Lefty's Hot Stove

Christmas in PA

2011-12-24T13:22:00.003-06:00

Chris, Ellen and I made the long drive to relatively warm Red Lion, PA on Thursday to spend Christmas with Chris's family. I was anxious about an 8 hour road trip with a 6 week old baby, and not without cause! Ellen had a pretty serious meltdown as we got stuck in some traffic as we were leaving CT, enough so that we had to get off the highway so I could hop in the back seat and try to soothe her. Even though I was ready to call it quits and head home (with visions of an additional 4 hours of Ellen crying on the way to PA and maybe an additional 8 hours of crying on the way home), Chris wisely encouraged us to continue, and Ellen konked out soon thereafer for most of the remainder of the trip. We made it to PA about 11pm, and I'm glad to be here with the larger family, rather than home with our smaller family. I'm sure we'll start to develop holiday traditions of our own, but for this first Christmas as a family of three, it's good to be with Chris's family.

This is the third Christmas I've spent away from my family, and I can't say it's getting much easier. I absolutely treasure spending the Christmas holiday in Minnesota with my parents, sister and her family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. But I trust that next year's Christmas celebration in MN when we'll be with my family again will be just as fun as all the past years. It will probably be even more fun for me than it would be this year since Ellen is still pretty unpredictable and tends to melt down in the evening hours - right when we'd be enjoying Christmas Eve dinner. So I'm looking forward to bringing a 13 month old Ellen to MN for Christmas next year!

Ellen has treated her parents to two wonderful Christmas gifts - two nights of long stretches of uninterrupted sleep! On Thursday, she went down soon after we arrived and slept from 12:15am - 6:45am. 6 1/2 hours was by far the longest she has slept in a row - she previously topped out at nearly 5 hours, and that was for only a couple of nights a couple of weeks ago. Chris and I had a serious conversation at about 6:15am about whether she was okay and if we should go check on her. Of course she was fine! "They" say that babies can start sleeping long stretches around 6 weeks of age, so I guess she's right on track. And if one night wasn't enough, she slept last night from 9:30pm - 4:45am. Over 7 hours! Now, I never really thought I would be so excited about 7 hours of sleep, but I also never thought seriously about what life with a newborn would really be like. Your world definitely changes when you have a baby!

We still have some sleep challenges with Ellen looming on the horizon. First, she's been sleeping in her bouncy chair in her crib since she has reflux and wakes up quickly if she's lying flat on her back. But the bouncy chair has a limited lifespan for our long girl who's outgrowing it quickly, so we'll need to transition to the crib sooner than later - and definitely by the time I go back to work in less than 6 weeks! Second, she has been rocked or walked to sleep since day 1, so we need to teach her to fall asleep and stay asleep on her own. Any suggestions about how to tackle these are welcome!

We'll be in PA for another two nights, then head back home on Monday. It's been nice for Ellen to have some time with her Nana and PopPop, and for her Mom and Dad to get a little time to themselves. Chris and I went out sans baby last night for pizza with a couple of friends. I hadn't been away from Ellen for the past two weeks, so it definitely felt strange to be out without her. I love my girl so much, but some time away felt pretty nice. It hit home that it will be many years before I will be out again without the responsibility of finding good care for my little girl at home.

It also hit home that my tolerance for alcohol isn't what it used to be after 9 months without drinking and only a few drinks over the past 6 weeks. I had a 16oz beer along with 2 slices of pizza and definitely felt buzzed...pretty ridiculous. So perhaps that's another reason that Christmas with my family will be better next year than this year - the wine, beer, Irish coffees, and pretty much any other alcohol beverage you can think of flow freely when you're with my family :)

I'm so grateful to have Ellen in my life this Christmas. Last Christmas, I met my cousin's newborn son and couldn't stop thinking about whether Chris and I would have a child of our own this year, or any year for that matter given my difficulty getting pregnant. But it all worked out, and here we are this Christmas with our beautiful daughter. The transition to motherhood has been (and continues to be) challenging, but it's an exciting, love-filled challenge that I am grateful to be able to take on. Merry Christmas to all!

One Month Stats

2011-12-12T12:37:00.003-06:00

At this morning's one month pediatrician visit:

Weight: 9lbs, 8 oz (50th percentile)

Length: 22 3/4" (93rd percentile)

Head Circumference: 15 1/4" (75th percentile)

Our little girl is growing well!

Pediatrician Regular - Hopefully Not for Long!

2011-11-29T13:15:00.006-06:00

Today marked pediatrician visit #4 in the young life of our little Ellen. I'm hoping this trend doesn't last! To recap:

Dr. Visit #1: Monday, November 14. The typical two days post hospital discharge visit. Chris and I were concerned because she had been inconsolable on Saturday night - turns out my milk hadn't come in yet and our little girl was hungry! We had a couple of days of formula feeding to supplement breast feeding, which seemed to satiate her. At Monday's appointment, she had gained 4 oz from her discharge weight of 7lb 6oz to a bruising 7lb 10oz. Our doctor pronounced her perfect, and we sent happily back home.

Dr. Visit #2: Monday, November 21. I made an appointment for a weight check because it seemed like Ellen wasn't feeding well from the breast. As background, I have inverted nipples, so Ellen and I had some latch-on difficulties in the hospital and had been using a nipple shield to help. In the few days before I took her in for the weight check, she had been sucking and swallowing at the breast for only a couple of minutes before falling into a deep sleep. I had also been pumping and we would feed the expressed milk to her when she didn't seem satisfied. At the weight check, she had gained 2oz to 7lb, 12oz. This was less than the growth rate of 1/2 - 1 oz per day that the doctor wanted to see. The doctor recommended feeding pumped breast milk and supplementing with formula as needed so we could make sure she was eating enough.

While I felt vindicated that I didn't bring her in unnecessarily because of being an overly concerned first time mom, I felt horrible that Ellen wasn't getting the amount of sustenance she needed from breastfeeding, and horrible and guilty that I was moving away from breastfeeding. In all the other mom blogs I read, the moms seem to have it together from the start with their babies, and I felt like a failure. There is this huge pressure on Moms to breastfeed - it's a gold standard of parenting that I couldn't reach. Part of it is a physical failing - my nipples and Ellen's latch weren't compatible, but I can't shake the part of it that I perceive as my own lack of toughness and dedication. A few days after Ellen was born, I was exhausted, miserable and overwhelmed. Since she wasn't eating well, she was fussy, and, since I really wanted to make breastfeeding work, I was the only one who could try to feed her and calm her. This went on until I made the appointment for the weight check, and when Ellen's doctor suggested bottle feeding breast milk or formula, I felt a tremendous sense of relief that she would be adequately fed, and I wouldn't be in it alone anymore.

But in the back of my mind, I can't shake the feeling that I'm an inferior mother since I'm not going to continue breastfeeding. The last week I have been pumping every few hours, so Ellen is still getting the benefits of breast milk. But I'm not sure how long I can maintain getting up at night, feeding her with the bottle, putting her back to sleep, and then staying up to pump. And now that Chris is back to work and I'm solo during the day, finding the time to pump can be a challenge. If nothing else, she's had 3 weeks of almost exclusive breast milk. I just need to be satisfied that every little bit of breast milk is beneficial, and when we go to formula (I'm pretty confident it's a 'when' and not an 'if'), she'll do well. I have more reflections about lactation consultants (mostly not pretty reflections) that I'll have to share in a later post.

Dr. Visit #3: Friday, November 25: A weight check for Ellen after 4 days of bottle feeding, and she comes through with flying colors! Up to 8lbs 4oz - 8oz in 4 days. That's my little champ. I felt great that she's thriving with the new approach to feeding. All looks good, and she is again pronounced "beautiful".

Dr. Visit #4: Tuesday, November 29: Two days ago I noticed some discharge from Ellen's left eye, and some accumulated eye crust in the mornings and after naps. Since it hasn't gone away, I took her in today to get checked out. I left with a diagnosis of a blocked tear duct and prescription eye drops. Apparently this is not uncommon, but it's still sad to see her little eye red and irritated. Good news is that her weight is still going up well - she's up to 8lbs 10oz! And her umbilical cord stump has fully detached so tonight will be the first full bath!

And now I hear my little one waking up upstairs from her nap - off to tend to her!

Ellen Joyce is Here!

2011-11-17T17:33:00.009-06:00

I need to change the heading and photo on my blog, since we have welcomed our baby daughter Ellen into the family. She's been with us for a week - a hard week, but one filled with love and excitement too.

Here's the story of her arrival: on Tuesday morning (11/8), I woke up to contractions - not painful to start, but increasingly painful over the course of the day. I went in to my OB to get it checked out and was found to be only 1cm dilated. Headed back home to work from home and try to distract myself from the contractions.

Late that evening around 10pm, the contractions worsened - now coming every 5-10 minutes or so, and lasting close to 60 seconds. I called my OB overnight line and was told to go to the hospital. We went to triage, where the contractions were monitored and I was checked for progress. I was still found to be at 1cm, so we walked the halls of the hospital until about 3am, got rechecked, hadn't progressed, and was sent home yet again after being told I was in early labor that could last for days!

I spent Wednesday trying to sleep through contractions, while Chris went in to work for part of the day. That evening, I couldn't get through much dinner and just hoped that nothing would progress overnight so we could get some sleep. We went to bed about 9:30pm, and the contractions worsened as I lay in bed. Around 12:00am, I felt a sharp popping sensation during a contraction, and fluid gushed out. My water had broken. I called the OB overnight line and was told to come in to the hospital. I woke Chris and we headed in.

By this point, the contractions were intense, and I was starting to feel nauseous. The car ride to the hospital was not a great time! When we arrived at the hospital, Chris dropped me off outside the front door and went to park the car. I hung out in a wheelchair, trying to cope with the pain. We made it back to triage, where I was very nauseous and ended up vomiting a few times. I was checked for progress and was at only 2cm. I couldn't believe I wasn't further along given the pain I was having! We were told we could either go home and continue to labor (since I wanted to have a natural birth, they didn't want to admit me too soon) or we could walk the halls again and see if I would progress.

At this point, I was NOT going home since I knew things were moving along. About 2 hours later, I was checked for progress again and had moved along to 4cm. I had earned my way to a room on the labor and delivery floor! Chris and I were left alone in the room as I continued to labor. The pain was intense, and I started thinking about having an epidural. Chris was amazing - so supportive and loving. I grabbed his hand with the onset of every contractions, and he was by my side the entire time, giving me encouragement and love.

Around 6:30am, I felt a strong urge to push, so called my nurse. A progress check showed me to be between 6-7cm. Not dilated enough to start pushing, but apparently the urge to push can happen too early with natural childbirth. The pain and urge to push were so intense that I asked my nurse for pain relief options. We decided to go ahead with a spinal epidural for immediate relief. I was worried about being able to sit still during a contraction if one came along when they were inserting the epidural, but I had a fantastic nurse who kept me calm and focused through it. The epidural kicked in quickly, and I felt a wonderful sense of relief. I could still feel our baby moving, but the pain had gone away. Chris and I spent the next 90 minutes or so resting peacefully in our room. After hours of writhing on the bed, I could actually talk and be at peace for awhile. Even though I didn't initially want the epidural, I'm proud that I made it as far as I did without it, and satisfied with my decision to go with it in the end.

I was checked for progress again and found to be fully dilated and it was time to push! I had an amazing new nurse (now time for the day shift) who coached me through the initial pushing stage. Chris held one leg and she held the other. I couldn't feel pain with each contraction, but could feel the urge to push as a contraction came on. A little bit of our baby's head appeared after several pushes. It was amazing. I continued to push, and got to the point where the doctor was called in because our little girl was about to be delivered.

The doctor and several nurses, and Chris, coached me through the final pushing stage. After about 30-40 minutes, Ellen Joyce was born. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, so the doctor had to cut the cord immediately and get her checked out before she could come meet her parents. After a couple of seconds, I could hear her crying and she was doing well, with an 8-9 apgar. She soon came over to snuggle with me while I got checked out. Then she was weighed and measured at 7 lbs 15oz and 21 inches long. I was amazed and happy to be told that I had no tearing that required stitches, just a couple of abrasions. Chris has now named me "elastigirl."

We spent two nights in the hospital starting to get to know our little Ellen. Now that we're home, we're enjoying our little girl so much. But it's challenging too - we're dealing with some breastfeeding issues and the lack of sleep is tough for someone who can't get by too well without my 8-9 hours/night! But it's all worth it to have her here with us. And I think she's pretty darn cute :)

Will update as time permits!

Only Two Weeks Away

2011-03-18T14:38:00.003-05:00

Spring has truly sprung in Boston - at last - which means that baseball season is quickly approaching! After the long, cold, ridiculously snowy winter, spring and everything that comes with it - most importantly baseball - are very welcome. In two weeks the MLB baseball season kicks off, and I will once again be following the Twins (and secondarily the Phillies). This is baseball season #3 while living in Boston, and the Red Sox still haven't been able to capture me as a fan.

I'm optimistic about the Twins this year. It's unfortunate that many of their starters haven't played much spring ball, but it sounds like they are all on the mend and will be good to go by the start of the season, assuming Joe Mauer's leg strength builds quickly. The most encouraging sign is that Justin Morneau seems fully recovered from his concussion. His bat will be a significant addition to the Twins lineup.

This year I'll be actually attending at least one Twins game, maybe two. We have tickets to Fenway when the Twins come out here to play the Red Sox in early May. In the Twins at Red Sox game we went to last year, Francisco Liriano got lit up, and the Twins lost miserably. I am hoping for a much different outcome this year. We'll also be making a trip out to MN at some point during the season - perhaps in mid-September (coinciding with a wedding) or earlier in the summer. We better decide quickly, because single game tickets to Target Field go on sale tomorrow morning! Back in the Metrodome days I never worried about ticket availability, but things have changed with Target Field.

I've really missed baseball over the long winter, so I am really psyched about its return. The fact that its return coincides with being able to spend more time outside may have something to do with it. Plus, my NCAA basketball bracket is already pretty much busted (thanks Louisville and St. John's), so it's on to baseball season!

Greatest Role Yet

2011-03-04T14:07:00.004-06:00

I'm back to the blogging world once again after a long absence. Will I ever be a regular blogger? I always have good intentions, but when I have free time I find myself turning to my latest book, watching Glee or a rerun of How I Met Your Mother on TV, hanging out with my husband, or reading other people's blogs. Somehow my own blog gets short shrift. But here I am today. On to today's topic - motherhood, careers, and why people can't mind their own business.

Last Sunday, I actually tuned in to the Oscars since I was on vacation in Austin, TX visiting a few wonderful friends from college. At home, I do not watch the Oscars - in some part due to my husband's disdain of Hollywood awards shows, and mostly due to general disinterest. But it was fairly entertaining to watch this year, even though I'm fairly confident James Franco was high for his entire performance.

I was quite happy that Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her role in Black Swan. I saw the movie and really enjoyed it and her performance. She brought forth the 'psycho' part of this 'psycho sexual thriller' more than I expected and had me jumping through much of the movie. Very cool. I was also touched by her acceptance speech when she thanked her fiance and stated that she is about to take on her "greatest role yet," referring to her pregnancy and impending motherhood. As someone who is hoping to take on that role myself, I may have been a bit predisposed to particularly like this kind of comment, but I didn't think at the time that anyone would find fault with it.

But on Tuesday, back home in the snowy northeast, I read through some Oscar recaps and was dismayed to see Natalie Portman criticized for stating that motherhood, for her, is more important than her acting career. Apparently it is a big setback for the feminist movement for a famous woman to state publicly that being a mother is her most important endeavor. My reply is: WTF. I'm not even a mother yet, but I have seen friends, family members, and colleagues who are mothers struggle with the work/motherhood balance. They seem to be criticized if they devote too much time to their children to the detriment of their career, and criticized if they devote too much time to their career to the detriment of their children. What's a woman to do?

When I have children, I know I'll feel just like Natalie Portman. Family is more important than my career, without a question, even though I really enjoy my work and plan to continue working when we have children. Will my status as a well educated, professional woman who finds my role as a mother more important than my professional role mean that I'm pushing women back to the 1950s? I don't think so.

People, particularly women (since for some reason a lot of this criticism seems to come from women), need to take a step back from criticizing mothers, whether they kick ass in the workforce and send their kids to daycare, choose to be stay at home mothers, or do something in between. If Natalie Portman's greatest role is motherhood, let her enjoy it, don't criticize, and mind your own business. The world in general, and particularly women, will be better off for it.

Reflecting on 2010, Welcoming 2011

2011-01-02T08:09:00.003-06:00

2010 rocked. It was a year of happiness, stability and fun. A month by month recap of highlights (warning that it started slow, not surprising for winter months in the NE):

January: started yoga, first book club meeting, work retreat in NH

February: energy auditing class begins, Olympics

March: start seeds under grow lights, weekend trip to NYC (Bolt bus, Omni Parker, H&M, Public, Guggenheim, Central Park, Korean food, pizza, bagels), discover the joy that is 'Glee', DC work trip, move to new office!

April: MLB Extra Innings ordered (can watch all MLB games, no longer have to miss the Twins games), start biking to work, PA trip for Kelly and Jeremy's wedding, Baltimore work trip, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, KY trip for...

May: Derby!, birth of our first niece - Alexis, Chris's birthday, plant garden, the smell of lilacs while biking to work, Twins v. Red Sox at Fenway, to St. Lucia!

June: St. Lucia continued...29th birthday hike to the top of Gros Piton (sore for at least 7 days afterward, but I made it!), PA trip for Alexis's baptism, Twins at Phillies (amazing 9th inning comeback for the Twins, but we left in the 8th...never again)

July: Del & Kim visit for July 4th weekend, summer staff retreat, Drumlin farm stand volunteering begins for season, Nancy & Duane visit - hike in NH, give acupuncture a few tries

August: hike in Lincoln, hit up farm stands, trip to MN (Abby & Ryan's wedding, Twins game, Mim's, friends, family), CA work trip, restaurant week, Lisa in town

September: garden harvesting, canning peaches and tomatoes, raw milk, Hilary visits (brightening up a very tough day, dinner at Hungry Mother), apple picking, bike stolen...

October: Del & Kim visit, apple sauce making and canning, Twins lose to Yankees in playoffs, Baltimore work trip, Athens Greece with Chris, Mom & Dad (Aegina, Delphi, walking through Athens, museums, gyros, pastries, relaxing on the deck, wine, feta - so fun and left me wanting more international travel)

November: Lisa joins us in the NE, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving trip to PA

December: Christmas decorating and shopping, day trip to Portland, ME, Christmas trip to MN (Mileusnic's in the snow, Edina Grill, Christmas Eve at Gail & Mark's, Hilary's for Christmas, crazy 8s with Ethan, Pinstripes with bocce, Craftsman, Good Earth, hot tub), and amazingly made it home on time in a blizzard.

All in all, a fun year. One home, steady jobs, travel, watching as much baseball as my heart desired, and having fun outside, whether it was biking or gardening, made for happiness. And how did I do on my 2010 resolutions? Let's see...

2010 Resolution #1: be a better listener. Check. This was a big focus for me last year, but I need to keep it up, so it remains a resolution for 2011.

2010 Resolution #2: learn something new (other than work related stuff). Check. I took the energy auditing class as planned, which unfortunately wasn't as good as I had hoped. I also learned how to start a garden from seeds and took yoga classes for the first time.

2010 Resolution #3: be physically and mentally fit. Check. But I must say that this resolution evolved to be very different from what I originally intended. Did I take care of myself this year? Absolutely. But not the same way I was thinking about it back in January. Early in the year, my doctor instructed me to gain weight and body fat for health reasons. While this was initially hard to deal with both mentally and physically, I soon realized the importance of following through. I set out to gain 10-15 pounds and accomplished this goal by the end of the year. A year ago I wouldn't have thought this would be the case, but I actually feel much happier and healthier with the extra weight. Being physically and mentally fit will stay on the resolution list for 2011, but I have a new perspective on this goal.

2010 Resolution #4: cook, bake, and eat well. Partial check. I wasn't as conscious about buying and consuming meat in a responsible way as I set out to be. I bought some responsibly raised meat from Drumlin Farm, but was still drawn in by cheap meat deals in the supermarket. I'm going to make this resolution more of a commitment in 2011. Cheap meat aside, I successfully ate more vegetables than in years past, and Chris and I continued to make really good food. We also canned a whole bunch of tomatoes, applesauce, and peaches, so we're enjoying tasty produce throughout the winter months.

For 2011, I'm recycling all of my 2010 resolutions. None of them are one and done resolutions, so I think I'm entitled to keep them.

2011 has started well, with a fun visit from Lisa and Gander yesterday (which really made me want a dog...), and today features what I'm sure will be a wham bam dinner creation of wild boar ragu from my talented husband. We've had a really low key weekend, which we needed after the hustle and bustle of our Christmas trip to MN (being introverts, that kind of trip really wears us out). I already have two fun 2011 trips planned - a January trip to St. Pete's Beach, Florida with Chris, and a February trip to Austin, TX to visit some college girlfriends and their little ones.

I'm sure 2011 will be a ride, whatever it may bring. I have high hopes that it will be as good, if not better than 2010.

California Once Again

2010-08-23T07:40:00.001-05:00

I wrote this entry last Thursday night but couldn't post it right away due to connectivity issues while I was out of town...

I'm in the midst of a whirlwind couple of weeks and find myself writing on a cold, misty evening in Pacific Grove, CA. I'm here for a work conference, and while I'm all the way across the country from home, there's something so peaceful and beautiful about California that makes it almost feel like home. If my husband was with me, I could see myself living here quite happily. I spent a trimester in California my sophomore year at Carleton for an incredibly fun and interesting American Studies seminar. We traveled throughout the state, learning about California history, art, architecture, water issues, and public policy. The trip was even more fun because several of my good friends and my boyfriend at the time also participated in the trip. I've been back to CA several times since that trip - softball tourneys, an amazing family trip in wine country, and a friend's wedding, but for some reason this trip reminds me most strongly of my off campus study trip. The smell of the ocean, cool air, flora, Highway 1, long walks - I'm transported back about 10 years.

Tonight I ventured out on my own after dinner and walked a couple of miles from the conference center into town through the misty, eerie weather. The conference center is right on the Pacific Ocean on the Monterey Peninsula, but you could hardly see the ocean today due to the thick fog. It was refreshing to be alone with my thoughts after several busy days of conference events. My ultimate destination was the Ice Cream Shoppe in downtown Pacific Grove. It was worth the long and cold walk - I'm not sure I've ever gone to an ice cream shop on my own, but I'm glad I did. I got a scoop of brownie truffle raspberry ice cream. It was excellent - on par, if not better, than my favorite Boston area ice creamery Toscanini's.

I'm heading home tomorrow night on a red eye - arriving home early Saturday morning. Before my CA trip, Chris and I took a fabulous trip to Minnesota for my friend's wedding. But we didn't just attend the wedding (which was wonderful) - we spent time with friends and family who I've missed very much, saw the Dead Sea Scrolls (at least a few fragments) at the Science Museum, went to a game at Target Field (and had Kramarczuk's) and of course stopped by Mim's for a long-awaited chicken muraf sandwich. California may feel like home in some ways, but Minnesota will always be at least a secondary home, no matter where we are living. That being said, I was happy to head back to my real home in Arlington after 5 days in Minnesota, if not to leave for California 36 hours later.

It's been an excellent couple of weeks of travel, and I'm looking forward to getting back to my husband and garden (which has been super productive!) and enjoy the pleasures of home back in MA.

Final Year of the 20s

2010-05-23T08:48:00.004-05:00

Chris turned the ripe old age of 29 on Thursday, and to commemorate the start to his last year of his 20s, I baked him an orange cake with milk chocolate frosting (his requested flavors). I will soon be joining him in the last year of my 20s, so I can only tease him about his old age for about 2 weeks.

I love citrus-flavored cakes, so I was excited that Chris asked for an orange cake. I've been so high on buttermilk cakes that I thought about making my standard yellow cake recipe and modifying it by adding orange zest and orange juice, but I thought I should continue to branch out and try new recipes. I found a well-reviewed recipe for orange cake online, so I was set in the cake department.

What was more difficult was finding a good frosting recipe. I love my standby chocolate frosting recipe using butter, cocoa, evaporated milk, confectioner's sugar and vanilla, but Chris wanted a frosting made with milk chocolate, not cocoa. I am nothing but accommodating, so I tried to find an appropriate recipe. I struggled because the only chocolate frosting recipes I know of that use chocolate are more accurately chocolate ganache, not frosting. Given more time and thought, I'm sure I could have found a recipe (or created my own) for a fudge-like milk chocolate frosting, but I failed at being a domestic queen and ended up just making a ganache for the outside of the cake and an orange cream cheese frosting filling.

I really like this cake and the filling - the orange flavor was really lovely, and the cake was tender. The accompanying frosting/ganache wasn't as successful as I had hoped, so I won't include the recipe here. If anyone has any suggestion for a frosting made with milk chocolate, please let me know. I'd say this cake wasn't quite as successful as last year's cake, but we both enjoyed it, and it was a good kick-off to the last year of Chris's 20s.

Orange Cake w/ Cream Cheese Filling

2 oranges
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange marmalade
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup orange juice

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter/spray two 8-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper.

Remove zest from oranges, place in food processor and coarsely chop. Add 1/3 cup sugar and blend until peel is minced. Add 1/4 cup marmalade and pulse until mixture is pureed. Transfer to large mixing bowl and add butter and vanilla.

Beat mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking power, and baking soda in small bowl. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the orange juice, mixing just until incorporated. Divide batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.

For filling - beat together cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. sugar and 2 Tbsp. orange marmalade.

For frosting - it's up to you!

A Twins Fan at Fenway

2010-05-21T09:08:00.003-05:00

It was a little depressing to be a Twins fan at Fenway last night, watching my team get trounced 6-2. I wore my Morneau t-shirt, with my Mauer jersey on top (when I wasn't overheating in the 80 degree weather) and my Twins hat. I got heckled a bit walking in to the stadium from Chris's office, but was pleasantly surprised to see how many Twins fans were wandering around Yawkee Way before the game, enjoying their $8 12oz beers (for a Miller Lite, really?) and Italian sausages (a comparative deal at $6.75 and delicious).

Chris and I settled into our seats in the right field bleachers a few minutes before game time, about 10 rows up from the bullpen, and acknowledged that we were in prime position to catch a Morneau, Thome or Kubel home run. Unfortunately, the game didn't play out that way. We watched Liriano's pitch count climb quickly as he gave up a couple of home runs, and the Red Sox jumped out to a quick lead that never seemed in doubt. Jon Lester dominated the Twins hitters and delivered a complete game. The Twins hit into a couple of double plays and were mostly futile the whole game.

