We're Back (Sort of)

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

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

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!

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!

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

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...

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.:)