Holiday Party 2012

Saturday was our 2nd annual Ugly Christmas Sweater and White Elephant Party. The house was filled with delicious desserts and horrendous fashion. It was a great time. I made classic gingerbread cookie, my pumpkin pie spice cookies, sugar cookies, stained glass cookies, and delicious glitter cookies. I was particularly excited to use my brand new 'A Christmas Story' leg lamp cookie cutter. This is my favorite holiday film and thought this was such a fun shape to make. Everyone had a great time. Little did I know that I'd be making chocolate cupcakes with peppermint buttercream a couple days later for another holiday get together.

This will be my last post for a little while. We're going out of town all next week for my birthday and Christmas. I'll have updates on all the delicious food we eat while we're in St. Louis. I'm excited to try some new restaurants. In the meantime here are some pictures from the party. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I would go door-to-door every year until, well, let's just say I was probably way too old to go trick-or-treating. I don't even really like candy that much. Don't get me wrong, I love certain types of candy (mainly anything with chocolate and peanut butter) but for me trick-or-treating was always about the hunt. I'd grab a pillowcase from the linen closet and throw on my walking shoes and head out for a long and adventurous night. I didn't want to return home until that bag was full (or as close to it as I could get). When I returned home I would pour the contents onto the living room floor and take inventory of what I had received. I loved to see what the popular choices were that year and try and figure out why people still handed out those creepy plain orange wrapped "candies". What were those? I'm not really sure because I was too afraid to try. I would snack on a few of my favorite treats throughout the next couple of days, but I would inevitably hand over the collection to my dad (who has a real sweet tooth).

Now that I'm older and have left my trick-or-treating years behind me I bake my treats to share with my friends. And just as when I was a kid, one type of confection is never enough. So for the Halloween party this year I baked cookies, cupcakes, and cake pops in different flavors and many different decorations. For all of those who tried them at the party, I hoped you liked them! To those of you who didn't I hope you get some delicious treats tonight. Even if you have to sneak some from that giant bowl you left out for trick-or-treaters.

Lavender Scones with Lemon Curd

Thankfully the weather in Nashville has cooled off a little bit. Gone are the record breaking highs and a welcome return to summer storms. My garden is even looking halfway decent again. I was sure it was past recovery. This (slight) cool down allowed me to get back into the kitchen and bake something. I had recently come across a recipe in Bon Appetit for Lavender Scones and couldn't help to test them out. They were shown being served with lemon curd, so then of course I had to make lemon curd. 

I had never made lemon curd before, I'm not really sure if I had ever even had it before. I was curious to see how the ingredients could combine to make the most lemony, tangy, scrumptious concoction I have ever tasted. It was like the filling to a really great lemon meringue pie, only better! The tartness really complimented the flavor of the scones. This was a great breakfast for as long as it lasted (which wasn't very long).

Sweet Lavender Scones

Adapted from Bon Appetit May 2012

Note: I only made half of the recipe

3 cups flour, all purpose

3/4 cup sugar, white granulated

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp dried lavender buds

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, chilled and cut into tiny cubes

1 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk

2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

1 tsp vanilla extract

Raw sugar to sprinkle on top

1) Preheat oven to 425 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

2) Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, lavender, salt, and baking soda in a bowl, then add butter with a pastry blender or fingers to create a coarse mixture

3) Whisk 1 cup of the buttermilk with the lemon zest and vanilla then add the wet ingredients into the dry until a shaggy dough is formed

4) Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, gently, about 5 turns, until dough is formed

5) Shape into a 10X6 inch rectangle, then cut into squares of your desired size (this recipe says that it will make 16)

6) Brush the tops with the remaining 2 tbsp buttermilk and raw sugar, then bake for 13-15 minutes, let cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Lemon Curd

Adapted from SprinkleBakes

1 stick of butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, room temp

2 egg yolks, room temp

1/3 cup plus 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1) Beat the butter and the sugar together with Kitchenaid or electric hand mixer, then slowly add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, once they are fully incorporated pour in the lemon juice. The mixture is going to look curdled and awful, but don't worry! This is normal.

2) Pour the mixture into a saucepan and attach a candy thermometer and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and is no longer curdled. Then increase the heat a little and keep stirring until the mixture reaches 170 F then remove from stove

3) Let cool slightly then place in container and cover the top surface of the lemon curd with plastic wrap. Let cool to room temperature and then place in the fridge to cool. Remove when cooled and enjoy!

