Rainy Day Activity

Baking English Muffins. Easy, and good!

English Muffins

* 1 cup milk * 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast * 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1/4 cup melted shortening 6 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt


1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat.
2. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved.
3. Let cool until lukewarm.
4. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
5. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
6. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour.
7. Beat until smooth.
8. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough.
9. Knead.
10. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about an hour.

11. Punch down.
12. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick.
13. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can.

14. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise.
15. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also.
16. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

17. Heat greased griddle.
18. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat.
19. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked.
20. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage.
21. To use, split and toast. Great with orange butter, or cream cheese and jam.

Dinner

We made Chili Quesadillas tonight. Awesome.

Chili Quesadilla

Ingredients
3/4 lb Lean ground beef 1 cn (4 oz) chopped green chiles;
1 md Onion; chopped 2 c Shredded cheddar or colby
1/2 tsp Salt 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 c Chunky salsa Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 450° F.
In a large skillet, brown the gound beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the salt, salsa and chiles; mix well
Stir in the cheese.
Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Place some tortillas on the sheet.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the mixture over half of each of the tortillas.
Fold each in half and place on sheet
Coat the tops of the tortillas with nonstick cooking spray
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tortillas are lightly browned and crisp.
NOTE: Eat these as is, or top each with a bit of picante sauce and a dollop of sour cream or guacamole.

Resolution of a Sort

My daughter is happy again.

Apparently, at the color guard practice tonight, she learned that the reason she was told that there was no part for her in the performances this year is because the supervisor was still writing them -- and in the material she just wrote, there is a part. I, being the manipulative type (actually, I'm not, though not from lack of desire; I would like to be able to be devious, but I'm just not good at it), would prefer that this had occurred after my daughter had made her case with the supervisor. That never happened, so she can't draw the conclusion that such things work. Ah, well. Perhaps she'll remember anyway.

Tonight, I made French Chocolate Brownies. They're remarkably like other brownies I've made, save that they are softer, more cakelike, and don't have a crackle glaze on top. Not bad. We'll be making at least one more batch for the band dinner, this coming Thursday night. Here's the recipe:

French Chocolate Brownies

Adapted from “Baking: From My Home to Yours,” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Time: 1 1/4 hours

12 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, plus 1 teaspoon melted butter for brushing pan
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, in pieces
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup lightly toasted walnuts or hazelnuts (optional).

1. Place a rack just below center of oven and preheat to 300 degrees.

2. Line an 8-inch-square pan with foil and brush with melted butter.

3. In a bowl, whisk flour and salt together.

4. In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt remaining butter and chocolate together.

5. Stir often and remove from heat when a few lumps remain. Stir until smooth.

6. In a mixer, beat eggs and sugar together until thick and pale yellow.
7. Add chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix at low speed until smooth.
8. Add dry ingredients and mix 30 seconds, then finish mixing by hand, adding nuts if using.
9. Pour into prepared pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is dry.
10. Let cool in pan, then lift out and cut into bars or wrap in foil.


Yield: 12 to 16 brownies.

Twit

I still occasionally engage people on Twitter about political topics. Not too often, and not too successfully. But I do. I have this need to make them understand that not all liberals are idiots. That's of course assuming I'm not an idiot!

I mentioned to my daughter that a doc had suggested I try riding a girl's bike, since I have so much difficulty rotating my hip to hike a leg over the seat, but, trying it with hers, I found I couldn't even do that. Oh, I have an answer for that, she said, and taking her bike she laid it completely down on its side. I was able to step (gingerly) into it, and then just pick it up. Not as elegant as I'd like, but it works.

Blood sugars in the mornings have been amazingly low. I even dropped the long-acting insulin, one night, by about 10%, and it was still way low the next morning. The key seems to be getting the night time number pretty low, too. Its a balancing act. Too low at night and I'll bottom out some time during the early morning hours, which is not a good thing.

Today, we made these. Not bad. They'd have been better had I remembered to put the Dijon and cheese on!

