I was excited to try this recipe. Why??? One - it was so pretty in the magazine; Two - I love ricotta cheese; Three - it seemed like a non-traditional holiday recipe.
I can sum this recipe up in six statements (in honor of day 6):
1. Super easy
2. Super alternative to a chocolate dessert
3. Super moist
4. Loads of flavor (orange and ricotta)
5. Let's be frank - I will make this again
6. Last, but not least - I didn't jack it up!!!
Short, but sweet.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Day 5: Pressed Honey Cookies
Everyone sing along...."On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....Pressed Hon-ey Cookies." This is a very simple and the only thing that I had a little problem with was the ceramic press. I was excited to use the press since I bought it in 1994 (it had the date on the back) and I had never used it. Alright, alright - I know that I should probably go through my baking utensils more often, but tell me you don't have things in your cabinets that you have never used. That's what I thought. Dough made, ceramic press oiled and floured - ready for use. Make dough balls and flatten into the press. You have to really press to get the design to impress on the dough. Oh and - you need to flour your palm liberally or the dough will lift when trying to press more than once and you will have a two-headed sheep or pigs like I did (I used a farm press with a pig, sheep, calf and a goose). I re-rolled the dough on two-headed animals so if wouldn't look like I was trying to create Dr. Frankenstein cookies. However, on a side note, when I was in grade school we took a field trip up to the K-State campus and I did see a taxidermy two-headed calf and a two headed snake....not sure that they still have it anymore.
I think if I try to make pressed cookies again, I would like to find some of the antique cookies presses that I have seen as most of them appear to have rounded lips versus squares edges that mine has. I think that would make it little easier to get the raw cookie out of the press and onto the cookie sheet. Another side note - I watched a TV program on the origins of gingerbread and in Elizabethan times, master bakers would press the cookies/bars after they were baked, but still warm. Thinking that is even easier......I may have to try that technique.
Easy recipe, tastes great, but as glamorous as five golden rings (if you sing the song correctly). Unless I dust them with edible gold dust next time....hhhmmmm....now that's a thought.
I think if I try to make pressed cookies again, I would like to find some of the antique cookies presses that I have seen as most of them appear to have rounded lips versus squares edges that mine has. I think that would make it little easier to get the raw cookie out of the press and onto the cookie sheet. Another side note - I watched a TV program on the origins of gingerbread and in Elizabethan times, master bakers would press the cookies/bars after they were baked, but still warm. Thinking that is even easier......I may have to try that technique.
Easy recipe, tastes great, but as glamorous as five golden rings (if you sing the song correctly). Unless I dust them with edible gold dust next time....hhhmmmm....now that's a thought.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Day 4: Chocolate Mousse Torte
You learn from an early age; if at first you don't succeed.....try again. Which is exactly what I had to do with this recipe. I have absolutely no idea what I did when I first tried to make this torte, but the filling was so runny that it was like soup. So I decided to add the sugar and cream cheese to my chocolate soup which only ended being chocolate soup with clumps of cream cheese (which looked like vomited curdled cheese). Doesn't that sound yummy?!?!? Down the sink goes the soup. I am guessing at this point I might have done something wrong so back to the recipe I go to.... READ IT. After re-reading the recipe, I thought to myself, "Good Lord, Donna - did you even read the recipe the first time?" I totally screwed it up the first time. I mixed everything in one bowl and used too much milk.
Round Two. Pudding with milk, beat for 2 minutes until thick; add melted chocolate and stir in whipped cream. Check. Cream cheese, sugar, milk, mix together in different bowl. Check. Fold in another cup whipped cream. Check. No chocolate soup with vomit clumps this time...insert short cheer here (yeah). Cover with more whipped cream and into fridge for 3 hours to chill.
Before I knew it 3 hours had passed. The moment of truth....inverting the torte out onto a serving plate. Drum roll please. Sweet success. I top the torte with shaved chocolate and have the inaugural piece. How sum up the torte??? It is Chocolately (not a real word, but perfect to describe) good.
