Loving Ophelia

Now I'm Just Making Shit Up

2010-09-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for Ophelia and me -- we had our first dinner party at our new house. We've had guests over, but this was our first major event with more than a couple of people. I have some really nice new colleagues here, so I thought it would be nice to bring some of them together for a little party. I had a great time. I hope I speak for everyone. :)

So, what you're seeing with this post is a cake that I just made up. Ok, well, it's not that ingenious, but whatever. I'm calling it "Inverted Oreo" -- chocolate with a whipped cream and oreo filling/frosting. It was hella good. And hella messy. Ophelia did a bang up job with the chocolate cake and the frosting -- you can see her in the background after having just worked super hard. She's posing, spatula on her hip and everything. What a show off. I suppose she's entitled.

In other news, I tried to light my kitchen on fire tonight, too. Apparently it's a bad idea to set a towel on a burner you forgot to turn off. Huh. Lesson learned. Of course, one of my new colleagues was in the kitchen talking to me, and as I'm thinking "huh, something smells weird," she's yelling, "holy shit, fire!" and taking the towel off the stove and throwing it in the sink. And all these years I thought I was really reactionary. I guess not. A little embarrassing. Also one of my favorite towels. I also told said guests that they needed to kind of fend for themselves with drinks, etc. -- it was just too many needs for me to handle. I am not, as it turns out, the hostess with the mostest. Whoops.

I am also failing, miserably, with this whole "cake of the week" business. I think I might have to re-group and come back at it in January. Too much going on, I tell you. Ophelia doesn't mind, she says -- she's still getting used to her new perch, anyway.

Hopefully we'll have more next week, and we'll still have a house standing around us. :)

Love,
M&O Productions

Cakes and Pies, Cakes and Pies

2010-09-13T19:52:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's more like "pies" than "cakes and pies," but I was pretty excited about this find, mostly because it's apple season here in WI! The bro and bro's GF came to visit, so we went to the apple stand, and got some apples -- can you see those beauties? Wow.

So, we're also way behind with our cake a week plan. Ophelia has been yelling at me, but I told her yelling wasn't helping, so she toned it down a bit. This job is a little, well, intense, which is a good thing but doesn't leave me a lot of time to recover. So, we're behind. We're dealing.

A funny teaching moment the other day: In prof/tech writing, I bring in a press release from the DNR about cougar attacks. I am sure you are reacting just like my students did when I started saying things like "interesting, these tags -- don't provoke a cougar, don't move if you see a cougar in your path." None of this registers with me until I see a non-traditional student in the corner crying because he is laughing so hard. My teacher bad.

More later -- we're exhausted, but hope you're well!

Love,
M&O Productions

Put a lime in the coconut...

2010-09-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is my new colleague, D. We just had eaten a wonderful meal of homemade Indian food, and I was to bring dessert. When I got back from having a pedicure (yay, pedicure before school starts!), my plan was to make a coconut cream cake. But, I had no cream cheese, and I kind of wanted trifle. So, I made this recipe up. First, Ophelia and I made a white cake with macerated coconut. Then, we began toasting some coconut for texture. Then, we made some coconut pudding, and some whipped cream. Then, we put it all together. And seriously, it was amazing. I might have had, um, 3 servings. Normally I don't like anything we make that much, but this was really light and good and coconutty. YUM.

We were a little late with this post this week -- lots happening! It's meetings week here, and I sent off my first full article for review to a journal! I am sure it will get rejected, but those who know me know that even just sending it off was a big deal. I'm still working on syllabi, of course, because when do I not work on things up until they are due? I also finally have my office set up, I think -- now I just need to put some pictures in it.

Tomorrow I head to Chicago to see T&A (yep, that's right) and go to a Train concert. Should be great. I have missed Chicago, horribly, and will be glad to drive up Lakeshore once again. It's good to be a gangsta. Wait, I meant back in the Midwest.

This week also marked my Grams' 87th birthday. She visited our new house, and even commented on how nicely the kitchen color matched Ophelia. And she ate a cookie or two -- Ophelia was flattered.

More to come next week -- we sound so boring these days! We're tired; sorry. Hopefully once we get in the groove, things will get a little easier and we'll be a little more humorous. :)

More soon!

Love,
M&O Productions

But If I Had the Chance to Go Back, I'd Rather Stay Right Here...I'm Turning 30

2010-08-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, you're correct, I've already turned 30. That's how Ophelia and I came to be. I love every anniversary with her, but this post isn't about me, it's about my bro's GF, M. Now, M is a trooper -- she hangs out with my family a lot. Enough said. ;) And M. likes chocolate. A lot. For a little girl, she has an awesome appetite. I appreciate that about her.

Now, M. turned 30 this week, and so for this week's cake, I told her I'd make her any cake she wanted. She requested a fruit and chocolate cake. This is the best one I make, but after having screwed it up this summer, I was a little hesitant. Ophelia said it was because I didn't use her. She said to give it a try. So we did. It turned out pretty good.

The last picture is M. on her 30th birthday. Isn't she lovely? She's just as kind and sweet as she looks. My brother is a lucky guy. Happy 30th, M!

More on Sunday!

Love,
M&O Productions

Good, Good, Good, Good Intentions...

2010-08-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, O. and I started out with good intentions. We made a carrot cake, earlier than the deadline we gave ourselves for the year-o-cakes. Then I ran out of time to decorate it, so we thought we'd wait and make another. We thought we'd bookend with cakes we knew we were good at. So, our second was a chocolate and peanut butter cake. Yum. And these were pretty good, although it's clear we are still getting used to the new stove (which burns SO hot, whoa). But, again, we ran out of time for decorating. Why? Well, let us tell you.

Painting. Painting takes SO long. Well, so long when you're not exactly color adept and think you keep your paint swatches straight, but you so don't. And since we've moved in, we've painted four rooms, one of them twice. The sheer stupidity of that astounds me, but we're both much happier with the second kitchen color, which you'll see in the next post.

These cakes were good for our first cakes in our kitchen. Some new colleagues got to taste both of them, and they seemed to like them. I am still having a thing for the cookies, however. Oh those cookies, those sweet, chocolatey cookies...

We'll tell more in our next post -- we've been making cakes, just not writing about them! Sheesh.

Love to all,
M&O Productions

All I Want is to be Home

2010-08-02T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, these posted backwards, despite my best efforts, but here goes nothing.

We're finally home -- back in the Upper Midwest, Ophelia and I are. We are SO happy. It's cooler. It's lush. I walk out my back door and I see a Bluff in the distance. This is all pretty awesome.

Since we got to NC, our goal was to get back. We're here now; we're home. And we're lovin' it.

Finally, after a week, the kitchen is set up, and Ophelia was ready to roll. Her first project were these cookies, also known as cookies to die for. They are seriously that good. Like "take the last cookie and I'll hunt you down" good.

Apparently the recipe is from a book called Beat This but I got it from my cousin Dan. I ate three of them. Don't judge me.

What do you think of our new kitchen digs? Ophelia loves that she has a little counter all to herself. She's made friends with the recipe box, so no fighting there for attention. They work well together.

We're still adjusting, but hey, we're here! Looking forward to more baking in this space!

M&O Productions

Kick, Push, Coast...