Bierochs

Pastry Dough
5 cups flour 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar
11/2 cups milk 8 tablespoons melted butter


Filling
1 lb ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped
2cups cabbage, chopped 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces cheddar cheese 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place 5 cups of flour, sugar, and 1 package dry active yeast in a bowl.
Heat milk till lukewarm
Add the milk, melted butter and eggs.
Stir until stiff.
Knead the dough, put in lightly greased bowl, let rise 1 hour.
Meanwhile chop cabbage, onion. Set aside.
Punch down dough, knead again, punch down. Set aside.

Brown chopped onion, ground beef, and cabbage on medium heat until cooked through.
Take off heat.
Add salt and pepper, dijon mustard, and cheddar cheese.
Stir until cheese melts.

Divide dough into 12 pieces.

Roll pieces into balls, flatten each piece into a circle and fill with 1/4 cup of the filling.

Close each bieroch by pulling the corners together and then place seam down on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bread is golden brown

Baking

Well, the baking of the birthday cake is underway.

I have never made a torte, so when I came across a recipe for Chocolate and Ginger Torte, I thought this would be a good time to try it. If it comes out well, I'll make a ganache tomorrow to coat it. Of course, this being me, the cake isn't being made to the highest of standards. For one thing, I couldn't find 'stem ginger' to save myself; I put in an arbitrary amount of ground ginger. The eggs never did make peaks; that only happens, in my experience, with a power whisk, and my only bowl for the stand beater was holding the chocolate, flour, and butter. C'est la vie -- I did it by hand, sue me. The final batter is pretty tasty, though -- could almost be brownie batter.

chocolate & ginger torte

5 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 stick butter
3 extra-large eggs, separated
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 pieces of stem ginger in syrup, chopped
generous 1/4 cup superfine sugar
unsweetened cocoa powder, to dust
heavy cream, to serve

Heat oven to 325°F
Grease an 8-in round springform cake pan and line its base with waxed paper.
Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water.
Heat until melted.
Remove from the heat and cool for about 10 minutes.
Beat in the egg yolks, then sift the flour over the top and fold in, along with the chopped ginger.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy, then whisk in the sugar, 1 tbsp. at a time, until peaks are formed.
Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then pour into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for about 25 minutes until firm to the touch, but still slightly soft in the center.
Let cool completely in the pan.

To serve, remove the cake from the pan, and dust with cocoa powder.
Serve in wedges with heavy cream poured on top.

Hey, Cupcake!

Baked these this afternoon. My, oh, my. Creamy in the middle and on top. Way too many for us to eat, so we froze some for my wife to take into work on Monday.


FOR THE FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese,at room temperature
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
FOR THE CAKES:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Heat the oven to 350°F.
Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
Prepare the filling:
Mix the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and chocolate chips together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Set the filling aside.
Prepare the cake batter:
Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the oil, vanilla, vinegar, and 2 cups water.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined, about 1 minute.
Increase the speed by one level and mix until the batter is lump-free, about 3 minutes.
Scoop the batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them approximately three-fourths full.
Drop a small spoonful of filling on top of the batter in each cup.
Bake untl the tops of the cakes are firm when pressed, 18 to 20 minutes. Let them cool slightly, and serve warm.

Snapt

This morning I made Brandy Snaps. It was an interesting experience.

The first recipe, from the Cookie book that my mento'd given me, used molasses as the primary sweet ingredient. They cited light molasses, which I didn't have, but I did have dark molasses. Turns out that wasn't a good idea. The batter hardly spread at all, and even after five minutes of cooling was way too pliable - almost the consistency of a crepe. So, I did a web search and found a recipe on the Washington Post site that looked plausible. Only catch was, it used Golden Syrup -- but some sites suggested that corn syrup was an acceptable alternative. And so it turned out to be.

Here's the recipe, and the sweet, crunchy, and more than a little greasy result. One note: when they say '6 on the baking sheet', that's only if you really are using a level tablespoon or less. Any more, back off on the number of pieces. These jewels spread.

