Blogging By Mail: Makes Me the Happiest, Little Sick Girl In The World!

Greetings! I've been so utterly sick lately, that I haven't had a chance to do anything but sleep and cough the last three days. My couch is my new best friend. Which is why I felt such joy when I received a package in the mail, that I was so not expecting!! I hadn't forgotten that I signed up to participate in Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness' Blogging By Mail event, I just wasn't expecting my package so soon! Here's what I found waiting on my doorstep when I woke up from a Nyquil-induced slumber yesterday afternoon (edited the personal info, I didn't know if it would be cool for me to post addresses):

And inside, were two yummy-nummy recipes (her personal favorites that I can't wait to try out once I'm feeling better) and a lovely colorful letter from Tina at Sweet Designs!!

And here's the loot!! She got me two tins of the Republic of Tea in Spiced Gingered Peach and Blackberry Sage (I'm getting ready to boil some water for some tea right now, my throat hurts so bad), a jar of her favorite Her De Providence (oooohhh, can't wait!), a can of cake mist (in my favorite, pink!!), a beautiful jar of Tahitian vanilla beans in sugar that comes with a wonderful story that I feel so blessed to have received, coffee accents that I will most definitely keep at work to sprinkle on... well, everything!, two mini tart tins (so cute!), two frosting tips (score!), the cutest little jar of Stonewall Kitchen Jam in Wild Maine Blueberry that I could literally drink straight from the jar, a beautiful green spatula (how did you know I needed one?), two adorable kitchen towels, and last, but definitely not least, a bar of Vosges Haute Chocolat that I have been dying to try for the last three years since I saw it on a Food Network special on chocolate.

I just can not believe how spoiled I am!! Even though I can't express how happy I am because I am thisclose to losing my voice, I just want to say a big Thank You to Tina at Sweet Designs and Stephanie at the Dispensing Happiness for hosting this wonderful event. And have no fear, I am putting the finishing touches on my package and it will be on its way very soon!

~Mehgan~

Mom's Birthday Cake-That's a Wrap!

Well, people, I've kept you in suspense for a whole week, haven't I? I knew this post would contain a lot of progress photos, and I wanted to get them just right, plus, have a quiet sit-down where I could write this all out and not be distracted. Well, the time has come. The hubby is asleep. The dog is outside in the morning sun. And I am here, quietly pounding on the keyboard (and hungry, might I add, since I haven't had breakfast yet).

So, without further adieu, here are the step-by-step photos from my mama's birthday cake. After the whole doubling-the-recipe-which-was-already-doubled fiasco, I got my kitchen under control enough to cut my cakes into semi-stackable slabs, chop up the chocolate for my ganache, throw some boiling hot heavy cream onto the chocolate to melt it, then put the first layer of ganache on the bottom cake layer. I carefully put the top layer on and snapped this photo:

Let me pause here to say that my husband and I were watching "Saw IV" while I was assembling these. Not a very positive cake-making atmosphere, but I was running out of time as my mother's birthday party was in less than 20 hours.

After making sure the top layer had adhered nicely, and doing a bit of damage control with toothpicks, I poured some more ganache on top of the entire cake. Initially, I was going to try and keep the ganache from touching the cake circle, but that was impossible, so I went with a more drippy look. It turned out nicely, sort of following the scalloped edges of the cake circle, which I found to be kind of ironic.

Here is one of the cakes ready to go in its very own cake box. I came prepared!! There were two cakes total, but I figured I'd just photograph one so you could get as much detail as possible. I love how shiny the ganache looked, and it didn't lose any of its lustre prior to the party, so it was equally impressive coming out of the box as going in. I used real flowers, rather than artificial or pastillage flowers, which I think gave them more of a Spring-like feeling. I sent my sister a sneak peak via camera phone, and she replied with "Very pretty!". When I showed them to my brother, he said they looked pro! I was very flattered, to say the least.

At the party, everyone was so looking forward to digging into the cakes. I probably should have warned them that they would need a glass of milk, since the birthday girl wanted a chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cake for her birthday. While some complained of it being "too chocolatey", it still went over well, and my mom informed me that people at her work were still raving about it during this last week.

And here's my slice of the cake. Nice and soft, with a rich ganache filling. It was the perfect ending to the wonderful meal I had at the Black Forest Steakhouse in Everson, WA. While spendy, the food is worth every last penny. So delicious. I had to keep myself from gobbling down my meal, so I'd have room for dessert! The food there is very top-notch, I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

And, my mom was not the only birthday girl we celebrated on Saturday! My niece was also having her 3rd birthday earlier in the day.

We went to Jungle Playland in Mt. Vernon, and the kids had a blast. Here she is, ready to blow out her big-girl candles. She's growing up so fast! (And no, I did not make that cake! LOL!)

Well, folks, you came, you saw, you got hungry with me. It's a new weekend, with new adventures. Only three weeks till Spring! Let's go have some fun!

~Mehgan~

No Bread Here!

Unfortunately, I was unable to participate in this month's Daring Bakers challenge. I was SO looking forward to really sinking my teeth into Julia Child's recipe for French bread, however, my weekends this month were solely devoted to remodeling our house (to get it ready to rent in July) and making my mom's birthday cake for her 50th birthday. I was so disappointed, but check out the other Daring Bakers' results (in the blogroll), a lot of them are quite beautiful.

And welcome to all the new members to the Daring Bakers! We're growing SO FAST!!

~Mehgan~

P.S. I promise to post mom's cake this weekend. I was having uploading issues this week, that's why you haven't seen them yet.