2010-07-21T20:15:00.001-07:00

In honor of moving, my blue girl and I have been listening to some Lupe Fiasco. Ok, so we have no idea what that has to do with moving. We just find him pretty awesome. We love us some "Kick, Push" and that's exactly what we're doin' -- Kick, Push, and Coastin' our way outta here!

So, we're on the move again. Ophelia is glad I kept her box -- she feels snug as a bug in there, see pic. No, that beefy hand is not mine, although it really could be, at the rate I've been taping and lifting boxes these days. Nope, that's V., the infamous Dad who has come to drive the truck back to WI. He's also the reason I didn't get an "Ophelia moving action shot" -- and I quote -- "what the heck are you doing? Taking pictures of your mixer? Dumbest thing I ever heard. Go pack a box." I told him I was telling Ophelia's minions he said that. Let him know what's up the next time you see him.

So, complete with a "Fragile" sticker (we big girls always are :) ), Ophelia and I are ready for the next adventure in our lives. So long, NC -- it's been real, and it's been fun, but not real fun. Wisconsin holds a lot more snow, cakes, and pies for both of us.

Much love, and more as we move!

M. and O.

And after a long, long hiatus...

2010-07-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

We're back! Literally. We're coming back to the Midwest, we're meaning me and Ophelia. So much has happened since we last wrote. It's been quite a year for both of us. I got a job. Ophelia and M. and I made cakes for a wedding celebration. I got to see K finish his dissertation, defend it, and then celebrate K&P's adventure to Texas. I finished and defended a dissertation. Ophelia and I moved to NC. I started and finished my first year as an Assistant Professor. Ophelia has two new BFFs -- Hermoine (a really nice risotto pot) and Pippi (a very cool 2-in-one flame colored stock pot and skillet), courtesy of two very thoughtfully amazing gift-givers (K&P). I hosted my first Thanksgiving for T&A, A&D&W. K & I were hooded in December. I went on the job market. I landed a new job. Unfortunately, in all the hubbub, Ophelia has been pretty bored, to be honest, and I've been pretty, well, crazy. I've been in the NC now for almost 11 months. And I'll be moving away in just under 12. I have a little more than 2 1/2 weeks left here, and then we are bound for Wisconsin. Beer and cheese, baby! And SNOW! Ah, snow. Ok, no snow right now, but there will be snow, which is music to my ears. Plus I have a garage, so it's all good. :) Oh yeah -- I also bought a house -- yes, me! I have a house! It's cute. Nothing big, but it's mine, and I can't wait to get in it. I knew it was the house when I walked in, looked at a nook in the corner of the kitchen counter and said, yep, that's where I can put Ophelia. It's perfect. She can't wait.

So, in celebration of this new job, and being close to my given family, and having some great new colleagues, and getting this job which has kind of always been my dream job, Ophelia and I have decided to embark on a new task for ourselves. Modeled after All Cakes Considered, we are going to bake a cake a week, starting August 16th, 2010. We're going to try some new recipes, do some new decorating, and get the hang of this new kitchen that we'll hopefully be in for a while now. She and I are both sick of moving. Honestly, we're a couple of big girls to jostle around like that all time. :)

So, stay tuned for the inaugural cake at my new house in Wisconsin. Until then, here is a pic of Ophelia's latest work. I f-ed this cake up but good when I visited my dear friends K&P in Texas a few weeks ago. I almost cried, I was so frustrated -- it's labor intensive, and since I don't see them much anymore, it really sucked to mess it up. So, I had to try to figured out what I did to it. While baking this one, I realized I didn't use enough chocolate with theirs. Explains a lot, and lesson learned. Now I owe them a cake.

Happy 4th of July! I'm feeling like we have lots to celebrate...

We're Back (Sort of)

2009-03-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Boy, has Ophelia been feeling neglected lately. And, the neglect continued with the cake T. and I decided to mak e Saturday night.

This story actually begins Friday evening, when I was commissioned to take my friend M. up to Midway to fly out to see her friend in Mississippi. We're half-way up to Chicago, when M. turns to me and says:

M1: Hey, Mom has been looking for updates on Loving Ophelia -- what gives?
M2: (Drama Queens out) I'm an idiot and broke my camera a couple of months ago, and so haven't been able to take any pictures, and figured without pictures, what's the use?
M1: Oh

A few seconds go by...

M1: Um, dude, don't you have an iPhone with a camera on it.
M2: Shit.

So, here we are -- have figured out how to upload photos from the iPhone (which still needs a name -- suggestions?), and we're back in business. Unfortunately, Ophelia didn't make an appearance in this concoction, but that's ok -- she's just happy the blog is back in business.

As you can see from T.'s Vanna White impression, instead of going to the concert that we thought we would, we stayed home and baked a cake. A dulce de leche cake, to be exact. But, we figured several things out in this process:

1. Cakes that use eggs as levening agents suck.
2. We don't have enough patience for a cake you can't mix and dump in a pan.
3. We'd rather drink wine and eat cheese and order chinese food.

So, the final outcome of the cakes was that we baked them, looked at them, and eventually threw them away. What a waste. I tasted them, though, and they were awful. I'm not sure what happened, but man, they were bad. Tasted like a cross between cardboard and styrofoam. Yum.

Ophelia claims that it was because we didn't involve her in the process that the cakes didn't turn out. She may very well be right.

I also included some gratuitous shots of T. with wine, and T. with wine and greek cheese from Chicago (that's how good of a friend that girl is:). That's how we spent our weekend. It was AWESOME.

More later, I promise, now that I've got the iPhone thing figured out (thanks M.!). Shout out to M's Mom J.! I'm back!

Love,
Hibbs and Ophelia

No Pictures, but a Quick Update

2009-01-17T20:46:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year (wow, we're late -- our bad). So, as you can see, things got a even more hectic after Thanksgiving. I got a little busy, between prepping for interviews, travels to MN and then to CA, add in a few Christmas celebrations, ringing in 2009, and trying to get some work done on my dissertation, Ophelia has been wondering if I forgot she existed. And, then when I did remember, and actually baked something, I couldn't take any pictures because I broke my freaking camera. Awesome.

But, life update -- I did, indeed, fly, and was fine. Took enough Xanax to anesthetize a horse, which might have also helped. It was pretty entertaining. I am fairly certain that I may have passed out on the plane home. I say fairly certain because, to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot about that flight. Probably a good thing. I really liked San Francisco, although the hills left a little to be desired for this fat girl. I do recall climbing up Lombard, looking up at my friends K&P and my brother, and thinking that the interviewing won't matter, because I may die of a heart attack right here. But, obviously, I did not die, so all was well. The brother and I did some really hilarious stuff -- rented a "Go Car" -- almost didn't make it up a hill, and spent a couple of hours in a helmet. Am going to make the brother send pictures of that. You really must see it. Ate LOTS of great food, especially seafood, and saw all kinds of things. I had never been to California before, and I really enjoyed it, even with the interviewing. Stayed up on Knob Hill (will save the hotel story for another time), and it was lovely. All in all, though, I'm glad it's over, to be honest. Now, I'm just back to working on the diss. Aargh.