It was a disappointing game, but an absolutely lovely evening to be out at Fenway, celebrating my husband's 29th birthday. I got heckled a bit more after the game, and I could only really hang my head in response given how poorly the Twins had played. Let's hope that the Twins will be rocking it at the next Twins game I attend - June 19 in Philly. Big stakes on that game, since I'll be with Chris and his parents, who are Phillies fans, and I really want them to see that my modest Midwestern hometown team can compete with big city East coast teams. I'm hoping the Twins won't let me down, but given their track record in East coast ballparks, I'm a bit nervous. I think a 'Circle Me Bert' sign may be in order for good luck.

We made it home last night for late night birthday cake. The cake turned out well - another blog to follow later this weekend about birthday cake. The Twins may have sucked it up last night, but they're still my team, and I will never succumb to Red Sox fandom, however long we live in Boston. And now that's in writing.

Beauteous Bran

2010-05-15T16:47:00.004-05:00

True, beauteous may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think of bran. Healthy, boring or bland might lead the list of adjectives. Also true that the bran muffins I made today (and last weekend) aren't particularly visually appealing. But they are damn good and therefore beauteous in my mind.

I'm always in search of healthy baked goods that actually taste good, so I was really pleased that I found a bran muffin recipe that is moist, a bit sweet and delicious. I happened upon this recipe because I was looking for a way to use the rest of the buttermilk I bought for last weekend's cake. I am a firm believer in the wonders of buttermilk for producing exceptionally moist cakes, so no wonder that the buttermilk in these bran muffins made for a moist and tender muffin.

I must admit that my husband was a bit disappointed that I left last week's cake at the BBQ and then made a batch of bran muffins the next day. Trading in cake for bran is not always a winning idea. But we were both pleasantly surprised that the muffins turned out as well as they did. They're great plain and aren't hurt by adding a little butter and jam.

A perfect snack while your watching the Twins get intimidated and lose badly to the Yankees yet again. Watching A-Rod's grand slam last night was one of the more annoying moments in my baseball watching life.

Whole Wheat Bran Muffins

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin cups. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk together oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in raisins and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Kick Start

2010-05-09T10:18:00.006-05:00

The last few months have flown by in a blur of work, travel (both for work and fun), biking, reading, gardening, and of course baking and baseball. Life has settled into a happy rhythm - too bad my inherited Scandinavian pessimism keeps telling me that too much happiness only leads to trouble. Setting that aside...

I haven't baked anything too ambitious lately, but I did dig out the offset frosting spatula yesterday and bake this cake for a colleague's BBQ last night. It turned out pretty well - the cake was tender and moist, and the chocolate frosting was sweet to just the right degree (at least for me). I mixed it up a bit this time and substituted 1 cup of the cake flour with whole wheat pastry flour, and I don't think anyone at the BBQ realized that they were getting whole grains with their cake. Maybe the pound of butter and plenty of sugar and chocolate that went into the cake and frosting negated it's positive health benefits, but if I was General Mills, I would have advertised "Now with Whole Grain!" It was a good kickoff to cake season (and a fun BBQ - thanks to Carolyn!). Now the part of my mind devoted to baking is turning to plans for Chris's birthday, which is in less than two weeks and demands an excellent cake. Last year's cake turned out really well, but I want to kick it up this year and do something a little more interesting. I'm toying with the idea of a chocolate orange cake and will definitely blog about the outcome.

And onto baseball. I'm thoroughly enjoying MLB Extra Innings this season. It's so nice to be able to tune into the Twins or the Phillies most evenings - at least for an inning or two. And it's really fun to watch the local MN commercials on FSN. I never realized how much I enjoyed the Menards jingle. The Twins are off to a solid start, although they've looked a little weak against the Orioles this weekend. They cannot seem to deliver with the bases loaded. Rookie catcher Drew Butera had a nice bases loaded single last night, which will hopefully kick start some better clutch hitting. It's encouraging to see Fransisco Liriano pitching so well early in the season, despite his somewhat rough outing yesterday. Up until yesterday, he was looking like the Liriano of 2006 - a #1 starter in the making. The rest of the staff is doing pretty well too, though you have to feel a bit bad for Carl Pavano, who has had solid outings but not as many wins to show for it as he should have. I am psyched to see the Twins play at Fenway in less than 2 weeks (May 20 - Chris's birthday!) and will be wearing my Twins gear with pride.

On Friday night we tuned into the Phillies game just in time to see the last two innings of Jamie Moyer's 2-hit complete game shutout. It was really cool to see a 47 year old pitcher with a fastball that tops out at 80 mph dominate a game like that. He is now the first pitcher to throw complete game shut outs in four decades. Very impressive, but I will still be rooting for the Twins if he's pitching when we go to the Twins v. Phillies game in Philly in late June.

The biggest project going on right now at our house is preparations for our garden. I started seedlings in early April for Brussels' sprouts, three varieties of peppers and four varieties of tomatoes. Three of the tomato varieties - green zebra, stupice and Mexican midget - are from seeds that I saved from our garden in 2008. I was pleased that the seeds survived two years and several moves and germinated extremely well. The seedlings are currently hanging out under a grow light on our third floor awaiting planting over the next few weeks:

Chris and I ripped up the sod on a 12' x 16' portion of our backyard a couple of weeks ago (with our landlord's blessing of course...) for our garden plot. On Friday night we tilled in 20 lbs of lime to increase the pH since a soil test indicated we have rather acidic soil, and also worked in 120 lbs. of compost/manure. Chris is designing an irrigation system that he'll install soon. The Brussels' sprouts and beets will go in next weekend, with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and cantaloupe to follow when the soil is warmer. I'm having a lot of fun with it and am happy that my seedlings are thriving thus far. Our investment in our garden here is one reason we aren't jumping off to buy a house anytime soon!

That's all the blog-able news of note right now, and I am sure the next post will be in far less than 3 months from now.

3 Months Later...

2010-05-06T15:41:00.005-05:00

It was brought to my attention yesterday at a lunchtime celebration of Cinco de Mayo (by a surprising source) that I have not updated my blog in quite some time. This being the fourth time in the past week that my lack of posting has come up, it's time to dust off Lefty's Hot Stove and get back to blogging. I didn't realize it had been quite so long - three months since my last post - yikes! Good thing I'm back because there's a lot of great stuff going on on the baseball front - the Twins are in 1st place after an impressive 19-9 start, and the Phillies lead the NL East with a 17-11 record - and it's May which means cake baking season is upon us since birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and BBQs abound!

Time for me to hit up Mahoney's Garden Center for pots and potting soil for my tomato and pepper seedlings which (knock on wood) are thriving. So this doesn't quite qualify as a real post, but more to come this weekend...

Baking Update & Thoughts of Spring

2010-02-07T10:25:00.012-06:00

Blog posts have been few and far between, but I've been busy in the kitchen and otherwise these last few weeks. I received Shirley Corriher's Bakewise for Christmas, and after I recovered from the overload of sugar and fat over the holidays, I started digging into the recipes. Thus far I've tackled cinnamon walnut oatmeal cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, gingerbread, and cake-like brownies from Bakewise. Fortunately we've had a few dinner & book club guests who have partaken in the goods, but even with their strong efforts, part of our freezer remains full of cookies:

The sweet treats have all been solid, but my favorite kitchen output of these past weeks was a loaf of rosemary foccaccia from Baking Illustrated. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the finished product, but here it is right before baking:

I'm really enjoying bread making right now and currently have some ciabatta dough rising to enjoy with tonight's Super Bowl meal of chicken parmesan.

Now that we've hit February, my thoughts are starting to turn to spring. I usually hit a winter funk in the last week or so of January, but this year I seem to have escaped it. It helps that Boston winters are warmer than what I'm used to - 20s are considered quite cold here, but 20s in mid-winter are considered quite nice in Minnesota. So the temps in the low 30s that I'm experiencing here aren't so bad. Plus I'm so busy at work that I haven't really been thinking much about winter!

Two events in the past week have turned my thoughts towards the eventual arrival of spring.

1) Last weekend Chris and I ordered tickets to see the Twins play the Red Sox at Fenway on May 20! This is Chris's 29th birthday, so we'll need to celebrate with post-game cake. You may remember our failed attempt at going to Fenway for a Twins game last year, which made me cry. But I'm much more optimistic about this year. Even if it rains and the game is rescheduled, I could probably just take an afternoon off work to go to the game. And the Twins probably won't get socked like they did last year since their 2010 roster is looking pretty potent! Last weekend Chris also tried to get tickets when the Phillies are in town to play the Red Sox this June, but tired of waiting online after about 3 hours in the ticket waiting room. So we might head to Fenway anyway when the Phillies are here and try our luck with scalpers. For once I'm happy that the Twins are a forgotten team here on the east coast - means that tickets aren't as hard to snag! But I did hear that the Twins have a bunch of nationally televised games this year - so great to hear I'll have a chance to watch some games if I don't order MLB Extra Innings or MLB.tv.

2) We received our Seed Savers Exchange catalog several weeks ago and have spent time planning out our 2010 garden plot. We're going to dig up a fairly substantial part of the backyard (with our landlord's permission of course - even though our existing lawn is crappy, straggly grass) and plant our largest garden yet. I did a germination test on the tomato and pepper seeds that I saved from 2008. My germination rate on the tomato seeds was 100%, but the peppers fared much worse. I think the multiple moves and changes in temperature and humidity were too much for the peppers, so we'll have to order all new pepper seeds. I was actually thrilled that my tomato seeds did well, so didn't feel too badly about the peppers. So, the 2010 garden will include:

Green Zebra, Mexican Midget, and Stupice tomato plants from seeds saved from 2008, and the following varieties ordered yesterday from Seed Savers Exchange:

German Pink tomato

Black Beauty zucchini

Amish melon

Long Island Improved brussels sprouts

Chioggia beets

Cylindra beets

Georgia Flame peppers

Napoleon Sweet peppers

Wisconsin Lakes peppers

We'll start seeds inside and transplant them outside in late May. I'm hoping for a much better summer growing season than 2009 & I'm really psyched to have space once again for a garden.

So even though winter still has a firm grip, thinking about baseball tickets and garden plans has my thoughts turning slowly towards spring sunshine ahead.

Trying to be Trendy

2010-01-17T15:03:00.004-06:00

I am not trendy. I don't pretend to be, and I don't think anyone would ever use trendy as an adjective to describe me. But last night I hit up 2 - yes 2 - spots that may in fact be considered trendy.

Trendy Spot #1: Wagamama. I may be overestimating the trendiness of dinner last night at Wagamama since Chris and I went to the Prudential Center mall location. Can dinner in a mall actually be trendy? As someone who's not at all trendy, I can't judge this one. But Wagamama certainly does its best to be trendy. I almost laughed as the waitress enthusiastically described how our entrees may come out a few minutes apart because it's part of the "experience" and then scribbled numbers on our paper place mats and entered our orders into a funky electronic handset (all while seriously violating my personal space - I'm not sure why she had to do all this about 6 inches from my face).

But the food was good, if not that interesting. I had shrimp chili men, which was a shrimp and vegetable stir fry on top of noodles, with what pretty much amounted to a ladle of chili garlic sauce straight out of the bottle spread on top. The shrimp and vegetables were well-cooked, but I am spoiled by Chris's amazing sauce construction, so I wasn't too impressed with the one-dimensional (that dimension being spicy) chili garlic sauce. Chris whipped up a spicy pork & pepper stir fry over whole wheat udon noodles the night before for dinner, which had so much more depth of flavor and complexity (yet still delivering some good heat) than my Wagamama meal. Ranking the two meals, the homemade pepper & pork wins, but I still enjoyed the Wagamama "experience."

The main event of our evening was the play "All My Sons" at the Huntington Theater. I'm pretty confident that this does not qualify as trendy since we got a ticket discount for being under 35. We had to laugh as Chris got carded for his beer at Wagamama, and we also got carded to prove that we're under 35 at the theater. I guess being 28 puts us right in the middle of the 21 - 35 age cut-off, but I'm not sure most people mistake either of us for being 35+. Most new people I meet outside of a work context actually think I'm still in college...

On to Trendy Spot #2: Red Mango. This frozen yogurt spot we hit up after the play also does its best to appear trendy, though I just looked at their website and see that it has many mall locations. So this just proves how non-trendy I am - the places I thought were trendy are actually chains that appear frequently in malls. I am now officially branded as non-trendy. But the Red Mango location we went to was not in a mall - it was across the street from the Huntington Theater. Red Mango pitches itself as a healthy alternative to ice cream, and I was pretty impressed with how good it tasted given it has zero fat. I had a small original with 2 toppings - strawberries and Newman O's. The original has a very strong yogurt tang to it, which I quite enjoyed. Chris, who's usually not a frozen yogurt fan, ordered the pomegranate flavor and enjoyed it as well. It was a great way to satisfy my recent ice cream craving without indulging too much.

So it looks like I need to work on discovering what is actually trendy before I claim to be trying trendy spots, but trendy or no, it was a great evening!

Challah

2010-01-09T13:19:00.006-06:00

It's hard for me to believe that I used to be intimidated by baking with yeast. For some reason it used to seem too intense to have to worry about the intricacies of activating the yeast and wondering whether the yeast would achieve the appropriate lift in whatever I was baking. So, my early baking years were spent honing my skills in the kitchen by baking quick breads. Eventually I found that I could only bake so many loaves of banana bread and craved a new challenge in the kitchen - yeast! This also coincided with my acquisition of a bread maker, which opened my eyes to the fact that yeast is not scary or intimidating at all - it's easy and interesting. Oh, and the fact that my husband has spent the past decade working with yeast while studying chemical engineering means that he is quite the yeast expert and can counsel me through whatever yeast difficulties may arise.

Which brings me to last week's baking adventure: challah. I first used the following Baking Illustrated recipe for challah over a year ago and found it to be excellent. Most grocery store challah is light and fluffy and rather bland, so I never knew how rich and flavorful challah is actually supposed to be until I tried this recipe last year. Last weekend I made challah for the second time, and it turned out as well as I remembered it to be. The bread has a deep, eggy flavor, with just the right density - not too heavy and not fluffy like grocery store challah.

Chris made an excellent dinner of pork vindaloo last Sunday that we paired with the freshly-made challah. As much as I enjoyed the pork vindaloo, I would have been happy with a meal of a few slices of challah topped with Kate's butter. (Yes, I know it may seem odd that we had pork paired with challah, as challah is a Jewish bread, but I'm telling you, it pairs wonderfully with pork. It also makes for one hell of a good ham sandwich.) The challah also stayed fresh stored in a ziplock bag for the 5 days it took us to eat it. This made for an excellent week of challah enjoyment, the highlight of which was a simple late-evening, post-yoga dinner of a salad and PB&J on challah. Once again, the simple pleasures rule the day.

The original recipe calls for instant yeast, but since we only have active dry yeast at home, I modified the recipe to use active dry (I was ridiculously proud of myself for being able to successfully manipulate the yeast part of the recipe after my years of yeast phobia...) Enjoy!

Challah

Adapted From Baking Illustrated

3 cups unbleached, all purpose flour, more for dusting the work surface

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs plus one egg separated (reserve the white for the egg wash)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup plus one tablespoon warm water (about 100 degrees)

In a small bowl, stir together yeast, one tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Let sit until yeast mixture starts foaming (about 5-10 minutes).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the 2 eggs, egg yolk, and melted butter. Mix in the yeast mixture. Add the flour mixture; using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a ball of dough forms, about 5 minutes, adding more flour if necessary.

In a small bowl, whisk the reserved egg white together with the remaining 1 tablespoon water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the egg wash until ready to use.

Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, turning the dough over to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Gently press the dough to deflate it, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size again, 40 - 60 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half the size of the other. Divide the large piece into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 16-inch long rope, about 1 inch in diameter. Line the ropes of dough side by side and braid them together, pinching to seal the ends of the braid. Place the braid on a lightly greased baking sheet. Divide the smaller piece of dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 16-inch long rope, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Braid together, pinching on the ends to seal. Brush some of the egg wash on top of the large braid and place the small braid on the larger braid. Loosely drape the loaf with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until the loaf becomes puffy and increases in size by a third.

Adjust oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush the loaf with the remaining egg wash. Bake the loaf for 30-40 minutes or until it is golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the side of the loaf reads 190 degrees. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing (this is hard to do - I found it's fine when sliced when slightly warm).

Bring on 2010!

2010-01-02T14:13:00.009-06:00

I must admit that I was not at all sad to see the calendar turn to 2010.

On New Year's Eve, Chris and I went downtown to partake in First Night Boston - the biggest First Night celebration in the country - featuring many music & arts events that take place throughout the city. We started off the evening with a quick dinner at the Middle East, a restaurant in Cambridge near Chris's office where we hoped to find falafel and chicken schwarma that rivals Mim's in St. Paul. We struck out - it wasn't even close. Still haven't found any middle eastern food that is nearly as good as Mim's. We then headed to the Boston Public Library where we listened to a set by a jazz group called the Either/Orchestra, then off to the Berklee Performing Arts Center to listen to kick-ass clarinetist Anat Cohen - she and her band were great! After the performance, we picked up our car in Cambridge and made it back to our house by about 11:30pm, in plenty of time to crack open a bottle of lovely champagne (especially for a $13 bottle) and toast the New Year.

New Year's Eve was a really fun end to 2009, a year that I have very mixed feelings about. I don't even like to think about the first several months of the year, but I will for just a moment...I left my job in mid-January since Chris's anticipated start date at his new position in Cambridge was late January, but unfortunate circumstances led to 3 long months of unemployment in Minnesota for me as Chris worked to finish up his PhD and we awaited our move to Boston. My sister is reflecting about 2009 month by month in her own blog and referred to me in her January entry as "unemployed by choice" in January. It certainly didn't feel that way. On the up side, I got to spend time with my sister and my nephews, all of whom I love dearly, but I was also profoundly uncomfortable with my situation and felt like a complete idiot for leaving my job before we had a moving date 100% confirmed. So for three months I felt like a loser, trying to laugh it off and save face in front of everyone who wondered why we were still in Minnesota. Ugh. It sucked. If it wasn't for my supportive family, loving husband, and the discovery of The Tudors, I may have wandered off into the frigid Minnesota winter and never returned.

Our move to Boston in mid-April was a refreshing new start after the challenging winter. I was still unemployed and struggling to find a 'real' job, but I had a whole new city to explore, Chris liked his new job, and we could actually spend time together since Chris wasn't constantly working on his thesis. As much as it was an improvement from my last few months in Minnesota, it was challenging to be unemployed, and I really missed my family and friends back in Minnesota. I kept busy with applying for numerous jobs, volunteering a bit for the Audubon Society, playing tennis with Chris, reading, working out, baking/cooking, and random house projects like staining our bedside tables. I was disappointed that my feeble attempt at container gardening turned out poorly due to a relentlessly rainy June, but the summer brightened up enough in July that I got as tan as I've been in years - one of the perks of unemployment, I suppose.

It really wasn't until I got a long-awaited job offer at the start of August that 2009 really started clicking for me. My job is interesting, and I've learned a ton in the past 4+ months. It's been stressful at times, but I'm learning how to calm myself and take things in stride. "Stay calm and carry on" is my new mantra. Chris and I moved to a wonderful apartment in October near to my office, and I love it. I bought a bike in November and can bike to work when the weather isn't as wintry as it is right now. I have a little reading room on the 3rd floor where I can relax with a good book whenever I want to. We have a sizable kitchen with a new stove (and a dishwasher for the first time in 4 years!). And we also have plenty of room should we expand from 2 to 3 (or 4 with my genes). Life feels pretty good.

As the calendar turns to 2010, I have a few goals/resolutions, and I feel that posting them to my blog will help motivate me to actually stick to them! One of my resolutions is too personal to post (as if I'm not already divulging too much), but here goes the rest:

1) Be a better listener. Sometimes I get too caught up in my own world that I fail to really listen closely to others. I need to focus on the person I'm communicating with and not get distracted as easily.

2) Learn something new. I'm going to sign up for a 13-week community ed. class on energy auditing. From Feb-May on Tuesday nights from 6-9pm I'll be in the classroom. It's a bit pricey, but I want to learn more about energy systems since this will help me at work and may help me in the future if I pursue part-time work in the energy industry after we have children. I've stretched my brain a lot in the past months while learning the ins and outs of my job, but I think this will be an extra, fun challenge.

3) Be physically & mentally fit. I have slacked off on my physical fitness over the past few months. My new bike helped the cause for a few weeks, but I'm finding my toes and fingers just can't handle biking in the cold weather. I haven't actually gained weight (surprising, given the number of cookies I've eaten in the past month), but I just don't feel as good when I'm not working out regularly. I also find myself getting unreasonably anxious from time to time. So to help me both physically and mentally, I'm going to take a yoga class that starts this Wednesday continues through the winter. By the time it wraps up in the spring, I can be back on my bike again.

4) Cook, bake and eat well. I think my diet is quite good, at least most of the time, but I want to be sure to continue focusing on eating well. Two changes I want to make are to: 1) cut back on my meat consumption and 2) eat more vegetables. It's convenient that these pretty much go hand in hand. With all that I now know about factory farming in America, the meat industry is particularly messed up, and I can't in good conscious get really excited about great meat deals in the supermarket anymore. So I'm going to work to purchase more meat that's produced in a responsible way - which may include doing a meat CSA - and since most of the meat we buy now is not produced responsibly, I can at least cut back on my consumption. And this will leave more room for vegetables! I eat lots of fruit, but I always find it a bit harder to incorporate a lot of vegetables into my diet. I think the key will be finding more interesting ways to prepare them. This goal/resolution includes having fun in the kitchen with Chris and on my own - continuing to experiment with new recipes, ingredients, and cooking and baking techniques. Oh, and this also includes creating a fairly substantial vegetable garden this summer.

And with that, here ends my long, long first post of 2010. Chris and I will be off to a nice dinner out tonight as our Christmas present to each other and are enjoying a very nice, relaxing (and snowy) weekend. Happy New Year to all!

Last Day in PA

2009-12-27T09:18:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas to all! I'm writing from my in-law's basement in Red Lion, PA on the last day of our Christmas visit. It's been a pleasant few days with Chris's family. We drove all the way from Boston on Wednesday afternoon/evening, arriving in Red Lion about midnight. Our original plan was to head out of town about 4pm on Wednesday and spend the night in picturesque Scranton, PA, but Chris's regularly scheduled Wednesday afternoon meeting was canceled, and I worked a 1/2 day, so we were able to get out of dodge by about 2:30pm. Our earlier departure meant we could kick it to Red Lion and save the $100 that we would have spent on a hotel room. The trip wasn't too bad - except for getting stuck in CT traffic and experiencing horrible service at a Chili's for dinner. Reinforced my disdain for big chain restaurants...

Since it's my second Christmas with Chris's family, I'm starting to get used to the traditions.

Tradition #1 - We actually attend a church service on Christmas Eve. The service was long - about 90 minutes, which made for a late night since it started at 10pm - but I really enjoyed it because about 50% of it was singing. The part I didn't enjoy was the super conservative pastor's (for an ECLA Lutheran chruch) sermon/Christmas message, in which he basically encouraged the commercialism associated with Christmas. Not a Christmas message that I expected or appreciated. But the singing and family togetherness compensated for my annoyance. We even got to sing a candlelit rendition of Silent Night, which my family does every Christmas Eve.

Tradition #2 - There is an amazing amount of baked goods and food. I have never experienced such a quantity of Christmas cookies, chocolates, cake and pie all on one table. It's wild! Baked goods literally take up the entire kitchen island. On Christmas Eve my family has one dessert - Grasshopper Pie - which my grandmother makes. It is cold and refreshing after the Christmas meal and perfectly satisfies my sweet tooth. In contrast, there are so many desserts here that it's hard to choose what to have! Fortunately, we're here for several days, so I can slowly sample each baked item over our visit. I think I've tried most by now, but there are still a few types of cookies and a cherished family fruitcake that I still need to get to. All are tasty, so this has been a pretty fun process, but I think I'll need to start rationing my sugar intake when I get home!

Tradition #3 - The whole family opens Christmas gifts at the same time on Christmas morning. It's a big blur of paper and exclamations and craziness. This is much different than my family's very regimented Christmas gift opening process. We distribute gifts, sit in a circle, and open gifts one at a time going around the circle in a counterclockwise direction (kidding about the specified direction...). But it's pretty calm, and everyone can see what other people are opening. This was hard to sit through as a child, but as an adult, I enjoy the relaxed pace. Chris's family really gets in to Christmas gifts - we get to open stockings stuffed to the brim and big piles of presents. It makes me feel like I'm about 5 years old, which is pretty fun once in awhile.

So those are the big three traditions that stick out to me so far. I'm sure I will pick up on more in the years to come. We also had one in-utero addition to the Christmas celebration - my sister-in-law is pregnant, due in May, so the next time we spend Christmas with Chris's family, there will be at least one new member of the family. Our Christmas visit draws to a close today with a lunch out with some of Chris's high school friends and some couch time watching the Eagles game this afternoon.

It's been a great Christmas visit thus far, and even though I miss my family, I'm feeling more and more a part of the family I married in to. I did miss out on my 10 year high school reunion back in MN last night, which I'm sure would have been quite entertaining, but instead we drove out to Reading, PA to see my other sister-in-law's new house. If only we lived in an area that had somewhat reasonable home prices, we might own a house too! Oh well, the time will come.

So Merry Christmas to all - I hope it was wonderful and filled with family traditions, old and new memories, and fun! Back on the road to Boston tomorrow morning to get ready to ring in a new year!

Lussekatter!

2009-12-06T15:42:00.006-06:00

Yes, I am Norwegian, but after filling up on lefse over Thanksgiving, this weekend I decided to branch out and bake a traditional Swedish dessert called Lussekatter (a.k.a. Saffron Buns). To be honest, I didn't really decide to make these buns. I asked Chris what I should bake this week, he was intrigued by an article about Swedish Christmas desserts in this month's Saveur magazine, and thus I found myself baking Lussekatter!

As a side note, Saveur is an excellent cooking magazine - I highly recommend it. Chris used rewards points from a credit card to start a subscription to Saveur a few months ago, and I'm so glad he did since it's really interesting and consistently has great recipes. It has especially great features about international cuisines. And if you watched 'Top Chef Masters' last summer, you'll recognize the editor-in-chief, James Oseland, who was a judge on the show.

