tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14642011916729775442024-03-12T21:09:52.637-04:00Shaking N BakingAdventures in the kitchenChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-46026980527032637882011-12-22T20:11:00.002-05:002022-12-31T10:52:25.611-05:00Home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, as some of you have heard, I am home from my Qatari Adventure. I got home about a week ago, just in time to be involved in all the last minute preparations for Christmas. While most are really excited that I am home and back in the good ole US of A, you are also asking how long I am stateside and what my next plans are! Well, the first question is easy…I’m here for good…no current plans to return to Qatar (or go anywhere else!) anytime soon. <br />
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While I loved living in Doha, Qatar, the job that I went to do turned out to be very different from what I was actually asked to do. I wanted to go to Qatar to gain experience doing certain tasks and be in a role that turned out to be very different than what they had in mind for my position there. I fought hard to make it into what I had hoped and could tolerate, but in the end I was unable to convince them to change their ways and mindset. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted this experience to work out and last for two years, I couldn’t continue to endure some of the things that were going on. I won’t go into too many details in this public forum, but invite me out for chai/drinks and I’ll spill the beans. Just know that I am a strong woman that doesn’t give up on things easily and I believe this proved to be both my greatest asset and my biggest downfall while in Qatar. I still gained a lot of great experience, and learned a ton about business (especially international) and even more about myself. I met a bunch of really great people that I hope to turn into lifelong friends and be able to travel the world to see them in their home countries someday. <br />
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So, what’s next you ask? I’m not entirely sure. While I would love to continue to pursue my dream of baking and providing high quality sweets/desserts to people, I’m not sure if I can do this immediately. I do think that I need to stick close to family for now though, so while a quick trip to the DC area is planned, I think I’ll be settling in CA at least for the short term. If you know of any great opportunities that I should pursue, please let me know!<br />
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I recently posted on my FaceBook page the quote, “I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” I am living that quote right now. I am enjoying the time I have with my family and friends this Christmas and New Year’s season. I am praying that God will show me how this fresh start is going to lead me to wonderful things that I just don’t see quite yet. I’m confident that whatever is next will be just another adventure that will teach me a bunch of lessons in life.<br />
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With Love,<br />
Christina<br />
</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-52641026977659009382011-11-24T09:57:00.001-05:002011-11-24T10:05:08.384-05:00Thanksgiving in Doha, Qatar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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May your stuffing be tasty</div>
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May your turkey plump,</div>
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May your potatoes and gravy</div>
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Have nary a lump.</div>
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May your yams be delicious</div>
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And your pies take the prize,</div>
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And may your Thanksgiving dinner</div>
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Stay off your thighs! </div>
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Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends and family in the United States! What a day of food, fun and football! This is also a great time to remember all that we have to be thankful for in our lives. For me, this year I am most thankful for my parents who have taken on so many things for me to be able to come to Qatar and be on this wild adventure! Not only are they taking care of my loving cat, Marvin, but they are also minding my finances and sending me lots of care packages so that I don’t miss too much of home. <br />
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I am also very thankful for the love and support of friends. So many of you have kept in touch via Facebook, mail, Skype or emails which is such a blessing. Every time I connect with someone from home it makes me grateful for the connections I’ve made in this life that endure space and time. It also reminds me how thankful I am for today’s technology! My grandparents could have never imagined Skyping with someone on the other side of the world! <br />
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While I could easily fall into a woe-is-me thought process because I am not home for the holiday, I am far too blessed for that. God has me right where he wants me at this exact moment. I’ve spent many holidays away from family, so this is not a new thing for me, though being so far away and facing some of the challenges I face here it is a bit bittersweet this year. But I am choosing to focus on the blessings.<br />
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This time of year also reminds me of how fortunate I am to be an American…and an American that can afford to live comfortably, or at least have family and friends that would help me if needed. So many people in this world are hungry today. To think that there will be way too many leftovers and wasted food on American tables today is a bit sad. I wish somehow this world could figure out how to distribute the excess from one part of the world to another. I wish we could all share the benefits and reduce the struggles of our fellow mankind in the world. <br />
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On that note, I recently read a food blog written by a woman who lost her husband unexpectedly in August. She is doing her best to move forward and remember to be thankful for what she does still have in this life, as well as help others. (<a href="http://www.injennieskitchen.com/" target="_blank">In Jennie's Kitchen</a> for those that want to read her beautiful, yet heartbreaking journey.) She inspired me to ask of those with a little extra this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season to consider giving back. <br />
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Whether you support <a href="http://smallbusinesssaturday.com/" target="_blank">Small Business Saturday</a> and support your local independent small businesses or simply spend a bit less at the major chains, this will go a long way in helping your local community. (Yeah, I know it’s sponsored by American Express, but you don’t have/need to use your credit card…in fact I would encourage you to spend within your budget!) Don’t forget that you favorite Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Party Lite or other independent consultant would love your business too. <br />
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You could volunteer at your local shelter to help those less fortunate than you. I remember making sandwiches one year for my <a href="http://www.restoninterfaith.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=15288" target="_blank">local shelter in Reston, Virginia</a>. That simple act of purchasing and making 60 sandwiches to be delivered to the shelter for their clients was immensely rewarding. I also was richly blessed when I went on a mission trip to Denver and worked with the homeless community for a week with <a href="http://doornetwork.org/" target="_blank">D.O.O.R.</a>. The people that you are able to bless are truly in need, whether it is because of a mental, physical illness or whether they battle addictions that have stolen their lives. Most of the people that go to shelters are keenly aware of their dire situation and just want a warm smile, listening ear and a bit of help. Find a local shelter in your community and get plugged in…not only during the holidays, but year-round. <br />
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You can also get involved with groups that volunteer year round. There are the biggies like Red Cross, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, but don’t forget the smaller ones too. The local Boys and Girls Club or your local high school’s booster club would probably gladly welcome a donation or the offer of you time to help. Also, if you’re already involved in a church, get involved with one of the ministries! Extra hands to help your community go a long way and you normally get a pretty decent blessing out of it too.<br />
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If you really want to keep things personal, offer to babysit during the holidays for that single mom/dad that you know so they can go shopping or get some rest one afternoon. Go hang lights or decorate for your elderly neighbor (and then take them down after the season!). Take a meal to a family that you know is barely making ends meet. Have coffee with that single gal/guy that is missing their family because they live far away. Smile at people while you’re out…it’s amazing how much this simple, free gesture can make a difference. <br />
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No matter what I hope that today and year-round you remember to be thankful, even when there are storms and struggles in your life. I am thankful for some of the struggles I’ve endured because they have made me the person I am today. While I don’t wish to ever face some of those struggles again, I also realize the blessings that came from them. Thank you God for always working things out for good. <br />
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have an extra piece of pumpkin pie for me! <br />
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With Love,<br />
Christina</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-26713030933390305782011-10-29T19:48:00.000-04:002011-10-29T20:02:39.864-04:00Quick Photo Post and Request for Help!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi everyone! This will be a quick photo post...I know I've not written much this much (heck, not at all!). Trust me that it's been super busy here and the weather has finally cooled off so there is a lot more to do when I have time off. I'll do my best to write more again soon, but in the meantime, here are some more photos!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGblVmtUsGhQVHICpKYY71THCdDv4pxtYJOR1IA8yZNwqzbzQ4xqmqUS-ZENzyaHirxP7rHFJIfIUJD5qnryxlngKt8PxPwuFBpQ4pFsK_DFW7lV7EPl2qG60Ylooexrj1noU2Cuqqtw/s1600/IMG_1237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUGblVmtUsGhQVHICpKYY71THCdDv4pxtYJOR1IA8yZNwqzbzQ4xqmqUS-ZENzyaHirxP7rHFJIfIUJD5qnryxlngKt8PxPwuFBpQ4pFsK_DFW7lV7EPl2qG60Ylooexrj1noU2Cuqqtw/s320/IMG_1237.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Having a bit of fun at the Irish Harp...I can't hear you!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This little guy (named him Mortimer) was hanging out at the villa...seemed suspicious of me.</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>A customer took this photo and posted it on our Facebook page...a bit blurry, but a good shot overall. <br />Shows you a bit of the shop and what I look like 54+ hours a week!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNc-mcedD9ntQgiG_vzRTZ4s7dLcMS7Fhy-HjCTLlt834kxPoWLpJi2Mj1fM7-6e2Yh8oGQDrTv8tQ57eEqAYRhnKnejoce4kbVGgZ1fyyme-OU3KgfaAr8bX_6aFd0CyJjZgim_48cI/s1600/IMG_1253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNc-mcedD9ntQgiG_vzRTZ4s7dLcMS7Fhy-HjCTLlt834kxPoWLpJi2Mj1fM7-6e2Yh8oGQDrTv8tQ57eEqAYRhnKnejoce4kbVGgZ1fyyme-OU3KgfaAr8bX_6aFd0CyJjZgim_48cI/s320/IMG_1253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Sunsetting...on our way to the beach....over the dunes and through the sand!</em></td></tr>
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<em>Sand Duning and Overnight Camping on the Beach....So fun, so beautiful, so scary! <br />We went through that waterto the other side...</em></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>View from the top of the Dunes....we'd just come from that direction!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Another view from the top...Breathtaking!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>We were just down in that valley...those are our fresh tracks!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Lindsay and I at the Ministry of Sound Beach Party...Fun times at the InterConteniental Hotel</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Photo of Doha...on the Corniche</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Doha Skyline at sunset</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvatoSrmkPp4DD0Qar8OcAjb7fm1tuuNmpdERvMMWAL1e4gg_SgJZ6VGwgLBZudKXbakqF7fWTJzl3YG2RtC1SIc1-TOD5JUeI5NxnOGjEgyw_vlXbTi0ieHj8Eq4tXZV7AitcZE-XvAw/s1600/Lobster+and+Pasta+La+Dolce+Vita.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvatoSrmkPp4DD0Qar8OcAjb7fm1tuuNmpdERvMMWAL1e4gg_SgJZ6VGwgLBZudKXbakqF7fWTJzl3YG2RtC1SIc1-TOD5JUeI5NxnOGjEgyw_vlXbTi0ieHj8Eq4tXZV7AitcZE-XvAw/s320/Lobster+and+Pasta+La+Dolce+Vita.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>This was dinner one night...Lobster with Pasta...so good (La Dolce Vita at Souq Waqif)</em></td></tr>
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<br />
I can't seem to get this next photo to rotate properly...but it's a recipe I made with my mom, but I didn't keep the actual recipe! It's called "Apple Cheesecake Breakfast Bars" and if you can help me find the recipe I'd be so grateful! I've done internet searches and can't seem to find it! It was in one of those small recipe books they sell at the checkstand of grocery stores...in May. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsO8RByzuvPvwmQdH1eVJGNAHdtC623jBeW1XPY3291Vg0Hn8mvKa0d9EZ2QScvgub0ieUQbOBt5fhdibHTHch7hO4uJjeWsqVZm-GwYZmIE3c4GqQVI68vPlIOcSmAQCxMd_swb3Brmw/s1600/Apple+Cheesecake+Breakfast+Bars.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsO8RByzuvPvwmQdH1eVJGNAHdtC623jBeW1XPY3291Vg0Hn8mvKa0d9EZ2QScvgub0ieUQbOBt5fhdibHTHch7hO4uJjeWsqVZm-GwYZmIE3c4GqQVI68vPlIOcSmAQCxMd_swb3Brmw/s320/Apple+Cheesecake+Breakfast+Bars.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Apple Cheesecake Breakfast Bars...HELP!</em><em></em></td></tr>
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UPDATE: My brilliant friend, Kathy, quickly found the recipe!! Check it out <a href="http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2726/almond-cheesecake-apple-bars.asp">here</a>! Thanks Kathy!<br />
<br /><br />
Enjoy with Love,<br />
Christina<br />
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</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-39546438379798005712011-09-24T16:45:00.001-04:002011-09-24T16:53:44.388-04:00Relationships and Chocolate Pudding Pie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
“Christina, you just have to understand that your American way of being friendly is often misinterpreted as romantic here. You need to stop it.” This was the verbal blow given to me by a guy that works at one of the other restaurants near our bakery. We had been discussing among other things relationships and how things work in the Middle East/Qatar. He said that I flirted with way too many people here. He defined my flirting as the smiles I easily gave to anyone and saying hello or chatting with them. I said that I was simply just being friendly, that I liked to smile at people and that I talk to just about anyone if they’re not being jerks. He then let go with the above line. I was a bit hurt. Why should I change who I am and how I am just because they can’t understand that I’m just trying to be friendly? <br />
<br />
I posted about this on Facebook. I got lots of comments about not changing who I am or how I am along with some advice on bridging the culture gap. One friend (Hi Cathy!) even suggested that I contact the US Embassy to see if they could offer any advice on how to work out this challenge. I’ve not done that yet, instead choosing to be more selective in whom I flash my “eyes-smiling” smile at. So far, this tactic seems to be working. I still smile at just about everyone, but not everyone gets the “eyes-smiling” smile (does that make sense!?) opting instead for the “closed mouth” grin. So, you could say, I’ve tried to change who how I am a bit…not a bad thing, and sometimes the “eyes-smiling” smile creeps out and shows itself anyway. <br />
<br />
In that same vein, I’ve also met some really great customers. Of course, I often hear giggles from my staff when I sit and talk with American customers (why are they mostly men!?). The customers are normally quite engaging and share a common humor and understanding that fills a hole in me. I don’t think I prepared well enough for the fact that some things (humor) just wouldn’t translate here. Only my American friends/customers seem to understand sarcasm or silly “That’s What She Said” jokes. My staff of course sees the laughter and joking as flirting (::Sigh::) when really, I’m just having fun with some customers. <br />
<br />
That’s not to say I’ve not met some really great locals with wonderful, humorous sides as well though. We have a few customers that are starting to become friends and even though I had to literally explain the concept of sarcasm to avoid a major confusion recently, we’re having fun learning each other’s cultures. The night that I was invited out after work and I only had a tank top on under my uniform jacket, I was more uncomfortable than they were even though we went to a place filled with mostly men in thobes. I thought for sure they thought I was a Western Hussie….I was told to just relax that it was ok and more common than I realized. We found common ground in music from the 80’s and 90’s, playing music on the laptop and singing along to power ballads by Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton and Bryan Adams. Introducing each other to new music and laughing the whole time when something just wasn’t translating. Of course, being on their “home turf,” I’ve been introduced to new foods, new hobbies (shisha anyone!? *cough* *hack*), and interesting ways of approaching things. (By the way, I was told that here when people ask where I’m from that I should respond, “America” not “United States”…they’ll understand faster. You don’t get tips like that from the travel books and websites!)<br />
<br />
As much as I’m realizing that I need to adapt to this culture, I’m also firmly reminded that a lot of things are universal. People are people no matter where you are in this world. The people here all desire love, joy, peace, understanding and community with others….just like we do in America, just as I imagine they do in Europe, South America and Asia. This human need is so strong that people look for it in a smile, in a friendly “hello,” or an inadvertent touch. Sure, at times it will be misinterpreted, but at other times it may just help someone get through the day. I suppose in the end it is balance and just knowing how to respond if someone misunderstands. <br />
<br />
Relationships seem to be a big theme right now in my life. Not only have I had the above experiences, but a few friends back in America have been sharing their relationship experiences as well. Rita is being super brave and blogging about her journey of going on 35 dates in 35 days in light of finding herself single upon turning 35 recently(Her blog <a href="http://ritasquest.wordpress.com/">Rita’s Quest</a> is great…read it!). Her experiences have been so transformational and eye-opening to read, sometimes even helping me to see some things about myself that I could probably work on in regards to relationships. Still another friend recently has been emailing me about her experiences with a dating coach and the changes she’s making to hopefully find her a partner to share life with as she is in her mid/late 30’s as well. Still another woman that I know posted on her Facebook about “what’s left?!” when one of her friends told her to stop dating her typical type of man, but you could read the relational frustration in her post. All of these women, along with the experiences above have given me pause. <br />
<br />
I find myself asking, “Am I such an odd duck that I’m really ok with being single right now (meaning my late 30’s)?!” Sure I still long for relationship, I crave that emotional intimacy with someone like I had at the beginning of my (former) marriage, but I think I can honestly say that, for now, I’m really ok with being single. To the woman that asked “what’s left?!” on her Facebook, I responded “Happiness being single!” and I honestly meant it! I know that had things played out differently in my life, and I sat here married with kids that I would likely be just as happy, but I also am grateful that I’ve been able to lead the life I have BECAUSE I’m single. In no way am I saying that my friend’s journeys and changes they are making to find a husband are not great, because I think they are wonderful! I applaud them both for getting out there and going after what they want in life and finding someone to share that with. I guess for me, right now, that’s not what I want. I’m so glad that we can all be so unique and yet, honestly, so much the same. It’s also good to know that if I happen to meet a wonderful man in the coming days and decide to be happy with someone that none of you will hold this last paragraph against me…right!? <br />
<br />
