole wheat flour, specifically true 100% whole wheat is too strong of a flavor. When you bite into a baked good made solely with 100% whole wheat flour, it's like getting slapped in the face with a iron skillet. Really, Whole Wheat, I love you but I don't love you enough for you to be the star of the show. 2) I substitute part of the butter with fat-free Greek yogurt. 3) I drop the sugar content by 1/3 to 1/4 because typically you don't notice it's been removed.

Banana Snack Cookies
adapted from Field Guide to Cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 3/4 cups rolled old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (must be Greek yogurt, can just do 3/4 cup butter if you don't have Greek yogurt on hand)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, wheat germ, flax seed meal, oats, baking soda, and salt together. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the Greek yogurt, egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add half the flour mixture, mix, and then add the banana and mix. Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls onto the baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Ode to corn

2010-01-30T06:49:00.002-06:00

When I moved back to Iowa in my mid-20's, one of my friends frequently asked if I had met any good corn-fed Iowa boys. For so long, my answer was no, no, and NO! That is, until Husband came around. In him, I found my corn-fed Iowa boy (via Indiana, but after age 4 he was officially a corn-fed Iowa boy). All this corn-fed love has seemed to have another influence on me...in the form of food. I seem to be obsessed with cooking with corn. You may envision me cooking with yummy Iowa corn from the cob. But, no, you'd be wrong. I'm currently obsessed with corn in its ground form.

Almost every dish I've been wanting to do as of late contains ground corn in one form or another. From Pan-Seared Polenta to Chili with Hominy to Jalapeno Cornbread to Turkey Verde with Hominy to Grit Souffle, I think I'm officially stuck on ground corn. It's like I'm trying to channel life just off the Mayflower.

Every time I mention a new meal idea that mysteriously contains ground corn, Husband just nods politely with a amused smirk floating across his face. He's graciously putting up with my corn fetish. I don't want to push my luck for too long but for now he's happily getting his fill of corn.

One form of ground corn that I am fairly new to is polenta. In fact, the first time I ate polenta was at the hands of a former nun in the northern hills of Italy on my 30th birthday trip. I arrived at the ex-nun's home at the hands of my American friends who have spent the majority of their life living in Italy. She graciously invited us over for a meal and to talk about her life. The meal? Pan-fried polenta and gnocchi. The polenta was thinly sliced and in the shape of a rectange and simply spiced with salt and pepper. It's shape and consistency was a more savory version of my Grandma Hazel's cornmeal mush that she would often make for us for breakfast topped with real maple syrup (is there any other kind?). The gnocchi was speckled with spinach and also minimally spiced. It was a carb-laden meal, for sure, but simple, beautiful and filling. I have so many happy memories of that meal, partially due to the wonderful conversation had around the table in her beautifully sparse home (much like the food she cooked) in the plush mountains of Italy.

If you are unfamiliar, polenta is typically made from coarse-ground corn and mixed with water over heat until thickened. You can eat it in its soft form, spread it in a pan to cool and set up or bake it in the oven. It then can be cut it into various sizes, grilled, pan-seared and served with a sauce of your choice. Once you get started, there are really many options and variations to this form of ground corn.

Until recently, I had only tried adding polenta to my meals from the premade tubes you can buy in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. In fact, the first meal that I made for Husband, I made spicy polenta fries from premade polenta. It was crumbly and didn't much resemble fries but the flavor was promising. After many so-so experiences with premade polenta, I was inspired by a visit to a local restaurant to try my hand at making polenta from scratch. What ensued was a dinner of "Wow's" and fulll-mouthed "So, good's!" which made me vow to never ever buy premade polenta again. It just does not do this dish justice.

Making homemade polenta is really pretty simple depending on what method you choose. I chose to bake polenta, which takes some time, but it is so very low maintenance that you can clean, fold laundry, read a good book while you enjoy the lofting smell of cornmeal, water & olive oil melding together.

So, here is my ode to cornmeal. The dish that began my obsession of polenta and has now made me a polenta evangelist. Now, therefore, go out and make only homemade polenta! No tubes aloud. Also, no tube tops. But that goes without saying. Forgive me, my message is a work in progress.

Pan-Seared Polenta with Chives
(Polenta recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine, January 2010)

8 cups water
5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 tsp. coarse salt
2 cups cornmeal (Coarse-ground is typically recommend but I used regular cornmeal and had excellent results)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives or 2 tbsp. dried chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a 9x13 glass or pyrex baking dish on a baking sheet. Combine water, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and coarse salt in a dish. Pour in cornmeal in 1/2 cup increments and mix carefully to avoid spilling.

Place baking sheet with cornmeal mix in oven. Bake for about 1 hour. Add pepper and chives and stir to blend. Bake 20 minutes. Stir mixture again and use spatula to keep mixture even on top. Continue to bake the polenta until it is very thick for 20-30 more minutes. Cool at room temperature until polenta is cool and firm. You may want to use the back of a metal spatula to make sure the top of the poleta is even and flat. This can be made up to 2 days ahead of serving. Wrap the baking dish with plastic wrap and chill.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Cut polenta into 8 squares. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta squares and work in batches. Saute' until crisp and brown about 8 minutes on each side (if you choose to make the polenta ahead of time, pull it out about an hour in advance to allow it to reach room temperature or allow for 12 minutes per side). Transfer pan-seared polenta to a cookie sheet and place in oven to keep warm until all polenta is finished.

How to serve? So many choices. You can make any type of tomato sauce that you would normally place over pasta and use it with this polenta. For this dish at home, I just pepped up a jarred pasta sauce with fresh basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, diced fire-roasted tomatoes & freshly ground pepper. To add a little more veggies, I also sauteed onions and yellow squash and placed on top of the sauce when plating.

I reccomend serving this dish in a wide bowl. Ladel the desired tomato sauce in bottom of bowl, top with pan-seared polenta square and top with a dollop of ricotta cheese. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese and some fancy salad greens (optional).

Raising the bar

2010-01-13T08:15:00.001-06:00

It's been way too long since I've written a blog post. Nothing more obvious than the fact that I could not even remember the password to my account. Yes, I've been away for far too long.

So much has changed since my last post in August. I opened a store that features locally handmade items; I came down with the Swine flu; Husband and I bought and moved into our first home; I was in a car accident and sported a stylish neck brace for a few weeks; I now type my blog with a kitten sitting on my lap. So, a mix of good and bad and a little good old-fashioned stress to keep me up at night. Needless to say, I haven't had the time or energy to cook or bake, much less write about it.