So, long story longer, I have actually been doing a bit of baking -- did some cakes for my friend A.'s wedding shower (they turned out pretty well -- one 3-layer and one 4-layer), one for D.'s graduation, and just did two in the last couple of days for fun. Made Martha Stewart's banana cake, which was a hit with my good friend P.:), and made a amaretto toffee chocolate cake that I thought was pretty good. I think I am getting really good at frosting -- not so much the decorating, but making tasty frosting. I made this cream cheese one for the toffee cake that was quite good, if I do say so myself. Also snuck some peanut butter and jelly bars and some chocolate chip cookies in. So, all in all, with everything going on, Ophelia actually hasn't faired so badly. Just her glamour shots have. Going to try to work on that soon.

Tomorrow, I tackle some rosemary bread. I think I'll make some soup to go with it. Stay tuned -- we'll try to do better with posting!

It's Been a Long, Long Time... (or) The First Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a whirlwind fall it has been. Job market stuff, teaching courses, working on the dissertation, trying to cook, not being very successful, obviously. I think Ophelia has shunned me, and is now looking to outsource herself to try to save her job. The guilt abounds.

Anyway, a by-product of the busy that is the fall this year, I decided not to head home for Thanksgiving. This is the first Thanksgiving in 30 years that I have not been home with my family. Boy, do I miss them. Right about now, I would be at my brother's house, rocking out to some Rock Band, or watching he and my cousin-in-law duel it out on some game that I completely don't understand but is very entertaining to watch. Or, we'd be playing some game called "Killer Bunnies" or something of the sort. I'd be getting my ass kicked, but loving it, because there is nothing quite like hanging out with my crazy awesome family.

This is not to say that Thanksgiving here isn't going to be freaking amazing. I get to spend time with some great friends. Plus, K&P's dog B is awesome, and I love hanging out with him. So, it will be a great day. K & P are smoking a turkey, making potatoes, rolls and salad (YUM and YUM), so I am in charge of stuffing, veggies, pies. As you can see from the pictures above, I'm on it. It's the night before Thanksgiving, and I have a pie, shortbread (yes, apparently the Scottish got in on the Thanksgiving act), cornbread (for stuffing), and stuffing bread cut up, ready to be made tomorrow. In true Hathaway fashion, I freaked out and worried that I wasn't going to have enough to feed everyone, so went a little overboard with the stuffing bread. However, this stuffing bread is the shiz. I got it from Great Harvest Bread Co. It was a hoot, actually -- I went in once Tuesday and bought a bunch of stuff, and then had to come back for the stuffing bread when it came out of the oven at 1. We got there around 1:10, and I got 3 of the last 8 loaves. Apparently, people are serious about this stuff. I'm stoked to try it. I had my aunt send me her recipe. We'll see what happens. KSH is coming over to help cook in the morning, so I had better get to bed. I just had to post, since it had been so long. Will take more pics tomorrow during the creation process.

Oh, the chocolate pictures are Martha Stewart's brownies. They are awesome. Sometimes, though, I want to forgo the brownies and drink the melted chocolate. Is that normal?

Everyone, wish A. a Happy, Happy Birthday!

2008-10-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today is my good friend A.E.R.'s birthday! YEA! If you see her, make sure to wish her a happy birthday! Apparently, Ophelia and I have decided that we only get our shit together for special appearances for people's birthdays these days. So, if you have a birthday, maybe let us know? That way, we'll bake more. Ophelia has been so upset with me that pictures of her have been absolutely out of the question. Um, also pictures of the kitchen, and most of the rest of the house, and me, and my car, are also completely out of the question. Yeah. That's how the job market and dissertation stuff have been going.:P No need to ask.

As you can tell from the photos, things didn't turn out exactly as we had intended them. Is anyone surprised? For weeks now, I've been planning on making A. a CubbieCake, since she is such a huge Cubbies fan. As someone who understands very deeply the connection with sports teams, I was all for this. A. likes cakes that aren't chocolate heavy, so I was going to make a white cake, dye it red, and then put the logo on the top. Um, yeah, that was what I was going to do. Instead, I couldn't get the cake to be red, so it turned out pink. I didn't want it to taste crazy weird because of the food dye, so I had to stop. A. isn't exactly a "pink" person, so that was strike number one. As you can see from previous posts, I like to make things that remind me of the people who I am making them for, so I tried to do the best with what I had. Initially, as you can see from the photos I had intended to do balloons or flowers or something on the top. But, that's just not A. If you know her, you know what I am talking about. She's smart, funny, kind, has a ton of energy, is hard-working, but most importantly, is unique. You'll never meet another person like A. I love her company, and the company of her fiance and two loveable dogs (one of whom we joke is my biological daughter the way she is all over me when I'm there:). With A., it's very easy to go from 0 to silly to serious to silly again. I just couldn't put standard flowers or balloons on her cake. She's anything but standard. So, what happened is my attempt to capture A. in a cake -- colorful, bright, complex, unique, wonderful. Can't wait to have some soon! Happy Birthday A. -- I'm so glad to know you!

Today is K's Birthday -- Hip Hip Hooray!

2008-10-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Ophelia reminded me that my BFF K's birthday was coming up. And, since K and his awesome wife P are how Ophelia and I came to be, Ophelia wanted to do something special for K on his birthday. We decided that for Ks birthday party, we'd make cakes. Two, to be exact, with some peanut butter bars thrown in for good measure at the beginning of the 7 days of K. Why celebrate once, Ophelia says, when you can celebrate for a whole week? I agreed.

Now, K and P appear on this blog, and in my life, often -- we have lots of fun times together, going to movies, eating good food, watching pretty people with problems, playing games, witnessing Bruchi's antics, and most importantly, looking in our mirrors. It's unfortunate for them that they have to spend so much time with me, but since I bake lots, including cakes like those pictured above, I hope they feel like they break even. Of the cakes, actually of all the cakes I've made, the dark chocolate raspberry one is K's favorite. It's a complex cake -- in fact, it's one of the most complex things I've ever made. There are many parts to it, but it is worth the work. Initially, it's a little bittersweet, followed by a prominence and constant of full-on sweet and fruit. Its texture is highly unique, as well -- a crackly, crunchy crust that easily falls away into a softness that melts into the center of every bite. That complexity is what makes the cake as good as it is -- the unexpected surprise it holds makes every single taste exciting. I can see why K likes it; in many ways, it reminds me of him, although a cake could never embody his sense of humor. G.D.M.;)

I wish for everyone they could have a friend like K. I don't have words to explain what that means, but if you're lucky enough to know him or to have a friend who is a good friend like he is, you'll understand what I'm saying. In my humble opinion, the best way to celebrate someone's life is to tell them how much you enjoy and appreciate them, and to eat cake. Here's to you, K -- I hope you had a great birthday, my friend! I am glad to know you. Enjoy your cake!

This Blog Should Be Called Neglecting Ophelia

2008-10-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Ophelia has asked me to post and convey my deepest apologies for neglecting her. You see, since the nasty "Carbomb Cake" incident, I haven't been baking much. I made some cookies, whoopie do, and some peanut butter bars for one of my BFF's (K) birthday week (yea for the 7 days of K. -- tomorrow's present is awesome!). In truth, I've barely been functioning, as evidenced by forgotten or unreturned emails, stacks of ungraded papers, job materials that are in sore need of attention, oh, and that whole, you know, write a dissertation thing. Yes I would like cheese with my whine, make it gouda.;) I love gouda. Mostly I think I just like saying it. Anywho...it's the general neglect that comes with too many things and not enough M.'s. Unfortunately, the bogged-downess of it all now means that I wake up every day wondering why in the world I think I want to do this (academia) for the rest of my life. Am I crazy? Don't answer that question. I think I already know the answer.;) I know it's the standard response, and that everyone at this stage experiences it. Whatever, it will be fine, but I just can't wait until it's over. It's a bad couple of weeks when I don't bake. The worst of it is I have apples on the counter that I must do something with. My friend KSH is coming over tomorrow to help me/learn how to make apple crisp, so that will help at least in keeping the apple population to a minimum.