Back to Lussekatter! After my adventure with brioche buns awhile back, I was initially worried that baking a yeast roll would take up most of my weekend, but this was not the case. After mixing the dough, it just required an hour rise, then another 30 minute rise after shaping the rolls into their traditional S-shape before baking.

The end result was good - as long as you enjoy saffron - and Chris and I do. The taste of saffron in a sweet, dessert-type bun seems a bit odd at first, but then all the Swedes I know are a bit odd too :) The other strange thing about my attempt at Lussekatter is that I didn't wrap the dough tightly enough into the S-shape formation, so the baked buns came out kind of looking like lopsided boobs, which was a little disturbing at first.

I don't think Lussekatter will become more cherished in our household than lefse, but I think we might make them again if we ever feel like having a pan-Scandinavian dessert extravaganza.

Lussekatter (Saffron Buns)

From Saveur, December 2009

4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (2 packets)

2 cups whole milk, heated to 115 degrees

2 tsp. saffron, lightly crushed

3/4 cup plus 1 tsp. sugar

6 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

3 eggs

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, softened

Canola oil, for greasing

64 raisins, for garnish

Heat the milk & saffron to a gentle simmer in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and steep the saffron in the milk until the temperature of the milk drops to 115 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, mix together yeast, milk, saffron and 1 tsp. sugar; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining sugar, along with the flour, salt, and 2 eggs. Mix on low speed until dough forms and gathers around the paddle. Replace paddle with dough hook and add butter, kneading on medium-high speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl greased with oil and cover with plastic wrap; let rest in warm place until doubled in size, 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 32 pieces and roll each piece into an 8'-long rope. Form each rope into an S-shape and then roll each end into a tight spiral. Place shaped dough pieces 2" apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets; cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover dough pieces and place a raisin at the center of each of the spirals. Lightly beat remaining egg with 1 tbsp. water and brush each bun with egg mixture. Bake until buns are golden brown and cooked through, about 16 minutes. Transfer buns to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Giving Thanks

2009-11-28T13:03:00.005-06:00

Chris and I dropped my parents off at Logan this morning for their flight back to Louisville after spending a few fun days together for Thanksgiving. It was the first time we've had visitors to our new house, and it went well. I really enjoy hosting, and we don't get to do it enough here since we don't have a very deep pool of friends in the area. I have many fond memories from when I was young and my parents hosted the extended family for Thanksgiving every year, so it's a treat to host my parents for this particular holiday.

Chris have a time-share family system for the major holidays - one year we'll spend Thanksgiving with my family & Christmas with Chris's family, and the next year we'll switch - Thanksgiving with Chris's family and Christmas with mine. This system was initially hard for me because my extended family on my Dad's side (who we spend holidays with) is scattered at Thanksgiving but comes together in a big way for Christmas. The whole extended family gathers at my aunt and uncle's house in Minneapolis for Christmas Eve dinner. It's a large group, and the evening often gets crazy - fueled by lots of wine, cocktails, aquavit & the post-dinner Irish coffee & grasshopper pie. We all wear silly Christmas headgear - Santa hats, reindeer antlers - and in my aunt's case, a headlamp, since she plays Christmas carols on the piano in a semi-dark room while we all sing along. So I lobbied to spend every Thanksgiving with Chris's family and every Christmas with mine, but I realized that wasn't fair to Chris and his family and accepted the time-share trade-off system. But the first Christmas I spent with Chris's family two years ago was difficult. I really like Chris's family, but it was hard to miss out on the fun and family togetherness I knew was taking place back in Minnesota.

This year is Thanksgiving with my family, and we'll be driving to PA for Christmas with Chris's family. With my sister and her family in Minnesota, my parents in Louisville, and me in Boston, the opportunities for my parents, sister and me to be together are few and far between. I'm not sure when we'll all be together again. But this past week it was great to at least get a chance to spend the holiday with my parents.

Chris and I put together a really great Thanksgiving meal. I was proud of our preparation and our execution. The rain stopped in Boston just long enough on Thursday morning for Chris to strike up the smoker and smoke the bird - a 14 lb. fresh turkey from McKinnon's Meat Market. Chris did a simple 2 day brine & about 4 hours in the smoker on Thursday resulted in a delicious turkey. The breast meat was succulent with a really nice smoked flavor & the dark meat was great too. This was no dried out bird! We rounded out the meal with gravy made from the smoked turkey drippings, an apple & celery stuffing, glazed carrots & parsnips, a mash of sweet & Yukon gold potatoes, cranberries, cornbread & lefse. For dessert, I made pumpkin pie & chocolate cookies (cookies for my dad since he is not a fan of pumpkin pie) and bought a really tasty port - 2006 Bogle Petit Syrah port.

I'm pleased the Thanksgiving meal went well and grateful for the opportunity for the four of us to be together on Thanksgiving. As I look forward to this Christmas with Chris's family, I feel different than I did two years ago when I spent my first Christmas away from my family. 2009 has been a really rocky year - filled with ups and downs, uncertainty, doubts, and happiness too. Even though it's been tough, it's really deepened my relationship with my husband. So I'm no longer so focused on the emotions surrounding being away from my family - as long as I'm with Chris, I know I'll feel snug & content & loved. Which is what life and happiness is all about. So I'm so grateful this Thanksgiving to be able to share my life with a wonderful man who can smoke one hell of a good turkey.

Back with Buttery Brioche

2009-11-08T18:43:00.009-06:00

Even though I knew it's been awhile since my last blog, I'm amazed to see it's been over a month! I haven't blogged since we moved...I've been busy with work, unpacking, rugby, a wonderful visit from one of my closest friends, testing out gyms/yoga studios, bike shopping, and Project "make the house a home" which is my effort to make our new place comfortable and welcoming. I've had enough with temporary living arrangements - knowing the next move is just around the corner - so with our new place, we're hanging all our artwork/wall frames, putting up curtains, buying new furniture (our old couch did not make it up the narrow staircase into our apartment) and generally making it a home for a young couple (hopefully family relatively soon). I'm rediscovering my love for decorating and enjoying the results.

But all of this settling in is no excuse for ignoring my blog. I am now back and recommitted to blogging since the holidays are drawing near, and the oven will be turned on regularly to bake up

a variety of deliciousness. I actually have been baking a fair amount since we moved, but nothing's been blog-worthy. Cookies, healthy apple muffins for work, cornbread - just run of the mill goods not worth sharing. But this week's baking adventure is definitely worth sharing - Bubble-Top Brioches - a Dorie Greenspan recipe from the October 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.

Dorie claims that this is "Brioche Made Easy" and if this is easy, I'd hate to put in the time and effort to make brioche at the normal level of difficulty. But as I think about it, it really wasn't too hard - just time consuming - and the outcome was more than worth the effort.

That is a photo of our fantastic dinner tonight - country style pork ribs with an apple & onion chutney, zucchini, and brioche rolls. Okay, so Chris's beautiful pork ribs only get a small corner of that photo while my brioche took center stage - but check out the light and even crumb on those rolls! Sometimes I admit I get a bit too excited about baking...

I started the brioche yesterday late afternoon. Making the brioche dough is really time consuming since it needs a lot of mixing, and you need to incorporate the butter a tablespoon at a time (and with 12 tablespoons of butter in the recipe, this is not a quick process). I passed the time standing by the mixer periodically tossing in small pieces of butter by sipping on a Leinie's and looking out our kitchen window at the Mystic River as the sun set on a beautiful fall day. It was strangely satisfying and enjoyable.

The brioche dough rested overnight, and I pulled it out this morning, cut, rolled and put the dough into the muffin tins:

And after a final rise and 20 minutes in the oven, I was left with delectable, buttery rolls. One of the best parts of this recipe is how beautiful the rolls are. No molds required - just smash 3 small dough balls into a muffin tin, and you come out with beautiful bubble tops. I was thinking about making these rolls for Thanksgiving since my parents will be coming out to Boston, but given the time intensive nature of brioche and the number of other dishes we'll be making, I think I'll go with biscuits or cornbread. But the brioche rolls will make another appearance in the future - they are definitely worth taking the time to make again!

Bubble-Top Brioches

From Bon Appetit, October 2009

Dorie Greenspan

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1/4 cup warm whole milk (110-115 degrees)

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 large egg beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Combine 1/4 cup warm water and warm milk in bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast over and stir to moisten evenly. Let stand until yeast dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Add flour and salt to yeast mixture. Blend at medium-low speed until shaggy lumps form, scraping down the side of the bowl occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in sugar. Increase mixer speed to medium; beat until dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Reduce speed to low. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition (dough will be soft and silky). Increase speed to medium-high and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and climbs paddles, about 8 to 9 minutes.

Lightly butter large bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 75 to 90 minutes.

Gently deflate dough by lifting around edges, then letting dough fall back into bowl, turning bowl and repeating as needed. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill, deflating dough in same way every 30 minutes until dough stops rising, about 2 hours. Chill overnight.

Butter 12 standard (1/3 cup) muffin cups. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; cut each piece into thirds. Roll each small piece into a ball. Place 3 balls in each prepared cup. Place muffin pan in warm draft-free area; lay sheet of waxed paper over. Let dough rise until light and almost doubled in size, 50-60 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400. Place muffin pan on cookie sheet. Gently brush egg glaze over risen dough, being careful that glaze does not drip between dough and pan. Bake brioches until golden brown, covering with foil if browning too quickly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Cool 10 minutes. Remove brioches from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Arlington Here We Come

2009-10-04T13:58:00.004-05:00

It's been a wild month of work, travel & apartment hunting. I'm happy to report that Chris and I found a great new place in Arlington and are planning to rent a U-haul to move next Sunday!

For those who are not familiar with Boston-area geography, Arlington is a northwest suburb of Boston between Cambridge, where Chris works, and Lexington, where I work. Instead of commuting 1 hour 20 minutes each way on the T and bus, I'll either hop in my car and drive the 5+ miles to work or hop on my bike (which is yet to be purchased but will be soon) and enjoy fresh air & exercise on my way to work. Chris's commute will be about the same length, and he'll also be able to bike to work or take public transportation.

We'll have the 2nd and 3rd floors of a 2-family house. The second floor has 2 nice sized bedrooms, bright and open living and dining rooms, a mini pantry, a really tacky bathroom with green tile, front and back enclosed porches, and a somewhat outdated kitchen. The third floor consists of two "bonus" rooms that we aren't quite sure what to do with, but I'm starting to fantasize about a quiet reading room. We also have a garage space! With a driveway! And I've gotten clearance to break up some of the backyard grass and put in a garden next spring. We'll also have crazy old Greek next-door neighbors who have a large garden of their own, just like we do now. The big question mark is how the kitchen will work for us since it's pretty outdated. The stove is old, which makes me a bit nervous. But the kitchen is big enough that we can bring some shelving in to handle our voluminous kitchen items, and worse comes to worse, we can just purchase a new stove. I will not be stopped from baking as much as possible while we're living there!

From what I know about Arlington so far, I think it will be a great community for us. It's close to Boston but not as dense & urban as Dorchester, so I think it will be a more comfortable living environment for me. I can handle living in a gritty area, but it does get tiring. Perhaps I'm getting old and stodgy, but I just want a nice, family-oriented neighborhood with real lawns and a little space between houses. Fortunately, Arlington offers that along with a vibrant restaurant scene and easy access to Boston. When we were looking at buying a house a couple of months ago, we targeted our search to properties in Arlington. We decided that they are out of reach financially right now, but renting in Arlington will allow us to determine if it's a good community for us to potentially raise a family.

Chris and I decided to start testing out our new neighborhood even before we move there & trekked out to Arlington for dinner last night at a Mexican place not far from our new house called Zocalo. I was really hungry and giddy after the Twins exciting victory over the Royals! My first impression of the restaurant was very positive -- it was packed, really cute, and the kitchen was open for all to see. I always feel more confident in a restaurant where you can see the kitchen - that way you know they aren't hiding anything!

We got a table relatively quickly and ordered a vegetable tamale to split as an appetizer. The corn meal and salsa verde were excellent - fresh & the perfect amount of kick - but I was a bit disappointed in the vegetables. It seemed like they used a frozen blend of green beans, carrots, corn & peas in the tamale. I can make frozen vegetables at home. If I'm paying someone else to prepare my food, I want to at least have freshly prepared vegetables. Overall I enjoyed the tamale, but it would have been better with just the corn meal & salsa verde. Or we should have just ordered a meat tamale.

Zocalo more than made up for the use of frozen vegetables with the quality of their entrees, which were fantastic. I ordered the Camarones al mojo de ajo (jumbo shrimp w/ pico de gallo and chipotle sauce) served with rice and black beans. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and swimming in a lovely, slightly spicy tomato based sauce. Anyone who knows me well would take one look at that dish and know that I would really enjoy it. Chris had the Cochinita Pibil, which was shredded, braised pork with tomato, orange, onion, chiles & chipotle sauce, also served with rice & beans. I had a small bite of the pork and was really impressed. It was also quite reasonably priced - the appetizer, two entrees, a glass of wine for me and a beer for Chris came to $51 including tax and tip. Not bad for a Saturday night dinner out.

We topped off the evening by getting ice cream at a little ice cream shop inside the Capitol Theater in Arlington. We really didn't need ice cream after a delicious and filling Mexican dinner, but something creamy & delicious sounded perfect after the spicy dinner. It was a really pleasant evening & I look forward to life in Arlington starting soon!

At Last, Banana Bread is Back

2009-09-06T08:29:00.004-05:00

In early August, two events piqued my interest in baking banana bread: 1) the discovery of Kate's Butter, and 2) the first real heatwave of the summer. Event #1 made me want to bake banana bread because a slice is not complete without a thin, creamy layer of butter. And Kate's Butter brings a whole new level of enjoyment to the butter eating experience. Event #2 made me want to bake banana bread because the hot, humid weather quickly produced an excess supply of ripe bananas, all of which went straight to the freezer, ready for baking. I strive not to waste food, and since we don't have a compost pile, baking bread was the best use of bananas. I must admit that I wasted several bananas a few weeks ago when I took them out of the freezer, planning to bake bread that day, and the 90 degree weather thwarted my plans to turn on the oven. The slug-like, defrosted bananas did not survive in my refrigerator for long and ended up in the trash.

So somehow it's now early September, a full month since my initial desire to bake banana bread. And finally this weekend the heavens have aligned and are allowing me to turn on the oven and bake some banana bread. The weather is beautiful - sunny yet cool enough to turn on the oven, and I'm so wiped out from the past few weeks that yesterday I didn't want to do much other than sleep, read, work out, cook, & bake. And that's exactly what I did (along with grocery shopping, many loads of laundry, and a trip up to the North End for a pizza lunch at Galleria Umberto - maybe it was a full day after all...).

But the banana bread baking was a highlight of the day. Chris and I were out of our initial Kate's Butter purchase (thanks to Grandpa's Birthday Cake and sweet corn consumption), so I picked some up at Stop & Shop (a cool $3.99/pound instead of Whole Food's $5.29/pound). It was so good with the banana bread - definitely worth the long wait.

I have tried many, many banana bread recipes over the years, and I keep coming back to this one. I find it extremely moist, flavorful and reliable. It comes out well every time I make it (and despite my inability to bake over the past month, I bake banana bread fairly often). The cinnamon really sings out, and the oats provide a hearty complexity (not to mention healthy goodness).

Banana Oatmeal Bread

Adapted from Cooking Light

1 cup packed brown sugar
7 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium)
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup milk (I use skim since that's what we have around, but any kind would do)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat well at medium speed of a mixer. Combine banana, oats, and milk; add to sugar mixture, beating well. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir with a whisk. Add to sugar mixture; beat until just moist. Spoon batter into 9x5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for about 1 hour or until a pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Flipping the Switch

2009-09-03T18:53:00.003-05:00

At my cousin's wedding in MN last weekend

A few weeks ago, I flipped the switch from a life of unemployment, complete with time to read books outside in the sunshine, to a life of long commutes, a stressful work environment, and no time to bake or watch baseball and therefore no material for my blog. Hence my lack of recent posts. I have faith that after I complete a couple of major work milestones in the next few weeks, I may indeed have time to bake and blog again. But for now, work calls, and the time that's not devoted to work is devoted to spending at least a little time with my husband & trying to get enough sleep. The joy of transition periods!

I'm trying to keep positive by focusing on:

1) having a job! with a bi-monthly paycheck! (although they messed up my first paycheck and only paid me for 4 of the 10 days that should have been included - sad day)

2) living closer to work at some point in the relatively near future. Oct. 15 or Nov. 1 is the goal to move away from the gritty urban Dorchester environment to the lovely NW suburbs. Arlington = Edina in my mind, & I've discovered I'm just not cut out for inner-city life (no surprise there).

3) the reasons why this is my favorite time of year - baseball playoffs approaching, football, wonderful fresh & local produce. I have a BLT pretty much every time Chris is at rugby practice - since he doesn't like tomatoes, BLTs are not dinner fare for the both of us. But even though Chris doesn't like my favorite fruit, he did go to the Cambridge farmer's market on Monday and bought me a bunch of beautiful heirloom tomatoes (I never get flowers from Chris, but can't complain when I get tomatoes).

4) I realized today that I may have enough comp. time built up after the next couple of weeks that I won't have to take any vacation days to go to Chris's sister's wedding at the end of September. Which opens up more vacation time for the holidays and beyond. Chris and I are planning to go on our first real vacation this winter just the two of us since our honeymoon well over 2 years ago. Likely destination = Bahamas or Aruba. Woot!

This weekend, I do plan to bake the banana bread that I've been unable to find the time to bake for weeks. And I will post lovely pictures and the recipe. Look for this on Sunday.

Favorite Time of Year

2009-08-16T16:31:00.004-05:00

I realized about a week ago, as I looked at the calendar in disbelief that we're well into August, that early August to late September is my favorite time of year. Here are my reasons:

1) The MLB season is getting interesting. Playoff speculation is starting to actually mean something. I'm sad that the Twins seem to be fading from playoff contention, but watching a baseball game between contending teams in mid-August is much more interesting than any baseball game in May or June. Baseball questions on my mind right now: Will the Phillies stop losing games like the one they lost yesterday to Atlanta in the bottom of the 9th and win the NL East again? Will Pedro Martinez fit into the rotation or will they go back to Jamie Moyer? Can the Twins stop the bleeding and start winning games again? How will their rotation shape up at the end of the season and what can they anticipate for next year? Will the Twins sign Mauer to a long term deal in the off-season or will they continue their small market ways and not offer him the big bucks that he deserves? I don't have answers to these questions, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it will all play out.

2) Football is back. By late fall, I typically lose most of my interest in football, but there's something magical about the first month or so of the football season. Both NFL & college football have their charm, but I most enjoy college football. I have issues with the amount of money that D1 colleges and universities spend on sports, particularly football, but when I watch a football game on a Saturday afternoon, my negative feelings tend to get swept away by the fun of watching a game. I love to turn ESPN's College Game Day on as I drink coffee on a Saturday morning and laugh at the ridiculous college kids yelling in the background.

3) The massive amounts of available fresh local produce. My happiness post earlier this week shows just how much I appreciate the fresh tomatoes available (my own and others) right now, but there's also peaches, nectarines, beets, melons, lettuce, zucchini and corn at farmers' markets in the NE. Cooking is never better than it is this time of year.

4) The weather. I love how hot, summer-like days are often followed by cool, fall-like days this time of year (at least at 'home' in MN and here in Boston). Today was the hot, summer-like variety. Chris and I sweated buckets (although I'm sure my bucket was smaller than his) playing a couple of sets of tennis this morning. We started around 9:30am, thinking it would be early enough to avoid the heat, but by the time we finished after 11am, it was seriously hot and muggy - over 90 degrees. I love the heat and am actually rather tan this year (at least for me), thanks to unemployment. But the 10 day forecast shows temperatures back into the mid-70s, which will feel nice after this heat wave. The only problem with the heat today was that I couldn't fire up the oven to make banana bread today as planned, deferring to my husband's reasonable desire not to add 350 degree oven heat to our already hot house.

5) Back to school. Or in my case, back to work. Tomorrow is my first day at my new job, and I feel almost like I'm about to start another year of school. I've already put together my 1st day outfit, and I'll pack my lunch later tonight. I have a few jitters, just like I had before school started, but am mostly excited. Though not about my 1 hour 20 minute commute each way. Even in the few years when I wasn't starting a new year of school or a new job this time of year, there's a buzz to 'back to school' time - a fresh start for those going back to school, and an intensification in the working world as people return from summer vacations and kick back into gear.

So there you have it. My favorite time of year. I'm trying to soak it all up and enjoy the next few weeks. Look for a banana bread post soon - if the bananas I defrosted this morning survive a few days in the fridge!

Grandpa Gene's Birthday Cake

2009-08-14T08:36:00.006-05:00

One of the unfortunate things about living far from family is missing out on fun family gatherings. My Grandpa Gene turned 88 years old last weekend, and my Aunt and Uncle hosted a birthday party in MN to celebrate this big occasion. I feel a bit of a pang when I think about everyone gathered on a summer day in south Minneapolis, the low-flying planes landing at nearby MSP interrupting conversation, and lots of laughs and interesting chats shared over good food and a couple of drinks. I truly treasure time spent with my extended family. Chris and I will be flying to MN the last weekend of August for my cousin's wedding, and I'm so excited to see everyone! It will be our first time back in MN since we moved.

Chris and I may not have been able to attend my Grandpa's birthday party, but I thought I should bake a cake in tribute to my Grandpa Gene. I set out to bake the best cake ever, since my Grandpa is quite possibly the best Grandpa ever. This meant buying the best ingredients I could find. I read an article in the Boston Globe a couple of weeks ago about a butter producer in Maine, Kate's Butter, which crafts incredible butter, in small batches only, with dairy products from local farms. Kate's Butter is not sold at Stop & Shop, which meant a trip on the T to Whole Foods, where I bought a pound of Kate's for a pretty price, along with free-range organic brown eggs.

I used a yellow cake recipe from my favorite blog, yes, Smitten Kitchen. I was especially excited about this recipe because it uses a significant amount of buttermilk in the batter. I have been on a serious buttermilk kick for the past several months, using it regularly for my standard bread recipe. I've used buttermilk in cakes a few times, like this every day cake, and always am satisfied with the results. So I had high hopes for this yellow cake, and hoped that Smitten Kitchen's proclaimed best birthday cake would meet my expectations.

I wasn't disappointed. I don't think I've ever had my cakes come out of the oven looking and smelling so beautiful. My new blog header is a photograph of the cakes fresh out of the oven. Maybe it was the top of the line butter and eggs, maybe it was simply the use of 2 cups of buttermilk, but I achieved my goal of baking the best (at least the best from my oven) birthday cake ever in honor of my Grandpa Gene. I used the chocolate frosting recipe that I used for Chris's birthday cake back in May, which paired perfectly with the yellow cake.

This cake will definitely be baked for future birthday occasions - and every August 9 - for my Grandpa Gene's birthday.

Burger Blast from the Past

2009-08-13T08:13:00.004-05:00

I have had a checkered relationship with burgers over the years. Until last night, I hadn't eaten a hamburger since 2003. But as a child I absolutely loved burgers. Hockey puck-style off the grill at home, juicy cheeseburgers at sports bars, even McDonalds. I wrote an autobiography in 4th grade (why 4th graders are assigned to write an autobiography, I don't know) in which I stated that my favorite meal was a hamburger at a loud, crowded restaurant. Burgers retained their solid spot in my diet throughout high school. But as I entered my college years, I started paying more attention to what I ate and gradually eliminated certain foods from my diet that I didn't feel were healthy. After a greasy cheeseburger at the Reub in the spring of my sophomore year left me with a vicious stomachache, I entirely eliminated red meat from my diet. That was 2001. I had one hamburger at a summer cook-out at my college boyfriend's Cincinnati home right after I graduated in 2003, but since then I have completely avoided hamburgers.

Over the past year or so, I've slowly reincorporated red meat into my diet. I consider myself somewhat of a foodie, and I want to experience food of all kinds. I eliminated red meat from my diet for health reasons, but my food philosophy has changed in recent years to focus on moderation. I no longer think eliminating certain types of food is the answer to eating healthy - the answer is eating moderate portions of whole, natural foods (processed food products, however, have been mostly eliminated from my diet). Even though I've reincorporated some red meat, I still hadn't eaten a burger until last night.

So, why did I finally take the leap into eating last night's burger (pictured beautifully above)? Chris and I recently started subscribing to Saveur magazine. The September 2009 issue is "The Burger Bible." I sat down to read through it last week, and after about 5 minutes, the burger photography and accompanying article gave me a fierce craving for a burger. This was a really strange sensation after 6 years without ever feeling like eating a burger. I thought it was time to give burgers a go again.

I told Chris about my burger craving, and he wondered if an alien had taken over my body. I assured him I'm not morphing into an entirely different person from the one he married, and asked him to craft a burger that he thought I would enjoy. He asked me to pick up the ingredients, so I hit up Stop & Shop, had second thoughts as I purchased a package of ground beef, but forged ahead.

Chris's fantastic burger creation & Cecily's reintroduction to burger enjoyment:

Step 1: Saute a chopped onion in butter & oil until soft and browned.

Step 2: Incorporated the onions into 85/15 ground beef, season with pepper and some other spices that Chris hid from me, form the patties.

Step 3: Grill the burgers until medium-well done, along with a cleaned portobello mushroom cap.

Step 4: Assemble the burgers from bottom to top -- bun, sliced portobello mushroom, burger, blue cheese crumbles, arugula, bun.

My burger was cooked to a juicy medium-well, with a lovely char from the grill. The blue cheese was heavenly as it melted into the bun, the arugula provided some peppery fresh flavor, and the portobello mushroom lent a rich, earthy flavor. It was lovely. Thanks to Chris for his solid execution. I'm not going to start eating burgers regularly, but I don't think it will be another 6 years before I have another one!

Happiness

2009-08-12T12:16:00.008-05:00

This image = happiness. Yes, it's the simple pleasures in my life that are often the most profound. Like enjoying the robust and intense flavor of an heirloom tomato. I bought the tomatoes pictured above at the Boston City Hall Farmers Market this morning. I had two slices of the large one (which I think is a Cherokee Purple) on a sandwich for lunch, and wow. I never fail to be amazed by how different (in a good way) a fresh, heirloom tomato is from a store-bought tomato. $3/pound for these babies was so worth it.

