If I ever have a dinner party you will see this...

If I ever have a dinner party... (And I must because it's on my 2010 Food To-Do list.) You will most definitely see this fancy nancy lemon in pretty cheese cloth or whatever material it really is. I've seen this done a few ways at nice steak houses, mostly Ruth's Chris.

It fits both form and function. It's pretty. And it prevents those nasty seeds from getting into whatever food you are adding the lemon juic to.

What will you have at your next dinner party?


On my other blog, Utah Loves Cupcakes today:
Cupcake Recipes: Root Beer Cupcakes

Gastronomica

I've found the New Yorker of food publications. It's called Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. And it's new to me.

I've been thumbing through, and reading, reading, reading. It's rather interesting. Take a look at some of the features and articles in the most recent issue for Spring 2010. Looks interesting, right.

feast for the eye
Food Masquerade | Ann Bermingham

poem
The Treatment and Mistreatment of Fish | M.N. Altenderfer

ritual
Mealtime at a Tibetan Monastery | Eric C. Rath

investigations
The Pavlova Wars: How a Creationist Model of Recipe Origins Led to an International Dispute | Helen M. Leach
The Cultural Politics of Eating in Shenzhen | Mary Ann O'Donnell

ecology
On the Tomato Trail: In Search of Ancestral Roots | Barry Estabrook
download this article

identity
Upgrading the Local: Belgian Cuisine in Global Waves | Peter Scholliers and Anneke Geyzen

entrepreneurs
The Tomato Queen of San Joaquin | Ken Albala

lives
The Rogue Winemaker of Bully Hill | Susan Raich

chef's page
Alba, Boulder, Colorado | Alexander Feldman

at the movies
Mastering the Art of Feminist Mentorship | Caetlin Benson-Allott

review essays
Italian Traditions | Nancy Harmon Jenkins
From Slaughter to Supper: The Politics and Pleasure of Meat | Dawn Johnston
Blame It on the Grain | Joy Parks

Anyone else subscribe or buy it often? PS...The November 2010 issue will have a cupcake on the cover.

4 Years

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life!

He is my best friend and love.
I can't imagine life without you, Adam.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake

I love cake. Oh how I love cake. I'm a cake girl. I don't think I could ever let a birthday go by without celebrating it with a big slice of cake. Thank goodness I don't have to wait for my birthday to eat cake.

Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes decided on Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake on pages 286 and 287 for our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It was one of the recipes in the book that didn't include a picture. I get nervous when this is the cake. I feel like I'm left out a bit on my own, like I have no guide what it is supposed to look like. Then again, when I'm actually making the recipe it makes it that much more exciting.

So behold. Dorie Greenspan's Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake.



Choosing to make this recipe was a no-brainer. It was a cake. It involved chocolate. And it was made in a loaf pan. I decided to make this cake for Memorial Day. Adam and I would be attending two family bbqs and well, the cake made it to both. I seriously had no idea that it would have such a high yield.

We cut thin slices and paired it with homemade bumbleberry (an Adam creation) and vanilla ice cream (made with vanilla beans straight from Tahiti. Our families loved this dessert! I think if cake is served in the spring or summer time it's always better with ice cream.



I more than enjoyed making the sour cream and chocolate frosting. I thought it was beautiful. And it went a long way, too. The sour cream was such a cool match for the frosting and it had a great tanginess.

The cake itself was incredibly moist from the sour cream and it held a deep, rich chocolate flavor. If you make this recipe, please...please don't skip out on torting it into layers and filling them with jam. I got lazy and only did two layers with one layer of our favorite agave peach-raspberry jam jam and I think it would have made a difference to do three layers.



Another Tuesdays with Dorie success. Be sure to check out Amy's blog for the recipe and hit up all the other Tuesdays with Dorie baker blogs to see how they liked this Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake.

Nostalgia: Beeman's, Black Jack and Clove

I love these old fashioned chewing gums.




Beeman’s, Black Jack and Clove chewing gum to be exact.

I’m not sure if it is because Cliff Secord, the hansom hero of The Rocketeer loved it too or because my mom bought me countless sticks of Beeman’s at my swimming lessons in the 80s.

Either way, I love their flavor and the nostalgia that comes with it.

I buy them whenever I see them. And don’t you just love their packaging. So simple and colorful. My favorite changes yearly…it’s currently Clove.

I recently found them at Cutsie Cakes, a cupcake bakery and boutique in Layton, Utah. Cutsie Cakes itself is full of nostalgia. You can most likely find any treat you enjoyed as a kid. And they do have some pretty cute cupcakes if I do say so myself.

Are you a fan of these old-fashioned chewing gums?

Tuesdays with Dorie: Raisin Swirl Bread

I dream of being a bread maker. The lovely aroma from it transforms a house into a home. I have wonderful memories of hearing the sound of a wheat grinder and spreading homemade jam on my mom's bread.

Unfortunately I can count the times I've made yeasted bread on one hand. I've guess I've been spending all my time on cakes, cookies, brownies and cupcakes. {Not a bad thing, thought, right?}

I was nervous and happy when I read that Susan of Food.Baby picked Raisin Swirl Bread on pages 59 and 60. I seriously did not want to have a bad bread baking experience. And well, I followed the recipe exactly and well...the results were pleasing.



