Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie

Now that I've switched to working behind the customer service desk at work, I'm rarely on till other than doing others' breaks. But when I am, I always find it dreadful how many amazing looking food magazines they put there. The pictures on the fronts make me want to buy them all....even the low fat cooking ones. Weird. The August issue of Bon Appetit was too much for me to resist though. That pie on the front...brilliant. I'm still debating attempting it for Thanksgiving dinner. [as is obvious, no one in the family likes pumpkin pie anyway..]

Inside though, are several other pie masterpieces begging to be given a shot as well. And I can never really resist peanut butter and chocolate together. Anyway, got to try it when I finally got a day off work last week. [now waiting to get another day off....next Thursday. Gotta love 13 days in a row of work, yeah.]

But About the pie. It really was fussy with all the "mix this in mixer, then put it in the pot and cook a little, then back in the mixer for this long, then back to the pot...." and the instructions really weren't the best. I'm sure I didn't get the custard part of it cooked quite long enough. Being chilled it still turned out decently enough, but to be remembered for next time.. [because a pie this great probably actually will make it onto my rather short "to make again" recipe list.] Also, the Honeycomb candy was a disaster. It took 3 tries to get something useable. First try I burned it, second try I didn't cook it long enough before adding the baking soda for it to harden at all, and the third try, while ok, still wasn't cooked quite long enough. They didn't give any time guidelines for how long to cook it, just said "cook til it's a pale amber colour." That might work if you're using the clear corn syrup, but when you're using dark coloured stuff, it's a pale to dark amber colour the instant you mix the ingredients together.. Anyway, around 5 minutes give or take a little bit is what I eventually figured out to be close to right. It is ridiculously addictive stuff once you finally get it right.
Oh, and, don't believe it when it says a 9 inch pie. I knew I shouldn't believe it, but stupidly gave it a try anyways and it totally overflowed and I ended up making 3 tarts with all the extra filling. Not that that's a bad thing either. Also, it insists that you should use semi-sweet chocolate for the top and not to use very dark of stuff, but I used unsweetened baking squares and only added maybe a tablespoon of sugar to it and it was wonderful. The pie and candy are so sweet that it really doesn't need the chocolate to be very sweet at all. Anyway, the recipe had some issues, but the result was definitely worth it. Your need for a peanut butter/chocolate fix will not be disappointed. :]
Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie

Grape Focaccia with Rosemary

It's been awhile, but here goes updating more often now that summer is over. Wait...I didn't just say that, did I? It really doesn't feel like summer ever even came to Calgary, let alone having what DID come already be over.. Plus the few days it did actually get hot here, I was at work. [Or playing with my new laptop...yay!] Always work. Sad. But in a month's time, I'll be a supervisor at work. So I guess that will make it worth it.

Anyways, as for baking, I really haven't had the time or energy to do much over the summer. You know, just this and that..and things I forgot to even take pictures of. Like a birthday cake for my co-worker...which she and everyone who got to try it loved. :]

But being that I currently spend most of my life inside a grocery store and the weather is once again of the variety that makes me feel like using the stove, when I saw the concord grapes show up at work, I knew it was time to try this one finally.
[Seriously, does this picture look as though the grapes were seedless? No. They weren't. The packaging lied. I was unimpressed.]

I think this recipe must be pretty fool proof. My sister and I both made it on the same night. Apparently I can't read recipes anymore, as I added all 6 tablespoons of olive oil to the dough when only 2 were supposed to be put in..and she cooked it so long she almost set off the smoke alarm with it. Yet we both declared it to be a success. Although it's agreed, it would probably taste better if you didn't use all whole wheat flour. It kinda competes with the other tastes going on.
Speaking of which...sweet, salty, and savoury. The three S's. You get them all in this crazy stuff. Yet somehow it all works. And just leaves you wanting more...and more..and more.. Though you're actually not really sure why.

Strawberry Mousse-cakes

I bought this cookbook quite awhile ago, but haven't made too much out of it yet because....well, it appears it was translated into English from some other language [Italian maybe?] and not everything seems to have translated properly. which can create a lot of havoc in recipes. I tried making some lava cakes from it for my mom's birthday last January, and they turned out not too bad...except the recipe neglected to tell me to add the flour. kind of an important detail. However there was a recipe I'd wanted to try pretty much ever since I got it [other than the one on the cover...that one is still to come..] and yesterday after work just seemed like a good time to make something wonderful.

and this definitely counts as something wonderful. painting with chocolate? ohh yes. [also, pretend that picture is right side up... blogger wouldn't turn it for me, and this laptop has no programs on it that will allow me to rotate it before uploading.]

saute strawberries in sugar? i didn't even know you could do such a thing. and then it got even better when i added the fake rum extract that has been sitting in our cupboard for longer than i can remember. [seriously, if rum actually tastes anything like that....then maybe i should get the real stuff for next time i make it. because it just made it taste so much more wonderful.]

these things really taste like little bites of happiness. all the flavours blend into perfection. plus, the cuteness factor is through the roof. i cannot resist anything in miniature. when dad tried one at supper, he took one bite and said... "oh. i don't think you should let your mom try any of these." :]] they're just too good.