By the way, I spoke a lot of romantic relationships in this post, but I realize that relationships go way beyond that…even to friendships. The recipe I’m sharing with you in this post is one that made for my friends in DC last Thanksgiving. By request of the host of Thanksgiving dinner (Hi Cody!), I took a chocolate pie for dessert (along with a pumpkin, but don’t get greedy for recipes!). This pie was so delicious! It was intensely chocolatey and I just so happened to perfect the crust for once in my life (Ugh! Who else struggles with pie crust!?). As you can see from the photo, I barely snapped a shot before it was completely gone and devoured by my friends. Great pie, great friends, great memories…great relationships that continue beyond physical space and time. Maybe in honor of my friends, if I can find the ingredients here, I’ll make this pie again soon. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and make it for you and the people with whom you are in a relationship, romantic or otherwise. I miss you friends!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighRbPbGgism0Jur3wT99U0m4hFDFlxF27JnbNwQPhpfIJZCJyHUv1rw7LmVkPPrPoYCphMgVL7sQZiCeDLgFWhMuA3sGtGEpfhN80f1OSow0Fn9ZZc_fjojrysnuu8ZgPdHSc9vtoIP0/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighRbPbGgism0Jur3wT99U0m4hFDFlxF27JnbNwQPhpfIJZCJyHUv1rw7LmVkPPrPoYCphMgVL7sQZiCeDLgFWhMuA3sGtGEpfhN80f1OSow0Fn9ZZc_fjojrysnuu8ZgPdHSc9vtoIP0/s320/083.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Not really a glamour shot, but this is one mighty tasty pie!</em></td></tr>
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<strong>Recipe: Chocolate Pudding Pie</strong><br />
Source: <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Pudding-Pie-358053">Gourmet</a><br />
<br />
Yield: Makes 8 servings<br />
Active Time: 30 min<br />
Total Time: 5 hr (includes chilling)<br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
<strong>For pastry dough:</strong><br />
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour<br />
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes<br />
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water<br />
<br />
<strong>For filling:</strong><br />
1/4 cup cornstarch<br />
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided<br />
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
3 cups whole milk<br />
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped<br />
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
1 cup chilled heavy cream<br />
<br />
<strong>Equipment:</strong> pie weights or dried beans<br />
<strong>Garnish:</strong> bittersweet chocolate shavings (optional)<br />
<br />
<strong>Preparation:</strong><br />
<strong>Make dough:</strong><br />
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle 2 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. <br />
<br />
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If dough doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until incorporated. (Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough.) <br />
<br />
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one, and form into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour. <br />
<br />
<strong>Make pie shell:</strong><br />
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. <br />
<br />
While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. <br />
<br />
Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.<br />
<br />
<strong>Make filling:</strong><br />
Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, 2 minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth. <br />
<br />
Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least 2 hours. <br />
<br />
Just before serving, beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie.<br />
<br />
<strong>Gourmet Cooks' notes</strong>:<br />
Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days. Pie (without whipped cream) can be chilled up to 1 day.<br />
<br />
With Love,<br />
Christina</div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-67443842539918814772011-09-16T06:23:00.003-04:002011-09-16T06:23:57.104-04:00Beach, Becalm and Beans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Have you ever feel like time is passing quickly and that you’re missing out on things, only to realize that in fact time isn’t passing as fast as you thought and you’ve experienced way more than most?! This realization is what happened to me recently. I was starting to feel like I was missing out on all there was to see and do in Doha. I was starting to feel that my time here was passing quickly and that before I knew it this adventure would be over and the only thing I’d have gained was work experience. Then, I met “Mr. Donut.” <br />
<br />
Mr. Donut and I met while I was driving from the grocery store to work to drop something off. He saw me driving and singing in my car to some very loud, very American rock music. It was me blowing off some steam and just recapturing joy through music and not having a care in the world about what was going on around me. I was “in the moment” of the music. Of course, I also was trying to be very aware of the other cars on the road and that’s when I noticed a handsome local man smiling at me and gesturing (in a friendly way!) to me. I politely smiled and laughed having been “caught” in my moment of singing in the car. He seemed to persist in his polite gesturing and seemed to be offering me something he had in his car with him. I, being a cautious woman, continued to politely smile and drive towards where I knew I’d have plenty of people around. In most situations like this, the other person usually drives off in the other direction (this isn’t the first time I’d been caught singing). But, Mr. Donut followed me all the way to work and parked next to me. As I got out of the car he engaged me in conversation and offered me the cookies he’d been showing me, as well as to take me to dinner. Not wanting to be rude and offend him, I reluctantly accepted the gift of cookies, exchanged numbers and went into work. I immediately told my co-worker about the experience and had a good giggle about how these things always seem to happen to me randomly. But I also was intrigued by this man and texted him a thank you for the cookies and invite to dinner. <br />
<br />
Mr. Donut and I texted each other a few times, he stopped by work one morning with 18 donuts (who needs 18 donuts? This sweet gesture is how he got his nickname), and we set up a time to get together. I must admit, I was really curious about getting to know a local man who, when I met him, was wearing a thobe and driving a Lexus SUV (though he also owned a hot new Camaro!). He was also around my age (a rarity in my new circle of friends). <br />
<br />
The day that we spent the majority of our time together, we went to the other side of Qatar, Zekreet to be exact. Sure, I was a bit nervous at first about hopping into the Lexus and wandering off to the desert with him (Lindsay was on high alert for my “help me” text should the need arise), but soon I was at ease and we had a great chat. I was amazed at how he seemed to be so unlike my initial impressions of single men in the Middle East. He was respectful of me (a woman!), spoiled me with gifts (without seeming to want anything in return if you get my drift), insisted on paying for everything everywhere we went and always seemed to be concerned if I wanted or needed something (Water? Tea? Hungry? Air conditioning at the right temperature?). <br />
<br />
That day, we went to two beaches, drove to see the camels being trained for the races, ate at the Souq, hung out by the water on the Corniche, took some photos and just had a great time talking together. We shared stories about our past, our families and things we wanted for the future. It was almost too comfortable really…though it was just the kind of day I needed to have at that time. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4Gr3_8L6HRHmJKHvdAwwxUgCRyZnImjt5r4NXrsVqu0JhHjVZrVaiRBi7RO6A9X1oNLixXFngM37rTUgmWZGxZ7AmHMLjAWAJGUwpw-9wMfbEYAkZ0bgT7e9FJXTzBCh4DpFGWLqJ4w/s1600/IMG_2565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4Gr3_8L6HRHmJKHvdAwwxUgCRyZnImjt5r4NXrsVqu0JhHjVZrVaiRBi7RO6A9X1oNLixXFngM37rTUgmWZGxZ7AmHMLjAWAJGUwpw-9wMfbEYAkZ0bgT7e9FJXTzBCh4DpFGWLqJ4w/s320/IMG_2565.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Zekreet, Qatar</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrMonXZ90w918U9q4AA93d8szdZUk0KmJZNurX28tGC3IjasIw6rgKjaeBL5Ie5EgFJwjHDmOtzhM3XRKi-Ol1Gi1Z4BJIctpYV5nBlEF8YcbsjwZRxBYP578Q-g40OfiZ-v9hfJ4P_8/s1600/IMG_2567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnrMonXZ90w918U9q4AA93d8szdZUk0KmJZNurX28tGC3IjasIw6rgKjaeBL5Ie5EgFJwjHDmOtzhM3XRKi-Ol1Gi1Z4BJIctpYV5nBlEF8YcbsjwZRxBYP578Q-g40OfiZ-v9hfJ4P_8/s320/IMG_2567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Zekreet, Qatar </em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLX9H-FmwSb01_z8SQ72bsSkh2tvWWH_yFU0J67kwYy6m6cvm8yOR_bYXDlGAnamGrt60j51FI8eTsvDbwx23tv44k2SX_zOPNBkOXZ9gdQ37DY0dTitxa1Aa3YZlUkQsFSVj7i8Cmyc/s1600/IMG_2570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLX9H-FmwSb01_z8SQ72bsSkh2tvWWH_yFU0J67kwYy6m6cvm8yOR_bYXDlGAnamGrt60j51FI8eTsvDbwx23tv44k2SX_zOPNBkOXZ9gdQ37DY0dTitxa1Aa3YZlUkQsFSVj7i8Cmyc/s320/IMG_2570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Camels off to be trained for racing</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxq8rnWhdy2mib6GbqDHsSXHnsefQx7p6ZsfEXS5EvRsrkzB-UKdAIZiSC_zJ2ERFujKbCr3iiMbjX8S4-hBjUWA8jYv1s7yTbN8Ar5IQ9lHa2H2_7YsT7JoviU2wg2zuIpSvvWwFtts/s1600/IMG_2573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMxq8rnWhdy2mib6GbqDHsSXHnsefQx7p6ZsfEXS5EvRsrkzB-UKdAIZiSC_zJ2ERFujKbCr3iiMbjX8S4-hBjUWA8jYv1s7yTbN8Ar5IQ9lHa2H2_7YsT7JoviU2wg2zuIpSvvWwFtts/s320/IMG_2573.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Notice the trainer is barefoot and smiling for his photo!</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-T9XqVZFItMp8JhNb6d4BjZOLVF_yjDxSoUALtiup0qBju3rSKeNvQyCQTdDDkWLAG80nEuNZWIEHnFwEzp7CRREtyV-6wN-WRG8B4klXi7tuk38v4-6qEgBkUTtNnKSia56qebDilM/s1600/IMG_2576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-T9XqVZFItMp8JhNb6d4BjZOLVF_yjDxSoUALtiup0qBju3rSKeNvQyCQTdDDkWLAG80nEuNZWIEHnFwEzp7CRREtyV-6wN-WRG8B4klXi7tuk38v4-6qEgBkUTtNnKSia56qebDilM/s320/IMG_2576.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Just past the Lusail area...That "home" used to be the previous Emir's</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHbnhiCJsT4FFvCAzFTT0YUaHcNTvcECatrAjGyd5Rcid5JMqJP8ctO50unQud-WTr39Q1zUy-zBnsUs-wbgLG945HjAMzd91-3PoBO3Qbzh-hJ-dT-8Gt0HinYP4-1z9iLrCbrw9Pls/s1600/IMG_2577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHbnhiCJsT4FFvCAzFTT0YUaHcNTvcECatrAjGyd5Rcid5JMqJP8ctO50unQud-WTr39Q1zUy-zBnsUs-wbgLG945HjAMzd91-3PoBO3Qbzh-hJ-dT-8Gt0HinYP4-1z9iLrCbrw9Pls/s320/IMG_2577.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Tide was coming in when we were there</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfdAROExikuSFyY9uS1ZXfH_x10v3kx5vK-bLEvQEY-u5yE6YD7xpyuXS2UX-ZqxBJjBx4lr5E64HeQMhqWyRZoLdDtuLC4KutmKfSk6NA_HirJ4ZjMQSdqoGA-UBgqXfU8NeJivkPgo/s1600/IMG_2580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><em><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfdAROExikuSFyY9uS1ZXfH_x10v3kx5vK-bLEvQEY-u5yE6YD7xpyuXS2UX-ZqxBJjBx4lr5E64HeQMhqWyRZoLdDtuLC4KutmKfSk6NA_HirJ4ZjMQSdqoGA-UBgqXfU8NeJivkPgo/s320/IMG_2580.JPG" width="320" /></em></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Doha...Artistic View</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DcFaH__9mnOMnb9t1UMP4qGev87Do5hyCrOjLDYAKkprhKV3f0kvQxRl7OlfwrzUkHvXktakViKwZbnPf8-QLEkYmvf6CAVd7peIHSYPmD4hs2HaH1Mk1CC2zdW2p9Q_y2jMkWKMwGw/s1600/IMG_2583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DcFaH__9mnOMnb9t1UMP4qGev87Do5hyCrOjLDYAKkprhKV3f0kvQxRl7OlfwrzUkHvXktakViKwZbnPf8-QLEkYmvf6CAVd7peIHSYPmD4hs2HaH1Mk1CC2zdW2p9Q_y2jMkWKMwGw/s320/IMG_2583.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Doha Skyline</em></td></tr>
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<br />
So after a few times of getting together I was starting to wonder…how this would ever really work. He was a Muslim after all. He’s a local (we certainly got looks when we were out and about from other locals…much like I imagine any mixed race couple would have in earlier decades in the states). I figured I would let it play out and just trust that God knew what I needed most for now, but also guard my heart a bit. And of course, after just about a week of knowing Mr. Donut, he said that while I was wonderful, that due to family reasons he could not continue to see me. While I have my suspicions that this may not been 100% the truth, it was sweet all the same. (Maybe he did want something for those gifts afterall!?) I bid him farewell, offered to return the gifts (beautiful necklaces and earrings…he told me to keep them) and wished him well. This mature, handsome, local man and I parted ways…and it was ok because it was meant to be that way and I had learned a lot during our time together. <br />
<br />
What did I realize? I’ve been here three months….time is passing just as fast as it always has and always will. I also realized that I have seen and done a lot in Doha since arriving. These three months have been filled with lots of work, yes, but it has also been filled with a lot of unique experiences that I will treasure and remember for the rest of my life. That this time is shaping me into the person that God wants me to be in the future. God also recently reminded me that He is ever-present with me, even in Qatar. That while I can’t seem to find a church to call home and have that traditional community of believers, that I am still not alone. <br />
<br />
You see, I tend to be a bit of a restless soul or a renaissance soul I’ve been told. Someone who always wants to be moving, accomplishing, achieving, getting what is best out of life and me. I fight for it. It’s not always a bad way to be, but it’s not always productive either. I find myself getting sucked into situations that probably would turn out a lot better if I were to just be still and let God do the work without me mucking it up.<br />
<br />
This message came to me loud and clear one night on the way home from a really long (somewhat stressful) day at work. I was spent, emotionally and physically. I just wanted to go to bed and sleep for a long time (not gonna happen anytime soon). I plugged my iPod into the car stereo and hit play…God knew I needed to hear the song “Word of God Speak” by Mercy Me. As I sang along (yep, still doing that), I could feel that God was speaking to me and telling me to be still, becalm. He was reminding me that though I’m all the way on the other side of the world from all that is familiar…that He was right here with me and therefore everything was going to be just fine…. I needed to let Him do the “fighting” for me and be still. I cried tears of joy and relief, much like I always do when God decides to remind me that I’m in the palm of His hand and He’s got things in control, that I can relax and rest in Him. (Of course, because I've put this out there, I'm sure this refound peace will be challenged, so please pray for me!)<br />
<br />
I know this blog post is a bit different than some of my others, but I thought I needed to share this part of the journey as well. I’m realizing that this journey is much bigger than just work experience and living in/experiencing a different part of the world. It’s about me being open enough to experience the things that God has planned for me to shape me into who He needs me to be for the people and places he is guiding me towards. He’s putting people in my path to teach me things about myself and others…all for His good and His glory. Pretty cool beans, huh?! <br />
<br />
Heehee…see how I did that...I mentioned beans…that brings me to the recipe portion of my post. It’s one of my new creations that I seem to be surviving on these days. There is a lot of rice and mystery meat being offered in these parts. While I’m all for adventure and trying new things (remember, I tried camel!), some of these new things don’t play well with my body…so I had to find something familiar. I came up with this recipe while wandering around the grocery store and craving an avocado salad that my friend Jane had made for me before I left California on this adventure. I did my best to remember most of the ingredients and tried to recreate it. I know I didn’t quite hit the mark, but it is a darn tasty substitute when I can actually find avocados (here today, not the next, but just wait a week, they’ll be back..oye!). This “salad” consists of all things familiar and known…it’s super easy to make and tweak with whatever you like and can find…which, changes for me all the time. So, I’m giving you recipe as I’ve made it twice now…seems these ingredients are becoming consistently available in Doha. Give it a try, tweak it to your liking, and just realize…it’s better than mystery meat any day! (Sorry no glamour shot of the salad...it's not much to look at anyway!)<br />
<br />
<strong>Doha Avocado Bean Salad (DABS?)</strong><br />
1 ripe avocado, diced<br />
A handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved<br />
1 shallot, sliced finely<br />
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1 small can of sweet kernel corn, drained<br />
A helping of black olives (mine need to be rinsed because they’re packed in olive oil!)<br />
A healthy drizzle of Italian salad dressing <br />
<br />
Toss everything together in a large bowl. Serve.<br />
I like mine with crackers or tortilla chips, though I struggle to find good tortilla chips here. <br />
<br />
With Love,<br />
Christina</div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-65344981265015297552011-08-23T12:11:00.000-04:002011-08-23T12:11:29.020-04:00Busy Bakery and Cheesy Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">Wow! I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I last posted! Sorry for all of those who anxiously await updates! I know most of you also follow me on Facebook, so you know I’m still alive! HA! </div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">We finally opened the store on August 4. We were originally going to open on August 1, but that got delayed and then in the afternoon of August 3 we were told we’d be opening the next day! What a flurry of activity that created…talk about a bit of stress! But, we survived (barely!) and are now starting to find our footing and get into a routine. Of course, since it has been Ramadan, we have only been open in the evenings. I’m sure once Ramadan is over and we’re open all day we’ll have a bit more adjusting to do again. </div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">The cupcakes have been well received and my staff is adorable. We have lots to learn together about the changes in concept, adjusting to that as well as serving Arabic customers along with the customers that are from all over the world. I’m still adjusting to the structure within the company at large, but also trying to focus on what is best for the store and getting the job done the best way possible. Not always easy, but I’m hoping in the end it will all be worth the personal and professional struggles. </div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139"><br />
</div><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">Personally, not much has been going on since I feel like I am either at the store or sleeping…the life of a manager at a new store right?! I did get my temporary license, so I am renting a car a white Nissan Sunny!). That has been such a life-changing event…for the better. Being able to go wherever I want whenever I want without paying for and waiting for a taxi has been great. Of course, this doesn’t mean I’ve ventured too far. The malls/grocery stores still seem to be the places I find myself most often, but I’ve also ventured to the Souq as well. The Souq is an open-air market of sorts. It has a ton of local merchants that sell everything…candy, pets, fabric, jewelry, etc. It also has several restaurants that serve a variety of cuisines. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJCbLw-6diYFVmKOQ4N0A1cSEtDuNgzBBCBjd6S715bKpGYsheo4NIzrn2diHKrkcua8b1S3W7QCG1_oaYQopuV66FZib0VvXg912pt9j2aDok-zupWy8OTQvtcqJr2RneONQn8Nuo38/s1600/IMG_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJCbLw-6diYFVmKOQ4N0A1cSEtDuNgzBBCBjd6S715bKpGYsheo4NIzrn2diHKrkcua8b1S3W7QCG1_oaYQopuV66FZib0VvXg912pt9j2aDok-zupWy8OTQvtcqJr2RneONQn8Nuo38/s320/IMG_1203.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Camel at the top, Mixed Grill Kebabs and Rice on my plate</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">One night, a few of us went to dinner at Tajine…the Moroccan restaurant. Most of the food seemed to be standard fare, what you would expect at a Moroccan restaurant such as kebabs, rice and chicken. Much to our surprise, there was also baby camel listed on the menu. We were all intrigued, yet no one wanted to commit to eating it as their main entrée…so we decided to share it and each get our own other entrée as well. I must say, it was a lot better than expected. It was a bit stringy, in a pork or beef roast cooked in a crock-pot kind of way, and it had a gamey or unusual taste to it. No, it didn’t taste like chicken…HA! It was good, but not something I would probably eat often. It had a bit of fat to it as well, which seemed out of place in this land of kebabs. I ended up sticking to my mixed grill entrée mostly and sharing some of the fat from the camel with a stray cat that we named Scavi (short for scavenger). Scavi was my best friend for most of the meal after I fed it just a little bit! This made me miss my boy, Marvin.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIh9WL2dw05JRkPfxz20SoKxoIZ05DU89s4ck0jVNLU2MPKL3ClveOvdSE-2NwPRqjbSb8PCVuXOqGQg8tqjNEsLiLoe9totldjmFayAiTCbNgM4eh7vsCbDzsj6yhXlENsbZs5yRZT8/s1600/IMG_1202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOIh9WL2dw05JRkPfxz20SoKxoIZ05DU89s4ck0jVNLU2MPKL3ClveOvdSE-2NwPRqjbSb8PCVuXOqGQg8tqjNEsLiLoe9totldjmFayAiTCbNgM4eh7vsCbDzsj6yhXlENsbZs5yRZT8/s320/IMG_1202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Scavi, the Scavenger Cat</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_jplshu="139">After dinner we wandered around the Souq and discovered that if anyone thinks there is a shortage of fabric in the world, we’ve found the hidden stash. Fabrics of all colors and textures seemed to flow from every store in one section of the market. (My mom’s fabric dreams come true…really!) As we wandered further we found the “pet” section and were immediately greeted by these chicks that had been dyed…so sad...we noted that PETA would go crazy in this area. The colored chicks were only a precursor to the dyed birds and bunnies. Luckily, they don’t dye the dogs and cats. We also found the jewelry section of the Souq and the candy section…all good things for this girl though I didn’t actually buy much. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3dSmRwWgAzRtuLkvNH79r4Pq-D-54iNLGZvoX_Zu4NOqSBYzEmpN2h0HoV8NEoiyU6nuU20bCediJJHxTGYlyUGeCPpFoWfRRkuuGPMi2gW50-3whyphenhyphennpWd6aeSLN9RaZqqqAeCFJfIA/s1600/IMG_1204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3dSmRwWgAzRtuLkvNH79r4Pq-D-54iNLGZvoX_Zu4NOqSBYzEmpN2h0HoV8NEoiyU6nuU20bCediJJHxTGYlyUGeCPpFoWfRRkuuGPMi2gW50-3whyphenhyphennpWd6aeSLN9RaZqqqAeCFJfIA/s320/IMG_1204.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Poor baby chicks :(</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_jplshu="279"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbl4_Qq_ExabfWjgCULExUNdsVuhz8QBXbBNw99F718O1F6W1By5QV7GlSF0wWCbNsWD0TrhyJW3h56EyercHMZqVEddCpnh5hpuKZop941BWeuok3fGTLV7FoBngs70yq4FZrXmpyvc/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbl4_Qq_ExabfWjgCULExUNdsVuhz8QBXbBNw99F718O1F6W1By5QV7GlSF0wWCbNsWD0TrhyJW3h56EyercHMZqVEddCpnh5hpuKZop941BWeuok3fGTLV7FoBngs70yq4FZrXmpyvc/s320/IMG_1211.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>They really don't know when to stop dying their pets. :(</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_jplshu="328">One thing I have noticed here is the lack of bread as we know it in the US. Sure they have their naan and rolls seem to be served with dinner a lot, but traditional bread doesn’t seem to be a big staple here as it is in the US. I’m wondering if once we move accommodations (exciting news, I hope!), and we have a stove/oven that really works properly, if I’ll be able to make some of the breads I’ve made in the past. With that thought, I started thinking of one of the breads that mom and I made when I was in California: Chunky Cheesy Bread. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5pKnEwG30fBCMretUd5a_bAM9CpKgPzJAcUOZzfQ0ivQqv5hqbA8V1Hf3jOzSNJ1J9BabMeQ-6kJ_06vzHKiG3-ZQRfcDOxpvZQdj7ytvuGTF0iUjJfehzcyk-CdRSy3EGUEDc1icgs/s1600/Chunky+Cheese+Bread+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5pKnEwG30fBCMretUd5a_bAM9CpKgPzJAcUOZzfQ0ivQqv5hqbA8V1Hf3jOzSNJ1J9BabMeQ-6kJ_06vzHKiG3-ZQRfcDOxpvZQdj7ytvuGTF0iUjJfehzcyk-CdRSy3EGUEDc1icgs/s320/Chunky+Cheese+Bread+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Chunky Cheesy Bread Loaf</em> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div closure_uid_jplshu="328">Anyone who knows my eating habits well will tell you that I adore cheese….of just about any kind. I also really enjoy fresh breads, so this recipe was a must try. It was also fairly easy. Mom and I each made a loaf out of the dough and both used slightly different techniques, but both turned out great. It certainly was best warm, but it made for good sandwich bread with salami the next day as well. The recipe comes from the same cookbook I blogged about last post, A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman. I’m telling you again, it’s a great book! Give this a try if you want to have cheesy bread goodness in your home!</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsT3We9XnXWJv9Pfjla6QOf5HWz9q5fD_HOjEgnsZuSaad7YqvWcypRwUdmKVb-8PjHWg4zPQVLGCO25COBZatoWXqhb0r1GmLdVROwZuTjrXbbcbylzMK5bz5J1ORJgEArmP5ZOdlBk/s1600/Chunky+Cheese+Bread+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsT3We9XnXWJv9Pfjla6QOf5HWz9q5fD_HOjEgnsZuSaad7YqvWcypRwUdmKVb-8PjHWg4zPQVLGCO25COBZatoWXqhb0r1GmLdVROwZuTjrXbbcbylzMK5bz5J1ORJgEArmP5ZOdlBk/s320/Chunky+Cheese+Bread+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>See how the cheese goes all through the bread...Yumm!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>The Recipe: Chunky Cheesy Bread</strong><br />
Source: A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)<br />
2 tablespoons rapid-rise yeast<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
2 1/2 teaspoons salt<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard<br />
2 large eggs<br />
1/4 cup vegetable oil<br />
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened<br />
5 to 6 cups bread flour<br />
<br />
<strong>Chunky Cheese Part</strong><br />
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese <br />
2 scant cups cubed Cheddar cheese<br />
2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter<br />
1 teaspoon seasoned salt or garlic salt<br />
Sesame seeds<br />
<br />
Generously grease two 8x4-inch or two 9x5-inch loaf pans. (This is important to prevent bread from sticking to pan.)<br />
<br />
In a mixer bowl, hand-whisk water and yeast together and let stand 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve yeast. Briskly whisk in sugar, salt, mustard, eggs, oil, butter, and half of bread flour and mix. Begin kneading with dough hook on lowest speed 5 to 8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to make a soft, elastic dough. Form into a ball in mixing bowl, spray lightly with a large clear plastic bag. Let dough rise 30 minutes. <br />
<br />
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough in half. Press each half into an oval and distribute 1 cup shredded cheese over each. Press in cheese and roll up each section into a jellyroll. <br />
<br />
Using a dough cutter or sharp knife, cut each jellyroll into thick slices and then in half—basically odd-sized chunks of dough. Arrange chunks of dough in loafpans. Scatter cubed Cheddar cheese over chunks of dough, drizzle with oil or butter, and scatter on seasoned salt or garlic salt (any gourmet herb mix will also do) and sesame seeds. <br />
<br />
Place loaves on a baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise 30-45 minutes until quite puffy. <br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until well browned and sizzling and cheese is melted, about 30-45 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing and serving. Serve warm or as a sandwich base. <br />
<br />
With Love,<br />
Christina</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-15575476228267598522011-07-20T06:24:00.000-04:002011-07-20T06:24:27.990-04:00Random Thoughts, Photos and Recipe: Outstanding French Country BreadSo, as this adventure in Qatar continues, I have some random thoughts about being here, working here and such. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8FBO6VtPjEy2ALmhauLXA06Ll85a_RaopX9yFq2an-8LOJXyKqE7pTZoBI1GyeVuNWryHj8SsfV4K0EdwZZIn2Bb67uUH0VvXFl10niR_8hPaHtSGLk7e2YYk4LKbsgXjSzzec1jFTE/s1600/IMG_1159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8FBO6VtPjEy2ALmhauLXA06Ll85a_RaopX9yFq2an-8LOJXyKqE7pTZoBI1GyeVuNWryHj8SsfV4K0EdwZZIn2Bb67uUH0VvXFl10niR_8hPaHtSGLk7e2YYk4LKbsgXjSzzec1jFTE/s320/IMG_1159.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>The Beautiful Beach of the Persian Gulf</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I’ve gone on and on about how beautiful the water/beaches are here. Yes, the water is turquoise blue, the sand almost white, and the water is warm and salty as you would expect. The views of the water are surprising at times with the absolute beauty. There is also the opulence of some of the places we’ve been. The crystal chandeliers, the gold leaf trim or speck in the walkways. The towers of the downtown Doha area are so interesting and reach to the sky with such a beauty in the way that they seem to defy gravity and involve such ingenuity.<br />
<br />
But, right alongside of all that beauty is poverty. The men who work on the towers to build them so beautifully sleep in shacks that don’t have air conditioning or running water. They work in the heat of the day and sometimes into the heat of the night to meet the deadlines set by those who sit in plush offices. The workers only make on average $300 Qatari Riyals a month…that is the equivalent of about $82 US Dollars. They send most of that home to their family in their country of origin. It is sad to see the heartache and tiredness in their eyes. You know they live in such awful conditions yet have such a love for their family that this hard life seems like the best option for them. As they lay specks of gold into the walkways, they simply dream of providing a better life for their family back home. I suppose that, in and of itself, is beautiful, yet heartbreaking at the same time. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBXQny4bxrvhJKjHHJWOggLcvY7IhZEWOjVeXm-kZAEIZVr5WJonsR15JxB01wx4Yx2nNhh0r6uXGfL0rF76eZkHain8Qd1Lj6OUotqaG0MXXjYB1AB-yMnaf61VoPSSy_MkioYbhMpI/s1600/IMG_1163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwBXQny4bxrvhJKjHHJWOggLcvY7IhZEWOjVeXm-kZAEIZVr5WJonsR15JxB01wx4Yx2nNhh0r6uXGfL0rF76eZkHain8Qd1Lj6OUotqaG0MXXjYB1AB-yMnaf61VoPSSy_MkioYbhMpI/s320/IMG_1163.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Towers Area of Downtown Doha</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another thing that boggles me sometimes is the way that the “locals” feel so entitled. I’ve been told many, many times when working to open the bakery to remember that you can’t tell a customer “no” when they ask for something. They say to remember that if you tell them “no” that they could complain to higher management to get what they want or simply just never set foot into the store again. Can you imagine? I mean, I understand making a request and being disappointed that the store doesn’t offer it (heck, I’ve been lots of places here that don’t serve iced tea, a staple for me in the States!), but to complain to the point of going to higher management because we don’t serve the flavor of juice you want? It’s a challenge to remember that I’m not dealing with the American way of thinking and the way of doing business. The Arab world apparently does not like to confront people directly nor call people out when they are just plain wrong or telling mistruths (note I didn’t say lies…that would be rude!). This creates a culture of a lot of double-talk and going around people to get what you want. The He-said, she-said game is quite maddening at times. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUcH54mmdIRNAZL2oLmTEi-eoy4Rkz3LYbkOgYx7_C_OQZwDY1cbQGn8HE9Itb8FeMn4FcYWOMlBq8lov7tQflSpQygcvchob7kjbw3KzMf2IQAPHQP9ISupgpjJFHl5hXMSk5fJ-KM4/s1600/IMG_1174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUcH54mmdIRNAZL2oLmTEi-eoy4Rkz3LYbkOgYx7_C_OQZwDY1cbQGn8HE9Itb8FeMn4FcYWOMlBq8lov7tQflSpQygcvchob7kjbw3KzMf2IQAPHQP9ISupgpjJFHl5hXMSk5fJ-KM4/s320/IMG_1174.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Camel Crossing</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>They also have a lot of “tomorrows” here. I’ll do it tomorrow can mean that they will actually do it the next day, or it could mean a week (or more!) from now. For this “say what you mean, mean what you say” gal, that is difficult to handle. I always try to explain why something is delayed if I can’t meet a deadline, not just “Oh, I’m working on it, I’ll do it tomorrow.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIIjBHBXDneF5CGggLpgxVKPGS67waj_5hJHF29kP9Lr1V1W21jTtJaw-mQzgDD1pmWcLIPuO4C2nJQ3VrlKTIGE0krUk7HFN_fNnCiwYZuRwBKYkNfjMzSGeWxCF2ykPnO64A4NLdV0/s1600/IMG_1169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkIIjBHBXDneF5CGggLpgxVKPGS67waj_5hJHF29kP9Lr1V1W21jTtJaw-mQzgDD1pmWcLIPuO4C2nJQ3VrlKTIGE0krUk7HFN_fNnCiwYZuRwBKYkNfjMzSGeWxCF2ykPnO64A4NLdV0/s320/IMG_1169.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Let's think about that tomorrow!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>On a happier note, the pubs and clubs here are quite fun! One of the few forms of entertainment that I have indulged in is going out at night to dance and let my hair down so to speak. The places I have gone are normally crowded with a lot of international people…a slice of the United Nations! Most people are very fun and are there to just have a good time. I’ve met some interesting people who are always interested (and some surprised) that I’m from the United States. It seems that not many Americans find their way over here for an extended period of time. I also think it’s great that English is so often spoken and understood by the internationals. I wish I knew at least one other language, as it seems everyone here knows several (yes, I know, that high school Spanish class didn’t quite stick with me all these years later). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33meN5Kzg9ZlppvQf_BLUU025tyP1DjnX-ciYSafh7OPtMVXW45dII661dyS12OGWfpzxADWNcX_LaDZed2ZeEwLtqv_vedFnuRrbCDx4RMIMOpVgRoJgdmiY2f91Iw6MhdMvZL645Z0/s1600/IMG_1185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33meN5Kzg9ZlppvQf_BLUU025tyP1DjnX-ciYSafh7OPtMVXW45dII661dyS12OGWfpzxADWNcX_LaDZed2ZeEwLtqv_vedFnuRrbCDx4RMIMOpVgRoJgdmiY2f91Iw6MhdMvZL645Z0/s320/IMG_1185.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Shiny Happy American Gals!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The photo below makes me laugh. It was taken the night that Lindsay and I decided to have Taco Tuesday! We had gone to the store and purchased everything we (thought we) needed to make a great taco night. We started to make dinner and got interrupted by the villa maintenance people who were there to fix our washing machine. After three weeks without the machine we weren’t about to turn them away. Well, three hours later, we were able to finish cooking our meal!! This is when we also discovered that we had a bottle opener, but not a can opener. I wasn’t about to let that fact keep us from our beans, so I started to dig into the can…besides being dangerous, it actually worked out great…we got our beans and had super yummy tacos…just a bit later than expected. We call this photo a testament to American ingenuity…I didn’t get a photo of the strainer we made from an aluminum tray, but we credited that same ingenuity for that invention as well. Oh, and for those that are curious, we bought a can opener and proper strainer the next time we were at the store. Heehee!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsiLF5E5LYcJpI8UL1SgkXP9R-uqIL5Ge_kDBVN75XUq3mLZLrP4A4oY_dRYaYmmuuiljDbxJIiVeGlys4QdSzKvWewFAog820waLFi7x1Mg_QqPlYQlSjut5FLlvf1fTQbok5Ah2nzM/s1600/IMG_1171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYsiLF5E5LYcJpI8UL1SgkXP9R-uqIL5Ge_kDBVN75XUq3mLZLrP4A4oY_dRYaYmmuuiljDbxJIiVeGlys4QdSzKvWewFAog820waLFi7x1Mg_QqPlYQlSjut5FLlvf1fTQbok5Ah2nzM/s320/IMG_1171.JPG" t$="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>American ingenuity at it's finest!</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Now for a random recipe. The recipe below was taken from a cookbook by Marcy Goldman called “A Passion for Baking”. This bread recipe was one that my mom and I made while I was in CA waiting to start this Qatari adventure. It looks like it requires a lot, but most of the time is spent waiting for the bread to rise and do its thing. I must say, this bread tastes SO good. If I had the means here, I would try to make this bread every week and use it in place of the stuff we buy at the store. Worth every second of waiting…give it a try (We made one big loaf, but later thought it would have been better as two smaller loaves). The whole cookbook has several recipes that we tried and loved…and several that we just didn’t around to making but look so yummy. I’d recommend the cookbook as well as this bread!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ReTyTSgffLrnj-IIj5DkKORBeuwa2D0RWFsTbmxEE4h95LzMBLM_FoJ37zdLJTZpcA3osnAMEuse8PcK5hwjldgHz_WF5FxfE45YVClbqUDc84Wz-t3bcBZc-Sq-S4XlHbYmVesn2KY/s1600/Outstanding+French+Country+Bread+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ReTyTSgffLrnj-IIj5DkKORBeuwa2D0RWFsTbmxEE4h95LzMBLM_FoJ37zdLJTZpcA3osnAMEuse8PcK5hwjldgHz_WF5FxfE45YVClbqUDc84Wz-t3bcBZc-Sq-S4XlHbYmVesn2KY/s320/Outstanding+French+Country+Bread+2.JPG" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Outstanding French Country Bread</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>Recipe: Outstanding French Country Bread</strong><br />
Source: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Baking-Bake-celebrate-nourish/dp/B0057DAHEO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311156031&sr=1-1">A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman</a><br />
<br />
<strong>Sponge Starter</strong> (8-16 hours ahead)<br />
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)<br />
1/4 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast<br />
1 1/2 cups, approximately, bread flour<br />
<br />
<strong>Dough</strong><br />
All of sponge starter<br />
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)<br />
1/2 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast<br />
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil<br />
2 3/4 teaspoons salt<br />
1 tablespoon sugar<br />
4 to 6 cups bread flour<br />
<br />
For Sponge Starter, in a small bowl, stir together water and yeast and let yeast dissolve by briskly whisking. <br />
<br />
With a whisk or wooden spoon, stir in bread flour to make a thick mixture. It should be like a gloppy pudding. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap (leaving a small air space); let stand at room temperature 8-16 hours. <br />
<br />
Stack two baking sheets together and line top sheet with two sheets of parchment paper. If your oven and baking sheets cannot accommodate two breads, prepare another set of sheets to bake second bread (or make one large bread). <br />
<br />
To make the bread, stir down starter to deflate it. Spoon it into mixer bowl. Hand-whisk in 1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110 degrees), yeast, oil, salt, sugar, and most of flour. Stir to make a messy mass and then loosely cover bowl and let until dough is smooth and resilient but not tough and bouncy. Remove dough hook and lightly spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover entire mixer and bowl with a large clear plastic bag. Let rise 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours until dough has doubled. <br />
<br />
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough in half (or keep it as one large bread); form into two balls. <br />
<br />
Gently place balls of dough, seam sides down, on prepared baking sheets. Spray dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover baking sheets loosely with large clear plastic bag. Let dough rise until puffy (and 50% larger in volume). <br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Slash loaves with a sharp knife before baking. Spritz with water and dust with flour. (If dough deflates with you slash it, it rose too much but might recover with oven heat.)<br />
<br />
Atomize oven with a few squirts of water and place baking sheets on lower oven rack. Spray oven interior every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes (Do not spray oven lightbulb!). When 20 minutes remain, reduce heat to 425 degrees to finish baking. Loaf should be well browned after a total of 25-35 minutes. Cool well on a wire rack before slicing. To store, keep in a loosely sealed plastic bag (which softens crust but keeps bread moist) or in a brown paper bag lightly sealed. <br />
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With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-444892332568450052011-07-04T02:33:00.000-04:002011-07-04T02:33:32.790-04:003 Weeks Down, 101 To Go…and a Recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Independence Day Americans! July 4th has always been one of my favorite holidays. As Americans we give ourselves permission to get outside in the sunshine, go to the pool, lake or other body of water, wear our swimsuits all weekend, have summer foods such as hot dogs and homemade ice cream all while enjoying time with friends and family. To top it all off, we watch the grand fireworks displays and go “Ohhh, ahhh, so pretty!” Good stuff all around. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This July 4th, since I’m living in a foreign land, I wasn’t sure how this holiday would be celebrated, if at all. Lindsay and I had tossed about the idea of hosting a party with all-American foods, but that seemed to fizzle a bit since we really didn’t get a good head start on the planning. As the weekend approached, we ended up making plans to go out to a nightclub one night and then to spend the night on the beach the next night. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The nightclub was fun, but really, not very July 4th inspired. People here dance and drink too much just like they do in America, but there are also all kinds of social rules that make things a bit more interesting. Not to mention the fact that since most of the people don’t seem to speak really great English, when you’re yelling over the music it’s twice as hard to have a decent conversation…things get lost in translation or just aren’t understood at all. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Personally, I was looking forward to the beach. I was anticipating swimming in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf in the dark, laying under the stars on my new beach towel and just having a good time with my new friends. We did all that, and it was a great night, but the real treat came when someone down the beach from us shot off some fireworks. Yes, this American girl who seems to miss home a bit too much at times, got to see fireworks for July 4th weekend. Granted, it was only 5-6 fireworks, shot one at a time, but it made me so content and happy to know that even in this land, far away, I was able to experience a bit of an American tradition. To know that not everything would be have to be sacrificed for this experience, that there would be glimpses of home even in the desert, made me a bit giddy inside. I watched each one wide-eyed with a huge grin on my face.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In honor of the weekend and home, I’m posting a recipe that I made while I was home in California, waiting for this adventure to begin. It’s a super yummy Strawberry Summer Cake from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/">Smitten Kitchen</a>. I made this one day after going to the farmer’s market with my mom. We bought the sweetest, early season strawberries! I adore strawberries and I didn’t want any of them to go to waste, so after I ate some, covered some in chocolate and still had some leftover I searched for a recipe that would let the strawberries shine. Smitten Kitchen has never disappointed me, so I went with her recipe. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The results were great! The cake was light and moist, yet let the warm strawberries shine as the star. It was best when slightly warm and topped with a dollop of whipped cream. But who am I kidding, it was also great direct from the pan the next day too. It would be a great pot-luck recipe because it can be made ahead of time, uses “normal” ingredients, keeps really well and is easy to serve (not messy). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Give this one a try…If fruit wasn’t so expensive here and our oven wasn’t on the fritz, I may have just tried to make this one for the beach…then again, our peaches and grapes from Tunisia were pretty good all on their own. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyF20jW7QM8Vo25SgVt1885XaCoPUnuhMSiv0_DYzv16rcUBcPtgwX0COWCBgr5tSp9TgBQGkBUka3QOpENOxNU1Ky5M1rbKH9x-82w7dT0zNWvte_bXa5bTnQiW7PuqitR172n6YCNco/s1600/Strawberry+Summer+Cake+from+Smitten+Kitchen+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyF20jW7QM8Vo25SgVt1885XaCoPUnuhMSiv0_DYzv16rcUBcPtgwX0COWCBgr5tSp9TgBQGkBUka3QOpENOxNU1Ky5M1rbKH9x-82w7dT0zNWvte_bXa5bTnQiW7PuqitR172n6YCNco/s320/Strawberry+Summer+Cake+from+Smitten+Kitchen+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Strawberry Summer Cake</em></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9LGbLIXtfFVPeCva-wjBHpnxdGtudRh3_AFuWSU05hIrKm9XIv8sLzE7KXrl2vsHTBgHvvP-2Pzrr3oUrUhaErEKvq6_wqX9u5zZEf9If4EiUgYDlVjDngzeKZ0zh_wW_nSCgP4iBgs/s1600/Strawberry+Summer+Cake+from+Smitten+Kitchen+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9LGbLIXtfFVPeCva-wjBHpnxdGtudRh3_AFuWSU05hIrKm9XIv8sLzE7KXrl2vsHTBgHvvP-2Pzrr3oUrUhaErEKvq6_wqX9u5zZEf9If4EiUgYDlVjDngzeKZ0zh_wW_nSCgP4iBgs/s320/Strawberry+Summer+Cake+from+Smitten+Kitchen+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">A slice of Strawberry Summer Cake</span></em></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-size: large;">Enjoy the holiday my American friends! </span></div><div align="center"><span style="background-color: blue; font-size: large;"></span></div><br />