I've been a bit sad this summer without a garden that I can nurture. I often think about my garden last year and it's bounty of delicious heirloom tomatoes and peppers. My longing for a garden has intensified in the last couple of weeks for several reasons:

First, I'm reading a book titled "The $64 Tomato" by William Alexander. It's an entertaining, often funny memoir about an upstate New Yorker who's obsessed with creating a perfect garden. His account of his struggles and successes in the garden, and his love for Brandywine tomatoes (which I share deeply), intensify my craving for a garden of my own.

Second, Chris and I are thinking about buying a house. So we've spent our last couple of weekends driving around the Arlington area checking out open houses, and big chunks of weekday evenings have been devoted to surfing Redfin to identify houses on the market in our price range, mapping them against our commutes, and trying to actually find a good value for a home in the Boston area. Which is tough but just might be possible. In all our house hunting, I'm focusing on the available backyard space for gardening almost as much as the size of the bedrooms! The prospect of having a garden of our own again next summer is almost too fun to imagine.

Third, my container tomatoes this year haven't done particularly well. I've harvested about 25 cherry tomatoes and a paltry 2 plum tomatoes. I'm blaming the cold, wet June weather on my miserable harvest, but even if I'm not at fault, it's still a sad outcome. A before and after set of pictures below - on the left, my happiest plant with one ripe plum, and on the right, that same ripe, undersized plum tomato, picked and lounging with "The $64 Tomato:"

Fourth and finally, buying awesome heirloom tomatoes from farmers markets is fun, but it was much more satisfying to enjoy ones that I produced myself last year. But whether it's from my garden or from a stand, August means lovely, flavorful tomatoes that make me happy. Time for BLTs...

Proud of my German Roots

2009-08-05T12:21:00.003-05:00

Why is it that most American potato salad includes great gobs of mayonnaise? Potato salad is often brought to summer picnics, where it tends to languish in 80 or 90 degree weather for hours, so why include an ingredient like mayonnaise that spoils quickly? Some things I do not understand. Why not swap that mayo-drenched, food-poisoning-waiting-to-happen dish out for a beautiful German potato salad, flavored with cucumber, mustard, onions, olive oil & bacon? The Germans got it right with their version of potato salad. This kind of dish makes me even more proud to have a rich German heritage:

I also must admit that I just don't like mayo, despite growing up in a family where the cheddar cheese, mayo, and bun sandwich was common lunchtime fare. Potato salads of my youth were of the American, mayo-based variety, so I've had some fun over the past few years exploring new types of potato salad. I really like the potato salad I posted back in June, but I have made it far too many times over the past year, so I thought I'd try the German Potato Salad recipe from Cook's Country magazine.

This German Potato Salad did not disappoint. It was so tasty that it was worth sweating profusely in a hot, hot kitchen for about an hour, getting splattered by bacon grease and somehow sustaining a nasty cut on my forearm in the process. Chris and I enjoyed the potato salad along with chicken breasts (rubbed with some tasty spice concoction that Chris came up with) and zucchini off the grill for dinner last night. I also baked a couple of individual peach crisps earlier in the day for dessert. It was an awesome summer meal.

The part of the potato salad recipe that I appreciate the most is the technique used for cooking the potatoes. Instead of boiling the potatoes in water alone, you slice the potatoes and boil them in 1/2 cup of white vinegar and 8 cups water. The acidic vinegar in the water prevents the potatoes from breaking down and becoming mushy. I always seem to overcook my potatoes just a little bit when I make potato salad, but the potatoes last night came out perfectly. The dill/mustard/onion dressing is also incredible once the potatoes soak it all up - it's just a perfectly balanced, tasty dish.

I'm planning to spend quite a bit of time in the next 10 days in the kitchen, experimenting with some new dishes and baked goods, since I'll be starting a new job on August 17! I'm really excited about the job, and I'm looking forward to being challenged in a new position. My new office is on the other side of the Boston metro area from our current place, so Chris and I are looking to relocate within the next couple of months. I can only handle an hour plus commute for a little while! But wherever we end up, it'll definitely be a place with outdoor space for our grill & smoker, and a kitchen that we can comfortably spend a lot of time in. It'll be fun to see where the next couple of months take us. But for now, the recipe for the German Potato Salad:

German Potato Salad

From Cook's Country

2 tablespoons sugar
1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper
3 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/4-inch thick
5 slices bacon, sliced
1 onion, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup coarse grain mustard (I used Grey Poupon country dijon)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. To prep cucumber: stir sugar, cucumber, 1/2 cup vinegar, dill, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in bowl; set aside while preparing potatoes.

2. To cook potatoes: bring potatoes, remaining vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 8 cups water to boil in large pot. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to pot.

3. To make dressing: Meanwhile, fry bacon in large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Dry bacon on paper towels. Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon grease. Add onion and oil to skillet to cook; stirring often, over medium heat until onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Drain cucumbers and reserve juice. Whisk cucumber juice, mustard, and 1 teaspoon pepper into skillet; bring to a simmer. Pour dressing over warm potatoes, stir to combine, and let sit until slightly cooled and potatoes have absorbed dressing, about 10 minutes.

4. To assemble salad: Stir parsley, drained cucumbers, and bacon into potatoes to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl and serve at room temperature.

Peach Pies & People

2009-07-27T17:02:00.005-05:00

My weekend was filled with peach pies and people. Way too many peach (hand)pies and way, way too many people. The extra peach handpies were thrown into the freezer for enjoyment at a later date, but you can't freeze people. I think I've been unemployed just long enough that I'm turning into somewhat of a misanthrope. Most days my interaction with people is limited to my husband, staff & gym members at Planet Fitness, the Stop & Shop deli guys, and various emails & phone calls. So being amongst large numbers of people for an extended period of time is a bit more than my introverted self is able to handle right now.

The "too many people" part of the weekend began on Saturday when Chris and I went to his company's Summer Outing at the New England Aquarium. A nice lunch and conversation with co-workers was followed up by wandering the aquarium trying to dodge double-wide, SUV-style strollers, out of control kids running around wildly, and shoulder-to-shoulder adults trying to get the best view of the rock hopper penguins. Yikes. We took a packed train home mid-afternoon, and once we arrived home away from the throngs of people, I spent the next few hours making lots of peach handpies.

The handpies are a Smitten Kitchen recipe that was posted last summer and has been languishing on my 'to-bake' list since. My excuses are several - handpies are labor intensive, you have to be a slave to the peach ripening process and make them at just the right time, and even though I've had plenty of time in recent months, you can really only make peach pies in the summer when peaches are in season. I had ambitions to make the handpies a couple of weeks ago, but the Stop & Shop peaches I so carefully selected turned into bruised mush once they ripened, and then Chris and I were off to Chicago for a friend's wedding. I did manage to make the dough before our trip and put it in the freezer for whenever the peach gods decided to smile upon me and deliver good peaches.

The handpies were the most difficult baking venture I've attempted in quite some time. I successfully defrosted the dough, rolled it out into about 4" rounds, and put the rounds in the fridge to chill while I made the filling. I made the filling with 5 perfectly ripe, beautifully sweet peaches. As I was cutting up the peaches and enjoying their fabulous smell, I almost nixed the whole hand pie venture in lieu of just eating the peaches on their own. But I perservered since Chris was enthusiastic about the handpies & I wanted to try my hand at baking something new and challenging.

The assembly of the handpies was messy & difficult, but after the first few turned into sloppy messes with broken dough and uncontained peach juice, I developed a good technique. After a period of post-assembly fridge time, I baked the handpies. I was convinced while they were baking that they wouldn't turn out well since my dough seals were less than tight and the egg wash & excess peach filling produced a mess on the parchment covered baking sheet. But in the end, they turned out surprisingly well. I just added about 20 minutes to the suggested baking time to allow the excess liquid to evaporate and the handpies to brown and crisp.

Soon after the handpies came out of the oven, Chris and I took off back downtown to catch a showing of the new Harry Potter movie. Back into the throngs of people. The theater was packed, and so was the T as we made our way home (lots of people still heading home after a Red Sox game at Fenway). The train was chaos - inattentive parents allowed their toddler to run around while the train was in motion, and an aluminum can collector spilled the contents of his huge plastic garbage bag full of cans throughout the train. Once again, too many people.

Finally we made it back home to sample the handpies. And they were really tasty. But I think my handpie making days (or day) are over. They're too time intensive for the reward. A standard pie is perfectly good - especially since I'm not usually on the run, in need of an easily transportable dessert item like a handpie. If I can't sit down and enjoy a piece of pie in its standard formation, I probably shouldn't be having one at all.

I ended up with far more peach filling than could possibly fit in the handpies. So in Sunday's heat and humidity (I'm not complaining - it finally feels like summer and I love it!) I got the oven going and made peach crisp. I had just enough filling to make two individual portions. Wow, the crisp was good. It was definitely worth sweating in a hot kitchen - I might have to make a few more crisps before peach season is over!

If you're interested in taking the time to make peach handpies, check out the recipe archive at: www.smittenkitchen.com

Not Quite Thoreau's Log Cabin

2009-07-16T14:03:00.007-05:00

I am often amused at the national misperception that Minnesota is undeveloped flyover land where people speak with heavy accents like those in the movie 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' and spend their days farming, eating lutefisk, and freezing their extremities off year-round. How you can farm in the freezing weather, I don't know, but this doesn't seem to affect people's perception of Minnesota. Yes, those in rural Minnesota do speak with an accent - and I'm known to say 'bagel' with a Minnesota accent - but Minnesota doesn't deserve its hick reputation.

Before moving to Boston, I would occasionally speak with out-of-towners who had the typical misperception of Minnesota. But since I moved to Boston, I've had to deal with misguided ideas about my lovely home state on a regular basis. When I meet people and share that I recently moved here from Minnesota, the #1 reaction I get is: "you'll love the warm weather here - every day will feel like a heat wave" or some variation on the theme. And of course there's our crazy Greek neighbor who asked me and Chris "is Minnesota a city or a state?" Perhaps if these East coasters would actually travel to "flyover land" they'd find that Minnesota summers are much warmer (and thus far more pleasant) than Boston summers, the Twin Cities metro area is very urban and diverse, and there is actually a pretty impressive ethnic restaurant scene.

The latest Minnesota myth that thoroughly amused me and Chris came up in the recent Sports Illustrated feature on Joe Mauer. The article depicted Mauer as a blue collar guy who lives in a log cabin in the Minnesota wilderness and is most happy when riding his lawnmower.

A couple issues with this. First, Mauer's main residence is a condo in St. Paul, and his "cabin" is a 2nd home in Alexandria. Second, I don't think the national audience actually understands what a "cabin" is in Minnesota. When most of the Minnesotans I know talk about going to their "cabin," it really means going to a large lakeside home complete with several bedrooms, bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, outdoor hot tub, and a dock at which to launch their numerous watercraft. Now I know that some traditional cabins do exist, but they certainly aren't the norm.

The recent Star Tribune feature on Joe Mauer describes what Mauer's cabin is really like:

"Mauer's friends call it "the ranch," and say it's more mansion on the hill than little house on the prairie...The ranch features a movie theater, bowling alley, batting cage, hydrotherapy pool with underwater treadmill, an oxygen room, flat-screen TVs, a recording booth for his budding rap career, swaths of land for hunting and fishing and a pond good for fishing or hockey."

Hmm...I'm not sure readers of Sports Illustrated were envisioning an oxygen room when they read about Mauer's rustic log cabin. I'm sure they were thinking of Mauer relaxing by himself in a log cabin more like Thoreau's:

But perhaps the prevailing misperception of Minnesota is okay in the greater scheme of things. Minnesotans can enjoy their "cabins" while the coast-dwellers just don't know what they're missing.

Smoked meat, ginger lemon cookies & a brief sunny interlude

2009-07-07T17:25:00.002-05:00

The sun finally broke out in Boston over the 4th of July weekend. Just in time to prevent my complete fall into depression from constant rain & lack of sun. I never really thought of Seasonal Affective Disorder as a summertime problem, but here in the NE this year it certainly is! Every day but four in June was below average in temperature, and the percentage of possible June sunshine came in at a measly 27% - making it the cloudiest, coolest June in over 100 years. On the upside, shootings in Boston were way down from last June - 15 this year compared to 38 in June of 2008. I guess gun-toting derelicts get SAD too and just stay home.

Chris and I were talking the other day about the possibility of him getting a job in the future in Brazil or California. The prospect of that much sun is so tantalizing I probably shouldn't even think about it. Everyone here promises me that Boston weather is so wonderful compared to Minneapolis weather. I'll believe it when I experience it. The worst thing about this bad weather, other than my despondency, is that my tomato plants are really suffering. Three still look like they'll recover if we start getting more sun, but two are so far gone that I'm afraid they're not going to make it. Sad.

Back to the 4th. We finally successfully obtained a cut of beef brisket on Friday morning from a butcher in Everett, so our smoking adventure was on - the plan was to have the meat ready to go for Sunday dinner. Chris asked for a flat cut of brisket, but the butcher gave us a cut with both the flat and the point, which totaled 8 1/2 lbs. We also bought two 8 lb. pork shoulders. Don't judge us too soon - we aren't gluttons - it's just that the amount of time and effort involved in using the smoker means that it's only worthwhile to smoke if you're smoking a lot of meat. We also had a few friends over to share in the smoked meat fun, and now we have many pounds of leftover meat in our fridge and freezer.

Chris and I prepared the meat on Friday afternoon. Chris was in the driver's seat on this - I served as his trusty assistant.

* Beef brisket: trimmed & rubbed with a traditional dry rub.
* Pork shoulder #1: scored the skin and fat and put it in a wet Cuban-mojo marinade with lots of citrus.
* Pork shoulder #2: trimmed it pretty well & rubbed it down with a spicy jerk paste that included habanero peppers. One of my most important jobs was to make sure that Chris didn't rub his face and eyes while handling the hot peppers!

If you're interested in what actually went into the rubs and marinade, you're out of luck. Chris throws things together when he gets in his cooking zone, and he never writes down his recipes. They almost always turn out great, but they can never be exactly replicated!

Once the meat was prepped, it went in the fridge to hang out until late Saturday night when the smoking began. On Saturday evening, Chris and I went to the Cambridge side of the Charles River to watch the Boston fireworks, which were quite spectacular. We made it home about 12:30am, Chris fired up the smoker, I broke out the meat, and by 1:45am, we were in bed with the smoker doing its thing in the backyard.

The meat smelled and looked fantastic when Chris pulled it out on Sunday afternoon. After some resting, we pulled the pork & kept it warm in the oven. The brisket was cut right before we sat down to dinner. In addition to the meat, Chris made three BBQ sauces that were really unique and had some great flavor. My favorite was the mango-chipotle (but again, I have no recipe to share). It wasn't a meat & BBQ sauce-only meal (although Chris did pitch that idea). I made a Mediterranean salad with Israeli couscous & fresh basil, and our friends brought a lovely green salad and plenty of beer. In addition to looking and smelling fantastic, the meat tasted fantastic. It was a great meal on a beautiful night.

To top it all off, I baked a new cookie recipe -- ginger spice sandwich cookies with lemon cream -- that rocked. The cookies were perfectly light, lemony and delicious after a hearty meal. The recipe is below - it's a little time consuming but so worth it!

Hopefully we'll be able to experience more of the beautiful weather we enjoyed over the weekend. The clouds and rain returned today, but the end of the week looks much brighter. We have tickets to the Pawtucket Red Sox game on Saturday (Boston's AAA affiliate) so I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have nice weather. So, yes, I do still love baseball, even if I'm not blogging about it!

Ginger Spice Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Cream
From Fine Cooking, June-July 2009

(Makes about 30 small sandwich cookies)
For the cookies:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, more for rolling
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the lemon cream:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, and salt.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla and continue to beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low, slowly add the flour mixture, and mix until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Put about 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Using your hands, roll teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in sugar and arrange them about 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookies slightly. Bake until the cookies feel dry to the touch and are beginning to firm up, 10 to 14 minutes. Cool completely on racks.

Make the lemon cream: Mix the cream cheese and lemon zest in a medium bowl until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue to mix until smooth.

Assemble the cookies: Drop about 1 teaspoon of the lemon cream in the center of a cookie, top with another cookie, and gently press them. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Off the Deep End

2009-06-29T13:56:00.006-05:00

In an effort to embrace all things New England, Chris and I drove out to Yankee Lobster Co. on Saturday afternoon and bought two 2 lb. lobsters:

The buying of the lobsters was actually our last stop on an afternoon tour of butcheries/fishmongers. We put an ice-filled cooler in our backseat and hit the road to find lots of animal protein. Goal #1 was to find a butchery that sells beef brisket so Chris can break out the smoker this weekend to celebrate the 4th of July. Goal #2 was to buy lobsters for dinner on Saturday.

First stop was Savenor's Market in Cambridge. Savenor's was featured in the Boston Globe magazine this past weekend as a really great family-owned butchery. This place is really cool because it has a surprising variety of meat. Zebra anyone? How about alligator? Maybe wild boar is more your style? Fish legs? Whatever your pleasure, you're most likely in luck at Savenor's. Chris and I played it pretty tame. We bought a rope of linguica sausage, several links of lamb and dried apricot sausage, and one moderately daring purchase: smoked wild boar bacon. All of which we have yet to try, but I'm pretty confident they'll all rock. Bottom line: despite the variety, no beef brisket.

Second stop was McKinnon's Meat Market in Somerville. The transition between Savenor's, which caters to yuppie, rich, foodie WASPs, and McKinnon's, which was crammed with people of all backgrounds, income levels, hygiene levels, and generally reeked of blood from all the sawing going on behind the back curtain, was pretty stark. Savenor's may have been a bit more appealing to wander around in for 30 minutes, but McKinnon's had some great deals and a wide variety of products. No zebra or wild boar, but we did stock up on chicken breasts and country-style pork ribs. We found pork shoulders, which we may go back to buy for our 4th of July smoking fun, but still no beef brisket.

We had to admit defeat on Goal #1 and turn to Goal #2. Driving along the pier to Yankee Lobster was one of the creepiest experiences I've had recently. Really thick fog had descended, so it was eerie & the perfect atmosphere for a horror movie. Yankee Lobster is known as one of the best places to buy lobster in the Boston area, so given that Chris and I are pretty much lobster neophytes, we thought a popular, highly rated place would be a good option. We bought our lobsters and headed home through the fog with our cooler full of meat in the backseat and a large bag of lobsters that rustled around as the lobsters moved about.

The lobster cooking process was pretty fun. First, we discovered that 2 lb. lobsters are really freaking big. It was way more lobster than we needed for 2 people. We managed to fit them into one of our larger pots & steamed them. Second, I discovered that it's not a great idea to aggressively pull a lobster apart. My aggressive move sprayed lobster guts all over the table and all over my clothes. If we hadn't just spent over $30 on lobster, I may have been too grossed out to continue with the meal. But I changed my clothes, wiped up the table to some extent, and sat down to eat some tasty lobster. I baked a quick batch of cornbread before dinner, which went great with our lobsters. A visual of the post-meal debris:

Beef brisket may be elusive in this part of the country, but we enjoyed the delicious lobsters and had a fun time both cooking and eating them. Fortunately the lobsters didn't 'scream' as I heard they usually do once the cooking process begins, and other than my inadvertent spray of guts, it really wasn't too difficult! And now my cornbread recipe so this entry at least touches on baking:

Cornbread
Adapted from Trotter's Cafe

2 large eggs
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup medium ground corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 square pan (or 9-inch round). Whisk together eggs, milk, oil, and honey in a small bowl. Set aside. Combine all purpose flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mix; stir well to combine.

Pour batter into greased pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes.

An Everyday Cake

2009-06-25T15:43:00.003-05:00

Cake every day? Perhaps that would be overkill with most cakes, but the blueberry buttermilk cake that I baked yesterday is about as close as you can come to a cake you could eat a slice of every day. It's delicate, light, and full of plump, delicious fresh blueberries and lemon.

I found the recipe on my favorite food blog - Smitten Kitchen. This blog rocks for many reasons, but one of them is its large archive of cake recipes. The cake recipes range from simple, straightforward cake recipes, "Everyday Cakes" as Smitten Kitchen calls them, to a series of wedding cake recipes & procedures. Wedding cake baking seems a bit too ambitious for me (though I wouldn't rule it out in the future), but baking an everyday cake is a fun mid-day break from my hours at the computer writing cover letters and tweaking my resume.

Smitten Kitchen used raspberries in place of the blueberries, but any type of berry would work well for this cake. I picked blueberries since a pint was $1.25 at the grocery store, and the berries were easily the biggest, best looking ones I've seen all season. This is one of those recipes when you are 100% confident that it's going to turn out well by the time you finish mixing up the batter. The batter smelled absolutely fantastic & had the perfect consistency.

Chris and I recently bought a hand-held KitchenAid fine grater since we found that the fine grater on our box grater was really hard to use and to clean. I used this for the lemon in this recipe instead of my normal method of using a standard lemon zester. The finely grated lemon brought so much flavor to the batter - more than I'm used to with the standard zester. So I definitely recommend including the lemon & using a fine grater to get the most flavor possible. The combination of the plump blueberries and lemon is delightful. Yum.

My only issue was that all of the blueberries fell to the bottom of the cake during the baking process. I imagine there's some trick that really experienced bakers use to avoid this. But, as it is, the blueberries end up being a lovely surprise since you can't see them from the top of the cake.

Berry Buttermilk Cake
From Smitten Kitchen

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and zest, if using. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more.

An Anniversary Tart

2009-06-17T19:02:00.004-05:00

Summer fruit is just starting to arrive in grocery stores in the Northeast, and I'm getting psyched about all of the baking opportunities that come with fresh, in-season berries, plums, peaches, and nectarines. Fruit desserts are without a doubt my favorite sweet treats to bake, so I am a happy camper in the summertime with its bounty of fruit options. My #1 summer treat is digging into strawberry shortcake topped with whipped cream, which in past summers has been my go-to dessert. (That and spontaneous trips to Dairy Queen or Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul.) But this year I really want to explore new and different summertime fruit desserts. This effort will be made easier by the fact that the closest Dairy Queen is miles away, and Chris and I haven't yet delved in to the local ice cream scene. We do have two ice cream trucks that frequently circle our neighborhood playing "It's a Small World" and other catchy (or really annoying) songs loudly out of their speakers. But I think I got too old to run after the ice cream truck at least a couple of years ago.

Yesterday I embarked on my first effort to move beyond summertime strawberries & ice cream and baked a rustic peach and blueberry tart for our 2nd wedding anniversary. I think my dad said it best when he emailed me this morning about marriage -- "It's fun in a good marriage. The time goes by quickly yet you can't hardly remember a time before." After two years of being married to Chris, all I can say is that I love him more and more each day and can't imagine my life without him (feel free to gag now).

Chris often refers to me as a tart, and up until this point, I thought this was cute and affectionate. But, did you know that definition #3 for tart on dictionary.com is "a prostitute or promiscuous woman"? Perhaps he means definition #2, "sharp in character, spirit or expression; cutting; caustic". Wait, that's not much better. I'm either promiscuous or cutting. Perhaps we should stick with the baked good definition, "a small pie filled with cooked fruit or other sweetened preparation, usually having no top crust." Maybe he's just referring to my sweet goodness.

I have a sharp-edged 9" tart pan that I have only put to use one time and would like to use more frequently, but for the anniversary tart I thought I'd make a free-form rustic tart and shape the crust on my own. I wanted to mix it up a bit from my normal pie crust recipe, so I found an intriguing cornmeal crust recipe that included cream cheese. I found the flavor of the cornmeal and cream cheese crust to be quite wonderful and unique, but I made a bit of a tactical error in using the coarse ground cornmeal that we use for polenta. The coarse cornmeal didn't fully soften during the baking process, so the crust was a bit gritty. I'm sure a finely ground cornmeal would produce an excellent crust.

I bought a bunch of peaches last week, so they were perfectly ripe when I cut them up yesterday for baking. I made a sticky, ridiculous mess of the kitchen but had a great time putting together the tart. And the final product turned out well. Other than some extra peach juice oozing out and smoking up the oven. The tart was a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary and start exploring more ways to bake with summer fruit.

Rustic Peach Blueberry Tart
From Vegetarian Times

Cornmeal Crust
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 oz. Neufchâtel cheese, diced
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) butter, diced

Peach-Blueberry Filling
5 medium-size peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (about 5 cups)
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in food processor 2 or 3 times to combine. Add cheese and butter, and blend until dough resembles coarse meal. Add 3 Tbs. cold water, and pulse several times, or until dough comes together. Pat into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425F. Toss peaches, blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and cinnamon in large bowl. Let stand 15 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.

Place sheet of parchment paper on work surface, and sprinkle with flour. Roll dough into 12-inch round. Fold in edge 1/2 inch to create sides. Slide parchment and dough onto ungreased baking sheet or pizza pan.

Spoon fruit in center of crust with slotted spoon. Discard juices. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake 20 minutes more, or until crust is crisp and brown. Let cool 10 minutes. Slide tart from parchment onto serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, and top with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Kitchen Therapy

2009-06-13T09:52:00.005-05:00

I'm often struck by how therapeutic baking is for me. Yesterday I found out I was the runner up for a job that I really wanted. The hiring manager was extremely complimentary of my background, skills & demeanor throughout the hiring process. He said I'd fit in great in the organization, but when it came down to it, he hired a candidate who had more direct public policy experience than I have. Fuck. I put a lot of time and effort into this one, and it's really tough to be back at square 1 in the job search without any leads. To make matters worse, I got the rejection phone call while stuck in stop and go traffic on Interstate 93 just south of Boston on my way to pick Chris up at work for a shoe shopping adventure at the New Balance factory store. So I was doing the thing I least like to do - driving in ridiculous Boston traffic - while getting rejected for the perfect job. Lovely. You know it's bad when new running shoes, two G&Ts, & watching the Red Sox play the Phillies didn't lighten my mood last night.

But, another day dawns, and the sun is shining today. I have a loving and supportive husband who has been really sensitive and consoling to his basketcase of a wife. All things considered, I'm doing okay. This morning I decided to channel my frustration and disappointment into baking up a new cookie recipe. We're having a friend over tonight for dinner who also recently moved from MN to Boston, and having a sweet treat is an essential component of hosting a guest. Plus, Chris now has an office full of folks who would enjoy some chocolaty goodness, so I don't have to worry about overwhelming us with too many baked goods.

