All’s Well That Ends Well

I began this last week feeling an incredible amount of pressure as the host of this week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays baking. I am a member of two on-line baking groups: Tuesdays With Dorie (I may have a chance to choose a recipe and host the weekly baking in 2020 if I’m lucky) and Sweet Melissa Sundays.  While I often bake along with both groups, I lead an extremely busy life and to write about my baking experiences, get a picture of what I’ve completed, and visit the blogs of my fellow bakers is sometimes more than I can manage. Could I be a responsible host?

Knowing that I was “in charge” of the baking assignment this week and needed to be responsible meant I had to start the process way in advance.  I carefully surveyed the cookbook, consulted with my daughters and ultimately decided to choose Black Bottom Brownies. I have two favorite brownie recipes that I typically make during the holidays: Cappuccino Brownies (an old recipe from Gourmet that includes about a pound of bittersweet chocolate, produces rich brownies, cream cheese frosting and a chocolate ganache glaze) and the Cream Cheese brownie recipe from Stars Desserts. Both are amazing!!!! I was a bit reluctant to choose Melissa’s recipe, because I was worried that it couldn’t possibly compete with these two other favorites (more on that later). My older daughter, Cameron, was adamant that this was the recipe to choose and I agreed to go along with her suggestion.

So, the choice had been made and the week before “my Sunday” was coming up. I thought I would bake the brownies in advance so I could be a resource to other bakers during the week. Somehow the weekend came and went and I didn’t have the time to bake. I was absolutely determined that I was NOT going to be baking frantically on Sunday morning or somehow shirk my hosting responsibilities. I rarely bake during the week, but this week I had about 2 ½ hours free on Wednesday and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to bake the Black Bottom Brownies. I was ecstatic.

I began by turning on the oven.  So far so good. It was really from that point on that the baking became a comedy of errors. First, I discovered that I needed unsweetened chocolate, not bittersweet (I had just purchased a large block of Scharffenberger Bittersweet for this recipe). I clearly did not have time to buy unsweetened, so I turned to my old friend, Bittersweet by Alice Medrich. She has gotten me through some tough times in my baking life. Broken ganache? Medrich has the solution. Need to substitute bittersweet chocolate for unsweetened in a recipe (absolutely!). Medrich could tell me how. So, I got the proportions of chocolate, butter, and sugar under control and learned that if I had used Melissa’s original recipe with unsweetened chocolate, I wouldn’t have had enough sugar. So, the chocolate fiasco was a blessing in disguise. Then, after putting the recipe together, I realized I would have to leave in about one hour to take my younger daughter to her unicycle class, but Melissa reports that baking time is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Yikes! I threw the brownies in the oven, kept my fingers crossed and hoped that my using a metal 9×13 inch pan would miraculously impact the baking time. After one hour, the brownies appeared lightly browned and firm and even if they were not done….I had to leave. I took them out of the oven and hoped that the brownies would be edible.

My fears were not realized. Even with the wrong chocolate and inadequate baking time, this recipe resulted in PERFECT BROWNIES! So, I had a few worries along the way…All’s well that ends well and this ended very well. While my iPhone photo (Sorry!!! I can’t seem to get the photo on this post. I will keep trying and add it ASAP) does not do my baking creation justice, these brownies are rich, fudgy, and the perfect combination of chocolate and cream cheese. While I cannot imagine cutting them into 12 squares (mine made more like 20), I will come back to this recipe again and again. Thanks, Melissa, for a new brownie recipe that easily stands up to some of my other favorites. Hmmm, maybe I need to have one now. Hope you enjoyed them too.

Black Bottom Brownies

From The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

(All substitutions are in italics and done according to Medrich’s instructions in Bittersweet)

For the Brownie Bottom

6 ounces best-quality unsweetened chocolate (I used 10 ounces of Scharffenberger bittersweet chocolate)

½ pound unsalted butter (I used 14 T. because of the chocolate substitution)

1 2/3 cups flour

½ t. baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

4 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

2 cups sugar (I used 1 ½ cups plus 2 T. sugar)

1 T. pure vanilla extract

For the Cheesecake

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

6 large eggs

1 ½ t. pure vanilla extract

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9×13 pan. Line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil (I used aluminum foil and then lightly buttered it, as well. I would not butter the pan as noted in the future. I found it difficult to get the chilled brownies out of the pan because the buttered pan stuck to the foil).

