TWD: Tall and Creamy and Forever on my thighs…
December 31, 2008 at 1:55 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 16 CommentsTags: Cheesecake, Tuesdays with Dorie
This post is the equivalent of staring blankly into the fridge looking for nothing in particular. I am discombobulated to say the least. Why am I discombobulated? Well, in addition to the insane rush of the holidays, my oldest son’s birthday was December26th. Yes, that’s right, THE day after Christmas. (CAUTION to new parents: Do not attempt this at home).
Regardless of which parenting/pregnancy books you read, what expert advice you seek and how much you listen to the “words of wisdom” from assorted friends and relatives, you learn one thing during your first pregnancy. Your first child will be late. Not only, in fact, will the child be late, but you will spend hours upon hours in labor. Don’t even think of calling your family when you get to the hospital. It will be awhile.
Well, in our case, not so much. Will was due on January 14th. I worked a full day on the 26th. You do the math. He came early and quick. So quickly (until the endless pushing phase) that I missed my chance for an epidural. Apparently, there were other fools having babies the day after Christmas and they were having c-sections. I admit – I wavered when they first asked me about drugs. I said I would wait and see. I came to rue those words. We will leave it at that. I am not sure a blog entry that will eventually be about cheesecake (promise) is the appropriate venue for the full harrowing description.
If you are a proponent of natural childbirth, more power to ya. I had an epidural with the second one. Although I did refuse the initial request for the epidural. Then my husband – he of sound judgment – reminded me what happened the first go round. I promptly called for the anesthesiologist.
So, we had days of Christmas celebrations that bled into birthday celebrations (in two cities!). When most of you were making a date with the couch on Christmas night I was decorating a birthday cake and hunting down scraps of birthday paper for last minute wrapping. I am pretty sure that a Toys R Us exploded in our living room. We just arrived back in town last night. It is all a giant blur. I made the cheesecake. I ate the cheesecake on Christmas Eve. It was eons ago.
It was, however, fabulous. There are no pictures of the inside because I took it to a party and got busy actually enjoying the party. I did the black and white version and I speckled the white layers with chopped up red and green mints. Chocolate + Peppermint + Cheesecake = Heaven.
I have made lots of cheesecakes. My recipe is usually denser than this one. But I really enjoyed this version as well. It cracked which hasn’t happened to me in awhile but it doesn’t really matter going down, does it? I did attempt to pretty up but that never quite works for me. No matter how hard I try, I always achieve the “rustic” look.
Crack?
What crack?
Thanks to Anne of Anne Strawberry. Great choice. The full recipe is on her blog.
Next week: a recipe chosen by Dorie herself. Andit has almonds. Bummer but I will make it.
PS I wish I had some pictures of the birthday boy on the 26th but I dropped my camera on Christmas. I hope it gets fixed before next week…
Happy Birthday Will! You are the best belated Christmas gift ever.
TWD: On hold…sort of
December 23, 2008 at 4:14 pm | In Uncategorized | 14 CommentsI am going to try to get to the butterscotch pudding but I can’t guarantee it. There has already been an overabundance of good stuff ingested. My pants do have to fit after the holidays. I am not getting a new wardrobe for Christmas.
I did make the tall and creamy cheesecake. BUT I haven’t eaten it. It is waiting for Christmas Eve. It is tall and certainly seemed creamy. I have never made such a creamy cheesecake. My usual recipe has a lot less sour cream/heavy cream. I did change it up a little but I will do a full post next Tuesday (after the tasting).
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
TWD: Gray cookies, if you like that sort of thing…
December 16, 2008 at 6:49 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 21 CommentsTags: cookies, Tuesdays with Dorie
Tuesdays with Dorie finishes its cookie trifecta with Buttery Jam cookies.
If you are the sort of person that makes your bed – for real, tucking and all – every morning, sets the table like a restaurant and just generally prefers that things look a certain way, this cookie – my version anyway – is not for you. My version turned out to be an unfortunate shade that is kind of blue, kind of purple, kind of gray and all unappetizing. You will notice that Dorie did not suggest Blackberry jam for the jam in these cookies…with good reason. She is trying to sell these books, you know. A lovely gray cookie does not food porn make.
Frankly, the color was the most exciting thing about these. They were super easy to make and decent to eat. I think more or maybe just better, thicker jam might be in order for these. Will liked them; Colin liked the batter. The best thing about these cookies was that the boys joined in. After the rejection in favor of Jimmy Neutron last week, I was thrilled to have my helpers back. Will was even insistent on wearing his chef’s hat and apron.
