Winter Pasties! No, not THOSE kind...

Samson's back for a blog entry and since winters just make him want to sleep and snuggle, it also makes one think of warm comforting food.  Like good old fashioned up north pasties!  A pastie is a Upper Peninsula traditional meat pie with potatoes and Rutabega.

So the recipe was found, and the supplies purchased!

Shortening, Flour, salt, potatoes, rutabega, sirloin, sweet onions, black pepper and garlic powder

But first the dough was made - it's a very simple dough with regards to the ingredients.  Only shortening (pure all vegetable non-hydrogenated shortening), flour, water, and salt.

The directions said to chill the dough in the fridge, so I did.  However, I think this was a mistake.  The dough turned into a solid cement-like rock.  I had to let the dough warm up quite a bit before I could work with it.

Then I chopped and mixed the filling ingredients!  RUTABEGA!

I think it's fun just to say the word!  Rutabega!

When the dough was split into 8 roughly equal sections, it was rolled out very very thin on a floured surface and filled with as much filling as I thought I could fit in.  I still had probably an entire pasty's worth of filling left over.  So, the filling ingredient list made WAY too much filling!

However, here's a photo before baking:

And then they baked.  15 mins at 450 F and then 60 minutes at 350F.

Nearing the end of their baking time, they really smelled great!

And then, it was time to get them out of the oven and enjoy!

 

Samson said they tasted just like the ones you get "up north".  OK, not really because he was just snoozing on the couch all day... but a couple of times he came in looking to see if I dropped anything!

 

FRESH RASPBERRY & LEMON

HOW DO I SAY THANK YOU?

THE SAME WAY I SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY TUESDAY OR CONGRATULATIONS.
I BAKE.

VANILLA CUPCAKES WITH FRESH RASPBERRY & LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

VANILLA CAKE
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of buttermilk

preheat oven to 350 degrees
place flour and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside
cream the butter in your mixer
add sugar and mix until incorporated
add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition
add vanilla
mix in 50% of flour mixture and 50% of buttermilk until incorporated
add remaining flour mixture and remaining buttermilk
mix batter until smooth, stop to scrape sides of bowl as needed
bake for 12-15 minutes

FRESH RASPBERRY & LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
2 packages of fresh raspberries
2 lemons
package of powdered sugar
3 sticks of butter (room temperature)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
pinch of salt

PREP
puree raspberries in a blender
using a sieve, strain out all seeds from raspberry puree

use a micro plane to create about a tablespoons worth of lemon zest
juice both of the lemons and set aside

FROSTING
cream the butter in your mixer
add in 1/2 of the powdered sugar and beat until incoporated
slowly add in pureed raspberries and keep mixing
add in lemon zest, salt, vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice
add 1/2 of the remaining powdered sugar, and beat until fluffy

*** you might not need all of the sugar, just keep watching & tasting until it's perfect!

*** if your frosting is runny and adding sugar isn't helping, you'll need to remove the mixture from your mixing bowl and set it aside.  you need to beat more butter (by itself) before adding the mixture back into your mixing bowl, slowly.

I WAS HAPPY THAT THE RASPBERRIES PROVIDED A NICE PINK COLOR THAT DIDN'T REQUIRE ANY FOOD COLORING. 

ONCE AGAIN, THE DOGS WERE MY SHADOWS...AND SAD THAT THEY WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THE "THANK YOU'S"

 

DREW'S BIRTHDAY!

YUP. I DID IT. AGAIN.
CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BUTTERFINGER BUTTERCREAM ICING!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!
RECIPE HERE.


DAKOTA WAS NOT PLEASED WHEN I PLACED IT HIGH ATOP THE BOOKCASE. SHE HAS BEEN MAKING A HABIT OUT OF SWIPING CUPCAKES OFF THE COUNTER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

CHOPPED CHALLENGE: 1

I know that this is typically a blog about baking, but those of you who know me, know that I love to cook, too!
We watch the TV show "Chopped" on a regular basis. The premise of the show is simple. Contestants are asked to create a meal made of mystery ingredients- some of which can get really strange. I wanted to do that! So, Boyf went to the store and came back with this set of ingredients for my first ever, Chopped Challenge: Home Edition.

Here it is in all it's glory!


INGREDIENTS:

STRIP STEAK
CAULIFLOWER
GORGONZOLA CHEESE
BACON

DIFFICULTY:

5

(1 BEING EASIEST, 10 BEING MOST DIFFICULT)









GO!