Brandy Snaps

Summary: There is no brandy in these easy molded cookies. They are traditionally filled with a brandy-flavored whipped cream before serving. To make them, you'll need to have ready 2 or 3 rounded handles about 3/4 inch wide (we used the handles of a wooden meat mallet and wire whisks). Lyle's Golden Syrup is available at Rodman's stores, Giant and some Williams-Sonoma stores. MAKE AHEAD: The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. The batter should not be refrigerated or frozen. Makes 12 to 18 cookies Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup flour
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup (see headnote)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Whisk together the flour and ginger in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and golden syrup; cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the flour-ginger mixture. Working fairly quickly to keep the mix from stiffening, spoon 6 level tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them at least 2 inches apart (the cookies will spread quite a bit).

Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate the sheet front to back and bake for 5 minutes. The cookies will be flat and golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to the stove top (off the heat but in a warm place).

Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes, until they are firm but flexible; then, working with one or two at a time, wrap the cookies around a handle to form a tubular shape and transfer to a wire rack to set; this should take about 1 minute. When the cookies are crisp, the handles can be extracted. Let the cookies cool completely before storing. Repeat with the remaining batter. Store the molded cookies in an airtight container to maintain their crispness.

Recipe Source: Adapted from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" (Clarkson Potter, 2008).

Baking

My mento gave me a small book of cookie types, Anita Chu's Field Guide to Cookies, with the hint that it would be great if I practiced every one of them over the summer so that I could give him some when I saw him next year. Well, I replied, number one, I don't even know if I'm going to want to do this next year, and number two, if I do work with you next year, I'm going to be a little more demanding than I was this year. Perhaps you won't like that. He thought about it. But I'll still get cookies, right? I nodded. Of course, I said, I could just drop some by your house during the summer. He didn't like that idea. A guy giving a kid cookies? Too creepy. I agreed.

I'm not going to make every one, but tonight I made the first, Amaretti, a sort of Italian macaroon, thin, crisp, and chewy. Not at all bad.

1 cup blanched almonds
2/3 cup sugar
5 tsp all purpose flour
2 egg whites
3/4 tsp almond extract
(optional) confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Using a food processor, grind almonds, sugar, flour and salt to a fine meal. Note: Grind the almonds to as fine a consistency as possible — sift out any large bits. Grinding them with the sugar prevents the nuts from being pulverized into a paste, as the sugar absorbs some of the nut oils.

Place ground almond mixture in a large bowl and add the egg whites and almond extract. Mix with a rubber spatula until combined.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. If desired, sift confectioners’ sugar over cookies before baking.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through; when Amaretti are done baking, the edges will be golden brown.

Cool sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes before transferring cookies directly onto wire racks with a metal spatula to finish cooling.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Evening Plans

I am reading that book we got today, and got the urge for something concrete to offset the theory. (Which reminds me of the scene from The West Wing where the President's daughter greets the Chief of Staff - "Hi, Mr. McGarry" "Hi, Zoe, how are you? What have you been up to?" "Keeping it real, Mr. McGarry". She then walks out of the Oval Office, and he turns to the President, who's reading something. "Did you understand that?" He doesn't even look up. "Not a clue.")

Well, understand this - a batch of which are cooling on the counter at this moment. Minus the one grabbed by my daughter on her way out.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2.5 cups oatmeal
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 oz chocolate chips

1. Blend oatmeal to fine consistency in food processor.
2. Cream butter and sugars, beating until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until blended.
4. Add flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; beat until blended.
5. Add chocolate chips; beat until blended.
6. Scoop and place on baking sheet.
7. Bake at 375 for 12 or so minutes.
8. Allow to cool on sheet, then transfer to wire rack to complete cooling.

Creamy

Last night, I made this Pots de Creme recipe, found on the King Arthur baking blog, and apparently echoed elsewhere. It is very easy to make, and results in a fairly dense, creamy pudding with a mild taste that goes quite well with strawberries.

* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 large egg, at room temperature
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 to 2 tablespoons liqueur


Directions

1) Place the chocolate chips, salt, and sugar in a blender or food processor and pulse until finely ground.
2) Add the egg and pulse just until the mixture is smooth.
3) Heat the cream to just below a boil, with small bubbles forming around the edge of the saucepan (or microwave-safe bowl).
4) Turn on the blender or processor, and slowly add the cream. Scrape down the sides of the container if necessary. Add the flavoring of your choice and pulse to blend.
5) Divide into 6 individual serving cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
6) Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Rice? Nice

We found this recipe some time ago. Every time we make it, one of us remarks that we ought to have it more often.

I modified the recipe to make it sweeter, though the original, which can be found at the Swedish Baker blog, here, is pretty good, too.

JASMINE RICE WITH COCONUT MILK AND FLEUR DE SEL

1 cup cooked Jasmine or Basmati rice (about a third cup uncooked)
2/3 cup light coconut milk, well-shaken
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/3 cup chopped mango (optional)

Put the COOKED rice in a bowl.

Sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.

Add the optional mango. Pour the coconut milk over the rice.

Sprinkle with the salt.

Note: Regular and light coconut milk can be found in the Asian section of your market. Do not use "cream of coconut" which has sugar added. It's fine for pina coladas and some desserts and is usually found in the liquor section.

Fleur de sel or "flower of salt" is so named because it smells like violets when harvested. It's a coarse, unprocessed, hand-harvested salt, so it tends to be expensive, but a little goes a long way. Its delicate flavor adds brightness and brings out the flavors of whatever you're serving. Its crunch adds textural contrast. Maldon sea salt is a good substitute. Finishing salts are just that -they're meant to be added to a dish just before serving. Some finishing salts have a smokey taste and others are an eye-catching red, pink, or orange. Each has a distinctive flavor and use. They can be found at Whole Foods, Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, Dean & DeLuca, and at several online outlets.


Incidentally, that Swedish Baker site has an amazing collection of food-related links, over on the right side of the page. Quite impressive.

Cook Ease

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe found on The Houndstooth Gourmet.

Ingredients
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1 cup raisins
  

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Brownies

I've never quite been comfortable with the distinction of brownies as 'fudge-like- or 'cake-like'. Somehow, that seems insufficiently descriptive to me. Nevertheless, I think I understand the concept of 'cake-like' a little better, having just baked these. For one thing, they don't have a crackle-top glaze, and that lack makes them easier to cut. For another, they're not particularly sweet. I was thinking about icing them, but the heck with that. Bet they'd be good with ice-cream, though.

I found the recipe at Bake or Break.


Dark Victory Brownies

* 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
* 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
* 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1/3 cup sour cream
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

1. Heat oven to 325°. Line a 9-inch square pan with foil so that 2 inches hang over two opposite sides. Grease the foil.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.
3. Using a wooden spoon, beat in cocoa powder and sugar until well blended.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
5. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract.
6. Add flour and salt. Mix just until blended. Stir in pecans.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan.
8. Bake 40-45 minutes or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with a few moist crumbs attached.
9. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Makes 16 brownies.

Kuglof

A little on the dry side, and not as sweet as I'd have expected, but it's good with coffee.


3/4 C milk
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 3/4 C flour [ I increased to about 3 C ]
1/3 C sugar
1/2 t salt
4 oz (1 stick) butter
3 eggs @ room temperature
1 t vanilla

Filling

4 oz (4 T) butter
1/2 C cocoa powder
2 t Grand Marnier

1/2 C sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Generously slather an 8" Kugelhopf mold or tube pan with soft butter.

Gently warm the 3/4 C milk.
Place 1/4 C of the milk in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it along with a pinch of sugar.
Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.
Stir in about 2 – 3 T of the measured flour to make a sticky dough, then cover and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Gently re-warm the remaining 1/2 C milk with the 4 oz butter until melted.
Cool to lukewarm.