Colin missed most of the work on the buttery jam cookies and begged to make more cookies…WITH sprinkles. There was no time for chilling and all that jazz so we threw together some M&M cookies. and added three kinds of sprinkles. I am pretty sure the pictures do not in any way accurately reflect the absolute garish christmas overload present in these poor defenseless cookies. Needless to say, Will loved them. Colin – the Dr Frankenstein behind these creations – abandoned them to the cookie jar.
This is worse than the how the kitchen usually looks but, even still, do you think organization should be my top New Year’s resolution?
Colin had so much fun he dragged us back to the kitchen the next night. We made Martha Stewart’s outrageous chocolate cookies, one of my faves. If you haven’t made these, do. They remind me a little of Dorie’s Chocolate Chunkers. They are pure chocolately goodness.
To see a more appetizing version of the buttery jam cookies, click here. For the full recipe visit, Heather of Randomosity and the Girl.
TWD: Update and Rewind
December 14, 2008 at 8:51 pm | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 5 CommentsTags: cookies, pound cake, Tuesdays with Dorie
Really, the title should be everything goes better with chocolate.
As I mentioned in my official Tuesdays with Dorie post this week, I was planning to coat the rest of my sugar cookies in chocolate. I was prepared, however, to scrap that plan in favor some simple sprinkles and sugar decorating with my kids. When I mentioned the idea at dinner they were very enthusiastic. Unfortunately, while I was cleaning up after dinner and rolling the dough, they somehow found a Jimmy Neutron Christmas special. When it came time to cut and sprinkle I was unceremoniously dumped for a precocious science kid and his robot dog. This is a downside to having a child who can both work the remote control and read the guide. So much for Norman Rockwell right, Cathy?
Sc*$% the sprinkles and family togetherness. I went back to my original plan. My dad randomly brought over an entire bag of those green and red mints shaped like kisses. I chopped ‘em up and sprinkled them on top. In my mind, the finished product was much cuter. Oh well.
I also made the Perfection Poundcake last week for work. Once again, I sort of shook my head like an idiot at the recipe. Plain poundcake? Really? People eat that? I am all over plain pound cake if there is a nice little topping to accompany it. Since a topping was not practical and I am of the belief that everything goes better with chocolate, I dumped in some chocolate chunks.
I think, had I one minute to focus on the poundcake, it could have been very good. Unfortunately, I was playing a game with son #1 during the mixing stages. I did a fabulous job of creaming that butter for five minutes. With no sugar. Oops. I assume that even people who eat plain pound cake want the sugar. I had to toss that in later. Then I set my timer for 45 minutes and dutifully added my foil tent. Then I got busy with laundry and bed times and the cake….a little overbaked I think. I have no earthly idea of exactly how long I baked it but it was more time than needed.
The moral of the story? Learn to multi-task or tell those kids to read their own dang story (yeah, right).
TWD: TWOFER! (No, not the pie again)
December 9, 2008 at 7:03 am | In Tuesdays with Dorie | 22 CommentsTags: cookies, linzer sables
(In my best Count from Sesame Street voice) Today I have two – 2! – cookies for you. aha hahaha. I have the Linzer Sables chosen by noskos (Dennis) of Living the Life and Grandma’s All Occasion Sugar Cookies chosen by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. Fancy cookies chosen by Europeans. Coincidence? I think not.
When I was in college I studied abroad in Brussels. While there I was an intern at the Center for European Jewish Information with another American student. On our last day, Ben, the head of the agency, took the whole office to lunch. I will never forget what he said to me. “Melissa could easily pass for European but, Kelly, you are definitely an American.” To this day I have no idea if this was an insult, a compliment or just a general observation. It was long before I even knew there was a second George Bush and Ben was always nice to me so I am going with general observation. (Did you hear that? All of the non-Americans in the group just chuckled knowingly).
If my taste in desserts is any indication, then Ben was spot on. I am not much of a “side of the tea cup” kind of dessert lover. If it doesn’t feel luxurious and sinful going in, then I am likely to pass. I was well into adulthood before I realized that some people actually order plain sugar cookies (and don’t just eat them because, you know, they are there and they are cookies) and choose vanilla ice cream…over other flavors, lots of other flavors. I had always assumed they were like pie crust — an important part of the equation to be sure but mainly a delivery device for something else. We had vanilla ice cream in the freezer every day of my childhood. Never once did I see anyone eat even a spoonful plain.