Mom's Birthday Cake- Take #2

Hello, ladies and gents! So, I've decided to go with Jenn's recipe from ...and the eggs, it just looks so yummy and irresistable! (recipe: http://www.andtheeggs.net/2008/01/old-fashioned-chocolate-layer-cake.html) I was in a bit of a rush yesterday when I started pulling out the ingredients for this, and didn't realize that the recipe makes two cakes (my intentions were to make two cakes anyway), so I doubled the recipe. That was insane! TONS of batter! But, now that I have four cakes to work with, I'll be able to make two layer cakes that have room to trim if I need to.

Instead of a standard chocolate frosting, my mom special requested a chocolate ganache with edible flowers as decoration (yeah, going to find those today after work). I have naked cakes sitting at home, just waiting to be frosted! I stopped by Michael's yesterday after work and picked up some cake circles and cake boxes to transport them in. Mom's birthday party is going to be held at the Black Forest Steakhouse in Everson, WA, which is just about 2 hours from my house. I'm praying that the interior of my car doesn't get too hot from the sun, because I have a my niece's birthday party earlier that day in Mount Vernon (just over an hour from my house). Craziness! Will post update/progress photos tonight.

How exciting!!
~Mehgan~

Update: It's just after 10pm, and I'm too tired to edit and upload pics right now, sorry! I will tell you that the cakes turned out gorgeous, I even sent my sister a sneak peak via camera phone, and she says they look fab. I used real flowers to decorate, and I think that really made the cakes look finished. And it was such a good idea to get boxes for them, they fit perfectly. After Mom's party tomorrow night, I'll have LOADS of fun pics to show off my "first cake order". Boo yah!

Mom's Birthday Cake- Take #1

Hello people!

My dear Mom's 50th birthday is coming up on the 26th, and I have been put in charge of the cake. We're having a nice intimate dinner with friends and family at this lovely German place called the Black Forest Cafe, which I am so looking forward to. There's stuff on the menu I've never heard of, which I'm always game for!

But, here's the thing: I am panicking. I've never decorated a cake, besides cupcakes that I've just slathered a bit of icing on and called it good. I've only used an icing bag a half dozen times, and I know that with practice I'll be ok.

I'm just worried that I'll work super hard on this cake, only to have people think it looks less fabulous than it looks to me. I'm planning on practicing tons between now and then, so I'm pretty sure I'll be alright in the decorating department.

She says she wants chocolate everything: cake, filling and frosting. Here's where you come in, fellow foodies. I need the yummiest, tastiest, most decadent chocolate cake recipe you can find. This is your challenge.

I will be popping by between now and then to fill in you in on the progress of the birthday cake and to post the final results. I'm so nervous, but really excited!! Thanks everyone!!

Daring Bakers Get Fresh!

Woops, sorry I'm late! My internet was down yesterday, of all days! I was so frustrated! But, it's ok, because now it's back up and working again and you can see how my trials went.

I was actually quite excited when I found out that we'd be making a Lemon Meringue Pie this month. I'm not a huge fan of pie, I think it's more hassle than it's worth, but I was also ready to be proven wrong. And I was!

I've been just dying to use Meyer Lemons, but can't seem to find them anywhere around here. I found some at Top Foods for an amount I won't disclose right now (outrageous is a fitting word), but picked some up anyway, knowing just the thing to use them for. That was justification enough for me.

For the recipe, visit Jen at the Canadian Baker here (http://canadianbaker.blogspot.com/2005/10/lemon-meringue-pie.html).


I was really worried about the lemon curd not setting up, because I'd read horror stories about it, but mine set up just fine. I accidentally left my trusty camera at our friend's house so I wasn't able to take photos until the day after I made it (d'oh!), so the meringue sort of separated and the curd got a little liquidy around the edges of the pie. Other than that, it was perfect. Nice and light and not too sweet. Even the crust stayed crispy, believe it or not. My friend Terry wolfed down a nice slice of it in about .45 seconds flat. I really had to improvise this time around, since I didn't have a lemon juicer, so I just pressed the lemon halves through a strainer, so I guess it's a good thing I chose Meyer Lemons, since they're a bit more tender and forgiving. I also didn't have pie weights or dried beans, so my crust shrank a bit (still tasty though) and I don't have a food processor, so I just used my fingers, which was... odd...

And thank goodness the sun came out to play the weekend I made this, so I could take halfway decent photos this time around. See, folks, there's light at the end of the tunnel! Head over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll to check out the (MANY) other Daring Bakers' LMPs. You won't be disappointed!

Welcome new DBers, and see you at next month's challenge!

~Mehgan~

Cooking For Friends

One of the biggest compliments about being an avid cook/baker is when a friend of yours comes to you asking you to make dessert for 10+ people. This happened to me last weekend, in fact. My friend Diana called me to let me know that we were invited to a potluck at her house on Friday night, and specifically asked that I make dessert. I was at work until 3pm and the party was at 6pm, so I had no idea what to make. I headed to the grocery store on the way home having nothing in particular in mind. All I knew was that these hungry people would need dessert (Yep, I'm in there, too):

As soon as I saw these perfectly ripe mangoes, I knew exactly what to make. Since most of the attendees are Italian, I wanted to incorporate wine into the dessert. So, here's my recipe for Grown-Up Mango Parfait:

Ingredients:

-2 ripe mangoes

-1/4 cup white wine (I actually used Riesling, since it's a dessert wine)

-1 tsp vanilla

-1 pint heavy whipping cream

-1/8 cup finely ground sugar

-10 small decorative cookies

Instructions: Peel and slice mangoes (carefully, they'll be really slippery) into bite-sized pieces. Place in saucepan with wine, cook over low-medium heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. Let cool. Whip the heavy cream with the sugar until it thickens. In a glass (I used martini and margarita glasses) place about two large spoonfuls of the mango mixture, then add a large dollup of the whipped cream. Top it with the decorative cookie (I used heart-shaped butter cookies with milk chocolate on one side and white chocolate drizzled on the other).