1. In the top of a double boiler over simmering, not boiling water, melt the chocolate and the butter, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool to warm.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and combine with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate/egg mixture and stir until just combined. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and the salt until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add the eggs, 2 at a time, and mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the brownie layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the cheesecake layer.
7. Bake for about one hour and 15 minutes (I felt they were done after about one hour, but I used a metal pan) or until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Cool completely ( I cooled them on the counter for several hours and then in the refrigerator overnight).
8. May be served cold or at room temperature. Store the brownies in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. For longer storage, freeze in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Don not uncover before defrosting.

It’s All About the Cookies!

Around Thanksgiving, when I saw that an upcoming TWD recipe would be pecan pie…I was thrilled. I  had thought that I would bake a pecan pie in November for our family celebration and would be ahead of the game when December 22nd rolled around. As it turned out, my family was adamant that I had to bake an apple pie and a pumpkin pie and I didn’t have the time or zip to add a third pie to the menu. So, that left me this week with the dilemma of baking a pie or not taking part in this week’s baking. Since I have felt as if I have been on the sidelines of TWD baking I really wanted to participate, but the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is really dedicated to…baking cookies. Up until today, I have made 23 kinds of cookies and I have several more to go before I pack them  up and give them to neighbors and friends as gifts on Christmas Eve. I didn’t see how a pecan pie was going to fit into my tight baking schedule. Then, I figured it out…Make the pie into cookies. One of my grandmother’s favorite cookies was a small pecan tart that she called “tea-time tassies.” I decided to take Dorie’s recipe and adapt it for Christmas cookie giving. I used a tassie dough from Tish Boyle’s cookie book (I wish I had used my grandmother’s cream cheese dough instead) and then made 1/3 of Dorie’s filling recipe for my tarts. The results were incredible. I loved the addition of coffee, cinnamon, and chocolate to the traditional cookie. With the small addition of the cream cheese dough, I think these will be part of my future Christmas cookie repertoire.

Dreams of Cookies from the Past

While I love experiencing aspects of life for the first time, I often find myself wanting to re-live joy-filled moments from the past. I will often seek out walks along the water to remind me of the joy I felt walking along the coast on the Isle of Skye and will re-tell the story of baby Isabel calling her sister “Do-Do” as a way to keep that moment close to my heart. I find that food will serve a similar purpose. I love cheese. While going to my favorite cheese store, I am searching not just for a good Cheddar or Beaufort, but an opportunity to reminisce about past trips to England or France.

This week, after making Dorie’s Sable, I found myself taking a wonderful trip down memory lane. Many years ago as I was discovering all things French, I happened upon a lovely little bakery in my town…Napoleon’s. This bakery had incredible croissants, shortbread (Sable), and Buche de Noel. I would go there as often as possible, and inevitably buy the sable, thick hunks of buttery shortbread enrobed in crunchy sugar. I have been on the hunt for a recipe that would bring me back to those days of eating Napoleon’s sables…days in graduate school, beginning to bake for myself, and dreams of future travels to France. This week, after making Dorie’s sables, I was able to finally connect with those memories. I LOVE these cookies. Whenever I want to remind myself of what it was like to be 25, I will bake a batch of Dorie’s cookies, smile about my life then, and smile more as I think of all I have now. Thank-you, Dorie!

Life Happens

I had the best intentions, I really did! Today, “fellow” SMS bakers are making an espresso cheesecake, something I had promised the group (and myself) that I would complete. As you look at this post,  you may notice that there are no blurry photos of cheesecake (at this point I am still doing my food photography with my iPhone). In fact, there is nothing on this post that would lead any reader to think that I had done any baking at all. Really…that is not the case. I found myself faced with a dilemma. As I told my family my baking plans for the week, my oldest daughter, Cameron, looked shocked and disappointed. She reminded me that this weekend was not only her first semi-formal dance, but the birthday of one of her best friends. She had promised Catie that I would bake her a chocolate birthday cake to have after the dance and she didn’t think that espresso chocolate cheesecake would fit the bill. It became clear to me what the priorities for the weekend would be…bringing my daughter to her dance (she’s on the far left), baking a cake for her dear friend, and letting my baking group know that I had not been able to take part in the assignment for today. Thanks for your understanding! I look forward to baking with SMS bakers in 2010. I am pleased to say, I will be hosting a recipe in January. Yahoo!! Stay tuned.

Cranberry-Apple Crisp, Oh My!