<strong>Recipe: Strawberry Summer Cake</strong><br />
<strong>Source: <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/05/strawberry-summer-cake/">Smitten Kitchen</a></strong><br />
<br />
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate<br />
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon table salt<br />
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar<br />
1 large egg<br />
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk<br />
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract<br />
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). I did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in my deep-dish pan after baking the cake, I suspect you’d be safe. This cake would also work in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.<br />
<br />
Whisk flour or flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.<br />
<br />
Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.<br />
<br />
Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.<br />
<br />
With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-51011589596504578222011-06-23T05:32:00.000-04:002011-06-23T05:32:39.818-04:00Quick Photo Post from QatarHere are some photos of my first two weeks in Qatar! We have been busy doing things to get ready for the store opening as well as just getting our bearings on where things are. Highlights so far have been the tasting for the Sheikh, meeting a ton of people from all over the world and experiencing some different cultures. I'll try to write more soon...but the internet isn't always reliable!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDx2Kko5_KKHZXSf21-RqSkj5Kq2HJrpqb0Ep7M8Bc91wbhkBvJ03Sfg7JNHiN-XGZeYbQ7ZszDGFJvG7Al3zXLnx1RNVI5_RVqEzkgu1gMByiAlzCb0IyXVhnmIbWKodMMtnmcSlo-QU/s1600/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDx2Kko5_KKHZXSf21-RqSkj5Kq2HJrpqb0Ep7M8Bc91wbhkBvJ03Sfg7JNHiN-XGZeYbQ7ZszDGFJvG7Al3zXLnx1RNVI5_RVqEzkgu1gMByiAlzCb0IyXVhnmIbWKodMMtnmcSlo-QU/s320/IMG_1119.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Aspire Park...the home of the Asian Games and future home of the World Cup 2022!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjui6aDkYboNCNtrTQ4SBDJbnKM8MN8X7tjr9_Z9VrCzKXkxHohxEbGEQ5ZDZmVZUFwjbX8fIjSNzvY_Qki667D3a9_5ze849HsQhRb9UeLxQOiDQsVTvtttVokhhSc0PuWw2d98BDaXck/s1600/IMG_1121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjui6aDkYboNCNtrTQ4SBDJbnKM8MN8X7tjr9_Z9VrCzKXkxHohxEbGEQ5ZDZmVZUFwjbX8fIjSNzvY_Qki667D3a9_5ze849HsQhRb9UeLxQOiDQsVTvtttVokhhSc0PuWw2d98BDaXck/s320/IMG_1121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our store!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVB9r_9c3z-OQYO8zKhby3v5NSeLdEky22M0ZOMNAf2w5YR57E1ezqQQhRq5I_xpJVZm6KQEtby9YBgwdC5xCN1oFZzN_P1ZMutw4Kbh-AikT7CIfLaJt5WiLSs62a9z0-QswVeHjKMU/s1600/IMG_1123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpVB9r_9c3z-OQYO8zKhby3v5NSeLdEky22M0ZOMNAf2w5YR57E1ezqQQhRq5I_xpJVZm6KQEtby9YBgwdC5xCN1oFZzN_P1ZMutw4Kbh-AikT7CIfLaJt5WiLSs62a9z0-QswVeHjKMU/s320/IMG_1123.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The air-conditioned bird towers...really, they are air-conditioned inside!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UpOWjRNFtXUZlvlruj3jlTX4hzyFDq7ghN23fu5jLeApFgLrLtK3MoqdkqD1hDulyzaDSqYvD5gNxTq5pT5qjmEd7CaByrCgypolSJPjILzX0sAcP1q63YCg_wOejk8TXf2tBa-MEM8/s1600/IMG_1129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4UpOWjRNFtXUZlvlruj3jlTX4hzyFDq7ghN23fu5jLeApFgLrLtK3MoqdkqD1hDulyzaDSqYvD5gNxTq5pT5qjmEd7CaByrCgypolSJPjILzX0sAcP1q63YCg_wOejk8TXf2tBa-MEM8/s320/IMG_1129.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is how we displayed our cupcakes for the Sheikh!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjFs1GOsF8y4Zym-L_oQc7LAp0UVSQvxRHDAo7CMCfhDzncOUHtAU4xmiSkpPxkemWNTZ17cOVnktpFNV4ifmpi28xKkbzElj8rToTMRIyZsjheU_YgdjSZe2f2QYR03ZXbSihN3zS84/s1600/IMG_1132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRjFs1GOsF8y4Zym-L_oQc7LAp0UVSQvxRHDAo7CMCfhDzncOUHtAU4xmiSkpPxkemWNTZ17cOVnktpFNV4ifmpi28xKkbzElj8rToTMRIyZsjheU_YgdjSZe2f2QYR03ZXbSihN3zS84/s320/IMG_1132.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My bedroom with touches of home</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04HTRVEG_Tzv50WXMIZ_xI-RaLSeraPGC41zpdK0tEY5zc0AMy6J0zsvm9fLm8wXP57Wbq6__ZhXnq4vBOLCFXD4UAp5CHy2GLZr3pPGucYY5HjsQicakvPq-up2Khd2cFm04DfYbg74/s1600/IMG_1133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh04HTRVEG_Tzv50WXMIZ_xI-RaLSeraPGC41zpdK0tEY5zc0AMy6J0zsvm9fLm8wXP57Wbq6__ZhXnq4vBOLCFXD4UAp5CHy2GLZr3pPGucYY5HjsQicakvPq-up2Khd2cFm04DfYbg74/s320/IMG_1133.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My entrance area and vanity area (you can also see into the bathroom!)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QWMnefkirZn9rxcLaScaPMu2kf4iZ3BFmu90k4B3sPu5dvLBYtQI66BgJh8HjzC-56G83jInWVGO78Ax44XekYMOFhFjlV0Nj3Ry95pJtcJ6uDkYsaQvkaVdLhLf6HAVD0cCUMKjBgw/s1600/IMG_1131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QWMnefkirZn9rxcLaScaPMu2kf4iZ3BFmu90k4B3sPu5dvLBYtQI66BgJh8HjzC-56G83jInWVGO78Ax44XekYMOFhFjlV0Nj3Ry95pJtcJ6uDkYsaQvkaVdLhLf6HAVD0cCUMKjBgw/s320/IMG_1131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My bathroom</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_WyuBMnhHsJy2ohU5EW288np5JjnZKoLEYLvJhFnugDH2ai8To96bMszxrohD3lBIt-E5iIaNSII1jn-ecM9UOyO6MrJ6XuWqocTiTcES63ao5IA_P-xHun1nPqs4LFWEgVQQTSwnjs/s1600/IMG_1134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_WyuBMnhHsJy2ohU5EW288np5JjnZKoLEYLvJhFnugDH2ai8To96bMszxrohD3lBIt-E5iIaNSII1jn-ecM9UOyO6MrJ6XuWqocTiTcES63ao5IA_P-xHun1nPqs4LFWEgVQQTSwnjs/s320/IMG_1134.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My built in stairmaster...that would be 50 marble steps up to my bedroom. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginRLxylwMpNG56rU9LGvwkN4P2D5IGBadHeyZsRk0ZekIEWcMlobSM5ZtUKPsnDGkF36Rd3kxjMlVqXxstPp0O0pxWKTV08xrCWPVwGTW0eYln4FmUipEF5bBPiF353JgspJ8X_vNEII/s1600/IMG_1139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginRLxylwMpNG56rU9LGvwkN4P2D5IGBadHeyZsRk0ZekIEWcMlobSM5ZtUKPsnDGkF36Rd3kxjMlVqXxstPp0O0pxWKTV08xrCWPVwGTW0eYln4FmUipEF5bBPiF353JgspJ8X_vNEII/s320/IMG_1139.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our kitchen/laundry room</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0k8r5P2X6a0Ss0ULIRH57fuN0aJJLrcfdw5OquzcVHzI-DTzSJNDjlCeFbYXvil9lHLF3R_zzl-EPEFHXQg_l5sAuRdWbyEPyzQkWgo9W2IHGaSBSY8teTTlXkzA9ktBjhxnwAFYYRxY/s1600/IMG_1144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0k8r5P2X6a0Ss0ULIRH57fuN0aJJLrcfdw5OquzcVHzI-DTzSJNDjlCeFbYXvil9lHLF3R_zzl-EPEFHXQg_l5sAuRdWbyEPyzQkWgo9W2IHGaSBSY8teTTlXkzA9ktBjhxnwAFYYRxY/s320/IMG_1144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The beach at Katara looking towards <span style="font-family: inherit;">the InterContinental Hotel</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Dmj9y8lR219yaREH7T5h8YVXLwWdEca55fzDKEKkwm6AKoVXIeKxDBiZo9okr3V8PB8_brJP3CdTy51knEpyExYuunbiTvnkqxYtk-V0xofugaZSvaE3bFU09sKLedNl91zIxb5-VGM/s1600/IMG_1145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Dmj9y8lR219yaREH7T5h8YVXLwWdEca55fzDKEKkwm6AKoVXIeKxDBiZo9okr3V8PB8_brJP3CdTy51knEpyExYuunbiTvnkqxYtk-V0xofugaZSvaE3bFU09sKLedNl91zIxb5-VGM/s320/IMG_1145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A decorative fishing boat at the Katara beach</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtdExUUOOmhS4HiGtoHjg2HNHkPwBdgmlN86IXaSCtv2iO61UfOD28u8AV7bW6ezpOosUXrj7C73FmB0HBW0Pk0KfnQGpcpLQmgVaooahjFzbNNvI-XVBOtioQi1g5AhiAR2m4y1c7G0/s1600/IMG_1149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtdExUUOOmhS4HiGtoHjg2HNHkPwBdgmlN86IXaSCtv2iO61UfOD28u8AV7bW6ezpOosUXrj7C73FmB0HBW0Pk0KfnQGpcpLQmgVaooahjFzbNNvI-XVBOtioQi1g5AhiAR2m4y1c7G0/s320/IMG_1149.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The ampitheatre at Katara</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTyqBZdPdwF8HXW5c0RcUhkqyJq54KIIGfdYCNKfFAW6XxM2KBEw3RNNPcLjkY1CmmEinXr9n7IxxZrgZo0MLuyNoqKwShWyKowC2dEywaIQXylZbTRkWB1dMjy97SVx8lQKufDbQ05E/s1600/IMG_1153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTyqBZdPdwF8HXW5c0RcUhkqyJq54KIIGfdYCNKfFAW6XxM2KBEw3RNNPcLjkY1CmmEinXr9n7IxxZrgZo0MLuyNoqKwShWyKowC2dEywaIQXylZbTRkWB1dMjy97SVx8lQKufDbQ05E/s320/IMG_1153.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My morning and afternoon treat...brought to me each day without asking. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H2y2z2venJ6q08d4t2RMgHyGqTuLquYYrAhcT9PZzsH3JxRM3aRCmVfjKMMPG2Zhyv-d1hXOtZsco7DkFXmzyfVk9PDlofCwRYjUreRnet9QAwHmVmZeNjuv5UyPgFoPE_H2tZffzlA/s1600/IMG_1154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5H2y2z2venJ6q08d4t2RMgHyGqTuLquYYrAhcT9PZzsH3JxRM3aRCmVfjKMMPG2Zhyv-d1hXOtZsco7DkFXmzyfVk9PDlofCwRYjUreRnet9QAwHmVmZeNjuv5UyPgFoPE_H2tZffzlA/s320/IMG_1154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our first "regional" meal. We went to Mamig at Katara. It is a Lebanese restuaruant. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With Love,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Christina</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-91020120069124995602011-06-15T02:35:00.000-04:002011-06-15T02:35:14.178-04:00Qatar Adventure Begins!Welcome to reading Shaking N Baking from Doha, Qatar! I arrived on Saturday, June 11in the early evening after a 20 hour travel adventure from California! <br />
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The flight from Washington, DC to Doha was on Qatar Airways and I must say….WOW! Qatar Air really knows how to have their passengers travel in style (even us economy travelers). The seats are spacious, food was good, included a mid-flight service of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream even! I was trying to adjust to Doha time so I stayed awake for the entire 12 hour flight and caught up on several movies (4 to be exact!). The flight attendants were cute young men that were incredibly polite and more like waiters in a high-class restaurant with their customer service attitude. The guy that was waiting on my section of the plane even took time to chat with me about the dinner selections, my reasons for traveling and our new store…even promised to visit because “there aren’t really any good cupcakes in Doha now.” <br />
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The culture was immediately noticed upon stepping off the plane. The men in thobes and women in abayas were everywhere in the airport. Going through immigrations was a breeze. I found it a bit funny that the woman processing my visa asked me about having a husband three times…asking me if I was traveling with my husband (no, just me), when he would be joining me (I don’t have a husband), and then telling me that I should have brought my husband with me (I would have if I had one!). This exchange was quite a “Welcome to Qatar, you’re a woman” experience, yet in a sweet way. <br />
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We (meaning Lindsay and I) found the people that were waiting for us at the airport after gathering our luggage and just a bit of a wait (our plane was a bit early)…and being oogled at by the male drivers waiting for others. We both felt a little uncomfortable with all the stares, but tried not to let it affect our excitement. The people that brought us to our villa are all very sweet and kind people….fast friends!<br />
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We were shown our new home, and assigned our rooms. I’m on the top/third floor. 50 marble steps lead to my room….built in stair-master! I’m also on the same level as our rooftop terrace. It’s quite nice and our villa, while not as good in some things (the internet connection is poor), is great in others. The best news so far has been that the air conditioner in our villa works great! It runs almost 24 hours a day! I’m still adjusting and trying to figure out where I want to put everything and how everything works. (What is that hose next to the toilet and how does it work!?)<br />
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After a bit of a slight panic about my carry-on luggage (being left in our driver’s car, but fairly quickly returned), we unpacked a bit but then went to bed. I had heard my first Muslim call to prayer, breathed my first dust-filled breaths and exclaimed with joy just how blessed I am to be here in Doha. <br />
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More soon…including some photos!<br />
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With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-34076158152580948712011-05-13T10:00:00.002-04:002011-05-13T22:49:19.891-04:00Classic Goodie: Seven Layer Magic BarsThere was a time in my life that I worked with church youth groups and was asked to not watch rated-R movies since our youth could not watch them and they typically expose us to themes that are not the best for our minds. This time period produced some great movies that people often will reference in conversation. People are shocked that I have not seen some of these “classics.” <br />
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Awhile back, a good friend sent me an odd text message that turned out to be just such a reference to a movie that I had not seen. He was surprised that I didn’t understand the reference and when I told him why he suggested that we start to meet up and “catch me up” on some of these classics. The deal was that I would bake with him (teach him how to make some of the classic goodies) and then we would watch a classic movie. <br />
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This turned into a weekly treat for both of us as we worked our way through goodies and movies. We made chocolate chip cookies twice and then we made these seven-layer magic bars. I’d never made them before, but the recipe looked very easy, and it was even on the can of sweetened condensed milk!<br />
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The bars are made by simply layering the ingredients into a pan and baking. We took the easy way and ground the graham crackers in my food processor and using pre-chopped nuts. This recipe felt very semi-homemade to me. Not much true baking skill is required. It would be a great recipe to quickly pull together to take to a potluck or party. The only downside for me is that it includes coconut. Had I been making it for myself, I would have probably omitted it and said six-layers were enough…but since these were a childhood favorite for my friend, we stuck to the recipe and he took home all of the leftovers! <br />
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He said that they were perfectly delicious and just as he remembered having as a child….so I call that a success! Give them a try!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2G3DY7LUgIeqIt73bZVzpRJFKH1W467RStE06NXEwynET46y7-G8TvbDUuQsP0Yc2iNjiljn6cM2WDqkSRwUZu_CHb87rlGGmmBHdsZygtlwa842OvXRqSBewtZBY1lKshXGyfWiOskQ/s1600/IMG_0947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2G3DY7LUgIeqIt73bZVzpRJFKH1W467RStE06NXEwynET46y7-G8TvbDUuQsP0Yc2iNjiljn6cM2WDqkSRwUZu_CHb87rlGGmmBHdsZygtlwa842OvXRqSBewtZBY1lKshXGyfWiOskQ/s320/IMG_0947.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Oh, by the way, we watched Shawshank Redemption, Silence of the Lambs and The Green Mile. So, what movies are on your classic “must-see” list? Let me know in the comments!<br />
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<strong>Recipe: Seven-Layer Magic Bars</strong><br />
Source: Eagle Brand<br />
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<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
Non-Stick Cooking Spray<br />
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs<br />
1/2 cup butter, melted<br />
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk<br />
1 cup (6 oz.) butterscotch-flavored chips<br />
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut<br />
1 cup chopped nuts<br />
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<strong>Instructions</strong><br />
HEAT oven 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. <br />
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COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of <br />
prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.<br />
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BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds. <br />
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For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up by edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual bars. <br />
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With Love, <br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-40852721755324609692011-05-06T10:00:00.002-04:002011-05-06T20:29:51.462-04:00Comfort Food: Mac ‘n CheeseI think most of us have a food from our childhood that we would consider a comfort food. For me chocolate chip cookies, mom’s meatloaf with mashed potatoes and the cheap pot pies seem to rank towards to top of my list. One food though really seems to always evoke a childlike comfort more than any other…Mac ‘n Cheese.<br />
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Growing up a latch-key kid there weren’t many things that my sister and I could cook alone during the summers or after school. We ate a lot of snack food and things that simply required us to boil water. Hot dogs were great, but mac ‘n cheese was my preferred choice. To this day, seeing the blue box of Kraft takes me back to those summer days lounging in front of the tv (Is it no wonder the battle of the bulge hit me as a kid?!)<br />
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With all of the changes going on in my life right now (Qatar has been delayed...maybe up to 2 months!), I started to crave comfort foods. I decided that instead of turning to the ever reliable blue box of Kraft, I would try to expand the comfort food horizon and see if I could find a new version of the delightful pasta and cheese treat. With the recent food truck craze in DC it wasn’t too hard to find one that served mac ‘n cheese. CapMac (<a href="http://www.capmacdc.com/">http://www.capmacdc.com/</a>) is a mac ‘n cheese lover’s dreams come true. They serve several kinds of macaroni covered in cheese or other sauces, but my taste buds delighted in what they call “Balls Out.” It is their version of mac ‘n cheese with chicken meatballs garnished with crushed Cheez-its. Nirvana! It was so creamy and filling, certainly satisfies the comfort food craving. The only downside is the cost…eating from a DC food truck isn’t cheap! So my quest continued.<br />
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I decided that it couldn’t be that difficult to make mac ‘n cheese from scratch at home, and thought I'd try to bake it rather than do a stovetop version. I searched the internet and found the recipe below. It came together easily and was tasty. It’s not perfect…It wasn’t as creamy as I’d hoped for, but I’m sure it could be adapted just a bit to be pure perfection. I liked that this recipe didn’t try to get too fancy. There are a ton of recipes out there that add all kinds of things to the basic mac ‘n cheese. Heck, I was tempted to try adding in some crispy bacon, but wanted to find a good basic recipe before I started to experiment. <br />
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Give this one a try. It hit the spot and was just as easy as making mac ‘n cheese from the blue box. It was also easy to reheat and eat as leftovers for a few days. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKeulC9aTiBHgEwFoqNRDGeq2qemLnuwZn2zMe-DVNBoBaOw-1cmHhT8SvZQKanfZnWOWhtFDclSOMaIgzm1Zl-iJkuzdsaxkGYDy7Yq-xDy8QbwX_DD_RguNtyFMlNRvUtFOwaJNhg4/s1600/IMG_0950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKeulC9aTiBHgEwFoqNRDGeq2qemLnuwZn2zMe-DVNBoBaOw-1cmHhT8SvZQKanfZnWOWhtFDclSOMaIgzm1Zl-iJkuzdsaxkGYDy7Yq-xDy8QbwX_DD_RguNtyFMlNRvUtFOwaJNhg4/s320/IMG_0950.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmDmXx5JbXzVRM6RGhxUzZR44WRx8medPXCIhUjXXjG7qxPu3fdz4OIMVlqedaY9l4V7XSk_OaJG2oDCet4aV5aNMkpsoG0QeL0s9kfepvP8NrMILaYCfFib_sj7l5jr-UgxjLSb2tNo/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmDmXx5JbXzVRM6RGhxUzZR44WRx8medPXCIhUjXXjG7qxPu3fdz4OIMVlqedaY9l4V7XSk_OaJG2oDCet4aV5aNMkpsoG0QeL0s9kfepvP8NrMILaYCfFib_sj7l5jr-UgxjLSb2tNo/s320/IMG_0952.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