These parfaits were so lovely, and a nice accompaniment to the dinner. I didn't want to make something heavy that would take a lot of babysitting, since I knew I would be consuming adult beverages and didn't want to worry about burning it. They went over well, I even caught a few people licking the inside of their glasses.

~Mehgan~

Sincerest Apologies!

Wow, it's been FOREVER since I posted here! So sorry, guys, I've just been so busy lately. Mostly doing this:

Yep, that's yours truly, snowboarding up at 49 Degrees North (near Spokane, WA). It was definitely a good day. We've gone to quite a few different places lately (Mt. Hood, Snoqualmie, Mt. Rainier, etc) and progress have definitely been made. I know this is only my second season, but it's fun to look back at how frustrating my first season was and to see how far I've come.

I figured I'd pop by and say hello and reassure that no, I have not fallen off the planet... yet. We're starting to get into our busy season at work, but I'll do my best to keep on postin'. Oh, and before I forget, we got orders to get reassigned to Kodiak, AK this summer, which is really exciting. I'm not looking forward to paying out the ass for stuff for my baking/cooking, but it'll be alright. Since the hubby talked me into staying in the Coast Guard, I went and traded in my car (2000 Honda Civic LX) for a 2004 Audi A4.

Isn't she a beauty?! We've dubbed her "Innie the Audi", lol. Gotta love it. So, that's pretty much all the news for now, folks. And, like I said, I'll be back in no time with more food fun!

~Mehgan~

I Think I'm Ready For Christmas...

As I mentioned before, my mom as well as my mother in-law both asked me to bake some sweeties for each of our Christmas parties, and bake I did!! I decided to go with a few old favorites, as well as some new recipes I've been dying to try out. I was extremely flattered that they turned to me for dessert, and was quite excited to start baking. So excited that I started baking earlier this week, making each type of sweets per night.

Pictured above you'll see (starting at the top): two different kinds of fudge (milk chocolate and peppermint), pink buttery spritz cookies (from the Betty Crocker cookbook I got as a wedding gift) that I decorated with melted Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses, pumpkin molasses cookies (from Cara's Cravings' blog in the Foodie Blogroll to the left), and lemon crinkle cookies (as per my brother's special request). I've also made two pumpkin pies, and an apple pie with authentic lattice-work that I did myself (so proud!). So, that being said, I think I am officially ready for Christmas to be here. Bring it on! I'll feed ya!!

And, just for fun, and because I so dearly love them, my nephew and niece's Christmas gift:

A five month-old boxer puppy named Merlyn!! Isn't he just absolutely the cutest ever? He looks so much like our dog Cody that when they play together, it's hard to tell when one ends and the other begins! They're instant friends, they love to play and chew on each other's legs. It's almost exhausting watching them play, actually. But, during this busy time of year, whenever I get to feeling a little blue, I just think of puppies and how cute they are, with their wet noses and big paws. And now we have a brand new puppy right here in my family!

My, Yule Look Nice!

NOT! Ok, I know I'm no newbie to cooking, I've been doing since I was practically a fetus, but this Daring Bakers challenge (tradition holiday Yule Log) got me feeling extremely inadequate. And it all comes down to one element: buttercream. I now loathe buttercream, and rue the day I ever have to bake with it again.



The lovely hosts for this month's challenge are also the founders of the Daring Bakers (http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/) Ivonne (http://creampuffsinvenice.ca/) and Lis (http://llcskitchen.blogspot.com/). The day I found out about this challenge, I was a bit apprehensive, but confident nonetheless. My husband told me that his mom used to make one every year, so if I felt I needed a bit of assistance, I could call her. Which I did, and it still didn't help.



Everything started out in typical Daring Baker fashion (tons of eggs and butter) and since I had set the entire Saturday aside devoted just to my yule log, I figured I could just take my time and go with the flow. Here's the recipe, in case you would like to try your baking chops at this month's challenge:



Plain Genoise:

-3 large eggs

-3 large egg yolks

-pinch of salt

-¾ cup of sugar

-½ cup cake flour - spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off (also known as cake & pastry flour)

-¼ cup cornstarch

-one 10 x 15 inch jelly-roll pan that has been buttered and lined with parchment paper and then buttered again

Instructions: 1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. 2. Half-fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat so the water is simmering. 3. Whisk the eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar together in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Place over the pan of simmering water and whisk gently until the mixture is just lukewarm, about 100 degrees if you have a thermometer (or test with your finger - it should be warm to the touch). 4. Attach the bowl to the mixer and, with the whisk attachment, whip on medium-high speed until the egg mixture is cooled (touch the outside of the bowl to tell) and tripled in volume. The egg foam will be thick and will form a slowly dissolving ribbon falling back onto the bowl of whipped eggs when the whisk is lifted.



5. While the eggs are whipping, stir together the flour and cornstarch. 6. Sift one-third of the flour mixture over the beaten eggs. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour mixture, making sure to scrape all the way to the bottom of the bowl on every pass through the batter to prevent the flour mixture from accumulating there and making lumps. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture and finally with the remainder. 7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. 8. Bake the genoise for about 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure the cake doesn’t overbake and become too dry or it will not roll properly (Note: This step made my entire house smell like a quiche. No joke, it was all eggy smelling). 9. While the cake is baking, begin making the buttercream. 10. Once the cake is done (a tester will come out clean and if you press the cake lightly it will spring back), remove it from the oven and let it cool on a rack.