No else partook of the torte, but when I woke up this morning a 1/4 of the torte had been eaten. Remember the guy who said that he couldn't eat more than one whoopie pie??? He got hungry after working out last night and had some torte. I am guessing he likes this recipe. Of course that's just a guess and I might be wrong, but I doubt it. Insert wink here.
Round Two. Pudding with milk, beat for 2 minutes until thick; add melted chocolate and stir in whipped cream. Check. Cream cheese, sugar, milk, mix together in different bowl. Check. Fold in another cup whipped cream. Check. No chocolate soup with vomit clumps this time...insert short cheer here (yeah). Cover with more whipped cream and into fridge for 3 hours to chill.
Before I knew it 3 hours had passed. The moment of truth....inverting the torte out onto a serving plate. Drum roll please. Sweet success. I top the torte with shaved chocolate and have the inaugural piece. How sum up the torte??? It is Chocolately (not a real word, but perfect to describe) good.
No else partook of the torte, but when I woke up this morning a 1/4 of the torte had been eaten. Remember the guy who said that he couldn't eat more than one whoopie pie??? He got hungry after working out last night and had some torte. I am guessing he likes this recipe. Of course that's just a guess and I might be wrong, but I doubt it. Insert wink here.
Day 3: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Day 3 I made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies or better known as Red Velvet "Whoop-My-Ass" Pies. I had heard of whoopie pies - I guess they are all the craze these days. I had never eaten one and of course, in true Donna style, I didn't really review the recipe before I started and this recipe. It ended my kickin' my backside....it made 48 pies. Do you know how time consuming it is to bake 96 tops and/or bottoms, let them cool and then assemble??? Well let me tell you - I started at 2:30 pm, left to go to a middle school theatre production at 6:45 pm...still not done and came home at 8ish to finally finish at 8:45 pm. I had red velvet cake halves everywhere in my kitchen. Oh wait, before I had finished cake pieces everywhere - I had red food coloring everywhere (and still do). The recipe said to mix in the food coloring so I assumed I could continue using the electric mixer. Nope - I assumed wrong.....that dang red food coloring went up, down and side to side as soon as I hit the power. I think the only place it didn't land was the ceiling. Note to food editors: when telling the baker to use food coloring (otherwise known as DYE), tell the us to hand stir it in. This would have saved my dishwasher and microwave from being light red and white polka dots.
Warning to whoopie pie consumers, the filling is sweet. Any filling that has sugar, shortening, a stick of butter, milk, vanilla, and flour in it - is going to guarantee you a sugar rush higher than the Rocky Mountains. Pies filled and assembled, I offered the finished product to the family. Success. Kids love them and Chris said, "These are really sweet. Not sure how many I could eat." I thought to myself, "oh really?!?!?" I only had one - they are too sweet for me. It was almost like a I got a sugar shiver when I ate it.
Later my mom called to ask what I was making and I told her the whoopie pies. She quickly pipes up, "Oh did you get a whoopie pie mold??" "A what, I asked? They make molds for these things???" She slowly answered, "YyyEeeSss." Like I was suppose to have known this. "What did you use to make the halves?", she asked. I replied, "I poured them by hand. All of them by hand." I thought I heard her snicker a bit when she said, "That must have taken a while." "Yup, sure as the hell did." And then I know for sure she laughed at me. She did tell me that I could borrow her mold the next time that I go to make them. Thanks mom - will do.
So 48 pies later, I can confirm that we only have seven pies left. Of which, I have still only had the one. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who is getting ready to go to any mountainous location. Eat 3 or 4 of these right before you head up the mountain and you will have such a sugar rush there will be no concerns when it comes to getting altitude sickness. My other take-away from the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie recipe - I hope polka dots on appliances comes back soon!!!
Warning to whoopie pie consumers, the filling is sweet. Any filling that has sugar, shortening, a stick of butter, milk, vanilla, and flour in it - is going to guarantee you a sugar rush higher than the Rocky Mountains. Pies filled and assembled, I offered the finished product to the family. Success. Kids love them and Chris said, "These are really sweet. Not sure how many I could eat." I thought to myself, "oh really?!?!?" I only had one - they are too sweet for me. It was almost like a I got a sugar shiver when I ate it.