Lucky for me, it's the New Year. Time to do better this time and put aside any guilt for not keeping up with things in 2009. It's a clean slate. I need that shiny new slate. Like a joyous schoolgirl who can't wait for the first day of school armed with freshly sharpened pencils and a glossy new Trapper Keeper, I'm ready to start anew on this adventure all over again armed with loads of new recipes to try and a great new kitchen to experiment in. It's a hopeful 2010 with anticipation of flying flour, giddy first tastes, many caked-on dishes to wash, failed experiments, and hopes of all hopes, a few successes. In the end, I want to enjoy the journey of creating. Whether or not what I create is successful, I want to enjoy the process of cooking, baking and writing and allowing my mind to think wildly and without bounds. I'm so glad to be back in the blogosphere.

After all my waxing about a new year, I'm actually going to lead 2010 with a recipe that I created in 2009. It was a recipe I adapted back in September with the best of all intentions to post. Life happened and then I lost the recipe amidst the move. While unpacking, I found this tasty dessert bar recipe and just couldn't let it get dusty any longer.

Twisted Bars
(inspired by Food & Wine Magazine, August 2009)

1 cup whole wheat flour (you can do all-purpose white flour if you prefer)
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar (you can do light brown sugar instead)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1.5 cups mini pretzels, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper and allow for overhang on the 2 ends.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed for about a minute. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. At a low speed and working in two batches, beat in the dry ingredients. Add dried cranberries and walnuts while at low speed. Stir in the chocolate chips and pretzels.
3. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. The center will still be a little gooey. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
4. Loosen the sides of the bar from the pan with a knife and lift out with the parchment paper. Cut as desired. Makes up to 24 squares.

Tackling Julia & other things

2009-08-19T07:45:00.002-05:00

One of the perks (ha!) of being a coffee house owner is meeting a wide array of people. One larger than life character who has been with us since the beginning is Agnus (her blog name). She is a widow in her 80's who still dyes her hair jet black, wears dark, heavy eye makeup and sports bright red lipstick that leaves quite a mark on our white coffee mugs. She always enters our side door which is perpendicular to our counter. The door opens, Agnus walks in, stops and waits for our attention. When she receives our eye contact, she waves hello with her whole arm and uses her loud, melodic voice to say something often unpredictable to announce her presence. Anything from "I don't know how I got here. My car just pulled up to the curb, so I thought I better come in." to "Hiya, honey!" to "I'm here. Now the day can begin!", all said with a twinkling eye and a big guffaw that reverberates off our four small walls.

I often sit and chat with her, ready for stories galore. One of her standard questions is, "Have you read any good books lately?" I share mine and then ask her the same question knowing in general what the answer will be. As long as I've known her she only reads biographies and autobiographies. From Andy Rooney to Marilyn Monroe to Barack Obama, if it's a biography and she can find it at the library, Agnus will read it. I love that about her.

Recently I felt very Agnus when I picked up my latest read: My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. I read it in anticipation of the movie "Julie & Julia" which is based both on the book by the same name and on My Life in France. I read Julie & Julia when it first came out several years ago. I bought it at an airport bookstore -- I tend to buy lots of books on layovers -- and read the whole thing in an airport and on a plane. I loved it for its insight into Julia Child's life and for it's inspiration to find something enjoyable out of your life when you feel stuck. I'm not here to do a book review, so I won't. But if I were to recommend which book to read, it would be hands down My Life in France. If you want to be inspired, read about Julia. That woman amazes me.

Because I was so excited, I had plans to see "Julie & Julia" two days in a row. The second night Husband and I double dated with our friends, Josh & Laura. Laura suggested that we cook a fully French meal before the movie. Because we seem to be foodie kindred spirits, we had the same menu in mind -- one that I discovered in Bon Appetit and she found on Epicurious. You can find the complete menu on her blog.

This menu required us to cut apart a whole chicken, which we did with the assistance of Husband and The Joy of Cooking. We did it, but not with out some squirming and squeals (only mine, I believe). One chicken down...more fowl to come. See how pretty it turned out...

As a time saver, we both chose to make two dishes ahead of time. My dish helped me tackle more food fears (the aforementioned chicken being one): homemade crust & anchovies. I made Pissaladiere Nicoise, a onion tart topped with anchovies and black olives. In the past, a successful homemade crust has always alluded me. I typically just avoid making them. Likewise, anchovies have been my foe since my trip to Italy when I thought I knew enough of the Italian language to order a salad off the menu. What came instead were anchovies fanned out on a plate, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and tomatoes and swimming in olive oil. I tried my darnedest to eat my mistake but I failed and soon found the correct words and ordered a lettuce salad. Since then, I have wanted to make something with anchovies and eat it with enjoyment. With this tart, I can say that I accomplished that. The anchovies brought a saltiness to the sweetness of the onions and crust (a successful one, no less) that balanced the whole dish.

I thought I would include the crust recipe that yielded my first successful crust. A little piece of Julia accessible to us all.

Pate Brisee Tart Crust
adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume One

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teapsoon granulated sugar
6 tblsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tblsp plus 3/4 tsp chilled Crisco
4 tbsp cold water (more if necessary)

Whisk flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Add butter and shortening and rub in with your hands until there are no more big clumps and the dough resembles coarse meal. Add the cold water and mix until dough comes together, adding more water if needed. Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Press dough into a disk, wrap and chill for an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and roll to a 10-inch round. Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9-inch springform tart pan. Press dough onto bottom and into crevices along the sides. Chill for 20 minutes.

Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place on center rack in the oven and bake until sides are set about 18-20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Pierce bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Continue to bake until bottom is completely set and pale golden, about 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan on rack.

Fill with any desired veggies cooked and spiced on the stovetop and put it back in the oven for 15 more minutes.

Salad good. You eat.

2009-07-28T16:50:00.005-05:00

Writing is a funny thing. Sometimes things flow so naturally, and I feel satisfied that I wrote something that someone somewhere would actually enjoy reading. Other times, like today, everything I write reads like a caveman with very little use of the English language.

Grunt. Iowa. Grunt. Outdoor play. Scratch. Must make tasty salad for Husband to eat. Must beat my chest and grunt louder. Me hate Geico.

You get the idea. Today, I'm forcing myself to write even when I don't feel inspired, eloquent or even remotely clever. I don't feel like a writer today. Today, though, I am someone who is inspired by food and friends. And it is on these things I will concentrate and hopefully the words will follow.

On a recent beautiful Thursday night, I had assembled a small group of non-caveman friends to caravan to a local outdoor venue to watch "To Kill a Mockingbird" done by local actors. While I love outdoor events, what I love even more is preparing food for these outdoor events. I am not ashamed to say that it is probably even the reason I love outdoor events. Lounging in canvas chairs, sipping wine from plastic cups and fighting off bugs and sleep....ah, the beautiful things of outdoor shows.

