High Tech Meets Low Maintenance

My generation is probably the last one that will remember the days without internet and cell phones- hey kids, we used to go through life...disconnected.  It was possible to go to the store, exercise, and have a thought or feeling without then immediately sharing it electronically with the rest of the planet!  And while it's been 15 years since my first glove compartment sized cell phone I'd resisted the smart phone craze until last week.  The film industry never meet a gadget it didn't like and now it's virtually impossible to meet the demands of the shows I work on without an iphone.  Standing in the middle of the desert without wifi or a production trailer (it broke down on the freeway) is no excuse for not responding to emails and frankly, after 5 days on the job I'm completely hooked on my shiny new toy.  My old flip phone could barely make calls and now and I'm texting, sending emails, checking traffic and making dinner reservations all at the same time.  I'm hooked!
I'm not so tech-ied out to appreciate the simple things like this week's TWD, Oatmeal Breakfast Bread.  Nothing more complicated than a few bowls and a spatula, this delicious morning treat works with whatever ingredients you have on hand.  I love the combination almonds, dried cranberries, and orange zest and made a few muffins with the leftover batter so I could eat them right away.  I guess my iphone has gotten me a little used to instant gratification these days. 
And speaking of which, I can't wait to unveil my new web site.  A sleeker, more modern Cinemon Girl will be coming your way very soon.  Cinemon Girl 2.0!

Wake & Bake

For some people wake and bake has a certain connotation but I prefer a more literal interpretation.  An early riser,  I have a hard time sleeping in so even when I don't have to be at work until the afternoon I'm up and at 'em- often in the kitchen.  Yesterday I baked off these Gingered Carrot Cookies but when my husband's alarm went off this morning I hopped out of bed and whipped up some cream cheese frosting to slather on top.  Then I promptly boxed them up for him to take so I wouldn't eat them for breakfast.

Well not all of them anyway.
For the recipe, click here and check out the rest of the TWD'ers here.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

 

When viewing my life as though it were an Aesop's fable, I tended to skew more towards Hare than Tortoise.  I was always in such a rush- hurry up and graduate, get out into the work force, apply to grad school, then move to LA.  I was on the fast track but after 10 years had passed in what felt like 10 minutes I still hadn't reached the finish line, much less had any idea where or what it was.  That's when I knew I needed to slow down and reevaluate exactly where I was headed on this race- to start looking at it more like a marathon, less like a sprint.   Once I took a breather, I could really focus on what was right in front of me, this culinary passion I didn't even know I had, but instead of jumping in the fast lane I'm taking it slow.  

 

Today was my maiden voyage to Restaurant Depot (where restaurants shop!) which felt like a big step to me.  Do I really need a 2 pound bag of flour right now?  No, but I might someday and that in itself is pretty darn exciting.  So what if I only bought 2 bowls and a thermometer?  Baby steps.

 

This week's TWD,  Chewy Chunky Blondies are so chock full of mix-ins a Restaurant Depot card just might come in handy.  Made with giant chunks of bittersweet chocolate, coconut and pecans, they are great just out of the oven but even better the next day.  So whether you're a tortoise or a hare, it's a win-win situation.

Black Magic Bourbon Brrrownies

I'm not sure if it was the beignets, the Mighty Mississippi, or a little voodoo magic but New Orleans definitely has me in it's spell.   Days after returning home I'm continue to be enchanted by that amazing place- a feeling that followed me into the kitchen for this week's TWD, Brrrr-ownies.
I was all set to make these peppermint patty filled brownies but the siren call for a Mint Julep inspired version could not be ignored.
Using the original recipe as the base, I used 1/4 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 of peppermint extract (very strong, I think 1/8 teaspoon would suffice) then added 1 tablespoon of Michter's Single Barrel Bourbon.  I topped them with Bourbon Creme Anglaise and candied pecans.

Now that's Southern charm.

Bourbon Creme Anglaise
adapted from NOLA.com

1 cup 2% milk
1 cup half & half
5 egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon

Scald the milk and cream in a saucepan.
 Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and the sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until pale and slightly thickened. Gradually pour the milk and cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Transfer back to the saucepan and stir over very low heat with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, without boiling until the sauce coats the back of the spoon.  Stir in the bourbon.
Serve warm or chilled.