Later my mom called to ask what I was making and I told her the whoopie pies. She quickly pipes up, "Oh did you get a whoopie pie mold??" "A what, I asked? They make molds for these things???" She slowly answered, "YyyEeeSss." Like I was suppose to have known this. "What did you use to make the halves?", she asked. I replied, "I poured them by hand. All of them by hand." I thought I heard her snicker a bit when she said, "That must have taken a while." "Yup, sure as the hell did." And then I know for sure she laughed at me. She did tell me that I could borrow her mold the next time that I go to make them. Thanks mom - will do.
So 48 pies later, I can confirm that we only have seven pies left. Of which, I have still only had the one. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who is getting ready to go to any mountainous location. Eat 3 or 4 of these right before you head up the mountain and you will have such a sugar rush there will be no concerns when it comes to getting altitude sickness. My other take-away from the Red Velvet Whoopie Pie recipe - I hope polka dots on appliances comes back soon!!!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Day 2: Ginger Stars...well sort-of......
I am sure this is a good recipe, but it did not work very well for me. The recipe calls for fresh ginger; of which I had none......Glitch number 1. So over to the computer to locate the conversion of fresh ginger to powdered ginger. Easy enough for every 1 teaspoons of fresh - use 1/2 teaspoon of powdered. I must confess here....I am not sure how long I have had this ginger, but it smells like ginger so I move forward. Everything else I had to finish making the cookie dough. Dumped the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and molded into a rectangle and into the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill. Insert final jeopardy music here..dodododo.......20 minutes later I am rolling out the dough on the counter. Next step - star shaped cookie cutter and lay out on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Easter egg cutter, dinosaur cutter, lobster cutter, clam cutter, tree cutter, fish cutter, sprinkles, ....where in the heck is the star cutter?!? I have one - don't I??? Everyone has a star cookie cutter except me??? Glitch number 2. I pondered for a minute whether I should run to Wal-Mart and get a star cookie cutter and then said to myself, "heck with that crap." I cut out lobsters, clams, trees, a dinosaur, a large fish, an arrow and smiley face cookies. Brush with an egg wash and covered with sugar. Who says you can't have Christmas lobster, clam or fish cookies???
15 minutes later the first batch of cookies are done - pull them out of the oven and Glitch 3. Pot holder in not in my hand.....string of expletives starting with sh*t, damn, and then h*ll rolled out of my mouth as if the holy spirit had entered my body. Holy Spirit gone and hand only slightly stinging AND with potholder in hand, I pull the cookies from the oven. I think to myself, "these have promise." Second batch goes in. This batch is thicker than the first batch so I cook them a little longer. And then a little longer yet - they looked cooked on the sides but the middle still looked doughy. By now the first batch as cooled so I try a lobster.....they taste like plain old sugar cookies. What?? Where is the ginger??? Maybe it was me so I had Chris try one. He says, "Yup, I can't taste any ginger - they taste like a sugar cookie." By now I pull out the second batch since the edges were brown, but the middle still looked under-cooked. With the first batch tasting bland, I decided while this batch was still warm I would dust them with powdered ginger.
I had Mason try this batch. This turns out to be a bad idea. He gets a thick cookie and promptly tells me, "These aren't even done in the middle." He pokes his finger into the cookie, makes a pocket and declares, "These are Hot Pocket Cookies." He then brings me the hollowed-out cookie, sets the cookie on the computer, laughs, and says, "Keep this for inspiration."
My take away with this recipe is:
1. Must use fresh ginger
2. Must use potholder when pulling things from the oven
3. Must roll out cookies in uniform thickness so they bake evenly
4. Must never, ever, ever dust cookies with powdered ginger - dry ginger tastes like dry ginger and it coats the tongue in a distasteful sort of way.
Last, but not least - even a crappy cookie can look good in a photo!!!
