Cake Pops

This post may be a bit deceiving. I like to think that blogs (food blogs especially) are posted in real time. As in, I just made these. The problem is, I made these close to 7 months ago for my besties birthday. Full disclosure.
Here's the thing: homegirl doesn't like big productions on her birthday. Especially if she has to plan it. Give her a hammock and a mimosa, she's set. Then make an obnoxiously cute batch of cake pops and bring them to her office. Best friends are responsible for providing a healthy dose of humility on your 25th.

The most disturbing/satisfying part of this production is the fact that you have to pulverize a perfectly good cake.

Pulse it in a food processor until the crumbs become fine but still defined.

Mix with a tub of frosting, any flavor will do. Form into balls. Grab your lolli sticks and push em' in half-way through the ball. I dipped my sticks in the melted candy coating to act as an adhesive. You don't want your balls detaching from the sticks.

Here's the fun part. Dip the little guys in the candy melts that you've melted in a double boiler. Gently tap off any excess coating. If you plan on using sprinkles, lay it on now, before the coating has dried. I turned an egg carton over and stuck them in to set before wrapping.Show your best pal how much you love her. Make cake pops for her birthday and talk about them 7 months later.

Pumpkin Butter

When life gives you pumpkins, make butter. The good news is, this pumpkin butter doesn't actually have any butter. The bad new is, this pumpkin butter doesn't actually have any butter.

Quick flash back: I experienced a very dark time in my life 6 years ago. It started with a love affair with peanut butter. The affair soon turned into an unhealthy, overly-dependent relationship. Don't get me wrong, peanut butter can be a healthy addition to toast, bananas, smoothies, etc. However, there comes a point when a spoon becomes a dangerous and evil tool that allows pure, untainted peanut butter to melt on the roof of your mouth a couple dozen times a day. You begin to consider a Costco membership just to bypass those pesky 18oz. jars in exchange for a vat.

Don't act like you've never done it.

Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic. But in all seriousness, I cannot purchase peanut butter and have it lying casually around the house. I've come to terms with this reality; the pumpkin butter helps ease the withdrawals.

Grab the following ingredients:

1 can pure pumpkin

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 C apple sauce

2 tbsp pumpkin spice

1/2 C sugar

Throw it all in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil, turn to low and simmer for at least 45 minutes. Inhale fall.

A spoon is totally appropriate.

8 Months Later All I Have to Share is an Egg Sandwich

Hi! Me again. I'm back for an admittedly half-assed post. Thanks for the strike of inspiration, Renz. Here's the first of what will become regular ramblings from my new kitchen in Denver. Not to worry, I brought my sous chef. He seems to be adjusting well.

Fortunately this new kitchen is shared with these beauties:

Who also happen adore baked goodies. They even say nice things about my experiments that don't turn out well.
So here it is, the Saturday Egg sandwich:

Remember that one time I made english muffins? Yeah, do it. Then saute some cherry tomatoes until they're wilty, slightly caramelized and spreadable. Fry an egg. Grab some goat cheese. Easy, right? I'll even lay it out in case you're still debating whether or not to make this Saturday, mid-morning.
Ingredients:
-English muffin (preferably home-made)

-Egg

-Goat cheese

-Cherry tomatoes

Directions:

1. Saute tomatoes with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Once they begin to wilt, smash em! Watch out, tomato juice to the eye is not helpful for clearing a post-Friday night fog.

2. Toast your english muffin.

3. Fry an egg, save a pan and crack it beside the tomatoes. They need a soft introduction before straddling one another in the sandwich anyway.

4. Spread goat cheese over english muffin. This will act as an adhesive for the tomatoes which you will spread over the cheese.

5. Add the egg.

6. Top with other half of the muffin. Press down, watch the yolk mingle with tomatoes and goat cheese.

Here is the part where you get some options:

1. Pair with a bloody mary, mimosa or a warm, half-consumed beer. It is Saturday, after all.
2. Savor the sandwich and go back to bed.

3. Combine #1 and #2 if you're feeling ambitious.

Amen.

