Bloomin’ Cake.
Today you can find me over on The White Library. I made a super pretty super tasty Chocolate Covered Almond Cake for Sandra and her beautiful blog.
It seemed only fair after she revealed her secrets to designing the perfect dessert table. If you didn't visit The White Library yesterday then make sure to stop by and see the details of this bloomin' cake.
The Hokey Pokey and Other Fine Hobbies.
Let's face it. We're busy people. We have people to see and places to be. Like walking the cat, erecting impenetrable snow fortresses, whittling sporks, colour coordinating the dishes, alphabetizing the condiments and knitting scarves. Putting your right foot in, putting your right foot out, putting your right foot in and shaking it all about.
I'll give you a moment to ponder which ones of those I've actually done.
I'll give you a hint. It starts with an all and ends with of the above.
So in our silly days filled with silly things it's nice to know there are easy, fast and delicious dinners we can whip up between moon walking and kite flying.
It's astonishing how some of the best foods are also the simplest. Next to chocolate covered cherries and self cleaning ovens it's about the best thing ever.
I recently discovered a few pasta recipes that were both stupid easy and scrumptious. Spaghetti alla Carbonara is just spaghetti, pancetta, parmesan cheese and eggs. Or Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe which is basically spaghetti, romano cheese and black pepper.
Here's another for you. Brown Butter Walnut Pasta. Mostly just farfalle, walnuts, parmesan, garlic and cream. Takes up only 15 minutes of your time not including all of three seconds it takes to inhale it.
Now that cat's not going to walk itself.
The Picnic: Inside Out.
I'd like to thank everyone who helped me get this far in Project Food Blog. I appreciate all your support in all its forms! Thank you!
“For this challenge, you're tasked with creating a delicious meal that will travel well and still look great. From picnics and school lunches to bento boxes, or any other meal on the go, you need to whip up an entree, side, drink, and dessert to enjoy after hitting the road. Be sure that your meal fits inside the Project Food Blog Road Trip Cooler.”
Have you ever wistfully watched a sunset stained with roses and violets while sipping a glass of wine? Have you ever savoured a simple chocolate bar on the waterfront, salty breeze in your hair and sand beneath your feet? Have you ever bitten into an apple and let the juices run down your chin on a lazy afternoon absentmindedly swaying on a creaking porch swing?
Twitterpated birds are the best dinner companions. Fresh air is the sweetest spice to add to any meal. A park bench is the perfect table setting. The fading glow of the sun rivals any candlelit dinner. Food is best enjoyed in the presence of nature, humbling and beautiful.
The picnic is the traditional way to bring the inside out and eat at nature's table. There's nothing traditional about this picnic. I've expanded on simple picnic food to elevate your experience. The plain sandwich has been spiced up and transformed into the Curried Egg Salad Sandwich. Chips and dip have been revamped into sweet and spicy Peach Salsa with baked Pita Chips. The simple glass of juice has been stirred into a bubbly frenzy and become Sparkling White Grape Peach Juice. The average Rice Krispies square has been reinvented into a nutty and flavourful Brown Butter Maple Pecan Crispy Treat.
Nature is in a constant state of flux and I've pulled my inspiration for this meal from that fact. Nature's ever changing landscape offers a unique and beautiful tablescape. Go outside and enjoy the fresh air. I think you'll find your food tastes a little bit sweeter, a little more satisfying.
Tarts and Trees.
As if my Autumn themed dinner party marked some sort of turning point in the season, all the leaves have fallen from the trees and the weather is growing even cooler.
The trees are beginning to resemble those spindly claw-like hands grasping urgently for what could only be small children to snack on. Nature has become a skeleton of it's former self. Reminds me of those apple trees in the Wizard of Oz that attacked Dorothy. Trees with attitude.
Before I start quoting the scene word for word then cackle shrilly like the Wicked With of the West let's move on.
As promised, here is one of my recipes used in my recent Autumn Dinner Party. I know you're hungry for more so I will post the dinner and appetizer recipes soon! For now I thought we'd start with dessert and work our way backwards.
We all know dessert is the best part right? Right!
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.