Casual Tuesdays

My morning routine doesn't include a lot of primping.  At 4am, I'm lucky to put on a matching pair of shoes much less makeup.  Outfit selection is based on a) comfort as I will be wearing it for the next 12-16 hours and b) weather conditions.  If it's a hot summer day it will be a balmy 65 on the sound stage unless you're standing under the lights and who knows what being on location will bring- sun, wind, rain, rain towers?  My closet looks like a cross between 14 year old tomboy and outward bound counselor.  At this point if I decided to go corporate I'd be lost.  Heels and pantyhose?  I'd feel less constricted in a straight jacket.
My kitchen is the one place I do feel comfortable getting fancy and this week's TWD, Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake, provided the perfect opportunity.  Luckily, the only thing high maintenance about this cake is the name because it was so simple to put together.  I opted for downsized glamour by making half the recipe into cupcakes, then I classed them up with piped frosting and candy pearls.

Even us low maintenance gals need a little bling from time to time.
For the recipe, click here.

Bigger Than A Bread Box

We are fortunate enough to have three small bedrooms in our triangle house which allows my husband and to each have a room of our own.  Mine was the office/guest bedroom but has now been taken over by the cats.  My husband's room, or "the forbidden room" as we call (see above re:cats), is a sea of computer cables, camera equipment, and laundry in various stages of clean or dirty.  The forbidden room has a secret though- it is the perfect temperature for proofing dough.  Living near-ish to the beach keeps the downstairs pretty chilly even most of the time, the upstairs tends to be on the warm side but that corner bedroom is just right so when this Goldilocks wants to bake bread that's where it goes to rise.  When making this week's TWD, Raisin Swirl Bread, my secret weapon worked a little too well and I had to bake the bread on the lowest rack to avoid it hitting the top burner.  Luckily the rest of the bread managed to grow into it's golden brown top and came out perfectly.

Simply toasted and buttered, a slice of this bread made a perfect breakfast.

Thanks Susan for a great pick!  For the recipe, check out her blog.

Hawaiian Chocolate Elvis

In college I used to frequent a place called Planet Smoothie.  My favorite was the Chocolate Elvis- a chocolate, peanut butter, banana confection that I swore I wouldn't finish but always did.  Although I graduated some time ago, (ahem, "waaay back when you were in school" as it was phrased by a certain alumni fundraising whippersnapper who might be wise to ask for money before making one feel ancient)  I never met a chocolate banana treat I didn't like, especially when coconut is added to the mix.  This week's TWD, Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie, was right up my alley.  It all starts with a shortbread coconut crust layered with banana, covered in a rich chocolate ice cream and banana combo, then topped with more banana.  For my mini tarts, I mixed Haagen Daas milk chocolate ice cream with creme de cacao and added an some toasted coconut for extra crunch but you could go a lot of different directions with this pie.  Did I hear someone say banana caramel? 

Satisfy your chocolate banana craving and head over to Spike Bakes for the recipe.

Supernatural

Wow. Wow. Wow. Burnt sugar ice cream. So good it renders you speechless. Creamy, salty, sweet waves of frozen fabulousness. Perfection in a bowl and so simple to make. Burn your sugar. Add milk, cream, egg yolks and a pinch of salt and stir until an addictively delicious custard forms. Chill, churn, devour. Ice cream this good just isn't natural- it's supernatural.

Let me take a moment to profess my love for Becky for making this her TWD pick. Can I wash your car? Do your laundry? I owe you big for bringing Burnt Sugar Ice Cream into my life.
"...Oh my god, this changes everything..."
-Art Bell, Coast To Coast

Australian Visiting Cake

I love the idea of a cake specifically made for when guests are coming by. Of course given the unpredictable nature of our daily lives, this might work better in theory than in practice but this week's TWD changes all of that. Swedish (Australian) Visiting Cake is the kind of one bowl, already on hand ingredient recipe that works beautifully whether you make it ahead of time or throw it together at the last minute. It's so versatile you can make it in just about any random skillet, cake pan or pie tin.


I made this cake this morning when I remembered my cousin's folks were flying in from Australia- hence the new name. I know this orange cardamom scented cake will be the perfect remedy for their jet lag!
Thanks Nancy for a great pick this week!