(My genoise has tumors!!)

Coffee Buttercream:

-4 large egg whites

-1 cup sugar

-24 tablespoons (3 sticks or 1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

-2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

-2 tablespoons rum or brandy



Instructions: 1. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Set the bowl over simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are hot. 2. Attach the bowl to the mixer and whip with the whisk on medium speed until cooled. Switch to the paddle and beat in the softened butter and continue beating until the buttercream is smooth. Dissolve the instant coffee in the liquor and beat into the buttercream.
My buttercream looked narsty, after three attempts, it kept turning out like this. All separated and curdled-looking. I said screw-it, and decorated my yule log with it anyway.


Filling and frosting the log: 1. Run a sharp knife around the edges of the genoise to loosen it from the pan. 2. Turn the genoise layer over (unmolding it from the sheet pan onto a flat surface) and peel away the paper. 3. Carefully invert your genoise onto a fresh piece of parchment paper. 4. Spread with half the coffee buttercream (or whatever filling you’re using). 5. Use the parchment paper to help you roll the cake into a tight cylinder. 6. Transfer back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for several hours. 7. Unwrap the cake. Trim the ends on the diagonal, starting the cuts about 2 inches away from each end. 8. Position the larger cut piece on each log about 2/3 across the top. 9. Cover the log with the reserved buttercream, making sure to curve around the protruding stump. 10. Streak the buttercream with a fork or decorating comb to resemble bark. 11. Transfer the log to a platter and decorate with your mushrooms and whatever other decorations you’ve chosen.

Meringue Mushrooms:

-3 large egg whites, at room temperature

-¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

-½ cup (3-1/2 ounces/105 g.) granulated sugar

-1/3 cup (1-1/3 ounces/40 g.) icing sugar

-Unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting



Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a small (no. 6) plain tip. In a bowl, using a mixer on medium-low speed, beat together the egg whites and cream of tartar until very foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar while beating. Increase the speed to high and beat until soft peaks form when the beaters are lifted. Continue until the whites hold stiff, shiny peaks.



(My meringue peaks are so pretty!)

Sift the icing sugar over the whites and, using a rubber spatula, fold in until well blended. 2.Scoop the mixture into the bag. On one baking sheet, pipe 48 stems, each ½ inch (12 mm.) wide at the base and tapering off to a point at the top, ¾ inch (2 cm.) tall, and spaced about ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. On the other sheet, pipe 48 mounds for the tops, each about 1-1/4 inches (3 cm.) wide and ¾ inch (2 cm.) high, also spaced ½ inch (12 mm.) apart. With a damp fingertip, gently smooth any pointy tips. (This part was fun!) Dust with cocoa. Reserve the remaining meringue. 3. Bake until dry and firm enough to lift off the paper, 50-55 minutes. Set the pans on the counter and turn the mounds flat side up. With the tip of a knife, carefully make a small hole in the flat side of each mound. Pipe small dabs of the remaining meringue into the holes and insert the stems tip first. Return to the oven until completely dry, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool completely on the sheets. 4. Garnish your Yule Log with the mushrooms.


The final product:

So, I know it's not the prettiest yule log out there, but hey, at least I tried!! It's a very rich dessert, and I'm not a big fan of heavy, rich desserts, so I wasn't a big fan of my yule log. Which looked diseased or something. However, I think this may have been a combination of user error and the recipe, because I know my mother in-law's recipe is quite different. I'm just glad I did it and got it over with, instead of chickening out. I'm just looking forward to next month's challenge.

Merry Christmas, Blogosphere!

~Mehgan~

Time For Something New

Do you ever find yourself in a dinner rut? Taco night, spaghetti night, stir fry night, etc etc. Lately, I've been feeling like that. I think it's because of the lack of really yummy fresh produce, since it's no longer summer. I actually cooked one of those Chicken Helper Dinners (gasp!) last week, just for something new. (Note: I regretted it. It was just far too salty and artificial tasting).

It's times like these where I turn to my cookbook shelf. I literally did it Russian Roulette style: I closed my eyes and pointed to a cookbook (my Betty Crocker Newlyweds Cookbook I got as a wedding present). Then, cracked it open and closed my eyes once again and pointed to something near the middle. Thank goodness I didn't end up picking something like bread pudding! Though... bread pudding would have been good too, however, inappropriate for dinner.

Anyways, the lucky dish turned out to be Chicken Cacciatore. Now, I am not Italian, but I figured it would be pretty simple since I had all the neccessary ingredients lurking in my kitchen anyway. So, here's Betty Crocker's Chicken Cacciatore-Mehgan Style:

Ingredients:
-1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
-1/2 cup AP flour
-1/4 cup vegetable oil (I actually used olive oil)
-1 medium bell pepper
-1 medium onion
-1 can (14 1/2 oz)diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained
-1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
-1 cup sliced mushrooms (I nixed these, for I loathe mushrooms)
-1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
-1 tsp chopped fresh or 1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-mozarella cheese

Directions: Coat chicken with flour. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 15-20 minutes or until brown on all sides. Drain excess oil. Cute bell pepper and onions crosswise in half, cut each half into fourths. Stir bell pepper, onions and remianing ingredients (except cheese) into chicken in skillet. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Serve with cheese on top.

Now, I served mine on top of a bed of rice, because I've seen this done before, however, the recipe doesn't call for that. I supposed you could serve it with noodles instead of rice, but whatever you like, it'll still taste yummy. I loved all the fresh flavors in this, and it's definitely a new recipe for me. I love how simple it is, too. It kind of reminds me of chicken parmesan, but stovetop. The hubby liked it as well, he licked his plate clean. :-)

I know the picture doesn't really do it justice, but it was really tasty. And I love those little Santa's in the background. They just look so happy!

~Mehgan~

It Just Wouldn't Be Christmas...

...Without some sweet treats from Mehgan!! You see, my reputation precedes me: both Christmas parties we'll be attending this year have requested that I make and bring along some sweets for desserts. So, I thought for a while about what kinds of stuff I want to make, and have come down to a nice collection of classics. I'll be posting them as I make them, so be ready!!

First up, I've been dying to play around with chocolate, so I decided to make some brownies. Now, in my experience, there are two kinds of brownies in this world: the doughy, cakey kind and the chewy, flaky kind. It was a hard decision, but I went with the doughy, cakey kind and used Nigella Lawson's brownie recipe from How To Be A Domestic Goddess (aka Old Reliable).

Let me take a second to pause here, and give you a little insight into myself a bit. I am a peppermint freak. So, this time of year, I go insane with it (because any other time of year and it would just be...weird). I buy peppermint lotion, body spray, candy canes, peppermint tea, etc etc. My sister even nicknamed me Peppermint Patty (and my niece we've nicknamed Junior Mint). When I saw that Hershey's has a new Candy Cane Kiss, I knew I had to buy a bag... or two... or three.

I love them. They have little bits of crushed up candy canes in them, and they're delicious white chocolate. So delicious. They quickly became an inspiration for the brownies I made last night as a little "warm-up" to my cookie-making extravaganza. Here's my recipe for White Chocolate and Candy Cane Brownies:

Ingredients:

-1 2/3 cups soft unsalted butter
-13 oz bittersweet chocolate
-6 large eggs
-1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tbsp peppermint extract

-1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tsp salt

-20 to 25 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses (without wrappers)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Line or grease 13" x 9" x 2 1/2" pan (sides also). Melt butter and chocolate together (I used the bowl over a boiling pot of water method) until smooth and creamy. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla, peppermint extract and sugar. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Once the chocolate has cooled a bit, beat it into the eggs until smooth, then stir in the flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a microwavable bowl, melt the Kisses (I heated them in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stirred them, and heated them for another 30 seconds). Drizzle the melted Kisses on top of the brownie batter in lines. Take a toothpick and carefully drag it up and down the lines to create a cool web effect. Place the brownies on the center rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These brownies went over really well at work, everybody (including the cleaning guy) absolutely loved them. At first, when people bit into them, they didn't know what that new flavor was, but when I told them it was peppermint, they were able to nail down what it was they were eating. I'm so glad they liked them, and they were so much fun to make. I had forgotten how much I love working with chocolate. It's just such a wonderful substance, and makes my house smell divine.

And while I'm getting exceedingly sick of taking pictures without any sunlight, it is fun taking pictures in front of our Christmas tree! Merry Christmas, everyone!

~Mehgan~

Perfect for a Cold Fall Day

You know those really rainy and cold days in Seattle that just make you want to stay at home and have some soup by the fire? Well, recently, my husband and I had one of those days. It was cold. It was gloomy. And it was raining. To top it all off, we had to haul two truckloads of firewood that we had just purchased. Now, I don't normally participate in such... "manly" endeavors, but alas, there was no one else to help the dear hubby in this one. So, in between loads of firewood, I threw this together in the crock pot so we'd have something tasty for dinner when we finished up.

Beef Stew (or, Soup, if you prefer):

Ingredients:
-1 lb stew beef, cut into bite sized portions
-3 to 4 medium white or red potatoes, chopped
-1 whole onion, chopped
-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
-3 to 4 stalks of celery, chopped
-3 handfuls of baby carrots (you can chop them if you like, but they're good whole, too)
-3 cans of beef broth
-salt and pepper

Instructions: Place the potatoes, onion, garlic, celery and baby carrots in the crock pot along with the broth. (I turned my crock pot to cook at the 4-hour rate). Let these stew for about an hour. While those are going, salt and pepper the stew beef (you can pan-sear these in a little butter to lock in the flavor). After the veggies have cooked for about an hour and the broth is nice and hot, add the stew beef. Cover and let stew for another 3 1/2 to 4 hours, being careful not to mess with it too much, or you'll extend the cooking time. When the potatoes are tender, it should be done. If the broth isn't thick enough for your liking, you can add a spoonful or two of flour and that should thicken it up a bit.

I love this recipe, because 1) It's so simple, and 2) There's always tons of leftovers to take for lunch the next few days. It's hearty, it's hot, and so tasty. I love to make a nice loaf of homemade bread to go with it, too. If you asked my husband, he'd probably tell you I make this too much (almost twice a month), but I love it, so he's just going to have to deal with it. :-)

This was actually one of the first recipes I tried when we first got married and received the crock pot as one of our wedding gifts. I was trying to replicate my mom's beef stew (that'll never happen), but I think I got pretty close. There's a lot of room for variation, I've heard people like to add stewed tomatoes, or capers, or even leeks and mushrooms (gag, I hate mushrooms). So, the next chance you get, play around with the recipe and let me know what you come up with. I'm always interested in new stuff.

~Mehgan~

Bad Daring Baker!