The brown sugar is of the dark brown, aka demerara, variety because I've decided it's the best dang sugar on the planet. The spice is cinnamon because, let's face it, it's the rock star of all spices. The everything nice part refers to brown butter because a smidgen of brown butter makes everything nicer.
That's what little girls are supposed to be made of, but instead it's my cake. Let's just be clear that this is 100% cake. No little girls were harmed in the baking of this cake.
Anyhoo...
A little off topic, but did I ever mention how much I hate ribbon roses? Well I do. They're not nice, unlike brown butter. I spent hours of quality time with my piping bag practicing the technique and I only got these eight measly excuses for ribbon roses. I also spent those hours swearing very unlike a little girl. Ok, so they're not half bad, but my perfectionist brain disagrees.
They say practice makes perfect, but what if I don't want to have anything to do with these little monsters anymore? Let's just settle for mediocre ribbon roses shall we? Ok deal.
Now With Less Yeast and More Expletives.
This is the first time I made bread. Sad, but true. I've put it off for far too long and I decided that today was the day. I was full of misplaced optimism and enthusiasm. It was great.
Have you ever thought you followed a recipe to the letter and then you realize that you skipped one crucial step or forgot one key ingredient? Yeah, I wouldn't recommend you do that with bread. Like I did.
Which ingredient would you say is the most important in bread? That's right, yeast of course. So here I was covering my freshly kneaded hunk of dough to rise feeling pretty happy with myself. I reread the recipe for about the gazillionth time and I realized to my horror that I didn't add enough yeast. How could I have missed that? I added 1 1/2 packages of yeast, not the 2 1/2 it called for.
Needless to say there were expletives involved. Birds flew away. Flowers wilted. Squirrels ran for cover.
I half expected my dough not to rise at all and instead be left with a spongy glossy lump of stubborn goo. Either that or there was going to be an explosion of some sort. I don't know why when anything goes wrong I always brace myself for an explosion. To my surprise and delight I was wrong. So wrong.
French Bread with Brown Butter Spread. Hey that rhymes. And yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.
Nuts About Nuts.
I have recently discovered that pretty much anything is better with toasted almonds. Angel Icebox Dessert, Cherry Almond Cupcakes and Boston Cream Pie to name a few. Let me explain because this is actually quite the revelation in my case.
When I was a kid the only nuts that I liked were of the peanut variety. Yes I know, peanuts are not really considered a nut, but to a seven year old kid they are. I loved peanuts and specifically preferred them honey roasted. All other nuts to me were just those things that got in my way when I dug through the mixed nuts bowl to get to the good stuff. My mom always liked to put chopped pecans in her Chocolate Chip Cookies, which was quite a nuisance for me. In my opinion she was ruining an otherwise perfectly good batch of cookies. Sometimes, if I whined enough, she would make another batch sans nuts which was greatly appreciated.
So when I grew up and started making my own Chocolate Chip Cookies I vowed never to put nuts in them. Well look what's happened? Nuts galore! And not the peanut variety either, but my new favourite nut. The buttery, melt in your mouth toasted almond. I even paired it with deliciously nutty brown butter. What could be better?
It's an acquired taste. At least for me. I have matured. I have grown. I have evolved.
I turned your everyday household favourite cookie into something gourmet, fancy and still quite tasty. You can eat it with your pinkies out if it makes you feel any fancier.
My New Favourite Thing.
I've just discovered browned butter.
Oh. My. God.
Why haven't I been browning butter all along? Seriously. I've been missing out. I think I'm a little ashamed of myself actually. I'm going to vow to make everything with browned butter from now on. It's my new favourite thing.
If you haven't grasped what I'm so subtly hinting at here, browned butter is freaking amazing! You must try this. And fast. For the good of mankind. Drink it, I don't care. I could live off the smell alone. Do you like caramel corn? Yeah it's like that. Just like that. Then mix that with the smell of toasted hazelnuts and try not to die of sensory rapture.
For those of you unsure about how to introduce this new incredible flavour to your mouth, here's a little suggestion: Hazelnut Brown Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Filling and Chocolate Buttercream. Yes. That's the stuff.
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