Beat the eggs together with the vanilla.

Whisk together the remaining flour, sugar and salt in a large wide bowl and make a well in the center.
Place the lukewarm milk/butter mixture, beaten eggs/vanilla and the bit of risen yeast dough to the center of the bowl in the well.
Work all of it together with your hand, first mixing the ingredients in the center and then working in the flour around the edges bit by bit.
The dough should take just a couple of minutes of mixing to form a smooth dough.
If it’s too sticky, keep adding flour a tablespoon at a time until it forms a soft and pliable dough.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface or piece of parchment and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a large wide bowl that has been generously oiled, turning the dough over so the top surface is oiled.
Cover the top of the bowl with a light cloth or piece of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 30-40 minutes.

Filling:
Melt the 2 oz butter and take off the heat.
Whisk in the cocoa and Grand Marnier to make a thin cocoa butter paste.
Whisk until there are no lumps.
Set aside.
In another bowl, stir sugar and cinnamon together
Set aside.

When the dough is ready, divide it into two pieces and roll out one at a time on a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment to about 13" x 8", the length depending on the circumference of the base of your pan.
Spread half the cocoa butter paste on the dough and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar.
Roll up the dough into a log starting at the longer side.
Lift it gently and place into the buttered kugelhopf or tube pan and pinch the ends together to seal.
Repeat with the second piece of dough and stack it on top of the other piece, forming two rings inside the mold.
Overlap the ends of the log and tuck under.
Set aside in a warm place until the dough has risen to about an inch from the top of the mold, about 30 to 45 minutes or so.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the mold on a baking sheet and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until it’s risen and browned.
If the top browns too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then turn the Kuglof out on the rack to cool completely before slicing.

Que?

We had Chili Quesadillas for dinner, tonight, and they were quite good.

1 lb Lean ground beef....1 cn (4 oz) chopped green chiles
1 md Onion; chopped.....2 c Shredded cheddar or colby
1/2 ts Salt.........................10 8 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 c Chunky salsa.. .....Nonstick cooking spray

In a large skillet, brown the gound beef and onion over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
Add the salt, salsa and chiles; mix well
Stir in the cheese.
Heat the oven to 450.
Spread 1/4 cup of the mixture over half of each of the tortillas.
Coat baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Fold each in half and place on baking sheet
Coat the tops of the tortillas with nonstick cooking spray
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tortillas are lightly browned and crisp.

NOTE: Eat these as is, or top each with a bit of picante sauce and a dollop of sour cream or guacamole.

From Big Oven.

Christmas Card

One of our friends gave us a Christmas card which included a recipe for Black Forest Cookies from the Martha Stewart magazine. They're quite good, and intensely chocolate. This is the recipe (my version, and Martha's version).

1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled .............................2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder ............................................................ 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar................................................................ 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large eggs.................................................................................... 1 1/2 cups dried cherries
1 package (about 12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks



1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder; and salt; set aside.
2. Place chopped chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; stir until melted and smooth.
3. Remove from heat; whisk in sugars, then eggs, until smooth.
4. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined (do not overmix).
5. Fold in chocolate chunks and dried cherries; press plastic wrap directly onto surface of dough,
6. Refrigerate until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

7. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Drop mounds of dough (equal to 2 level tablespoons) about 2 inches apart onto prepared sheets.
9. Bake just until edges are firm (but not darkening), 11 to 13 minutes.
10. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cupcakes

This is the recipe I used for the chocolate cupcakes, which were, shall we say, wolfed down, even if I did, ahem, forget to put in the boiling water.

It's from Caprial’s Desserts by Caprial Pence and Melissa Carey.

