i make a good thing

i have a love-hate relationship with martha (you know which martha i mean). i oscillate between my ambition to emulate her homemade goodness and my desire to throttle her for lowering my self-esteem through impossibly concocted recipes and crafts like constructing a wreath from marshmellows and apple cores. she's like the f-ing macgyver of the domestic world.

i would like to reassure you that this is entirely one-sided. martha does not know me and there are no existing restraining orders.

her recipes are what really get me. complicated and demanding, yet described and executed with the grace of asking someone to sit down for tea. i'm sure she doesn't even break a sweat while constantly whisking egg whites and sugar in a heat-proof mixing bowl nestled on a pot of simmering water. i do, however. i know this because i attempted, for a holiday picnic, to make not one, but two types of martha cupcakes: roasted banana with honey-cinnamon frosting and strawberry with strawberry meringue buttercream. the whole venture required 8(!) sticks of butter and 11 eggs.

the roasted banana were the more difficult of the two cupcakes, but had the easier frosting.

1) preheat oven to 400. place 3 unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes. the peels turn dark brown and they are HOT. they are supposed to cool before peeling and adding them to the batter, but mine were still a little steamy. reduce oven to 350 after roasting bananas.

2) combine 2 cups cake flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt. set aside.

3) cream 1 stick butter and 3/4 cup sugar until pale and fluffy. while creaming (for some reason, this always seems to take forever), separate 3 eggs. add yolks one at a time to butter and sugar.

4) scrape down sides of bowl as needed. add roasted bananas and beat to combine. add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with addition of total 1/2 cup sour cream. beat in 1 tsp vanilla extract.

5) in another mixing bowl with mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. fold egg whites into batter in three additions.

6) fill lined muffin tins 3/4 full. bake at 350 for about 20min until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. transfer t0 wire racks to cool completely.

7) frosting: beat 2&1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp, 2 tbsp honey, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon until smooth.

since the strawberry cupcake recipe is available online, i will just include the pain-in-the-ass-yet-delicious strawberry meringue buttercream frosting.

1) puree 8 ounces (1&1/2cups) coarsely chopped strawberries (hulled).

2) combine 4 egg whites and 1&1/4 cups sugar in heatproof bowl of electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water. whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to touch and sugar has dissolved. mixture will feel smooth when rubbed between your finger tips. (this is where the sweating began. my kitchen is freaking hot. and i was starting to get kind of pissed at this point.)

3) attach the bowl to the mixer and whisk at gradually increasing speed until stiff peaks form. continue mixing until mixture is fluffy, glossy, and completely cool (test by touching bottom of bowl). this takes about 10min.

4) with mixer on medium-low speed, add 3 sticks (1&1/2 cups) of butter a few tbsp at a time, mixing well after each addition. once all the butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with spatula and switch to paddle attachment. continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 min. add pureed strawberries and beat until combined. the result will be pretty, frothy pink frosting.

now, as a bonus fourth of july ohh-ahh, i actually went to michael's and purchased decorating tips and bags to pipe the icing onto the cupcakes rather than just slathering it on with an old pharmacy spatula like i normally do. i have never piped icing onto a cupcake before. the results were mixed (see below), and of course in no way resembled martha's masterpieces. but whatever.

behold! the mighty cupcake!

it seemed like everyone at the picnic enjoyed the cupcakes. it's important food be visually appealing, but let's face it, taste is what counts, right?

jewish coffee cake

a couple girlfriends and i got together to run saturday morning and share breakfast. we each contributed a dish. i piped in with "i'll make jewish coffee cake!", which was met with "what the hell is that?".
in my family, we call a lot of specific foods "jewish", for no apparent reason. for example, salted rye=jewish rye. when i asked my mom what made the below coffee cake jewish, her response was she had no idea. but it's a family favorite, so here's the recipe.

cake
1/4 lb. butter
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, unbeaten
1 c. sour cream
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

topping
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped walnuts

cream butter and sugar. add unbeaten eggs, one at a time. add flour, soda and baking powder mixture alternately with sour cream. add vanilla last. put half of batter in a well-greased tubular pan. cover with half of topping. put remaining batter on top and the balance of topping. bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

enjoy with friends who smell as bad as you do after running.
if you want to be more politically correct, you can call it sour cream coffee cake.

kentucky butter cake

much like paula deen, i love butter. unlike paula deen, however, i am not from the south and have no old family recipes that keep cardiologists in business. so i have to turn elsewhere.

my mom started making kentucky butter cake years ago, and i have rediscovered the recipe recently. it's so easy and universally appealing, i have made it for four different events already this year. it can be served with whipped cream and fruit, but really it's quite stellar all on its own.

so, here it is, courtesy of nell lewis of platte city, missouri, winner of the 1963 pillsbury bake-off: kentucky butter cake.

cake

3 cups all-purpose flour (i use king arthur organic)

2 cups sugar (domino!)
1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk (you can substitute milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, but i always buy the buttermilk)

1 cup butter, softened (unsalted, of course)

2 tsp vanilla or rum extract (i use vanilla)

4 eggs (i've noticed since i started using cage-free organic "expensive" eggs, they have a much more vibrant color than regular)

butter sauce

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons water

1-2 tsp vanilla or rum extract (again, i use vanilla. and the 2 tsp)

heat oven to 325. generously grease and lightly flour 12-cup bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan (and fingers). in large bowl, combine all cake ingredients; blend at low speed until moistened (inevitably, flour goes flying out of my kitchen-aid). beat 3 minutes at medium speed (the batter starts to get kind of light). pour batter into greased and floured pan.