I just wanted everyone to know that I wasn't holding Ophelia hostage, so if she calls you and begs you to come take her away from this place, know it's not as bad as it seems. I'm workin' on it.

Carbomb come alive/And it's coming after you...

2008-09-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

My brother was once a huge Slipknot fan, so when I first saw this recipe, entitled "Carbomb" cake, I thought of him, and the song "Car Bomb," featuring Slipknot, from which the above title hails. Frankly, I found them a little creepy, but you know, to each their own. But, I thought freaky was also appropriate for a post about this cake. This was a new adventure, one I wasn't sure I wanted to tackle. It looked so crazy good in the picture, though. It's called a "Carbomb" cake because of the drink, as well. Apparently, you sink a shot of Irish Cream into a glass of Guinness and chug the thing. I remember doing root beer barrels, but I had never heard of a "carbomb" -- I guess we can all learn something.;)

This cake includes three different kinds of alcohol -- Whiskey, Guinness, Irish Cream. The chocolate cake itself is made with a can of Guinness, the frosting with Irish Cream, and the caramel sauce with Whiskey. Now, it's not bad, although the whiskey caramel sauce is so, well, whiskey-ie, I can almost not eat it, and I love whiskey. It's strong. It looks so pretty, though -- do you see the decorating job? Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. So, I was super excited and forced my celebrity taste testers to come over to my house to marvel at the three story wonder, and of course to have a piece. I sliced it, and it was a mess to serve (it's so tall). But, once we got it all under control, we sat down, and had a bite. I expected to be overwhelmed. Instead, I was underwhelmed. I always thought I liked buttercream frosting, but as it turns out, I don't, at least not the way the homemade ones tell you to make it. It's not dense enough, nor is it flavorful enough. The cake overpowered the frosting, and the Whiskey overpowered everything. Aargh. I think Ophelia is glad I didn't implicate her in this one. Oops, did I just do so...:) Since I have thumbs, I can do what I want.

I mean, it's not horrible, as cake is cake, but this won't be one I try again. Back to the job market stuff.:) Do you think that it's ok to offer cakes as a part of your job packet? If I ship a cake with my CV, it couldn't hurt, right? Right? Just not this one.:)

We're Running So Fast to Keep from Falling Behind...

2008-09-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Holy production, Batman. I've been so busy baking that I haven't been able to do any blogging. What is this world coming to? It's coming down to me trying to get a job, which has seriously curtailed my free time. Whose bright idea is it to have a job market that whose process is over 8 months long? Do they not understand that I have cakes to make and a life to have? I mean really -- job or devil's food cake? Job or peanut butter cake? Did someone say cake? I'm sorry, the cake wins every single time. Anyone want to back me for a new bakery? "M.'s Morsels." or "Morsels with M." I like them both -- any other suggestions? I'm giving serious consideration to this alternate employment future.

Anywho, as you can see from the pictures, my photography skills have also been lacking -- no action shots, Ophelia is being ignored, general havoc and mayhem have overtaken the kitchen. Ophelia is pissed. She's become a faceless workhorse. I will have to remedy that, and soon. No need to have her angry with me, too.

So, starting in order of the photos, first came my friend M.'s birthday cake. It was also my first foray into decorating with color. Cake = awesome. Frosting = divine. Decorating = D+ for effort. It looks distinctly like I first had a lobotomy and then attempted to to decorate the cake. Apparently writing with colored frosting now looks remarkably similar to learning to write in cursive in third grade, completely with the mis-matched scallops that I was convinced would make the stupid thing look better. Poor M. At least the cake tasted good. I cut the cake to transport so M. didn't have to see the completely monstrosity that was her birthday cake.

Next, we had the peanut butter cup cake. Literally, it was an inverted peanut butter cup. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I love peanut butter frosting. I love peanut butter. No, I do not have all kinds of peanut butter frosting my fridge that I have been eating on and off for the last couple of days. No, I have not gained 20 pounds since Ophelia came into my life. Please stop spreading those nasty rumors. I could sue for defamation, you know. If Brit can do it, so can I. Moving on -- the peanut butter cake was a hit. A. and S. came over for dinner last night, and this was the treat. We had a great time, although I learned that I don't get nearly the sports channels that I thought I did. With a little help from A. and S. and K. and P., the cake is already gone and out of my house, which is how I like things.:)

Next came a peach galette. This came about this afternoon because I had peaches that had to be used up, like, whoa, yesterday. Not wanting to make a pie, I made the galette instead. It looks great, but I made a huge mess with it. It leaked (well, because I shoved too many peaches in it because I wanted to get them all used up) and while I realized that this would likely make a mess, somewhere in my head I didn't think that the sugary sauce would burn. My logic defies all, well, common sense. No, M., sugary sauces don't burn when you stick them in a hot, hot oven, not at all, and when they don't burn, they don't set off your smoke alarm and won't make your house smell like you set your hair on fire. Not that I would have any idea what that smelled like, either. Anyway, it was a mess. But, the galette itself didn't burn, so I sent that off home with my celebrity taste testers (well, with K. -- poor P. was at class). It looked good, but I just wasn't that interested in it.

Finally, the apple tartlets. Now, what would possess me to try to make these little buggers tonight? Well, in trying to patch the galette before it went wicked out of control, I had to hack into another pastry to do so. Rather than waste it, I decided to make these. For no recipe, and just winging it, I think I did pretty good. I actually ate one of these tonight, and it was quite yummy.

Up next for Ophelia and I -- a spice cake and a maple cake!:) Stay tuned!

Decisions, Decisions...

2008-09-08T19:40:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, Ophelia and I just can't decide. So, instead of deciding, we just go for it. Tonight, we went for it, indeed.:) Two of our specialties -- Barefoot Contessa's Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars, and my mother's Dutch Apple Pie. Both have undergone some revising, but Ophelia and I aren't telling.:) Like we said before, we have to keep some secrets, or we'd lose our fan base. Yes, we're crazy like that.

Now, I must admit that my mother and I are known for this pie all over the place. She's been making it since I was a little girl. You don't need to know how long that is, for both our sakes. People far and wide in MN know this pie -- people ask for it at get-togethers. She gives it as birthday presents, and makes it for any major holiday. I absolutely love this freaking pie. It's like a little slice of home for me. I've been making it since my last full-time teaching gig in Iowa when I figured out that hey, I like to bake, and I'm not too shabby at it, and thus can have a slice of home wherever I am. Plus, then I get to share a little bit of my Minnesota with others, too. So, I have a wide range of fans for this pie. The peanut butter bars are more recent, but Ophelia and I have perfected them. Plus, we're obsessed with The Barefoot Contessa. Ok, I'm obsessed about Ina Garten and Ophelia has to listen to me talk about her all the time while we cook. I fawn over her cookbooks and her show. I will make any recipe if it comes from Ina's kitchen. When I grow up, I want to be Ina Garten. I think, if I could make money doing this for a living, I totally would. For now, I'll have to stick with gushing over Ina and creeping my friends out with my strange obsession for this woman I've never met. Whatever.