It felt really nice this morning to focus on baking. It's a task that almost always brings me success, rather than failure and disappointment. I'm a good baker because I'm precise and methodical. I like following directions and specific procedures. My style contrasts nicely with Chris's creative, experimental style. He comes up with interesting rubs, sauces, and innovative flavor combinations - perfect for cooking - while I bake our bread and most every other baked good you'll find in our house. We're compatible in many ways, but I think our cooperation and understanding of each other in the kitchen is one of our greatest compatibilities.

So, today's cookies. Very chocolaty. Gooey. Rich. I used Baking Illustrated's recipe for Thick & Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies and modified it by adding about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips & 3/4 cup of peanut butter chips to the batter after it was mixed. So perhaps I'll dub them them Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. I was surprised at how fudgey they turned out. The center is rich and gooey, while the edges are chewy with the slightest crunch. I may not have a job yet, but I still rock in the kitchen.

Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Modified from Baking Illustrated

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

Melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth; remove from the heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork, sprinkle the coffee powder over to dissolve, and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined, about 45 seconds; the mixture will look granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined, about 40 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixter at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat. Stir in peanut butter and chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough onto the sheets in 1 inch balls.

Bake until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the sheets about 10 minutes, slide the parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and cool to room temperature.

The End of Cake Experimentation

2009-06-04T12:43:00.009-05:00

As Chris and I were eating the experimental cake creation that he baked for my 28th birthday, which was dubbed with a Top Chef-appropriate name:

"Lemonade Potato Cake with Duo of Curds and Lemon Buttercream Frosting,"

Chris told me that from here on out he would bake or buy 'normal' cakes for my birthday. His cake didn't turn out quite as he intended, and he concluded that birthday cakes are too important to run the risk of not providing a perfectly baked birthday cake. And so ends the era of birthday cake experimentation.

Chris had a vision for a 4 layer lemon cake with the following assembly, listed from top to bottom:

Lemon cream cheese frosting
Cake layer
Lemon curd
Cake layer
Lemon cream cheese frosting
Cake layer
Blueberry curd
Cake layer

Pretty impressive, huh? The curds and the frosting turned out great. The lemon curd was super lemony (I have never thought something was too lemony, so it was perfect for my birthday cake), the blueberry curd was tart and delicious, and the frosting was just the right level of sweetness (I really dislike the uber-sugary frosting found on most store-bought cakes).

The cake itself suffered from its non-traditional blend of flours. Both Chris and I have baked successful cakes that incorporate a small amount of mashed potato, which makes the cake moister than using all-purpose or cake flours alone. Chris decided to kick this idea up a notch, so he used 1 cup of potato flour and 1 cup of cake flour instead of the 2 cups of cake flour called for in the recipe. It turns out that potato flour in that quantity hurt rather than helped the cake. Since potato flour is made of potatoes and peels, it absorbs a ton of liquid. Chris had to double the amount of milk used in the batter to prevent the batter from becoming mashed potatoes and had to bake it for much longer than called for before the batter set. So the final product ended up more like a dense mashed potato casserole than a cake.

Even though it wasn't perfect, I was really impressed with Chris's vision for my cake, and the curds and frosting were delectable. Chris also grilled up a fantastic dinner of pork chops, sweet potatoes and asparagus. It was a great 28th birthday. Thank you to everyone else who wished me a happy birthday - it was so nice to hear from so many friends and family!

I'm sure the next couple of years will bring a busier lifestyle, hopefully with little ones and employment for both of us, so cakes that require multiple days of preparation might not be in the cards. But we will stick to our birthday cake tradition and make sure that we properly celebrate every birthday with cake, even thought we'll have 'normal' cakes.

I also believe that cake season 2009 will be cut short this year, since I'm planning to bake a fruit tart in celebration of our 2nd wedding anniversary on the 16th instead of baking a cake. So if anyone has any great fruit tart recipes, please send them my way!

Not Much Oven Activity

2009-06-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

A side effect of cake season is that I haven't baked anything since Chris's birthday cake two weeks ago. After several days of enjoying slices of Chris's cake, Chris's parents visited on Memorial Day weekend and brought a lovely birthday cake to celebrate the May/June birthday trifecta (Chris, Chris's dad Kim, me). I teetered on the precipice of being caked-out by the end of their visit. While I've recovered in time to eagerly anticipate enjoying the cake that Chris is baking for my birthday tomorrow, I haven't felt inclined to turn on the oven and bake anything sweet. Hence the lack of blog posts.

But, there are a few fun food-related happenings around here recently that deserve mention:

First, Chris's parents bought us a new gas grill as a birthday/housewarming/Chris's PhD graduation gift. It's huge (but still one of the smaller grills at Home Depot) and beautiful and fits nicely on our back porch. I can't think of a better gift! We've already used it several times. We broke it in with a seafood extravaganza on Memorial Day with Chris's parents. Grilled items on the menu: scallops, shrimp, salmon w/ a mustard glaze, and zucchini. I also whipped up my favorite potato salad (no mayo, plenty of goodness, recipe below). The next night, we grilled a NY strip steak for Chris and turkey kielbasa for me. Then this past weekend, Chris grilled some amazing country-style pork ribs. He created a wet rub with a bunch of Indian spices that was masterful - he is amazing at creating rubs and sauces. Following my usual side dish role, I made polenta with freshly grated pecorino romano cheese, which was great with the ribs. Woot! Next on the agenda for the grill - pork chops for my birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Second, we've been out to dinner at two really great restaurants the past couple of weeks.

The first was Oleana, a Mediterranean restaurant in Cambridge, where we celebrated Chris's birthday. Oleana is a small, neighborhood restaurant that has a very cozy, intimate atmosphere. We picked this restaurant since it has an eclectic and interesting menu. We started out with a duo of appetizers: whipped feta with sweet & hot peppers and Armenian bean & walnut pâté with homemade string cheese. I am on a feta kick right now, so I couldn't get enough of the feta dip. The bean & walnut dip was just okay, but the homemade string cheese was exceptionally good. For entrees, I ordered the sockeye salmon kibbeh with oyster mushrooms, spinach, & nettle broth, while Chris went for the flatiron steak, parsnip, & asparagus with semolina dumplings & Yemenite spiced broth. Our only complaint was that our entrees came out fairly lukewarm. But even though I would have preferred a warmer dish, the bright green spinach and the nettle broth was rich and warming, my salmon was perfectly cooked, and the mushrooms were chewy, earthy, and delicious. Chris enjoyed his steak as well. If there weren't so many Boston-area restaurants that I'd like to check out, we'd go back to Oleana soon.

The other great restaurant was Gari Japanese Fusion in Brookline. We went to Gari on Sunday for an early birthday dinner for me since they have cheap maki rolls on Sunday evenings. The nigiri and maki rolls that we ordered were very good, but I think the highlight of the meal for me was the appetizer we ordered: Caribbean phyllo-crusted prawns with mango and guacamole. They were unique and delicious - easily the best fried food I have had. It's been enjoyable to start exploring the Boston restaurant scene, but I'm sure it will take us some time to wade through the wide array of options and identify some favorites.

Finally, as I mentioned before, I'm pretty psyched about the birthday cake that Chris is baking for me. Like I said in my last post, birthday cakes are really important to me. So it's been exciting to see the level of effort that Chris is putting into creating my birthday cake this year. Last year his cake for my birthday failed miserably (a bad recipe and forgetting to put parchment rounds in the pans led to brownie-like cake rounds that had to be ripped apart to come out of the pan), and he ended up buying cupcakes from Wuollet for my birthday. I love Wuollet, but a homemade cake can't be beat. This year I suggested a lemon cake. I'm not sure exactly what the final product will be, but Chris spent about 3 hours on Sunday making lemon curd, blueberry curd, and lemon cream cheese frosting for my cake. Apparently he's baking the cake and assembling his masterpiece tonight, so I will be sure to post pictures and give a full report!

I'll leave you with the potato salad recipe - it's very tasty if you aren't totally commited to the traditional mayo-based potato that pretty much defined my chidhood. Enjoy!

About 2 pounds red potatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large garlic clove, minced

Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Add red and green onions, parsley, and dill to bowl; toss gently.

Whisk vinegar and remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over potato mixture; toss gently to combine. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Chocolate Raspberry Birthday Cake

2009-05-21T10:38:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the official start to our annual cake season. May 20 is Chris's birthday, followed by my birthday on June 3, and our wedding anniversary on June 16, giving us three occasions in just a few weeks for which cake is an absolute necessity.

Cake season was born three years ago in May of 2006. Chris and I got engaged on May 10, so we didn't even have a wedding anniversary to celebrate with cake, but we still managed to have at least 7 cake-eating occasions between mid May and early June. This included a graduation party, a Mothers' Day gathering, an engagement party, an anniversary celebration, two birthday gatherings, and an office birthday celebration. By the end of those few weeks, I had consumed so much cake that I couldn't stomach even the thought of another bite of cake. So, it is true that you can have too much of a good thing.

Since I am a big-time cake eater by nature (thanks in part to my Edina upbringing), I quickly regained my love for cake. Cake Season 2007 and Cake Season 2008 did not come close to the intensity of that first year, and Cake Season 2009 promises to be fairly mild. Which hopefully means I won't be too caked-out to enjoy our anniversary cake come mid-June.

I believe that birthdays should be celebrated and are simply not complete without enjoying a delicious piece of birthday cake. So every year I strive to make an awesome birthday cake for Chris. This year, after much conversation and contemplation, I decided to make a chocolate raspberry birthday cake to properly celebrate Chris's 28th. I settled on a recipe for Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake from Baking Illustrated and a recipe for creamy chocolate frosting. To add some bright & fresh flavor, I spread a thin layer of seedless raspberry jam between the cake layers in addition to the between-layer frosting and arranged fresh raspberries on the top of the cake.

The final product was a success. I avoided the uber-intense chocolate experience that overwhelmed us on Valentines' Day and delivered a moist, mild, delicious chocolate cake that was really kicked up by the addition of the raspberry jam & fresh raspberries. I actually think the best part is the frosting - and I'm very picky about frosting so that's saying a lot. We have about a cup of extra frosting in the refrigerator. I'll have to think of some creative ways to use it since I just wouldn't feel right letting something so tasty go to waste.

Cake Season 2009 is off to a good start with the chocolate raspberry cake. We'll see what Chris comes up with for my birthday in two weeks. He promises something highly experimental, which coming from him is usually a good thing!

Creamy Chocolate Frosting

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
10 tablespoons (5 oz can) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa, and set aside.

Using a mixer, cream the butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nonalkalized cocoa, such as Hershey's, sifted
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease two 8-inch round cake pans and cover the pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Grease the parchment rounds and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.

Beat the butter using a standing mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in the sugar; beat until the mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and instant coffee powder in a medium bowl. Combine the milk and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer at the lowest speed, add about a third of the dry ingredients to the batter, followed immediately by about a third of the milk mixture; mix until the ingredients are almost incorporated into the batter. Repeat the process twice more. When the batter appears blended, stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixer to low speed; beat until the batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. With a rubber spatula, spread the batter to the pan sides and smooth the tops. Bake the cakes until they feel firm in the center when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23-30 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the perimeter of each pan, invert the cakes onto racks, and peel off the paper liners. Reinvert the cakes onto the racks; cool completely before frosting.

Walk Off Woes

2009-05-18T08:13:00.003-05:00

Chris and I decided not to buy MLB Extra Innings, figuring that spending that much $ would make us feel obligated to spend our summer evenings in front of the TV watching baseball. Not that there's really anything wrong with that, but we're trying to get out and explore our new city. As a compromise, I purchased MLB Gameday Premium for a cool $19.95 for the season so I can get local radio broadcasts of the Twins game. So I've been listening in on at least part of most Twins games. I love John Gordon and Dan Gladden, and it's keeping me fairly up to date with the Twins.

But radio just isn't the same as actually watching a game, so I was really psyched to watch yesterday's Twins v. Yankees game on TV since it was nationally televised on TBS. Unfortunately the TBS commentators are horrible. Whoever thought bringing in David Wells was a good idea should be fired. Chris and I sat through 4 innings of yesterday's game listening to really off-base TBS commentary before Chris suggested we mute the TV and listen to the radio broadcast through MLB Gameday. We really should have thought of that earlier. The radio broadcast had a few second delay, but John and Dan were still far more enjoyable to listen to than the TBS crew.

The game had some exciting moments and some really frustrating ones. It was awesome to watch Slowey dominate the Yankees lineup, and Joe Mauer's diving game-saving tag at home plate in the 9th was incredible. Too bad the Twins were completely inept at driving in runners in scoring position. And not just yesterday, but all three weekend games in the Yankees series. I believe they were 1 for 32 with RISP. You aren't going to win many games with those numbers.

For the third time in three games against the Yankees, the Twins lost in walk-off fashion. What a bummer. I really dislike the Yankees and their bloated payroll, so it's that much harder to take. But I was excited to discover this morning that tonight's game is also nationally televised - this time on ESPN, so I don't have to put up with David Wells' use of "ginormous" and the TBS crew's ridiculous musings about hot dogs. Oh how I miss Dick and Bert on FSN...maybe MLB Extra Innings would have been worth it!

As promised, here's a photo of our resident wild turkey, Joe Mauer. Chris and I went to a talk by Michael Pollan last week, who urges people to eat as much locally produced food as possible. Chris turned to me with an evil grin during the talk and suggested we eat local by eating Joe Mauer. I think we'll let him be - Joe's daily gobbling would be missed.

Cookie Monstering

2009-05-11T17:35:00.005-05:00

As anyone who regularly or even occasionally follows this blog knows, I bake a lot of cookies. Cookies are the perfect sweet treat - they're a bit indulgent, but having a single cookie can satisfy your craving for something sweet without being as decadent as some of the other baked goods that I make from time to time like my Valentines' Day Chocolate Cake.

Usually I'm pretty good at moderating my cookie consumption. I can have a cookie with a glass of milk after dinner & not think about diving into the cookie jar (or cookie Gladware in our case) the rest of the day. Chris has earned the affectionate nickname of 'Cookie Monster' in the house since he usually hits up the cookie Gladware more often than I do. But when it comes to the chocolate chip cookies that I made last weekend, I turn into the Cookie Monster in the household. To make matters worse, these cookies are on the large side - not quite as big as those monstrosities that you find in most bakeries & coffee shops, but they're bigger than my usual cookie. And so moist, chewy & delicious that I simply can't resist them. The extra egg yolk in the recipe keeps them moist when stored in a airtight container, and even though it's an all-butter recipe, the method of cooking produces a thick cookie, unlike many all-butter cookies that get thin and crispy. I modified the original recipe to include a small healthy twist - I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for part of the all purpose flour called for in the original recipe. Got to love the whole grains in my cookies.

For many years, my mom has held the title of Master Chocolate Chip Cookie baker in our family. Most of my childhood baking memories involve baking chocolate chip cookies with my Mom and licking the batter off the beaters (although I have a vague recollection of baking apple pie at some point too). When I went to college, my Mom would send me boxes of chocolate chip cookies she had baked that I would share with my roommates. One time I picked up my cookies from the Carleton post office on the way to the library to study. I initially kept the cookies in their box so as not to openly violate the library's strict 'no food' policy. But a couple hours in to studying, I was buried deep in the library stacks, getting hungry, and thought that I could sneak a cookie without being noticed. Nope - I was busted by some library employee who chastised me for delving into my cookie stash. Fortunately my punishment didn't involve giving up my Mom's chocolate chip cookies...I stashed them away for future enjoyment back in the dorm.

So, Mom, if you're reading this, you might want to give this recipe a go. But fair warning - the combination of your chocolate chip cookie baking skills and this awesome recipe might turn you into a Cookie Monster too.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Makes about 18 large cookies

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

With an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips. Refrigerate dough for about 15 minutes.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup dough into a ball. Tear the ball in half, rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a wide metal spatula.

Cinco de Mayo Jambalaya

2009-05-07T15:42:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week I realized that I had taken a backseat on cooking dinner since Chris and I moved to Boston. I had suggested what to have for dinners, done the grocery shopping, and acted as an obedient sous chef, but Chris had done most of the actual cooking. So, for Cinco de Mayo, I decided that I would have dinner ready for Chris when he came home.

I tried to get in a Mexican mood, but it was cold and dreary outside, and all I could think about was taking advantage of the wide availability of cheap shrimp (don't worry - one day I will tire of writing about cheap seafood!). I decided that jambalaya would be the way to go. No, it's not exactly a Mexican dish, but it does have Spanish influences -- it's a Louisiana/Creole version of the Spanish dish paella. So, in some strange convoluted way, I think jambalaya is a perfect dish for Cinco de Mayo.

I bought a pound of medium shrimp, Chourico sausage (basically a Portuguese version of Spanish chorizo), and some beautiful peppers. I have made this dish a couple of times before, but it turned out even better than I remembered it being. I think the fresh seafood & unique sausage helped it stand out a bit from my previous jambalaya efforts. I also amped up the cayenne pepper from the original recipe, and splashed on a nice amount of hot sauce, so it was a flavorful & spicy dish. It's a perfect one pot meal & brought some Cinco de Mayo fire to the tastebuds on a cold, dreary day. I didn't capture a picture of the final product since I was too eager to enjoy it, but I did capture the vegetables sauteeing. This recipe is easy to make & quick - enjoy.

Jambalaya with Shrimp & Sausage

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 ounces diced sausage (chourico was excellent for this dish)
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 pound peeled and de-veined raw shrimp
Hot pepper sauce

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in the salt through the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hot pepper sauce.

"Someone Must Love Tomatoes..."

2009-05-04T16:13:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's me. The tomato lover of the household. Chris likes tomatoes in pasta sauce, soups & other processed applications, but he is not a fan of the raw tomato in any form. I, on the other hand, love raw tomatoes in all forms (and processed ones too). Sliced on sandwiches, diced in a falafel wrap, caprese salad -- fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes in the summertime are truly one of my favorite treats.

The quote above is from my next door neighbor as she watched me plant my 5 tomato containers over the weekend. I planted three plum tomato plants & two cherry tomato plants in five 5 gallon containers, one plant per pot. I bought them at our new favorite store - Lambert's (where we also got some awesome cheap haddock on Saturday - I am going to eat so much seafood out here...) Apparently you need at least 10 gallon pots to grow larger tomato varieties like big boy, so I stuck with the smaller varieties this year. They don't look like much right now, but give them time:

I had such a fabulous tomato garden last year, filled with heirloom varieties that Chris gave me for my 27th birthday. We harvested a huge amount of green zebra, mexican midgit & stupice varieties that were delectable. We also had a Brandywine plant that only produced about 10 large tomatoes, but they were so tasty that the plant's limited yield was acceptable. I so loved coming home from work every day and checking on the bounty of fresh, ripe tomatoes that I could pick to enjoy for dinner that night. We also sauced up some of our harvest so that Chris could enjoy some of the tomatoes. He gamely tried all of the varieties in their raw form, but I don't think I succeeded in my attempt to convert him into a tomato lover. Don't feel too badly for him though - he also got to take full advantage of the herbs, zucchini and peppers that we also planted.

So, I admit I'm a bit sad that I don't have big space for planting this year, but I'm happy that I can at least plant a few tomatoes & basil:

Once we have our own house with a yard (which is likely many years away if we stay in Boston given the ridiculous housing prices here), I will have a huge vegetable garden. But for now, tomatoes and basil will do.

My neighbor just warned me as I went out to water my tomato plants: "We don't usually plant here until Memorial Day - just to be sure there's no risk of frost." These New Englanders don't seem to realize that I'm from a real cold weather area, and know how to monitor the weather for any chance of frost. I will be diligent and keep my tomatoes from dying outside in their pots...but I'm hoping the relatively warmer New England climate will be good for an earlier harvest than in MN.

I had hoped to capture a photograph of our resident wild turkey, which Chris and I have named Joe Mauer, to post on the blog. Joe Mauer wanders around our house since our next door neighbors feed him and gobbles away. Once I can get a photo of him, I'll post it. He's really a sight to see.

New Digs

2009-04-29T12:24:00.015-05:00

I thought I'd share some photos of our new place in Savin Hill/Dorchester. It's still a work in progress, but I think we're doing okay after only 10 days of living here. We also don't want to buy much of anything for this house, or unpack everything, since we're hoping that we'll be purchasing a home within the year. That is of course dependent upon me finding a job. Keep your fingers crossed for my next interview on Friday (last interview = rejection letter in the mail today). We have the entire first floor of the house, which turns out to be a lot more space than we had in our little house in St. Paul.

Entry room/foyer - complete with boxes of books since we got rid of the 20-year-old bookshelves we had in our old house that were on the verge of toppling over. We're getting some nice cabinets/shelves from my parents soon, so these boxes won't be there forever.

Living room taken from the entry room.

Pile of boxes in the corner of the living room - they'll eventually make it down to the basement for storage since we want to keep them for the next move. We ended up moving 117 boxes & 160 overall items. I think about 1/2 of it was kitchen gear!

One side of dining room.

Other side of dining room. Note the built-in display cabinets. These are awesome for our glasswear, nice serving dishes & dinner plates (since our dinner plates are jumbo-sized and too big for our kitchen cabinets).

Second bedroom/office. It has one huge closet & one small closet that are out of the picture. Chris has mostly taken over the huge closet, although some of my winter gear is stuffed in the back. Chris actually has more clothing than I do, so it's a fair set-up.

Bathroom, complete with a convenient window in the shower in case we're feeling like being exhibitionists.

Our bedroom, with windows on two sides that let in really nice bay breezes.

Front part of kitchen.

Rest of the kitchen.

Pantry off the kitchen. This is so cool to me - our "pantry" items are now stored in an actual pantry! We have an entire little room to keep our breadmaker, toaster oven & dry goods. Note the two shelves full of baking goods!

Back porch. I am so happy to have a back porch where we can enjoy meals together in nice weather and take in some sun. We can bring our table down to the concrete patio if we'd like - which will be necessary when we have visitors since only 2 chairs fit on our deck with our table. Those empty planters will be filled with herbs by this weekend, and I'll be putting out potted tomato plants on the concrete patio as well. The porch & backyard was a huge selling point to us - that and the really affordable (for Boston standards) rent.

So that's our new place. Hopefully the site of many good times as we get to know Boston.

Settling in, but not feeling the Red Sox

2009-04-27T17:19:00.002-05:00

We've been in Boston for a full week now, and our new place is slowly starting to feel like home. Chris had his first day of work today (and is on his way home as I type), most of the boxes are emptied, and I baked my first batch of cookies this afternoon. We have lots of space in the kitchen & all of the dishes & baking items are unpacked. We even managed to roast a chicken yesterday (which turned out to be an absolutely ridiculous, sweaty activity since it was over 80 degrees outside). Our neighborhood is beautiful - flowers and trees in bloom, lots of children & families. And get this - two ice cream trucks cruise our neighborhood. It must have something to do with the beach crowd since we're right off Dorchester Bay. I see & hear those trucks & I'm about 8 years old again. I think it will be a good home for us.

Chris and I found an awesome produce market over the weekend - it's called Lambert's Rainbow Fruit, and it's only about 1 mile from our house. Outside the market is a large garden center, so I'm going to buy several tomato plants & herbs this week for pots that I can put out on our deck & in our backyard. Inside the market is a great selection of affordable fruit, vegetables, pantry items, a deli & a butcher/fishmonger. Today I bought a pound of shrimp for a stir fry that Chris and I will whip up once he gets home from work. And the price = $5.99/pound for 26/30 shrimpies. I can get used to that. It's great to have Lambert's close by since I know we'll be heading there at least a couple times a week for our meat and produce.

But even though I'm enjoying our new place and settling in well, I'm having a really hard time getting at all excited about the Red Sox. Perhaps the debacle with our Twins tickets last week has something to do with it. Or the fact that the Yankees were in town this weekend, and the matchup was the FOX Saturday afternoon game & the ESPN Sunday Night game. Too much hoopla for me. I miss my Twins. So, I think we might subscribe to MLB Extra Innings as an early birthday gift from Chris to me (after all, June 3 isn't too far away). It's $199 for the entire MLB season & we'd get 80 out of market games per week, which means I can watch pretty much every Twins game, and we can also tune into Phillies games. Perhaps it's not the most romantic of birthday gifts, but it would make me happy, which is exactly what a birthday gift is supposed to do. I feel way out of touch with the Twins only 10 days after we left MN, so I'm pretty psyched about the prospect of being back in the loop with the team. Maybe I just need some time to become at least a moderate Red Sox fan, but for now I'm sticking with my hometown Twins.

It Rained on my Parade

2009-04-23T13:29:00.003-05:00

For three months I had looked forward to watching the Twins take on the Red Sox at Fenway. I had hoped for a lovely spring day, but I still packed long underwear in my traveling clothes bag since the moving truck with all of our belongings wasn't scheduled to arrive before game day. I was prepared for cold weather, but there was nothing I could do about rain.

Game Day Tuesday dawned gray & rainy - an unpleasant welcome to Boston. Throughout the day I was convinced the game would be canceled, as heavy showers periodically soaked the ground. Chris and I went about our business - took the T up to Cambridge for Wi-Fi access so that I could prepare for a job interview on Wednesday & he could get some work done, took a trip to Home Depot, Target, and Stop N Shop to start cleaning & stocking up our apartment. By 5:30pm it was still raining, but the game was still on. We put on rain gear, grabbed the emergency ponchos we bought earlier in the day, and headed out on the T to Fenway.

We got off the T about 6:50pm - 20 minutes to game time. Just a light mist was falling, and I said, "if it stays like this, we'll be fine." Not less than 5 minutes later, the skies opened up and it poured. We walked through the rain to our gate, decided to wait outside since the tarp was on the field and the game had been officially delayed. We bought a couple of sausages w/ peppers & onions from a street vendor right outside the gate in the pouring rain since we were pretty hungry after a long day of walking, shopping, cleaning, and unpacking. I put my sausage in my jacket & ran to get out of the rain...not fast enough to prevent a soggy bun! But the hot, steaming sausage was actually pretty awesome (and ridiculously huge) and I didn't spill any peppers or onions down my shirt, so that was a plus.