I often find my mind wandering during these outdoor events I love. I am an observer of food, looking for ideas for my next picnic. I am an observer of people and conversations as being packed in like sardines makes for new friends albeit for that night only. I enjoy watching the sky slowly darken with stars popping up around me and insects chirping in with their nightly rituals. I savor the food that seems to taste better in the fresh summer air. I embrace the experience not just the entertainment that is set in front of me.

For this event, Husband gave me an idea of a salad that sounded tasty to him so I took his idea and ran with it. What developed is what I'm calling my Summer Mockingbird Salad. It is basically an antipasto salad. Antipasto literally means "before the meal" in Italian and is typically the first course of a formal Italian meal. It often consists of cured meats, olives, cheeses, artichokes, etc. I just put them all together in one bowl and made it a salad.

It's for all cave people. You eat. You like.

Summer Mockingbird Salad
(serves 4 as a main dish or 8 as a side)

This recipe calls for spicy capicola and prosciutto. You can pretty much do any cured or cooked meat you would like. The second time I made this I used a mixture of prosciutto and pastrami.

Salad:
2 cans quartered unmarinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped coarsely
1 cup large marinated olives, pitted (I like a variety of kalamata & green olives)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 oz spicy capicola, sliced into 1-2 inch pieces
1.5 oz prosciutto, sliced into 1-2 inch pieces
1/2 cup Romano cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
4 cups baby arugula (could also use spinach or any baby greens)

Dressing:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar (I like fig & nut, but any will do. Balsamic aged over 6 years is considered the best.), plus extra for drizzling
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients except for arugula in a large bowl. Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well. Pour over salad and gently mix. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Place arugula on a plate. Drizzle lightly with extra balsamic vinegar and lightly salt & pepper. Spoon salad on top.

On camping

2009-06-30T08:16:00.010-05:00

I am learning that camping means a lot of different things to different people. Me? I grew up car camping. You know, you pack all your gear and food in your car and then drive up to the camp site with a nearby grill and a place to set up your tent. Running water, showers and bathrooms are usually within a short walk from the tent. All sustenance is in a cooler with ready-made items such as potato salad, cold fried chicken and sliced veggies. You spend your days hiking, swimming and playing games. That is what I think of when I think of camping.

Husband, on the other hand, has a wholly different perspective on camping. While he didn't grow up camping with his family, he developed a love for playing in the wild while he was in college. Every year he tries to take a trip with a few friends to a remote part of the country and they try to survive. That is a little melodramatic but not completely untrue. In his form of camping, a tent is only used if absolutely necessary (i.e. rain storms). But mainly tents are where you store your gear, not for sleeping. No need for running water -- drinking water is gathered from streams, etc., and filtered. Food is packed that does not need refrigeration...freeze-dried meals, trail mix and any fish that can be caught are the usual provisions. They like to go off-trail and practice their orienteering. They prefer to not run into another human being. They live "off the grid" for those few days and love it.

So, when Husband and I decided to go camping last weekend, I wasn't quite sure what kind of camping we might be doing. I've vocalized in the past that Husband's boy trips sounded, well, miserable. But knowing that this year his usual boy's trip was not happening, I wanted him to have a trip that wasn't completely modern camping. So, last Friday afternoon our adventure began with a 3 hour drive to a state park. Husband drove, I read gossip magazines (this is always my vacation treat...don't judge me) and the iPod randomly selected the music for the ride. We sang loudly and danced poorly without self-consciousness as you can only do alone in a locked bedroom with posters of teen idols or with your spouse on sleepy country roads.

We arrived at the park headquarters, filled up our water supply and slung on our loaded packs and buckled up for the hike to our back country campsite. Unbeknownst to us, we picked the site
that had the most difficult hike of all the campsites -- the trail at times was very narrow, rocky and mostly uphill. It was a challenge. We were relieved to finally reach our site and even more relieved to find that we were the only campers at this site. We set quickly to the task of setting up our tent. Then it was time to start a fire to make our planned dinner of lemon pepper mushroom penne. As Husband worked on other things, I foraged for downed and dead tree limbs for our fire. Foraging for firewood was foreign for me. But I was a good forager or so Husband told me. There was something inspiring about dragging big limbs from the woods to our campsite...like I could do anything if I could do this.

We slept soundly the first night in our tent. At the first sight of light, Husband bounded up like a puppy who finally found his legs and was ready to play with anything that moved around him. I was not so bright and peppy and Husband left me to my sleep while he worked on more foraging, fire and coffee. For breakfast, Husband tried to make bacon and eggs in a paper bag over hot coals. Sadly, the bag caught on fire and we watched eggs ooze slowly through the bag and onto the coals. We salvaged some sooty bacon, cooked it in a pan and bravely ate it trying to ignore the black specks dotted on the meaty slices. We also ate the almond oat cornmeal scones I had made for the trip. They were tasty but a little crumbly...made a mental note to work on that recipe to make it camping worthy.

We spent that day hiking for hours and excited to eat our trail mix, rustic salami & cheese baguette sandwiches and my peanut butter oat bars. My oat bars were also a bit crumbly...yet another recipe to tweak. Another mental note, another project for home. My kind of challenge.

After our day of hiking we made a quick trip to the nearby town for a snack of wings and a cold beer before we headed back to our campsite. We lounged on the tarp-covered ground, leaning against knotty handmade logs surrounding the fire pit. I read Gourmet & Food & Wine magazines while Husband practiced new knots from an outdoor survival book. The wind was still and the sun blazed down on us until we had to get up to find shade or at least find a breezier place to rest. We walked to a nearby overlook of hilly corn fields. The wind blew calming waves in the cornfields and brought heat relief for us. Storm clouds soon followed as we rushed back to our campsite to cover our gear and our precious firewood. We huddled in our stifling tent while the rain made pinging noises off our tent made for two. We made the best of the heat by watching an episode of The Closer on the iPod. There is nothing like the sweet southern twang of Kyra Sedgwick's character interrogating rough hooligans in Los Angeles to get your mind off being stuck in a tent during a hot summer thunderstorm.

The storm left almost as quickly as it came and we crawled out of our tent ready to start a fire for our dinner of ground pork with roasted veggies. Husband burned wood for the hot embers as I diced and spiced and put our dinner in foil pouches for roasting. The end result was a perfect last meal by the fire.

In the end, I made it through camping that was more like Husband's style of camping without whining, with new skills learned and with an appreciation for the simplicity of backwoods camping. While I do admit, I prefer plumbing and running water nearby, I know now that I can enjoy camping without the usual amenities. And hopes of all hopes, Husband also agreed to car camping as part our camping future. Fried chicken and potato salad, here we come!

We wined. We dined. We ate bacon.

2009-06-04T17:22:00.007-05:00

The bright California day started with a windy drive through grape-infested countryside, tasting mouth-wowing wines along the way.

It was The Wrangler's 30th birthday.