Feed A Cold

When I was in 5th grade, I wrote a poem about being sick while I was in the infirmary waiting for my mom to come pick me up. To this day every time I get a cold that poem pops into my head. While I will (in the interest of my saving myself from complete and utter embarrassment) refrain from sharing this iambic masterpiece with the blogsphere, I will say that next to matzoh ball soup, a slice of Mocha-Walnut Marbled Bundt Cake made this patient feel a whole lot better.

Even with my compromised sense of smell this cake tasted great and made me forget for a few minutes how crummy I felt. I used cocoa powder and hot water instead of coffee- I'm already sneezy and dopey, no need to add jumpy to the list.
Thanks Erin for this pick, it was a bright spot in my congested haze.
Want more bundts? Check out the blogroll.

Coconut Tea Cake, Take 2

Some bakers have issues with pie dough, yeast, or pastry cream but my kitchen achilles heel has always been cake. After years of therapy, err I mean practice, my track record has improved but some days my mojo is still off. My first attempt at this week's TWD, Coconut Tea Cake...epic fail. Looked ok coming out of the oven but 20 minutes later devolved into a sunken, gummy mess. If I weren't such a coconut fan I might have thrown in the towel but today I gave it another go.
It did deflate a bit initially but held up well over all and smelled fantastic. I made half the recipe in a loaf pan (a kitchen full of stuff but still no bundt pan) and added lime zest, coriander and Malibu rum. I had plans for lime curd to spread on top but I just booked set work for the next 3 days so that will have to wait.
If you want to try your hand at this cake, go visit Carmen. And for even more coconut fun, check out the blogroll.

Drama Free

If you're gonna stress out, don't do it over a cookie. Life is hard. This week's TWD, Dulce de Leche Duos, are easy. Sweet, buttery caramel sandwiched between lightly chewy cookies- 100% pleasure, 0% stress.
Even is you can't find the canned stuff, dulce de leche is a cinch to make. I used the oven method and I didn't so much as break a sweat.

Thanks Jodie for bringing some calm into my chaos.

Rule of Thumb

When you bake, and people know you bake, you can never show up anywhere empty-handed. That's why I'm always on the hunt for simple but special cookie recipes that fulfill my treat prerequisite. This week's TWD, Thumbprints For Us Big Guys, really fit the bill. These soft, nutty cookies are simply dusted with powdered sugar but the jam center gives them their wow factor. I used walnuts in the base, filled them with raspberry preserves, and dolled them up with some chocolate stripes and dots.

Show up at work bearing these and I guarantee you'll get a thumbs up from your co-workers. Thanks Mike for a great pick! For more thumbprint variations, check out the blogroll.

Feelin' Tiki

The smell of coconut always reminds me of summer. For many of you, especially those victims of Snowpocalypse, or whatever they are calling this new rash of winter storms, summer must feel a long way off. That's why for this week's Tuesdays With Dorie I chose Toasted Coconut Custard Tart. Sweet tart crust filled satiny pastry cream studded with toasted coconut and topped with a rummy whipped cream, it's a heck of a lot more tangible reminder of summer than bathing suits showing up at Target- and a lot less stressful.

Of course reminding you that bathing suit season is coming may be counter productive here. Heck, you got a few more months to worry about that right?
Umm, yeah so anyway this tart rocks! I used low fat milk and Malibu instead of dark rum but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter.

I highly recommend trying this fabulous Toasted Coconut Custard Tart for yourself. Crank up the heat, maybe a little Jimmy Buffet, and get into a tiki state of mind. Here's the recipe...grass skirt not included.

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart
adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours
For the Custard
2 cups 1% milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch or coriander
1 tbsp Malibu rum
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut, toasted

1 9-inch sweet tart shell, baked and cooled

For the topping
1 cup cold heavy cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp Malibu rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Bring milk to a boil. In a large saucepan, whisk together sugar, yolks, cornstarch, salt and coriander until well blended. Whisk in 1/4 cup of hot milk to temper the yolks, then whisk in the rest of the milk. Continue whisking over medium heat and bring to a boil. Whisk an additional 1 or 2 minutes then remove from heat. Whisk in rum and vanilla and let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter, stirring until custard is smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut. Transfer to a container, cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
To make the topping, use a stand mixture with whisk attachment or a hand mixer to whip the cream to medium peaks. Add the powdered sugar and beat to firm peaks. Whip in rum and vanilla.
To assemble the tart, whisk the custard vigorously to loosen it then scrape into the crust. Spoon the whipped cream over the tart and spread evenly to the edge of the custard. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Honey Bunches

Chocolate chip cookies? Sign me up. Wheat germ cookies? Um, yeah, not so much. Normally I'd take a pass but one thing I've learned about Tuesdays With Dorie recipes is to keep an open mind. I had every intention of pawning these Honey Wheat Cookies off on the first health nut I could find but these things are seriously good. Sweetly, crumbly, insanely addictively good. Especially with local wildflower honey.

