Chocolate v. Vanilla

It isn't always plugged into my brain that I have a blog and need to post new entries from time to time.  Truthfully, I don't even plan ahead about what to write - mostly I just go with the "divine inspiration" theory (this can be greatly enhanced by a glass of wine).  The problem with that, however, is that it's hard to come up with photos "after the fact."

We drove to Durham last Friday to visit our youngest son Eric and were looking forward to one of those good family weekends since Andy (our eldest) was flying in from NYC.  And it was exactly that, except for the fact that my assignment was to cater a dinner party for 15 in Eric's apartment that evening.  After driving 6 hours to get there, we the catering vehicle arrived at 4:30pm.  Yikes!  Suffice it to say I pulled it off, but that's another blog (again without decent photos).  Suffice it also to say that I was exhausted by the time we drove back on Sunday.

So yesterday my alarm went off bright and early and I could barely make it out of bed.  I felt like I had been run over by a truck.  An eighteen wheeler.  I stumbled into the kitchen to get the day started and realized that it just wasn't going to happen.  So I took 2 Advil and went back to bed. 

And then I remembered I had promised to make lunchbox desserts for a trip we were taking on Tuesday to the Georgia Aquarium with a group of veterans from the VA Nursing Home.  Oh, crap!

I dragged myself out of bed, hit the grocery store and came home to bake.  (Never thinking to photograph any of it, I might add).  Coincidentally, a cookbook I ordered online had just shown up.  That would be "Ad Hoc at Home" by the chef extraordinaire Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se fame.  I quickly flipped through it and came across his brownie recipe.

Brownies.  Okay, nothing special.  I have a recipe I've relied upon for years and it has never failed me (and it produces amazingly dense and fudgy brownies every time).  But this recipe had a different technique so I decided to be disloyal and try it.

Good call, Liz!  This rivaled my tried-and-true recipe.  (Of course, why wouldn't it?  Why on earth would my brownies be better than Thomas Keller's????)

But then, as usual, I decided to overthink the situation.  "Hmm," I thought, "not everyone likes chocolate.  Maybe I should bake something else as an alternative."  Can someone please tell me why I wasn't an overachiever like this when I was in school?

So I baked my favorite Cream Cheese Poundcake.  It's the one we used to make when I worked at Watershed and the baking method comes from Scott Peacock.  It's wonderful the first day (or the second or the third) but my favorite thing is to toast a slice or two for breakfast then slather with good butter.  Heaven!

I took all of it with me today on our sodden trip to the Aquarium.  It rained like crazy and you should have seen us trying to get all of these wheelchairs into the building without drowning.  We were soaked but it was a good time.  Made even better by those brownies and slices of pound cake.  Make them both and decide which one rules.  Chocolate v. Vanilla.

Sorry about the "afterthought" photos!

Brownies (adapted from "Ad Hoc at Home" by Thomas Keller)

3/4 cup all purpose, unbleached flour

1 cup good unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Valhrona, purchased at Whole Foods)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces

3 eggs (I used extra-large)

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (available at Whole Foods) or substitute 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 bag Ghirardelli chocolate chips, 60% chocolate

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Butter a 9-inch square baking pan and line bottom and sides with parchment paper cut to overhang sides.  Butter parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. 

Melt half of the butter in a small saucepan.  Put remaining butter in a medium bowl.  Pour the melted butter over the bowl of butter and stir to melt.  It should look creamy, with small bits of unsalted butter and be at room temperature.

Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes or until thick and pale.  Mix in vanilla.  On low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the butter.  Continue until all are used.  Do not overmix.

Use a spatula to fold in chocolate chips.  Spread batter evenly in pan.  Rap on counter once to remove air bubbles.  Bake 4-45 minutes until center is just done.  Do not overbake.

When completely cool, invert onto a cutting board.  Cut into squares, as desired.

Yield:  12 to 16 brownies, depending upon how generous you are when you cut them.

Cream Cheese Poundcake (from Scott Peacock at Watershed)

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

3 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 eggs (at room temperature - you can achieve this by placing them in a bowl of warm water)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups sifted White Lily flour

Butter and flour a tube pan.  Set aside.

Place butter and cream cheese in electric mixer and combine well on low speed.  Add sugar and salt.  Increase mixer speed and beat for 10 minutes, scraping well two to three times.

Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.  When all eggs are added, increase mixer speed to high and beat for 1 minute until mixture is no longer grainy.  Reduce speed and add flour in 2 parts.  When just incorporated, add vanilla and blend briefly.  Scrape down sides and use a spatula to combine well.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Run a knife around center then bang once on countertop to remove air

bubbles.

Place pan in cold oven.  Turn temperature to 200-degrees and bake for 20 minutes.  Increase heat to 250-degrees and bake 20 minutes more.  Increase heat to 275-degrees and bkae for another 10 minutes.  Increase heat to 300-degrees and bake for another 50-60 minutes or until done and a cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool, then remove from pan.

Yield:  12 - 16 servings

(Oh, and in case of any of you faithful readers are wondering, yes I am still sticking to "the diet."  Didn't eat any of this, other than a small taste just to make sure it was edible!  I did that for you guys, of course!)

Hummingbird Cake

I know, I know.  I post WAY too much about cakes here.  Sorry for that.  But this is just too good not to share.

We attended a fundraising event for Georgia Organics this past weekend.  My friend Annie was the coordinator for the whole thing and oh my, what an incredible job she did.  It was held at Woodland Garden, which is a farm near Athens.  What amazing work they do there.  Celia, the owner, took us on a tour and explained how she is so very focused on organic and sustainable growing.  It was a revelation.  We are completely in awe of what she does and how she does it.