We swooshed; we smelled; we drank; we bought wine. We ate a beautiful travelers lunch on a picnic table at our second winery stop...a hunk of sourdough bread, made by said winery, vegetable salads, and perfectly salted chips. Ah, it was lovely.

Come evening, we arrived home to begin the second part of The Wrangler's birthday celebration.

The birthday dinner!

Since The Wrangler has recently moved far, far away, I was very lucky to fly out to see him and his wife, Bugsy, in beautiful wine country and help him celebrate his milestone birthday. I asked the Wrangler if I could make him dinner on his birthday. He enthusiastically agreed and asked me to do something creative with bacon. You see, the Wrangler loves bacon. He even drew a pop-art picture of bacon for us as a wedding gift. We, too, have unabashed bacon adoration.

In recent months the Wrangler found a local vendor who made his own bacon, which of course has encouraged his obsession with this porky product. Luckily, I had this thick, flavorful bacon to work with for the birthday meal. It's like the steroid-using cousin of the normal bacon you find in the grocery store.

I found being creative with bacon is somewhat difficult. I scoured cookbooks for inspiration but found none. I love bacon as it is normally consumed -- pan fried and crispy. I don't love it as much boiled or cooked with other things --bacon in these forms is like me in summer next to tanned and toned Sistah--pale and Charmin soft. To me, bacon should have it's crispy presence and sun kissed color and not be a limp, colorless, sad second to other ingredients. So, my goal was to make bacon the main feature as much as possible with making it a dinner of bacon, bacon, and more bacon. I initially wanted to feature it in the main dish with a surprise appearance in dessert. The latter didn't happen due to time and tiredness. But someday I will make bacon a part of dessert and it will be stellar!

The menu became this:

Stacked Pork Tenderloins wrapped in sweet & spicy bacon
Goat Gouda Mac-n-Cheese accented with tomatillos, green onions and yellow wax chiles
Carmelized Onions with zucchini matchsticks
Almost Flourless Deep Chocolate Cake

And it came out like this, thanks to Bugsy's help in the kitchen. I will have to fly her out often to be my kitchen buddy.

Our after dinner treat was a rich dark chocolate cake that I had found on Orangette's website. It requires about 7 oz of 70% quality chocolate, European butter and some sugar. It's really easy, and according to the Wrangler, it is even better tasting on the third day. I can't verify as I was already back at home by then, but if he says so, then it is. The Wrangler had asked for something rich and chocolaty and this definitely fit the bill. Unfortunately, we were too full from dinner to enjoy it on his birthday. In fact, I have no picture of the cake as it should be served...sliced and on a plate. The Wrangler and I instead stood in the kitchen post birthday and ate the cake with a spoon from its own serving plate.

The birthday dinner was followed by full and happy stomachs lounging on the couch. During this lounging, I noticed The Wrangler's cat, Otis, perch himself on the kitchen table looking as happy and exhausted as us with a hint of "Maybe if I pose her cutely, people will think I helped with dinner and not mind that I'm on the table!"

Take a look and decide for yourself.

Sweet & Spicy Bacon
Adapted from Gourmet, September 2006

2 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb thick-sliced bacon (around 12 slices)

Mix all ingredients. Rub spice mix on both sides of bacon. Set onto plate. There will be leftover spice mix for pork.

Stacked Pork Tenderloin with Sweet & Spicy Bacon

2 pork tenderloins (approx. 2 lbs)
2 tbsp. olive oil
Leftover spices from Sweet & Spicy Bacon

Slice pork tenderloins into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces. Pair up the tenderloin medallions into two's. On top of one medallion drizzle a little of the olive oil and sprinkle a little of the spice mix. Stack another medallion on top. Wrap a piece of bacon around the pork stack and secure with a toothpick. Continue this until all pork is used up. Should make around 8 servings.

Heat oven to a high broil. Place stacks in a 9x13 baking dish. Place in top 3rd of oven and broil for 7 minutes on one side. Pull the baking dish out and baste the stacks with the liquid that forms. Flip the stacks and broil for 7 to 10 more minutes until it meat reaches 150 degrees.

You will have leftover bacon. May I suggest that while the stacks are cooking, pan fry the bacon and eat as a snack or let the bacon cool and crumble it over the stacks before serving.

Of Beastie Boys, celebrations and ridiculous amounts of pizzas

2009-05-13T17:16:00.030-05:00

It recently was graduation time for the college students who study across the street from my coffee shop. This time always sad for me as I get to know a lot of the students and grow quite attached to them. This year was especially hard. These students have been customers for four out of the five years of our ownership. I will miss seeing many of them. I gladly worked on a recent Saturday, the day before graduation, as I knew I would see many bright eyes for the last time. One of my favorites brought in her family for lunch. Before she left, she pulled me aside, gave me a hug, and said, "This coffee shop changed my life!" She killed me. She promised to visit as she would only be four hours away. Another student told me the only thing she would miss about college was our coffee shop. Again, killed. What a bittersweet Saturday morning. What friendly faces that will hopefully light up someone else's coffee shop.

I could not dwell on my bittersweet moments this Saturday morning. I had to rush home to work with Husband to prepare for our Pizza Throwdown at my parent's house. Since two birthdays (mine & my oldest nephew's) and Mother's Day landed within close proximity, we decided to have one giant celebration.

At Easter I asked my nephew what his favorite food was. He quickly answered, "Pizza, beef jerky, blue cheese and, oh yea, pickles!" I, for some reason, thought I would try to make a pizza that combined all these things. I talked to my sister-in-law, Sistah (as she would like to be known in the blogworld), about this and the Pizza Throwdown was hatched. Everyone would make their own pizza pie and hopefully be the proud winner of whatever prize Mom determined.

As I ran down the stairs to our duplex apartment, I heard the quick, obnoxious thumping of loud music that usually only comes from our next door neighbor's. As I approached the door, I realized that we were the culprits of the neighborhood noise disturbance. I did not recognize the rap-style music coming out of our sterio. I did, however, follow my nose to the kitchen where I found Husband already prepping for the Pizza Throwdown and bopping his head to the music. I greeted him and asked what we were listening to. "Beastie Boys," he chirped and continued chopping and bopping. I'm definitely not a Beastie Boys fan but with a beat so in your face as a drill seargant is to a brand new cadet, my hips are able to obey the beat without even enjoying the source. I will say, it did make for quick chopping and mixing. Maybe Beastie Boys will be on my kitchen playlist in the future.

In the end, our family made four pizzas. There was Sistah's thin crust sausauge with black and green olives. Mom's deep dish pepperoni with cheese-stuffed crust (so easy -- put string cheese in the crust and crimp over -- who knew?). Husband's Greek-inspired pizza with feta cheese, sausage, tomatoes, and peppers. Then, of course, my nephew-inspired pickle, blue cheese & beef jerky pizza. Now, don't be alarmed. I didn't actually use beef jerky. I just couldn't do it. So, instead, I sliced summer beef sausage and baked it in the oven for about 20 minutes until the edges got crispy. I thought it was a good jerky stand-in.