Sweet/Spicy Almond Flat Bread

I've always had a weakness for flat bread and focaccia. However, I've always struggled a bit with the spicy sweet combination. I used to deem fruit in my savory salads inedible. What I'm getting at is the fact that usually a recipe that includes honey mixed with red pepper flakes would not even get a once over from me. Problem is, this recipe had a picture next to it. It showcased golden crusts with toasted almonds, rosemary and a faint glaze. Since I was on bread duty for Thanksgiving, I decided to give it a go.

Adapted from Cooking Light:

1/2 C sliced almonds
1/2 olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (grows like weeds in Seattle)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup warm 1% milk
1 tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
3 1/4 flour
1 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 large egg white

Combine first three ingredients in small saucepan, boil one minute until golden (infusing the olive oil) and drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Toss almonds with pepper flakes and sea salt
WARNING: While you might think you are just having a "few" of these before baking, a "few" quickly turns into half. Make extra, you won't be sorry.
Combine milk, sugar and yeast in large bowl until it bubbles (approx. 5 min.) Add 1 1/4 C flour and reserved oil, 1 tsp salt and egg yolk, beat at low speed until combined. Gradually add remaining flour, beat at low speed until elastic. Coat cookie sheet with oil and press dough out until it's about 3/4 inch thick.
Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour or double in size.
Preheat oven to 350. Combine oil, powdered sugar, honey and egg white, brush half of mixture over bread.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remain egg white, sprinkle with almonds, bake for another 10 minutes.
Finito!

Hum Bow

Every once in a while, after a long night of cocktails, you need a good dose of grease for breakfast. Until I moved to Seattle, I had no idea Dim Sum existed. Now, on a Saturday morning, I crave the little dishes they bring around on a cart. One of my favorites is steamed hum bow. It has a spongy-bread exterior and is usually filled with sweet, barbecued chicken or pork. I used a recipe from All Recipes.
It starts like a typical bread that has to rise.
Shape dough into a...log, for lack of a better word.
Divide into individual patties. Logs, patties? Sorry, I don't know where my appetizing vocabulary went.
Flatten out the...patties. Add the marinated/cooked pork.
Wrap it up in a nice little package. It's good practice for Christmas.
After successfully wrapping the pork, let it rise again before steaming.
I put mine in a wok with about an inch and a half of simmering water and WALA!
And you don't even have to leave the house.
Did I mention you can also bake it with sugar and egg white brushed over the top?
Yup, you can bake it. This guy ended up being stuffed with cinnamon, sugar and apples.

The end.

Apples (cont.)

The bar has become my fallback dessert. It feels a little more gourmet than a cookie but only takes a tiny bit more effort. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com that was originally for a blueberry bar. The ingredient list is short and sweet:

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
• 2 large apples thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch

Next time I'll add more apple, I would have liked to have a thicker layer. This makes a BIG batch, not to worry, they freeze well!
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and cinnamon, if desired. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the shortening and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the apples. Sprinkle the apple mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the apple layer.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Apples!

I know I'm a little late to the apple craze/season but I suddenly found myself with 10 pounds of Fiji's. You know when you go to a store and use your card to pay for a pack of gum and some trail mix that total $4.10 (with tax) and the sweet woman working the cash register reminds you that they only accept cards for purchases over $5? Do you take the hit and let them dock an extra 50 cents on? Or do you quickly scan for something in the $1 range close to the register because Damn These People Aren't Making Money Off Me! This woman was really pushing the apples. We were at Remlinger Farm at the tail end of apple season and apparently they reaped more than they bargained for. Homegirl was not letting us out of that place without a wheelbarrow of apples. So we left with 10 pounds of fiji's for 90 cents, that's how we roll.
My mind already started racking through apple recipes on the drive home. I wanted sweet and savory. That brings us to Apple Cheddar scones.
They start with roasted apples.
They get mixed with shredded cheddar, an egg, half and half, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
It's kneaded and formed into a circle shape and cut into quarters.
Brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sea salt.
Sweet and savory goodness.
Recipe adapted from Smitten.

Another apple recipe coming soon!