bake at 325 for 55-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean.

while cake bakes, lick batter off paddle and bowl. does a lady ever reach a certain age when she should no longer lick the bowl? i submit, she does not.

in a small saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients; cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. do not boil. using long-tined fork (i use the grill utensil), pierce cake 10 to 12 times. (ok, since this is literally the most delectable part of the cake to eat, i pierce it many, many times to ensure maximum penetration) slowly pour hot sauce over warm cake. let stand 5-10 minutes or until sauce is absorbed. invert cake onto serving plate. just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar (meh, i never do that)

maybe this is on its way to becoming an old family recipe.

the other cincinnati ice cream

it seems like cincinnati food bloggers spend a lot of type debating graeter's vs. aglamesis. hardly mentioned is that other cincinnati ice cream, udf.

started in norwood, ohio in 1940 by the eminent carl, sr. (you know who i mean), udfs can be found on street corners throughout the city. when i was a kid, i thought it would be awesome to work at udf because i loved ice cream and i thought gas smelled good.

i can's say much about aglamesis, but yes, homemade brand ice cream is less rich and creamy than graeter's. graeter's is a long, languid summer and homemade is a crisp, autumn friday afternoon. it doesn't have enormous candy bar sized chips. instead, it is peppered with splinters of chocolate that dissolve in the mouth and fill every bite with chocolately goodness. graeter's is for sundays and special occasions. homemade is for everyday after dinner.

plus, udf makes one of my all-time favorite ice cream flavors: cherry cordial. it's sweet, it's pink. ben and jerry's cherry garcia is no where near as enjoyable. i think it is because i grew up on homemade brand cherry cordial and a wealth of memories come along with it. birthdays when i got to pick the ice cream. my sister and i with kool-aid stained mouths, catching lightening bugs in my grandparents' backyard. watching star trek with my dad. homemade brand was there for it all.

yeah, this is what i had for breakfast today. i'm an adult. i can do what i want.

easter bliss

i have a confession to make. every year for lent i give up chocolate, and it is really hard. i eat other desserts, have fruit in my ice cream flurries, but, to quote a recent blockbuster movie, "it’s like… a human only living on tofu. it keeps you strong, but it never… fully satisfies". that is how i feel about not eating chocolate. my sweet tooth is never fully satisfied.
hence my confession. no, i did not cheat and give in to temptation. but i did go to the fawn unchaperoned and spent OVER $100 ON CHOCOLATE. i feel tomorrow morning will be much like this scene from chocolat, in which alfred molina gorges himself on chocolate and passes out.

easter favorites:
- chocolate caramel marshmallows
- dark chocolate opera cream eggs
- coconut goodies
- dark chocolate foil wrapped eggs. simple and divine.
- reese's peanut butter eggs. duh. i've witnessed brian put down six of these in one sitting. true story.

i could go on, but better stop. i would also like to add, this lent i discovered my professor is actually the devil. he opened his box of peanut butter patty girl scout cookies, kept offering them to me, then set the open tray on the table right in front of me for the duration of a 2 hour meeting. salivating ensued.

what are your easter favorites? and what are you happy to finally be able to eat tomorrow?

hot cross buns

at this time of year, graeter's offers its hot cross buns, a bun with candied fruit and raisins, crossed with icing piping. a very austere contrast to the paczki offered pre-lent. these buns are very good and an interesting lenten tradition.

bread has long played an important role in religious ceremonies and holidays. holiday breads are often baked in symbolic shapes and include special ingredients. easter breads often feature eggs, a commodity forbidden by the catholic church during lent. (who knew? not i.)

the practice of eating special small cakes at the time of the spring festival dates back at least to the ancient greeks. the saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honor of the goddess of light, eostre, whose name was transferred to easter. these religious offerings of bread replaced earlier offerings of blood. when archeologists excavated the city of herculaneum in southwestern italy, buried under volcanic ask and lava since 79 C.E., they found two small loaves, each with a cross on it, among the ruins.

the english custom of eating spiced buns on good friday was likely established in tudor times. the word "bun" probably came from the greek “boun”, which referred to a ceremonial cake of circular or crescent shape, made of flour and hone and offered to the gods. in england, people believed that bread baked on good friday could be hardened in the oven and kept all year to protect the house from fire. they also believe that hanging a hot cross bun in the house on this day offers protection from bad luck in the coming year. good friday buns hang for years, gathering dust and growing black with mold--although some people believe that if the ingredients are mixed, the dough prepared, and the buns baked on good friday itself, they will never get moldy. (i will not be assessing if this is true. i ate mine.)

(references here.)

scrumdiddlyumptious

this past thursday i was back in chillicothe for a residency interview. i finally made it after snow caused rescheduling and a huge tree fell across the street on wednesday as i was leaving. i've tried to not take these incidents as foreshadowing.

no trip to chillicothe is complete without a stop at lloyd's sweet shoppe (read original entry here). the store was all done up in valentine splendor. i picked up brian's valentine's day gift,

as well as an assortment of other chocolately odds and ends, including champagne truffles. the truffles were delectable. they took me back to when i worked at galerie au chocolat in high school and college. the galerie used to have a store in the westin hotel that sold imported french, swiss, and belgian chocolates. the shell of these truffles was thicker and more rigid than the truffles i remember, but they did not fall into the trap of being too sweet (like godiva). they're thinking about carrying them all year long, and i hope they do.

my grandfather will never eat butter pecan again

saw this on posted by broadway carl and found it noteworthy, all political affiliations aside. our president is a superstar.

i wonder how this plays into the stimulus package?