My husband keeps telling me that I haven't said much about this bread and that it appears that I may not like it that much. I think I've been quiet because I'm honestly surprised that I didn't mess it up.

I found this bread to be delicious. I loved the addition of the orange zest. It brought a simple fragrant freshness to the bread that I enjoyed. And the cinnamon, cocoa, sugar, butter and raisin swirl was beautiful. I think it could have been just a little bit sweeter, but then again, I'm not shy when it comes to sugar.



I would make this bread again in a heartbeat. I know I could definately work on my rolling skills. And I really want to make french toast with this as Dorie suggests. The only complaint I have is wanting more. I almost wish the recipe made two or three loaves.

I know some other blogging bakers in the Tuesdays with Dorie group did some cool variations to the bread, so be sure to check their blogs out. If you'd like to make this cinnamon swirl bread yourself, you can get the recipe at Susan's blog: Food.Baby.

HORS D'OEUVRES: Hummus

Hummus rocks my world. And I've gotten pretty picky about the whole darn and delicious chickpea spread. I despise most store-bought brands these days. Call me a snot. But I swear they taste so chock full of preservatives and weirdo-ish.

I've been making my own hummus now for a year or so and love it. The recipe comes from my cookbook, Mastering Hors D'oeuveres by Williams-Sonoma.



I feel I've mastered the recipe well. But one thing I keep going back to is the proper texture of hummus. I remember seeing an article that I skimmed in Cook's Illustrated that talked about "the perfect" consistency. I can't remember what it was. But here's what I say. You make your hummus the consistency you like. When I made these last three batches I made two different texture and loved them both.

Here's the recipe. It's not a quick and easy one, but it is so worth it.

If you remember I made white bean dip, and this was a variation on it. I love this cookbook because it focus on a 'master' recipe where you learn various skills then it gives you like six variations on that one recipe. Love it.

Hummus
by HORS D'OEUVRES Originally published as MASTERING HORS D'OEUVRES by Williams-Sonoma

Serve with broccoli or cauliflower florets blanched for 3-5 minutes.

Ingredients:
1 cup ( 7 oz./220 g) dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
5 3/4 (46 fl oz/1.4 l) low-sodium chicken stock (I use Shirley J Chicken Bouillon and water)
1 diced yellow onion
1 bay leaf
2 large garlic cloves (halved)
1/3 cup (3 fl oz/80 ml) fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup (2 1/2 oz/75 g) tahini
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. freshly ground white pepper
sweet or hot paprika (to taste)

Directions:
Sort through and soak 1 cup dried chickpeas for at least 8 hours.

Next, drain the chickpeas and add them to a saucepan with chicken stock, diced yellow onion and bay leaf. Simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until tender, 45-55 minutes. Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf.

In a food processor, coarsely puree all the beans and onion. Add garlic cloves and process to combine. With the processor running, slowly pour 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid through the feed tube and then add 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 1/4 cup tahini and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. When the puree is smooth, transfer it to a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon each of cumin and kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

When ready to serve, bring to room temperature and adjust the seasonings. Just before serving, sprinkle lightly with sweet or hot paprika.

*I love to serve with homemade pita crisps, broccoli, cauliflower and red peppers.

Enjoy!

Delicious Cookies from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

Cookies are to my husband as cupcakes are to me.

Adam has been baking his way through the cookie recipes in Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by the owners of Baked a Brooklyn, New York bakery. It's a great cookbook and we've had some great experiences with these recipes...even considering the obvious altitude issues. Here's the cookies recipes we've tried so far.



Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks
Baked's Description: This is not your ordinary peanut butter cookie. It is, in our humble opinion, the only peanut butter cookie. Our cookie is neither too dry and crumbly, nor too moist and characterless; rather, it is the perfect balance of crispy and chewy. But the burst of old-school peanut butter flavor and huge milk chocolate chunks is what really puts this cookie in its own league. It is the type of cookie you will have to hide or lock down if you want it to remain in your cookie jar for more than a few hours.

I'm finding Baked's cookie recipes have a high yield, even if you make the cookies large. These were yummy, soft and chocolaty. It was a traditional peanut butter cookie, but the nuggets of milk chocolate made a nice addition.




Monster Cookies
Baked's Description: This cookie is the Frankenstein's monster of the cookie world. One part oatmeal cookie, one part peanut butter cookie, and one part chocolate chip cookie, it is many things to many people. We re-created this rather large, chewy cookie as an homage to the Monster Cookie we remember eating in grade school, only our version is slightly less sweet and a whole lot better. Don't leave out the corn syrup--it's an integral for the cookie.

We thought these cookies were rather good. We made them huge...like with a cookie scoop! I'm normally not a friend of M&M cookies but these were so yummy. My husband was even cute enough to go out and buy all brown and orange M&Ms from Zurchers.



I saved the best for last. At least our favorite. We've made it a few times.

Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
Baked's Description: Black Forest Cake is a classic German dessert, often poorly translated in America into a lumpy mess of dry chocolate cake, super-sweet cherry preserves, and canned whipped cream. A proper version of the cake includes chocolate cake layers, soaked in kirsch (cherry liqueur), lightly sweetened cherries, and freshly whipped cream. We interpreted the classic but kitschy cake with the utmost respect. our Black Forest cookie is a very rich chocolate cookie tempered with a smattering of dried cherries and white chocolate chips. They are best served warm, with a slightly gooey center.


There are so many elements to this cookie. It really has been so much different than any other cookie recipe we've tried. Make these...and make sure you really do chill the dough. Everyone we've shared it with has loved them. It's over the top chocolaty and the cherries are a total surprise. Since these Black Forest Chocolate Cookies were our favorites I'll share the recipe.

Really though, you ought to go buy the book. It's a winner.



Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
Baked: Frontiers in Baking

Yield 24 Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
16 oz. dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
10 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large eggs
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 T. pure vanilla extract
1 c. (6 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) white chocolate chips
1 c. (6 oz.) dried cherries

Directions:
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the dark chocolate and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugars on high speed until the mixture is pale and thick, about 5 minutes.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture and the vanilla and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds. Do not overmix.

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dried cherries. The dough will look very loose, but it will harden in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the tops of the cookies are set and begin to show a few cracks. remove from the oven and let cool slightly before removing from the pans and serving.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.




You may be interested in these other posts:
BAKED: Millionaire's Shortbread
German Chocolate Birthday Cake (recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
My new cookbooks
The cake I'm dying to make {Sweet & Salty Cake}
3 Kitchen Items I Can't Live Without

Tahitian Noni Juice Pops {Zoku Quick Pop Maker}

I'm a Tahitian Noni Juice drinker. I drink it every day and love it. I've recently found a new way to get in my Noni a new way: the popsicle way.

For Christmas last year, I received the Zoku Quick Pop Maker. It's a fun little gadget. The thing I love about the Zoku is that you have pops in like 7-15 minutes, not hours. It comes with reusable sticks and drip catchers. I love that I can make any flavor I want.

For these Tahitian Noni Juice pops, I simply poured in about 1/4-1/3 cup of Tahitian Noni Juice and then let them freeze for about 13 minutes!



There are a few rules though that you have to play by when it comes to the Zoku. I don't really like these rules but hey, what can you do?

Rule 1: The magic base unit must be pre-chilled for 24 hours before use.
Rule 2: No artificial sweeteners or soda can be used.
Rule 3: Most recipes must have a decent amount of sugar content.

I was looking forward to making sugar-free popsicles...but I guess as long as I use honey, agave and other natural sugars I will be fine.

Even with these rules, making these pops is so much fun! It made me feel like a kid again. I am hoping to come up with some cool recipes. My little popsicle gift came with these fabulous Flex-It Silicone Measuring Cups, which I can't live without now and the cookbook, POPS! Icy Treats for Everyone. The cookbook is so cool {no pun intended} and incredibly creative. I've made a recipe or two already but beware not all recipes will freeze in the Zoku.

The cake I'm dying to make... {Sweet and Salty Cake by Baked NYC}

For more than a year now I've told myself that I would make the famous Sweet and Salty Cake found at the Brooklyn Bakery, Baked. I've had the cookbook since it first hit the shelves, too. But dang-it-all {read screaming} I have done no more than drool over the recipe and photos of the cake online.



I was actually able to taste the cake in cupcake form last August when I visited New York. They were out of cake by slice in this popular flavor. I loved the bakery. I was taken aback by their style of frosting. So much different than a lot of other bakeries. I snuffed at it first, but then I really started to love it and now I think it is fabulous and it really sets Baked a part.

So let me tell you more about this cake. In fact, the folks at Baked describe it best:
"This cake has won many awards and many hearts. Dark chocolate cake infused with a salty caramel, caramel chocolate ganache and topped with fleur de sel."

The recipe is a bit labor intensive, as you can see you make your own salty caramel. And um...it's a layer cake. All you bakers out there reading this just know it will take a bit of time. But really in the end it will be so worth it. I can imagine that first bite: it holds the wonderful balance of sweet and salty; salty in the form of fleur de sel which is a minor obsession of mine then...chocolate and caramel; oh beloved caramel, and finally indulgence and well...indulgence. Seriously. I need to make this cake.

Have you made or indulged in the glorious Sweet and Salty Cake by Baked NYC?

Other posts and links you may like:
Sweet and Salty Cake Recipe and Video Demonstration on Martha Stewart
Sweet and Salty Cake from Baked NYC on Amy Atlas Design blog
Sweet and Salty Cake by Sassy Radish
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking (recipe adaptation) by Just a Part Time Chef
Fleur de Sel {My New Love} by Project Domestication
World Peace Cookies by Project Domestication

Oh...and check back next week because I'll be featuring some of BAKED's amazing cookie recipes.

Happy Weekend. It's warm in Utah so I'll be basking in the sun!

Utah State-shaped Necklace

My husband bought me this adorable Utah state-shaped necklace for Christmas.

I wear it often
and with pride.

Head on over to Utah Loves Cupcakes to see the other necklace I'm sporting these days.