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ¼ cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 heaping TBSP cocoa powder
3 eggs
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour (To make two cups of cake flour, combine 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch)
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
¾ cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease cupcake pans and set aside.
2. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often , until well blended, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the cocoa powder. Mix until combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, on at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing well after each addition.
5. Continue to beat for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer, add the melted chocolate, and mix well.
6. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add about ½ the ingredients followed by about ½ of the sour cream and beat well. Add the remaining dry ingredients followed by the remaining sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition.
7. Add the boiling water and beat until smooth.
8. Scoop (ice cream scoop works best) batter into prepared pans.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.
10. Let cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan. Let cupcakes cool completely.

Piiiiiizzaaaa

I tried a different pizza dough recipe today. I had been reading about this guys recipe, and he was a fanatic -- must be this, cannot be that, absolutely this, never that -- and I thought whoa, I'm not that intense. Peter Reinhart will never genuflect at my table. So I pulled out a dough recipe I'd used before, and was surprised to see that I had stuck a second one, right underneath. I tried it, and its not at all bad -- yields a wet dough that rises easily, and bakes into a nice, soft crust. I found it at cucinabodanza.blogspot. The notes and such are from the original site, though I agree with them.


4 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour (You can also replace some of the AP flour with whole wheat.)
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 good squeeze of honey
1 rounded tsp salt

Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Into the well add yeast, sugar, and warm water. Proof yeast several minutes, until it foams. In the meantime, combine milk, olive oil, salt, and honey in a microwave-safe container and heat for about 40 seconds. You don't want cold milk but you don't want hot milk. Plus, you need to dissolve the honey. Let this container sit in the microwave while the yeast proofs.

Once the yeast has proofed, gradually add milk mixture to the flour as you begin to combine the wet and dry ingredients with a spatula or wooden spoon or even your hand. Once reasonably incorporated, continue to knead right in the bowl or turn out onto a floured surface and knead. I usually don't knead the dough very long, about five minutes. If dough is sticky, gradually add more flour as you knead. It's better to have a sticky dough and add flour than try to add moisture to a dry dough.

Form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly rub with olive oil and place right back in the mixing bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap, wax paper, or a damp kitchen towel and set someplace warm and free from drafts. The oven is a good place. I turn on the oven to the lowest temperature for a few minutes then shut off.

When the dough has doubled, divide it into however many portions you need. This recipe will make one big pizza (which is what I made) two normal-sized pizzas or four personal pizzas for hungry folks. I don't "punch" down the dough and wait for a second raise. I usually just gently handle it enough to stretch it into the pan(s). It continues to rise as I'm preparing toppings or doing other general kitchen tasks. Then I top it and bake it in the lower middle of the oven at around 400. Sometimes I use a stone, sometimes I grill it.

ION

In Other News--

The chocolate chip muffins are baking now. I'm making 18 (theres enough batter left for one, possibly two more). I hope that we're giving six each to three neighbors, but I'm leaving that up to my wife. She can do whatever she likes with them (memories of the motorcycle joke come to mind). I also mixed up the dough for some bread, though this is not destined to become bread, per se -- it will become frozen chunks to be used in the future for fried dough -- which is actually not bad stuff.

Finally got through the New York Times Magazine of last week and their annual summary of Great Ideas. As usual, about a third were Hmm, thats nice, a third were What, Are You Kidding Me, and a third were actually quite interesting.

My wife informs me that she's likely to have a meltdown this week - a combination of the ongoing stress of work (when will I get fired), the death of my cousin (still a little hard to accept), the general economic malaise, and, perhaps most significantly, her family (or part of it) is coming here for Christmas. We're having turkey. We never have turkey -- but her family does, so we are. I keep singing We're having..pizza..for Christmas!, but it doesn't seem to be doing much good. At the end of the week, the daughteroid is going on a class trip up to New York City (am I paranoid? Does the Pope have a serious wardrobe issue?), and we're going down to Georgetown for an overnight trip, weather permitting. If I were a good doobie, I'd go up to New York for my cousin's funeral, but four hours plus up, four hours plus back, for a funeral seems a bit much. I suppose that makes me a bit of a creep?