As we took the tour (all 100+ of us, split into small groups), there were "pit stops" along the way.  That would mean snacks and beverages from some of the best chefs in Atlanta.  Stuff like Caramel Corn, Sea Salt, Pecans, Peanuts served with Spiced Ellijay Cider with High West Rye and Agave from Rosebud.  Or Black Pepper & Rosemary Gougere with Gus Russet - Bulleit Bourbon, Basil, Lime Spiced Tea from Joe Truex at Repast.  Need I say more?

I won't even begin to describe dinner.  We were seated at two veerrrrry long tables (each seating 52) in a big greenhouse.  Gorgeous.  Wish I had a picture to share.  Let's just say Lobster Pie, Pulled Pork, Wild Shrimp, Veal Meatballs and Mom's Mac and Cheese.  Much, much more but you had to be there.  Sorry you weren't.

And then there was the Cake Walk.  An old southern tradition, made modern by Annie Quatrano.  About 20 chefs/pastry chefs made cakes for this.  Oh yeah, and I made one, too.  At the end of the supper, the cakes were paraded down the aisle (between the long tables) and placed on a buffet table at the end of the greenhouse.  Guests were invited to come up and help themselves.

I avoided the whole thing (haha, I'm still on this diet.  Well, sort of that day).  We were seated at the far end of the long table row, at the opposite end of the "cake buffet."  I had no intention of going there.   But after 30 minutes or so, my curiosity got the best of me.  I HAD to check it out.

This is Carla's Appalachian Apple Cake

as she drenched it with caramel glaze

Here's a partial list of what was there:  Wine Sponge Cake with Pecans and Cherries, Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake, Chocolate Layer Cake, Caramel Cake, Tres Leches Cake, Coca Cola Cake (complete with the Coca Cola emblem artfully etched in cocoa on top of the cake), Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Sage Icing and a Warm Currant Reduction, Appalachian Apple Stack Cake (this was unbelievable; see photo above), Autumn Harvest Cake, Pumpkin Cake (crafted by an artist slash pastry chef to look like actual pumpkins), Jonah Gold Apple Spice Cake with Sour Cream and Maple Glaze and Apple Spice Cake.

And then there was my humble Hummingbird Cake.

You already know about my decorating skills (or lack thereof).  So I kept it simple.  Just covered with cream cheese frosting (not too sweet) with chopped pecans adorning the sides.  It was beautiful in its simplicity but it was no match for so many of those artfully decorated cakes (sigh).  I thought about not even bringing it, but I didn't want to disappoint Annie.

So I brought it.  And then cringed in the wake of all those "professional" cakes.

When we finally made it to the cake tables, we saw that each cake had a tent card with the name of the cake, the name of the chef and the name of their restaurant (mine was labeled "Hummingbird Cake - Liz Lorber").  I immediately saw that several cakes only had a slice or so missing.  I did not even want to look at mine.

Okay, I'll dispense with the drama.  I looked at it and GUESS WHAT??? It was eff-ing WIPED OUT!!!!!!!  Nothing left but a few crumbs.  Annie had the bad luck to walk up at that moment as I grabbed her (as much as I could while jumping up and down) and giving her the news.  Mine got wiped out FIRST!

Oh, what a moment!

So I'm not an artist and I'm not a professional chef, but I can clearly hold my own against both.  Here is my recipe.  It's pretty easy and it will never fail you.

Hummingbird Cake (adapted from Cakewalk by Robbin Gourley)

3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

2 cups granulated sugar
1 T. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 t. pure vanilla extract

8-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup chopped pecans

 2 cups chopped ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Grease 3 9-inch cake pans and line bottom and sides with parchment.  Grease again (I use PAM for this).

Place flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl.  Use a wire whisk to blend well and break up any lumps.  Add eggs and canola oil and mix with a wooden spoon to blend.  Do not beat.  Stir in vanilla extract, drained pineapple, pecans and bananas.

Divide batter evenly among pans.  Rap each pan sharply on counter, then place in oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Place pans on a rack and cool for 20 minutes, then turn out onto another rack and cool completely.  Frost with cream cheese frosting.  If desired, decorate sides of cake with chopped pecans.

This cake is great the first day, but I think it is even better on the second and third days.  Here is the frosting recipe.

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 lb. unsalted butter, softened
1 lb. confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
                                                         1 t. pure vanilla extract

Place cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer.  Beat well on high speed for at least five minutes, scraping bowl down often until no lumps remain.  Add sugar in three parts, beating well each time and scrapimng bowl as needed.  Add salt and vanilla and blend well.  Try to resist eating too much as you make it.

One more thing:  this recipe makes way too much frosting.  Of course, I'm the kinda girl who thinks there is never such a thing.  If you are a normal person, you might halve the recipe.

In the box, ready to make the 1 hour drive to Athens.

(I held it in my lap and bitched to Henry

the whole way about his driving).

Frat House Chicken

I know you guys are probably sick and tired of hearing me go on and on about this "diet" I seem to be sticking to. But, thank you. Posting it here is helping me A LOT to keep going. I appreciate your support and encouragement.

So here is one more post about what I can actually eat. And, it's actually good!

Weekday meals have never been my passion. Okay, I made dinners for years because we knew that, as our kids were growing up, sitting around the dinner table every night was one of the best things we could do as parents. I stand by that concept today. I think if more parents would take the time to have dinner with their kids every night and actually have some REAL conversation, the world would be a much better place.

That said, I always referred to it as "slopping the hogs." (Forgive me, Andy and Eric). Now that it's just the two of us, Henry (bless his heart) refers to it as "slopping the hog." I would correct him, but.......

