Farewell, My Sweet

I've been quiet since our vacation, mostly because I've been obsessing about the failing health of my sweet little Allie. Allie has been rapidly losing weight, and is also suffering from an intestinal ailment that we just won't discuss on a blog that focuses on food. I feared she wouldn't make it until we came back from vacation, but she did, and it renewed my hope that we could overcome what has been a rapid decline in her health.

It was not to be, and I faced the difficult decision all pet owners dread: when does keeping her alive cross the line from being a responsible pet owner into selfishness at the cost of her comfort? Yesterday, she climbed into my lap and sat down, facing me, and looked me in the eye. I knew she was telling me it was time. Today I followed my head, not my heart, and let her go.

I found Allie through an email appeal almost 7 years ago when she was 6 years old. I had another kitty, Rosebud, who was in the sunset of her life, and Allie dedicated herself to making the last year of Rosebud's life miserable. Allie had many special qualities as most cats do, but foremost among them was she would pet herself when she was feeling neglected. She had been shot with a pellet gun when she was young, lived as a declawed cat in a home with cats with claws and came to us with a heart full of love in spite of a tough start in life. We were her third or fourth home, and I resolved we would be her last, and that when Rosebud died we would be a one cat home for the rest of Allie's life. She deserved it.

Allie won over all visitors, cat lovers and haters, construction workers and delivery people, with her self-petting antics and talkative nature. She slept face down, blocking out all possible sources of oxygen, and thrived on stalking bugs and pining for the hummingbirds on the other side of the window. When the kitchen was under construction, she supervised the work. One day, she got into the crawl space under the house and I couldn't find her when I came home. I heard her meowing under the house and found her, dirty and hungry. The panic I felt then should have prepared me for losing her today, but that fear was quickly overtaken by her clingy sweetness.

Goodbye, my sweet princess. Thank you for years of love that ended far too soon. I miss you so.

TWD - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

People, did you notice it's November already? I'm shocked. I'm also SOOOO behind on everything, and not just in the blog part of my life. Which is why I haven't been by to visit you recently. Sorry about that!

See, we got home from our family vacation late Monday night (a week ago!), and the delicious feeling of posts in the queue evaporated on Tuesday. The feeling of MUST POST NOW started overtaking the feeling of MUST HAVE CLEAN LAUNDRY NOW, and the two struggled until I found myself two days later with clean laundry hanging all over the house and three unfinished recipes littering the kitchen.

One of these three recipes was last week's chocolate caramel chestnut cake, chosen for us by Katya of Second Dinner. I had initially resisted this recipe as it was "due" the day after we got back from vacation, but when Laurie gave us the flexibility to mix up the recipes this week, I reconsidered making it. When I found the chestnut puree and chestnuts in Paris (at Monoprix, a combo department/drug/grocery store) for a fraction of what they would have cost me at home, the bargain factor kicked in and I resolved to make this when I returned home.

While in Paris, I picked up a nasty respiratory infection that I am still battling, and that made it harder to settle back into a routine once we got home. Still, I made the cake part of the cake and froze it for a few days until I had an event suitable for such a classy dessert.

The event? A silent auction for our P.E.O. chapter. I bought gold luster dust and brushed it on the chestnuts for the decoration on top of the cake. Since I assembled the cake at 4:30 AM on the day of the auction, I forgot to use both the syrup (which I made with water instead of brandy) and chopped chestnuts between the layers. The finished cake wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be, but the gold chestnuts gave it polish.

The cake was delicious with the ganache and the glaze (I made myself a scrap taste using cuttings from what I cut off the domed top layer), but I would have liked more chocolate flavor (I'm not a milk chocolate fan). I intend to make the caramel ganache again with bittersweet chocolate and salt, since what's not to love about salted caramel ganache?

Thanks, Katya for choosing a cake I never would have undertaken on my own. It wasn't so difficult and the flavors were interesting together. If you'd like the recipe, buy the book (Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan) or stop by Katya's as she has it posted.

No TWD, but Raspberry Tart with Chocolate Shortbread Crust

This week, the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers are making Katya's (of Second Dinner) pick, Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake. I was days away from leaving on vacation when the November picks were announced. If this one had been cookies, brownies, muffins or something like these, I could have fit them in. Katya has great taste so her pick was going to require more time than I had. Visit her to see what her beautiful cake looks like.

Those of you who stop by regularly know I don't always come from a rational place. Exhibit A:

Five days before going on vacation, I spotted beautiful raspberries at Costco. Costco, the land of excess, sells them in boxes of 6 clamshell containers. Even though I'm going on vacation in 5 days, I buy them.

Driving home, I wondered what was I thinking??? How was I going to eat six containers of raspberries on my own? Later, I commiserated with a friend, and decide to make my own IQF (individually quick frozen) raspberries. But lining them up on sheet pans to freeze seems exceedingly tedious, so I decided to make a raspberry tart. By this time, two of the containers were gone, but I figured making a 9" tart would leave me with leftover berries, so I made a 10", plus four 4" chocolate tart shells. Then I made pastry cream. Does anyone else enjoy the irony of watching "The Biggest Loser" while making pastry cream? Finally, I assembled the fruit tart before leaving for work the next morning.

I based my pastry cream on Dorie Greenspan's from Baking From My Home to Yours. I cooked it a little too long, based on her instructions to boil the custard for 1-2 minutes. When it started thickening, my instincts shouted "DANGER!" but I ignored them since it had only been 30 seconds. So my custard ended up very stiff. No worries. When this happens, I always whip some cream and whisk it into the pastry cream to lighten it (I'm talking texture, not calories, because this recipe is pretty much a train wreck for your diet).

I used Dorie's chocolate shortbread crust also from BFMHTY, and it was deliciously chocolaty. Once I assembled the 10" tart, I realized I hardly had enough berries for it, with practically none left over for the 4" minis. