Guinness Brownies 3/17

Well, it's St. Patrick's Day. Guinness Brownies it is. Sure beats yellow cake with green food coloring. We searched for the recipes online and found lots that had white chocolate chips in them. For some reason, we thought that that was wrong. We found this recipe at a great food blog Bitchincamero, that's Camero with and "E" not like the car. We're fan's.

We like this recipe cause it's a whole bottle of guinness minus a gulp, we used ghirardelli, and it's really good.  The brownie came out a bit rich but with a scoop of vanilla ice cream it is pretty perfect.  It is simple with the ingredients.  Whole wheat pastry flour, pure cane washed sugar, and lots and lots of chocolate.  Bittersweet Chocolate 60% dark, Milk Chocolate, Semi Sweet Chocolate and Cocoa Powder.  It is the first time that we used whole wheat pastry flour and we are still not sure of the difference.  I guess we will have to make something that we have made before and see how it tastes.  

This week, we also had to make friends with eggs especially after last week. It went well!

The chocolate was melted, the rest of the ingredients combined and into the oven it went.

The came out, they taste good but we have to admit that they taste more like Ghirardelli than Guinness. That's alright by us though. Our Mom is from San Francisco where Ghirardelli is king. It seems fitting.  We dusted them with powdered sugar and found it necessary to serve with vanilla ice cream. It's a great treat. 

So, Happy San Fran St. Patty's Day everyone. Enjoy!

Lessons learned:Maybe next year we make Guinness Bread instead to get more of a malty yummy flavor.  Eggs can be friends, when Sara cracks them.  Maybe darker chocolate is better?  or maybe we need to drink some green beer. 

Dad's Birthday 3/11

We were planning on making a Coca-Cola cake for Dad's birthday. Everyone that knows our Dad knows he loves Coke. He drinks it everyday instead of coffee. Coke was big in our house growing up. But last week when we were eating our Meatloaf, he suggested Angel Food Cake. He talked about how his Mom used to make it and how hard it was, but he loved it and how she switched to box mixes after she discovered them. All we heard was "Challenge!"
We went with Alton Brown's recipe which can be found here. The recipe calls for "orange extract or extract of your choice," we chose Almond and it went downhill from there. Ok, not really but it didn't go perfectly either.
The recipe calls for 12 egg whites. To get 12 egg whites, one must separate 12 eggs. 12 eggs is a lot. We aren't that experienced. You would think that we could at least crack an egg sufficiently but to make a long story short, using all 14 eggs in the fridge, our angel food cake had approximately 11 egg whites.

From there, there's a lot of whipping to do. We whipped till we couldn't whip anymore (about 2 minutes) and then we mixed. We mixed the sugar in as directed but did not "achieve medium peaks" as directed. As you can see from the picture, there were no real peaks to be had. Maybe this was due to our missing egg white but we don't know for sure.

We sifted in the remaining ingredients and hoped for the best.

 

There was a good cake mixture texture to it so we just went with it. Into the tube pan and into the oven.

Surprisingly and thankfully, it all came out alright. It rose as it was supposed to and smelled wonderful. We hung it upside down as suggested and went to bed. We both had nightmares about waking up to cake on the counter but it the morning, all was well.

The next day was Dad's birthday. We went to work and then went over to our parent's house to celebrate. We were excited to show him what we made, but we also had a confession. It wasn't about the cake being short one egg white because that didn't seem to matter too much. We had to admit that we are cowards. We were afraid of getting the cake out of the pan. It's shameful, we know but the pressure had mounted and we didn't want it to all fall apart now. If we broke the cake, it would have been ruined as a birthday cake and we couldn't have that. So, as tacky as it was we gave our dad his cake...in the pan. We're not proud of it but he's the one with the homemade Angel Food Cake experience. At first, he couldn't get it out either. He cut a piece out, loosening it all and then shook the rest of it out. He happily ate that piece. It tasted great. The texture was perfect. We were happy.

Dad said "You're sillier than you look" when he found out that we made the cake from scratch but we wouldn't have had it any other way.

Lessons learned: 1)Get better at cracking and separating eggs. 2)Food made with love can withstand some small mistakes. 

Mom's Meatloaf 2/28

Meatloaf is a touchy subject sometimes. At a restaurant, you'll try it but swear your Mom's is better. At a friend's house, you'll smile and eat it, be polite and not mention that your Mom's is better. For us, our Mom's recipe really is better. Honest! We've been sworn to secrecy a couple times by friends that admit that they like our Mom's meatloaf better than theirs.
The secret must be simplicity. We can't say that it is a healthy dish but, it is delish! There are no vegetables in there. There are only a few ingredients, but they serve to make up one of our family's favorite dishes. We asked our Mom to give us some details about this dish but there doesn't seem to be much to tell. Ladies and gentlemen, it's easy and it's yum. That's all you need to know.

The items pictured plus ground beef, milk and an egg/lb of it is all you need. This is something our Mom has been making for us throughout our lives. It's our Dad's favorite dish and making it is almost like breathing to her. She barely paused for us to get pics and understand each step to relay it to you.
These are the measurements needed for a 2lb meatloaf:

• 2lb Ground Beef
• 1 whole can of Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of Steak Sauce
• approx 1/2 cup Milk

These all get mixed together by hand. Nothing was actually measured here when Mom did it. The actual amount we were told for the milk is "Until it's smushy" so as you add it a bit at a time as you mix it all up. The milk gets absorbed by the bread crumbs so I believe she is referring to the overall texture. We never had any crumbly texture in the meatlaof she made so make sure it's moist but definitely not anywhere close to soupy.

The mixture then gets shaped into a loaf (go figure), placed in a baking dish and then covered with tomato sauce. We made a 2lb meatloaf for dinner and a 1 pounder for lunch the next day (can you tell we like this stuff?). Both had a whole can of tomato sauce poured over it. Everything else was halved for the smaller one.

The bigger one was placed in the oven as we were preparing the smaller one as it would need more time to cook. It takes an hour at 350 degrees for the 1 pounder to get cooked, 1/2 hour more for the double. That's it!

 So, Mom may not have much to say about her meatloaf but we do. Your Mom may use onions or half ground beef, half ground pork, or even wrap it in bacon. Those are probably lots more flavorful but trust us, this recipe holds its own.

In addition to being one of our family's favorites, as crazy as it sounds, this meatloaf has helped shape our family. This recipe is one of only a handful that we were brought up with. Our Mom doesn't consider herself much of a cook but we sat down and had dinner as a family (we still do it almost every week at least once). This was important to us because it was an major part of our support system. Our Mom may not have taught us how to cook but she taught us that we could do anything we put our minds to. Sara never really baked before this year and I always made the same few things over and over but we knew that we could try new things have fun. Our Mom and Dad (and this meatloaf kinda) are a major part of why you get to read this blog. So, go make some yummy meatloaf and go call your Mom.
Lessons learned: How to make Mom's meatloaf. We didn't know it before but we're glad we know now.

Apple Pie 2/27

Last week, we made a traditional type of meat pie from England. This week we went with something a lot more familiar though we've never made it before: Apple Pie.
***We can't post the recipe this week so this entry is mostly about tips for making an apple pie with whichever recipe you choose.
We looked through a bunch of different recipes. There were some with just cinnamon, some with cinnamon and all spice, or cinnamon and nutmeg. We went with the recipe that had all three! We have yet to go wrong with using too much of these spices. Of course we stick mostly to the recipe but a little extra flavor never hurts ;o)
Most pies are made with Granny Smith apples but we know that they can be pretty tart. Based on a recommendation from a friend, we also supplemented the Granny Smith with Red Delicious from the organic apple dude at the Farmers Market.

Since we've never made apple pie before, another friend who has came to help supervise. He suggested that we went with both butter and vegetable shortening instead of only one or the other. We mixed them together with the flour, salt and sugar using our food processor.

The dough was then chilled while we went about making the filling.

Oh, the filling! The yummy yummy filling. The sliced apples were mixed together with sugar, the spices, lemon juice, lemon zest and a little bit of flour. Is it wrong that Erin licked her hands when she was done?

The dough was then rolled out, put in the pans and placed in fridge again for 20 mins. The filling was inserted, the top crust rolled out. We had to embellish the crust with cookie cutter holes instead of the usual slits. It's just too cute. We were also excited to use a particular pie dish given to Erin by our cousins Katie and Bryan. It's in the shape of an apple! We have to admit, it was the inspiration for the item choice this week. Wouldn't you want to use it too?

We made 2 pies because we've had a lot of requests lately from taste testers. The pies were glazed with beaten egg whites and dusted with sugar, then placed in the bottom rack of the oven. We placed them on baking sheets to catch the juices. The baking sheets were in the oven during the pre-heat so they could transfer the heat to the pie pans instead of obstructing it. 

As you can see, the pies came out beautifully. We had a hard time keeping the boys away from them while they cooled. Tim kept using his food thermometer on them to check when they would be cooled enough. As good as they looked, they tasted even better. The spices and consistency were perfect. Our supervisor even conceded that his had never come out this well before. It was a great night.

Lessons learned: We should make pie more often. Also, we need a little practice at making the edges look pretty. Not too bad!

p.s. Here's a pretty picture and thank you to Katie and Bryan. We love you guys!

Cornish Pasties 2/21

Not that we're tired of sweets but we felt it was time for a change. And, there is more that you can bake than desserts and treats. So, we decided that this week, we would make a main course for our usual Sunday Family dinner.

We chose Cornish Pasties. We've had this idea all week. We just chose to execute at the end of the week. People that asked what we're baking this week were told "Cornish Pasties." We were met with looks of confusion and some slight smirks. Stateside, it's not so common. So here's a little history:

Cornish pasties are from Cornwall, England. They are a traditional miner's lunch. It is a pie crust type dough filled with beef, potato, carrots and onions. The miners would mark these "hot pocket" like meals with their initials so they would eat half for breakfast and know who's was who's for lunch. In fact the fillings were usually so hot that they were still warm for meal time. These days, it's a quick takeaway food that people on the go pick up at groceries all over England.

For us, this was a collaborative effort. Tim, Erin's husband/Sara's brother-in-law made the "insides" and we were responsible for the crispy crust. Tim used all the above mentioned ingredients as well as some turnip and seasoned with Salt and Thyme. We couldn't tell you how much to use because we had a TON leftover. Here's the recipe for the dough:

1.5 cups of flour (we prefer unbleached)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3/4 cup of margarine

Combine and knead together. Add small amounts of water until you have a stiff dough.

This yields enough dough for about 3 pasties. Roll it out into rounds with a floured rolling pin and remember to coat both sides of the dough with some flour so that it isn't sticky.

We liked the walls of the pasty to be thick. What makes the Cornish Pasty different from other traditional English pies is that it's all baked together. You don't brown or cook the meat before it is all wrapped up. This is why it is important to bake the whole thing thoroughly. 20mins at 425, then 40mins at 325.

The edges were brushed with whipped egg to help it stick.

We left a hole for steam to get through and pinched in some initials for authenticity. D for Dad. :o)

We then brushed the tops with some of the beaten egg and put them in the oven.

We were very happy with how they came out. The flavors were great and it really wasn't hard to make. We would do it again for sure. We did discover that they are incredibly filling and we understood how a hungry miner could eat only half and save some for later.

Lessons learned: If we wanted to put our initials in again, we would use scraps of dough. They didn't come out so well with the pinching technique. Also, make less of the stuffing part. We had a lot left!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect reason to bake something and Sara thought of the perfect thing: Sugar Cookies. We haven't made them much before but the decorating possibilities are endless. For the sometimes baker, there's a great website called Fancy Flours where you can buy some great wafer paper decorations. This avoids having to buy one of those printers that uses edible ink. We ordered our supplies and away we went.
We planned on having our cookies ready for distribution at work before Valentine's day. We started on Wednesday night making the cookies.

Turns out, even with our baking party of four people, it took a lot of time and we had to call it quits around 10pm. It became a 2 night event. We began some of the decorations on night 1 but had to finish up on night 2.

The cookies tasted great and looked great. Some people didn't want to eat them for the art of it all but we firmly believe that flavor should not suffer for looks. These cookies were no exception and we are very glad to have co-workers to share them with instead of having a gluttonous marathon of eating over 50 cookies ourselves.

Lesson learned: Allow more time to make the cookies. Elaborate decorations need more than one school night to complete.

Superbowl Celebration

Being that we were going to be enjoying the Superbowl in a Saints household, we decided to contribute to the southern cuisine with a dessert of bread pudding. We thought it would be a nice finish to the pulled pork sandwiches and red beans and rice.

We decided not to put too much pressure on ourselves by baking the bread and then turning it into pudding so we went to the farmer's market and picked up a loaf of Challah from The Bread Man. We were following a Cooks Illustrated recipe again this week and they say that Challah is the best for flavor and absorption. We bought the pre-sliced loaf though the recipe calls for larger cubes. We don't think it made a difference.

We cut up the bread into small pieces and put them in the toaster to dry out but not brown.

Then the pudding mix got whipped up and combined with most but not all of the bread. The bread was coated and then left to soak.

Then the rest of the bread was placed on top with a pecan/brown sugar mixture to add some crunchiness, and then into the oven it went.

Unfortunately, the pulled pork that was in the oven just before our bread pudding had left some charred juices at the bottom. This provided a billowing smoke inside the oven but we didn't have time to fix it. By the time we realized there was a problem with the oven, we had already begun soaking the bread in the pudding mixture. We wiped out as much as we could and then we went for it.

All reactions were positive. There was a guest at the party that loves bread pudding and she said that she was not disappointed. We probably only found a very slight smoky flavor because we were looking for it. But overall, it was a fun new challenge and addition to our baking repertoire.

Lessons learned (slash reiterated): Start with a clean oven. We knew this, but didn't have much choice in this case.