Whatever Martha

Hello World,

I spent a good part of this week with one of my favorite moguls, Martha Stewart, or two of her books at least.  Since I want to get my house in order I decided to borrow Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook from the library. I learned tons of great stuff and think it's a great book to have on hand when you are trying to figure out things like how to unclog a drain or get a stain out of something. I also realized that there is no way in the world I could do half of the things in her book and actually have a life. This book seems to be geared toward people who manage people's homes for a living. That being said I really liked a lot of the information in it and would recommend that anyone should flip through the book and learn something new.

I also borrowed and renewed her Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook to see if I like it before I buy it. I enjoyed reading through the general baking tips and techniques. I'm the type of person that really likes to know the what ingredients bring to a recipe like why room temperature butter is important. Martha's book does a good job at this, but Bon Appetit Desserts does a great job. In December I made her cranberry-almond biscotti for Christmas gifts and they were a hit. So much so that I had to bring more to the in-laws the following week.  I made some with just cranberries for the baby and she loved them. A few weeks ago I made her Chocolate Chunk cookies and they came out good as well. I'm embarrassed to say that my favorite cookie of all time is Pillsbury Chocolate chip cookies.  Maybe in a previous life I was a cookie taster...anyway it was definitely a good cookie, but I prefer a chewier cookie.

This weeks pick were her scones. I looooove scones and couldn't not make these. My husband couldn't find any dried currants on his grocery run so I decided to split the recipe in half and make half chocolate chip and half cranberry. They came out great. They were soft and tender and the cream/egg wash made the top a little flaky.  The great thing is that you can freeze them and then pop them in the oven for 30 minutes for breakfast in the morning. Surprisingly they are sweet enough with the add ins considering there is only 2 tablespoons of sugar in the mixture.  I did sprinkle the top with sanding sugar to add some crunch. I definitely recommend you try this recipe.

Currant Scone (Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

4/1/2 cups all- purpose flour                     1 cup dried currants
2 tbs granulated sugar                               2 1/4 heavy cream, plus more if needed
2 tbs baking powder                                 1 large egg yolk
1 tsp baking soda                                      Sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
1 tsp salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold
   cut into small pieces

Line two baking sheets with parchment pater;set  aside. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger clumps remaining. Fold in the currants.  Make a well in the center.

Pour 2 cups cream into the flour mixture. Using your hands, draw the dry ingredients over the cream, gradually gathering and combing the dough until it just comes together.  If it is too dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  With lightly floured hands, gently press and pat the dought into an 11- by -7-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick.  Using a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut the rectangle into 16 triangles.  Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheets; cover with plastic wrap and freeze until the dough is very firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.  (At this point, you can freeze the unbaked scones in a resealable plastic bag until ready to bake, up to 3 weeks.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk with the remaining 1/4 cup cream; brush over the tops of the scones and sprinkle generously wit sanding sugar, if using.  Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until the tops are golden and flecked with brown spots, 30 to 35 minutes.  You can also lift one scone with a spatula to check that the bottom is golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  They are best eaten the day they are baked.


Smooches,

Keli
What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Bon Appetit World

I've been looking through quite a few baking cookbooks recently and have come across a few good ones. For Christmas I received Bon Appetit Desserts and read the entire 630 page cookbook twice! I fell in love with the recipes that I saw and the descriptions made me hungry instantly. I have flagged the first 36 recipes that I would like to try over the coming weeks and will write about each one to share with you.

Yesterday, I decided to try a two whisk recipe; each recipe has a rating from 1 whisk- easy to 4 whisk's-  not for the faint of heart. The Carrot Cake with Buttermilk Glaze and Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting is delicious; yes it does have both a glaze and frosting. I never ever ever want to know that calorie content of this wonderful cake. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but after reading the description I couldn't pass up trying it out.  It was easy to make and the recipe was easy to follow.

My husband and I loved it so much that we gave some away to get it out of the house and keep it off of our waists. I would definitely suggest this recipe if you like carrot cake. See the recipe from Bon Appetit Desserts below.

Cake                                                                        Glaze
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour                        1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda                                                    1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp ground cinnamon                                           1/2 cup (1 stick)  unsalted butter, diced
1/2 tsp salt                                                               1 tbs light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar                                                      1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 large eggs                                                             1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups coarsely grated peeled carrots
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans


Frosting

1 1/2 8- ounce package Philadelphia- brand cream  cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1-pound box powdered sugar
2 tbs (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Smooches,

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Keli

New Beginnings for a New Year

Hello World! You would think that with all this extra time on my hands I would be on top of my blog. Sorry, but I've been trying to organize my house so that I can breathe. I've been playing with the baby, organizing, cleaning and buying bins (a secret hobby of mine). I'm trying to get to all of the things that inevitably seem to fall to the bottom of the to do list.

I must admit I started off this new year in a bit of a tizzy, which is not at all what I had in mind as 2010 was winding down.  While my house is coming together my mental 'house' is in a mess. I'm working on figuring out what career I would like to pursue, while working on my business plan and trying not to freak out about money all at the same time. While watching my mentor in my head, Oprah's new network OWN, I saw a Dr. Phil spot where he said make a list of your priorities and if you find that you aren't working on number one then stop and get back to one. So that is what I'm going to do. I went to my office and wrote my priorities on my dry erase board. 1. Bake :):):) 2. Work on business plan 3. Work on career plan.

The plan is to work on these priorities on the days that the baby goes to daycare (3 days a week) and in the evenings after she goes to bed. I'm trying to be realistic about my time committments. Wish me and my waistline luck.

Smooches,


Keli
What would you do if you weren't afraid?