No one was willing to take a vote on the winner. I guess we are all just too nice. Husband and I were the default winners since we brought two pizzas. We were the lucky winners of two fake grass skirts. Mine just might be my new apron.

In the end, I don't have an amazing pizza recipe for you...yet. This was my first experience in making a pizza from scratch. I hope for many amazing pizza recipes to come as this blog journey continues.

Curry, I love ya.

2009-05-06T14:30:00.022-05:00

I have a love affair with curry. I'm sure that the feeling is mutual. Chocolate may be my sweet obsession; curry, however, is my savory obsession.

The affair began with advances from curry, which I initially rebuffed. During undergrad, I spent the summer in England. Outside of India itself, England is Indian food heaven. Despite the environment, I found no love for curry.

Later, when I moved to Dallas, I lived across the hall from a wonderful Indian lady. Daily, I could smell her wonderful spices and was often treated to her Indian cuisine. Even then, I had no love for curry. I ate it to please my friend. Secretly, however, I was indifferent toward the spice.

I moved back to the Midwest and curry chased me across the country, ever tenacious. Finally, my mom's curry chicken salad sandwich, which she created to serve at our coffeehouse, turned my relationship with curry into requited love. I ate curry. And I liked it.

On a recent day (which is really every day) I was craving curry. I knew we were having chicken breasts and vegetables for dinner, but that sounded too boring to me. I racked my brain for how I could serve these foods, but also satisfy my craving for curry. In a cook's flash, it came to me. The result -- craisin & mango curry chutney & a curry yogurt sauce that you can use multiple ways if you, too, are involved with curry.

Craisin & Mango Curry Chutney
(A Shopgirl original)

2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 white onion, chopped in thin slices
2 mango, peeled, pitted and chopped in 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup cranberry juice (preferably unsweetened)
2 tblsp. cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. mild curry
1/2 tsp. hot curry
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Warm up olive oil over medium to low heat in a medium skillet. Add red pepper flakes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 20-30 minutes or until onions soften and start to caramelize. Add mango, craisin, cider vinegar and brown sugar. Stir until all is incorporated. Add the two curries, cardamom and ground pepper. Bring the chutney up to a simmer and allow to simmer until liquid dissipates. Put on low heat and cover for 20-30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Chutney is ready when mango and craisins are soft, the chutney is thick and flavors are melded together.

How to serve: Serve warm or cold over chicken breasts or pork chops. This chutney, however, has so many possible uses. Use your imagination!

Curry Yogurt Sauce
(A Shopgirl original)

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 tsp. mild curry
1/2 tsp. hot curry
1/4 tsp. garam masala (Found in the spice aisle or in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store)
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. worchestire sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil

In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

How to serve: Serve as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables or bread. I roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes & baby carrots and tossed them after roasting with the sauce until it was lightly coated. I served more yogurt sauce on the side for dipping. This would also make a great addition to a chicken or veggie pita sandwich.

I will leave you with this ode to curry poem I found recently. I hope that your own love affair blossoms.

Poem to Curry

by William Makepeace Thackeray in 1846

Three pounds of veal my darling girl prepares,

And chops it nicely into little squares;

Five onions next prures the little minx

(The biggest are the best, her Samiwel thinks),

And Epping butter nearly half a pound,

And stews them in a pan until they’re brown’d.

What’s next my dexterous little girl will do?

She pops the meat into the savoury stew,

With curry-powder table-spoonfuls three,

And milk a pint (the richest that may be),

And, when the dish has stewed for half an hour,

A lemon’s ready juice she’ll o’er it pour.

Then, bless her! Then she gives the luscious pot

A very gentle boil - and serves quite hot.

PS - Beef, mutton, rabbit, if you wish,

Lobsters, or prawns, or any kind fish,

Are fit to make a CURRY. ‘Tis, when done,

A dish for Emperors to feed upon.

3 Hours, 2 Cookies and 1 Empty Cocoa Can

2009-05-05T13:27:00.008-05:00

When Husband and I consolidated our personal belongings as part of the marital ritual, we didn't anticipate issues to arise from the task of combining our kitchen ingredients and spices. Since returning from our honeymoon, however, we have spent a few good hours organizing our seemingly spawning spices and such.

During a recent evening of organizational fun, Husband came across three opened and used containers of cocoa powder. Now, Husband is not a baker. The creator of such an anomaly could only be me. When he inquired as to why this situation existed, I looked at him with my best Shopgirl face, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oopsy! Time to bake, I guess." Husband smiled. Thankfully, he enjoys the fruits of my baking adventures.

For the sake of our pantry, I knew I needed to do major cocoa powder damage. So, on a recent sunny afternoon a dutch cocoa powder can and I came to blows. I believe I won -- at least I put a serious dent in our cocoa inventory.

For my first cookie, I wanted to recreate chocolate-covered dried apricots that I once made as part of a Christmas present for two friends. The lovely couple actually fought over the apricots before my eyes. As and experimenting baker, I took that as a good sign.

(adapted from Orangette's Chewy Cocoa Cookies with Chocolate Chips)

Note: Allow time for batter to chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before baking. (Notes like these are better at the beginning of a recipe, aren't they? If you are anything like me, you are often running late and don't read the recipe all the way through beforehand. Then you get to a note like this and think "Aw, crap!". You then tell yourself, next time I WILL begin reading the recipe all the way through before starting to bake. Naturally, however, the cycle continues...) The batter is a little sticky, so chilling it helps you avoid cursing when the batter sticks to your fingers instead of to the parchment paper.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground ginger (I think crystallized ginger would be fantastic in this...will try next time for more of a ginger kick. You could also omit this if you don't like ginger.)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
7 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch Process.)
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used low-fat as I had it on hand but this may have contributed to the sticky factor)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup (heaping) chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, ginger and baking soda. Mix thoroughly.

Melt butter in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat. Pour butter in a small bowl and add the sugars and cocoa powder. Mix until ingredients get thick and are thoroughly combined. Add vanilla and yogurt and mix some more. Add flour mixture and gently combine. Add dried apricots and chocolate chips. Stir until these ingredients are well-coated and semi-disappear into the batter. Stick batter into refrigerator and use the time to crank up some tunes, make yourself a nice french press coffee & clean up the mess you made.

Once batter is sufficiently chilled, measure out by a tablespoon full & lightly roll between hands that are lightly dusted with cooking spray. Set on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet (9 cookies per sheet). Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the top of the cookie gets puffy and begins to crinkle a bit. Place on a wire rack and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack. Repeat process. This makes about 20 cookies.