By the way, what are your comfort foods? Leave me a comment and let me know!<br />
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<strong>Recipe: Mac ‘n Cheese</strong><br />
From: <a href="http://www.verybestbaking.com/">Very Best Baking</a><br />
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<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
1 2/3 cups (about 7 oz.) dry small elbow macaroni, cooked and drained<br />
2 tablespoons cornstarch<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard<br />
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper<br />
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk<br />
1 cup water<br />
2 tablespoons butter or margarine<br />
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided<br />
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<strong>Directions</strong><br />
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 2-quart casserole dish.<br />
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COMBINE cornstarch, salt, mustard and pepper in medium saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk, water, and butter. Cook over medium-heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in 1½ cups cheese until melted. Add macaroni; mix well. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.<br />
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BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and light brown.<br />
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With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-59137204188065904982011-04-08T10:00:00.001-04:002011-04-08T14:03:41.855-04:00Qatar Bound!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEguTbmoojWeIZOFMfTsWdvPPXhlSQfUMOA6-Y0qw2uHveqANOiMm3eVR_eNqdIRFgk8h9Wqkr-aeH9a4RAdhbM5651nPyCuvMMuc1k06BBeX0um-sbzFEUDupK-bwMXr1yOgAjE4KHMI/s1600/beach+camel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEguTbmoojWeIZOFMfTsWdvPPXhlSQfUMOA6-Y0qw2uHveqANOiMm3eVR_eNqdIRFgk8h9Wqkr-aeH9a4RAdhbM5651nPyCuvMMuc1k06BBeX0um-sbzFEUDupK-bwMXr1yOgAjE4KHMI/s320/beach+camel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>That's right friends, family and followers, I'm headed to live in Doha, Qatar for two years! I will be helping open and manage a new Red Velvet Cupcakery in the <a href="http://qcvp.com/">Katara Cultural Village Project</a>. Our current timeline is to leave at the end of this month. I'm super excited and hope that you will all continue to keep in touch with me. I'll be sharing my experiences here, as well as continue to try out new recipes.<br />
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With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-33013786392680664662011-02-28T10:00:00.006-05:002011-03-01T16:45:03.277-05:00Happy 2nd Anniversary! Let's celebrate with Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Today is Shaking N Baking's second anniversary! Woot!</span></em></strong> </span></div>When I started this blog I was not really sure where it would go or how long it would last. I am excited that it is still up and running and with just a few exceptions I have been fairly consistent in my posting. I hope that you (whoever you are!!) enjoy reading my ramblings and the recipes I share. <br />
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To celebrate, I thought I would make something chocolate again. The perfect recipe to try came across my path via a calendar that I get every year from Pillsbury. The calendar has a new recipe each month and this is February’s recipe this year. It is a Bake-Off winner too! <br />
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I also thought that this would be a great thing to send to my niece Jessica in our ongoing cookie tin. I am hoping it won’t melt when it crosses the frozen East Coast into the warmer climates of the West Coast. <br />
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The ingredients are all very easy to purchase, or you may even have them on hand already (like I did!). It all came together fairly quick as well (15 minutes or less). The tricky part is getting it to 160 degrees…without a candy thermometer this could prove difficult. <br />
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The result is very yummy fudge that reminds me a lot of a Hershey’s Krackle bar (which you can only find in the miniature mix now). The granola adds a crunch that is welcomed, yet in an unexpected way. Certainly a quick and easy fudge to make if you want something a bit different. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgZHMHVw4096r4vCvmXVm3BiNdQzddyE_AOn6KolO3ZdjOW4e7jemny8Y5kIT11Vd7NNVpXr_Yju3hsVk9EifIpb8tx6FviPMRgmdfRdW2xzKb6yio1ShMrZWMTsmDdjMnrPUeAHlVys4/s320/Fudge+Pic.jpg" width="320" /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Photo from Pillsbury.com</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Recipe: <a href="http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/sugar-cookie-chocolate-crunch-fudge/d0a5d3be-51bf-47f4-a970-7e49ac1c480c/">Sugar Cookie-Chocolate Crunch Fudge </a></strong><strong></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Ingredients:</strong></div>2 tablespoons light corn syrup<br />
2 tablespoons butter or margarine<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)<br />
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies, cut into small chunks<br />
2 bags (12 oz each) semisweet chocolate chips<br />
5 teaspoons vanilla<br />
6 Nature Valley® pecan crunch crunchy granola bars (3 pouches from 8.9-oz box), coarsely crushed (heaping 1 cup)*<br />
Fresh mint sprigs, if desired<br />
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<strong>Instructions:</strong><br />
In 3-quart heavy saucepan or deep 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook corn syrup, butter, salt and condensed milk over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until well blended. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in cookie dough chunks. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and candy thermometer reads 160°F. Remove from heat.<br />
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Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add crushed granola bars; stir until well blended. Cook over low heat 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is shiny. Spread in ungreased 12x8-inch or 13x9-inch pan.** Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours or until firm.<br />
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Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Serve in decorative candy cups or mini paper baking cups on platter garnished with mint sprigs.<br />
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<em>* To easily crush granola bars, do not unwrap; use rolling pin to crush bars. (Or unwrap, place in sealed plastic zip bag and use rolling pin to crush.)</em><br />
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<em>** To easily cut fudge, line pan with foil so foil extends over sides of pan. Lift candy from pan using foil.</em><br />
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Enjoy with Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-32036110261267189732011-02-21T10:00:00.004-05:002011-02-21T19:04:47.175-05:00Marbled Cheesecake Bars, Lemon Bars & Scott’s Almond RocaHey look! It is finally a new post from me! I am so sorry that I took a bit of a break from blogging, but sometimes that is what happens when life gets too busy. I am excited to be getting back to it though and thought as a treat I would share with you a few of the things that I have made recently. Catching up so to speak but also sharing some sites and recipes from others. <br />
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<strong>Marbled Cheesecake Bars </strong><br />
The first recipe I want to share is from <a href="http://www.eaglebrand.com/">Eagle Brand</a>. I know them best as the sweetened condensed milk people. I made these yummy cheesecake bars because I wanted to make something chocolate-y for a church event, but I didn’t want it to be overly chocolate. I also wanted to be able to cut them into individual servings and display in cupcake paper cups so that they were easy to serve. <br />
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They were a big hit at the event, and I even had enough left over to take into work the next few days. They kept well and I thought they were delicious. A bit rich, but hey, that’s what cheesecake is all about and certainly with just a bite-sized piece (or two!) you had enough to satisfy and not be overwhelmed. <br />
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My only recommendation or change to this recipe would be to use more of the vanilla batter when you first pour it in and make less chocolate batter. I did a true 50/50 and the bars ended up being mostly chocolate with a vanilla swirl versus a true swirl of both. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHpdw4gVBmsToCLrRyboQMFRXn7xQesxVMh_lG2tXSvBQPd4Psxl1gYO73iMiTUVphJ4MGWnXpLIIqLYW4e73NJY5im6_dRkwqTint0WVfrH-6-ZI7tjHp_hgY_c8YgpO-gxtu7x0MDA/s1600/Marbled+Cheesecake+Bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHpdw4gVBmsToCLrRyboQMFRXn7xQesxVMh_lG2tXSvBQPd4Psxl1gYO73iMiTUVphJ4MGWnXpLIIqLYW4e73NJY5im6_dRkwqTint0WVfrH-6-ZI7tjHp_hgY_c8YgpO-gxtu7x0MDA/s1600/Marbled+Cheesecake+Bars.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Photo from Eagle Brand Website</span></span></i></div><br />
<strong>Recipe: <a href="http://www.eaglebrand.com/recipes/details/default.aspx?recipeID=4365">Marbled Cheesecake Bars </a></strong><br />
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<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
2 cups finely crushed creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (about 24 cookies) (Think Oreos)<br />
3 tablespoons butter, melted<br />
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened<br />
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk<br />
3 large eggs<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
2 (1 oz.) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted<br />
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<strong>Instructions</strong><br />
HEAT oven to 300ºF. Combine cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl; press firmly into bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan. BEAT cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Pour half the batter evenly over prepared crust. STIR melted chocolate into remaining batter; spoon over vanilla batter. Swirl through batter with knife or metal spatula to marbleize. BAKE 40 to 50 minutes or until set. Cool. Chill. Cut into bars.<br />
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<strong>Lemon Bars</strong><br />
The next recipe is from one of my favorite food bloggers ever: <a href="http://www.smittenkitchen.com/">Smitten Kitchen</a>. She is brilliant! I always turn to her for recipes and tips when I need something that I know will work out perfectly. She takes the time to adapt the recipe so that it works…and shares how and why she made the adaptations. Her photography is brilliant too (check out her link for photos for sale). Her blog is a work of art! <br />
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So, at the aforementioned church function, I also wanted to take something that was NOT chocolate. I know everyone says they love chocolate, but if you are like me, you also crave the not-chocolate, not-vanilla tastes every now and then. I thought lemon bars would be perfect for this reason. They could also be individually cut and slipped into cupcake paper cups for display and serving.<br />
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This recipe was perfectly easy to follow…the only thing missing was how long to bake it if you wanted to have a 1:1 ration of filling to crust as was recommended (if you read her post, you will see what I mean). I baked mine for about 20 minutes. I thought I’d burnt them, but they tasted wonderful and got RAVE reviews. I would recommend watching them after the 15 minute mark and making your own judgment call on how long to bake them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmlawAst9s2Xy3wZ6oF9W_P_6hCLB2lKpylMHlD8gr3rAnBPwlCTVBjc03XPjPbjS88asYhzU2MN6voe8hbK0Sshhj9fnYOVoKmTgib60j2bePsQH3wt08XfG9m2xzrmib7hstHu3BGE/s1600/Smitten+Kitchen+Lemon+Bars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmlawAst9s2Xy3wZ6oF9W_P_6hCLB2lKpylMHlD8gr3rAnBPwlCTVBjc03XPjPbjS88asYhzU2MN6voe8hbK0Sshhj9fnYOVoKmTgib60j2bePsQH3wt08XfG9m2xzrmib7hstHu3BGE/s320/Smitten+Kitchen+Lemon+Bars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Photo from Smitten Kitchen</em></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Head to her site for more yummy photos…She offers them for sale, this one included!</em></span></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><strong>Recipe: <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/lemon-bars/">Lemon Bars</a></strong><br />
<strong><em>As adapted by </em></strong><a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/"><strong><em>Smitten Kitchen</em></strong></a><br />
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<strong>For the crust: </strong><br />
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
1/2 cup granulated sugar<br />
2 cups flour<br />
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt<br />
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<strong>For the full-size lemon layer: </strong><br />
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature<br />
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar<br />
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)<br />
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
1 cup flour<br />
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting<br />
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<strong>[Or] for a thinner lemon layer:</strong><br />
4 extra-large eggs at room temperature<br />
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar<br />
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (3 to 4 lemons)<br />
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
2/3 cup flour<br />
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting<br />
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<strong>Instructions:</strong><br />
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.<br />
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For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.<br />
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Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.<br />
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For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (less if you are using the thinner topping), or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.<br />
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Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.<br />
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<strong>Scott’s Almond Roca</strong><br />
This final recipe comes from a friend. He is a wonderful guy who owns cats, loves wine, has a great sense of humor and apparently one kick-butt recipe for a mock almond roca. Scott posted that he was making this delicious treat on his Facebook page awhile back (around December if I remember right). I immediately asked for the recipe because I love Almond Roca. I have very fond memories of stealing several pieces from the pink can at my Grandma’s. For those that do not know about Almond Roca visit their <a href="https://www.brown-haley.com/almondproduct.php">site</a>, but it is similar to an English Toffee, only in a round piece covered in nuts. Yum!<br />
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Scott tried to slip a fast one on me by giving me a faulty recipe but I caught it before I made an attempt at making this and he came clean on the real recipe. (I want to believe it was a simple error on his part… heehee!) Do not make this unless you want to become instantly addicted…that was the warning I got and will pass along to you…because it is accurate. This candy is so easy (well, besides having to stir for 20 minutes) and so worth every minute you have to wait to break it up to eat. Thanks Scott for sharing!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>(I do not have a photo of these treats….they were gone way too fast!)</em></span></div><br />
<strong>Recipe: Scott’s Almond Roca</strong><br />
<strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />
1 cup Slivered Almonds<br />
1 cup White Sugar<br />
1 tbs. Water<br />
1 tbs. Light Karo Syrup<br />
1 cup Butter (DO NOT substitute margarine)<br />
2 Large (1/2 Pound Each) Hershey Bars* (or however many it takes to get to a pound of the smaller chocolate bars!)<br />
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<strong>Instructions</strong><br />
Combine almonds, sugar, water, Karo syrup and butter in a frying pan or pot on medium-high heat.** Stir constantly until the mixture turns one shade darker than light brown sugar (this takes approximately 20 minutes). When it starts to caramelize it happens quickly so be patient and watch the mixture closely. Try not to let it smoke or it will have a burnt taste.<br />
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Pour the mixture into a well-greased 13" x 9" pan (it will be extremely hot, so be careful). Place each Hershey bar on top (they will soften quickly) then spread evenly over the entire pan. Top with some extra almond slivers.***<br />
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Let cool/harden and cut or break into pieces.<br />
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<strong>Scott’s Tips</strong><br />
<em>* I've used various (semi-sweet, dark, etc.) Hershey chocolate chips which also melt well. I've experimented with other brands of chocolate (e.g., Ghirardelli), but none seem to work as well as Hershey.</em><br />
<em>** I like to add a shot of brandy, rum and/or a small amount of vanilla extract for flavor. It works best to add the alcohol just after the butter completely melts (the alcohol content evaporates by the time the caramel is ready).</em><br />
<em>*** I like to add a few sprinkles of cinnamon (after everything cools off), as well.</em><br />
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Hopefully you will take the time to make and enjoy each of these recipes. They are all wonderful and from trusted sources of yummy food. Do you have a favorite food blog that you enjoy to cook from (you know, besides mine!)? Share it with me in the comments!<br />
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Enjoy with Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-84048488154824604892011-01-23T10:00:00.004-05:002011-01-23T23:28:20.392-05:00Blog Behaving BadlyFriends, Family, Followers - <br />
<br />
Happy New Year!! I hope that 2011 is going well for you so far. <br />
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I wanted to quickly write and let you know that I am FULLY aware that I've not posted since October 2010! In my defense, about a week after I posted those yummy chai cupcakes I started classes again for my BS degree AND I got a part-time job, on top of the much longer commute to my full-time job I started early October. *phew* No excuses, I know...you need your Shaking N Baking fixes. SO....I will tell you that I am hoping to get back on a regular posting schedule soon. Any ideas on what you'd like me to try and make? I know my <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/">Daring Kitchen</a> friends have been doing some fun things lately....I can't wait to get back on track with them!<br />
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With Love, <br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-43133751389723038742010-10-13T10:00:00.000-04:002010-10-14T19:43:33.186-04:00Chai Latte Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream FrostingI was introduced to chai lattes back in 1999. I was teaching ballroom dancing and our studio manager (who I'm convinced was bi-polar) would bring them to the instructors every so often on days that she felt like being nice to us...they were rare treats. :-)<br />
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<em>"Chai is the Hindi word for a tea made with milk and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and pepper"</em> (Betty Crocker website). Since I don't drink coffee, chai lattes are my drink of choice when going to coffee shops. They are creamy and spicy and are good either piping hot or cold. Perfect for a drink that may sit on the desk while the world whirls around and the drink is forgotten until things simmer down. <br />
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These cupcakes were found when I realized I had some extra cake mixes around and wanted to doctor them up a bit to use them up. Those that know me well know that I don't normally like to use store-bought mixes, but prefer to make everything from scratch. BUT, if I have a mix in the house, I will doctor it up to use them. I searched the Betty Crocker website and when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. <br />
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The cupcakes were very easy to mix up. The batter was thinner than a normal cake batter, to the point that I double checked the amount of water I used twice. It was so thin in fact that I put it into a piping bag to control the flow when I was filling the mini-cupcake pan. They baked up beautifully though and smelled wonderful! <br />
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I moved onto the frosting. I had a batch of buttercream leftover from when I made the sheet cake, so all I had to do was add the white chocolate. Easy, right?! Well, it is if white chocolate doesn't hate you...like it seems to hate me. For some reason, whenever I try to melt white chocolate it seizes up on me. So frustrating! Luckily, I had enough to try again and the second time really took my time and was much more diligent in my stirring. I finally got the chocolate melted and added so that I could frost the cupcakes. <br />