It's only my third challenge since becoming a Daring Baker, and I already had to bow out! I feel so ashamed! This month completely flew by, with Thanksgiving and my husband's birthday all rolled into one, I just got so caught up. I know I cooked this month, obviously, since I'm not starving to death over here, but seriously...where has the time gone?! I only posted once this month, that's insane! I promise, I'll try a lot harder in December. If you want to check out what the other faithful Daring Bakers were up to this November, head on over to the Daring Bakers blogroll (yes, there are A LOT of us now!) and see how well their tender potato bread turned out. Here's the link: http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/

~Mehgan~

Baking Buddies

For the past five years, my sister and her family have lived in Texas (which is about 2,000 miles from us and everyone else in our family) due to her husband being in the Air Force. Every year or so, my brother in-law would get sent overseas (Iraq, mostly), and rather than waiting around in Texas for him, especially during the holidays, we'd have my sister and the kids come stay with us in our spare room. We love having them stay with us, and it's so awesome watching them grow up. My husband and I got really close with her kids, and it almost feels like they're our kids every now and then.

Well, in October, my brother in-law got transfered to a base about 45 minutes from our house. We were so stoked to have them living nearby, that we immediately volunteered to babysit as much as possible (we understand how important it is to remain close in a marriage, so we try to give them as many opportunities as they can to go out on a date). Recently, while we were babysitting, I was preparing some goodies for a bake auction we had at work to raise money for our annual Holiday party in December, so I decided to enlist the aid of my two little helpers in this mission. They absolutely loved getting to help me in the kitchen (which is the one room in the house I can most often be found), and they especially loved the end result (getting to eat them). I decided to make Iced Pumpkin Cookies, because I knew that with it being November, these would sell like hotcakes (and they did!!).

I have never made these before, but will definitely be making them again and again this holiday season. They're small, so you don't feel terribly guilty for eating one (or two... or three...) and they are packed with pumpkin-spicey goodness. Here's the recipe:

Iced Pumpkin Cookies (courtesy Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

I'll be sure to post lots more photos of treats the kiddos help me with in the future. I have a feeling there will be a lot of them!

~Mehgan~

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween, it's probably my most favorite holiday all year (yes, even better than Christmas and my birthday). I think the main reason I love it so much is that I don't have to worry about getting anyone the "perfect gift" and I rarely have to deal with family like I do during the major holidays. It's usually just me and my husband, sitting at home, watching scary movies, carving pumpkins and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And I love it.

My husband and I have this tradition that during the entire month of October, we watch nothing but scary movies. That includes renting as well as buying or watching on television. I have no idea how we came about doing it, we've been married four years, so it's a little blurry. Every year, it gets bigger and bigger, we actually went to three Halloween parties last Saturday night alone! So, needless to say, Halloween is big for us.

My favorite Halloween candy used to be those bite-size Snickers bars. Those were the major candy to get when I was a kid. Every year, on Halloween, after we got home from trick-or-treating, my brothers and I would play "Store". We'd put all of the candies in their respective piles (Snickers, Milky Way, etc in the Chocolate area, Blow Pops and Tootsie Pops in the lollipop area, then Smarties and Sweet Tarts in the Other Candy area) on top of our pillow cases, which were our shops. We'd trade, say, two Tootsie Pops for a Snickers, that sort of thing. So, Snickers had a lot of sway when it came to bartering against my brothers.

Ever since getting my braces on in March, however, I haven't been able to have one Snickers or Milky Way, since nougat is an orthodontic no-no. How depressing. I've now become a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup devotee. They fit perfectly upside down in my mouth, resting against the roof and melting away until there's nothing left. I can make a Reese's peanut butter cup (the wee little ones, not the monster ones) last about 10 minutes if I'm careful. And don't even get me started on Starburst! I know I'm not supposed to have those, but as an experiment one time at the movies, I made a single cherry Starburst last 35 minutes. My tongue was so raw after that!

Anyways, here's to the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Hated by most Australians, and loved by many an American consumer. I tip my hat to you, and reach into my desk drawer for yet another foil wrapped slice of heaven.

Daring Bakers Get Bostini!

Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to another installment of the Daring Bakers Challenge! This month, Mary at Alpineberry chose a Bostini Cream Pie for us to make, and I couldn't wait to make it. But, with a week-long vacation in the middle of the month, combined with my brother moving out, I simply had no time to make it! I did, however, print the recipe and bring it with me everywhere, reading it and re-reading it to make sure I'd have enough ingredients in my house for when I decided to eventually make it.

As it turns out, I waited till the very last possible day to get crackin'! I was in a panic when I woke up on the morning of the 28th and realized I had T-minus 16 hours to bake, stir, whisk, mix, photograph, serve and post this bad boy. I got busy as soon as I rolled outta bed! And let me just add that there are a TON of eggs in this recipe. I bought two of those 18-count cartons, and had just enough (after accidentally breaking a few yolks while I was trying to separate them from the whites). I also had to make a last-minute run to Albertson's to grab some OJ, because my husband and brother in-law drank the stuff I had set aside for this recipe (darn them!). Seriously, they downed a half gallon of OJ in less than two days. I have no idea why, they must have just been really thirsty!