Note: This cookie is better as it sits. On Day 2 and 3, I thought was better than day 1. Soft, chewy, dark with the sweet surprise of dried apricots...yum! Next time I might add more apricots so I can have that flavor in every bite.

To use the last of my cocoa powder, I was craving a Mexican twist on a chocolate cookie. To be honest, I was wishing I was at my coffee shop so that I could make our espresso drink that is 5 oz, 2 shots of espresso, and cream steamed with out-of-this-world Mexican chocolate. I am salivating right now.

To be truthful, I was also wanting an excuse to use some of the chocolate-covered espresso beans leftover from our wedding favors. I never knew they were so versatile! A couple of weeks ago I used them to make Mocha Snickerdoodles. I will get you the recipe, I promise.

So, here it is....our espresso drink in cookie form. I did however replace the ususal cinnamon you would find in Mexican chocolate with cayenne. You could keep the cinnamon, if you want. I may next time.

Slightly Angry Mocha Cookies
(Or Pleasantly Perturbed Mocha Cookies...you decide)
(Adapted from Orangette's Chocolate Featherweight Cookies with Walnuts & Cocoa Nibs)

Note to save you time: Before you begin the recipe, crack 4 large egg whites and let sit. You'll see why in a minute.

3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. Kosher salt (Regular is fine, too. I'm just obsessed with Kosher salt.)

1 tsp. cayenne pepper
(1 tsp. cinnamon...the option is yours)

1/4 cup chocolate-covered espresso beans, coarsely ground in food processor (could be replaced with finely ground espresso beans or gasp instant espresso).

1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on baking sheet. (Orangette advises that the parchment paper is nonnegotiable, with no substitutes. I followed this advice gladly.)

In a mixing bowl, use a whisk attachment and mix together the first 4 ingredients (or 5 if using cinnamon) until there are no lumps.

Combine the egg whites and vanilla in an easily pourable container and slowly add them to the mixing bowl. When all is added, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed until incorporated and batter looks shiny. Batter will be thin. It's ok. Add processed espresso beans and walnuts. Stir with spatula until combined.

To scoop batter, use a medium-sized ice cream scoop. Place about 5 circles of batter on parchement paper, allowing for sufficient room for spreading. It will spread before your eyes. This batter is drippy and seems so wrong, but trust me, you will be amazed by its transformation.

Reduce the heat to 325 F and place sheet on middle rack. Allow to bake for 14-17 minutes or until you see crackles in the tops akin to dry soil...this is much tastier than that aforementioned soil.

Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. When completely cool, you have the fun task of carefully peeling them from the parchment paper, like peeling Fruit Rollups when you were a child before stuffing them in your mouth. Repeat the process above 2 times, including increasing the oven temperature to 350 degrees and reducing to 325 degrees before baking.

These cookies are like eating a corner brownie...crinkly, chewy and a little crispy. I also love their beautiful, shiny finish. Even if they don't turn out completely round, the shiny finish & crinkly effect still give them a look of perfection.

The cayenne is almost unnoticeable until you finish the cookie...then the heat lightly rises in your mouth until you are slightly warm and satisfied. I'd suggest letting people know that there is cayenne in the cookie before serving. That way they will not wonder why they are suddenly getting warm. I liken this courtesy to telling your passengers you have heated seats before the ride so they don't feel as if they wet their pants mid-drive. Maybe this only happens to me.

One cocoa container down, two to go. I will keep you posted.

Won't you be my neighbor?

2009-05-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

I envision neighbors as friendships that enhance the neighborhood and the life lived in my home.

It's very 1950's of me, I know.

Throughout my life, my neighbors have been an exotic dancer who practiced her routines at crazy hours of the day and night, a divorced single father who enjoyed his girlfriend a little too much, a single mother with young kids who thought the floor was a trampoline, and most recently, an engaged couple with young kids who would prefer to ignore us rather than acknowledge our existence. Not exactly black-and-white-television worthy.

So, when we recently heard a young couple was moving into our duplex, Husband and I were cautiously hopeful. Maybe we will have real neighbors...people we could actually be friends with. Heck, we would even settle for amicable, quiet neighbors.

In hopes of starting off on the right foot, Husband suggested that I bake something for them. I definitely don't need an excuse to bake, so the other day I did some neighbor-worthy baking.

I decided to do macaroons with apricot jam & dark chocolate ganache. Macaroons are my go to cookie when entertaining, and sometimes, my back up when dessert goes awry. Husband and I hosted a Kentucky Derby Party last month and on the dessert menu was a lemon cornmeal cake topped with blueberry sauce. I had made it successfully a few weeks earlier and, boy, was it out of this world. But on this particular day (and of course in a time crunch), I somehow pulled out the cake too early. I didn't realize this until I started frosting it and a sinkhole began forming in the middle of the cake. This sinkhole became a real hole as the cake and frosting fell through the grates of my cooling rack. It was a sad, sticky mess. I had no time to mourn and asked Husband to kindly dispose of it. I had to move on. Instead, I whipped up macaroons with grapefruit zest. They saved the day.

The second item I decided to bake was a sweet Irish soda bread. I'm definitely a newbie in the bread baking department. I feel like I'm trying to back my way into it as working with yeast sort of intimidates me. Irish soda bread has no yeast, therefore, no intimidation. This bread, when baked, looks like the world's largest scone with it's craggly, bumpy exterior, flecked with dried fruit and, in this case, caraway seeds. It is a tasty and easy trek into bread baking.

Unfortunately, after I made the treats, our new neighbors were never around when we were awake to give it to them. Instead, we had to leave it in front of their door (which thankfully was inside, out of the heat). The next afternoon, I heard a knock on the door. It was our neighbors to thank us for the goodies. I, hilariously, answered the door in a starched, white button-down shirt and a vintage-inspired apron, sprinkled with flour from an afternoon of baking. If I had been wearing pearls, it would've been perfect. I've decided -- I'm bringing the 50's back. Maybe Justin Timberlake will write a song about that.

American-Style Irish Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds & Craisins
adapted from Joy of Baking

With this recipe, you can choose to make it more free form and bake it on a large baking sheet or you can uniformly bake it in a loaf pan. I chose the baking sheet as it was all a part of the adventure for me.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F if you are baking with the baking sheet and 350 if you are using the loaf pan (6 cup). Grease your desired pan.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
5 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup craisins (or raisins if you prefer)
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp melted unsalted butter

In a big bowl, whisk together the first five ingredients. Add in the craisins and caraway seeds. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk and butter. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The batter will be sticky but should also be stiff. Scrape the batter onto the baking sheet. Wet hands with water or cooking spray before forming the dough into a circle with a 6 to 7 inch diameter. Use a sharp knife to slice a large X in the top of the dough. Bake on the center rack until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, 25-30 minutes on the sheet, 45-50 minutes for the loaf pan. If using the loaf pan, let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing to cool completely on a rack.

