Birthday Brunch

I have pretty limited photos because we got distracted by the eating and gorgeous sunshine. However, it was a great example of how to host brunch and still sleep in. Since I was planning to go out dancing the night before, I wanted something really easy to make so that I could have a relaxing birthday morning. My roommate and other friend decided to go all out and do eggs Florentine (as pictured above--how cute are my heart-shaped egg poachers, huh?! I'm still obsessed) and we ended up with an amazing amount of bacon.
Someone else brought the best sausages (pictured above. I could eat all of those right now, oh man) I have ever had and there was lots of juice and champagne (of course). I made champagne cupcakes that can be found here. Those also look a lot prettier than mine...heh. BUT I had Disney Princess Sparkle Frosting. That's right, SPARKLY FROSTING. IT REALLY SPARKLED! It was awesome.
See the sparkles?? And yes, my cupcakes just might say "I win" on them...I also had decorating help. Sadly I forgot to take photos of my actual contribution to the meal and the point of this post. I've made it before in bailey's form like the original version but this one was better:

Boozy Berry Baked French Toast
as adapted from Smitten Kitchen's version

-1 loaf supermarket French or Italian bread (I used Fred Meyer's "Bakery French Loaf"--aka the cheapest one...*but not the baguette)
-3 C milk. I used 1% and it tasted magnificent and rich so I see no need for the whole milk she calls for. I also never have whole milk on hand.
-3 eggs
-2 T sugar
-pinch of salt
-frozen raspberries (maybe 1/2-1 C)
-frozen blackberries (1/4 C)
-raspberry liqueur of any kind. I believe I have a knock off of chambord or framboise but it tastes just as good. I have no idea how much I used but I will explain that in the directions below.

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter.
2. Cut about 3/4 of the bread into thick slices and smush them together in the pan to make a packed layer. Cut more bread as needed to fill the pan and cut on into smaller slices to fill the gaps.
3. Pack berries into the other gaps and sprinkle some on top for good measure.
4. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, and salt together and pour over bread.
5. Drizzle raspberry liqueur over the bread. *Note: put some in a cup or spouted measuring cup so drizzling is easier. You don't want a ton of this stuff because it's so sweet. Think of it as the caramel ribbon in ice cream--it's not a layer of caramel, but almost every bite has a little. That's the best way I can think of to describe how much to use...
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. In the morning, preheat the oven to 425 and bake for about 30 min or until puffy and golden on top. Serve with maple syrup and gloat over how easy and delicious it is.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream

For my friend and ex-co-worker's birthday I decided to visit and bring cupcake. A while ago she'd told me to make peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting for a different event. I didn't because I wasn't sure I was as into the idea of peanut butter cake--that's for next time. This time I figured I'd stick w an awesome chocolate cupcake recipe I already had and see what I could do with peanut butter, powdered sugar, milk, cream cheese, and butter.
The result is awesomeness. Kind of the flavor of homemade Reese's (more peanut buttery and less sugary for those of you who have never had one) combined with the texture of thick butter cream. In other words, totally addictive.
Chocolate cupcakes! For once I managed not to overfill the cupcake liners so I made nice, even, non-gigantic cupcakes!
I had to make sure they were properly cooked...yes, they were.
I tried to frost them beautifully but they ended up looking a bit silly. The ones with the dot of chocolate on top looked cool but the attempt at lines majorly failed. Whatever, they were pretty phenomenal.

This is the recipe for the chocolate cupcakes.

This is the frosting, more or less. I say that because when it comes to making buttercream I cannot be bothered to actually measure things. I just taste as I go. The key to keeping it smooth and creamy is to add the powdered sugar a little at a time.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting:
-1/4-1/2 C creamy peanut butter. I think I used the Trader Joe's creamy one.
-1/4-1/2 STICK of butter (not cup), softened.
-a large scoop of cream cheese (like with a spoon you eat cereal with. You could add more but I wanted this to be really peanut buttery, not cream cheesy with peanut butter flavor so I only used a little).
-powdered sugar.
-milk (I used 1%).