It was worth the troubles, though, and the results came out amazing and delicious. Here's the recipe:

Bostini Cream Pie
(from Donna Scala & Kurtis Baguley of Bistro Don Giovanni and Scala's Bistro)
Makes 8 generous servings
INGREDIENTS:
Custard
3/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 whole egg, beaten 9 egg yolks, beaten
3 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean (or vanilla extract, if that's easier for you to find)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

Chiffon Cake
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup beaten egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (about 8 large)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Chocolate Glaze
8 ounces semi or bittersweet chocolate
8 ounces unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS
To prepare the custard: Combine the milk and cornstarch in a bowl; blend until smooth. Whisk in the whole egg and yolks, beating until smooth. Combine the cream, vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and carefully bring to a boil. When the mixture just boils, whisk a ladleful into the egg mixture to temper it, then whisk this back into the cream mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the custard and pour into 8 large custard cups. Refrigerate to chill.
To prepare the chiffon cakes: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray 8 molds with nonstick cooking spray. You may use 7-ounce custard cups, ovenproof wide mugs or even large foil cups. Whatever you use should be the same size as the custard cups. Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Stir until smooth, but do not overbeat. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form. Gently fold the beaten whites into the orange batter. Fill the sprayed molds nearly to the top with the batter. Bake approximately 25 minutes, until the cakes bounce back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Do not overbake. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cool, remove the cakes from the molds. Cover the cakes to keep them moist.
To prepare the glaze: Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan and heat until it is just about to bubble. Remove from the heat; add the chocolate and stir to melt. Pour through a strainer and keep warm. To assemble: Cut a thin slice from the top of each cake to create a flat surface. Place a cake flat-side down on top of each custard. Cover the tops with warm chocolate glaze. Serve immediately.

I had a few variations to the recipe, because after waiting so long, I had realized that all the other Daring Bakers had already made theirs the way I was planning on making mine (grrr!). So, I decided to bake my chiffon cake on a baking sheet and then cut out fun shapes with cookie cutters. I used pumpkin and stars, as you can see in the photo below.

I thought they were so stinkin' cute! I plan on taking one with me in my lunch tomorrow, seeing as how the chiffon cake was my favorite part.

And here are a few photos of the finished product.

I served them in little scotch glasses that my husband had, and decorated the pumpkin one with festive lines, and just doused the star one with loads of chocolate. My husband's favorite part was the custard, though, he practically licked it out of the glass!

And here's a festive photo with one of our plug-in pumpkins (safer than jack-o-lanterns, so we can have it indoors).

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I do! Check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to right to see how the other guys and dolls of the Daring Bakers did with this month's Challenge. I gotta tell you, they're pretty amazing!

~Mehgan~

It's Time For Another Royal Foodie Joust!

The lovely Jenn over at the Leftover Queen Forum is the lovely host of a little monthly competition we like to call the Royal Foodie Joust. Brittany The Pie Lady won last month's Joust with her very first entry (congrats!), so she was able to pick this month's ingredients. Up this month, we've got any kind of mushrooms, herbs and cheese. I chose Portobello Mushrooms, Oregano and Sage, and Asiago cheese (one of my very favorites):
For my entry, I had no idea what I wanted to make. For one, I loathe mushrooms. I hate their texture (they feel like slimy little slugs). Two, I'm not big on their flavor. And three, the thought of eating a fungus really does not appeal to me. But, in Royal Foodie manner, I manned up and picked up my first set of mushrooms in God knows how long. I even picked up a jar of mushroom spaghetti sauce. I chose to make ravioli, and just did not feel like making the sauce myself. So, without further delay, here's my entry for Mushroom and Asiago Cheese Stuffed Ravioli.

Ingredients:
-1 portobello mushroom
-1/2 bell pepper
-3 cloves of garlic
-1/4 onion
-1/4 cup Asiago cheese
-1/5 cup olive oil
-1 or 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
-1 or 2 sprigs of fresh sage
-salt and pepper
-1 package of wonton/ravioli wrappers
-1 egg white
-1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use Classico)
-1 can of stewed tomatoes

Instructions: Chop up the mushroom, bell pepper, garlic, onion, oregano and sage into 1/8" bits and combine them in a bowl. Chop the herbs and add those to the other ingredients. Add the olive oil and spices and stir well to combine. Mixture should look like this:

Heat in a pan over low heat until the onions turn transparent and the mushrooms turn slightly brown. Heat a stock pot of water to a boil (you may want to add some olive oil to prevent the ravioli from sticking to each other). In another pot, heat the spaghetti sauce and stewed tomatoes over medium heat and season to taste. Sprinkle a couple baking trays with some corn meal to prevent the ravioli from sticking. Brush the edges of the ravioli wrappers with the egg white, then add a small amount (about the size of a large marble) of the ravioli mixture to the wrapper. Take another wrapper and brush the edges with the egg white, and place over the top of the bottom ravioli. Press the edges to create a nice seal and put on the tray. Repeat until you're out of filling (this should make about 10-12 ravioli). Place the ravioli in the boiling water and allow to soak until the ravioli become slightly transparent (I wish I had taken a picture of this step, because the ravioli somewhat resembled brains!). Once they're done, use a slotted spoon to carefully lift the ravioli out of the water and place on your plate. Pour the spaghetti sauce mixture over the top.
These were pretty good for someone who doesn't like mushrooms. You're looking at my husband's dinner, and he had me heat the leftover mushrooms in some olive oil so he'd have "something meaty" to eat with his ravioli. I felt like there should have been more cheese, or a different cheese, like ricotta, to bind all the ingredients inside the ravioli. Once they were cut open, the ingredients sort of just fell out all over the plate. But they sure were tasty, very flavorful because of the fresh herbs and you could really taste the mushroom. It was a nice combination of flavors, but the texture was just a little bit off. I'd give it a 7 out 10 points.