After about 30 minutes of hanging around watching the rain fall, we ducked into a cantina/bar across the street & drank XX Ambers while drying out a bit. Around 8pm the bar TV flashed the Fenway scoreboard with the announcement that the game had been postponed until Wednesday at 12:35pm. Which conflicted with my job interview Wednesday at 3pm. There was no way I could attend even part of the game and still get to my interview looking professional by 3pm. Let's just say that I exclaimed some choice words and demanded a shot of tequila to temper my disappointment. The Red Sox don't allow any ticket exchanges or refunds. If the game you have tickets for is rescheduled, you can only attend the rescheduled game. So I was screwed. And out $70. We walked back to the T station in the rain, decided to take a bus since the T was so jammed with people & had an interesting, meandering bus ride through Roxbury/South Boston back home. As I settled into our air mattress that night, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and missing the pleasant confines of the Dome where my sister & I had enjoyed the Twins game just a week earlier.

Wednesday dawned with beautiful sunshine. Our movers arrived around 10am and delivered all of our belongings. Everything arrived, and all of the items I've unpacked thus far are intact! A nice bright spot. After the movers left around noon, Chris took off for the game, while I got ready for my job interview. By this point, I had mentally moved on - put the disappointment behind me and focused on the interview at hand.

Unfortunately Baker got knocked around, the Twins lost badly, and Chris got rained on again sitting alone in our seats in a partially filled ballpark (no chance to even scalp our tickets). But at least he got some value out of our tickets and got to experience Fenway for the first time. My interview went fine, but it turns out that the job wasn't exactly as advertised. I'll hear back sometime in the next week.

That is my story of woe...a somewhat disappointing first couple of days in Boston. This morning we were up at 4:30am so I could drive Chris to the airport for his 6am flight to MSP for 2 days of necessary work in his lab. It's a strange sensation to be alone in a new city until he comes back late tomorrow night. But I just made a trip to the grocery store (through crazy traffic - driving in Boston is a bit different than St. Paul) and stocked up on some baking items. So I think getting a batch of cookies in the oven tomorrow & watching some baseball highlights on our newly installed cable TV tonight will brighten my mood. And our apartment is looking beautiful as I continue to unpack our belongings.

Here's to greater success the next time I attempt to take in a game at Fenway - perhaps we'll finagle our way into some tickets to a game later this summer.

Lemony Easter Cake - It's Spring!

2009-04-13T08:53:00.004-05:00

Up until a couple of weeks ago, I anticipated that Chris and I would spend this Easter in Boston -- the first major holiday we've celebrated without family. But we ended up spending one last holiday in Minnesota with my relatives. My aunt and uncle hosted Easter dinner at their home in Edina yesterday afternoon. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with Chris as well as my aunt & uncle, grandparents, sister, nephew Owen, and my uncle's parents & niece. My aunt and uncle are always amazing hosts - you can be sure to eat and drink well at the many events that they are kind enough to host. And yesterday's Easter meal of ham, potatoes, asparagus, carrots, fruit salad, rolls & crisp, fruity white wine satisfied as usual.

My contribution to the Easter meal was dessert. I mused for some time about what I wanted to bake. I knew I wanted something spring-like, so I immediately thought of lemon. But then Easter's affinity with chocolate made me reconsider. I came close to making two desserts - lemon bars & a chocolaty concoction of some sort. After a chat with my main baking consultant (a.k.a. my husband) and noticing that berries were on sale at every local grocery store, I decided that a simple and elegant lemon cake with berries would fit the bill for our Easter celebration.

I found a well-reviewed recipe for lemon cake on cookinglight.com and thought it was worth a try. I'm generally hesitant to make new recipes when I know my dessert will be consumed by a crowd, but my lack of a tried-but-true recipe for lemon cake & the many positive reviews of this cake online made me take the risk. I decided to forgo the frosting recipe that accompanied the cake and go with my own cream cheese frosting recipe. Then I kicked it up a bit by mixing seedless raspberry jam into about 2/3 cup of the frosting and using it between the cake layers. Topping it all off were sliced strawberries & blueberries.

The whole baking production took a bit more thought than usual since I've been packing up all of our belongings and had to make sure to leave out 8" cake pans, cooling racks, the stand mixer & mixing bowls. The one thing I forgot to leave out of boxes was a fine-mesh strainer for sifting the powdered sugar used for the frosting. A quick trip to Target solved that problem - we needed a larger fine-mesh strainer anyway!

One of the consequences of developing my baking skills is my increasing level of pickiness. The cake itself turned out well, but I would make a couple of changes if I make this cake again:

1. Add more lemon juice and lemon peel. The lemon flavor was far too subdued for me. My hope was that the lemon would pop & the sweetness of the frosting and berries would complement it, but the lemon was totally overwhelmed by the other flavors.

2. Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. I usually use cake flour in my cakes & was surprised to see that this recipe called for all-purpose flour. While the cake was moist, it didn't have the tender, light crumb that I want my cakes to have. It was a bit too dense for my liking.

All things considered, I think the cake was a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. And Chris and I were able to take home a nice little wedge that will be wonderful for dessert tonight. I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter and enjoyed one of the first days (in Minnesota at least) that actually felt like spring!

Nathan's Lemon Cake
from Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray. Dust pans with flour and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Beat butter and sugar with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat in lemon rind and lemon juice.

Pour batter into prepared pans; tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 32 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack; remove wax paper from cake layers.

Cream Cheese Frosting

16 tablespoons butter, softened
12 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth, light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Taste & add additional sugar if you prefer a sweeter frosting.

For this recipe, I took 2/3 cup of the finished cream cheese frosting & stirred in 3 tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam. Use this frosting between the cake layers. (Be sure to put down a border of white frosting around the edges of the layer so the raspberry frosting doesn't show on the completed cake.)

How I'll Miss You, Mim's and Kramarczuk's

2009-04-09T12:44:00.005-05:00

The movers come next Friday at 8am to load up our belongings, and Chris and I will head out in our Focus on Saturday with our lime tree and a car full of goods on our way to Boston. I'll miss many things about living in St. Paul -- family, friends, Twins baseball on TV every day -- and my two favorite local food establishments, Mim's Cafe and Kramarczuk's.

I feel these two restaurants are deserving of a post, just in case any readers of this blog are really craving some amazing, cheap Lebanese food -- or some juicy European sausage -- and want to spend their $ at a deserving restaurant.

First, Mim's Cafe.

This little Lebanese spot next to the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus is the classic hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has surprisingly good food for very little $. Chris introduced me to Mim's soon after we started dating since his office is on the St. Paul campus, and we've been there many times together. Since I equate Mim's presence in my life with my husband's presence in my life, Mim's probably has developed some sentimental significance beyond its good food. Chris and I even considered having Mim's cater our rehearsal dinner, even though I'm pretty sure that dinner for 35 would have been a stretch for Mim's small kitchen. And as good as the food is, Mim's doesn't exactly have the atmosphere we were going for...so the Marriott won that battle.

At Mim's, Chris and I usually split a falafel platter and a chicken muraf platter for dinner, and we end up finishing it all off, thus eating a bit more than we probably should. I've never gone home with any lingering hunger after a meal at Mim's, but unlike other large meals, I feel full in the healthiest way since their food is balanced & actually pretty good for you. The falafel platter includes 6 falafel balls, green salad, tomato & cucumber salad, and a 1/2 plate full of hummus with olive oil drizzled on top. The chicken muraf platter includes chunks of seasoned grilled chicken breast, peppers & onions, saffron rice, and another good amount of hummus. And both platters are served with pita quarters. The total for both platters is just under $20. Mim's also offers kebobs of various meats including lamb and random non-Lebanese food like burritos and cheeseburgers. It's one place where I haven't felt the need to sample other parts of the menu since I enjoy the falafel & chicken so much.

I'm developing a fierce craving for Mim's just writing about their food. So I'll definitely be making a trip in the next week before we leave. Check it out at: 1435 North Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul.

Next, Kramarczuk's.

First off, I am a huge fan of sausage of most kinds. This does not include hot dogs, which fall into a completely different category of food in my mind (i.e. crap I won't eat unless I'm really hungry and there are no other options). When I talk about sausage, I'm talking about bratwurst, kielbasa, andouille, Italian, chicken, chorizo, mettwurst. All of these varieties, and more, can be found at Kramarczuk's Sausage Co., conveniently located right by Surdyk's in NE Mpls. So you can get your sausage and alcohol in one quick trip.

I often find myself patronizing Kramarczuk's in the summertime, when the weather is perfect to fire up the grill, put some sausage on, and enjoy a nice cool beverage until the sausage starts popping on the grill and is ready to eat. But even though it's not grilling season quite yet, I made one last trip across town to Kramarczuk's yesterday so that we could enjoy some sausage before we move. I picked up 2 smoked brats and 2 andouille sausages, along with a package of rolls. Kramarczuk's has an excellent bakery, and their rolls are second to none. I've actually never had a Kramarczuk's sausage on a roll that didn't come from their bakery!

It was nice enough outside last night that we might have been able to grill up our sausages, but we recently donated our grill to some upstanding members of the Metropolis Rugby club, so our sausages were relegated to the toaster oven. No matter - we each had one andouille, and they rocked even without the extra flavor the grill would have brought them. The andouille had a taut outer casing that broke to release juicy, spicy, flavorful meat. Yum. Tonight we'll enjoy the smoked brats.

Check out Kramarczuk's at: 215 East Hennepin in Minneapolis.

I trust Chris and I will find good places to satsify our taste for good Lebanese food and European sausages, but I will definitely miss Mim's and Kramarczuk's. They'll be the first places we'll hit up when we come back to visit!

Opening Day!

2009-04-06T08:43:00.003-05:00

The baseball season officially kicked off last night as the Braves took on the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. Life seemed very good as I settled in on the couch amongst the many moving boxes that have taken over our house to watch some baseball. It was also pretty sweet that one of the teams playing was my #2 team - the Phillies! Unfortunately the game wasn't great. Phillies pitcher Bret Myers got knocked around in the first two innings with a few HRs. And Derek Lowe dominated the Phillies lineup to the tune of 2 hits in 8 complete innings. The 9th inning brought a bit of promise as the Phillies got some baserunners on and scored a run when the Braves closer had trouble with his control, but Ryan Howard looked at a 3rd strike fastball right down the middle for out #2 & Raul Ibanez flailed at a breaking ball out of the zone for another K and out #3. I'll forgive Ibanez since he looked so much better patroling left field than Pat Burrell ever did. But apparently Howard's offseason weight loss wasn't the key to seeing the ball well early in the season. Final score = 4-1.

I love the voices & commentary of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan almost as much as the Twins broadcasters, so Sunday Night Baseball is always enjoyable for me. Except for the fact that it seems that 50% of Sunday Night Baseball games involve the Yankees or the Red Sox. Wait -- I forgot -- I'm supposed to be a Red Sox fan now too -- so maybe this year the high percentage of Red Sox games will be less annoying than in years past. I'm not as enthusiastic about the addition of Steve Phillips to the Sunday Night Baseball booth, but it should be okay as long as Jon and Joe really run the show.

I will be tuning in tonight when the Twins open up the season against the Mariners. I certainly won't be lamenting the fact that it's the last season in the Metrodome. Whenever I make a trip to MN next summer, I will definitely be getting tickets to a game at the new stadium.

Back to this season, I have tickets to the Twins game next Tuesday when they play the Blue Jays. My sister and I will be out in the Home Run Porch in left center field - 6 rows up, so maybe we'll snag a home run. A week later, I'll be getting into Boston just in time to use the tickets I bought months ago to the Twins v. Red Sox game at Fenway on April 21. I am very psyched about that game. There's no doubt that I'll be rooting loudly and obnoxiously for the Twins.

So let the season begin! I'm predicting that the Twins will take the AL Central this year and that the Phillies will take the NL East. A World Series matchup in the making? We'll see.

Attractive Bread at Last

2009-04-02T11:20:00.004-05:00

I have finally found a way to turn my misshapen bread maker loaves into shapely loaves - I simply make a 1 lb. loaf instead of a 1 1/2 or 2 lb. loaf. In addition to producing a much nicer looking loaf, you can slice the smaller loaves vertically instead of horizontally, which makes for a better sized bread slice for sandwiches. The only drawback is that I have to bake bread more frequently, but this isn't a problem with my current unemployed lifestyle. But even when I find my next fabulous job & re-enter the workforce, it would be simple to start a loaf in the bread maker after work, and you'd have a fresh loaf baked up by bedtime, ready to eat the next day. I'm amazed it took me so long to come up with this simple solution, but now shapely loaves of bread are here to stay.

I've also been messing around with some different combinations of bread ingredients, mainly to use up the various kinds of flour we have in our cabinet before moving day arrives in 2 weeks! My latest loaf (pictured above) used buckwheat flour, hence the dark flecks throughout the loaf. I really enjoy buckwheat. My taste for buckwheat was likely developed at a young age since my dad always made buckwheat pancakes for my family. I'm no longer that big a fan of pancakes, but I do love a good soba noodle dish. And apparently I also enjoy bread with buckwheat. Even a small amount lends a nice nuttiness to the bread and packs a nutritional punch.

To add to the beautiful bread products coming out of the bread maker this week, I also made a loaf of foccacio for dinner on Tuesday along with a sweet potato and sausage soup. The soup turned out well, but the foccacio stole the show. I put ingredients for a basic pizza dough in the bread maker and set it to the dough cycle. 90 minutes later I had a beautiful, warm, sticky dough ready for baking. I spread the dough out onto into a thin circle on a pizza peel coated with cornmeal and topped the dough with extra virgin olive oil, basil, oregano and parmesan cheese. After about 20 minutes in the oven on a baking stone, the house smelled amazing and the foccacio looked delectable:

I served the foccacio with some high quality, fruity olive oil and it all came together wonderfully. Of course I wish that our meals this time of year were a bit more spring-like than soup & bread, but it was snowing outside. Why not just accept that we are still living in Minnesota, and the end of March/early April means that soup is still seasonal. Fresh vegetables and fruit will reappear someday...

Buttermilk Buckwheat Bran Bread (how's that for alliteration?)
1/6 cup oat bran
1/6 cup buckwheat flour
7/8 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey or molasses
2 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

Add ingredients to bread maker pan in order given. Use regular crust cycle. After the cycle ends, remove from pan and cool 1 hour before slicing.

Molasses Spice Cookies

2009-03-29T14:18:00.007-05:00

This weekend I tried a second recipe from Dorie Greenspan and enjoyed it just as much as the first one. My first Dorie Greenspan recipe was the Midnight Crackle cookies that I made a couple of months ago. Since then, I've been following her blog and find myself imagining what it would be like to live her life in Paris - cooking, baking and eating fabulous food with her circle of famous friends in the culinary world. As cool as that would be, France isn't exactly a baseball hotbed, and my anticipation about the start of the MLB season next week is getting pretty intense. So, instead of moving to Paris to experience Dorie Greenspan's rich culinary world, I'll make do by staying home and baking her fabulous recipes.

I've had Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Molasses Spice cookies in my baking binder for several months (pulled from the November 2006 issue of Bon Appetit) and finally got around to whipping them up yesterday morning. These cookies were easy to prepare, but they take a bit longer to make than the average cookie since the dough needs to chill for at least 30 minutes in the freezer after it's mixed. The only funky part of the recipe is that it calls for cracked black pepper. I only used a bit more than 1/8 tsp and couldn't taste it in the cookies at all. Next time, I'll add some more and see what kind of kick it brings to the cookies.

As you can see in the photo, the cookies puffed up in the oven a bit more than I anticipated, so the edges got a little bit roughed up when I detached the cookies from each other. I should have known that 2 teaspoons of baking soda would give the cookies quite a lift. So apparently, the baking theme of my week was making ugly but tasty baked goods. First the pumpkin pie mishap, then the oddly shaped cookies. But I'll take ugly baked goods as long as they still taste wonderful. These molasses spice cookies are chewy, with a bit of outer crunchiness from rolling the dough in sugar, and a nice buttery finish. Like most cookies, they're perfect with a glass of milk.

Chris and I certainly do not need a full batch of cookies for our personal consumption, but fortunately my Dad is in town this weekend & staying at my sister's, so I jumped on the opportunity to bring 1/2 the cookies over to my sister's house for others to enjoy. I think they were a hit - I'll definitely make them again. Maybe while watching baseball and musing about life in Paris.

Molasses Spice Cookies
From Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg
About 1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and pepper.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and molasses and beat for 2 minutes or so to blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If some flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, to avoid overbeating the dough, mix in the last of the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula. You'll have a smooth, very soft dough.

Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 minutes or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a smooth ball between your palms. One by one, roll the balls around in the bowl of sugar, then place them on one of the baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar and use it to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/8 inch thick.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes or until the tops feel set to the touch. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and, if the cookies have spread and are touching, use the edge of a metal spatula to separate them while they are still hot. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool to room temperature. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

The cookies will keep for at least 1 week in the cookie jar. Wrapped airtight, they can be frozen for up to 2 months.

The Power of Pumpkin

2009-03-24T10:13:00.003-05:00

"She stopped. It was time to take the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it. In the final analysis, that was what solved these big problems of life. You could think and think and get nowhere, but you still had to eat your pumpkin. That brought you down to earth. That gave you a reason for going on. Pumpkin."

From "The #1 Ladies Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall

I'm not sure if the power of pumpkin is such that it solves my problems & gives me a reason for going on, but it certainly did help a bit last night. I enjoyed a mottled piece of pumpkin pie that tasted great despite its tumble off the cooling rack yesterday.

What is it about pumpkin that I love so much? My mom happily eating out the filling of a slice of pumpkin pie & leaving the crust behind. My favorite holiday - Thanksgiving. Pleasant fall days breathing in the smell of firewood and watching brightly colored leaves falling off trees and blowing through the air. Tramping around as a child in my great grandmother's pumpkin patch at her farm outside of Northfield. Scooping out pumpkin seeds & goo while carving our Halloween pumpkins. My grandma's praise of my pumpkin pie baking abilities. So many things go into my love of pumpkin, not to mention the creamy, cool, spicy goodness of biting into a piece of homemade pumpkin pie with a nice layer of whipped cream on top.

There's no question about it - pumpkin pie is my favorite pie to eat and to bake. And it's probably the best kind of pie healthwise - all that beta carotene does your body good. It might even outweigh the negative effects of my wine & pork consumption, which, based on recent studies, is apparently shortening my life significantly. So be it. Here's my trusted recipe for pumpkin pie. Hopefully the power of pumpkin will do some good as Chris and I enjoy the remainder of the mottled pumpkin pie I baked yesterday.

Single Crust Pie Dough
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons cold vodka
2 tablespoons cold water

Process 3/4 cup flour, salt & sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect into uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, about 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle vodka & water over mixture. With spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten the dough into a 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk. Whisk in remaining ingredients. To prevent spilling, place pastry-lined pie plate on cookie sheet. Pour filling into pie plate. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake about 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled. Refrigerate any remaining pie after serving.

When Things Go Awry

2009-03-23T13:03:00.003-05:00

This picture perfectly symbolizes the kind of day I'm having. My lovely pumpkin pie turned into pie debris thanks to a slippery pie pan. At least it was just for at-home consumption and not for Thanksgiving. And it didn't fall on the floor, so we'll still get to enjoy it, just not in perfect pie slice shapes. Aren't I good at looking at the bright side of life?

An All-American Evening

2009-03-22T19:44:00.007-05:00

I had an all-American evening last night complete with fried chicken, baseball, and trashy television. A few weeks ago, Chris told me that he had a random craving for fried chicken. This is not a food that we ever eat together. Chris can talk at length about his college days (and post-college rugby nights) when more than one meal consisted of eating spicy chicken wings at bars, but I can only remember eating fried chicken one time in my life - at a summertime family gathering at my aunt's house. I remember enjoying it, but I usually avoid fried foods. In the interest of making my husband happy & not being a fried foods prude, I geared up for fried chicken. Instead of hitting up the nearest KFC, we decided to satisfy the craving by making fried chicken at home. Chris found a great recipe online at EatingWell.com for oven-fried chicken, which meant we could enjoy delicious "fried" chicken and still feel pretty good about what we're eating (which means we didn't break out the frying oil and I'm still a fried foods prude).

We've been distracted by travel and moving/work-related stress for the past couple of weeks, not to mention a lack of on-sale chicken at the grocery store, so we didn't get a chance to try the oven-fried chicken until last night. It turned out to be worth the wait. We purchased chicken leg quarters (for $0.89/pound), skinned & trimmed them, & cut them into thighs and legs. I must admit that I have a strange love of prepping raw meat, so I really enjoyed the whole slimy experience. We then marinated the chicken for the full 8 hour max suggested in the recipe. The long marinating time worked wonders. The chicken was so succulent and juicy that we both had a moment of "is the chicken cooked through?!" panic after the first bite. But our meat thermometer hadn't let us down; the chicken was fully cooked & still wonderfully juicy. We rounded out the meal with sides of polenta and a carrot/mushroom saute. Our only complaint was that our chicken was cheap for a reason. The butchering was pretty poor...Next time I'll practice what I usually preach and buy higher quality chicken. But even though the butchering lacked precision, the breading & seasoning was fantastic. It was a great, moderately healthy stand-in for fried chicken.

After filling up on chicken, it was time for the World Baseball Classic semi-final game between the USA and Japan. I'm pro-WBC since the game of baseball has become so popular throughout the world, and it's great to see teams from different countries compete. The success of the WBC might go a long way in convincing the IOC to reinstate baseball (and softball?) into Olympic competition in 2016.

Unfortunately the US team lost badly to Japan, 9-4. As I watched Adam Dunn look completely incompetent in the field & strike out at the plate, I got increasingly disappointed that the premiere US players decline to play in the WBC for their country. Yes, Adam Dunn knocks out more than his share of dingers, but he's not the caliber of player that should be representing the US. I understand that playing in the WBC can throw off a player's Spring Training routine, and that managers & players worry about injuries in the WBC. But shouldn't the honor of representing your country outweigh other considerations? It seems that the players for every other country are honored to participate. There are many, many premiere MLB players who suit up for other countries - David Ortiz & Miguel Tejada for the Dominican, Justin Morneau & Russell Martin for Canada, Miguel Cabrera, Felix Hernandez & Francisco Rodriquez for Venezuela, just to name a few. But many of the US players just aren't interested in playing. Maybe things will change for the 2012 WBC, but for now we can watch Japan play Korea in the final tonight, while the US players go back to their MLB teams.

I finished off the evening with my favorite trashy TV drama, Brothers and Sisters. Why is it that I dislike drama and yelling in real life, but the ridiculous storylines and family drama in Brothers and Sisters are so entertaining? I guess it just proves that I'm a true American who loves fried chicken, baseball, and trashy entertainment.

Oven-Fried Chicken
From www.EatingWell.com

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 1/2 - 3 pounds whole chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Olive oil cooking spray

Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl until well blended. Pour into gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add chicken and seal bag; turn chicken to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.

Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 40 to 50 minutes.

Bourbon Brownies

2009-03-19T13:58:00.004-05:00

Since this blog is supposed to be about baking and baseball, not about restaurant adventures around the country, I want to share the story and recipe behind the bourbon brownies that I baked right after getting home from Louisville on Monday.

I used to think that I didn't really like brownies, but about a year ago I realized that I had only ever had brownies from a box mix. That realization, combined with my increased enjoyment of chocolate, prompted me to check out the whole wide world of brownies beyond box mix brownies.

My first go at baking brownies came about because I wanted to bake something to bring to a spring-themed party Chris and I were attending on the day of the Kentucky Derby. I thought bourbon brownies would be an ideal choice since they would have a bit of a KY flair in keeping with the spirit of the day. The recipe I found turned out great - everyone enjoyed them at the party, and I found that brownies from scratch were far superior to the box mix brownies I have never really enjoyed.

I made them one other time in the early summer months and again enjoyed them very much. Later in the summer, I got a bug to enter one of my baked goods in a Minnesota State Fair competition. I checked out the available contests and decided to enter the Ghirardelli Chocolate Competition. This one seemed a lot more interesting than most of the MN State Fair competitions because the grand prize was $400...compared to $8 for the grand prize winnings in most of the other contests. $8 seems like a paltry sum, especially when you subtract out the ingredients required to bake something! So I made the recipe a few more times over the summer - altering the ingredients slightly with each attempt until I found what I thought to be a brownie with the perfect flavor, chewiness & chocolately goodness.

My entry didn't win, but I did pretty well for my first baking competition. I scored an 87 out of 100 points. A solid B+. I was a bit bourbon brownied-out after the contest, but the recipe is a keeper. The most important part is to use a bourbon that you would actually drink. There's nothing worse than a baked good with the flavor of some really inferior alcohol. I use Maker's Mark, which is my bourbon of choice for drinks as well as brownies.

Bourbon Laced Brownies

1/4 cup bourbon
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Bring bourbon to a boil in a small saucepan; remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Stir chocolate chips and bourbon together until mixture is smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together until well combined using an electric mixer at medium speed or stand mixer. Add the vanilla and eggs; beat well. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Mix togethe with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and bourbon mixture to sugar/butter mixture. Beat with a mixer at low speed until all of the ingredients are just combined. Add remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and fold into batter. The batter will be thick.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 25 or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Restaurant Adventures in the Mid-South

2009-03-16T18:29:00.004-05:00

There has been a sad lack of baseball and baking in my life for the past two weeks. My trip to Boston last week with Chris was followed up by a trip on my own to visit my parents in Louisville, KY this past weekend. Traveling doesn't leave much, if any, opportunity to bake, and my weekend in Louisville was a hard-core basketball weekend, which is to be expected in mid-March, especially in a city with the #1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney. So I need to fill up on baseball and baking in the next couple of weeks before our move.

I arrived home from the airport at 3pm yesterday, did a quick grocery store trip, then satisfied my need to bake by whipping up some bourbon-laced brownies by 6:15pm. The combination of bourbon and chocolate sounded quite appealing (must be due to my time spent in KY). I then pulled together a quick dinner of sauteed peppers (thanks mom for your pepper stash), onions & smoked sausage, along with roasted sweet potatoes. After dinner I got to relax on the couch and chat with my husband while enjoying a tasty home baked brownie. It's nice to be home.

Like my trip to Boston, my trip to Kentucky offered a couple of great restaurant experiences. Friday night my parents and I went out to Proof on Main, a restaurant in downtown Louisville only a few blocks from my parents' loft. Those who are not familiar with Louisville might be surprised to hear that the city has an interesting, eclectic and diverse culinary scene. And Proof is one of the best restaurants the city has to offer. Its claim to fame in my mind before this weekend was that it's the one restaurant in Louisville that I've actually seen mentioned in Bon Appetit magazine.