I've also found that peanut butter bars and apple pie are just the ticket when you've had a "God Damn Mongolians" day. To understand what I mean, see here: South Park's "God Damn Mongolians". I love South Park.

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free...

2008-09-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm not sure what the peaches in the PoUSA song represent, but in this case, I really am talking about peaches, my friends. I am finally, finally making good on my promise for a peach pie.

My mother was so upset she couldn't be here for it. She loves her some peach pie. Plue, it was the first peach pie I'd ever made. It was also my first attempt at a lattice topped pie. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Well, for a first try, anyway. My celebrity taste testers agreed.:) I thought it was ok. It wasn't great (would have been better had the peaches been more ripe).

The pie itself was fairly easy -- I blanched the peaches first to get the skin off, and then sliced 10 peaches fairly thin. Mix that with 1/2 c. white sugar, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, my secret ingredient (which you'll notice in my cast of character's photo, I turned around -- a girl has to keep some secrets:), and a tablespoon of cornstarch. Put into unbaked pie crust. Put lattice on top, wash with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350 for 45 min.-1 hour (mine was closer to one hour). I also left the pie in the oven when I turned it off at an hour to make sure the sauce thickened.

I also made candy today (caramels). I love caramel. Between caramel and butterscotch, I could be set for life. It was also a simple, simple recipe. To be posted later.

Serve the pie with ice cream, for sure!

Ophelia was a little sad she couldn't participate in today's fun, but she understood. Sometimes she just has a little too much power for what is necessary.:)

I'd Just Like To Try Some Carrot Cake and Wine...

2008-09-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ah, love me some Stereophonics. I also loves me some good carrot cake. So, tonight I combined the two. I think Wednesdays and Saturdays are going to be my baking days. I know I had said I was coming down off the cake, but for some reason really wanted to make a carrot cake tonight. It also could have been that I had some carrots to use up. Whatever.

Now, for carrot cake you have to shred a ton of carrots. I didn't want to do that by hand, and then remembered that K and P, in addition to orchestrating the appearance of Ophelia in my life and the awesome party that came with that appearance, also gifted me an attachment for Ophelia. An attachment that shreds things. Carrot like things. Ok, carrots. And fingers if you're not careful, but mostly carrots and other various veggies, fruits, etc. It is the coolest thing in the world. Well, next to Ophelia. Don't tell her I said that.

So, in the various pictures above you'll see some shredding, some baking, and some frosting. I think the frosting on this cake didn't turn out as well as the last cake. I used a recipe that was a little bit different, and I don't like it as well. It's fine, but not amazing like the one from the chocolate cake.

Also, you'll see in the pictures that I invested in a new product. This is a Wilton product, and Ophelia and I are doing our best Vana White's in showing it off. This was before I tried to pry the cakes out of their pans. What a waste of 5 bucks. 2 of the 3 cakes broke trying to get them out of the pans. The product claimed that it would greased and flour the pans all in one, just to put a bit in the pan, brush all over, and go to town. Answer: false. This did little other than to create headaches for me and ruin my pretty cakes. Now, before I go completely blaming the product, it may have a been a user fault. I didn't place parchment because I thought the cake goo (aka Wilton product) would take care of it. My bad. However, I am getting really, really good at putting cakes back together.;)

Will update later on the turn out. Notice that I'm getting less and less funny as the semester goes on. I have a feeling December is gonna be something else.;)

Suzy Creamcheese, What's Got Into Ya?

2008-08-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

So, I decided that if I'm really going to let Ophelia talk me into doing this cake stuff, I'd better start taking it seriously. She gets torked when I jack around baking. I'm sure it has something to do with her horsepower being wound a little too tight. Whatever.

Anyway, the thing I like most about baking is that I rarely screw it up. It's something I can do when I need a break, or when I'm trying to take my mind off of more cerebral things. So, tonight, after I taught, I came home and got to work. I've done a fruit-theme cake (raspberry and lemon), a peanut butter cake (so, so good), and a deep, deep chocolate cake. What should I try, I asked Ophelia. She didn't want to make a cake tonight, but frosting was ok. So, it is...a Chocolate Amaretto cake with a Fluffy Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting. I have no idea how it tastes. It's in my fridge, and frankly, once I make them I'm kind of done with them. Plus, I love frosting so much that I can't help myself from trying to inhale any left over frosting, of which there is often much. In fact, I think I've had so much sugar tonight I may need to take a couple laps around the house to get to sleep. Anyone want some cake? Seriously. If you want some, you got some. Ophelia also takes requests, though she does reserve veto power. Just don't request anything with raisins. They gross her out.

Anyway, we decided we really didn't care about the cake so much tonight as we did the frosting. So, much more attention was paid to the consistency and taste of the frosting, and to the technique. After watching some DIY videos on cake decorating (totally helpful, I loves me the Internets:), we set off to work. I'd also gotten some professional cake decorating equipment, so I was antsy to try it out. The photos above show the outcome. Not too shabby for the first time out with them, I don't think. The bottom of the cake needs some work, yes. Ophelia wants me to note that the decorating was my part, the making of the frosting hers. She's got such an ego.

The recipe here isn't necessary, I don't think. It's not impressive, and I don't know how the cake is, but what I wanted to chronicle was the decorating skills as they (hopefully) get better. You'll see that Mindy invited me to join her for a cake decorating class, which I'm totally getting in on. The funny thing is that this is the what, fifth cake that I've made and decorated, and I think this is my worst one, aesthetically. I dumped some shaved chocolate on the top of it in an effort to cover up the bad decorating job, but I'm not sure it did any good.:) I'll let you know.

Ophelia wants off the cake for a week now (makes us sound like addicts -- we're getting off the sauce. Yes, I said sauce. I'm from the Midwest, where cake is our sauce and we say sauce. What?), so early next week when I return from my cousin Tiff's wedding (Huzzah! We love Tiff and her soon-to-be husband Dan!), we'll tackle something else. I've been eying this peach tart. I keep talking about peaches and never following through.:) It must be next time, it must.

*Update -- cake GOOD! The frosting recipe is a recipe I made up, and it's actually really good! I'll be trying this one again. The amaretto syrup I made was really good with it, too. Yummers, to quote A.!*

The Magic of Peanut Butter

2008-08-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Since I was a little girl, I have had an affinity for peanut butter. Perhaps it was watching my father make the only thing he knows how to make in the kitchen (peanut butter sandwiches with enough peanut butter to choke someone), or perhaps it was watching my Grandma M. make peanut butter cookies from scratch with no measurements. Anyway, I loves me some peanut butter. The more I can do with it, the better.

So, when I found this recipe for a peanut butter cake with a peanut butter frosting, I jumped at the chance. Ophelia had been on vacation for a little while, because of the start of school and all, so she was rested and ready. I was a little nervous, though. The frosting was unlike anything I'd made before, and I wanted to decorate it nicely (when I get out of hell, er, school, my first action is going to be to take a cake decorating class. Ok maybe my second, but certainly my second). Plus, with my love of peanut butter, I didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize the wonder that is peanut butter.

So, here we go. Now, the recipe had me cheat a bit -- I was to use a box cake mix. Now, I wouldn't normally do this, but since it was my first time with this recipe, I followed it step by step and will mess with it later, depending upon how it tastes. I'll post on that later. *Update* YUMMY! It's ok to have peanut butter cake and diet pepsi for breakfast, right? Right?