I see where Barack's gone to Hawaii for a vacation. Good idea. He's already done more than the currently resident President has done, lately. I used to get irritated when Bush would take yet another vacation, and perhaps I'll grow to feel that way about Obama, but right now: Charge Up, Man -- as much as you possibly can.

I keep leafing through the book by the White House chef. I can bake a number of things, and he's a pretty easy going writer (none of this The butter, which has been chilled for 18 hours at twenty-six point two degrees Fahrenheit, must be warmed on a metal bowl over a bowl of gently simmering water and stirred with the horn of a unicorn...), but still: I'm envious. I'd like to be able to bake one or two things to his standard. Not the Oh, My God ones, just the ordinary ones, like the cookies and pies. It'd be fun, I think.

And thats it for the mo. Oh, and here's the muffin recipe.

Chocolate Chip Muffins
40 minute prep time Makes 18 - 20

2 1/2 CUPS FLOUR
2 1/4 TSP BAKING POWDER
1/2 TSP SALT
2/3 CUP BUTTER
2/3 CUP SUGAR
3 EGGS
2/3 CUP BUTTERMILK (OR, 3TBLSPOONS DRY BUTTERMILK AND 3/4CUP WATER)
2/3 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS
2/3 CUP GOLDEN RAISINS


PREHEAT OVEN TO 375.
GREASE MUFFIN PANS.
IN MEDIUM BOWL, COMBINE FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, AND SALT.
IN ELECTIC MIXER BOWL, CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR.
ADD EGGS TO MIXER AND BEAT UNTIL SMOOTH
GRADUALLY ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND BUTTERMILK.
BLEND WELL.
ADD CHIPS AND RAISINS.
DIVIDE BATTER EVENTLY INTO MUFFIN CUPS. FILL EACH CUP HALFWAY OR LESS. (An ice cream scoop works quite well for this)
BAKE 30 MINUTES.
COOL IN PAN 5 MINUTES BEFORE REMOVING.

Truffling

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
MAKES ABOUT 30

TRUFFLE BASE
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
9 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped, divided

CHOCOLATE COATING
8 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional; for rolling)

FOR TRUFFLE BASE:
Bring cream to simmer in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat; cool to lukewarm, 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir 7 ounces chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water until smooth. Remove from heat.
Add 2 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth.
Stir in cream.
Chill truffle base until firm enough to roll, about 3 hours.

Line rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper.
Roll 2 teaspoons truffle base between fingertips into ball.
Transfer to prepared sheet.
Repeat with remaining truffle base.
Chill until firm, about 1 hour.

FOR CHOCOLATE COATING:
Line another rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper.
Stir chocolate in metal bowl over saucepan of simmering water just until melted.
Remove from heat.
Cool slightly.
Scoop some of warm (not hot) melted chocolate into palm of hand.
Place 1 chilled truffle in hand and roll in palm to coat.
Transfer to prepared sheet.
Repeat with remaining melted chocolate and truffles, rewarming chocolate if necessary.
Roll in cocoa powder if desired.

DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead.
Store in airtight container and keep chilled.
Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Notes:
ROLLING THE TRUFFLE BASE Start with a well-chilled truffle base (chilled at least three hours), and use your hands as little as possible in the shaping process. Make a sphere by scooping out two teaspoons of truffle base with a mini ice cream scoop (with a release). If you don't have a mini scoop, dig deep into the base with a teaspoon-size measuring spoon or melon bailer, then turn it in a circle to create a sphere of chocolate. Drop onto a lined baking sheet. Dip the spoon or scoop in warm water to clean it. Finally, smooth out the spheres with your fingertips, which are cooler than your palms.

DIPPING THE TRUFFLES When truffles are coated with too much melted chocolate, an unattractive "foot" of chocolate forms at their base. To prevent this from happening make truffle dipping easier—hand roll them in chocolate. First, scoop a little of the melted chocolate into your palm, then roll a truffle around in your palm to coat it with chocolate. When the truffle is uniformly covered in melted chocolate, gently drop it from your palm onto a paper-lined baking sheet.

(From Epicurious)