cookie packages in the making...

when the holidays roll around i get into "baking mode major" because i prefer to give people food as gifts, aint nothin' like lovin' from the oven! ok i will stop. but seriously i love giving my good friends and family things i have made and sharing some of my favorite recipes with them. this year to start things off i decided to make my great grandma's thumb-print cookies (recipe to come). this is only a sneak peak of the rest of the lovely treats to come! i can't wait to share it all!! but in the mean time, i have to taste test...

and this is my tree, finally done!!^_^ 

chai spiced snickerdoodles added today!! they were really yummy, and yes, i do taste tests along the way! i have to make sure everything comes out well!

here are more cookies i made for my cookie packages!!

seven layer bars..or as i like to call them sin bars.

frosted ginger cookies

russian tea cookies (aka melting moments)

chocolate crinkles^_^

baked

last night i got an early christmas present from a good friend of mine. he gave me this book entitled: baked explorations. oddly enough i was just reading about these two guys who own this bakery in new york city, also called "baked". i had read about them and their amazing cupcakes in david lebovitz's blog, and i was curious about their cakes, pies, etc. as i was perusing through looking at all the amazing recipes and getting even more excited to try them all i came upon this one...

i really can't wait to try it!! an ORANGE CREAMSICLE TART!! AAH! yum! ok, i will obviously let you know how this one goes because it is now at the top of my list for things to try! thanks goes out again to my friend for getting me this awesome book!!

sugar, spice, and everything nice

 portland's downtown christmas tree(thank you FBI for saving us from terrorism)

happy holidays everyone! i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving weekend, i'm still in rehab mode from all the food consumed on thanksgiving. you'd think a little christmas shopping would help me out with that, but with the holidays also comes wondrous amounts of FOOD! in light of the christmas to come i went on a little field trip with my parents to thornton's christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree^_^ one thing you will learn about me is I LOVE CHRISTMAS, like seriously LOVE christmas, i love the music(you know i have my n'sync cd already playing), the chill in the air(which makes for AMAZING sleeping weather^_~), and of course the food!

my dad and i with our PERFECT tree^_^

 after arranging our tree in our living room i felt like doing a little light baking and my mom was feeling a little "spicy" so she suggested i make chewy molasses cookies;  a perfect little treat to add to the holiday spirit. so i went online and looked up a cookie recipe. pioneer woman never lets me down! she had the perfect chewy cookie recipe and i couldn't wait to try it! 

Spicy Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sugar
• ¾ cups Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• ¼ cups Molasses
• 1 whole Egg
• 2 cups Flour
• 2-½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Cardamom
• ¼ teaspoons Salt

preheat oven to 350 degrees.
mix sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg together until well combined.

dump in dry ingredients, stirring dry ingredients together lightly. mix together until dough is combined. 

in your hands roll dough into walnut-sized balls, then generously coat each ball with sugar. place balls on a baking sheet and bake for 9 to 11 minutes, allowing to bake for about a minute after cookies begin to crack.

after i let them cool i got a cup of cocoa with A LOT of marshmallows to go with it. it was the perfect little treat for our day of holiday fun!! i think the one thing i really enjoyed about this recipe is that it is so easy, it just takes a little mixing and rolling and there you go, yummy warm cookies! i have made ginger cookies before with icing and these didn't even need any icing at all, they were sweet, spicy, warm, and the added bonus of the sugary crunch on the outside just made it all the better! the pioneer woman even suggested dipping them in some white chocolate, i may have to try that next time! 

happy thanksgiving!!