We eat a lot of fish and chicken in this house. I don't know about you, but I hate recipes that call for browning the chicken in a skillet first, then putting it the oven with whatever you decide to add to it. It makes a mess out of your kitchen and your stove, and in my case, probably the floor which will be speckled with little dots of grease and oil by the time I am finished. And then I slip and fall on it or the dogs will lick it up and I will trip over them. You get the picture, yes?

As usual, I have to rant for awhile before I get to my point. Haha, I'm gonna ramble a bit more....

Both of my kids decided to leave the ATL and head for college in NYC. They are 2 years apart, but they both ended up at the same school there. They both joined the same fraternity. They both ended up living in the crappy brownstone which was the frat house. Do I even need to describe the condition of the place? Suffice it to say that the scouts from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" took a serious run at filming an episode there.

I happened to be visiting one week when my eldest son asked if I would cook dinner for the "house." He's a pretty good cook himself and offered to help. So of course I said "yes." How bad could it be?

Of course, he was nowhere to be found when it was time to cook. And the condition of the kitchen? Oy veh. Totally disgusting. The oven was so black and crusty on the inside, I was afraid of it. Dirty dishes and garbage everywhere. And then there was the fact that many of them (including my son) kept kosher. Oy vey again. Guess we wouldn't be serving cheeseburgers...

In the end, I devised a baked chicken dish which turned out really well. In fact, it was really good. Easy, too. I made it for 40 kids that night and they ate every scrap. I made it for Henry tonight and he did the same.

And oh yeah, it's on the list of things I can eat these days!

Frat House Chicken

8 chicken pieces, breasts and/or thighs, skinned (I prefer bone-in)
Olive oil
1 lemon, halved
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
2 tablespoons chopped Kalamata olives
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Place chicken in a baking dish. Sprinkle with olive oil and squeeze lemon juice over. Toss to coat, then season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

In a skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until onion is just soft. Add tomatoes, olives, capers and red wine vinegar. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Season as desired with salt and pepper.

Pour tomato mixture over marinated chicken pieces. Place in oven preheated to 350-degrees and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve and revel in the fact that you have had a healthy and DELICIOUS meal. No guilt. No slippery floor, either.

Gingerbread for Dummies

Please don't take offense at the title. The dummy in question would be me, of course. And the aforementioned gingerbread would refer to the recipe I have used for years. It's absolutely delicious, but I am almost embarrassed to reveal it to you because even Henry could make it. Or one of my dogs. No, it's not from a box (no matter how lazy I can be, I would never resort to that) but it's the next step up.

However, back to that lazy thing. You see, I love gingerbread but I have no patience for peeling and chopping up fresh ginger or fighting with trying to chop up candied ginger while the knife gets all gunked up and you end up cutting off your index finger instead. That's why I love this recipe. It calls for none of that stuff. All you have to do is measure, mix and bake!

So here it is. I have no idea where I got the recipe. I think I clipped it from a newspaper or something when I was in college a million years ago. No wonder I can't remember. All I know is that it is really, really good and really, really easy. Serve it warm with my mom's Ice Cream Sauce and you will thank me!

Gingerbread

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup molasses
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 tablespoons hot (tap) water

1 cup boiling water

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, molasses and oil. Sift together the salt, spices and flour (or if you are lazy like me, you will just dump all of these in a bowl and stir it with a whisk to blend).

Dissolve the baking soda in the 2 tablespoons of hot water and add to the wet ingredients. Pour this into the flour mixture and blend well, using a spatula. Stir in the boiling water, blend quickly and pour into a greased 9-inch square pan (I line the pan with parchment but that's because I worked in a bakery; it's just fine if you don't).

Bake at 350-degrees for 55 minutes or until center is set (time may vary due to the accuracy of your oven). Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting or removing from pan.

This will serve from 6 to 8, depending once again upon how generous you want to be.

I just took a pan of this out of the oven. Wish you were in my kitchen right now. It's nasty and rainy here and it's the perfect night for warm gingerbread. Too bad I can't eat any of it (damn diet anyway) but is it okay if I inhale?

Three Words

Eight pounds. Gone.

Seventeen more to go, but this is okay.

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful support.

I will post more over the weekend, but for now it's all good. Headed for the gym tomorrow!

End of an Era

Gourmet Magazine is no longer. Sigh.

Print media is quickly becoming obsolete. So is letter-writing (although I still believe in writing "thank you" notes). Makes you wonder how long books will be around. Sigh.

I took my mom to Sam's today so I could buy her a new TV. The one she had died the other day and, bless her heart, she called a TV repairman to come to the house. As you can imagine, he (covertly, I hope) laughed at her and told her it wasn't worth repair and it would be cheaper to buy a new one.

So we hit Sam's and found a perfectly decent 19" flat screen. I loaded it into the cart and kept going. Then I realized she wasn't following me. She was standing in front of the display, looking very perplexed (wait a minute, this is my mom, who is pretty much with it. Remember, she is the one who entertains all the time and drinks her fair share of wine, along with her friends). I asked her what was wrong and before she could answer, I knew.

She was looking for a replacement TV. The only ones on the display shelves were flat screens. She had no idea that what she used to have (a cumbersome old dinosaur) isn't manufactured anymore. It was an amazing disconnect. And yet --- why would she know otherwise?

She's an avid reader. She participates in a book club and goes to the neighborhood library on a weekly basis. She can even manage to drive there (scary thought and of course she drives one of those old Buicks - you know, the ones we curse at when we find ourselves behind one of them). But please, oh please, let "real" books stay around for awhile. She doesn't know how to use a computer. What would happen if her only option was a Kindle?

Well, I guess she could always take solace in her kitchen. As I mentioned before, she's a really good cook and she entertains her q-tip friends a lot. Here is her recipe for what we have always called "Ice Cream Sauce" although I have no idea why. It's not very PC as it has a raw egg in it. To hell with that, I say, just make sure you get your eggs from a reputable source (I get mine from a local farmer) and go for it.

I could eat this stuff from a spoon, with nothing else. Alright, who am I kidding here? I could happily slurp it up by the ladleful (is that a word?) But what you really want to do is spoon it over (in large quantities) some warm gingerbread that you have made yourself. (Do I need to post a recipe for that? If so, let me know in your comments and I will happily oblige). It's one of the best autumn desserts I know.

Baba's Ice Cream Sauce

1/2 pint heavy cream
1 egg
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup melted, unsalted butter
1 teaspoon rum extract

Whip the cream with a hand-held mixer. With the same beater, beat the egg in another small bowl until foamy. Beat in the sugar, salt and melted butter. Using a spatula, fold this into the whipped cream. Stir in rum extract.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Thanks, Mom. Enjoy your new flat screen!

Marbled Cream Cheese Brownies

For someone who claims to be on a diet, I seem to spend a lot of time in the kitchen baking stuff I'm not allowed to eat. Brown sugar shortbread. Biscuits. Those chocolate chip cookies I baked for my son when I sent him the biscuits. Chocolate truffle squares. And now it's cream cheese brownies. WTF????

For the record, I will tell you that I am still sticking to my eating - or should I say "not eating"- plan. I have to go for the first official weigh-in on Friday so that's enough to keep me in line. At least for now. And it certainly kept me from eating those shortbread shards or consuming vast quantities of raw cookie dough. (In the old days, I probably scarfed down more dough than I actually baked). But of course, none of you have ever done that, right?

I didn't eat any of the cream cheese brownies I made last Friday, either. Not the first crumb! And yes, I made them for a very specific reason.

You already know that I bake mason jar cakes to send to our deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan every month. What you don't know is I also volunteer at the VA hospital in Atlanta. I think it is equally important to support our veterans (many of whom are forgotten) so I make it a point to go in and hang out with them. Mostly, they just want to talk. Sometimes we just get silly as you can see from the picture on the left. That's me with Mr. W, goofing around on Valentine's Day. It's little enough that I can do.

So did I make these brownies for our veterans in the VA nursing home? Well, no. Many of them are diabetic, so sugar is not an option. Since I have never eaten or made a dessert with artificial sweetener that I thought was edible, I guess I won't be baking for them anytime soon.

No, I made these brownies for the VAVS staff and volunteers who worked like crazy last weekend to organize, staff and run the annual Stand Down for Homeless Veterans. Approximately 500 of our homeless vets showed up on Saturday for medical care, hot showers, food, clothing and support. It was an all-day event and it was HUGE - in every sense of the word.

Believe me, these VAVS staff members deserve far more than just brownies. (People, you know who you are). They are the epitome of what every employee (government or otherwise) should be. No matter how many diets I am on, I would happily bake for them every day of the week.

Marbled Cream Cheese Brownies (adapted from Magnolia's, Charleston S.C.)

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate

4 oz. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate

1/3 cup butter

Place chocolates and butter in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until mixture is melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 extra large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth then gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and beat on medium speed until just blended. Add vanilla. Use a spatula to fold in flour and chocolate chips. Set aside.

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Using electric mixer, beat eggs until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat on high speed until thick and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla and blend well. Using a spatula, fold in flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in chocolate chips.

Reserve 3 cups of the chocolate batter. Spread remaining batter into a 13 x 9-inch pan that has been lined with overhanging foil and greased well. Pour cream cheese batter over and smooth well. Drop remaining chocolate batter over cream cheese layer and swirl with a knife to marble.

Bake in oven preheated to 350-degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Do not overbake.

When cool, remove from pan and cut into squares. These are good alone, but you can gild the lily and top them with vanilla ice cream and drizzle with warm caramel (or chocolate) sauce.

Yield: 12 - 18 brownies, depending upon how generous you are when you cut them!

Brown Sugar Shortbread

Oops. I totally forgot that I promised to post this recipe. What kind of irresponsible blogger am I, anyway?

But if I do say so myself, these are worth the wait. Of course, I can't claim the recipe as my own; it comes from that brilliant local restaurateur Annie Quatrano (Bacchanalia, Star Provisions, Float-a-Way Cafe, Quinones and Abbatoir).

When I worked at Star, I made these several times a week. The best part about the recipe is that you have to trim the edges (more about that later). Translated, that meant lots of great brown sugar shortbread shards for us to shove down our throats. At 7 a.m, when baking was in full force, it made a great breakfast with a cup of coffee!

The first time I tried these, that old man I live with and I were on one of our marathon walks (see previous blog entry). Three-quarters of the way into the walk, we found ourselves at Star Provisions. (It's a wonder they let us in, sweaty and smelly as we were). A quick perusal of the bakery case and we both fixated on the very same thing: brown sugar shortbread fingers!

So we split one. Duh! How dumb was that? So we split another one. And then another. Nirvana! And of course the calories didn't count because we split them (and we were walking 18 miles, right?)

Whatever. All I can say is that you should make these tomorrow. You probably have all the ingredients on hand. Actually, screw that. You should make these tonight! Here's the recipe:

Brown Sugar Shortbread

2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. In an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add brown sugar and vanilla and mix well, scraping down sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Gently mix in flour and salt. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl and beaters to incorporate ingredients. Do not overmix. The dough will be a little dry and flaky.

Roll dough between parchment paper or plastic wrap to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

While still on cookie sheet, trim the edges (you then get to eat them - oh yeah!) and cut into bars about 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches and separate from one another on the baking sheet. You may need to use 2 baking sheets. Bake bars for another 20 minutes, or until golden.