Easter egg cutter, dinosaur cutter, lobster cutter, clam cutter, tree cutter, fish cutter, sprinkles, ....where in the heck is the star cutter?!? I have one - don't I??? Everyone has a star cookie cutter except me??? Glitch number 2. I pondered for a minute whether I should run to Wal-Mart and get a star cookie cutter and then said to myself, "heck with that crap." I cut out lobsters, clams, trees, a dinosaur, a large fish, an arrow and smiley face cookies. Brush with an egg wash and covered with sugar. Who says you can't have Christmas lobster, clam or fish cookies???
15 minutes later the first batch of cookies are done - pull them out of the oven and Glitch 3. Pot holder in not in my hand.....string of expletives starting with sh*t, damn, and then h*ll rolled out of my mouth as if the holy spirit had entered my body. Holy Spirit gone and hand only slightly stinging AND with potholder in hand, I pull the cookies from the oven. I think to myself, "these have promise." Second batch goes in. This batch is thicker than the first batch so I cook them a little longer. And then a little longer yet - they looked cooked on the sides but the middle still looked doughy. By now the first batch as cooled so I try a lobster.....they taste like plain old sugar cookies. What?? Where is the ginger??? Maybe it was me so I had Chris try one. He says, "Yup, I can't taste any ginger - they taste like a sugar cookie." By now I pull out the second batch since the edges were brown, but the middle still looked under-cooked. With the first batch tasting bland, I decided while this batch was still warm I would dust them with powdered ginger.
I had Mason try this batch. This turns out to be a bad idea. He gets a thick cookie and promptly tells me, "These aren't even done in the middle." He pokes his finger into the cookie, makes a pocket and declares, "These are Hot Pocket Cookies." He then brings me the hollowed-out cookie, sets the cookie on the computer, laughs, and says, "Keep this for inspiration."
My take away with this recipe is:
1. Must use fresh ginger
2. Must use potholder when pulling things from the oven
3. Must roll out cookies in uniform thickness so they bake evenly
4. Must never, ever, ever dust cookies with powdered ginger - dry ginger tastes like dry ginger and it coats the tongue in a distasteful sort of way.
Last, but not least - even a crappy cookie can look good in a photo!!!
Friday, December 3, 2010
12 Days of Christmas Cooking....Day 1 - Egg Nog Flan
Hello Everyone....I have been gone for awhile, but I am back.
Today is the first day of my 12 days of Christmas cooking and I made Egg Nog Flan. This is a surprisingly easy recipe: Eggs (5), Egg Nog (4 cups), Sugar (2/3 cup) and 2 tbsp of water. It seems simple enough and great recipe for day 1. Sugar into the pan with water, medium heat, don't stir - only swirl pan until it turns amber colored. Here is where I ran into my first hiccup. I didn't read ahead to figure out what size pan i needed and I already have the sugar melting. With my right hand, I am swirling the pan and lifting from the heat so it doesn't caramelize before I can get a roasting pan and a pie pan. Left hand starts looking for pie pans for which I have plenty; however, as I read the recipe it calls for a round cake pan. I know I have one, but where??? Swirl, lift from heat with right hand, move muffin pans with left hand. Swirl, lift from heat with right hand, move cookie sheets with left hand. Swirl, lift from heat - success - round cake pan. About 7 minutes later, I have caramelized sugar. I poured it into the cake pan. NOTE to all readers.....when pouring hot liquid into a cake pan, you should not be holding the pan in your bare hand. That pan will get dang hot real fast and if you are like me - you drop it on the counter and a little bit of hot caramelized sugar will find it's way to your foot because you are wearing flip flops.