Recipe (from allrecipes.com)

Cake:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c peanut butter (I doubled this to a c. because, well, I love peanut butter:)
1 box butter cake mix
2/3 c. water

Frosting:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. peanut butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. heavy cream (I found I had to use more, like almost 2/3 c to get the frosting to spread correctly)

For cakes: Mix first two ingredients for cake in your mixer (go Ophelia, go!) with the paddle attachment until fluffy and creamy. Add cake mix and water intermittently until mixed. Grease two 9-inch cake pans. Split cake mix evenly into the two pans. Smooth off top and bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 min. until done. Cool for 10 min. in pans, remove from pans and cook completely on racks.

For frosting: Cream together butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and cream (use cream sparingly just until frosting is spreadable) in small doses until combined.

Frost cakes when cool, with one layer of frosting in the middle. Chop peanut butter cups for decoration.

SO yummy, also very rich! Ophelia says enough with the peanut butter already, so we'll be moving onto something else (perhaps some bread) this weekend/week!

On Leaps, Longings and Lemons...

2008-08-13T20:42:00.001-07:00

So, my super duper awesome friend D. has had a lot of changes in these past months. She has a new job, a new house, and a new car. She'll soon meet lots of new people, and experience lots of new things. She's no longer a graduate student. She's Dr. D. now. I admire her so much, and as you can see from previous posts, I'm so, so proud of her, and proud to be her friend. I'm thrilled, as well, to have been lucky enough to watch her leap and succeed. It's no small feat, I think, to follow a dream through, to have the ability to work hard and get what you've worked for. So, to celebrate, D. and M. are throwing a housewarming/celebration party, to welcome the changes in their lives and to celebrate with the people around them.

I'm SO happy to celebrate these accomplishments and changes with them. As we speak, I'm making lemon bars to take to their party. More on that later. I have to say, though, that I find myself tinged with a little bit of sadness, as well. Any change is like that, really. Lots to celebrate, and lots to reminisce about, along with some sadness about letting go of one thing to follow another. This will be the first year of my Ph.D. I have gone through without D. My first orientation without her there. We have done this together for so long that, sometimes, I find myself unsure how to do it without her. Any project, any conference presentation, any major or minor detail, we did together. So much of our stuff intertwines that I often forget what's hers and what's mine. I will miss her presence at school. Of course, we will still work together and help each other, because we can and she isn't moving across country, in fact she is staying very close. I am lucky, as often this is not the case. This isn't to say that I don't have many wonderful friends and people at school. I do. But, I will miss her presence, the daily of our routines. I will miss her as she moves into this wonderful, new position in her life. I know she will do great. She always does.

And, so, I make lemon bars. I thought they were appropriate -- plus, D. loves them. A lemon bar can be truly unique -- the lemon, initially, tart and bitter, but eventually sweet, the reward of the sweet far outweighing the initial tart bitterness. And, they leave you wanting another, and another, and another. I know it will be that way for D. -- the difficulties of starting anew now will give way to the sweetness of being a professor, of living somewhere with space and breathing room, of driving a trustworthy car, of having achieved something that seems so unattainable in these limbo years of our lives.

These bars are easy to make, really. It's a recipe from a town cookbook, a tried and true easy Midwestern recipe. We do love our cake mixes. Ophelia beat this filling like a champ. Boy do I love her. Plus, how can you go wrong with blue and yellow?:)

1 box yellow cake mix
1/3 c. oil
1 egg

Mix until crumbly. Remove 3/4 c. from mixture, and press the rest into 9x13 pan. Bake for 12 min. at 350 degrees.

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
juice of one lemon
grated lemon rind (to taste)

Beat until smooth. Add to top of hot baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 min.

Enjoy!

Ace of Cakes I'm not...yet

2008-08-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, this was our first attempt at a multi-layered cake. Ophelia and I are quite proud of ourselves, if we do say so. As you can see from the pictures -- success! More on that later. You see, P.'s parents are in town this week, so I wanted to have them over to celebrate and enjoy. I'd met them last night, and they are a hoot! I really enjoyed them. I can see now where P. gets her sense of humor and all around good/sweet nature. Her dad reminds me of many of the members of my family (tonight he taught us all about the new "Air Car," not to mention the fact that he rocks socks with crocs), and her mom is just as sweet as can be (she made me an amazingly cute apron -- what a perfect gift! Ophelia and I are totally decked out now). They made homemade applesauce yesterday and gave me some (YUM, eat your hearts out!), we worked on crochet (that's a story for another time, I am such a bad crochet teacher -- thanks for bailing us out, T!), went out to eat and tooled around for a while. So, tonight I wanted to welcome them to my home with a very heart-felt welcome and with many thanks. And how do Ophelia and I do that? Yes, that's right, with food. But not just any food -- something special.

That's where this cake comes in. It's called the "Perfect Party Cake" -- Ophelia and I, of course, wanted it to be the perfect party, so that's what we chose. It was a day of firsts for us, Ophelia and I. I'd never done a 4 layer cake. I'd also never made a true buttercream frosting before. Ophelia was as green as I was. If she was nervous, though, she didn't show it. What a champ. And thus the challenge began.

First, the cake -- it's a lemon-ish white cake, made with cake flour, lemon zest, butter, egg whites, baking powder. As you can see from the pictures, they turned out really well. It was much easier to deal with these cakes as opposed to the chocolate cakes I made for D.'s defense. I am sure it is because these were much less dense. So, while the cakes cooked, I began the buttercream frosting. In a double-boiler, I cooked 4 egg whites with 1 1/2 cups sugar. The directions told me to cook it for 3 min. or until it looked like shiny marshmallow spread. I likely cooked it for 5 min. because I wanted to make sure it was hot enough to actually cook. And, I also really like to put stuff in a double boiler. I have no idea why. I mean, whoever thought to do that kind of stuff?

So, once I did that, I was to let Ophelia at it. Ophelia was to beat the mixture for 5 min. or so until it almost tripled in size. Man, is she good at her jobs. I wish I was that competent. I think she likes that I'm a tad bit jealous of her strength and abilities. Notice she let me photograph her today. I don't think that the ego boost and the photograph is a coincidence. Just sayin'. Then, comes the butter. I almost had a coronary just looking at how much butter went into this frosting. I don't even think I can admit it here. Let's just say that Paula would be proud, very proud. And, I feel like I am doing my part to support the dairy farmers here in the Midwest. So, it's ok, right? Right?

Then, the final test for Ophelia -- just beat the shit out of this frosting for like 10 min., aerate it to the point of doubling, and then you're ready to frost. Ophelia handled it like a trooper. Sometimes, I swear I hear her whisper "bring it, bitch." It would figure my mixer would have an attitude.

And, then came the part I was dreading -- separating the cake layers. Now, I had never done that before, and considering how difficult the chocolate cake was to deal with, I was very, very afraid. But, then I figured if nothing else, I had ingredients to still make the brownies I had on hand as my backup, so I just went for it. Surprisingly, it was fairly easy to separate the layers. You can see that in the photos, as well.