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I piped the frosting onto the cupcakes, sprinkled with cinnamon and then took my first bite....mmmmmm, these are like a fall day in heaven! The cakes are spicy and the frosting balances it with a sweetness that works so well together. I quickly gobbled up two or three (ok, I lost count!) minis and had to stop myself before eating more! I brought them to work two days later (yeah, I debated whether or not to keep them all for myself) and got rave reviews from my co-workers (even though they fussed about always bringing in sweets). <br />
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These cupcakes were a hit...a keeper for those times when you have cake mix around and need a quick, yet fancy-feeling dessert during the fall (ok, anytime, but they really taste so fall-like). Here's a glamour shot:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6U5D4mIB81yJXQ2qLMVF1TntBOkN6WcB9clxzKwYg35x3Ipnkg4Z2DOPCTnwBoE3NSz8PoiD8cu_7sD_pNCxaZ0csh1nB32bI7zd42Yfwn9xyGEfQEZTamTxDxguU97QoRvP3t8UfUU/s1600/IMG_0918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6U5D4mIB81yJXQ2qLMVF1TntBOkN6WcB9clxzKwYg35x3Ipnkg4Z2DOPCTnwBoE3NSz8PoiD8cu_7sD_pNCxaZ0csh1nB32bI7zd42Yfwn9xyGEfQEZTamTxDxguU97QoRvP3t8UfUU/s320/IMG_0918.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<strong>The Recipe:</strong><br />
<strong>Chai Latte Cupcakes</strong><br />
From <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/chai-latte-cupcakes/5c5c4231-f258-4561-9c8e-f873e4c7aa8a?p=1">Betty Crocker</a><br />
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist French vanilla cake mix<br />
1 1/2 cups water <br />
1/3 cup vegetable oil <br />
3 eggs <br />
1 package (1.1 oz) instant chai tea latte mix (or 3 tablespoons from larger container) (I used <a href="http://www.tastefullysimple.com/shopourproducts/allproducts/ohmychaidrinkmix348108.aspx">Oh My! Chai</a> from Tastefully Simple)<br />
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1. Heat oven to 350°F for shiny metal pans (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.<br />
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2. In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (approx. 2/3 full).<br />
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3. Bake 18 to 23 minutes (10 to 12 minutes for minis) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.<br />
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4. Spread or pipe frosting mixture on cupcakes. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Store loosely covered at room temperature.<br />
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Makes 24 regular-sized cupcakes<br />
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<br />
<strong>White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting</strong><br />
1 bag of white chocolate chips<br />
1 cup solid white vegetable shortening (Crisco)<br />
1 teaspoon flavoring (I used Wilton Clear Vanilla...you can use regular vanilla, just remember it'll make it off-white in color)<br />
2 tablespoons water <br />
1 lb. pure cane confectioners' sugar (approx. 4 cups)<br />
1 tablespoon Wilton Meringue Powder (You can find this easily at Michael's craft stores)<br />
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Melt the white chips in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second increments. Remember to stir the chips between each heating, you likely will need to heat it slightly less than you think (keep stirring!). Once melted completely, let cool for about 5 minutes. <br />
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In a separate bowl, cream shortening, flavoring and water. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy.<br />
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Add melted chocolate to the buttercream, blend completely, use immediately. <br />
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Enjoy with Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-8927506639620977262010-09-27T11:00:00.001-04:002010-10-04T23:27:26.905-04:00Daring Bakers: Sugar Cookies (September 2010)<strong>The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “<a href="http://www.mandymortimer.com/">What the Fruitcake?!</a>” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from <a href="http://www.peggyporschen.com/images/press/pdf/Coso-Bride-Oct-Nov-2008.pdf">Peggy Porschen</a> and <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html">The Joy of Baking</a>.</strong><br />
<br />
Sugar cookies are a long-standing tradition in our family. I have fond memories of the sweet treats from my childhood. In fact, we have a “secret family recipe” that has been passed on throughout the years (nope, I’m not sharing that one on the internet!). When I saw that the challenge this month was sugar cookies, I was happy (knowing it wouldn’t be much of a challenge) but also a bit disappointed (knowing I wouldn’t learn a whole lot).<br />
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The good news is that a friend asked me to bake and decorate sugar cookies as baby shower favors for her sister. Her sister is having twins soon so the theme was Noah’s Ark. I thought I would try something new and order pressed sugar decorations from <a href="http://www.sugarcraft.com/">SugarCraft</a> to use on a standard cookie shape. This was I could make a bunch of them quickly and still have them be adorable. She also asked me to make and decorate a sheet cake with the design of the invitation on the cake (and there was my challenge for the month!).<br />
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I used my family recipe for the cookies and a royal icing recipe I knew and trusted (since that’s what my friend had tasted and wanted). The whole process is fairly straight forward. My best tip is to use multiple pans for baking. I use two with Silpats, and can basically be baking from start to finish with no breaks since they only take about 8-10 minutes per batch. That’s about the same amount of time it takes to roll, cut and get the next batch ready.<br />
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So…the pressed sugar decorations arrived (amazingly intact) and were super cute (I thought!). Here’s a glamor shot of the cookies and then how I wrapped them to be favors. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOjO3vJlq9EsQySSBaxZrPZMniY-TVX1zhk4YQc04Iqv2I_AtCh_fRVe2GMX-s8eD4HkKsN_DhNeDV8C0w7_zDddg2AzVR3qugO9KKpHicLwy-mZRVRCHEg74cfb9S1PHEjG2Iy8Ni2w/s1600/IMG_0872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnOjO3vJlq9EsQySSBaxZrPZMniY-TVX1zhk4YQc04Iqv2I_AtCh_fRVe2GMX-s8eD4HkKsN_DhNeDV8C0w7_zDddg2AzVR3qugO9KKpHicLwy-mZRVRCHEg74cfb9S1PHEjG2Iy8Ni2w/s320/IMG_0872.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkVu0w8vbcy5fm8S1S39qlQlVYTR7h_Ijh0PQX03MQyyQ8OS-TpkGb2WehJ0moNhwZuSer4MPsJwiR69uiqJgtdBbRNQqCase4Vkk_dCcxhAIUL5JhQYzdYGRoa_tpwEM1mIax8MV1WE/s1600/IMG_0874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkVu0w8vbcy5fm8S1S39qlQlVYTR7h_Ijh0PQX03MQyyQ8OS-TpkGb2WehJ0moNhwZuSer4MPsJwiR69uiqJgtdBbRNQqCase4Vkk_dCcxhAIUL5JhQYzdYGRoa_tpwEM1mIax8MV1WE/s320/IMG_0874.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here are a few other cookies that I’ve done over the years…I think I’m getting better! What do you think:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLg8ifh3xOegxVV3-i6-kVdf9Jg1Pt9PnnJj5DUjJR5OQ_OtvTQVWf_68Hbcekj25P38DWft8l1qZGmAVO7-T8rrZk76ZFu5utKzws_zPbZexp7kGMVKLBg3VrvoeqePQqqTmBSbgZCX8/s200/Sugar+Cookies+-+Christmas.JPG" width="150" /><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8X0nwsE7nWktRwEGmCAxtCaOXA32ffyT8rmnCIsIsfsuAazr76xt7Rfkvwpk1dfsaReIPAoUutspdbOgdB0qfEh4uffw4t8bsPsBO41_svgQzVofjULzNvrBwSE0fmTcFTDRPXL-Wx9U/s200/Sugar+Cookies+-+Valentines+Day.JPG" width="200" /><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OgkLIJZZtFdKZoCz7LjEeanESWT0HreB-6dNvYYq8Y7JKhRoFxGo2TjuVJh0aa3llLzTH-PcGT7YF8eJhcPVu2M8nd1T-ngnpqtqPe-NAlrO1h6EHNAyqe5pIzkMM7G5KdHAhfBGqOU/s200/Sugar+Cookies+-+July+4th.JPG" width="150" /> </div><div>Oh, and for those that are wondering…here’s how the sheet cake turned out. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybqDg7WAVsCd1xftfNxdPulVbR_B8RHqQ6LJvlXB1_oPF0Tqd6bmQNEHzYSQu8SCY-XjTwSyjbUK2vq_pd3SEJ71EJ8_NAefFJ-_xGuDZotS2d0XUWYqPbEhg5Tp-GipTlw5qnz3Q9Y0/s1600/IMG_0876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybqDg7WAVsCd1xftfNxdPulVbR_B8RHqQ6LJvlXB1_oPF0Tqd6bmQNEHzYSQu8SCY-XjTwSyjbUK2vq_pd3SEJ71EJ8_NAefFJ-_xGuDZotS2d0XUWYqPbEhg5Tp-GipTlw5qnz3Q9Y0/s320/IMG_0876.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqk-7RWRIuRFEoQfhJgqeRymRufFr_RUvhHkFDvP3n_9WxK1VWQquMO3MYhDabNqtkV7MvjS3zpfiBMySbnf2Cj3Ld6xAZZlLd2tGutZgzsSBKK_I5FQJ7o7I39mhnKTyFQSAHdTGT2E/s1600/IMG_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJqk-7RWRIuRFEoQfhJgqeRymRufFr_RUvhHkFDvP3n_9WxK1VWQquMO3MYhDabNqtkV7MvjS3zpfiBMySbnf2Cj3Ld6xAZZlLd2tGutZgzsSBKK_I5FQJ7o7I39mhnKTyFQSAHdTGT2E/s320/IMG_0875.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It turned into a major undertaking, but was worth it in the end. I’m told the mom-to-be was quite happy with both the cake and the cookies. I’m so glad to be a very small part of this important event in her growing family’s life. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">To see how the other Daring Bakers did with this challenge, head over <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/">here</a>. They made some amazing cookies!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And one last thing…if you want to order cookies, a cake or other dessert from me, just let me know! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>The Daring Bakers Recipe</strong> (Because I can’t give away the family recipe!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Basic Sugar Cookies</strong></div>Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies<br />
200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature<br />
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour<br />
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar<br />
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten<br />
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean<br />
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<strong>Directions</strong><br />
<ul><li>Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming creamy in texture.</li>
<li>Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.</li>
<li>Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.</li>
<li>Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.</li>
<li>Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch).</li>
<li>Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.</li>
<li>Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.</li>
<li>Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.</li>
<li>Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.</li>
<li>Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.</li>
<li>Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.</li>
<li>Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.</li>
<li>Leave to cool on cooling racks.</li>
<li>Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.</li>
</ul><br />
<strong>Royal Icing</strong><br />
You can find the Royal Icing Recipe I use by clicking here. Just add a bit more water to the recipe for flooding.<br />
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<strong>Daring Baker’s Royal Icing</strong><br />
315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted<br />
2 Large Egg Whites<br />
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice<br />
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional<br />
<ul><li><em>Tip: 2 amounts of icing suga are listed, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing.</em> <i><span style="font-size: small;">If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.</span></i></li>
</ul><strong>Directions</strong><br />
<ul><li>Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.</li>
<li>Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.</li>
<li>Add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need. </li>
<li>Beat on low until combined and smooth.</li>
<li>Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.</li>
<li><em>Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap or moist paper towel while not in use.</em></li>
</ul><strong>Decorating Your Cookies: Flooding</strong><br />
<strong>"</strong>Flooding” a cookie is a technique used when covering a cookie with Royal Icing.<br />
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1. You outline the area you want to flood which helps create a dam.<br />
2. Then fill or flood inside the area you’ve outlined.<br />
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<strong>Decorating Your Cookies: What You'll Need</strong><br />
<ul><li>Piping bags / Parchment Cones / Ziplock Bags</li>
</ul><ul><li>Elastic bands</li>
<li>Piping tips (between sizes 1 & 5)</li>
<li>Couplers</li>
<li>Glasses (handy for standing your piping bags in)</li>
<li>Clean clothes, dry & damp</li>
<li>Toothpicks</li>
<li>Gel or paste food colouring </li>
</ul><strong>Decorating your cookies: Royal Icing </strong><br />
The most important thing when it comes to decorating with Royal Icing is the consistency.<br />
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There are two ways of flooding your cookies. Some like to do the outline with a thicker icing and then flood with a thinner icing. Some like to use the same icing to do both which saves time and you don’t have to have two different piping bags for each colour you’re using.<br />
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<strong>The Same Consistency Method: </strong><br />
<ul><li>Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions.</li>
<li>Drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing and count to 10.</li>
<li>If the surface becomes smooth between 5 & 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency.</li>
<li><em>Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, do the 10 second test, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc.</em></li>
<li><em>Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test.</em></li>
</ul><strong>Two Different Consistencies Method:</strong> <br />
<ul><li>Mix your royal icing according to the recipe/instructions. </li>
<li>Separate into 2 different bowls, one lot of icing for outlining, the other for flooding. </li>
<li>For the outlining icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing. </li>
<li>If the surface becomes smooth at around 10 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency. </li>
<li><em>Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 10 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc. </em></li>
<li><em>Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 10 second test. </em></li>
<li>For the flooding/filling icing, drag a knife through the surface of the Royal Icing. </li>
<li>If the surface becomes smooth at around 3-4 seconds, the icing is at the correct consistency. </li>
<li><em>Tip: If your icing is too thick, thin it by adding a few drops of water. Mix, count to 3-4 seconds, then if it’s still too thick, add a few more drops of water, repeat, etc. </em></li>
<li><em>Tip: To thicken your icing, add small amounts of icing sugar until thick enough for the 3-4 second test. </em></li>
</ul><strong>Colouring: </strong><br />
<ul><li>Separate Royal Icing into separate bowls for each colour you plan on using. </li>
<li><em>Tip: Make sure to cover the bowls with cling film or a damp cloth to prevent the top from setting and then making lumps. </em></li>
<li>Using a toothpick, add gel or paste colouring to each bowl and mix thoroughly until desired colour is reached. </li>
<li><em>Tip: You can use liquid food colouring but you might not be able to get the desired strength of colour, liquid colouring will also thin out the icing so you’ll need to add more icing sugar to thicken it again.</em></li>
</ul><strong>Prepping and filling your piping bags: </strong><br />
<ul><li>Attach your icing tips to the piping bags using couplers.</li>
<li><em>Tip: You don’t need to use a coupler but it makes it easier if you want to change tip sizes </em></li>
<li><em>Tip: A size 1 tip is best for doing intricate details. A size 2 tip is good for some details and outlining. Fill or flood with sizes 2 – 5. </em></li>
<li><em>Tip: You don’t need a piping bag, you can use a ziplock bag with a tiny bit snipped off the corner. I would however recommend getting a piping set if you don’t have one as it will be much easier and more precise. </em></li>
<li>Stand the piping bags in glasses with the tops of the bags folded over the top of the glass. </li>
<li>Fill your icing bags with each coloured icing. </li>
<li>Tie the ends of the piping bags with elastic bands.</li>
</ul><strong>Decorating: Outlining </strong><br />
<ul><li>Fit the piping bag with a size 2 or 3 tip. </li>
<li><em>Tip: Or snip a very small bit of the corner off of a Ziploc bag </em></li>
<li>Hold the piping bag at a 45 degree angle above the cookie where you want to start the outline. </li>
<li>Gently squeeze the piping bag and start moving in the direction you want to outline the cookie. </li>
<li>Start lifting the piping bag away from the cookie so that the flow of icing falls onto the cookie, making it an even and neater outline. </li>
<li>As you start to reach the beginning of the outline, bring the piping tip closer to the surface of the cookie to meet the start of the icing outline. </li>
<li><em>Tip: If you’re doing an intricate cookie, like a snow flake, you won’t be able to lift the tip as far away from the cookie. </em></li>
<li>If you’re doing a different colour border, eg. a black border, let the outline dry before flooding. If using the same colour for the outline as you are flooding with, begin flooding after doing the outline.</li>
</ul><div><strong>Decorating: Flooding</strong></div><ul><li>Fit the piping bag with a size 2-5 tip, the bigger the area being filled, the bigger the tip. </li>
<li><em>Tip: Or cut slightly more off the corner of a Ziploc bag to create a slightly larger opening. </em></li>
<li>Quickly zigzag back and forth over the area you want to fill. </li>
<li><em>Tip: You need to be quick when flooding the cookie so don’t worry too much if it’s not filled in neatly. </em></li>
<li>Using a toothpick or clean paintbrush, push the icing around into the gaps that are still remaining. </li>
<li>Either pick up the cookie and tip it from side to side to even out the filling, or lightly bang the cookie down on your kitchen counter. </li>
</ul><strong>Decorating: Melding colours</strong><br />
<ul><li>If you would like to add lines or dots to the base colour that you flooded the cookie with so that they meld and dry as a smooth surface, you need to add the lines/dots/patterns as quickly as possible after flooding and smoothing the surface of the cookie. </li>
<li><em>Tip: Make sure to have all the colours you’re planning on using ready and close by so that you can switch between colours quickly </em></li>
<li>Simply pipe other colours onto the flooded surface in patterns or lines which you can either leave as that or then drag a toothpick through to make marbling patterns. </li>
</ul><strong>Decorating: On top of flooding</strong><br />
<ul><li>If you’d like to do other patterns/outlines or writing on top of the flooded surface so that they are raised above the flooded background, simply allow the icing to dry, preferably over night.</li>
<li>Fit the piping bag with tip sizes 1-3. </li>
<li>Pipe patterns or write on top of the dry icing.</li>
<li><em>Tip: For writing, the consistency of your icing should be thicker rather than thinner, drag a knife through your icing and when the surface smoothes around 12-15 seconds, the consistency is correct. </em></li>
</ul><strong>Packaging and Storing:</strong><br />
<ul><li>Once fully decorated, allow cookies to dry for 24 hours in a cool and dry area. </li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Stack cookies in an airtight container, from largest cookies at the bottom, to smallest and more intricate at the top, with parchment or wax free paper in between the layers. </div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Store in a cool and dry area with the container’s lid firmly sealed.</div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Will last for about a month if stored this way. </div></li>
</ul><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Enjoy With Love,</div><div style="text-align: left;">Christina</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-38472306150895591002010-09-27T10:00:00.002-04:002010-09-27T10:39:58.593-04:00Exciting News!!The gals at <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/">The Daring Kitchen</a> asked for some of us Daring Bakers/Daring Cooks to contribute towards the weekly Food Talk article. I stepped up to the plate and....<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: large;">This is my week!</span> </div><br />
Go check it out! The article is titled: <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/food-talk/cooking-together-aphrodisiacs">Cooking Together With Aphrodisiacs</a>!<br />
<br />
Thanks for the opportunity ladies!<br />
<br />