I have to say, I just love the crisps in Dorie’s book. I was quite pleased to see this recipe as this week’s selection for the TWD baking group. What could be a better autumn fall Sunday night dessert than apple crisp? I followed the recipe fairly closely, but made the following changes: First, I really didn’t envision coconut in the crisp, so increased the oatmeal by 1/2 cup and omitted coconut. Second, I used 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, rather than all white. Third, I mixed the topping in a mixer to maintain the integrity of the oats, rather than using a food processor and lose the great oatmeal texture. And the results were…stupendous! My family was in apple crisp heaven (and continues to be as we eat some of the leftovers for most meals of the day). Thanks, Dorie for a go-to crisp recipe that will be used time and time again.

Let The Baking Begin!!!

Every year as autumn begins and I celebrate another birthday at the end of October, I feel as if a significant season has begun. No, it is not the start of the hockey or basketball seasons, but the official start of the holiday baking season.  Although my actual baking does not really begin until early December, these days are filled with hours of dreaming, compiling my lists of new cookies to try, and going through a rigorous process of elimination as I determine which cookies will “make the cut.” Last year I ultimately baked about 1000 cookies that included 20 different varieties. There are the old “stand-bys” that family members will not allow me to change (Nancy Baggett’s Cranberry Ribbons, Maida Heatter’s Brown Butter Sandwiches, and Tish Boyle’s Tiger Caramel Sandwiches, for example), but there is still room for a few new varieties each year. I have a long list of cookies to sample before December including many from Nick Malgieri’s book, The Modern Baker and several from last December’s edition of Food and Wine Magazine.  Some of my recent trials include the oatmeal spice shortbread from Dorie Greenspan’s baking book (these are perfect and have made the cut) and “Sugar Between the Sheets,” a rugelach-like crescent in which you grind the nuts in the filling rather than keep them whole. It is from Julia Usher’s book, Cookie Swap,and the recipe is one I’d strongly recommend. I’d love to hear about any favorite holiday cookie recipes that are part of your repertoire.

Anyway, today my baking included making Pear and Cranberry Muffins from  the Sweet Melissa Baking Book. I love this recipe. I have made Strawberry-Rosemary muffins many times and trying another variation was a huge treat. As you can see from the photo, my daughter, Isabel and her friend, Sofia were quite glad that this was the Sweet Melissa recipe this week. Thanks, Jennifer, for choosing this recipe!

Sofia and Isabel Loving the Muffins!

Not Much to Say Besides, “Allspice Muffins”

First, I want to say, “thank-you” to those who sent me such sweet comments after my last post. Most came from people I have never met. It is really touching and amazing to think that I can write a few words at my computer and get kind responses after sending those words out into cyberspace. Thank-you. Second, I really don’t have much to say today. I did make the TWD Allspice Muffins. I could write about what it is like to make a recipe that my daughter has been BEGGING me to make ever since I purchased Dorie’s book. Or I could wax poetic about how wonderfully the muffins turned out and the joy I felt making them. But, the truth is, I don’t have much to say today. I took a picture of the muffins, but left it at home on my computer. They were an absolute success, made my house smell very good on Sunday morning and will definitely be part of my rotating list of muffin recipes that I make. Thank you, Dorie!

Autumn’s Endings and Beginnings

I have had a very difficult two weeks. A close friend passed away, leaving me with so many questions about life, death, friendship, and family. My friend was courageous; single-minded; determined; and much, much larger than life.

I have loved the fact that she really embodied so many contradictions. She was elegant and able to interact with people of the highest rank or station, yet always reminded people of her humble small town roots. She was constantly discussing her lack of college degree, yet could run circles around people with Ph.D., MD, and JD degrees. She loved nothing more than to call one of her friends with a piece of gossip, yet kept a confidence better than anyone I know. She faced a cancer that was more challenging than I could ever possibly imagine, yet she often told me she counted herself as the luckiest person in the world…too lucky to buy a lottery ticket and cheat others from the opportunity of winning. The world is a grayer, quieter, less optimistic place with her passing. I miss her.

Over the weekend, my family was lucky enough to spend time with her middle child, my 14-year old daughter’s best friend. We spent time watching movies, cooking soup, listening to music AND making the apple crumble that was this week’s recipe. While I am curious to read what the rest of you have written about it, I found the apples to be a bit too sweet. When I make the crumble again, I will add less sugar to the filling (now that’s not something you’ll hear from my mouth too often!). That being said, the crumble, like many apple desserts evokes the feelings of fall, the world beginning its winter hibernation, and feelings that things are coming to an end while they are also beginning. The perfect dessert for my family and friends at this time.