When cool, roll cookies in a bowl of granulated white sugar to coat.

Yield: 4 dozen bars



A couple of things:
Shortbread spreads when it bakes, so if you cut the raw dough into fingers (or bars), it will spread and lose its shape. Prebaking first, then cutting as desired will maintain the shape.

Do you like my Italian pottery? (That would be the ornate, overly painted plate in the picture. Yeah, and it has roosters on it, too). Henry hates the stuff. He refuses to eat anything on it (even brown sugar shortbread). I, however, love it!!! I decided a long time ago that I was a gay man in my previous life. Guess this proves it!

Some Things Never Change...

Like being a mom. I don't care how old my kids get, that "mom" instinct will never go away. When one of my kids is unhappy, so am I. And, like all the rest of you moms out there, I want to make it all better - which of course, I cannot. Especially since the kid in question is twenty-five years old.

That would be my youngest son. I'm sure he would be horrified if he knew I was writing about him but odds are in my favor that he never reads this blog. It's kind of like the Facebook thing. I'm amazed at the number of moms I know who have "friended" their kids, mostly so they can keep tabs on them. Problem is, your kids have to "friend" you back, which mine would never do. I actually don't blame them. I mean, how would I feel if my mother attempted to friend me? Three words: NO WAY, Mom!

So in that spirit, it's a pretty good guess that he'll never read this. He is in his third year of a PhD program at a well-known university. He's extremely bright (clearly he got Henry's brains, not mine) and extremely driven. As in he never stops. He may have gotten his father's brains, but he obviously inherited my inability to say "no." (and he did NOT inherit Henry's lack of hair!)

He's involved in everything from organizing programs to teaching to studying for comps. He is a serious runner, too. He seldom gives himself any time off and sometimes it gets to him. I could hear it in his voice on the phone the other day (a rarity, since communication with him is sometimes an email, but more often a text, which is why I had to learn how or I would never have any contact with him!) He sounded really, really stressed.

What's a mom to do? I would happily jump in my car and drive the 6+ hours to his apartment but a) he would probably kill me and b) he has to solve his own problems. Logically, I know that - but it still kills me.

My solution? A big box of whole wheat biscuits (his favorite), baked last night and FedExed to him today. He likes them because he thinks they're healthy, so we're not going to tell him about the shortening, white flour and sugar they contain. Or the butter at the end. They're actually pretty good though (okay, maybe not as good as biscuits made with lard and White Lily flour) and they hold up well for shipping.

Here's the recipe:

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits (adapted from Cooks.com)

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups unbleached flour

4 T. granulated sugar

4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

6 T. shortening (chilled or frozen), diced

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Whisk whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Add shortening and use your fingers to incorporate into flour mixture until it becomes crumbly, like a streusel topping. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the butermilk and blend until a soft dough forms.

Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead briefly so mixture is well-blended. Use a rolling pin to roll out dough about 1-inch thick. Cut into rounds, using a 3-inch round cutter. Do not twist or turn cutter as you cut biscuits out.

Place biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment, spacing about 1-inch apart. Brush tops with melted butter and bake 15-20 minutes until golden.

Yield: about 14 3-inch biscuits

These are not as tender as traditional biscuits made with white flour, so they are best served warm (to reheat, wrap in aluminum foil and place in a 350-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until just warmed through).

And when you box them up to send to your stressed-out kid, remember to bake up some chocolate chip cookies and pack them into the box also. I have never known my son to pass up homemade chocolate chip cookies (without nuts, of course), even if he won't admit it!

Mission Accomplished

I'll spare you the bathroom pictures. But you get the idea.

Yes, I am dog-tired. Yes, I busted my you-know-what to get all of this done in three days. If you know me, then you know that I am usually pretty modest about stuff. But you know what?

I did a KICK-ASS job here!

Of course, my father-in-law (who is the REAL owner of this building) will be in the city on Tuesday and he's going to inspect my work. Let's hope he approves (oy, is my insecurity showing or what?)

Anyway, it's done. And I managed to survive New York without too much damage to the diet (a few too many glasses of wine, but oh well). April (my son Andy's girlfriend) and her mom who was visiting, put together an amazing (and healthy) Israeli dinner last night It was like manna from the gods. A home-cooked meal and I didn't have to cook it! It was soul-satisfying and delicious. Thank you Andy, April and Anat.

But then there was that flight home today. Not so wonderful. Can you say "turbulence?" Like for the entire flight. I will tell you that I am a terrible flyer. How in the hell does something that heavy remain suspended in the air for such extended periods anyway? Ugh, and I hate sitting by the window, which is what I had to do today. And there was a smelly guy sitting next to me. So I plugged into my iPod and just tried to ignore the whole thing, which pretty much worked.

I'm glad to be home now, even though it is raining again. Jeez, can someone explain this to me? First we were in an extended drought and now we are drowning. Huh?

And so, it's raining and my dogs decided that they needed to pee all over the floor in the hallway. And of course, I stepped in it with my bare feet. And then they did it again 30 minutes later.

Hello? Can I please go back to the rat race that is NYC?

Wonder Woman Lives

Yeah, that would be me. I hit the ground running yesterday and managed to buy everything (let me repeat that: EVERYTHING) for this model apartment I'm setting up. Here's what I started with - a studio apartment with gorgeous parkay floors, a crappy couch and an overstuffed ugly chair. There was some other ugly furniture in there as well, but it's history now.

