Blackberry Crisp

I made a New Year's resolution, which I never do, cause I just don't like setting myself up for failure. But, I have been thinking about doing this for a while, and I don't think it will be too crazy, so... New Year's Resolution 2012: try one new recipe a week. It could be any kind of recipe, dessert, snack, dinner, beverage, anything really. Since I sometimes (usually) get stuck in my Favorites Zone, I thought this would be a good exercise for me. (Probably the only exercise I'll get this year, let's be real.) Since blackberries were on sale at the store, I thought I'd make something new with them. When I was on vacation, 2.0 (remember my SIL) make a yummy Blackberry Crumble and I've been wanting to eat it every day since. I didn't have time to ask her for her recipe, so I looked up some options, and nothing totally worked for my time frame, so I used the base of one, with a modified topping from my Great Grandma's Apple Crisp recipe. So, I count this as new, and very, very delicious.

Blackberry Cobbler

Base:
4 cups fresh blackberries (about 18 ounces)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup oats
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Grease an 8x8 pan; preheat oven to 375. Stir blackberries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons flour, and the lemon juice in a bowl; set aside. Combine the ingredients for the topping well and pour on top of the blackberry mixture. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden on top, and the blackberry juice is bubbling.

pumpkin eggnog ice cream

 (grainy photo from my phone)

Recently a friend sent me a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Shakes, which sounded amazing, but I had unfortunately just ran out of leftover Pumpkin Pie. It inspired me to come up another seasonal concoction, Pumpkin Eggnog Ice cream. I looked up some recipes, but so many ice cream recipes involved cooking things then tempering them, and I was (am) lazy, so wanted an easy and fast way to my Pumpkiny-Eggnog filled dreams. I remembered that when I made the ice cream for the Roasted Cherry Coconut Ice Cream sandwiches, I didn't have to do any of that. So I based some of the recipe on that. I sort of just threw a bunch of stuff together, and I must say, the result is pretty great. Don't you love when mad kitchen science works out?

PS: This would also make a nice Christmas gift, and/or a great treat to bring to a Holiday Party.

Pumpkin Eggnog Ice Cream

16 oz. Eggnog
1 cup heavy cream
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 can Spided Pumpkin
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Whisk together the ice cream ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure the sweetened condensed milk has been thoroughly mixed into the cream.

Put the ice cream mix in your ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions. Freeze. EAT.

apple butter

Remember my influx of apples? Well, this is part two of Apple Fest, 2011. I've talked about apple butter before, and it's delightful. This apple butter turned out different than the last batch. I may have cooked it too long, but this stuff is much thicker. I was nervous about that, but then I tried it. It is almost like bread candy. Cinnamon apple bread candy. Yep, I just blew your mind. Now go blow someone else's mind. (Also! This makes a wonderful Christmas gift.)

Ingredients:
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.

(I found the recipe found here) 

**PS- if anyone has any diabetes or celiac friendly recipes or sites they can recommend, can you send them my way? 

apple coffee cake with crumble topping and brown sugar glaze

 (photo from my instagram)

Recently, I had an influx of apples, thanks to an awesome neighbor, and I was looking for yummy ways to use them up. I was talking to my sister-in-law (2.0) and she suggested a cake that my oldest sis likes to make. So, like the homegirl she is, she emailed me this recipe so I could try it. Well, I sure am glad I did. It's definitely not low in sugar, but it's high in awesome. It's a great holiday party cake, so bring this with your ugly Christmas sweater to your next party!

Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze

Cake: 
1 stick plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples
 
Crumble Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
 
Brown Sugar Glaze:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch glass baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter. 

In a large bowl, cream together the remaining stick of butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating after the addition of each. In a separate bowl or on a piece of parchment, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Fold in the apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading out to the edges.

To make the topping, in a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter, and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the cake and bake until golden brown and set, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, in a bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle the cake with the glaze and let harden slightly.

I'm in love with these vase mills. I saw them originally on one of my favorite blogs, Design Milk. I have a thing for salt and pepper mills. Maybe, when I have a bigger place, I can start a super sweet collection—and these will definitely make the cut, that's for sure.

ultimate banana bread

I've been wanting to make this bread for a while. I love America's Test Kitchen more than most things. Baking Illustrated is practically my cooking/baking Bible (in addition to my family recipe book). So, needless to say, I follow their blog and collect as many recipes as I can. (Maybe one day I'll beg and beg and beg and they'll let me work in their Test Kitchen?) This was entitled Ultimate Banana Bread and uses SIX, count them, SIX extra ripe bananas. And you use the juices from the bananas for extra flavor. It's full-on. Full-on delicious!

Ultimate Banana Bread

Makes one 9-inch loaf

Be sure to use very ripe, heavily speckled (or even black) bananas in this recipe. This recipe can be made using 5 thawed frozen bananas; since they release a lot of liquid naturally, they can bypass the microwaving in step 2 and go directly into the fine-mesh strainer. Do not use a thawed frozen banana in step 4; it will be too soft to slice. Instead, simply sprinkle the top of the loaf with sugar. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8½ by 4½ inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness five minutes earlier than advised in the recipe. The texture is best when the loaf is eaten fresh, but it can be stored (cool completely first), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
6 large very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled (see note)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.