Strawberry Mousse-cakes

originally Strawberry Mousse in Chocolate Cups [a name not nearly splendid enough for these] from Dessert [whose recipes are by Simone Rugiati and Licia Cagnoni]

Mini cups

7 oz. (200g) dark chocolate [5 oz. was plenty for me]

Mousse

150 g strawberries, hulled

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp white rum (or something of that sort)

1/2 tsp gelatin powder

1 c. plus 3 Tbsp (280mL) whipping cream

Place half of the strawberries and all of the sugar in a frying pan and saute for a few minutes. Add the rum and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat. Dissolve the gelatin in about a tablespoon of water. Add the gelatin to the cooked strawberries. Add the remaining raw strawberries and puree in a blender or food processor.

Whip the whipping cream to stiff peaks and fold into the strawberry mixture. Refrigerate. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in a microwave.

Coat the inside of 20 waxed mini paper cups with melted chocolate. (best way to do this is using a brush of some sort - basting brush i think they're called - to paint the chocolate into the cups.) Refrigerate (or freeze) the cups until the chocolate hardens, then remove from the paper. Fill the chocolate cups with strawberry mousse and drizzle with chocolate sauce if you wish. Chill before serving. if they make it that long.

Blackberry and Vanilla Muffins

So the other night [I have a feeling most posts will start out with "the other night...". Why? Because in my family we all have this odd tendency to pull out a cookbook at 9 or 10 at night to bake something..] I decided I needed to bake something non-chocolate and possibly muffinish. My current favourite cookbook being the one my sister got me for Christmas, The Golden Book of Baking, it was the one I obviously pulled from my shelf. [yes, i already have a shelf of my own cookbooks...] However before I could settle on these muffins, I had to spend half an hour or more searching through the whole house looking for mom's madeleine pan, because I wanted to try making them more. But sadly, they will have to wait for a different day. Even though I know I saw the pan while unpacking kitchen stuff after moving in September, [moving really is one of the most annoying things ever...] it was nowhere to be found.

So without further ado, delightful and "the perfect anti-racist" [as my best friend declared them to be when she saw them] muffins. With my twist of course, because I rarely follow recipes exactly. [who does?]

Blackberry and Vanilla Muffins

The Golden Book of Baking

2 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. yogurt [I used black cherry. the recipe called for sour cream]

2 large eggs

1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract *

1/2 c. fresh or frozen blackberries

Preheat oven to 350F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat the milk, sour cream, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until just blended. Stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients, followed by the blackberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling each one three-quarters full. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. [Took 35 minutes for me.] Serve warm or at room temperature.

* [I think a stronger vanilla taste would have been wonderful.]

rule 32: enjoy the little things.

First off, I will tell you a little about myself. I'm 18 and working as a Superstore cashier for this year [my first out of high school] but dreaming of someday being a baker or a pastry chef or something wonderful like that. I'm hoping to go to school to take Baking and Pastry Arts this fall or next fall. Due to unexpected difficulties that delayed the sending of my school application til only last week [ugh.]....it's seeming like next fall is when it will happen.

It has occurred to me that, seeing as baking and cooking [but obviously, mainly baking] are the things I love the most and am best at, that perhaps I should start a food blog. Or a blog about my baking adventures. A place where I can exclaim about the wonderful dishes I make without boring all of my friends with descriptions and pictures on Facebook. Though honestly, I don't think I'm good enough at either food hobby to have a real food blog... certainly nothing that could compare with the likes of my favourite food blogger, Deb of Smitten Kitchen.

But actually, that's okay with me.

Also, I will probably periodically ramble [or rant?] about codes, and the dreadful things that people put us innocent cashiers through. [honestly...you're REALLY going to argue with me and the supervisor that you should get that mango for free because you think you saw a sign saying $.99 each when the signs actually say $1.27 each? we're giving it to you for the $.99 you said you saw [because heaven forbid that anyone should ever pay $1.27 for a mango!], but we can't give you it for free. and no, no one took down any signs in the middle of a thursday morning just to spite you. i promise.]

Because baking and working: this is the loveliness that is my life for the time being. :]