You try running around the city (yeah, I wore track shoes) to find enough stuff that's acceptable and can be delivered on a day's notice. That's what I did. Bed Bath and Beyond? Thank you for being within walking distance. I spent three hours there, picking and choosing (with absolutely no help at all, kinda like the service you get at Home Depot). Still, it worked. Then on to Straight from the Crate (garbage), Pottery Barn (not much better) and a few random stores in between. And then I stumbled into Crate and Barrel. Oh yes! That sweet associate Andy gave me a scanner and I just walked around the place and zapped everything that needed to be delivered today. Hell yes! (of course, there was the phrase "some assembly required" but hey - I can deal with that).

It all arrived today and we have a big head start on making this happen. But did I mention that the a/c in the building died 2 days ago? They're working on getting it repaired ($22,000 and three days later) but for now, it's beyond hot in there. I sweated more today than I ever thought possible. And April (Andy's girlfriend, whom I adore) was right there with me. Thank you, April! Men? Assembly? Who needs them? We didn't.

So tomorrow is the day to finish it off. The bed gets delivered, everything gets hung (drills required, thanks to the non-sheet rock walls) and I hope, I hope it all comes together. I think it will. I'll post pictures tomorrow night.

Wonder Woman? Yup, that's me!

Oh, and the diet? Not to worry. Who has time to eat, anyway? Certainly not me. All I cared about tonight when I got back to my crappy room (oh, I forgot I'm not supposed to say that) was a v-e-r-y long shower!

Oh, and Two Other Things

#1: This may be a crappy room, but guess what? NO FRUIT FLIES HERE! So I will no longer describe it as a crappy room.


#2: I know I promised the brown sugar shortbread recipe (stay tuned, it's worth it). I took the photos and I actually have the recipe with me, so I will publish it in the next day or two.


Sorry for the lapse!

What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything and You Find Yourself in NYC

Yeah, that's true. Here I am in NYC, food capital of the f-ing world and I am still working this diet. (I hate to use the word "diet", everyone says it's just a new way of eating but truth is, it's still a DIET - yuck). Yet here I am, and I'm doing my best to stick to it.

I'm here in New York to work. We have a family-owned apartment building on the Upper East Side that has too many vacancies. Not a surprise, given the real estate market in the entire country right now. So we need to set up a model apartment. Guess who's gonna do that job?

The good news is that I get to go shopping on someone else's dime (well, not really since it's family money, but still...) The bad news is that I would love to eat my way through New York, but I can't. I'm staying in a crappy Marriott Courtyard on 3rd and 53rd and I'm in the middle of UN opening. Barak Obama is here and so is Bill Clinton, along with a million other folks. Traffic is horrible and don't even think about trying to land a cab. I checked into my crappy room (with an exorbitant price tag - not fair) at about 8pm and wondered what to do for dinner.

Room service? Not so much. In this place, room service means ordering from Outback (I'm not kidding). So I ventured out onto 53rd Street and came upon the Brasserie.

Mind you, I've eaten here before. Mostly just for breakfast, though. They remodeled the place a few years ago and now it looks like the Jetson's lair. Pretty silly, if you ask me. But I sat at the bar, nobody bothered me and I had a very good (and legal) meal of Pacific oysters on the half-shell and chicken paillard with arugula. Not half-bad and of course, helped enormously by the two glasses of Zin I consumed. Hey - I'm on the road. At least it wasn't chocolate.

I'm back in my (crappy) room now. Oh well, at least it's clean and the a/c works. Up early tomorrow to start my shopping. Figuring out what to eat while still sticking to the diet will be a challenge.

I'll keep you posted.

What to Eat When You Can't Eat Anything

Well, it's day 6 of the new regime (not like I am counting or anything). In all honesty, it hasn't been that terrible. Of course, I have a long way to go but for now, this thing is working. So much so, that I have already lost 5 pounds. I know from my years of ups and downs that this is always the case at first and it drops off significantly after the first two weeks or so. But hey - for now, it's enough to keep me going!

So what do I get to eat? Nothing white, that's for sure! It's pretty balanced and includes protein, whole grains, fruit and veggies. Sadly, no wine is on the menu these days. Lemon-lime seltzer has become my new best friend.

Along with fish. The menu tonight was supposed to be grilled halibut with grilled lemons and limes. Until those thunderstorms came calling. I'm not that brave (or that stupid, I hope). I've been fighting Mother Nature enough with those damn fruit flies (more about that later). Guess it's time for Plan B.

And what is Plan B? Beats me. But here's what it isn't: pan sauteeing the fish and stinking up my entire house. Alrighty then. I guess I could bake it, but that's boring. No, the best solution is to load it up with vegetables and olives and wrap it all up in parchment. Yup. Delicious and healthy (and legal). And did I mention "delicious?"

But first I digress. Back to the fruit fly convo (how appetizing). They aren't flying into my wine anymore, but I guess that's because I'm not drinking any these days (sigh). A few of them are left in my garage but I think we're finally on the downward leg (I hope, I hope). But did you know that "fruit fly" really refers to a woman who likes to be around gay men? Thanks, Tim for that information. Still I guess it's better than "fag hag." And of course, none of this applies to me.

If you have stuck with me this far into the post, then you deserve my recipe. I'll give you the basic, but just remember that you can tweak it to your own taste. It's great for cleaning out the fridge. I had leftover roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and a few straggling scallions in there that I added to mine tonight. Have at it.

Halibut in Parchment with Kalamata Olives

2 lbs. halibut or any other fresh fish of your choice

1/4 cup tapenade (black olive paste)

1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 small bulb fresh fennel, cored and thinly sliced

1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Italian parsley sprigs

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 450-degrees. For each portion, cut parchment paper into a 10-inch circle or heart shape and fold in half. Spray one half of each with cooking spray (or, if you are not watching every single calorie like me, brush with olive oil).