in all the aftermath of plates of food atop plates of food, all the taste testings of cranberry sauce and gravies, and making sure my croissants and pies turned out just right. well, i just wanted to let everyone know that i am not only thankful for the food baby that is happily residing in my tummy, but also for all the love and support i have gotten on this blog from the beginning. i have some great people who always follow and comment on all the weirdness of my baking life. and i am thankful for you guys!! so THANK YOU!! and HAPPY THANKSGIVING, i hope everyone spent today with friends, family, and loved ones^_^

lisa

happy birthday mom

happy birthday to my mom. thank you for teaching me how to make chocolate chip cookies, in her opinion "the BEST double chocolate chip brownies EVER", and how to live life with passion. love you mama^_^

green cake & ham...minus the ham

adventure day's with jen and lyle^_^ this time around i was REALLY, and i mean REALLY excited to go to sellwood, OR to try a patisserie jen had told me about. well, she actually told me about the cake. its vietnamese wedding cake...but i will get to that in a bit. this place is called jade bistro, teahouse, & patisserie, quite a name for a shop in sellwood. but man, this place far exceeded any expectations i walked in with, and they were pretty high since jen talked up the cake...or as i like to call it "the cake sent from heaven".

the cafe style eatery is very happily situated near homes and other small shops along 13th ave. a perfect little place to walk to and have some tea with friends or grab a delicious vietnamese plate of curried catfish...yumm! it is all order and sit style too, which i actually enjoyed, it gave jen and i time to catch up since i had last seen her. but there was literally a line out the door, so i could quickly tell this place was GOOD! the feeling is very welcoming. right when you walk in, everyone is so friendly and more than willing to give you a suggestion or two about the best things to order.

after we sat down, lyle, who ordered for us, so we could save a table, brought us our thai iced teas! creamy goodness in a cup!

 then the food came!! this is my lemon grass chicken with garlic and broccoli...i love chicken.

jen opted for the fried chicken, crispy and tender, paired with the cool veggies and dipped in the sauce at the bottom of the plate, it was a perfect little bite to eat!

lyle's amazing fried, curried catfish atop a bed of spinach. his was the best, and i have to say i secretly wanted to steal it from him, but sadly he ate it all. at least i know what i will be getting next time i go!!

VIETNAMESE WEDDING CAKE!! after all that food i honestly didn't know if i could eat this, but since jen had talked it up soooooo much i thought i had to make room. and somehow i did. because i pretty much finished the whole piece by myself! i couldn't help it though! the creamy layers of butter cream mixed with the nutty, botanical hint from the pandan cake. AND on top of all that the crispy, semi-savory, filo dough layer nestled between even more butter cream...like i said "the cake sent from heaven". that is why i made room^_^

jen also bought some of their yummy macaroons! we snacked on these at a MUCH later time in the day after my digestion kicked in and a helpful short trip to H&M. i love adventure days!!^_^ 

apples AND caramel

so let's start with the delici-oh-sooooo apple cake. a new fall fave of mine. i found the recipe on a wonderful new blog i have been reading called "dessert first". this wonderful pastry chef/blogger/photographer named anita has given me some great new recipes to try. she recently wrote a blog about dorrie greenspan, a culinary icon!! dorrie has worked with a multitude of culinary giants, including julia childs! so when anita posted about her apple cake i had to try it!! not only because i LOVE apples, but also because i have never heard of an apple cake and it sounded really yummy!

YES! i got to use the rest of my dark rum from my truffles! i think using three different types of baking apples helped bring out the appley flavors, i used fuji, golden delicious and gala, but any baking apple will work just as well.

skinning and cubing took some time:-p...

but mixing with the batter took no time at all^_^

i had to let it sit in the oven a lot longer than the recipe called for, and after comparing a version of the recipe from anita's blog to david lebovitz's i found out why! the pan size was wrong! but no harm, no foul and i still got to eat my cake!! after it cooled i dug in. the chunks of apple with the dense cake, similar to a bread pudding was so delightful! the hints of rum added to the tender pieces of baked apple and the caramel crusty edges just made it all the better! i think next time i may ad a bit of cinnamon and a little more vanilla just to make the flavors really POP!!^_^ 

NOW, ON TO THE CARAMEL...

 ooey gooey goodness on a plate, no joke people, this is the REAL DEAL! one of the BEST brownie recipes i have ever eaten/made in my entire 25 years of existence! SALTED-CARAMEL-BROWNIES!! say it again if you have to, it is a lot to take in all at once^_^! thanks goes out to the pioneer woman, she has the key to my baking heart! the ooey gooey warm brownie paired with the savory and sweet caramel literally melts in your mouth and makes it do a little happy dance! my mouth is literally watering as i type all this out...but let's get to the recipe...