1. Start with a 1/4 c of the butter and a 1/4 c of powered sugar in a big bowl. Beat until incorporated and add more sugar. If it looks dry, add a splash of milk.
2. Add enough sugar so that it stops tasting like you're eating straight butter, but stop before it tastes like butter cream.
3. Add in the peanut butter and cream cheese. Keep adding sugar until the consistency and taste are to your liking. The end!

French Onion Soup

I have probably mentioned before that I really don't eat soup. It's true. I hate it. I caved with miso soup and have been wanting to try french onion soup for a while. I love caramelized onions...to the point where I eat them out right out of the pan. My roommate makes fun of me for this. I figured french onion soup with give me a more dignified reason to do this...
Check out that onion/broth goo! Yumity Yum Yum!
Almost ready for eating. To explain the onion behind the bowls, I grated a little fresh onion onto the soup before broiling the bread and cheese with it as suggested by Smitten Kitchen...I'm not sure it made a huge difference.
Cheese+bread+CARAMELIZED ONIONS=awesome food
I keep making a lot of brown things. It was good though, promise!

French Onion Soup
-3-4 white or yellow onions (1 1/2 lbs or so), shredded
-1 T butter
-drizzle of olive oil (to coat pan)
-spoonful of sugar (helps onions caramelize but you don't have to add it if you don't want)
-2 quarts beef stock (I didn't use this much. I also used some chicken stock and water to lighten it up)
-3 T flour
-1/8 C cooking sherry or red wine vinegar
-1/8 C cider vinegar
*You can use white wine instead but I didn't have any. I also really liked the tanginess that the vinegar brings...
-1/4-1/2 of a baguette, toasted and crumbled/broken into chunks
-1-2 C grated cheese (I used a combo of Swiss and Monterrey jack. I also am not really sure how much I used since I didn't serve all of the soup at once)

1. Heat a very large, deep pan (I used a big cast iron one), melt butter/oil. Shred onions (I use my food processor. It's awesome).
2. Cook onions, adding sugar if you want and more oil or butter as needed, over medium heat until very soft and caramelized.
*Note: Smitten Kitchen suggests that you "Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat to real low and let them slowly steep for 15 minutes"...I did this but am not sure how useful it really was.
3. When onions are caramelized, add flour and stir for a few minutes. Add wine and some stock, stir to combine.
4. Continue adding broth slowly, letting the onions absorb the liquid. Once most of it is added, bring to a simmer and cover slightly for about 30 minutes. Check and taste for consistency and add pepper if you want.
5. To finish everything off: Preheat broiler, top oven-safe bowls of soup w crumbled, toasted baguette, grate cheese and little raw onion on top, and broil until bubbly.

Spice Cupcakes with Lemon Curd

A week or so ago I had this extreme desire to bake something all day. Then I got into this productive mood and decided I wasn't allowed to bake anything until I'd gotten in lots of job hunting. Eventually, I was still "being productive" when my roommate (who actually works and stuff) came home and told me that another friend was coming over to make dinner.

Instead of just deciding to bake something tomorrow, I decided that I absolutely had to bake something right that second. I also decided that I didn't want to go to the store. This was slightly a problem. I wanted something fast, which meant cupcakes or brownies or something. As opposed to bread, for example, that needs to rise. I also didn't have milk, yogurt, or chocolate chips. Or much butter. I initially wanted to make ginger cookies. Not sure why since they're more of a wintery cookie but whatever. Alas, no molasses! I was discouraged. I don't like yellow cake much, vanilla cupcakes are boring, and chocolate cupcakes aren't as good if you aren't adding chocolate (alongside cocoa powder) into the batter (or so I thought. More on that later.). I felt like I was going to fail and I was not pleased about this. As a last resort I checked my cupcake cookbook (yes, ONLY cupcakes) for a spice cupcake recipe without molasses as a possible compromise. I WON! They exist and called for sour cream, which I had! Totally exciting. And quite delish when topped with lemon curd!

"Spiced Sour Cream Cupcakes"
Not really adapted from Fergal Connolly's 500 Cupcakes

*Note: apparently "the hearty flavor of these cupcakes [is] perfect for tailgating parties and fall picnics"...who knew!