But, don't fret, for I came up with a tasty dessert to make up for my lackluster dinner!! We had quite a few leftover wonton wrappers, and I was craving chocolate. The only chocolate left in the house was a jar of Nutella, so I stuffed a wonton wrapper with about a half teaspoon of it, folded the wrapper in half and sealed it with some water. Plopped that bad boy in some heated oil for a few seconds (about 30, 15 per side) and tossed it in some powdered sugar when it was done. Heaven. My 2 1/2 year old neice looked at it and asked, "What is it." I said, "It's a Chocolate Dumpling" and she said "Ohhhh" and took a bite. Big grins all around! Success!

Now I'm off to come up with more exciting recipes that involve wonton/ravioli wrappers. That was just too much fun and way too tasty to never do again.

~Mehgan~

P.S. Let me just say how frustrating it is that the sun sets so early now that we're approaching Winter. By the time I get dinner done, there's not enough light left to photograph my little dishes and make them look good. My kitchen flourescents and camera flash will have to do until Spring. How sad!

Save the Ta-Ta's!

Hello, everyone! This post is mostly geared towards the ladies, so gentlemen, cover your eyes or proceed with caution.




I am a big Breast Cancer Research supporter, and was so glad to see that Minko at Couture Cupcakes (like to the left, in the blogroll) is hosting a Pinktober event in support of Breast Cancer Research in which she donates $1 towards Breast Cancer Research for every pink-inspired recipe that gets submitted to her by October 15th (yes, I'm cutting it close here).

While no one in my family has gone through such a trying ordeal as breast cancer (knock on wood) there have been a few scares in my family, and I know a couple of people from work who have gone through it. I do this for them.

Pink being my all-time favorite color, it was only natural that I should participate. I was so excited, I didn't know what I wanted to make that was pink, but also oh-so-girly as well. The pinup girls from Northwest Pinups For Troops had scheduled a group photo shoot at my house with a sleepover theme, so I figured what better chance to bake a girly cupcake than for a girly photo shoot, huh? On top of all that, my pinup character's forte is baking, so I would get featured in a solo shot posing with my beautiful pink cupcakes. What more can a girl ask for? I fired up the Pink Terror (my KitchenAid) and got to work!

So, here's my recipe for Vanilla Cupcakes with a Pink Lemonade Icing:

Vanilla Swirl Cupcake Ingredients (adapted recipe from Martha Stewart):
-1½ cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-½ teaspoon salt
-8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup sugar
-3 large eggs
-1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-¾ cup milk
-red food coloring

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; scrape down bowl, and beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Divide batter evenly between two bowls. In one bowl, add 4-6 drops of red food coloring and mix well. Pour batter into cupcake liners, alternating between the pink and white batter mixture until each cupcake liner is about three-quarters full. (The way I filled mine ended up looking like boobies, I kid you not!) Bake until golden and tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely (about 1 1/2 hrs). Makes 12.

Frosting Ingredients:
-1 cup powdered sugar
-2 tbsp warm water
-1 tbsp lemon extract
-red food coloring
-pink sugar sprinkles

In a small bowl, whisk together first three ingredients (add more powdered sugar if it's too runny for your taste). Add two drops of red food coloring and mix well. Frost cupcakes, then decorate with the pink sugar sprinkles. Gorgeous!

These cupcakes went over really well with the pinups, they received rave reviews from everyone who had one. They loved how the two flavors don't overpower each other, they actually are a really nice compliment to each other. They also loved the swirled cake, they thought it was a nice touch. I loved that they came out so beautiful, enough to get photographed with us in our photo shoot! Gotta love those retro tin cupcake papers!

I'll be sure to post some of the finished shots of us with the cupcakes so you can see how photogenic they are. Until then, you'll just have to enjoy the ones I took in my kitchen!

Aren't they lovely? I think so! Hop on over to Couture Cupcakes and check out the other entries and Save The Ta-Ta's!!!

~Mehgan~

I Miss The Fair Already

I am one of those folks that is lucky enough to live within just a few minutes of the Puyallup Fair when it's in town during the month of September. I am a self-proclaimed Fair-Freak, I love the Fair, I could spend all day there, and still want to come back tomorrow. I love the food, the rides, the exhibits, everything about it.

My good friend Diana introduced me to the Fisher Fair Scones this year (I'm not a big fan of biscuit-y things, but she talked me into it) and I haven't been the same since. I've even gone so far as to try to replicate the recipe on my own, only to end up with dry, brittle little scone-wannabes. Not cool.

So, while perusing the local Safeway today in search for some ingredients for this month's Daring Bakers challenge (which will be fabulous, by the way!) I happend to see this lovely little red and white box perched atop the highest shelf in the baking aisle. I would have been able to spot that plaid label a mile away. Amen, hellelujah! I didn't have to order it online! Yay!

I knew immediately that I wanted to make some plain old-fashioned ones, and some cranberry orange ones (seeing as how it's officially Fall and everything). I couldn't wait to finish cooking dinner in order whip out the Pink Terror (aka my KitchenAid) and get to work on these bad boys. I divided the dough into three sections as directed by the instructions on the box, and made two thirds of them orange & cranberry, and only one third of them plain. The recipe is on the back of the box, and all you need is 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp of water, and presto! You've got yourself some world-famous scones, baby!!

The finished product: delightfully indulgent. A very light crispy outside with a warm, pillowy inside. To make them even better, I whipped some butter with some honey, and used my favorite Knott's Berry Farm Boysenberry jam. So good that I contemplated making these for my birthday, and that's 11 months away!

Istn' she lovely? Oh, how I love them. I bought two boxes, and fully plan on buying more while I still can, so keep your eye out for some Puyallup Fair Scone-redux style postings.

~Mehgan~