Salted Caramel Brownies

For the brownies:

• 6 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate, Chopped
• ¾ cups Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• 2 cups Sugar
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1 cup All-purpose Flour

For the salted caramel:

• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Sugar
• ½ cups Water
• ¼ cups Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 2 Packages Powdered Gelatin Mixed With 1/4 Cup Water *i only used one package because the pioneer woman had said some people had problems with the gelatin and that it wouldn't turn out right, but it worked well for me.*

FOR THE BROWNIES:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter or baking spray. *if you want it to be easier to remove the brownies later i suggest buttering the pan, lining it with parchment paper and buttering again*

In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt chocolate and butter, stirring until melted. *For this, i didn't have unsweetened chocolate, so i just substituted for semi-sweet and reduced the amount of sugar added later.* Add sugar and stir gently until combined. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, gently whisk the eggs. Add a small splash of eggs to chocolate mixture, stirring immediately (but still gently). Drizzle in the rest of the eggs, stirring constantly.
Add flour and stir until combined. Pour batter into greased baking pan and spread to even out the surface.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, then remove from oven to cool completely in the pan.

FOR THE CARAMEL GLAZE:
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm heavy cream. Do not boil.
In a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Do not stir. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Cook until the mixture turns an amber color—not too dark, but definitely amber. Remove pan from stove.
Add warm cream, butter, and salt. Stir gently until mixture is smooth and well combined.

*mmmmmm...so good, i couldn't stop "taste testing" the sauce. it was sooo good!* When it is smooth and calmed down a bit, pour in gelatin/water mixture *in small amounts making sure to stir after each addition, adding it slowly made it come out well, and it helps to keep the caramel smooth and not to harden up.*

TO FINISH:
Pour caramel glaze all over completely cooled brownies. Allow to set completely. *i didn't do that, i just cut a piece and pigged out!* Cut into small rectangles and serve...or save it all for yourself^_~

 try them and tell me what you think!!^_^

WISHES DO COME TRUE!!!^_^

KITCHEN AID MIXER AND A FOOD PROCESSOR all in one day!! i feel like i have won the lottery!! BUT BETTER!! so, i went to hang out with my girlfriend jen today, and before i left my parents asked me what i wanted for christmas this year, i half jokingly answered "a kitchen aid and a food processor!!" who knew santa acted so quickly!! well, i can sorta thank myself for the food processor, since it was on sale at macy's for $78.99 (i love driving to oregon for no sales tax), thank you jen for helping me convince myself to get it! then, when i arrived home my parents said they went to costco, which was having a kitchen aid mixer sale for $249.99 (an amazing deal considering it is the six quart heavy duty one), but my dad said they didn't get it because my mom wanted a blue one...lame. then he came out of the garage with the HUGE box in his hands!! I was like an ecstatic kid on christmas morning, seriously, i was jumping around:-p YAY! i look forward to using both in my further baking adventures!!^_^

if this is how thanksgiving is, i wonder how christmas is going to be?? let's hope i get what i am wishing for!! ^_~

the great cake challenge

my lovely sister is getting married in 11 months. and she has asked me to make her her wedding cakes, PLURAL! she has requested seven, yes, SEVEN different types of cakes for her wedding. i have NEVER made a wedding cake, let alone seven of them. however, because i love her that much, i told her i would do it. bear with me on this one people. its going to be a long process and i will probably post about this on numerous occasions. i have eleven months to get these 10 inch cakes ready, recipes and all. let's see how this one goes...

here is her list:

1. Chantilly (have NO IDEA how to make it)

2. Blueberry cheesecake or other local berry (made it)

3. Pineapple upside-down (made it)

4. Vegan chocolate (made it)

5. Red velvet (made it)

6. Lemon w/ coconut shavings (never heard of it)

7. Spice/carrot cake (made it in cupcake form...) 

seven 10 inch single/double layer cakes, here i come!!

i'm a chocolatier!!