One piece of advice: when stirring make sure you stir the ingredients well enough so that flour doesn't stick to the dried fruit you choose to put in. If you look closely to my picture above, you can see some nice flour pockets in the middle of my craisins. It didn't affect the taste, just the appearance.

Macaroons with Apricot Jam & Dark Chocolate Ganache
adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper & Sally Swift

2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup apricot jam (I prefer All-Fruit)
Dark Chocolate Ganache (recipe to follow)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cover with cooking spray or parchment paper. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Stir in the coconut until it is completely moistened. The coconut gathers in small clumps and will not look like a normal batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The macaroons will be golden with crispy edges. Set on a cooling rack.

While the macaroons are baking, make the ganache.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup whipping cream

Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from heat and pour over chocolate. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Stir until smooth and let it sit for 10 more minutes.

While waiting for the ganache to be ready, put the apricot jam in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir occasionally as it warms and thins out a bit. It will still be a little chunky.

After you put the macaroons on a rack, spoon a teaspoon of jam on top of each macaroon. It will run down the sides a little. After you finish this, let sit for 10 minutes. Dip the top of each macaroon in the ganache and set back on the cooling rack. Let it set for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

Will make about 18 macaroons.

Baking in Leather Boots

2009-04-28T20:18:00.008-05:00

I am the Pig-Pen of bakers.

Instead of a cloud of dust around me, I am enveloped in a cloud of flour. Traces of my homemade treats decorate the walls, refrigerator, floor, tea kettle, you name it. If I used it as an ingredient, you'll find it on some surface of my kitchen. Once, when making Red Velvet Cheesecake, I somehow managed to track red footprints around the house. Don't worry, Husband. I cleaned them up right away! On a recent Saturday of baking, I was already dressed in one of my favorite vintage Goodwill dresses and my new beloved equestrian-style leather boots. I was comfy and had no desire to change. So, I decided to just put on an apron and have a day of stylish baking.

Given my Pig-Pen ways, you can imagine how this probably wasn't the greatest of ideas.

As I was getting the ingredients out of our overstuffed pantry cabinet, a bottle of canola oil came toppling down and landed with a smack on the kitchen floor. The top to the bottle shattered and thick liquid flowed everywhere. At first, I was so concerned with cleaning up our floor and lower cabinets, that I didn't think about whether any of the oil got on me or my boots. When the thought crossed my mind to actually look at my outerware, I almost didn't dare. I held my breath and slowly let my neck bend down, looking at my boots with squinty eyes and much trepidation....egads, my boots were oil free! What miraculous, magical boots I must have, I thought. Jessica Simpson shoes rock! Must buy only Jessica Simpson shoes no matter how ridiculously priced.

See here, disaster averted. Listen for it...a HUGE sigh of relief.

One would think after such a close call, this Shopgirl would promptly take off boots in favor of old cruddy shoes. You would think wrong. Shoes have proven to be invincible, Shopgirl says.

Enough of talking in the third person. Miraculously, I made it through the rest of my baking fully boot-clad without any mishaps. Except if you count the sliding around I did on the laminate floor due to the oil spill. It was kind of fun, actually...surf-baking. Unsuspecting Husband thought I was trying to kill him. Enjoy the ride, I say. When do you ever get to surf in your own kitchen? Put on Dick Dale's surf guitar tunes and be transported into a Quentin Tarantino movie. But with less violence & red liquid (other than red velvet batter), please.

Anyway, back to the whole reason why I was in the kitchen on this drama-filled Saturday. I was making a dessert for a dinner party at our friends' house. On this day, I decided to make Banana Caramel Cake from Food & Wine's Best of the Best. We received this as a wedding gift and it features several cookbooks that the editors at Food & Wine thought were the best of 2008. This recipe is adapted from The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger & Robert Steinberg. I was drawn to this recipe because our coffee shop serves a dessert called (surprise, surprise) Caramel Banana Cake. Our cake is a moist banana sheet cake topped with thick caramel frosting. Personally, just give me a bowl of this frosting and I'm good. I grew up with this frosting. We ate it on everything from angel food cake to regular ol' box cake. When I saw a recipe for a similar cake, I just had to try it. I had never heard of a caramel & banana combination before Mom made her cake at the shop. I wanted to see how it compared.

Cake:

Unsalted butter and flour for the pan

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (If you are like me, you don't have freshly grated nutmeg on hand. I just used ground nutmeg.)

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper(This is my addition. I wanted a little more contrast to the sweetness of this cake.)

1 teaspoon salt(I used Kosher salt, again for more of a contrast.)

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups canola oil

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
3 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips.)

1 1/2 cups diced (1/4-inch) ripe bananas (about 2)

Caramel:

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk (I used 1% without any problems.)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 10-inch nonstick Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, pepper, and baking soda.

In the bowl of a stand mixer filled with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, oil, granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, stopping to scrape as necessary.

Mix in the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, stopping to scrape as necessary.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the pecans and the chocolate. Carefully fold in the bananas; do not overmix.

At this point the recipe says to "Pour into prepared pan." I found the batter to be quite thick and very unpourable. I had to spoon the batter into the bundt pan. But, in the end, everything turned out ok.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, about 5 minutes before the cake is done, combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally as the butter and sugar melt. Once it is amber in color, remove from heat.Remove the cake from the oven and immediately, using a long skewer(or in my case one chopstick quickly sharpened by Husband), poke holes all over the surface of the cake. Pour the hot caramel over the top, poking more holes and pushing the cake slightly away from the sides of the pan as necessary to allow the caramel to soak into the cake's top and sides. Place on cooling rack to cool slightly.

When the cake has cooled, but is still warm to the tough, unmold onto a serving platter. Once I did this, I thought the cake needed just a little something more, so I halved the above caramel recipe and poured it over the top of the cake & poked a few more holes to make it even more caramelly. I let it cool a little more & then sprinkles some kosher salt on the top & sifted a little powdered sugar on top. Without the sugar, it looked a little naked.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

My take on this cake? YUMMY! I loved the chunks of caramel that are strewn throughout. It's moist and really holds up for days. Perfect for taking to a dinner party. Next time, however, I will be sure to put a tarp down on the floor before baking.

Special thanks to Husband for his photography & editing talents. He is a multi-talented Husband.

"Congratulations! You didn't die."

2009-04-16T09:48:00.037-05:00

My younger brother (a/k/a The Wrangler) punctuated this statement by offering a high five. I accepted the high five with pride. The Wrangler is stingy with such gestures. The occasion? I had just completed a two week, solo vacation in Italy and Switzerland.