If these cookies are the equivalent of a nice cup of tea then I guess I am a chocolate syrup (straight from the bottle) kind of woman.
I am pleased to report that my baking mojo has not been lost forever. After the last few weeks, I was starting to worry. My linzer sables came together well. Some of the shapes worked well and some (below) did not. No fancy confectioners’ sugar pics. I packed most away in the freezer for Christmas cookie trays, except for the ones Will grabbed. He isn’t interested in any philosophical debates over cookie categorization.
I preferred the sugar cookies. I chilled the dough overnight and didn’t have any problems. I made half into a very liberal interpretation of a log and left half in the fridge to be rolled and cut in a day or so. I kept the logs pretty simple. I plan on dipping the shapes into chocolate…cuz while these were good, they would be even better with a little more. And I think we have clearly established that I cannot decorate to save my life. Did you see the shape of the log cookies?
For the full Linzer Sable recipe click here. For the sugar cookies click here. Thanks to Dennis and Ulrike for making me bake some “fancy” cookies. To see the rest of the sugar cookies click here. You should. Some of these people can really decorate.
TWD: Double up coming
December 2, 2008 at 7:41 pm | In Uncategorized | 5 CommentsI may have overindulged some last week. And we had family in town until Sunday. I just couldn’t get to the Linzer Sables this week. I will make them so look for a bonus double Tuesday from me sometime this month. Can you stand the wait??
YWPWT: Christmas Time is Here Pie
December 1, 2008 at 8:23 am | In You want pies with that?, recipes | 12 CommentsTags: Charlie Brown Christmas, custard, You want pies with that?
“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!”
“Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about…
Lights, please.”
If you recognize those lines then you will know exactly what inspired this pie. I am going sentimental with this one. Sure, I thought about a crazy Grinch inspired pie that would excuse any baking or decorating deficiencies I have, but I let the holiday spirit take over.
This month our You Want Pies With That? challenge was to create a pie based on your favorite holiday song. I love – LOVE - A Charlie Brown Christmas. I watched it with my parents when I was a kid. I watched it with my roommates in college. One of my greatest joys in the holiday season is watching it with my kids, who love it. My love for it even managed to survive the year my older son was two and he insisted we watch it on DVD until Valentine’s Day.
This pie is my ode to the opening song, Christmas Time is Here. The second I hear the opening notes I am instantly in a holiday mood. To my everlasting delight, my husband bought the Charlie Brown Christmas songbook and plays them for us all through December. (I would like an explanation of how we got from Vince Guaraldi to Yo Gabba Gabba).
The top layer is vanilla custard with edible glitter to invoke the ice on the frozen pond. The bottom layer is chocolate custard flavored with Peanuts hot cocoa. Because what do you absolutely need after ice skating? Hot cocoa. 
Mom and son pronounced it awesome. I would love to have a picture of them enjoying it but, since the sun makes only a brief half-a** appearance this time of year, I will not subject you to another dark picture (for now).
Don’t you love the skating Snoopy? My husband has a freak savant talent of being able to draw Peanuts characters…and only Peanuts characters. He can’t draw anything else but he managed this free hand! Awesome, I think and much appreciated.
If you celebrate Christmas and haven’t seen Charlie Brown Christmas, first crawl out from under your rock, then purchase a TV (go ahead and get the one that comes with the DVD player – you don’t have time to shop around) and then head to Blockbuster. NOW. A teaser below…
Double Custard Pie
Vanilla Custard
Ingredients
- 1 C. sugar
- 1/3 C. flour
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 C. milk
- 3 egg yolks (lightly beaten)
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
Directions
Mix the sugar, flour and salt in bowl. In saucepan, heat milk to scald. Whisk in flour mixture. When it starts bubbling scoop a couple of spoonfuls into the egg yolks. blend thoroughly and add back to the pan. Let it begin bubbling again and cook for about one more minute. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Cooll until you can add it to an already cooked pie crust. I like mine chilled in the fridge.
Chocolate Custard
Add four tablespoons of cocoa powder or use 1/2 cocoa powder with 1/2 hot cocoa mix. Follow the same directions for the vanilla custard.
To make a double custard, halve the amounts above. I made the chocolate first and let it chill in the crust overnight before making and adding the vanilla layer.
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