Enjoy With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-10310802828018337432010-09-14T10:00:00.008-04:002010-09-14T13:16:17.102-04:00Daring Cooks: Food Preservation (September 2010)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of <a href="http://eat4fun.blogspot.com/">Eat4Fun</a>. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from <a href="http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/">The National Center for Home Food Preservation</a>.</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I first opened this challenge, I was excited to have a reason to try my hand at something that I was exposed too when I was a young child. My grandma, mom and I used to spend hours in the kitchen canning peaches and tomatoes during the summer. My job during the canning process, especially with peaches, was to make sure that the pretty side of the fruit was facing out. I was such an eager helper, and I'm sure that this job was given to me because my smaller hands fit in the jars easier! Of course, there was always those few peaches that needed to be "tested" (read that as eaten!) for quality control. The funny part is I don't remember ever using the canned results later in the year, though I'm sure they were. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since apples aren't quite in season yet here (give them a few more weeks!), I decided to try my hand at the bruschetta in a jar. I'm a huge fan of bruschetta and the whole process was going to be fairly quick and easy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had to go purchase some of the items needed for canning. I already had the jars, lids and tops because of the apples that mom and I canned last season (and I used to make pies mid-winter! Yum!). What I didn't have were the jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter and the headspace measurer. Granted, the lid lifter and the measurer were luxury items, but I found an <a href="http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/new_products/2.php?pid=292&product=305">entire "kit" for canning</a> at Bed, Bath and Beyond for only $10. (Psst...I couldn't find the kit on the BBB site, so that link goes to the Ball canning site where you can purchase it. That site also has some great recipes.) I used my big stock pot with the pasta strainer insert as my "shock protector." It worked great!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once I had all of the equipment and ingredients assembled, I was ready to get going. Since it was only me, I decided to half the recipe. You'll see I still came up with 5 jars of preserved goodness. I used about 10 plum tomatoes and then one "regular" tomato because I had a bit of room left in the last jar. The texture difference was pretty amazing. I'm glad I used mostly plum tomatoes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Since I was only using half the tomatoes, I also halved the liquid recipe. For some reason, this did NOT work out. I think it may have been because I didn't pack my tomatoes in tight enough (therefore needed more liquid). BUT, the good news is that the liquid was a quick and easy thing to whip up so I just made a full recipe and had plenty (with a bit leftover in the end). You may want to make extra just to be sure you don't run out mid-canning like I did. (Advice when packing the jars: Don't be afraid to really pack the tomatoes in there...I think it worked better in the end. The liquid was a bit more tricky to get down in there, but the end product was prettier (in my opinion).)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The "cooking" process was simply to just let them boil away for 20 minutes...how easy is that! Once they were done and had rested in the hot water for 5 minutes I removed them to the counter (on a pot holder!) and waited for then signature "ping" of a good seal. I was rewarded with 5 solid "pings" before I knew it! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've not yet tasted the bruschetta...but I'm hoping to break into a jar later this week to give it a try. I'll do my best to come back and update you on how it tasted....but honestly, it smelled wonderful going in, so I can't imagine it'll be bad. :-) Here's a glamour shot of the jars after they were done:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyl6FAQUf2Yie8EGFHSASczmCIcSH0rNEcE64zycqrWoGTjmGr7yeWZ1I6eYgKdS5K9hNshuwnEghfVJJamqwp8acsD5638q1mcUCl0hG23SAJvzS8LcabPW-33HSHLAS7_3vqQBQqzEk/s1600/IMG_0867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyl6FAQUf2Yie8EGFHSASczmCIcSH0rNEcE64zycqrWoGTjmGr7yeWZ1I6eYgKdS5K9hNshuwnEghfVJJamqwp8acsD5638q1mcUCl0hG23SAJvzS8LcabPW-33HSHLAS7_3vqQBQqzEk/s400/IMG_0867.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>For other recipes and to see the wonderful results of other Daring Cooks, visit </em><a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/"><em>The Daring Kitchen</em></a><em>.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>The Recipe:</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Bruschetta in a Jar</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Recipe Source: <a href="http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/recipe_page/51.php?pid=435">Bernardin Canning Website</a></div><br />
<strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />
Plum/Roma Tomatoes* - 3 1/2 lbs<br />
Fresh Garlic - 5 Cloves, Minced <br />
Dry White Wine - 1 Cup (Reminder: Use something you'd drink!)<br />
White Wine Vinegar - 1 Cup<br />
Balsamic Vinegar - 2 Tbl<br />
Sugar, Granulated - 2 Tbl<br />
Dried Basil - 2 Tbl<br />
Dried Oregano - 2 Tbl<br />
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* Note: Although other tomato varieties may be used, firm plum tomatoes yield the best results. If using round garden-variety tomatoes, seed tomatoes and drain in colander for 30 minutes then chop.<br />
<br />
Headspace: 1/2 “ (1.27 cm)<br />
<br />
<strong>Processing Time:</strong><br />
20 minutes for altitude of 0 ft (0 m) to 1,000 ft (305 m)<br />
25 minutes for altitude of 1,001 ft (305.1 m) to 3,000 ft (915 m)<br />
30 minutes for altitude of 3,001 ft (916 m) to 6,000 ft (1,830 m)<br />
35 minutes altitudes above 6,000 ft (1,831 m) to 8,000 ft (2,440 m)<br />
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<strong>Directions:</strong><br />
1) Place 7 clean half-pint (250 ml) mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat lids in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.<br />
<br />
2) Wash, seed and chop tomatoes into 1/2 inch (1cm) pieces; measure 9 cups (2250 ml), set aside.<br />
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3) Combine garlic, white wine, wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar, basil and oregano in a deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a full boil; reduce heat. Stirring occasionally, boil gently, covered, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.<br />
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4) Pack tomatoes into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot liquid to cover tomatoes to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more tomatoes and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining tomatoes and hot liquid.<br />
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5) When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 20 minutes. <br />
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6) When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars <strong>without tilting</strong> and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.<br />
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7) After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.<br />
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<strong>Serving Suggestions:</strong><br />
With boiling water canning, very little oil is used since the oils can weaken the seals on the jar.<br />
<br />
For the Bruschetta, olive oil and fresh herbs can be added before serving on top of toasted bread or as a condiment to a dish.<br />
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Enjoy with Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-4256423575790878702010-09-04T10:00:00.008-04:002010-09-04T11:44:49.701-04:00Braised Hoisin Beer Short RibsI've taken to reading a lot of other food blogs. There are some really great ones out there that inspire me all the time. One that I came across this past summer is <a href="http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/">The Bitten Word</a>. It's written by two guys that live in DC. I love their writing, photography and willingness to be creative in the kitchen. <br />
<br />
I was stalking their blog one afternoon when I came across this recipe for braised ribs. I've been fondly remembering the braised short ribs that I had at <a href="http://www.ulahbistro.com/">Ulah Bistro</a> for my birthday. I took this recipe as a sign that I had to try to make them...see if I could make them as fall-apart-yummy as the restaurant and the guys at The Bitten Word did. <br />
<br />
I made my way to the store, got all the ingredients and then waited until this weekend, and an extra day off from work, to make this recipe. Though not difficult by any means, this recipe is a bit time consuming...but it's all just simmer time...not active cooking. It was perfect for the day I had planned. <br />
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Seriously, the whole house filled with the delicious smells of these ribs cooking. The end result is fall-apart-no-knife-needed meat. The sauce is sweet and yet you get a nice tang from the beer and ginger. The garlic melts into the sauce and adds such a beautiful layer of flavor. I served with garlic mashed potatoes and a salad (something green!). SO, SO GOOD!!! Go, get what you need to make these this weekend...what are you waiting for!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Seriously, I don't know why a knife is shown!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwKDCSwpFaOvPyn8ct9ymL_iiFFSWquc5P3iCmSQ3SEqTfso0ZYcgv4HBygkkLlp3h14-TWAQQqu-eVshypOCWdBojG9pzdSYQl5IK9nHxJ7A5XtIalSEfQ3Lge-O5RJO4OCG9a1UqNU/s1600/Braised+Ribs+Photo+from+FN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwKDCSwpFaOvPyn8ct9ymL_iiFFSWquc5P3iCmSQ3SEqTfso0ZYcgv4HBygkkLlp3h14-TWAQQqu-eVshypOCWdBojG9pzdSYQl5IK9nHxJ7A5XtIalSEfQ3Lge-O5RJO4OCG9a1UqNU/s320/Braised+Ribs+Photo+from+FN.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo Credit: The Food Network</span></em></div><br />
<strong>Braised Hoisin Beer Short Ribs </strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<em>Found on <a href="http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2009/01/braised-hoison-beer-short-ribs-with-rosemary-whitebean-pur%C3%A9e.html">The Bitten Word</a> who got it from <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/braised-hoisin-beer-short-ribs-with-creamy-mashed-yukons-and-sesame-snow-peas-recipe/index.html">Dave Lieberman via Food Network</a></em><br />
4 to 6 servings<br />
Prep: 25 min<br />
Cook: 3 hr 20 min<br />
Total: 3 hr 45 min<br />
<br />
3 pounds beef short ribs, about 10 ribs<br />
Salt and freshly ground pepper<br />
3 tablespoons vegetable oil<br />
10 to 12 garlic cloves smashed<br />
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices<br />
12 ounces good ale (recommended: Bass)<br />
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar<br />
1 cup hoisin sauce<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot with a lid (Dutch oven) over high heat. Brown the ribs on all sides, in batches if necessary. Remove the ribs and pour off all but a couple tablespoons of the rendered fat.<br />
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Return the pot to the stove, lower the heat to medium and saute the garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes. Add the ribs back to the pot. Add the beer and the vinegar. Stir and then cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.<br />
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Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.<br />
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Pour the hoisin sauce over the ribs, move the pot to the oven, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.<br />
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Remove ribs and ginger from sauce. Strain fat from the top of the pot so that you're left with just the good stuff. <br />
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Enjoy With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-41083620532367907742010-08-27T10:00:00.003-04:002010-09-04T10:40:46.106-04:00Daring Bakers: Baked Alaska and or Ice Cream Petit Fours (August 2010)...Not Really...(But Look...It's Butterfinger Ice Cream)<strong>The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of </strong><a href="http://17andbaking.com/"><strong>17 and Baking</strong></a><strong>. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop.”</strong><br />
<br />
I was so excited about this challenge. I'd always wanted to try my hand at brown butter, baked Alaska and petit fours! Alas, I failed....I didn't allow enough time in my schedule to complete this challenge. I did make the ice cream part needed, so I'll share that recipe with you along with what should have been an awesome challenge recipe. Maybe one day when I have a bit more free time (oye!), I'll attempt this challenge. <br />
<br />
I made Butterfinger Ice Cream. It's a basic vanilla ice cream with chopped Butterfingers in it. Yumm....it's so good...<br />
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<strong>The Recipe:</strong><br />
<strong>Butterfinger Ice Cream</strong><br />
<em>Adapted from Kitchen Aid's French Vanilla Ice Cream</em><br />
2 1/2 cups (590 ml) half-and-half<br />
8 egg yolks<br />
1 cup (235 ml) sugar<br />
2 1/2 cups (590 ml) whipping cream<br />
4 teaspoons (20 ml) vanilla<br />
1/8 teaspoon (.5 ml) salt<br />
2-3 Butterfinger candy bars, chopped<br />
<br />
In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat half-and-half until very hot but not boiling, stirring often. Remove from heat; set aside. <br />
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Place egg yolks and sugar in mixer bowl. Whip using a whisk attachment. Mix about 30 seconds, or until well blended and slightly thickened. Continuing, very gradually add half-and-half; mix until blended. Return half-and-half mixture to medium saucepan; cook over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy, stirring constantly. Do not boil. Transfer half-and-half mixture into large bowl; stir in whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 8 hours.<br />
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Using a container with a spout, pour mixture into your prepared ice cream maker. Churn until desired consistency. Add in chopped Butterfinger candy during last 2-3 minutes of churning. Immediately transfer ice cream into serving dishes (soft serve consistency), or freeze in an airtight container.<br />
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Enjoy With Love,<br />
Christina<br />
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PS...Here are the challenge recipes in case YOU want to give them a try. You can also visit <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/">The Daring Kitchen</a> for more information and to see this challenge as completed by others. <br />
<br />
<strong>Vanilla Ice Cream</strong><br />
1 cup (250ml) whole milk<br />
A pinch of salt<br />
3/4 cup (165g) sugar<br />
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract<br />
2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream<br />
5 large egg yolks<br />
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract<br />
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1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)<br />
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2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.<br />
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3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.<br />
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4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.<br />
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5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine. See instructions from David Lebovitz: <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/07/making_ice_crea_1.html">http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/07/making_ice_crea_1.html</a> <br />
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<strong>Brown Butter Pound Cake</strong><br />
19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter<br />
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) <br />
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt<br />
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar<br />
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar<br />
4 large eggs<br />
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
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1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.<br />
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2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.<br />
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3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.<br />
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4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.<br />
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5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.<br />
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6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.<br />
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7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.<br />
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<strong>Chocolate Glaze (For the Ice Cream Petit Fours)</strong><br />
9 ounces (250g) dark chocolate, finely chopped<br />
1 cup (250 ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream<br />
1 1/2 tablespoons (32g) light corn syrup, Golden syrup, or agave nectar<br />
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract<br />
<br />
Stir the heavy cream and light corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the dark chocolate. Let sit 30 seconds, then stir to completely melt the chocolate. Stir in the vanilla and let cool until tepid before glazing the petit fours.<br />
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<strong>Meringue (For the Baked Alaska)</strong><br />
8 large egg whites<br />
½ teaspoon (3g) cream of tartar<br />
½ teaspoon (3g) salt<br />
1 cup (220g) sugar<br />
<br />
Beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on high speed in an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar gradually in a slow stream until stiff peaks form.<br />
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<strong>Assembly Instructions – Ice Cream Petit Fours</strong><br />
1. Line a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) pan with plastic wrap, so that no sides of the pan are exposed and so there is some extra plastic wrap hanging off the sides. Spread 1 ¾ to 2 cups (450ml to 500ml) ice cream into the pan. Cover with more plastic wrap and freeze several hours.<br />
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2. Once the brown butter pound cake has completely cooled, level the top with a cake leveler or a serrated knife. Then split the cake in half horizontally to form two thin layers.<br />
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3. Unwrap the frozen ice cream. Flip out onto one of the layers of cake and top with the second layer of cake. Wrap well in plastic wrap and return to the freezer overnight.<br />
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4. Make the chocolate glaze (see above.)<br />
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5. While the glaze cools, trim ¾” (2cm) off each side of the ice cream cake to leave a perfectly square 7.5” (19cm) ice cream cake. Cut the cake into twenty five petit fours, each 1.5”x1.5” (4cmx4cm).<br />
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6. Glaze the petit fours one at a time: place a petit four on a fork and spoon chocolate glaze over it.<br />
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7. Place the petit fours on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer for one hour.<br />
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<strong>Assembly Instructions – Baked Alaska</strong><br />
1. Line four 4” (10cm) diameter tea cups with plastic wrap, so that plastic wrap covers all the sides and hangs over the edge. Fill to the top with ice cream. Cover the top with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for several hours, or until solid.<br />
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2. Level the top of the brown butter pound cake with a serrated knife or with a cake leveler. Cut out four 4” (10cm) diameter circles from the cake. Discard the scraps or use for another purpose.<br />
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3. Make the meringue (see above.)<br />
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4. Unwrap the ice cream “cups” and invert on top of a cake round. Trim any extra cake if necessary.<br />
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5. Pipe the meringue over the ice cream and cake, or smooth it over with a spatula, so that none of the ice cream or cake is exposed. Freeze for one hour or up to a day.<br />
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6. Burn the tips of the meringue with a cooking blow torch. Or, bake the meringue-topped Baked Alaska on a rimmed baking sheet in a 500°F/260°C oven for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Serve immediately.Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-57253887297115196732010-08-23T10:00:00.000-04:002010-09-04T11:14:24.821-04:00Butterfinger Cookies and The Cookie TinMost of my family has always enjoyed sweets. Cookies reigned supreme...I think because they're quick, easy and can be snuck from the jar easily without getting caught. <br />
<br />
Awhile back, my Auntie Jan C. and I shared a Cookie Tin. What's that you ask?! Well, it's a tin that we sent back and forth across the country to each other filled with our latest baking delights. We included the recipe so that the other person could easily recreate the goodie whenever they wanted. We also kept track of what was sent so that we didn't send duplicates. It was great fun. So much fun in fact, that I decided to revive the idea with my own niece, Jessica. <br />
<br />
Jessica is turning into quite a baker/cook. She and her sisters helps my sister make cookies for lunches each week and I'm told they're wonderful. So, I approached Jessica with the idea of the Cookie Tin and we're off. I decided to get it started. I purchased the tin and then had to decide what kinds of cookies to send. <br />
<br />
I decided on Butterfinger Cookies. They're pretty standard cookie-fare based on the ingredients, yet they have the added twist of a bit more brown sugar (which I have in bulk it seems!) and the delightful peanutty sweetness of Butterfingers. They turned out great and were a big hit with Jessica! I can't wait to get the filled tin back with her first creation! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghV5EqLn56boX11ebkZ6HRGX31m8-5SpL1ENDMoGOU8FGoOEWiX_ZsPWj5ImbKssvhYSJ2jdm2UdWqXinUjfq-EDYIQ5D2BPRRlqtrBzUJ9PY76fWy0rFwyKUIgcPFYXdEWz0egMsy-Ls/s1600/IMG_0840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghV5EqLn56boX11ebkZ6HRGX31m8-5SpL1ENDMoGOU8FGoOEWiX_ZsPWj5ImbKssvhYSJ2jdm2UdWqXinUjfq-EDYIQ5D2BPRRlqtrBzUJ9PY76fWy0rFwyKUIgcPFYXdEWz0egMsy-Ls/s320/IMG_0840.JPG" /></a></div><br />