-1 1/2 c flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-(2 tsp) cinnamon but I always do my spices to taste
-(1 tsp allspice), see above
-cloves, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, ginger: a sprinkle of each
-2 eggs
-3/4 C sour cream (I used lite and it still tasted delish)
-1 C brown sugar, packed
-3 T each golden raisins and chopped pecans if you like. I don't like either so I skipped that part.
*Note #2: The recipe says it makes 1 1/2 dozen but it barely made me 1 dozen...

1. Preheat over to 350. Line muffin tins.
2. Sift dry ingredients into a medium bowl, set aside.
3. Beat eggs and sour cream until combined, add sugar and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients in batches until smooth.
5. Spoon batter into cups and bake about 20 min.

Top with lemon curd. I didn't make mine. You can, but I already had pre-made lemon curd on hand.
*Note #3: The recipe calls for a cream cheese frosting with orange juice and zest. It's probs lovely, but I didn't have cream cheese on hand...

Beef Stroganoff

I really don't eat enough meat. I love it but it gets a bit expensive and I just really don't think to buy it for some reason. Well, the other day I was feeling tired and lethargic and realized it's probably because I haven't had any red meat in a while. I decided to resolve that by cooking some meat. Brilliant plan. I wasn't sure what to make until I started chatting with one of the people I volunteer for. She immediately told me I had to make beef stroganoff. I can hardly remember the last time I had beef stroganoff and have certainly never made it. She told me how easy it was and I was hooked!

My biggest concern was the mushrooms. I can't stand the texture. The flavor is fine, it's just the texture that gets me. I resolved this by chopping them up super, super tiny. Like the size of minced onion.
Meat! Yum! I love that we finally have a knife that cuts it easily!
Brown the meat all over. A lot of recipes tell you to brown it in batches but I didn't bother. I just kept tossing it until everything was browned.
Onions and leeks and browned-meat-leftovers.
Cooking everything, pre-meat. Yum. Make sure to taste it as you go and keep adding spices and herbs.
MEAT! And below, the finished product! Unfortunately this may be one of the ugliest dishes to make and photograph...too bad they haven't figured out a way to make scratch-n-sniff pictures for the computer...

Beef Stroganoff (slightly adapted from Doran's Mom's version)
(makes about 3 good-sized servings)

-3/4 lb beef tenderloin (I got the cheapest I could find at Whole Foods and it was like $4!) trimmed of fat and chopped into 1-2 inch pieces
-3 or 4 little white mushrooms (or more, but I don't like them), very finely diced
-3/4 of a large white onion
-the white and light green parts of a leek, finely chopped
-olive oil
-salt n pepper
-nutmeg
-1/4 c sherry
-1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
-1/8 c red wine
-beef broth or water (I used beef broth)--as much or as little as you like depending on how soupy you want everything
-oregano
-1 tablespoons flour
-2 large spoonfuls of (low fat) sour cream or more or less to taste
-egg noodles

1. Cut steak and toss with flour, salt, pepper. Brown in oil or butter over medium heat. Once brown on all sides, remove from heat.
2. In the same pan: heat a little more oil if needed add the onions and leeks until soft and then add the mushrooms. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits of meat, until mushrooms are tender.
3. Meanwhile, set water on to boil and cook the egg noodles.
4. Add the sherry and Worcestershire to the onion/leek/mushroom mix, add herbs/spices to taste. Cook for a bit, continuing to scrape the bottom, and then add a little beef broth.
5. Bring to a boil, add meat and simmer until the meat is cooked. Add more beef broth as needed to keep enough liquid in the pan.
6. Once meat is done, turn off the heat and stir in sour cream.
7. Serve with noodles!

*Note: this reheats well!

Shortcuts

Who doesn't like shortcuts? I like all kinds...shortcuts when walking, driving, cooking, etc. However, since my sense of direction is dreadful, I don't really trust myself to take them. Luckily, cooking doesn't require a sense of direction so I can use those shortcuts.