Place a portion of peppers, fennel and onion on each parchment sheet. Season well with salt and pepper. Place a portion of fish over and coat it with tapenade. Top with the garlic and parsley sprigs. Tuck Kalamata olives around the fish. Drizzle with a little olive oil if desired (I did not - it didn't need it).

Fold the other half of the parchment over to enclose the fish and crimp edges to seal. Place packets on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to plates and garnish with lemon wedges.

Serves 4 - 6

Next post up: Brown Sugar Shortbread. Stay tuned!

Here we go....

No photos, no recipe, no nothing in this post. Just the statement that I have made the decision to lose 25 pounds and actually BECOME a skinny cook (of course, you will still be able to trust me because I will always be a chubby girl at heart).

Ugh. I love food, I love to cook and I love to eat. Ugh.

I signed up for a program today, so now I will have to do it. Ugh.

But it's a done deal. Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.

Oh yeah, and don't worry about this blog. I will suck it up and still keep cooking, baking and writing for you! I just won't be able to taste it. Ugh.

Windex and Amaretto

Alright, I know I said that I would share the good, the bad and the ugly. Well, here is the ugly: my house has recently been taken over by fruit flies. Like, by the hundreds.

I think it started with the peaches that started to go south while sitting in my kitchen. Like any other rational person, I threw them in the trash, then took them out to the garbage can in the garage. IN THE GARAGE????? What was I thinking?So the garage became infested. And of course, so did my kitchen.

As I write this, they are flying around here like little miniature bats. Oh, and they like wine, too.

I went online to figure out a remedy. To make a long story short, eliminate the cause (like rotting peaches, duh!) then set traps. Stuff like sweet wine placed in a bowl to catch them and the like. One suggestion even went so far as to say put a piece of rotting fruit in the oven, leave the door open overnight, then quietly sneak in the next morning, close the oven door, turn on the heat and let 'er rip. I couldn't quite go there.

I ended up setting a bowl of Amaretto out in the garage. While doing that, I noticed that they were swarming around the garage windows. I happened to be holding a spray bottle of Windex at the time. Cha-ching!!! I sprayed the heck out of them. It worked!

Problem is, they kept coming back. So for the last three days, I have been a mad woman with a spray bottle out there (and I will not tell you what the petri dish looks like right now. Suffice it to say it is REALLY disgusting). Oy, sometimes I wonder for my own sanity. I think I am finally getting the upper hand though. But now there is an almost-empty bottle of Amaretto sitting in my kitchen. What to do about that?

Here's the solution: No Brainer Truffle Squares with Amaretto.

As I metioned before, I have no talent for decorating, so finely decorated truffles will not happen in my kitchen. These, however, are really, really good and a five-year-old could make them. If you happen to have gold leaf on hand, use it to make them look pretty (I know, you don't, but I do and that's what I used. If you want to buy some, here is the link:)

ttp://www.cheftools.com/searchprods08.asp?txtsearch=gold+leaf&ProductSearchBy=2&image.x=5&image.y=11

Or, you could just scatter some sliced (maybe even buttered and salted) almonds on top and call it a day.

No Brainer Truffle Squares

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 4-oz. bars), divided

1/2 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons Amaretto

Gold leaf or sliced almonds

Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment (or waxed paper) overhanging over the sides.

Break up 12 oz. of the chocolate into a heavy saucepan. Add cream and heat over the lowest setting, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in the Amaretto and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining chocolate. Place half of it in the prepared pan, and use a small offset spatula to spread it evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Remove from freezer and spread the chocolate/Amaretto mixture over, using an offset spatula. Place in refrigerator and chill for 5 minutes. Then spread the remaining chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds or (if you are like me, be decadent and hit it with some gold leaf).

Chill for at least 3 hours, or until firm, then cut into very, very small squares.

(If you are throwing a dinner party anytime soon, these are a really great "post -dessert")

Oh and here's the good news. No buggers in my wine tonight! Yay!

5,000 Miles

Henry (that old, bald guy) and I are clearly crazy. I'm sure my kids will agree with that, but we're not asking them to weigh in on this. Why are we crazy? Because we take long, ridiculous walks on most Sundays here in Atlanta. Get me here, folks. I'm talking LONG walks - like 12 to 15 miles.

It started back in 2001. Or maybe before, but I can't remember back that far. Anyway, we had a big debate about whether we should bike or walk. I voted for walking. I won.

But we're not talking about a normal walk in the park. Oh no, we are crazy (see, my kids were right). We do bizarre things, like taking MARTA (for those of you who don't live here, it's our rapid transit system) to the airport and then walking home. Or, taking it to the furthest station east (where in the hell are we anyway?) and walking home from there.

And along the way, we have had some amazing conversations and some amazing experiences. You can't walk with someone for five or six hours and NOT talk. No, mostly what you do is throw up on each other's shoes. It's the best form of communication. I highly recommend it.

We did the math today (as we were walking, of course). It kind of translates into 40 walks per year times 8 years times 15 miles per walk. Okay, that's only 4,800 miles, but let's not quibble. How many miles have you walked recently?

At the end of the day, we have walked and talked and we are exhausted.

And then we have to hike up that long hill to get to our (new) house. Oy veh, what were we thinking when we bought the place?

So after the walk and after the shower, we are happy to kick back and relax on our front porch. Moscow Mules, anyone?

Moscow Mules

A shot of vodka (or more, if you are so inclined)

Ginger beer (you can find this in your local liquor store)

Lime wedges

This is a no-brainer. Put as much vodka as you like into a copper mug (sorry if you don't have one, but you need it for this drink). Add ice, then top off with ginger beer. Squeeze in some fresh lime juice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Sit on your porch (or whatever is comparable), sigh, and allow that life is good.