Reminds me of my Honey Nut Cheerio phase- I could never stop at just one bowl.
My usual "try one or two for quality control purposes" quickly snowballed and had the makings of a full-on binge until I packed those suckers up for my tennis class. Once they are in the tupperware they are off limits. The ones that didn't fit in the container though...come to Mama.
Thanks Michelle, for an awesome pick. For more honey-fied goodness, check out the blogroll.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Now Hype Free

The most difficult choice when making chocolate chips cookies used to be with nuts or not. I always opted for not. Nowadays you've got so many decisions to make- semisweet, bittersweet, cocoa percentages, brown sugar, browned butter, to refrigerate or not, if so then for how long. Truly I find it exhausting. Do we really need all these criteria to come between us and a warm chocolate chip cookie in our hands? I think not, and it seems like Dorie Greenspan agrees.
This weeks TWD is My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies and they live up to their name. No fancy ingredients, no chilling periods, just mix, scoop and bake.
Thanks Kait for your pick this week and thanks to Dorie keeping it real with a simple rendition of a classic favorite.

Commitment & Cake

What do you get a baking blog that has everything? The traditional 2nd anniversary gift is cotton but I opted for Cocoa Buttermilk Cake instead. Light fluffy chocolate cake and thick chocolate frosting with just a hint of malted flavor made me fall in love with Tuesdays With Dorie all over again.
Thanks to Dorie, Laurie, and to all the bloggers in this fabulous group for the recipes, photos, stories and inspiration you have shared with me these last two years. I would bake a mini cake for each and every one of you if I could. Happy Anniversary!

First Slice Phobia

First Slice Phobia: the fear of being the first to cut into a dessert. Most often exhibited at social gatherings as referenced in the following case study...

A holiday pot-luck party provided the perfect opportunity to make the full recipe of Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake, complete with fancy piped whipped cream, but when it came time for dessert the guests were eating everything but! Why wasn't anyone trying my tempting and (if I do say so myself) gorgeous dessert? Personally I couldn't wait to try it so I did. And then the hoarde descended.

What is it in human nature that makes people so reluctant to take the first slice? If we didn't want you to eat it, it would have been just as easy to ditch the tights and high heeled boots to stay at home in my jammies, the television with a fork! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Can I Get A Woop Woop

After the whirwind of baking, eating, and more baking that went down last week, I wasn't so sure I could bring myself to dive into to some fancy smancy dessert but something about this Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart kept calling my name. Mainly it was the rosy part, as in red wine. I can never resist and opportunity to bake with booze plus, I already had a bottle of Woop Woop Shiraz open- fun to say and fun to drink. I did only go for a third of the recipe, yielding this one lonely yet lovely 4 inch tart.


While I was at it I attempted to bake ahead and make the Cafe Exploding Sticky Disaster, I mean Volcano cookies, but that is a story for another Tuesday.

To see more tarts in action, check out the TWD blogroll.

Preferential Treatment

Freelancing on tv shows has it's pluses and minuses. Higher day rate, plus. Never knowing when you are going to work again (or get paid again), minus. Avoiding the drama that comes from knowing everything about everyone- huge plus. People not knowing you well enough to trust your judgement, minus. Having the time to bake and then bring cookies to work, thereby generating happiness goodwill in current/prospective co-workers and employers while allwoing me to pawn off baked goods on others so I don't have to eat them...ginormous plus!
Immediately after getting booked for a recent two day job, I received the following text:
What's for dessert?

Needless to say my first thought was, what is coming up for Tuesdays With Dorie? Sugar Topped Molasses Spiced Cookies fit the bill perfectly. Easy to make (can't stay up late baking when you have to get up at 6am and work for the next 15 hours) seasonal, and totally transportable, they were a big hit.

On my next day off I used the remaining dough and some leftover pumpkin buttercream to make Molasses Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.


Oh yes I did.