2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid).

3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

family foods

I was just in Southern California to see family for a last minute, much needed getaway. I really wanted to hang out with this girl (and the rest of my family, too).

I'm sure it goes without saying, that when I'm around my family, the food is always in delicious abundance. Here are a few things we ate/made.

 

My sister made homemade chicken noodle soup (homemade noodles, too!), and My sister-in-law made this amazing sourdough artisan bread, which she's been working on perfecting for a bit. I'd say she hit the mark. My goodness, it was fantastic! I will see if she'll do a guest post and give us all her secrets.

 

Sis-in-law, will heretofore be known as 2.0 (that's my nickname as her, seeing as how we have the exact same name, but she's more awesome than me, hence the v.2.0). Anywho, 2.0 made some awesome sourdough pancakes and put shredded apples in them. They were a delight.

 Here is a photo of the start. I'll share the sourdough recipe at the end of the post. You're welcome. (You'll need a sourdough starter to make this)

And one of my favorites, and 2.0's as well, Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cake.

Now for the Sourdough Pancakes recipe:

1 egg

2 T. oil

¼ c. milk

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 T. sugar

Add 2 cups warm water and 2 ½ cup flour to 1 cup start. Mix together and let sit overnight. In morning, put one cup in with starter again, leaving you with 4 ½ cup batter. Add any fruit or other lil' nuggets you like to the pancakes. For shredded apples, you add it to the whole batter, if you add chocolate chips or blueberries, add them to freshly poured batter. Griddle or pan should be at medium heat, flip when doughy side bubbles. When pancakes are cooked as golden as you like, EAT THEM UP.

              

***For Sourdough Waffles, add 2 more tablespoons of oil.

Oatmeal Cake with Pears

It's comfort food season, and pear season—which, in my opinion—go hand in hand. I had some pears that I wanted to use up and I was trying to think of the best way to do so. I remembered my sister-in-law's (and her mom's) famous and amazing Oatmeal Cake. They have always done it in a bundt pan, but I figured I'd try this cake with pears on the bottom, in a 9x13 pan. It was magical! Seriously, this is one of my favorite cakes ever. It has so many of my favorite elements, cinnamon, oatmeal, coconut, pecans, caramelized goodness, and now pears. Make this cake! Your everything will thank you!

Oatmeal Cake with Pears (slightly adapted from my sis-in-law's recipe)

1/2 c. butter

1 1/4 c. oatmeal

1 c. boiling water

1/2 c. milk

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 Pears, peeled and sliced thin 

Butter a 9X13 cake pan. Line bottom of the pan with prepared pears; set aside. In a bowl melt butter and combine with oatmeal, add boiling water, let sit for 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter over pears and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until golden and cake springs back at your touch.

Topping

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 c. coconut

1/3 c. butter

1 cup pecans (chopped well)

Heat the butter, sugar, and heavy cream until the mixture begins to bubble on the sides, making sure that the butter is completely melted (do not bring to a boil). Fold in pecans and coconut and pour over hot cake. Place under the broiler (lo broiler) for 1-3 minutes and watch carefully so that the coconut doesn’t burn. The topping should bubble and become somewhat caramelized. Put this in your face as soon as humanly possible.

some foods from my new york trip

Last week, I went to New York with a good friend of mine—then proceeded to eat my way through the city. Here are some photos from some of the gastronomic highlights.

 On the way there, I sat next to a native New Yorker on the plane who said I had to go to Ferrara since it has so much history. It's been around since 1892. They are famous for their cannoli's and other Italian pastries. Above is a Lemon Meringue tart.

Part of a GIANT Lobster Tail pastry, also from Ferrara.

We went to Brooklyn to meet with some of our dear friends, Dallas and TJ, and they took us to a place I've been dying to go: Four & Twenty Blackbirds. They have incredible made-from-scratch pies. Clockwise from the top left 1) Maple Buttermilk, 2) Salted Honey, 3) Plum Crumble and 4) Salted Caramel Apple.

Here is the storefront.

Vanilla Buttermilk Waffle with an apple sauce and raspberry coulis with vanilla creme fraiche and some kind of amazing sauce that seemed caramely and super delish from Clinton Street Baking Company. My mom has their cookbook, and every recipe looks amazing. I would eat anything on their menu. Every day. All day. Anytime.

an "ah-ha moment"

A few months back, a woman named Olivia contacted me on behalf of Mutual of Omaha’s “Aha Moment” campaign. Every summer, for the past few years, they take an Airstream trailer across the country and interview people about their "Ah-ha moments"—and they asked me to be a part of it this year. It's a pretty cool concept, and the first time I've gotten a non-spam email from a company through my blog—so I looked into it. As much as being on camera freaks me out (you'll notice my blushing), and feeling like a giant dork, I decided to do it. So, last month, I met the very nice team and hopped into their trailer and tried to make sense of why I have my blog and why I love baking so much. Here is a link to my video.

(And please don't think I'm as big of a dork as I think I am.)