We started out with a nice bottle of cabernet (selected by my dad, so I don't know exactly what it was) and the relish appetizer platter, which consisted of thin slices of grilled baguette served with marinated olives, roasted broccolini, cauliflower & eggplant. I can't speak for the olives since I haven't developed a taste for them in anything other than veggie pizza, but the rest of the platter was quite good. I especially enjoyed the roasted eggplant. The contrasting flavors and textures of each item on the platter played off each other really well, especially when each was paired with the smoky grilled bread.

For an entree, I ordered the house made tonnarelli with san marzano tomatoes, rock shrimp and basil. This was in keeping with my 'order house-made pasta whenever possible' kick that began in Boston. It was an awesome dish. Tonnarelli is very much like spaghetti, except it's square instead of round. The pasta was so thin, however, that I really didn't notice any difference between tonnarelli & spaghetti. The sauce was amazing. It was tomato-based but had a hint of cream, which made the sauce cling beautifully to the small rock shrimp. The fresh basil prevented the dish from feeling too rich. Overall it was delectable, and I was a member of the clean plate club, which doesn't often happen at restaurants.

By all accounts, my parents also enjoyed their dishes - a butternut squash risotto w/ goat cheese for my dad, and a roasted pork chop w/ cannellini beans for my mom. I don't see my mom wield a steak knife too often, so that was an extra perk of the meal. My only complaint about the meal was that they gave us a crusty baguette before we ordered but didn't give us a knife. So we had to tear the 6" or so loaf into individual portions with our hands. It seemed a bit messy & awkward for such a nice restaurant. But, if that's my only complaint, I think Proof on Main did pretty well. I was also impressed by their use of local & regional ingredients. Final note - they had a free-range duck special, which cracked me up. Just think about little ducks running around happily...

On Saturday we drove up to Indianapolis because we had tickets for the semifinals of the Big Ten Men's Basketball tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. One of my dad's friends is the CFO of Conseco, so we sat in the Conseco suite at mid-court. The suite fabulous, but unfortunately the games weren't exactly thrilling. We watched Ohio State dominate Michigan State and Purdue crush Illinois. Even though the basketball wasn't great, it was very cool to be in the suite so close to the action.

After the games, we walked a few blocks through downtown Indianapolis to our dinner destination, Harry & Izzy's. It was a classic, classy steakhouse - complete with old-time decor, a big & beautiful bar, and servers decked out in tuxes. Our group of six was seated at a table on the upper floor of the restaurant overlooking the main floor bar area. I was quite hungry since the junk food offerings in the suite weren't exactly appealing (although I do admit that I ate the first hot dog I've had in at least 7 years) so I was looking forward to enjoying a nice meal. My dad's friend suggested that we order the signature appetizer at Harry & Izzy's - shrimp cocktail - but warned us that their cocktail sauce has a serious, spicy horseradish kick. I am often amused at what the midwestern palate deems "spicy" so I had to give the shrimp cocktail a go. My initial small bite seemed quite tame, so I really dug in with a large second bite. Seconds later, my eyes were watering as the horseradish knocked out my sinuses. My next bites were somewhere in size between the first and second bites, which was just about perfect - I enjoyed a nice spicy kick without the tears.

For an entree, I made a boring choice of griled chicken breast served with fresh vegetables, which turned out to be green beans and spaghetti squash. It might have been a boring selection, but the thick chicken breast I was served was very nicely done - still juicy inside with good flavor from the grill. The accompanying BBQ sauce was tasty but lacked the kick that I prefer in a BBQ sauce. Overall I'd say the food was nice but not memorable; the atmosphere & service made for a great dining experience.

Of the two restaurants, I much preferred Proof on Main even though Harry & Izzy's was a nice experience. As someone who doesn't like steak and seeks out more adventurous food, I would be concerned about myself if I actually enjoyed a steakhouse like Harry & Izzy's more than an innovative restaurant like Proof on Main. But I thoroughly enjoyed both experiences and think my parents did too.

Thank you mom and dad for a great weekend in the mid-south! I look forward to more restaurant adventures with you in Louisville and wherever else we might travel together. Go Cards!

Boston Trip and the Restaurant Scene

2009-03-10T13:30:00.005-05:00

Chris and I returned yesterday from a weekend apartment-hunting trip to Boston. Assuming our landlord references check out, we found a great place in the Savin Hill neighborhood in Dorchester. We decided that we aren't cool enough for Cambridge (and for the high rental prices that go with it) so we're going to save some $ living in Savin Hill and continue to work towards our goal of buying a condo before the end of 2009.

We looked at a few broker-listed apartments in Cambridge that were $1700+/month with tiny kitchens featuring mini-fridges and mini-stoves. I know I would be miserable spending that much money to live in a tiny place with limited cooking and baking options, and not a chance of grilling outside. There would be no sitting outside enjoying a G&T with salmon on the grill on a summer evening. No matter how cool the surrounding Cambridge area might be, I need some space and a nice kitchen to be happy. Our new place meets those requirements - it has a deck, patio, a nice little backyard, and a perfectly nice kitchen (albeit short on counter space - which we can solve by buying a center island or another kitchen rack of some kind). Savin Hill is a somewhat gritty area, but our place is in the over-the-bridge neighborhood of Savin Hill, which is pretty safe. It's also quite lovely with beaches & walking paths less than a block from our place. We'll be a 6 minute walk to the T station, and a 15-20 minute T ride into central Boston and Cambridge.

We had a really nice time checking out the restaurant scene while we were in town. We tried to cover a different cuisine each evening. It was strange to realize that we'll actually be living there in a few weeks, so we can easily check out whatever areas/restaurants we missed over the weekend when we're there for good. I try to give the Twin Cities restaurant scene a lot of credit, but I think the restaurant scene in Boston is definitely a step up. I am very much looking forward to the seafood offerings in particular, which I took advantage of over the weekend.

Thursday night we went to a Thai restaurant near Porter Square called 'Sugar and Spice.' It seemed crazy cheap for the quality of the food. Chris and I got the pork numtok for an appetizer, which was basically a small plate of spicy stir-fried pork, along with a bit of lettuce. For an entree, I ordered shrimp and vegetables in chili lime sauce, which was awesome. With a side of white rice, it was only $12.25. Chris got a spicy pad thai dish that was $8.95. So the prices were cheaper than most thai food in the Twin Cities, and the quality was excellent!

Friday night we went to the Cambridge Brewing Company. They've been brewing beer there for about 20 years - apparently it's the oldest brewery-restaurant in the Boston area. Both the food and the beer were very good. I enjoyed a pint of the Cambridge Amber while Chris had an Abbey Normal Belgian-style beer & a Regatta Golden ale. For the meal, I had seared salmon, which was served with a parsnip puree, Swiss chard & a caponata relish. It was absolutely delicious. Chris and I discovered parsnips a few months ago, but had only prepared them by sauteing or steaming them. The parsnip mash was incredible, and it went very well with the Swiss chard and salmon. The salmon was a bit on the underdone side for me - a couple bites almost felt like sushi - but overall it was a very nice dish. Chris had duck w/ risotto, which he enjoyed, but I did not sample since I'm not a fan of duck - it's too fatty and the flavor is too strong for me.

Saturday night we ventured to the North End for Italian food. We walked two of the major streets that are packed with trattorias, trying to decide which restaurant looked best. After about 30 minutes of wandering, we realized that all the menus were pretty much the same. Since it was getting as busy as you might expect at 7:30pm on Saturday, we ducked off one of the main streets, Hanover, onto Prince Street & settled on a restaurant called Artu. It turned out to be a great choice. We waited at the bar for about 20 minutes, enjoying a drink and watching baseball until we were seated. We shared a beautiful appetizer of smoked mozzarella with tomatoes and roasted peppers, served over fresh mixed greens. Could anything be more up my alley than that? No. Then I had a simple entree called "Maccheroni Artu all'Amatricina," which was homemade pasta with pancetta, onions, and fresh tomatoes. The homemade pasta made the dish - it was excellent. Chris had 'Salsiccia con Broccoli Rape e Fusilli," which was sweet Italian sausage sautéed with broccoli rape in a white wine and garlic sauce, tossed with fusilli. Chris enjoyed it but thought he could have made the dish at home just as well. Overall it was a nice experience & a great evening. We walked out after dinner into the rain, full of good food and a buzz from the cabernet...

Sunday evening we were so exhausted that our plans to go out for pizza were derailed since we couldn't manage to go further from our hotel than across the street. Fortunately, Legal Sea Foods was across the street. This meal was when the difference between the Twin Cities and Boston was especially pronounced. (Although I suppose nothing in the Twin Cities is comparable to Italian in the North End either...) I wanted something simple, healthy and balanced, so I ordered the grilled shrimp. The entree was easily the best shrimp I have ever had in a restaurant. For $20, I got 10 large, succulent grilled shrimp that were perfectly seasoned along with sides of rice pilaf, steamed snap peas, and a small sourdough roll. So good - and pretty darn affordable. It was especially striking when compared to a shrimp meal I ordered at a Twin Cities steakhouse the previous weekend (I know...ordering shrimp at a steakhouse is strange but I don't eat steak...) In the Twin Cities, the shrimp entree consisted of 6 broiled shrimp that weren't seasoned at all, for the same price as my entree at Legal Sea Foods. From a taste and value perspective, the two dishes weren't even in the same universe. So our final meal in Boston served as confirmation that our taste buds, especially where seafood is concerned, will enjoy the move to Boston!

Other than a 6 hour delay at the Logan Airport yesterday, our trip to Boston was great. I could easily write a long angry post about how incompetent Northwest Airlines is based on the way it handled the delay yesterday, but I'll spare you that experience! In just a few weeks we'll be back on Boston for good, and I'm looking forward to living in our new place in Savin Hill and further exploring the Boston restaurant scene!

Snowy Baking Day

2009-02-27T17:13:00.007-06:00

I took advantage of Thursday's big snow storm by staying home once the snow started flying and spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Final products:

1 two lb. loaf of cracked wheat bread
24 chocolate chip peanut butter cookies (to share with my mom & sister)
stuffed peppers w/ sausage, couscous & feta (for dinner)

I am particularly pleased with the bread. The cookies & peppers turned out well too, but I've made the cookies many times before, and the peppers weren't exactly a challenge. The bread was actually pretty easy too - it just took a lot of time since I had to tend to it every hour or so.

I got in gear on Wednesday afternoon and made the sponge for the cracked wheat loaf and soaked the bulgur. I stuck both in the fridge overnight, and they were ready to go Thursday morning. Allowing the sponge to develop overnight is supposed to develop a more robust flavor than allowing the sponge to develop for just a few hours. By Thursday morning my sponge had had plenty of time to chill out in the fridge, so the loaf turned out to be quite robust in flavor...not that I had anything to compare it to.

The bread making process is really uninteresting, so I won't bore you with that. It just involved allowing the dough to rise a couple times and then mastering several funky dough folds. The exciting part was pulling the loaf from the oven when it was done and inhaling it's yeasty goodness. And of course eating a big chunk of the bread butt along with a stuffed pepper for dinner.

This is perfect sandwich bread - fairly light in crumb with flecks of bulgur throughout to lend it some heartiness. It was exceptional for lunch when toasted for a turkey & hummus sandwich. I might have to have peanut butter toast for breakfast tomorrow in order to use this bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Cracked Wheat Bread
From The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Dough Starter (Sponge)
1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk (I just used a few tablespoons of skim and cut down on the equivalent amount of water)
1 tablespoon honey
1 liquid cup plus 2 tablespoons water, at room temperature

Flour Mixture
2 cups bread flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Bulgur and Finishing Ingredients
1/2 cup coarse bulgur
2/3 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon melted butter

Make the sponge. Combine the bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast, sugar, dried milk, honey, and water in a mixer bowl or other large bowl. Whisk until very smooth, to incorporate air, about 2 minutes. The sponge will be the consistency of a thick batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.

Combine the ingredients for the flour mixture and add to the sponge. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and yeast. Sprinkle this on top of the sponge to cover it completely. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for about an hour at room temperature. During this time the sponge will bubble through the flour mixture in places. Refrigerate the sponge for 8-24 hours.

Meanwhile, soak the bulgur. Place it in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit until all the water is absorbed, about 1 hour, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Mix the dough. Add the bulgur and oil to the bowl. Mix with the dough hook on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) for about 1 minute, until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough at medium speed (#4 KitchenAid) for 10 minutes. The dough hould be very elastic and jump back when pressed with a fingertip, but still moist enough to cling slightly to your fingers.

Let the dough rise. Using an oiled spatula, scrape the dough into a 2-quart bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray. Lightly spray the top and cover it with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Using an oiled spatula, scrape the dough out onto a floured counter and press down on it gently to form a rectange. Give it a business letter fold, round the edges, and return it to the container. Oil the surface again, cover, and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. It will still be a little tacky.

Shape the dough and let it rise. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Shape into a loaf. Place it in a lightly oiled 9x5 loaf pan; it will be about 1/2 inch from the top of the pan. Cover it loosely with oiled plastic wrap. Let he dough rise until almost doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. The center will be about 1 1/4 inches higher than the sides of the pan.

Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 1 hour before baking. Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place an oven stone or baking sheet on it, and a cast-iron skillet or sheet pan on the floor of the oven, before pre-heating.

Slash, glaze, and bake the bread. Brush the top of the dough with some of the melted butter. With a sharp knife, make a 1/2-inch-deep lengthwise slash down the top of the dough. Quickly but gently set the pan on the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath and immediately shut the door. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Glaze and cool the bread. Remove the bread from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Brush it with the remaining melted butter. Unmold it and cool it completely top side up on the wire rack.

Let the Games Begin

2009-02-25T21:28:00.003-06:00

The Twins 1st Grapefruit League game of the season just wrapped up, and the Twins pulled off a 5-2 victory over the Red Sox. I caught the first and last innings of the game on the radio on my way to and from dinner with a few lovely ladies at Pepitos. I have to admit that John Gordon's voice on 1500 KSTP is amazingly soothing to me. There's just something really comforting about it...

A couple thoughts about the Twins in the past week or so:

Joe Crede: Great deal for the Twins. I was starting to get tired of the endless rumors about the Twins signing him, but I think the Twins played this one pretty well. They can't go too wrong with Crede's $2.5 million base salary with incentives up to $7 million. I had heard that Boras was asking for a $5 - $7 million base, which didn't seem worth it given Crede's injury history. But an incentive-laden contract isn't a big risk, and if Crede pans out to be the every day 3rd baseman the Twins wanted, $7 million seems reasonable. I do feel a bit badly for Buscher and Harris, who are hard-working players who could have been a pretty solid platoon at 3rd. But I'm excited to see how Crede pans out. Maybe the Twins bad luck with 3rd basemen will turn around this year. It's already better than the Twins 2-year, $6.6 million signing of Mike Lamb last year...

Boof Bonser: What a bummer for Boof to go down with probably season-ending shoulder surgery today. Another blow to the Twins bullpen in addition to Neshek being out for the full season. Yes, I'm sure I cursed at Boof more than once last year when he was still fighting for a position in the starting rotation (and giving up many HRs and walks), but I think he could have been an effective 8th inning or long relief pitcher. He regularly pitches 94 mph and has some good stuff. The bullpen seems like a wild card this year, but I do have high hopes that Jose Mijares can become a solid bullpen presence & potentially a reliable 8th inning arm.

Chris and I have tickets to see the Twins play the Red Sox at Fenway on April 21st. I am already psyched. We'll be sitting in the right field bleachers, so we'll fight the sun as it sets on what hopefully will be a nice spring evening. The one other time I've been to Fenway was back in the summer of 2000. My friend and I had seats in almost the same section that Chris and I will be sitting. I had to buy myself an overpriced Red Sox hat to shield the sun. This time I'll come prepared wearing my Twins hat. But I suppose I might have to shield myself from taunting, overzealous Red Sox fans...

Let the 2009 season begin!

A not so Misshapen Pleasure

2009-02-21T16:38:00.006-06:00

I feel like I'm a pro at making misshapen loaves of bread in our bread maker, as noted previously on this blog, but I've decided to use some of my free time before our move to do a little bread baking from scratch. I've only made one loaf of bread from scratch in the last several years - a fantastic loaf of challah last fall from a recipe in Baking Illustrated (which made for incredible ham sandwiches...even though I'm aware that's not a traditional or even appropriate use of challah).

But I want to delve a bit deeper into the art of bread baking than what's covered in the bread section of Baking Illustrated. So, last week I went to the library and picked up The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. This book consists of over 600 pages of bread making instructions and recipes. On Thursday, I had great ambition to start a sponge to make the Cracked Wheat bread recipe in The Bread Bible. The plan was to start the sponge on Thursday evening, let it develop overnight, and bake the bread on Friday. After spending Thursday afternoon with my sister, cooking dinner for me and Chris, and getting wrapped up in a long, interesting post-dinner conversation, I had run out of steam and only wanted to watch 'The Beast' on A&E before heading to bed.

So, I woke up on Friday morning without the necessary sponge to make the Cracked Wheat bread. My new task was to find a bread recipe that could be baked in one day - and didn't require a trip to the grocery store. My success on this mission, or lack thereof, would determine whether I could fulfill my desire for a summery dinner of BLTs on freshly baked bread.

I came across a recipe from Bon Appetit that fit the bill - Maple Oatmeal Sandwich Bread. This bread also shows that I do not bake only decadent treats, as readers of the Suburban Zoo may expect. I try to offset every rich chocolate creation with wholesome baked goods. Filled with oats, whole wheat flour, and sweetened with pure maple syrup, this bread is quite healthful. And it's pretty delicious too. My only complaint was that my dough was a bit dry. It practically overwhelmed my Kitchen Aid mixer. Next time I'll start with less flour than called for and add more as necessary. But the bread rose nicely when baked and turned out to be a really nice density - not too heavy but still hearty. My favorite part of this bread is that nice thick and tasty crust that never quite develops in the bread maker.

My success on my bread baking mission meant that we had our BLTs last night and enjoyed them thoroughly (since Chris doesn't like tomatoes, his version of the BLT is bacon, lettuce and turkey). Throw in a glass of crisp white wine, and I was a happy camper. The photo below is what's left of our loaf - we've done some damage on it in the last 24 hours! And I will get in gear on the sponge and bake that Cracked Wheat loaf from The Bread Bible...expect on a post on that soon.

Maple-Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons quick rising yeast

Place all ingredients, in order listed, into large bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with dough hook. Beat at low speed until dough is smooth, comes cleanly from sides, and climbs hook, adding more flour if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes. Scrape dough from hook. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and towel. Let rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Butter 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan. Butter sheet of plastic wrap. Scrape dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth, about 2 minutes. Shape into 8x3 log. Place in prepared pan; cover loosely with prepared plastic wrap, buttered side down. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until center is 1 1/2 inches higher than pan, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently pull plastic off dough. Place bread in oven; bake until deep golden and instant-red thermometer registers 180 degrees, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Run small knife around bread; turn out of pan. Cool completely on rack.

Spring Training Envy

2009-02-19T17:45:00.002-06:00

I would like to have a job where every February I travel to Florida or Arizona and play baseball in the sunshine every day for 6 weeks. Oh, and I get paid the average MLB salary of $2.8 million. Hell, I'll even settle for the MLB minimum of $390,000. But alas, instead I'm stuck in MN, where the bright sunshine today only warmed us to about 20 degrees, and I'm not getting paid anything at all since I left my job weeks ago (though I have been trying to earn my keep by selling things on craigslist...).

But, every morning I put aside my envy of major leaguers and enjoy myself while watching spring training updates on Sportscenter and checking the Twins and Red Sox daily reports on startribune.com and boston.com. Just knowing that the baseball season is underway makes me happy. Plus, I have recently discovered that we get the MLB Network, which will likely lead to hours of fun watching old World Series games and the Hot Stove report.

Last year at this time, I was gearing up for Schrader family vacation 2008 to Fort Myers. We headed down to Florida the first weekend of March and caught a Twins v. Red Sox game at the Red Sox park. It was a beautiful game day. My brother-in-law, Andy, negotiated the purchase of 5 tickets from a scalper to the sold-out game, so Chris, my dad and I had great seats on the 1st baseline, while Hilary and Andy watched from seats on the 3rd baseline. My mom stayed back at our condo, so it wasn't quite complete without her, but we still managed to have some fun. The 5 of us grabbed lunch before the first pitch and enjoyed some really huge and delicious Italian sausages, washed down with beer. Then we spent a few hours in the stands watching Liriano get hit around a bit while the sun beat down on my neck and left me with a pretty vicious sunburn. But it felt so good to be outside in the warm weather, away from the responsibilities of home, and watching my hometown team. Of course at that point I didn't know that we'd be moving to Boston within the next year or so, which makes the Twins v. Red Sox match-up that much more fun.

The Twins v. Red Sox game was the only spring training game we were able to see during our trip to Fort Myers, but the trip had several other highlights. My favorite memories are Chris and Andy playing the lobster claw game at several bars, taking a long, long walk down the beach from the pier back to our condo, eating ridiculous amounts of ridiculously cheap shrimp, having my first taste of octopus sushi (thus freaking my mom out), relaxing in the hot tub, playing catch on the beach, and competing in a killer putt-putt golf game with the whole family. My least favorite memory was the crazy traffic in the Fort Myers area.

This year we won't get the chance to escape the cold, wintry weather and enjoy the fun of a spring training trip. But I have a feeling I may find myself down in Florida once again, or in Arizona, watching some spring training games while winter rages on in most of the rest of the country.

Tomorrow's forecast:

Fort Myers, FL = 70 degrees, partly cloudy
St. Paul, MN = 25 degrees, light snow

Death by Chocolate - A Good Way to Go

2009-02-15T13:02:00.006-06:00

Moderation. That's usually my modus operandi. Which I admit means that I'm on the boring side of life more often than not. So this Valentine's Day I wanted to branch out, throw moderation to the wind, and create a thoroughly indulgent, decadent dessert. 'Moderate' is certainly not an adjective anyone who tastes the devil's food cake with chocolate ganache frosting that I made yesterday would use to describe this cake.

I had an awesome time baking yesterday morning. I promised Chris a spectacular chocolate creation for dessert after our special Valentine's Day dinner of crab cakes, sweet potatoes and champagne, so by 9:30am, I turned on the radio to Bluegrass Saturday on 88.5 and started chopping some chocolate. I've only recently come to really enjoy chocolaty desserts, so I don't have much experience working with chocolate, but I found it pretty easy and enjoyable.

The cake consisted of three 8" rounds that came out of the oven with a moist and delicate finish.

After letting the cake rounds cool, I stacked them with a layer of rich chocolate ganache between each round that I pulled off famous pastry chef David Lebovitz' blog.

The smell of chocolate and butter permeated the house...perfect for Valetine's Day. Unfortunately, Chris was at work all day, so I was home alone with the smell of freshly baked chocolate cake to keep me company.

But eventually he came home, made some fantastic crab cakes (I should have taken a picture of those because they were at least as beautiful as my cake), and we enjoyed a lovely dinner together. Finally, it was 9pm and time for cake. The first bite was incredible! I was completely absorbed by the luscious and intense chocolaty goodness of the cake. The contrast between the delicate moist cake layers and the firm layers of ganache worked extremely well. My attempt at creating an amazingly decadent chocolate cake was a success all around.

But I did discover that I'm not as good at letting go of my modus operandi as I had hoped. I simply could not finish my slice. I suppose I ate enough cake that I wasn't exercising moderation, but two forlorn bites remained on my plate, and I had reached my uppermost tolerance of chocolate consumption. I blame Baking Illustrated, which stated in its recipe that the cake served 8-10. That is ridiculous. I am not one to skimp on cake portions, but the two slices I cut last night were slightly under 1/10 of the cake, and they were too big. I can't imagine that anyone could actually eat 1/8 of the cake in one sitting without succumbing to death by chocolate.

Chris and I were awake late into the night (at least by my moderate standards), hyped up on sugar and caffeine from the cake. Today I sliced the cake up into individual slices and plan to share some with others and freeze a few slices for whenever a chocolate urge hits (Mom - at least one slice is for you when you visit later this week!). I think my next go-round on an uber-chocolaty dessert will include some kind of fruit or a creamy touch to lessen the intensity of the chocolate, but I'm glad I experimented with such an intense chocolate experience.

This one's for you chocolate lovers. You'll gain my utmost respect if you attempt and succeed at consuming 1/8 of this cake in one sitting!

Devil's Food Cake
From Baking Illustrated
Serves 12

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
1 1/4 cups boiling water
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plain cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust the baking racks to the upper-and lower-middle positions; heat the oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, grease three 8-inch cake pans & line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper. Combine the chocolate and cocoa in a medium bowl; pour the boiling water over and whisk until smooth. Sift together the flours, baking soda, and salt onto a large sheet of waxed paper; set aside.

Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat at high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer at medium-high speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Reduce the speed to medium; add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until combined, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. With the mixer at low speed, add about a third of the flour mixture, followed by about 1/2 of the chocolate mixture. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture; beat until just combined, about 15 seconds. Do not overbeat. Remove the bowl from the mixer; scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and stir gently to thoroughly combine.

Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans and smooth the batter to the edges of each pan with a spatula. Place 2 pans on the lower-middle rack and 1 on the upper-middle rack. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes. Cool the cakes on wire racks 15-20 minutes. Invert each cake onto a large plate; cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
From David Lebovitz

10 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 1/2 bittersweet and 1/2 semi-sweet)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

Melt the chopped chocolate with the water in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk them into the chocolate until completely melted and the ganache is smooth. Cool until spreadable, which will take about 45 minutes - 1 hour at room temperature.

My 25 Things

2009-02-12T14:00:00.004-06:00

I am somewhat sensitive about sharing lots of information about myself. But evidenced by the fact that I started this blog, I still have a desire to share some parts of my life with others. That being said, instead of posting my '25 Random Things' note on Facebook, where it will be broadcast to many people, I'm going to post it on my blog, where it will be shared with only those who take the time to seek out more of my thoughts. Baseball and baking are indeed included in my 25 things, so it's not completely off topic. Here goes:

1) Bright sunshine and intense mint flavor make me sneeze. Up until a couple of years ago, I thought everyone had this reaction, but then I learned my sneeze reflex is not shared with the average person.

2) I am taller than every member of my immediate family by at least 4". I'm 6'1" tall, sans shoes; next tallest is my dad at 5' 8 1/2". IMPORTANT EDIT on 2/13 - my dad has just informed me that he is actually 5' 9 1/2". I shorted him an inch. Sorry Dad - I am only 3+ inches taller than you!

3) I love to take saunas in the wintertime. I probably feel best physically after a long workout, sauna, and then a cool shower.

4) All four guys who I have had relationships with (more than a couple of dates) have either received or are working towards a PhD.

5) I dislike cold weather but have lived in cold weather climates all my life. I hope to live somewhere warm someday.

6) I still have not been to Europe and hope this will change within the next couple of years.

7) I love to bake. My specialties are cakes, pumpkin pie and quick breads of all kinds, although my yeast breads are improving.

8) Even though I've played sports most of my life, I have never broken a bone or had surgery (other than wisdom teeth removal).

9) When I was a sophomore in HS, I could get rim on a basketball hoop. The only other Edina HS girls b-ball player who could also get rim was Kelly Siemon, a senior when I was a sophomore, who went on to play for Notre Dame.

10) The best day of my life so far was my wedding day. I realize this is very conventional, but I truly loved that day and treasure it.

11) I have an intense fear of public speaking. My hands and voice shake, my heart pounds. I thought this would get better as I got older, but it's actually gotten worse.

12) My favorite trip was my honeymoon to Costa Rica in 2007, followed closely by Schrader family vacation to Sonoma County, CA in 2005.

13) As a side note to #13, if I could live anywhere in the US, it would be Sonoma County.

14) Only in the past few years have I come to really appreciate and respect my long, lanky body. It's very important to me to treat myself well by eating great food and being active.

15) I love being an aunt to 3 little boys, but I'm not quite ready for the responsibility of motherhood.

16) I'm prone to getting somewhat depressed in the winter, mainly because I can't be outside that much. I have long fingers and toes that get frigid quickly when I'm outside in cold weather!

17) Last summer I discovered that I love vegetable gardening. I hope to have garden space this summer too.

18) I have a bad attitude about the East Coast after living in DC. I hope to get over that this year.

19) My favorite sport is baseball, and I just don't understand people who say it's boring.

20) I have a close relationship with my mom, dad, and sister and love to spend time with them. I wish I had more opportunities to do so.

21) My biggest pet peeve is when people say "I could care less" instead of "I couldn't care less." Think it through, people.

22) My husband has many good qualities, but one of the best is his amazing cooking skills.

23) I am most at peace when creating in the kitchen or sitting outside in the sunshine.

24) My three favorite 'vice' beverages are red wine, gin & tonics, and coffee.

25) Someday my husband and I will open a restaurant called "The Haughty Hog." He'll cook and I'll bake.

What Else but A-Rod?

2009-02-10T09:14:00.003-06:00

I seem to have a tendency to forget about the baseball part of my baking and baseball blog. And this just wouldn't be a baseball blog at all if I fail to write an entry this week about A-Rod's performance enhancing drug use and the reaction to it.

I know this is a slow overall sports week, but the amount of news coverage that A-Rod is getting is unbelievable. We're in that ugly winter time when football is done, baseball is just around the corner, and the only sport of note is basketball (sorry hockey fans, but hockey just doesn't draw much attention). So it's no wonder that 80% of ESPN and ESPN2 coverage that's not taken up with basketball games this week is reaction to the A-Rod story.

What's more notable is that the story has garnered a lot of attention beyond sporting news. I find it incredible that Michael Fletcher, a reporter with the Washington Post, asked President Obama last night during the press conference what Obama thought about Rodriquez's admission that he used steroids. Of all the questions he could have asked about the major issues going on in the world right now, he asked a baseball question. I suppose it just goes to show that baseball is truly the American sport, and that baseball matters as much to many people as other major issues like the faltering economy. Too bad the baseball-related question was no less depressing than the rest of the news right now. I wish he would have asked the President to give his prediction about which teams will play in the 2009 World Series, or something more fun and optimistic. At least Obama kept his answer short - unlike his answer to every other question last night.

My initial reaction after learning about A-Rod's drug use was surprisingly sympathetic. While I don't consider myself an A-Rod fan, it seemed like he got caught in a trap. He took a drug test while with the Rangers in 2003 which was supposed to be entirely confidential. But Federal agents seized the samples in conjunction with the BALCO investigation in 2004, and somehow his sample was identified. There were no MLB drug-testing penalties during the time that he used steroids, and as he said in his interview yesterday, baseball was a "different and loose culture" with respect to drug use. A-Rod looked so haggard yesterday in his ESPN interview with his bloodshot eyes, and he seemed genuinely sorry about his actions. I was impressed that he gave the interview, admitted his drug use, and seemed determined to right his wrongs by educating children and giving his all to baseball as a clean player.

But as I thought more about A-Rod's actions and the interview, my sympathy started to fade away. When it comes down to it, A-Rod is the most extreme example of a professional athlete with a God complex. He has been entirely focused on being "the best player of all time" and seems to think he can get away with anything in pursuit of that goal. In a December 2007 interview with Katie Couric after signing his most recent contract with the Yankees, he stated that he had never used performance enhancing drugs. His attempt yesterday to justify that lie was that he didn't know that the substances he took were illegal since he never heard that his 2003 samples had tested positive. He said he convinced himself before the CBS interview that he hadn't taken anything illegal. Well, that's just about the sorriest excuse possible. How delusional can he be that he convinced himself that he's always been clean when he was taking unknown substances with the intended effect of improving his performance?

It's just tiring and disappointing to me that every spring we have a Yankee player tearfully apologizing for their improper actions. First Giambi, then Pettite, and now Rodriquez. But only after they've been caught. Rodriquez can talk all he wants about how he's going to work with youth to keep drugs off the baseball diamond, but he's certainly not setting a good example for young kids by blatantly lying about his drug use in the CBS interview and only now coming out with the truth.

Adding to the fun, today Miguel Tejada was charged with lying to Congress about steroids. Obama said last night that steroid use has tarnished an era of baseball. And it has. I'm encouraged that MLB is taking steps to ramp up their drug testing policies, and that the "steroid era" is over. The fact that baseball retains its popularity given the disgust that most people have about steroid use in the sports speaks to its lasting appeal and its long, storied history in this country. I just hope that when my (now entirely hypothetical) children start playing baseball or softball and cheer for professional baseball players, they aren't cheering for big-headed (literally or figuratively), "I am God" athletes who have no moral standards, but for talented players who cherish the game and play it clean.

Now it will be interesting to sit back and see if A-Rod can prove over the remaining 9 years of his contract that he can play the game clean at an extremely high level. Maybe he'll convince me that he deserves to be a respected athlete and Hall of Fame player. But given his previous behavior, I'm not holding my breath.

Overlooked but oh so good

2009-02-07T16:31:00.003-06:00

I love many sweet things, but I tend to be a somewhat picky about the desserts that I chose to bake and consume. I don't like overly sweet items that make me feel sick even if they taste great. Dessert should settle in my stomach in a delightfully mellow, sweet, and relaxing way. It shouldn't make me jumpy or sick on a crazy sugar & fat high. So, I would much rather forgo dessert than have a piece of cheesecake or a slice of cream pie (way too rich) or a piece of cake coated with caramel or really sugary icing (way too sweet). And my taste buds just don't appreciate several traditional dessert flavors such as toffee & coconut. When it comes to my favored desserts, I'd say simple is best. I like most cookies, simple cakes, fruit pies, and several baked treats that are topped with whipped cream (I will never turn down strawberry shortcake or pumpkin pie).

Which leads me to the dessert I baked earlier this week - gingerbread. I didn't take any pictures of my beautiful cake because, well...it wasn't too beautiful. It tastes beautiful, but to the eyes it's just a dark brown square. Perhaps I could have captured it in all its glory when sliced and topped with whipped cream, but you'll have to do without a picture since it has been completely consumed. Gingerbread fit the bill for a simple and tasty dessert that was a perfect, relatively light late night snack this past week for me and Chris.

Considering how easy it is to make and how tasty it is, I am amazed that gingerbread seems to have become an overlooked dessert. I made gingerbread for a dinner party we hosted in early December. To my surprise, all of our guests had never had gingerbread in cake form. When most people think of gingerbread, they think of the gingerbread men cookies that are pervasive during the holidays. But those hard cookie cut outs just don't hold a candle to the deliciousness of gingerbread cake. And I see no reason why gingerbread can't be a year round treat - not just holiday fare. When topped with a cool dollop of whipped cream, it could be a lovely cool treat on a summer evening.

My next baking entry will be a report about the Devil's Food cake I am making for Valentines Day next Saturday. Perhaps not a simple dessert, but Valentines Day calls for something delectably chocolaty. For now, the recipe for gingerbread:

Gingerbread
From Baking Illustrated

2 1/4 cups sifted (9 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pan dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon Dutch processed cocoa
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup mild molasses
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk (skim is fine)
1 large egg

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking dish. Dust with flour; tapping out the excess.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cocoa in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter, molasses, sugar, buttermilk, milk, and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Add the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until the batter is smooth and thick, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. (Do not overmix). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.

Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched and the edges have pulled away from the pan sides, about 40 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with whipped cream.

A Misshapen Pleasure

2009-02-01T16:21:00.003-06:00

Many good things in life are symmetrical. Beautiful faces, wine bottles, baseballs, and flowers, just to name a few. But some misshapen things are quite pleasurable. Like any and all loaves of bread that are produced in our Breadman Plus bread maker. I'm not sure if our misshapen loaves are a result of user error, are a consequence of the particular recipes I use, or are just due to the magic of the Breadman Plus. But even though our loaves are ugly, they are usually darn good.

I really enjoy baking bread in the oven from scratch, without the help of a bread maker, but most of the time I don't have the patience and/or time to take bread dough through the entire bread making process. Chris and I enjoy having fresh baked bread in our house though, so the bread maker is a quick and easy tool to have the fresh bread we enjoy without the work of baking bread in the oven. The bread maker doesn't produce as good a crust as oven-baked bread, but it fills our house with the pleasant yeasty aroma of freshly baked bread. It's also a lot cheaper to bake bread at home than buy it at the grocery store, and I like knowing exactly what ingredients are going into our bread.

The Breadman Plus has a particularly special place in our household because it was used for many years by Chris's grandmother Sylvia. We acquired it after she passed away last spring. Every time I use it, I think of her love for her grandchildren and her amazingly soft hands. I never got a chance to try any bread she baked with the Breadman Plus since she had shelved the machine by the time I came into the family. I wonder if her loaves were as misshapen as ours...

Here is my new favorite bread recipe for our bread machine. It's a fairly light bread - perfect for sandwiches or toasted with butter and jam.

Yogurt Whole Wheat Bread

Makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf

3/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cup bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons oat bran
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Add all ingredients to bread pan in the order given. I use the regular, not the whole wheat, bread cycle even though the recipe includes whole wheat flour.

Let me know if your loaf turns out more shapely than mine!

Spring in the Air

2009-01-31T17:48:00.002-06:00

It was 45 degrees today in St. Paul. We finally got that reliable January thaw on the last day of the month! It's amazing how good 45 degrees feel after two months of subzero weather. How nice it felt to breathe in fresh air without coughing because it's so cold.

Another sign of spring, other than the warmer weather, is the amount of baseball coverage in the sports page. Even in this most annoying of all sports weeks - the week before the Super Bowl - baseball coverage is on the upswing! (I like football but can't stand the hype associated with the Super Bowl). There were 2 full pages of baseball coverage in the Pioneer Press last weekend. Arbitration's in full swing, and I've been keeping up with the contract negotiations for the Twins - and to some extent for the Red Sox.

The Twins signed OF/DH Jason Kubel to a new 2 year deal for $7.2 million with a 2011 club option for $5.25 million. Based on his performance in previous years, I always expected him to make an error in the outfield or to strike out in a pressure situation last year, but he actually came through from time to time. In 2008 he hit .272 in 141 games with 20 HRs and 78 RBI. I can't imagine he'll get much, if any, time in the outfield in 2009 given the amount of talent the Twins have out there, so that means he'll be the primary DH. I keep hearing about the amount of potential he has to be a big-time hitter, but I haven't seen enough power from him to buy into that sentiment yet. Maybe the Twins don't want to get into another David Ortiz situation...but I'm not sure Kubel = Ortiz.

Even with the hang-ups I have about Kubel's talent, his new contract seems pretty reasonable given the crazy salaries that some players think they are worth. By all accounts Kubel fits in well with the team and will hopefully continue to build on the success he had last season. I'll give the Twins a passing grade on this one.

As I've been reading about recent contract negotiations for a variety of teams, I keep wondering how much a player's intangible qualities matter as compared to their numbers. Jason Varitek just signed a 1 year deal with the Red Sox for $5 million with a $5 million club option/$3 million player option for 2010. Varitek, and his infamous agent Scott Boras, turned down arbitration with the Red Sox, which would have given him a minimum $10 million for 2009, to test the waters and see if he could get more. The answer was clearly 'no.' Now we're talking about a 36-year-old number 9 hitter with a horrible OPS, 1 for 16 with the bases loaded, who hit .118 in the postseason. Yikes. But he and his agent thought he was worth $10 million or more because of his intangible qualities. Varitek's a Red Sox captain and apparently a great presence in the club house. And most importantly, pitchers love him as their catcher. In this case all those intangibles didn't get Varitek the kind of salary he thought he deserved.

But it seems to me that Varitek should be happy with his contract, especially when you look at the current contract for the best catcher in the MLB right now, Joe Mauer. Mauer signed a deal in early 2007: 4 years for $33 million - $8.25 million/year. Mauer's 25 and has won two batting titles, is well respected by the pitching staff and has a long career ahead of him. So that puts Varitek's $5 million in a little different light. It's a lot of dough for an old catcher who's anemic at the plate, no matter how important he is in the clubhouse.

Enough for now, but expect more baseball posts as Spring Training approaches. My dad wants a full Red Sox / Twins team comparison position-by-position. That's not likely, but maybe I just got a small start with Varitek and Mauer.

Midnight Chocolate Crackles

2009-01-27T10:42:00.003-06:00

As we look forward to our move to Boston, Chris and I are trying to use up our kitchen cabinet goods on some interesting meals and tasty treats. We're planning to have professional movers transport most of our belongings and will drive my car with other items that aren't so easily packed in a truck - like our little lime tree (if it survives - its indoor lifestyle in the winter is not being kind to it). So, we might be able to pack some of our remaining pantry items in my car, but we don't want to be loaded down with the pounds of multiple kinds of flour and other staples that we currently have in our cabinets.

This weekend I used up a bar of chocolate that had been in our kitchen cabinet since last June when Chris made an ambitious chocolate cake for my birthday. My chosen recipe was "Midnight Crackle" cookies, from the November 2006 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I have never made an exclusively chocolate cookie before, so I thought this would be a fun and new recipe. The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan, and while I've heard great things about her, I have never tried any of her recipes or read any of her numerous books. After tasting these cookies, I think I'll have to bookmark her blog and check her out a bit more!

As good as these cookies are, they are a bit of a pain to make. I made the dough on Sunday evening and left it in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (Chris was making an elaborate Indian dinner and there would have been too many cooks/bakers in the kitchen had I tried to make them on Sunday evening!) When I took the dough out on Monday morning, it was hard as a rock. I left it out on the counter top for over an hour, but it was still rock hard. Finally I reached for a butcher's knife, cut the dough up into smaller chunks, and was then able to roll the firm dough into balls in my palms. My palms are actually tender and sore today from working with the hard dough. But these cookies are definitely worth the time and effort to make - they are rich and chocolately with a hint of spice. And absolutely delicious - enjoy!

Midnight Crackles
Makes about 50 small cookies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs

Put the butter, sugar, and chocolate in that order into a 2.5-quart saucepan. Put the pan over low heat and warm the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until they are melted and smooth. Scrape everything into the bowl of a mixer or a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soad, salt, cinnamon and cloves.

Working with a mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the eggs are well blended with the chocolate. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing just until the dough is smooth and shiny; it will clean the sides of the bowl and form a ball. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide it in half, wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. (If the dough is solid, leave it on the counter for 30-60 minutes before proceeding.)

Position the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, roll the dough between your palms to form firm, shiny balls. (If the dough breaks as you work, squeeze and knead it a bit, then re-roll it between your palms.) Place the balls about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets and lightly press each one down with your fingertips.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from to to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cookies should be delicately firm and crackled across the top. (It's better to under-bake than to over-bake). Remove the sheets from the oven, let the cookies rest for 2 minutes on the sheets, then gently transfer the cookies to a rack using a wide metal spatula. Cool to room temperature.

Wrapped airtight, the cookies can be kept for about 5 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.

Living Up to the Hype

2009-01-24T18:56:00.010-06:00

I tend to be skeptical of trends and really anything that garners a lot of hype. But last night I enjoyed one of the most hyped foods in the culinary world right now – Berkshire pork.

I like to think of myself as a lover of all varieties of pork. Chris and I make a lot of pork at home. He smokes awesome spare ribs, we frequently bake pork chops and country style ribs, and if pressed to name my favorite food, there’s a good chance I’d say pulled pork. Of course a BLT in the summertime, made with fresh tomatoes from our garden on homemade bread with Dijon mustard (not mayo…) ranks right up there too. Yet I do have to admit that the current obsession with including bacon in just about every recipe online and in print is getting a little bit absurd. Yesterday on the Serious Eats website I came across a recipe for oatmeal cream sandwich cookies made with bacon. That’s taking one’s love for pork a bit too far.

So I can’t believe that in all my years of loving so many varieties of pork, last night was my first taste of Berkshire pork. I didn't make a conscious effort to resist this trendy, hyped food, but I had passed it over on menus several times. Chris and I went out for dinner to Luci Ancora, a small Italian restaurant in St. Paul, to celebrate the holidays with my sister and her husband. We were a little late on our holiday celebration since my sister gave birth to beautiful twin boys a few weeks before Christmas. A good excuse and happy reason to delay our celebration!

My entrée selection last night was certainly worth the wait. I ordered the grilled Berkshire pork tenderloin, which was served with a Lingonberry sauce and baby carrots (not the commercial ‘baby cut’ carrots, but the little, tender, delicious ones with the stems still attached). I was a little concerned that the Lingonberry sauce would be too tart and strong and would mask the flavor of the pork, but it certainly wasn’t a problem. The sauce perfectly complemented the pork. Grilled to a medium doneness, the pork had a flavorful, charred outer crust that gave way to an extremely tender, succulent and delicious cut of meat. The Hormel pork products we usually buy from Cub just can’t compare, even though I enjoy them very much. I was served three relatively small medallions of Berkshire pork, and while I could have eaten three more, the flavor and deliciousness of my small portion made for a fantastic meal.

Lesson learned – in the culinary world, sometimes the trendy foods really live up to the hype. I just might find myself spending the extra money and grilling up some Berkshire pork at home. And buying some Lingonberries to go with it.

Chicken Tacos and Guacamole

2009-01-21T16:49:00.005-06:00

Apparently I'm focusing this week on baking and cooking with ingredients that caused recent salmonella outbreaks. Tonight's dinner consisted of chicken tacos and guacamole. Two of the ingredients in the guacamole are tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, which unfortunately were implicated in sickening over 1,200 people last spring and summer in over 40 states and Canada with a particularly vicious strain of salmonella. (Side note: the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I made in the midst of the peanut butter salmonella outbreak on Saturday turned out beautifully, and Chris and I will enjoy the last ones tonight while watching Top Chef, without fear of being sickened...)

As I watched President Obama’s inauguration yesterday, I thought about all of the issues the country is facing as we welcome a new President to lead our country. And I think the recent salmonella outbreaks demonstrate that reforming the U.S. food system should be up there among the big item issues of our time. As Michael Pollan states in his article Farmer in Chief in the New York Times last October, “the health of a nation’s food system is a critical issue of national security.” When we can’t count on the safety of our tomatoes, jalapenos and peanut butter, it becomes clear that our food system is not healthy. It will be interesting to see if President Obama addresses these food issues or if I’ll just keep writing about having fun in the kitchen with ingredients that just might kill you.

Guacamole
Adapted from The Best International Recipe

3 medium sized ripe Hass avocados, halved, pitted and sliced out of the skin into small chunks
3 tablespoons minced red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 small jalapeno chile, seeds and ribs removed, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice (or more to taste)
1 medium tomato, seeds and juice removed, diced
1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)

In medium bowl, combine red onion, cilantro leaves, chile, garlic and lime juice. In a separate bowl, mash the avocado with the salt to a relatively smooth puree (should still have some small chunks). Fold the avocado puree into the bowl with other ingredients. Add extra lime juice and/or salt to taste. Serve with blue corn chips (although not too many since that's what Opera claims is responsible for her recent weight gain...I'm sure it was all about the chips...)

Chicken Tacos

Shredded Chicken

2 lbs chicken thighs (I used breasts since they were on sale at Cub, but thighs are tastier)

1 large onion, peeled and quartered

5 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ancho chili, dried
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and add water to cover. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, and skim any foam that comes to the surface. Partially cover and adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until meat is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from liquid and cool. Shred meat with fingers. Taste and adjust seasonings.

We used 6” flour tortillas for our chicken tacos, along with cilantro leaves, freshly squeezed lime juice, lettuce, minced red onion, salsa & feta cheese. Most of the topping ingredients were out and ready after making the guacamole.

Tacos, chips and guacamole, and a cold, refreshing beverage almost made it feel like summer tonight. But if it was summer, we’d be enjoying our meal at dusk on our front porch with a cool breeze blowing through the screen windows instead of inside when it’s dark and cold outside…But pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a mere 24 days – something to look forward to.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-17T15:15:00.007-06:00

For the past couple of days I've had a strong desire for the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, but I didn't have time to bake something to satisfy that craving until today. Since yesterday was my last day of work, I'll now have plenty of time to bake, which is one of the reasons I decided to start my blog. So, to address my days-long craving for PB and chocolate, I decided to turn to one of my favorite, most reliable recipes and bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies.

My recent PB & chocolate craving leads me to believe that my palate is getting closer to my college roommate Becky's. She absolutely loves any combination of PB and chocolate. Becky came up with a variety of interesting concoctions during college that combined those two ingredients, the highlight (or lowlight, depending on your tolerance for rich foods) of which was a chocolate peanut butter pie that had a good chance of killing you if you consumed more than a small sliver. My mom and sister are also huge fans of Reese's cups and pieces, so the PB & chocolate combination runs in my blood as well as in my friendships.

Peanut butter doesn't have the best reputation right now, given the salmonella outbreak that has been attributed to peanut butter products that were produced at a facility in Georgia. But I will rest easy because the Skippy Natural that I used for the cookies was manufactured in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. When not contaminated with salmonella, peanut butter is a great, healthful food in moderation - luscious, creamy, nutty, and high in protein. Perfect with apple slices or spread on fresh homemade bread. I stick with natural peanut butter to avoid the partially hydrogenated oils in most major label varieties - and I think natural PB has a more complex, nuttier flavor.

The use of natural peanut butter and oats in these cookies give them a fair amount of nutritional value compared to most other cookies. So I think they're a perfect taste of sweetness in the evening when paired with a cold glass of milk. I'd also like to experiment with using whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. Maybe next time. Now the house is enveloped with the scent of peanut butter and chocolate, which seems perfect on a cold, snowy, wintry day like this one.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 24 cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oats
1 cup chocolate-peanut butter (or chocolate alone will do) chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Mix in peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Mix dry mixture into batter until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake 11 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool completely.

To Be or Not to Be

2009-01-16T09:13:00.001-06:00

This morning's temperature in St. Paul as I started my car and drove to work was -22 degrees. Not exactly baseball weather. But just a couple weeks from now, on January 24 at 10am, Boston Red Sox tickets for the 2009 season go on sale. Spring Training tickets are already on sale. So even though it's the middle of basketball season, my mind's already on the upcoming baseball season. As a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan who is soon to become a Bostonian, the question becomes - should I become a Red Sox fan?

I have been a Minnesota Twins fan my whole life. I have vivid memories of the Twins' World Series victory in 1991 when I was 10 years old. What could top Kent Hrbek's dirty move during Game 2 when he pulled Ron Gant's foot off the base and tagged him out, fooling the umpire into thinking that Gant's momentum had pulled him off the base? Or Kirby Puckett's game winning homerun in Game 6? Or Jack Morris's clutch performance in Game 7?

In more recent years, I've enjoyed watching Mauer and Morneau come into their prime and admired the managerial style of Gardenhire. I'm sometimes frustrated that the Twins ownership won't spend money to bring in bigger bats, but at the same time I love the small market nature of the team and their ability to bring new talent up through the farm system. The Twins pitching staff is young, cheap and extremely talented. Rookie position players like Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and Matt Tolbert really impressed me with their hard work and enthusiasm in '08 (although Gomez sometimes drives me nuts...).

So the Twins have been and will always be my #1, but in the past few years I have also become a Philadelphia Phillies fan, thanks to my husband, who's a native Pennsylvanian. It was awesome to watch the Phillies win the 2008 World Series last fall. It was a long awaited professional sports championship for the City of Philadelphia. I respect the way the Phillies play the game. Utley's swing and athletic ability are amazing. Howard's power is unparalleled, when he's not flailing at breaking balls out of the zone. Cole Hamels is a couple years into what will be an amazing career. And what can I even say about Jamie Moyer, who's almost old enough to be my father, and his rubber arm? The Phillies are a larger market, bigger payroll team, but I like their style and approach to the game almost as much as I like the Twins'.

Now I'm moving to Boston. A city where baseball is a big deal. A much bigger deal than it is in the Twin Cities or even in Philadelphia. As someone who loves the game of baseball (and softball), I would love to jump right into that baseball lover's haven and become a Red Sox fan. But I don't exactly like the Red Sox. They're a team with a huge payroll ($133,440,037 in 2008 compared with the Twins $62,182,767), they're always on ESPN playing the Yankees (why can't ESPN show smaller market games?), they're in the American League along with the Twins, and their fans are allegedly really annoying (not that I know any).

But as I think hard about my reasons to dislike the Red Sox, they seem kind of paltry. Yes, they have a huge payroll, but don't I often complain about the Twins not spending much money? I can't fault the Red Sox for the fact that ESPN shows their games. And I can cheer for the Twins when they play the Red Sox even if I'm otherwise a Boston fan. Plus, maybe I won't find Red Sox fans as annoying if I actually am one too.

So I think the answer to "To Be or Not to Be" a Red Sox fan is: To Be. I'll give it a shot. I'll buy tickets on Jan 24 for one of the April games when the Twins come to Boston. I'll wear my Mauer jersey with my Morneau t-shirt underneath and my Twins hat and cheer loudly for my Twins. But throughout the rest of the season, I'll ease myself into being a Red Sox fan. I'll see if it fits. Because life in Boston as a Red Sox fan could be a lot of fun. We'll see...