The other night I was slightly hungry and going out to meet a friend at a bar and needed to leave fairly quickly. I could have made my favorite fast snack-toast-but I'm trying to eat other things besides bread. That got me thinking about things that I always like to have on hand so I don't have an excuse to make toast. Namely: pyrex (microwave steaming), frozen rice that cooks in minutes, meal starters (like noodles+sauce that you can add veggies to), soy vay, sweet chili sauce, canned tomatoes, and canned black beans. And a sharp knife.
The Indian and Asian meal starters are handy because you don't have to have all the spices or sauces that so often are used in those cuisines and only those cuisines (fish sauce, curry powder, rice vinegar, garam masala, etc). I actually happen to have almost all those things on hand, but sometimes I'm hungry and don't want to find all the spices and sauces, or I'm just feeling lazy. Or I want to make dinner with someone else and just bring over a nice little packet rather than several bottles and baggies. I did this the other night actually. I grabbed one of the Asian ones that comes with noodles and a sauce. We added garlic, broccoli, snow peas, and zucchini and made a totally easy, yummy meal.

The glass bowl and lid (with the broccoli on it) is my favorite pyrex. It's the perfect size to microwave veggies in! I add the veggies with a few tablespoons of water and microwave in 30-second intervals until they're bright green and still a little crunchy. It really beats steaming stuff in a steamer on the stove. Plus you can even drain the water out and then eat the veggies right out of the pyrex--only one dish to wash! Which is important if you don't have a dishwasher. Someday...someday...

Trader Joe's Frozen Rice is one of the most exciting finds I've come across. I hate making rice. I don't have a rice cooker and don't want one because my kitchen isn't really big enough. I don't like washing the rice and always get it stuck to the bottom of whatever pot I cook it in. And then I have to soak it forever to get the rice out. I don't know what my issue is. However, this frozen rice (brown or jasmine, are your options I think) is awesome and cooks in about 3-4 minutes in the microwave. So easy and it never burns!

Canned tomatoes (diced or not, I really don't care much) and canned beans. I usually have black beans because they go nicely with rice and onions and garlic which we always have on hand. You can make burritos or rice bowls without much effort. Canned tomatoes are always handy. You can use them for salsa, burritos, tomato sauce for pasta, eggs in hell, etc. Nice to keep these around.

Sweet Chili Sauce. My favorite sauce. I'm addicted. I'll even eat it on crackers... You can put it on rice and veggies (or just veggies which is what I ended up having the night that all of these shortcuts came to mind), you can dip spring rolls into it, it would probably be great on crackers with cream cheese. Really, put it on everything. I bet it would be a great dipping sauce for seafood or pork too.

Soy Vay. I grew up with this stuff and thought everyone did too. Apparently this is not the case. Poor kids, they've missed out! This, like chili sauce, is awesome on rice and veggies. It's a fab marinade for any meat, and I always put it in burgers.

Sharp knives are amazing. This one, sadly for me, is my roommates. It's glorious and actually cuts things without any effort! I can't wait to cut meat with it.

April: Bread

Thanks again Mark Bittman! You make my life awesome because I can make super good bread for a quarter (if that) of the price I'd normally pay!

Jim Lahey's No-Work Bread
from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

-4 C flour
-1/2 teaspoon yeast
-2 teaspoons salt
-2 C lukewarm water
-olive oil

1. Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a big bowl. Add water and stir until blended. Dough will be sticky and shaggy.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight and then some (about 18 hours). The surface will be dotted with bubbles.
3. Lightly flour a counter or table, turn the bread onto it and fold it a couple of times until it's smooth and soft. Add it into another deep bowl that's been lightly greased with the olive oil.
4. Let rise for at least 2 hours (I usually allow at least 4 because my house is cold) until the dough has more than doubled in size and doesn't spring back once poked.
5. At least half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450. Put a 3-4 quart oven-proof pot with an oven-proof lid (I use a cast iron dutch oven) in the oven and let it heat up.
6. When the dough is ready, dump it into the pot and cover it. Bake for 30 min with the lid on and then 20 min longer without the lid. Let cool before slicing (or at least try to. I never can)