Rocky Road Ice Cream with Homemade Marshamallows

I've had a recipe for homemade marshamallows in my recipe box for some time now. An index card waiting to be read and covered in powdered sugar. Well the time for me to make these delicious treats finally came. With the arrival of my new ice cream maker I knew that I would have to make a delicious and indulgent version of Rocky Road ice cream. Always a childhood favorite of mine. Along with pistachio and mint chip. We used to go to Thrifty Ice Cream because you could get a cone for under a dollar and I loved the flavors of their ice cream, especially when I could get two flavors. I loved getting Rocky Road and finding the marshamallows and almond pieces stuck in the bottom of the cone.

I knew with my new ice cream maker I would have to make a more grown up version of this treat, which would require homemade marshamallows as well as some salted caramel sauce. Trust me, you only need a little bit of this ice cream. The base is a dark and rich chocolate layered with tiny homemade marshamallows, slices of almonds, and swirls of delicious salty homemade caramel. This may be the best ice cream ever. I adapted the recipe from Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. If you like ice cream I strongly recommend this book. The recipes are amazing and the pictures are beautiful. A great read and must have for ice cream lovers!

Homemade Marshmallows
Butter for coating pan
Powdered sugar for coating pan
2 tbsp gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup boiling water
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1) Butter an 8x8 pan and coat with powdered sugar

2) Dissolve gelatin in cold water and whisk together using whisk attachment of kitchenaid
3) Whisk together boiling water, sugar, and salt in a pan for about 15-20 minutes until the temperature reaches 236 F. You will need a candy thermometer for this

4) Remove from heat and slowly pour over the gelatin and then add the vanilla

5) Beat on medium for about 20 minutes until white and thick

6) Add cooled marshmallow cream to the pan and spread out, then coat with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight

7) Coat a bench scraper or knife with powdered sugar and then slice marshmallow into desired shape and size. Toss cut marshmallows in powdered sugar so they don't stick together and enjoy!

Super Rocky Road Ice Cream
Adapted from "The Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World" in Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
If possible do use local and organic, high quality ingredients, it really makes a difference

1 cup whole milk
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
3 oz good quality dark chocolate (55-70%)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp organic light corn syrup (I try and avoid corn syrup as much as possible because of GMO's, but if you use organic you can avoid this issue)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
Homemade marshmallows
Sliced almonds
Homemade Salted Caramel (Follow recipe for the caramel part only, not the frosting recipe)

Makes 1 quart

1) Mix 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry and set aside

2) Chop chocolate into pieces and place in metal bowl

3) Fill a large bowl with ice water and water to make a water bath to chill hot ice cream mixture
4) Combine the remaining milk, cream, evaporated milk, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan and bring to a rolling boil and add the cocoa and whisk. Boil mixture for exactly 4 minutes

5) Remove from heat and pour in cornstarch and milk slurry and return to heat and cook for another minute or so until thickened slightly
6) Add hot mixture to chopped chocolate and stir until melted then pour into a large freezer bag and submerge in ice water bath for 30 minutes

7) Pour ice cream base into ice cream maker and follow instructions for your machine, will take about 20-25 minutes until thickened

8) Add a layer of ice cream to a container then top with a layer of marshmallows, almonds, and salted caramel and repeat

9) Freeze until firm about 4 hours and enjoy!

Ebelskivers

When I came back from California I was sure to bring with me an Ebelskiver pan from Solvang, a Danish town where my dad lives. I grew up eating this little Danish, spherical, pancake-like treats. Ebelskivers are one of those foods that remind my of my childhood. My dad would make these on occasion or we would go out for breakfast and get them. They are kind of tricky to make, so we didn't have them very often. But I remember watching my dad make them in the kitchen, and it always being frustrating that the first batch never quite came out right. This was a problem that I had as I made them. So don't feel bad if you have to throw the first ones away or they don't look quite right, you'll get the hang of it. This was my first time making Ebelskivers from scratch. We always used a mix. But I wanted to make a batch from the new cookbook I got. The classic way to eat these is to place them on a bed of raspberry jam, then top them with a little more jam and dust them with powdered sugar. However, in the book there are many recipes, including savory snacks, for a diversity of ways of preparing this dish. I chose the classic recipe to start off with.

Classic Ebelskiver
From Ebelskivers by Kevin Crafts

1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, separated
1 cup whole milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

1) Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks and milk, then add to the flour mixture

2) Melt butter and add to batter
3) With an electric beater beat the egg whites until they are frothy and stiff peaks form, then slowly fold in the egg whites into the batter

4) Preheat Ebelskiver pan and add melted butter or oil

5) When pan is hot, add 2-3 tbsp of batter into each hole and let cook until bottom is browned, then carefully turn the Ebelskiver with a knitting needle or wooden skewer to rotate so other side will brown

6) When ball is formed and sides are browned remove from pan and place in oven to keep warm
7) Repeat with remaining batter
8) Add jam to  plate and place Ebelskivers on top, then add more jam and dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!