Julie's Gift

I am a new blogger and I don't quite get how to incorporate "guest posts." So I am going to type out this by hand. It's long and there isn't a "recipe" but it is an amazing story. Please take few minutes out of your day to read it. It brought tears to my eyes when I read it. Here is Julie Ferguson's story:

"Some of my earliest and best memories are of visits to Mamaw's house in Athens TN. They meant lots of hugs, delicious food and a nighttime snack of frozen chocolate chips. I still remember how excited I was when my grandmother moved from Athens to my hometown, Maryville, because that meant I was going to get to see her all the time.

Alma (Mamaw) was born in Decatur, TN and grew up in Etowah. She learned to cook from her mother and spent a good deal of time in the kitchen with her four sisters. Mamaw married Raymond Ferguson and had three boys. The family lived on a farm for several years. Mamaw used to share stories with me of canning for the winter and keeping three growing boys well-fed. My father always talks about the homemade french fries she would make for him when he was a teenager. She is a legend in our family for her food.

Once Mamaw had moved to Maryville, my sister and I used to call her and ask her to cook for us all the time. Whenever it was someone's birthday, we did not want to go to a restaurant. We wanted to go to Mamaw's house. She would make fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried zucchini, corn on the cob, salad, cornbread, iced tea and pecan pie. My eyes were always bigger than my stomach, but I was determined to eat as much as possible of my favorite foods.

Mamaw was the type of cook who did everything by feel; she did not write anything down. So when my father and I were trying to learn how to make her dishes, we would just watch her and try it ourselves. My dad mastered the fried zucchini and cornbread and helped teach me.

My grandmother would only use Three Rivers cornmeal and Mayfield buttermilk. That's all you need. Put some corn oil in the bottom of the skillet and let it heat in the oven as it preheats to 400-degrees. Whe the oil is hot, pour in the cornmeal and buttermilk mixture and cook until the top is a nice light brown. You use the same process for fried zucchini. Mamaw would combine okra and zucchini, toss in cornmeal, pour into the skillet and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.

When I was moving to Atlanta, Mamaw wanted me to be able to make southern food for myself, so she gave me two of her cast iron skillets. They had been seasoned for years and are now treasured possessions of mine. The skillets traveled with me when I moved to New York. I could not find Three Rivers cornmeal in New York, so I ordered it online and had it delivered to me. I've also made her pecan pie and it is the only written recipe I have from my grandmother.

I have been friends with the Lorbers for a couple of years now. When I went to Kiawah two years ago, I enjoyed sitting in the kitchen while Liz and Andy cooked, talking about food and family. When I was trying to think of a gift I could bring to Kiawah this year to show my appreciation for the Lorber's hospitality, I remembered a story my grandmother told me. When she was traveling with her husband and friends to both Hawaii and New York, Mamaw took her skillet and Three Rivers cornmeal with her. She wanted to cook for herself; she felt it was just never the same in a restaurant.

So I decided to bring her skillet to Kiawah, as I knew it would be as meaningful to Liz as it is to me.

Mamaw passed away at the beginning of last year. It was very hard for me, but I have so many beautiful memories of her. And each time I cook, I feel close to her again."

If there is anything I have learned by starting a blog, then it's that you have to share stories. Julie's story is one of the most meaningful to me. It incorporates food, family and the passing on of recipes and life. Amen.

Burrata

A little over two years ago, we sold the 85-year-old home we had lived in for 20 years. We moved into a wonderful new home, just a mile away, that had things I had never experienced before (like a garage). The move was also a wonderful opportunity to get rid of all the stuff we had accumulated (I will not go into what the basement looked liked. Suffice it to say that the changing table we used for my sons, now aged 27 and 25, was still buried down there).

So we simplified things and moved into a "clutter-free" zone. I really enjoy knowing where everything is and that the useless stuff is at a minimum.

And did I learn my lesson? Ya think??? Well, basically I have, but sometimes I still get a few bad urges. Like last year when I was in our local hardware store and saw that beautiful Mario Batali orange pizza pan.

Of course I bought it. And then felt compelled to spend the next few months making every kind of pizza known to man. I clipped a recipe from our local paper for a sausage and burrata pizza. Burrata? What's that?

The recipe allowed that it is similar to fresh mozzarella. "Okay," I thought. "I'll just pick some up at Whole Paycheck." Haha, was I in for a surprise! The stuff was NOWHERE to be found. I didn't waste to much time worrying about it though, and just bought fresh mozz instead. Worked just fine.

Then last spring I found myself in South Beach, sitting outside an Italian cafe on Lincoln Road for lunch with my husband (that would be Henry with the lack of hair). Burrata was on the menu. I ordered it.

It showed up with some gorgeous tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. I cut into what looked like a piece of fresh mozzarella and all of this creamy goodness came oozing out from inside. It was astonishing. It was delicious. It was addictive. I grudgingly gave a (small) taste to Henry. His reaction was similar to mine: holy shit!

As I mentioned before, it's hard to find. It's imported from Italy and isn't readily available. It also has an extremely short shelf life. I found it at Murray's Cheese in New York City (the most amazing cheese shop - don't miss the place if you visit the city) but even they don't have it all the time.

But they had it this week. It's now sitting in my fridge and we are about to enjoy it. It's $10.99 for a container (buy two) and overnight shipping is only $9. A bargain, if you ask me. Here's the link:

http://www.murrayscheese.com/searchprods.asp?txtsearch=burrata

And don't blame me if you become addicted.

Teddy Kennedy

You might not have agreed with his politics, but we all mourn his passing. May we all live our lives with such passion, commitment and "human-ness."

Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy.