Anyone?… anyone…? June 7, 2011

… Bueller?

 I know.  You don’t even have to say it.  I know.

So it’s been a while, eh?  I don’t know about you, but a lot’s happened for me since the last time I posted.  ages ago…  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since then, facing major bouts of baker’s block, and feeling a lot of disonance in my cullinary life.  On the one hand, I really missed baking delectable creations that people would drool over.  On the other hand, I was trying to do the “healthy” thing, and the last thing I needed was a triple chocolate mousse torte hanging around the kitchen of my two person home! 

 

So I took a break.  A hiatus if you will.

 

I also started trying to eat better, although not cutting out all of the “fun”.

 

I cut off all my hair.

 

I ran a half marathon.

 

I went to the doctor for a check up.

 

All good things!!  And yet, for some reason, I felt I could not do both.  I could not do the “health” thing, and still have a fun cooking and baking blog with recipes that people would actually want to use.  I no longer wanted all of my recipes to have butter as their primary (and sometimes only…) ingredient, but I also didn’t want to try to create the “70 calorie turkey dinner comprised of tofu and lentils that tastes just like the REAL THING!!” because that’s just gross.

But Krissy’s been in the kitchen this whole time.  Making things.  Not a lot of desserts and baked goods.  But still, pretty good stuff.  Vegetarian stuff, simple stuff, but still good stuff.  So I want to try again.  Try to keep tis blog active.  I’m going to blog when I feel I have something worthwhile to share.  I don’t want to make food for the sake of blogging it, I want to make food for the sake of eating it!!  I want to make food that tastes good, but still fuels my body in the right way.

I don’t know what this blog is going to become, or if it’s even going to become anything.  I’m just going to write about my life, and the major components of it which I find enjoyable.  Food.  Family.  Running (sometimes). 

So, here goes nothing.  Again.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes (Round One) November 8, 2010

So I’m shaking things up.  Thinking outside the box.  Coloring outside the lines… and so on and so forth.  I’m still not sure how I feel about these little guys, but the process was fun, and i want to keep tweaking the recipe until I’m satisfied.  I think they were good, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if they had the “wow!” factor I was really going for…

Am I a total Debbie Downer today?  It must be Monday.

Montana Lesson Number Three: All things bread. November 5, 2010

These are my sister’s hands.  When I went out to visit her, she was in the midst of what looked like a scientific experiment, right there in her kitchen.  She was making a bread starter for sourdough bread.  I must admit, it looked pretty gross.  But when I got through gagging and she explained to me what was going on, it was actually pretty interesting.  Until she made me smell it.  Then I started gagging again.

So here’s what I’m thinking.  I’d like to know more about bread baking.  My sister seems to know a lot about bread baking.  And she’s a scientist, so she knows a lot about the science behind bread baking.  I’m thinking, bread baking guest blog entry(ies)?  Meg, interested?

Smelly bread starter goop.

 P.S.  This weekend… cupcakes!

Montana Recap (Part Two) November 4, 2010

This is Robert.  Robert runs an awesome doughnut shop in Bozeman, Montana called Granny’s Donuts.  Robert’s donuts are gormet, and crazy good.

Robert let me help make donuts.  He let me put a tray into the kettle, he let me flip them, and then he let me pull them up.  He let me make a special doughnut using his pastry gun.  The he gave me a cookbook to bring home.  Needless to say, Robert brought my trip to the next level of awesome.

Montana Recap (Part One) November 3, 2010

I’m jet lagged.  I set my alarm this morning for 6:02 am, which by my body’s clock, aka Montana time, is 4:02 am.  So bear with me.

One of the (MANY) reasons I was so super excited to go to Montana was not on only to see my sister, but to cook with her.  We enjoy cooking together, and because we are going on a super sweet vacation over the holidays this year, we will not be cooking.  So to compensate, we made some pretty awesome Poached Pear Puff Tarts.

Gooey Granola, The Best Travel Food October 28, 2010

I decided to take a trip to Montana, and surprise my sister.  I did.  She cried.  She almost hyperventilated.  It was great.

So was the granola I made for said trip.

Pie Season: How to be a Good House Guest October 23, 2010

We headed north last weekend due to the passing of a very beloved family member.  Brian’s Uncle Sher passed away after a long and courageous fight with Parkinson’s Disease.  It’s really bittersweet, because he was such an amazing person, but it’s somewhat comforting to know he’s not suffering anymore.

Graciously, Brian’s sister’s in-laws (did you follow that?) let us descend upon their farm for an evening to break up the 8 hour trip.  So how do you say thank you to people who open up their home in a time of need?… You bake for them!  Duh…

Pie Season: Buttermilk Pie October 15, 2010

It’s October.  There is a chill in the air (FINALLY…) and that can only mean one thing: Fall, the perfect baking season.  Fall is the perfect time to bake any assortment of confectionery creations, but this fall i am on a mission.  My partner has never liked pie, and i am hell bent on changing that.

In fairness to my partner, it’s not that he disliked pie, but he’s never been very fond of it.  As a result, he has felt ashamed at many a holiday feast, mumbling a quiet “no thanks” while everyone else at the table dives into flaky crusts filled with fruits and custards galore.  So really, i’m trying to help him here.  This is charity, folks.

I decided the best course of action was to try some pies he has not tried, then ease our way into re-trying pies.  So i decided to bake outside of the box.

Yesterday morning I made a buttermilk pie.  If you’re from the northeast like me, you may be wondering, “what the hell is a buttermilk pie?”.  I wondered the same thing.  Until i made it.  Then i wondered “why the hell have i been deprived MY WHOLE LIFE of buttermilk pie?!”  Mom?  Care to comment?

As it turns out, buttermilk pie is a very popular southern dessert.  As we are not southerners, mom, i forgive you.  This pie is so simple to make.  You can use a pre-made pie crust, although i made one from scratch.  I used the recipe from Joy the Baker (see favorite things).  Honestly?  I could take or leave the blackberry sauce.  The pie was just that good.

The Holiday Project: An Introduction October 14, 2010

It is mid-October and I’ve been super excited about the holidays approaching for the past two weeks.  As soon as the weather starts to turn my mind gets flooded with thoughts of pies and baked fruit, corduroys, and colored leaves.  Granted, the weather didn’t really start to change this year until a few days ago, but there was a hint of autumn in the air and I couldn’t keep my mind from wandering…

During one such daydream i was hit by what I considered to be a genius idea.  I was trying to narrow down the types of holiday cookies I would be making this year from my vast repertoire of confectionary creations when i thought, “Why does it always have to be about cookies?”.  It was at that moment that i decided to live a little, to rebel against standard holiday cookie platters, and to go where no man had gone before (at least that i was aware of): a holiday mini-cupcake assortment.

No sooner did i commit to making holiday confection history than i realized that this could be a pretty involved undertaking.  And that is why, my friends, the planning starts now.

What I have so far:

• Boxes.  Little boxes that hold 12 mini cupcakes each.  i am thinking of doing 4 or 6 different flavors, so a box of 12 will allow me to do two or three of each flavor.  (yes, i CAN do math!)
• Labels.  I want to put custom labels on both the outside and inside of the boxes.  I found weatherproof labels that i can print off my home printer, which i think will be perfect (I went with weatherproof incase we decide to leave boxes on neighbors’ doorsteps).  The top of the box will have a fun holiday design, while the inside of the box will have a code as to which cupcakes are which.
• Cupcakes.  This is where things get tricky.  Narrowing tons of wonderful winter flavors into 4 or 6 flavor combinations???  How the hell am i supposed to do that!  so far, i have a list of 10 different cake flavors and 7 different icing flavors.  have suggestions, or a holiday cupcake you would like to try?  Let me know in the comments!

So the plan from her is bake, bake, bake!  I have to develop the cake recipes, perfect the cake recipes, try different flavor pairings between cakes and icings, and all this in 6 to 8 weeks!  But i am up for it.  Watch me go to work.