some baking pics to hold you over
last weekend i made two carrot cakes – one was for my parents’ anniversary. i tried out my fancy piping tips! oh, and bonus cat and tree ornament pics.
pathetic
after blogging every day in november, december has been a real crapshoot. i think i’ll resolved to blog on a regular basis again next year. it forces me to write something, and my page isn’t pathetic.
i’ve started christmas cookies, and there will be more to make this weekend. i’ll be posting pics soon!
thanksgiving food
thanksgiving! i made a tart! and also jane and i spatchcocked a turkey!
i made a pumpkin pecan tart from martha stewart that i was highly skeptical of because it used sweetened condensed milk. i should’ve know martha wouldn’t have let me down. it was delish! 5 stars; would make again. i bought a tart pan specifically for this, and it worked swimmingly. perhaps i’ll be making more tarts in the future!
now on to the turkey. i wanted to make a spatchcock turkey last year, but i just didn’t get to it. so this year, i made a point of doing it. i brined my turkey like usual, then jane i hacked away at the spine to get it out. and you know what? a flattened 20-lb bird is darn big. so we cut down the breast bone as well so we had two halves of the bird.
then, i seasoned it using my herbs de provence recipe like always, then shoved the two halves into the oven on two different baking sheets. still took up a lot of room, but at least the oven racks were in reasonable positions.
the nice thing about a spatchcock turkey? it was done in about an hour and a half (and probably could’ve come out earlier).
mmmmm! turkey was a success!
cooking break
tonight we’re taking a break from charlie posts to write about what we’re eating tomorrow for thanksgiving. i like t-day because it’s my time to shine! i love cooking.
- spatchcock turkey (we’ll see how this goes)
- dressing
- potatoes/gravy
- squash
- sweet potato casserole
- green vegetables of some variety
- rolls
- cranberry orange sauce
- pumpkin pie
- pumpkin pecan tart
jane came tonight and the dressing, cranberry sauce, and squash are done. i made a pie and a tart last night. maybe i’ll try to get some pics tomorrow!
it's that time of year again!
no, not christmas. there are at LEAST 4 months until THAT rolls around!
state fair time!!!
nate and i are going on friday when it’s supposed to be cold and rainy. i’m hoping it will deter the crowds and let us have run of the grounds. old standbys as far as food is concerned. i’m definitely stopping at the blue barn again – that was a great addition! i’d like to get a cannoli this year in addition to the normal stuff (especially that deep-fried milky way, mm mmm).
so, prepare yourself for pics come friday evening or saturday!
FOODBLOG canning season
OMG WOW this weekend was a whirlwind of cooking. it’s harvest time, so i was canning up a storm, and at the same time i made a cheesecake for a birthday tomorrow at work, ice cream, and fancy ribs and potato salad for supper tonight.
BUT CANNING.
a couple weeks ago i put up a batch of pickles and a batch of tomato sauce. this weekend, i canned another batch of each as well as some pickled green beans and salsa. oh, and blanched some green beans for freezing. i was a canning fool all weekend. i’m glad it’s over. i enjoy doing it, but it’s a lot of work.
an ode to 1970s joy of cooking
i think i’ve waxed eloquent about my circa 1970s joy of cooking that contains sections on canning, freezing, making preserves, and even recipes for rabbit.
well, it was that time of year again, so i pulled out my JoC and started canning. got two batches of pickles done and a batch of tomato sauce (and froze some green beans).
sorry for the break
it’s been too long 🙁
here are a couple pics. i am happy to see green things growing again.
i’m also happy that i made chocolate-peanut butter ice cream…
why you should make your own cheesecake!
cheesecake is so yummy and delicious, and people have a preconception that cheesecake is very difficult to make. take those preconceptions and toss them straight out the window!
i make a cheesecake for easter every year, and every year i am always amazed at how easy it really it.
seven ingredients. the hardest thing you have to do is crush up some graham crackers for the crust.
the post mixing can be a bit unorthodox if you’re just used to pouring something in a pan and shoving it in the oven. you need to give the cake a water bath. so i place my cheesecake pan in a large piece of foil, then place that in my roaster pan. boil some water and fill the roaster til the water’s halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
why the sudden infatuation with cheesecake? well, easter’s coming up, but also i’m baking one for a competition at work, which is styled like iron chef. we got pretzels, choco chips, and bacon to incorporate into a baked good.
i used the pretzels for the crust, melted the chocolate chips for a ganache topping, and the bacon will be used for a garnish. here’s hoping for the win!
why you should make your own ice cream
i can list a multitude of reasons to make your own ice cream instead of buying it from the store, but it really boils down to two reasons:
1. it’s easy
2. it’s DELICIOUS.
(ok, really this can really be boiled down to ONE reason – #2).
since i try my best to stay away from corn syrups, i end up not being able to buy 98% of the ice in your average grocery store. breyer’s makes a few flavors of DS-free ice cream, and ben and jerry’s is, for the most part, free of devils syrup, but generally speaking, it’s hard to find a scround without corn syrup in its ingredients. (scround. hee hee.)
so, i requested an ice cream maker for christmas, and so far, i am not disappointed (and i’ve only made about six batches of ice cream).
i’m not gonna lie: the ingredients aren’t necessarily cheap. my go-to chocolate recipe calls for 3-1/2 cups of heavy cream. 2 cups is anywhere from $1.99-$3.75 in the store. add in the sugars, whole milk, and cocoa powder, and it can probably run you $7 for a couple quarts. but considering a pint of ben and jerry’s is $4? i’ll take my homemade! (you can also lean more heavily on the milk instead of cream, but it won’t be as creamy.)
some recipes are a little more complicated, especially those calling for eggs that need to be cooked, but you can find egg-free recipes (i love you, ATK, but the easier the better for ice cream). my chocolate recipe is milk, cream, cocoa, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. mix together, put in ice cream maker, chill, eat. total prep time is, at most, 10 minutes. the hardest part will be waiting for it to chill down enough. if you prefer soft serve, you can eat it right out of the maker.
at this point, after i’m done making some ice cream, i just rinse out the ice cream maker container and throw it back in the freezer so it’s ready to go for the next round.
next on my list of ice cream flavors to try: peanut butter chocolate and cookie dough. when spring comes, i’ll pick some raspberries and strawberries and make fruity ice cream.