Now, where the recipe divulged a bit from the original was with the frosting. It was to be a lemon buttercream frosting. Well, I made it a raspberry-lemon buttercream. Why, you may ask? Well, yes, Ophelia and both do enjoy pink very much. We also thought it looked very nice with the raspberries. And, while we could lie to you and tell you that's why, lying's really not our style. We let our crazy hang all out there.

I screwed up. Bottom line. I got the jam for the middle layers too close to the outside and knew that if I tried to spread that white buttercream frosting on the outside, I'd end up with pink streaks that were obviously not meant to be there. So, instead, we opted for a pink frosting that we made just by mixing in a few tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam.

Now, I will admit that this cake, for all the butter, is actually very light in taste. In fact, I might have liked a little bit heavier (in terms of weight and sweetness) buttercream. But, all in all, quite the party, and quite the party cake. Ophelia is sending me to an orchard tomorrow to get some apples and peaches, so stay tuned!

"Call Me" Blondie Brownies, or She Was What We Called a Suicide Blonde Maple Blondies

2008-08-03T20:44:00.001-07:00

Well, as I am wont to do, at about 10:15 tonight I decided I wanted to bake something. I surfed the net for a bit, and found a recipe for Blondie brownies. Now, that spurred me to want my favorite dessert -- Applebees' Maple Blondie Brownie. I have no words to describe that dessert. My friend Janelle and I were having birthday lunch at the Applebees in the mall in Rochester, MN the first time I had that dessert. We'd had a Mucho Margarita fest, which commenced in a new sport (drunk shopping), which I only participated in once. I was, however, very good at this particular sport. My bank account didn't appreciate my greatness, however. Anyway, back to the story about the Maple Blondie. Janelle and I were known for enjoying food, so we went for it. The cold vanilla ice cream mixed with the creamy maple butter sauce with the decadent blondie was almost too much to handle. It's really the only other thing I remember about that day, thanks to the margaritas. I know Janelle and I had a good time, we always did, and the taste of that Blondie has stuck with me since that moment in 1998.

As you can see from the pictures, I decided to try to tackle it. I took some pictures of Ophelia, but she wasn't cooperating tonight. Sometimes, a star just won't be photographed. She might also be angry with me about a failed roll attempt yesterday, in which I had to throw some dough away that she worked very hard on. I apologized, but it might take a day or two. I don't blame her, I was pretty mad myself.

So, anyway, hoping I would come through for myself, I went hunting for white chocolate chips. In all my foresight, I had stocked some. I must have known this night was coming. And thus, the baking commenced.

Blondies:

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/4 c. chocolate chips

Cream together wet ingredients. Sift together dry. Combine the two together and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Press into 8x8 greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut while warm.

Maple Butter Sauce (yes, of course this is low calorie -- do I make anything that's not?)
1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. white chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
Maple Flavoring to taste

Melt first three ingredients in sauce pan, but do not boil. Once combined/melted, add in chocolate chips, maple flavoring and salt, off heat, and allow to melt. Serve hot over blondies.

And, now both Debbie Harry and Saul Bellow's heads are spinning around as I type. Enjoy!

We Be Jammin'

2008-07-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I really hate summer for the most part. Put a big white girl in the heat and humidity, and boy does she get crabby and out of sorts. Walk outside, and within 20 minutes, I am a lobster. SPF 75 doesn't cut it for me. There is also nothing like trickles of sweat running down my body (in places when I was thin I couldn't even imagine existed) to make a big girl just love the summer. Yes I just said that out loud. Just tryin' to keep it real. Yes I just said that, too. Ok, I'll stop now. I promise.

However, summer does bring with it things that this big girl loves, too. Funnel cakes, for example, and mini donuts, corn on the cob, fried things on a stick (only in MN would we deep fat fry a Snickers bar), pork burgers, sno-cones, homemade ice cream, fairs and town celebrations (ask me about the Polka festival sometime -- yes, I polka. Don't knock it. It's a gift that comes in handy when you're drunk and at weddings. Trust me.), cool night walks, and most importantly, the fresh fruit. For the most part, I really don't like to eat fruit. But summer fruit and I have a special, special relationship. Oh, the berries, the sweet, juicy strawberries. The tiny, soft, lovely raspberries. The ripe, luscious peaches. Oh my. As my friend D. would say, somewhere there is a bottle of Tequila involved and she's likely screaming "inappropriate" at me. Ok, maybe at M. Maybe at both of us. It's worth it, my sweet, sweet berries...

Anyway, I got sidetracked for a second. I'm back. It was hot today, and my neighbors moved out really early this morning. Perhaps I'm delusional. Back to my point -- the berries. Earlier this summer, stubborn as I am, I managed to track down the last of the strawberry crop in a 3 state area (my research skillz are the bomb -- for berries, not for my dissertation). They were, hands down, the sweetest berries I think I've ever had. Minnesota berries are the best, I don't care what anyone else says. I made 28 jars of jam from those strawberries. I will never be the same.

I didn't get a picture of those, but I did catch the jamming bug. Bob Marley would be proud. So, after all my company left today and I cleaned up my kitchen, I decided, at 10 pm, to make some jam. No one ever claimed I was smart or logical, least of all me.

If you look closely at the pictures, yes, I cheated. I bought Driscoll's berries from the store. This was my trial run. If I like the jam, I'll go buy local berries. I found a couple of places to go for berries -- perhaps here or maybe here -- we'll see what happens. But, the test run was tonight. I'll give you the low-down on it in the next couple of days.

Ophelia oversaw the project, as you can see from the picture. She disapproved of my mashing methods, but otherwise I think she thought we did ok. I also think she didn't like me singing country to her, though I thought the Dixie Chicks were appropriate for jam-making. She's an alternative kinda girl, I think. Poor Ophelia.

As you can see, the fruit didn't yield much jam, but that's ok. Ophelia says to stay tuned for a peach pie soon -- Eckert's are in season, so a trip will be coming soon! If you want some jam, drop a line!

Strawberry-Rhubarb "I Want to Strangle a Chapter of my Diss" Crisp

2008-07-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

The other day I saw rhubarb at our local Mejier. Now, my mother always told me not to get rhubarb past the 4th of July, but it looked really good and I hadn't had hardly any rhubarb this summer. It's kind of a past-time -- we always have rhubarb at our house during the summer. I remember Mom going out and getting some, making rhubarb crisp, the tang and the sweet melting in with the vanilla ice cream we always ate it with. It always made the house smell, distinctly, a little like a sweet tart. I think I was looking for a piece of home, maybe some comfort food. As you can tell from the title, I am ready to strangle my second chapter of my dissertation. I am going over it with my dissertation director tomorrow, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway, instead of working on the chapter, like I should have been doing, I made this crisp. It turned out really well, if I do say so myself. Yum! You'll see the cast of characters at the top -- pretty, diced rhubarb and sliced strawberries. It's an easy recipe, really, and apparently fool-proof. The last time I tried a cobbler-like dessert, it looked like I'd cooked it for four hours, and tasted like it, too. What a waste of expensive fruit that was.:P But, this one, this one has my vote of confidence.

Ophelia got a break with this one, for the most part. This crisp called for my trusty old pastry cutter. There is something really satisfying about using a pastry cutter. I think I like what it represents -- you separate the parts of many things to make a different thing from the parts. Plus, this crust and topping had a ton of butter -- hello, Paula Deen, it's nice to meet you. No I did not sneak a taste. Not at all. I wouldn't do such a thing. I come by this figure naturally, of course.