I seasoned the steaks with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper and set them aside to let them get up to room temperature. I also set the oven to heat up to 400 degrees.

I started by cooking the bacon in a saute pan just like for a Sunday breakfast. Halfway through the cooking process, I drained out the bacon fat and continued cooking. This gets the bacon to be really crispy instead of soggy! Don't worry, I save the fat (it's gold!).

Next, I turned my focus to the head of cauliflower. I took my chef's knife and cut the cauliflower up into large florets and put them stem side up on a baking sheet (I chose stem side up, so the flower part wouldn't get burned- I had no idea how long it took to roast). I took some of the bacon fat and drizzled it over the cauliflower and popped it in the oven.

What to do with the cheese and the steak? I was drinking a beer (Summer Shandy!) while I was cooking, so I took some of it and poured it into a saucepan, added the cheese and slowly heated it to create a nice sauce. I added some fresh ground pepper to cut the saltiness of the cheese.

I took the cauliflower out, rotated the florets to have the flower side up, and continued roasting them in the oven.

Lastly, I seared the steak on the stove on my grill pan and finished it to a nice medium rare in the oven. I took it out and set it aside to let it rest. I took the cooked bacon and chopped up some small bacon bits. Checking my sauce, I needed to add a touch of milk to thin it out.

I removed the cauliflower from the oven, plated it and sprinkled my fresh made bacon bits on top. I cut the steak neatly in 1/4 inch slices and placed them on the plate, covering the slices with the Gorgonzola cheese sauce.


I hadn't made any of these items before (minus the bacon) and it was nearly the best meal I have ever made...

We didn't leave much for the "Dishwashers" to enjoy.

Maybe next time?

We All Scream

Guinness Ice Cream
Courtesy of Samson Sous Chef

While staying at a B&B recently, I came across an article in a magazine describing ice cream in Jamaica. Apparently they're most known for their stout flavored ice cream. It was described as not overly sweet, interesting and complex. I decided to give it a shot! It was a custard based recipe, so I cooked away on the stove. When you're done cooking, you add the vanilla and the Guinness.

Then it's into the fridge to chill. After chilling completely, you put the mixture into the ice cream maker to churn. After a thorough churning, it's into the freezer to firm up. It actually turned out quite well. Great texture and creaminess, and an interesting complex flavor that wasn't TOO sweet.

Here's the ingredients:
6 egg yolks
1/2 t salt
3/4 c sugar
2 c heavy cream
These first ingredients are what are cooked and thickened on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly.

1 bottle stout
1 t vanilla
Then these last two get added right before the chill!
Enjoy!

WEDDING WALK at ROSE BREDL

MANY, MANY, MANY THANKS TO THE LOVELY LADIES AT ROSE BREDL FOR HOSTING SOME OF MY GOODIES TODAY DURING THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE SHORT NORTH'S WEDDING WALK.

LADIES- if you are getting hitched, ROSE BREDL is where you MUST go for flowers. The lilacs and hydrangeas were glorious! They also have a BLOG, in addition to their home site.


Ashley, of GINGER&BIRCH was also present with some of the MOST delicious, healthful treats I have ever tasted. Check out her blog, it's going to be a place that I frequent starting today! I feel like an idiot for not capturing pictures of her spread- asparagus, goat cheese with 'kick in the pants balck berry habenero marmalade' and much more.
I think I was too nervous to do much else then get set up. I'm also not sure that my pictures could compare to the ones on her blog- so go go GO!

I made the KEY LIME CAKE POPS using the same recipe as I had for last weekends BAKE SALE.

Well, almost. I used this recipe for the cake:

I also cooked up a batch of these lovely mini-cupcakes, using the same vanilla cake recipe and this recipe for the YUMMY frosting!
THE DOGS WERE LAZY BONES ALL WEEKEND- JUST LAYING AROUND, AS USUAL.

BAKE SALE! KEY LIME CAKE POPS!

WE HAD ANOTHER BAKE SALE LAST NIGHT TO BENEFIT A REALLY GREAT CAUSE:

MY SISTER RECENTLY GIFTED ME TWO NEW BAKING COOKBOOKS, ONE OF WHICH WAS "BAKERELLA'S CAKE POPS!"

I WAS EXCITED TO SEE WHAT I COULD DO WITH AN OLD FAVORITE RECIPE TO GIVE IT A NEW TWIST, AND A NEW LOOK.