Next the "flan" mixture. Eggs and Egg Nog - into a bowl. Mix well, but don't get to much air into the mixture. I was careful note to whip the mixture, but I was not careful about the size of bowl had the ingredients in. The bowl was too small so every time I went to mix the egg/egg nog mixture it slopped onto the counter. A smart cook would have stopped and made it easier by getting a larger bowl for mixing. Not me......no need to dirty two bowls - make due with one. Finally both ingredients are mixed and I poured worked to slowly pour it into the caramel lined cake pan. When all of a sudden a plop of mixture sloshes into the pan. Hhhmmmm...maybe a a bit of egg not mixed well??? Maybe, but I really didn't give it a second thought (in hindsight, i should have). Pan into the roasting pan for a Bain Marie. Cover loosely with tin foil and bake for an hour. Here to is where I may have done things differently. Liquid egg mixture in a pan within in a pan of hot water covered with foil will always slosh out on to your foot which is wearing a flip flop. That is pure science right there. Next time - pan in oven then pour hot liquid into the roasting pan while in oven and then cover with foil. Bake for an hour, remove foil and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature and then chill for 2 hours. Invert onto a plate and serve. It turned out beautiful, very rich, but quite tasty....I was really surprised at myself. Remember when I said a plop of mixture went into the pan.......well that should have been scooped out because it was a slightly beaten egg that moved to the center of the flan and floated to the top as it cooked into nice area of scrambled eggs.
I think Chris named it the "Flan Frittata" and Mason called it "Scrambled Egg Nog." No matter the name, it was really is good and uniform everywhere else. Maybe tomorrow, I will cut the scrambled part and have it with toast.
Today is the first day of my 12 days of Christmas cooking and I made Egg Nog Flan. This is a surprisingly easy recipe: Eggs (5), Egg Nog (4 cups), Sugar (2/3 cup) and 2 tbsp of water. It seems simple enough and great recipe for day 1. Sugar into the pan with water, medium heat, don't stir - only swirl pan until it turns amber colored. Here is where I ran into my first hiccup. I didn't read ahead to figure out what size pan i needed and I already have the sugar melting. With my right hand, I am swirling the pan and lifting from the heat so it doesn't caramelize before I can get a roasting pan and a pie pan. Left hand starts looking for pie pans for which I have plenty; however, as I read the recipe it calls for a round cake pan. I know I have one, but where??? Swirl, lift from heat with right hand, move muffin pans with left hand. Swirl, lift from heat with right hand, move cookie sheets with left hand. Swirl, lift from heat - success - round cake pan. About 7 minutes later, I have caramelized sugar. I poured it into the cake pan. NOTE to all readers.....when pouring hot liquid into a cake pan, you should not be holding the pan in your bare hand. That pan will get dang hot real fast and if you are like me - you drop it on the counter and a little bit of hot caramelized sugar will find it's way to your foot because you are wearing flip flops.
Next the "flan" mixture. Eggs and Egg Nog - into a bowl. Mix well, but don't get to much air into the mixture. I was careful note to whip the mixture, but I was not careful about the size of bowl had the ingredients in. The bowl was too small so every time I went to mix the egg/egg nog mixture it slopped onto the counter. A smart cook would have stopped and made it easier by getting a larger bowl for mixing. Not me......no need to dirty two bowls - make due with one. Finally both ingredients are mixed and I poured worked to slowly pour it into the caramel lined cake pan. When all of a sudden a plop of mixture sloshes into the pan. Hhhmmmm...maybe a a bit of egg not mixed well??? Maybe, but I really didn't give it a second thought (in hindsight, i should have). Pan into the roasting pan for a Bain Marie. Cover loosely with tin foil and bake for an hour. Here to is where I may have done things differently. Liquid egg mixture in a pan within in a pan of hot water covered with foil will always slosh out on to your foot which is wearing a flip flop. That is pure science right there. Next time - pan in oven then pour hot liquid into the roasting pan while in oven and then cover with foil. Bake for an hour, remove foil and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature and then chill for 2 hours. Invert onto a plate and serve. It turned out beautiful, very rich, but quite tasty....I was really surprised at myself. Remember when I said a plop of mixture went into the pan.......well that should have been scooped out because it was a slightly beaten egg that moved to the center of the flan and floated to the top as it cooked into nice area of scrambled eggs.
I think Chris named it the "Flan Frittata" and Mason called it "Scrambled Egg Nog." No matter the name, it was really is good and uniform everywhere else. Maybe tomorrow, I will cut the scrambled part and have it with toast.
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