The trip marked my 30th birthday. Originally, I thought that I would go skydiving to celebrate the occasion. As the date drew closer, however, I decided that I wanted a more challenging and lasting experience. I admit that I was trying to trick myself into looking forward to the birthday, but it worked for me. The number 30 no longer loomed over me like a deadline that I planned to ignore & never speak of in hopes the birthday gods would forget about it, too. The number 30 became like a long distance love whose arrival requires anticipatory countdown marks on the calendar. I had never met 30 before, but I knew my life would never be the same after our meeting.

My first meal when arriving in Milan, Italy was at the hands of a friend's husband. I had just flown a countless amount of hours, grabbed a train to the center of Milan and then waved down a cab to my friend's apartment. While she was not at home, her husband & beautiful smiley baby daughter were. Knowing that I was probably starving, T whipped up a very Italian pasta dish for me that I still remember vividly. It was simple, yet perfectly delicious to this starving, exhausted traveller.

I did not get T's recipe, unfortunately. But below I have recreated the full flavor and sheer simplicity of a few ingredients that create a whoppingly-good comfort dish.

So, if you have done something that deserves a high five but don't have a Wrangler around to distribute it to you, then I suggest this dish as a great substitute in a pinch.

I Didn't Die Pasta or High Five Pasta:

4 cups of Farfalle pasta, cooked Al Dente
1/4 cup good Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1.5 pints of grape tomatoes
3/4 cup of freshly chopped basil
1/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese(approximately...I just grate over the pasta until I'm satisfied with the cheese to pasta ratio)

Feeds 4 or 2 really hungry travellers.

Heat up large skillet with 1/4 cup olive oil. Add garlic & saute for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant. Add grape tomatoes & half the salt & pepper & stir occasionally until tomatoes start popping or bursting. When you drain pasta, add chopped basil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add drained pasta and stir until coated with olive oil. Grate the Romano cheese over the pasta dish & stir. Add more or less to your taste. Dish into bowl & serve with crusty bread!

Cookie Hooky

2009-04-15T13:28:00.040-05:00

I have always been a good girl.

I am your typical middle child...

the mediator...

the peacemaker...

the one who didn't rebel.

Once, though, I did play hooky from school.

Even as I write this, I know I have to reveal that I played hooky from school with permission from my parents. So, even when I wanted to be bad, I did so with authorization! Oh, well. Being the rebel is not my lot in life. I think I'm ok with that.

On this "hooky" day from school during my sophomore year in high school, I baked my first recipe from scratch by myself. I chose to bake Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from the Kitchen Klatter cookbook, which remain my favorite cookies. Oats, brown sugar & chocolate...what could be better?

Well, today I decided to play hooky from my usual cookie. What can I say? Some of us rebel later in life.

And yet, again, I am not totally bad. This cookie is similar to my fave but a little healthier & with a few additions. I think even my teenage palate would have approved.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies
(Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, March 2009)

These cookies are super simple and come together very quickly.

One free hour will get you warm gooey treats that you will not feel quite as guilty about eating.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt (I used kosher salt)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats (I used extra-thick rolled oats)
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flour. Stir in oats, flax seed meal, wheat germ, chocolate, cranberries, and walnuts (dough will be a little crumbly).

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. (I rolled some of the cookies in a cinnamon & sugar mixture I had leftover from snickerdoodles I made recently. A fun but not necessary step.) Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

Adventures In Cooking

2009-03-24T20:20:00.002-05:00

I have become a cooking (and baking) fiend. Husband thinks I am nesting. Maybe so. Or maybe my previous illness that left me for several days with little appetite and no sense of taste made me realize how important good food is to me. Or maybe our honeymoon orange brioche discovery made me be inspired to also replicate such savory, inspiring food.

Here is a partial list of things I've made since arriving home from our honeymoon:

Creamy Curry Cauliflower Soup
Corn Chowder
White Chicken Chili
(Yes, I was craving soup.)
Leg of Lamb
Calconnon made with parsnips & kale
(these previous two dishes were part of our Authentic Irish Meal -- Husband is half Irish)
Lamb & Tomato Ragu
Fried Eggs over organic rye toast & our own spinach, tomato & garlic salad
Coconut Macaroons(made a 2nd version with orange peel -- even more delectable)
Flourless French Chocolate Cake
Applesauce Spice Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
This latter dessert was not only beautiful but toungespirational. (Yikes! I'm making up words.)

Husband thought it was so beautiful that he put it on our cake platter, in the middle of our dining table & took lots of pictures of IT. Then we swiftly cut into it and shared a piece -- moist & flavorful. It's a dessert that 35 year old foodies & 3 year old chocolate lovers both devour. This is true as I saw both happen before my eyes. I made this dessert for a dinner party. Their 3-year-old daughter devoured 2 pieces. Made my day!

Here is the recipe for this amazing cake! What also makes it amazing is that you only need one bowl, and you won't even have to pull out your mixer. I found it at Gourmet Magazine online.

Spiced Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine online

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (Shopgirl says don't be afraid! Just do it.)
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
One 12-ounce bag semisweet-chocolate chips (I used half dark chocolate chips, half semisweet)
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Crème fraîche, for serving (Um, yeah, where do you find this in the Midwest? So, I disregarded this ingredient. Don't think anyone missed it.)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, cloves and pepper. Whisk in the applesauce, eggs, oil and melted butter. Fold in the chocolate chips.
2. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
3. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then invert it onto the rack and let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the cake, slice and serve with crème fraîche.

I'm off to plan my next adventure...

And so it begins...

2009-03-04T15:31:00.001-06:00

While on my recent honeymoon, I felt inspired to blog again. The inspiration is varied. I have been woefully sick for over a month now(and, yes, sick on my wedding!). There is nothing like being dropped to your lowest lows to miss what used to give you the highest of highs. I do miss writing and have been absent from this endeavor for years.

During my sickness my appetite has been pretty absent. There were several days that I couldn't even taste food so I didn't care to eat at all! I finally got my taster back in order during my honeymoon to the Northwest. On a whim, I bought a small orange brioche from Roses in Eastsound, Washington. This brioche left me speechless. I didn't know if it tasted so good because I had been so sick or was it really that good? So, I gave a piece to my hubby(who normally isn't a baked goods kind of guy) and he and I ended up fighting over every last piece of that brioche. It's all we could talk about for 2 days! We new that the next day we had to go back to Roses and buy as much as they had. We got there and saw no brioche! I inquired about its existence. They said they only had a large orange brioche leftover from the day before. We said...Give it! We then proceeded to eat pretty much all of this huge hunk of brioche with candied oranges throughout our day. I can't remember the last time I felt so inspired by a baked good! Saying that sounds insane to me, but good food can leave a lasting impression. It can inspire you...whether it is to recreate it on your own or continue to find something similar locally.

It is my goal to recreate this brioche! It is also my goal to start creating recipes and experimenting with existing ones. This blog, I hope, will be a place for creation and inspiration of the gastronimical kind.