I READ THROUGH THE BEGINNING SECTION, AND IT GIVES YOU SOME GREAT TIPS FOR THE PROCESS. THANK GOODNESS, BECAUSE IT WAS A BIT OF AN UNDERTAKING.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, I HAD TO BAKE THE CAKE IN A 13 X 9 INCH PAN AND GIVE IT TIME TO COOL COMPLETELY. I MADE THE CAKE USING A BOX CAKE, BUT SUPPLEMENTED THE WATER FOR A CUP OF BUTTERMILK AND ADDED AN EXTRA EGG. YUM!


AFTER THE CAKE WAS BAKED AND COOLING, WE HAD TO GO AND GET SOME SUPPLIES. DAKOTA IS AN EXCELLENT CO-PILOT.

THE SUPPLY LIST WAS...EXTENSIVE? I NEEDED TO GET LOLLIPOP STICKS, SOME STYROFOAM BLOCKS TO HOLD THE POPS UP AND SOME RIBBON. OF COURSE I COULDN'T RESIST GETTING SOME METAL BUCKETY THINGS AND SOME SHREDDED CRAFT PAPER TO COMPLETE THE SPRINGY LOOK. OH, I ALSO HAD TO GET SOME CANDY MELTS TO COAT THE POPS WITH.

THANK GOODNESS MICHEAL'S HAS EVERYTHING ALL IN ONE PLACE! ALSO, I SAW IN US WEEKLY, THAT IT'S COOL AGAIN TO SHOP THERE. PHEW.


I MADE ONE OF MY FAVORITE FROSTING RECIPES:
THE NEXT STEPS OF THE PROCESS WERE PRETTY LABOR INTENSIVE, SO I DIDN'T TAKE MANY PICTURES OF THE PROCESS. HERE'S THE SHORT VERSION:

CRUMBLE THE CAKE INTO A BOWL, ADD IN THE FROSTING UNTIL THE CAKE TO FROSTING RATIO WOULD ALLOW YOU TO PICK UP THE MIXTURE IN YOUR HANDS WITHOUT IT STICKING TOO BADLY. MY FIRST TRY, I HAD TO ADD MORE CAKE CRUMBLES BECAUSE IT WAS TOO STICKY AND TOO HEAVY FEELING. FORM THE CAKE MIXTURE INTO BALLS SMALLER THEN A GOLF BALL. PLACE ON A BAKING SHEET AND PUT IN THE FRIDGE TO COOL.

I CRUSHED THE GRAHAM CRACKERS IN A BOWL AND ADDED IN CLEAR SPRINKLES FOR A LITTLE SPARKLE. THEN, I MELTED THE CANDY IN A BOWL AND PREPPED MY STYROFOAM BLOCKS BY PRE-STICKING THE LOLLIPOP STICKS IN THEM (ANOTHER GOOD TIP FROM THE BOOK).

TAKE THE LOLLI STICK AND DIP IT INTO THE CANDY BEFORE STICKING IT INTO THE CAKE BALL. THIS HELPS IT STICK TOGETHER. ROLL THE CAKE BALL IN THE CANDY, COATING IT COMPLETELY. YOU WILL NEED TO HOLD IT OVER THE BOWL AND KEEP TURNING IT AS THE CANDY COATING SETTLES AND THE EXCESS DRIPS OFF. YOU CAN ALSO TAP THE STICK ON THE SIDE OF THE BOWL TO HURRY UP THE PROCESS. THEN, I SPRINKLED BY GRAHAM MIX OVER TOP AND STUCK IT IN THE STYROFOAM TO COOL. HERE IS MY FIRST ONE:

THEY WERE DELICIOUS, BUT MAN WERE THEY TIME CONSUMING! THE DOGS WERE FORCED TO ENTERTAIN THEMSELVES.

I WAS RUNNING LATE FOR THE BAKE SALE, SO I SNAPPED OFF SOME PICTURES AND RAN OUT THE DOOR. HERE THEY ARE IN ALL THEIR GLORY!!!




I'M HOPING THEY GET EASIER AS I PRACTICE. I ONLY USED 1/2 OF THE CAKE AND IT PRODUCED 2 DOZEN CAKE POPS. I SHOULD FINISH THE JOB TODAY...

BUT MAYBE I'LL JUST RELAX INSTEAD.