PS...I'll include the "Cookie Tin Instructions" after the recipe for those that may want to start this idea with a loved one. <br />
<br />
<strong>The Recipe:</strong><br />
<strong>Butterfinger Cookies</strong><br />
2 1/4 cups flour<br />
<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1/2 teaspoon iodized salt<br />
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted, cooled<br />
1 cup packed brown sugar<br />
1/4 cup granulated sugar<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup chopped Butterfinger candy bars (about 8 “fun size” candy bars or 2-3 regular sized bars)<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (I used my Silpats). Set aside.<br />
<br />
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.<br />
<br />
In another bowl beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Beat in vanilla. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in chopped Butterfingers.<br />
<br />
Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet. Cook 8-10 minutes or until edges start to brown and cookies are set. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.<br />
<div> </div><strong>How the Cookie Tin works:</strong><br />
<ul><li>Each person will have the tin for approximately one month (or less) before they should send it back. </li>
<li>Bake something that will ship well. Pack in the tin. (Remember that plastic baggies, parchment paper or wax paper are good to use to keep items fresh and separated. Also remember the temperature outside; chocolate doesn’t do well in the summer!)</li>
<li>Write on the recipe log. Use your initials for the “who” part. </li>
<li>Include the recipe for the item you are sending. It can be typed or hand-written.</li>
<li>Ship to the other person!</li>
</ul>Enjoy With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-82898367484165188622010-08-14T10:00:00.012-04:002010-09-04T09:47:12.741-04:00Daring Cooks: The World of Pierogi (August 2010)<strong>The August 2010 Daring Cooks' Challenge was hosted by LizG of </strong><a href="http://bitsnbites.wordpress.com/"><strong>Bits n' Bites</strong></a><strong> and Anula of </strong><a href="http://www.anulaskitchen.blogspot.com/"><strong>Anula's Kitchen</strong></a><strong>. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.</strong><br />
<br />
So at first glance this challenge seemed a bit repetitive to me....much like when we made dumplings or potstickers. I wasn't overly excited about the filling choices either and didn't really have time to be overly creative. BUT, in the spirit of being a Daring Cook and wanting to participate, onward with the challenge!<br />
<br />
Starting with the filing...I chose to make the Russian Style Pierogi. Sure it has cottage cheese in it which I'm not a huge fan of, but hey...it's cheese, it'll melt and be yummy right?! Besides...it has bacon!<br />
<br />
The dough was pretty straight forward. Very stretchy when rolled though (again, very similar to the potsticker dough). I used the pierogi form (I found mine at Sur La Table) as a template to cut my circles. Easy enough...so onto filling. As I learned, more isn't always better in these situations and this held true. The pierogi forms are fairly unforgiving. The filling portion squeezes out the "bottom" and it difficult to get out of the form if you over fill, not to mention it doesn't squeeze together very well and "seal" the dough. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeHBYu9xNs3Mbtg0k5qkEmjwr9zKXA6n5KrV3fPoPpTWIY9DoCp1RQbXXyDxYFoi0sDfQHjlrrBVRI4UFqLcx1IswZg1Co6Ew7z8JDdKre0rZyZ5MenmVddVYycY3rio8Xq5EXPVHwSM/s1600/IMG_0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeHBYu9xNs3Mbtg0k5qkEmjwr9zKXA6n5KrV3fPoPpTWIY9DoCp1RQbXXyDxYFoi0sDfQHjlrrBVRI4UFqLcx1IswZg1Co6Ew7z8JDdKre0rZyZ5MenmVddVYycY3rio8Xq5EXPVHwSM/s320/IMG_0831.JPG" /></a></div><br />
But, after a few tries I got the hang of it and realized that the recipe was going to make enough to feed an entire army....and their enemies! (Note: feel free to cut the thing in half, or even a quarter, unless you want to freeze them for later!) <br />
<br />
The next step is to boil them. Also pretty straight forward, just remember to time them and flip them so that they cook evenly. This is also the step that you'll find out if you sealed them well enough or not. They explode pretty fast if you didn't. Makes for messy water, but not a big deal otherwise. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34nqgvUfoJsNF6Z_H3dU_P8EepdmcWMBXPt99D9Z_x61ngiD9fdjRCrTBdczAnCgWtwKOSKu8RRQTVzdMFguKEJ_dd8-pfMBFhm8RwTyCzlAdy4IfymmGU0_6nv__AOQuT3mm2mSak94/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh34nqgvUfoJsNF6Z_H3dU_P8EepdmcWMBXPt99D9Z_x61ngiD9fdjRCrTBdczAnCgWtwKOSKu8RRQTVzdMFguKEJ_dd8-pfMBFhm8RwTyCzlAdy4IfymmGU0_6nv__AOQuT3mm2mSak94/s320/IMG_0834.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Verdict...they were ok like this. I wasn't a huge fan...and no, cottage cheese doesn't exactly melt and become the cheesy goodness I'd hoped for. So, the next step in trying to make them a bit better was to fry them. Also, hoping to speed up the process a bit, a large pierogi was formed and sealed using a fork. The result:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6mzvvHdXraTUL7P8jciCwPyZZm_NWSiuTCBpcfhSAa6DmDsqAVFDOpj7880jHAbIGDhHyXvgurEm3Uir5CVi4QQuZ6ACL_4blalqOaeX9rtrTBUm1RYTfG6ZI-d4ZiblRhpBi7fWu-M/s1600/IMG_0836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy6mzvvHdXraTUL7P8jciCwPyZZm_NWSiuTCBpcfhSAa6DmDsqAVFDOpj7880jHAbIGDhHyXvgurEm3Uir5CVi4QQuZ6ACL_4blalqOaeX9rtrTBUm1RYTfG6ZI-d4ZiblRhpBi7fWu-M/s320/IMG_0836.JPG" /></a></div>This method increased the flavor content...much better, but then again, what isn't usually better fried! :-)<br />
<br />
To see other Daring Cooks' creations, visit: <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/">The Daring Kitchen</a>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><em>Special thanks to Neil for helping me out with this challenge!</em></div><br />
<strong> The Recipes:</strong><br />
<strong>Cottage Cheese Wareneki (Pierogi)</strong><br />
Adapted from The Mennonite Cookbook<br />
<br />
Dough Ingredients: <br />
½ cup (125 ml) milk (can be whole milk, 2% or skim milk) <br />
½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream <br />
3 large egg whites <br />
1 tsp (5 ml) salt <br />
3 cups (450 gm) all-purpose flour<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Mix flour and salt, add other ingredients, and knead dough until you have a smooth dough. (I kneaded this dough quite a bit, and it yielded a nice, pliable dough).<br />
<br />
2. On a floured surface roll out fairly thin (1/8” or about 3 millimeters), cut into 2” (5 cm) squares, and fill with 1 tsp (5ml) cottage cheese filling (see below).<br />
<br />
Cottage Cheese Wareneki Filling Ingredients:<br />
Traditional <br />
1 lb (455 g) dry cottage cheese<br />
3 large egg yolks <br />
Salt to taste<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Mix well all the ingredients for the filling.<br />
<br />
2. Put 1 rounded teaspoon (5 ml) of the filling in each square, fold corners to form a triangle, seal edges well using your fingers or a fork<br />
<br />
3. Cook in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.<br />
<br />
Note: Boiled pierogi can also be fried after boiling for a nice crunchy dumpling.<br />
<br />
Note: If you can't find dry cottage cheese, simply drain normal cottage cheese by nesting the cottage in a few layers of cheese cloth or a fine sieve over a bowl.<br />
<br />
Note: You can very easy make a sweet version of Warenki - just add some fruits and sugar to the cheese filling and mix well together (strawberries or blueberries are great idea!) <br />
<br />
<strong>Russian Style Pierogi</strong><br />
Makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings Traditional Polish recipe, although each family will have their own version, this is Anula's family recipe<br />
<br />
Dough Ingredients: <br />
2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour <br />
1 large egg <br />
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt <br />
About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water<br />
<br />
Filling Ingredients: <br />
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too) <br />
1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained <br />
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear <br />
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy (you can add more bacon if you like or omit that part completely if you're vegetarian) <br />
1 egg yolk (from medium egg) <br />
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted <br />
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt pinch of pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it's best to use one's hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.<br />
<br />
2. Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You‟re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
3. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass. Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.<br />
<br />
4. Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.<br />
<br />
5. Serve immediately preferably with crème fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.<br />
<br />
<strong>Other types of fillings:</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Potato and Cheese Filling</strong><br />
Ingredients: 4 – 5 (600g – 750g) boiled potatoes 4 table spoons butter (60 g) or olive oil (60 ml) 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (50 ml) milk 1 egg white (from medium egg) ½ cup (about 120 ml) farmers‟ cheese ( or any unripened cheese like Indian Paneer) salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.<br />
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above. <br />
<br />
<strong>Meat and Cabbage Filling</strong> <br />
<strong></strong><br />
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) cooked meat (minced or cut very finely) 500 g (18 oz) white cabbage (chopped and simmered in a little bit of water, until soft) 1 onion (diced and fried) 1 whole medium egg 1 tablespoon (15g) butter dry breadcrumbs (add as much to hold the filling together, about 2 tablespoons) salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.<br />
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above. <br />
<br />
<strong>Soy bean Filling</strong> <br />
<strong></strong><br />
Ingredients: 350 g (12 oz.) soy beans (canned, drained and minced) 2 medium eggs 1 onion (diced and fried) 100 g (2/3 cup) dry breadcrumbs salt and pepper<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
1. Combine ingredients thoroughly.<br />
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.<br />
<br />
<strong>Sauerkraut Filling</strong><br />
Ingredients: 2 cups (500 g) sauerkraut 1 big carrot, grated 1 shallot, chopped and fried with a tablespoon of butter few (about 3) wild mushrooms (I used dry ones, you can use fresh but chop them and fry on some butter before adding to the sauerkraut cabbage) salt, pepper and cumin to taste.<br />
<br />
Directions<br />
1. Sauté all the ingredients together until soft, cool before filling pierogi.<br />
2. Fill pierogi as instructed above.<br />
<br />
<strong>Seasonal Fruits</strong><br />
You can also fill pierogi with whole seasonal fruits for example- strawberries, blueberries, morels, grated apples etc. To prevent the fruits from „sogging‟ just add a little bit of potato flour inside with the fruit and sweeten them after the boiling on the plate rather than putting sugar inside.<br />
<br />
Enjoy With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1464201191672977544.post-39247734224009582002010-07-27T10:00:00.000-04:002010-08-13T11:17:18.355-04:00Daring Bakers: Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake (August 2010)<strong>The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of <a href="http://sunitabhuyan.com/">Sunita’s world</a> – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Swiss-Swirl-Ice-Cream-Cake">Taste of Home</a>.</strong><br />
<br />
<em>I apologize in advance, this blog post will be short…lots going on this summer!</em> <br />
<br />
This recipe seemed like a fun one to try to beat the dog days of summer. It took a bit of planning ahead because of the two different types of ice creams. I’ve made lots of ice creams before so the hardest part on those was deciding what flavors to use. I finally settled on Butter Pecan and Pistachio. Both were yummy on their own, though the butter pecan’s texture was a bit icier than I’d had liked and the pistachio had a bit of an odd aftertaste (maybe just me?!). Both worked well for the end product though. <br />
<br />
The part that had me the most nervous were the swiss rolls. I was nervous because I have such lousy luck with “rolls.” I’ve tried pumpkin rolls and buche de noel (those fun chocolate logs at Christmas) with little to no success. I’m not sure what I do wrong, but I think it may have something to do with the towel or cooling process (any tips?!). <br />
<br />
This cake “roll” was not much different except that I pressed on. I followed the recipe to the letter, even went out and purchased the exact size pan recommended. My cakes first stuck a bit to the pan (ok, so I did forget to use parchment), then when I unrolled them they cracked like they always do…:::SIGH::: Like I said though, I pressed on and filled them with the whipped cream anyway (which, is divine!! USE THE FULL VANILLA BEAN!). <br />
<br />
I decided that the best way to cut things from the freezer (the frozen swiss rolls, end product) is with an electric knife….such clean, quick work! :-) The assembly was easy, though a bit time consuming (waiting for each step to freeze before moving to the next). So again, plan ahead. <br />
<br />
Overall, this recipe was a challenge (the rolls still beat me I feel), but it was a fun way to have an ice cream cake. Personally, I think I’d use the store bought stuff in a pinch…Little Debbie does a wonderful roll and some of those store bought ice creams are great…though my homemade ones are pretty good too. <br />
<br />
To see other Daring Bakers' creations and get a downloadable PDF of the recipes, visit: <a href="http://thedaringkitchen.com/recipe/swiss-swirl-ice-cream-cake">The Daring Kitchen</a><br />
Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvHudS_DQ5LH9xLrWXvtmwxOT7F2ZGddk-XpislKe25BPbXiXU58ufWhdhMn33c0AQ1YV-7rKvUKXuvJf9Yp8aBIFtilMTgW_EG2hy4JnLrJdA39Au8De_jF3DQO-aAVLfHbj-9rAnM8/s1600/Swiss+Swirl+Cake+w+Ice+Cream+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvHudS_DQ5LH9xLrWXvtmwxOT7F2ZGddk-XpislKe25BPbXiXU58ufWhdhMn33c0AQ1YV-7rKvUKXuvJf9Yp8aBIFtilMTgW_EG2hy4JnLrJdA39Au8De_jF3DQO-aAVLfHbj-9rAnM8/s400/Swiss+Swirl+Cake+w+Ice+Cream+(3).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">The Glamour Shot!</span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><strong>Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake </strong><br />
(Inspired by the recipe of the same name from the Taste of Home website) <br />
The Swiss Rolls: <br />
Preparation time: 10 minutes <br />
Baking time: 10 - 12 minutes <br />
Rolling and cooling time: at least 30 minutes <br />
Filling: 5 - 8 minutes <br />
Filling and rolling: 5 - 10 minutes <br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients: </strong><br />
6 medium sized eggs <br />
1 C / 225 grams caster sugar /8 oz + extra for rolling <br />
6 TBS. / 45 grams/ a pinch over 1.5 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 TBS. /40 gram / a pinch under 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together <br />
2 TBS. /30 ml / 1 fl oz of boiling water <br />
a little oil for brushing the pans <br />
<br />
For the filling: <br />
2 C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream <br />
1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract) <br />
5 TBS. / 70 grams / 2.5oz of caster sugar <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions: </strong><br />
Pre-heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake. <br />
<br />
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds. <br />
<br />
Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water. <br />
<br />
Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans. <br />
<br />
Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch. <br />
<br />
Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it. <br />
<br />
Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges. <br />
<br />
Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down. <br />
<br />
Repeat the same for the next cake as well. <br />
<br />
Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream. <br />
<br />
In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick. <br />
<br />
Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes. <br />
<br />
Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine). <br />
<br />
Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down. <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Vanilla Ice Cream </strong><br />
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing <br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients </strong><br />
2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream <br />
1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract <br />
½ C / 115grams/ 4 oz of granulated sugar <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions: </strong><br />
Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream. <br />
<br />
Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely. <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Hot Fudge Sauce </strong><br />
Preparation time: 2 minutes <br />
Cooking time: 2 minutes <br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients: </strong><br />
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz of caster sugar <br />
3 TBS. / 24 grams /1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder <br />
2 TBS. /15 grams / 1 oz of corn flour/cornstarch <br />
1 ½ C / 355 ml /12 fl oz of water <br />
1 TBS. /14 grams/ 1 oz butter <br />
1 tsp/ 5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions: </strong><br />
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, corn flour and water. <br />
<br />
Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes). <br />
<br />
Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool. <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Chocolate Ice Cream </strong><br />
Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing <br />
<br />
<strong>Ingredients: </strong><br />
2 C / 500 ml whipping cream <br />
1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz caster sugar <br />
3 TBS. / 24 grams / 1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions: </strong><br />
Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor. <br />
<br />
In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly. <br />
<br />
Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges. <br />
<br />
Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely. <br />
<br />
Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely. <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake Assembly: </strong><br />
Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices (approximately 2 cms each). <br />
Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap. <br />
<br />
Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes). <br />
<br />
Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm (at least 1 hour). <br />
<br />
Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm. (at least an hour). <br />
<br />
Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set. <br />
<br />
Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily. <br />
<br />
Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water. <br />
<br />
<strong>Ice Creams I Used (From <a href="http://foodnetwork.com/">Foodnetwork.com</a>):</strong><br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/butter-pecan-ice-cream-recipe/index.html">Butter Pecan </a></strong><br />
<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
1 tablespoon unsalted butter <br />
2/3 cup chopped pecans <br />
1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk <br />
1 (3 3/4-ounce) package instant French vanilla pudding mix <br />
1 cup sugar <br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract <br />
3 cups whole milk <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions</strong><br />
Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Cook the pecans over low heat until they are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain and cool. In an 8-cup measuring cup with a spout, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers' instructions. Add the pecans 10 minutes into the freezing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/pistachio-ice-cream-recipe/index.html">Pistachio Ice Cream</a></strong><br />
<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios <br />
1 cup sugar <br />
2 cups milk (do not use low-fat or nonfat) <br />
3 cups heavy cream <br />
12 large egg yolks <br />
1/2 teaspoon almond extract <br />
<br />
<strong>Directions</strong><br />
Finely grind 1 cup of the pistachios and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a food processor, being careful not to turn the mixture into butter. Bring the milk and cream to a boil in heavy large saucepan. Remove from heat.<br />
<br />
Combine the egg yolks and remaining 1/2-cup sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Gradually add the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream into the hot cream in the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 6 minutes.<br />
<br />
Remove from the heat and strain into a large bowl. Add pistachio mixture and almond extract. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to keep a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.<br />
<br />
Remove from the refrigerator and pour into the bowl of an ice cream machine. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream is made, transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.<br />
<br />
Enjoy With Love,<br />
ChristinaChristinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16568888275924677307noreply@blogger.com0