Ophelia did play a supporting role in this ensemble, mixing the cornstarch, water and sugar for the glaze mixture. I think she was happy to not be in the spotlight for this one, to tell you the truth. All the attention was making her uncomfortable, so she thought she'd share the limelight.

I really liked this recipe for the most part. I didn't have the 9 inch square pan that the recipe called for, so I used an 8 inch pan and just cooked it 10-15 min. longer. It turned out just fine. Just fine enough that I haven't shared it with anyone. Whoops. Maybe that's my mentality with my dissertation? Maybe?

Strawberry-Rhubarb "I Want to Strangle a Chapter of My Diss" Crisp
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Press 1/3 into an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan (see my comment above for what I did instead -- I'll have to try with a 9-in square pan yet). Combine rhubarb and strawberries; spoon over crust. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the water and vanilla; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Pour over fruit. Sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour (1 hour 10-15 min. if in a 8-in square pan). Serve with ice cream if desired (it would also be good with homemade whipped cream). The crust does get a little bit soggy, but I found that if you only put a 1/3 of the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan (the original recipe called for 1/2), it gets a little bit more crispy. It's also good to serve this to people right away. Enjoy!

She's a Doctor...

2008-07-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Just an update -- my friend D. is now Dr. D.! I am SO, SO proud of her! The cake was a success, just as she is.

Watching one of your very best friends achieve one of her major life goals = priceless.

A Labor of Love...

2008-07-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Cooking and baking, for me, are labors of love. And, man, that's a cause Ophelia can get behind.

Case in point: I am SO proud of my friend D. She defends her dissertation on Monday, and I know she will be just awesome. I wanted to do something for her defense, so I told her I'd make a cake. She has requested a Chocolate Raspberry cake, so today, I did a trial run. I had my good friends/celebrity taste testers K and P try it. The reviews were favorable, so I thought I'd post the recipes and antics here.

Now, I must admit that this is the first double-layered cake I've made. And, like all things new, I had some snafus. I broke the cake trying to put it on the pedestal. Then, I put waxed paper, meant to keep me from making a mess on the plate while frosting, too far under the cake, and broke off a chunk trying to remove it. I was also afraid Ophelia might rebel. The dough was thick, the steps many. She talked about walking, but decided that, since I asked her very nicely and promised to sing to her, she'd cooperate.

As you can see from the pictures above that chronicle our cake baking, we had some fun together. Yes, I do wear headphones while I bake. Likely, I was rocking out to Bon Jovi. Don't knock it till you try it. Really gets the creativity flowing. This was also my first experience with egg whites. Folding is harder than it looks, my friends.

Then, the baking -- bake, babies, bake! Likely at that point, I was dancing around the kitchen, singing Prince. Cakes like Prince. Don't ask why, just trust and try it. Ok, maybe it's for me -- he is, after all, a Minnesota boy.

They came out so pretty, don't you see? No, I know nothing about the cake with the smiley face. If you find the individual who picked the crunchy, chocolate-y goodness topping off so they could have a taste without ruining things, Ophelia offers a reward.

And, ah, the end result. I've turned it around so you can't see the broken side. And, now I've let my secret out of the bag. Cake Part Deux tomorrow!

Deep Chocolate Raspberry Cake
(recipe modified from Epicurious.com)

8 one-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
4 one-ounce squares bittersweet chocolate (again, Ghiradelli)
7 eggs, seperated
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
1 pt. raspberries, crushed
4 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

Frosting:
6 one-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate (once more, Ghiradelli -- I should own stock, or at least get a fee for promotion, no?)
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line bottom of 2 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring in 30 second intervals until melted. Cool, and beat in egg yolks. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat together beat butter or margarine, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add chocolate mixture, and continue beating until smooth. Stir in flour until just combined. In another bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar, and continue beating until the whites hold soft peaks. Fold whites into chocolate batter, in three additions. Pour batter into prepared pans, and smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick stuck into the centers of the cakes comes out with moist crumbs, about 45 minutes. Cool in pans.

To Make Frosting: In a saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Chop 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, and stir into the cream. Remove saucepan from heat, and continue stirring until smooth. Pour frosting into bowl, and press sheet of plastic wrap directly against surface of chocolate to prevent formation of a skin. Refrigerate until thick enough to spread.

To Make Filling: Crush raspberries and combine with the jam. Sandwich the cake layers with raspberry filling. Spread top and sides with chocolate frosting.

Notes -- be very careful with the cakes -- they are dense and fudgy, and oh so good, but very, very hard to handle and not break. I wasn't as careful as I should have been and broke the bottom layer in three places. I placed the first layer top-side up, and the second layer top-side down, so that the filling connected with both of the crusty tops. This worked well, I think, because it allowed some of the raspberry filling to absorb into the cake, but not a huge amount to make it soggy. Make sure you can place the cake in the refridgerator for at least an hour before serving to make cutting easier. Enjoy!

Ophelia says to stay tuned for our strawberry-rhubarb crisp -- it's batter bowl scraping good!

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship...

2008-07-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog, chronicling my undying love and affection for my new, shiny, lovely Kitchenaid mixer Ophelia (see my account information for more on how Ophelia was named) and all things foodie (I'm sure there will also be snippets of life around here, as well). Yes, I'm jumping on the food blog wagon. Now, if it's anything like 4th grade and the Oregon Trail, I am going to kick ass at this.

Now, those of who you know me, know that I have a bit of an obsession with Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) and her amazing powers of food awesome. Yesterday, I made her chicken piccata with her roasted vegetable orzo salad. And then I spent the rest of the night in a lemon-induced Ina stupor. My friends topped the night off with brownies and this killer cookie dough frosting (P., I need this recipe, hint hint:). This was a good thing, as we then went to see Momma Mia. What a sour end to the night, although the music and company was good. So, I came home and baked. And then I baked some more the next day, as well. ABBA said to take a chance, so I thought I would. Story as follows:

Again, those of you who know me also know my consternation with cookies. I can bake bars like Martha Stewart on crack. Pies and cakes have nothing on these meaty Midwestern hands. But, cookies. Cookies, my friends, are the place in the trail where, instead of hiring a guide to get across the river, I consistently try to ford it myself, and sink every time. Every time I think it's going to be different. Every time I flunk out. I burn them, or leave them doughy. I make them uneven and flat, almost disgusting. How do you make disgusting chocolate chip cookies? Talent, I tell you. Talent and sheer dumb ass bad luck. Chocolate chip cookies are, quite literally, the bain of my existence. They taunt me in my sleep, the bag of chips calling me names from my kitchen and daring me to try to make them again. Never one to forgo a challenge, I always answer. I've tried the recipe on the back of the Toll House bag of chips, in my Good Housekeeping cookbook, on AllRecipes.com, from my family's own recipe stash. None of them have been successful. I made three, count them three, batches last night. All of them are not great. One is marginal, the other two down right ridiculous. Back to the drawing boards. Anyone have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and dummy-proof instructions they'd care to share? Ophelia would appreciate it.

Signed,

Cookie Monster

PS -- to tide you over until I post some food pron, above is a picture of Ophelia at the start of our inappropriate relationship (read: my undying love, admiration and worshiping at poor Ophelia's shrine). Ophelia had no idea what she was getting into. My amazing friends have created a baking monster. At least I love her a lot.