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, that's me being a busy bee. with floor set, traveling to hawaii and finding out i have a job change its all a lot to take on right now:-p good thing cooking is there to comfort me through all the craziness of life!! so the other day i was watching the barefoot contessa's back to basics on the food network. i love ina garten, her whole view on food is so inspiring, her show is one of my favorite to watch because she really focuses on the food and making it not only simple, but delicious!

this is ina garten, i love her denim woven and how she always pops her collar^_^

well ms. garten was doing an entire episode about one of my favorite things in the entire world of sweets...CHOCOLATE!!! she was showing her viewers how to make a chocolate cornucopia filled with different kinds of truffles. now, chocolate has always been a VERY interesting medium for me, not only because of its unique texture, flavor, and color, but because its so darn good!! ever since i was a kid i have always loved the way it melts in your mouth, whether it be peanut m&m's(one of my fave), hersey's kisses, or snickers bars...droool...chocolate just tastes GOOD! well as i was watching ms. garten make a rum raisin truffle i said, "I CAN DO THAT!!" (and, yes, i do talk yo my T.V. sometimes). well the next day i checked my kitchen for all the tools and ingredients needed...

first i had to buy a cookie scoop that was 1 1/4 in. so i headed to kitchen kaboodle...i love working in a mall where everything is right there for you!! i also had to buy the chocolate, now ina says to use chocolate with 70% cacao if possible, but this is just for dark chocolate. of course i didn't realize this when i went to the store looking for milk chocolate that had 70% cacao, that just doesn't exist:-p one more lesson learned for me:) also buy good chocolate, this kind of stuff isn't meant to be used with just any chocolate, i opted for lindt, love the swiss chocolate...

 so this recipe, like many delicious goodies, takes a few days. the day before i actually coated the truffles i prepared the rum raisin ganache, or as i like to call it the "creamy yummy inside". this mixture basically consists of milk chocolate, butter, heavy cream, rum, and golden raisins. let it set over night and then the coating begins...

first i set up my double boiler...all you need is some hot water and a heat proof bowl. not too shabby of a set up if i do say so myself :)

BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE!! this recipe usually calls for milk chocolate, but i liked the idea of contrasting the bitter chocolate with the creamy milk chocolate ganache. i chopped up my dark chocolate placed it in the bowl and turned down the heat. once the water boils i brought down the temperature. you don't want to overheat the chocolate or it won't be the right consistency, you just want to temper it so it gets all shiny and happy!

i'm not going to lie, i took a spoon sample, and it was delicious!

so once the coating is tempered then you start scooping out the cold ganache...

 roll it into a ball, it comes out the size of a walnut or so...

then place it on a spoon in the coating chocolate. use a fork to drizzle the ganache with the tempered chocolate to get an even coat...

 remove with the spoon.

and place on the silpat lined cookie sheet. one thing i learned when i made the first batch was that its a good idea to use the tempered chocolate to make little place dots prior to dipping the truffles in the coating chocolate, this does two things for you. one, it helps keep them in place, and two, it helps give you a thick coat on the bottom of the truffle that could potentially get thinner when placing on the silpat after coating with the tempered chocolate. if it gets too thin on the bottom the ganache could come out of the bottom, making messy truffles:-p

the finished product! the rum raisin was delicious!! at first the rum hits you a little hard, but the creamy milk chocolate and tangy dark chocolate help alleviate that strong rum flavor...i think i am going to try and also make peppermint truffles for the holidays, maybe with some crushed candy cane on top...but that's for another blog:) overall i think these were a success for my first venture into the world of chocolate!

i would suggest checking out the recipe and trying it out for yourself if you want a great holiday gift, not many people can say they made their own rum raisin truffles!!