Take a Chance…Take a Chance

As my children continue to grow up, I, like all other parents, find myself faced with decisions about when it is “safe” for them to engage in new activities. At what age could they navigate the stairs without me nervously accompanying them? When could they go on a play date without my drinking coffee in the kitchen of their new friend’s home, fearful that my departure would result in some catastrophe (or lack of perceived control)? Now that my daughters are 10 and 14 I seem to be faced with these decisions on a more, not less, frequent basis. Can my oldest daughter have an overnight with the rest of the varsity soccer team girls, most of whom are juniors and seniors? Can my younger daughter find her way across the school to her sister’s soccer game without my accompanying her every step of the way? I continue to struggle with what is safe, most convenient for me, and providing them reasonable opportunities to develop independence…so much to balance.

 So, yesterday, my older daughter asked to go to a movie with a friend. There have been a handful of times that I have dropped her off at the near-by theatre before the movie, stayed in touch by texting and then picked her up when the movie had concluded. It seemed to work out well. However, this time was different. My younger daughter wanted to join them at a movie that I really could not bring myself to see. We went back and forth about this. When we asked her, my older daughter was actually happy to have her along. She has been babysitting other peoples’ children for well over a year and was adamant that she would not “ditch” her sister or do anything to put her in danger. They were both thrilled by the adventure and convinced me that it would be safe. I nervously decided that I would “take a chance.”

We kept in touch by cell phone and I was contacted as the movie started. I suddenly realized that I was going to have about two hours to myself. What should I do? I decided to make Melissa’s scones. I started to put together the recipe. As I have written previously, I am nervous about changing recipes too much. I think when I develop a clearer understanding of the chemistry of baking, I might be less fearful. I had decided that I wanted to add more sugar to the scones.  One tablespoon did not seem sufficient, so I added 3. How would that impact the structure of the scones…I had no idea. Even though I had purchased an orange at the grocery store, at the last minute I decide to add ¼ cup of cocoa nibs to the recipe instead. Don’t ask me why, I just thought I’d “take a chance.”

 

Cocoa Nib Scones

All of my risk-taking worked out well! My daughters came to my car when I picked them up, giddy with the pleasure of their adventure. I learned how they had managed the money I had given them and what they had learned. My scones were also an absolute success. The texture was perfect…somewhat crunchy on the outside and flaky and rich on the inside. They were moist and no additional butter was needed as an accompaniment. The cocoa nibs added the perfect amount of crunch and flavor. The additional sugar was just right. They were not in any way too sweet and they did not need any additional jam or honey to give them more sweetness. I got the thumbs up from everyone as they tasted my creation based on Sweet Melissa’s recipe. Maybe I am learning I can “take a chance.”  Now I need to decide what to do about that sleep over.

TWD: Chocolate Souffle Dreams

I can’t really begin to tell you the amount of excitement I have had about this week’s TWD recipe: Chocolate Souffle.  A large part of my excitement is connected to the fact that for the last 5 years, or so, every January 1 when I have made my resolutions for the year I have stated, “This year I’m going to make a chocolate souffle.” At the end of each of these five years, as I’ve reviewed what I have and have not accomplished, I have had to face the fact that another year had passed and no chocolate souffle had been removed from my oven. I have made cheese souffles and even a couple spinach souffles, but up until yesterday I had never made a dessert souffle.

Some of the other aspirations that have been on my list have included: run 10 miles (done), travel to Australia (not done), bake 10 kinds of new cookies per year (done), get cement work done on the house (done), clean out my office (not done). Having an opportunity to complete a “resolution” that has been on my list for so many years was something that was quite exciting. Unfortunately, thinking about it for so long might have made my expectations too high. I’m not sure what the rest of the TWD bakers found, but my chocolate souffle did not turn out quite like I had hoped. I had my camera poised to take a picture, but the resulting souffle was a bit burnt on top and not attractive at all. I was afraid to open the oven too soon because of Dorie’s warning to not open the oven before the souffle is done. The chocolate flavor was extremely intense, thanks to the Valrhona chocolate I used, but the texture was somewhat dry. I paired my souffle with, of all things, David Lebovitz’s olive oil ice cream. My youngest daughter, who is typically rapturous in her praise of most things I bake, said, “Neither the souffle nor the ice cream would be very good on their own, but together they are quite tasty.” In some ways, I’d have to agree with her. Today, reflecting on what it means to have completed a goal and to feel disappointed with the results, I wonder what my next step should be. Do I keep trying to make a chocolate souffle that meets my expectations? Do I check it off my list and accept the defeat, only to choose something else to aspire to? Do I focus, instead, on perfecting Fallen Chocolate Souffle cakes, one of my favorite chocolate cakes to make? Whatever I decide, I am quite sure there will more chocolate souffles, of one sort or another,  in my future.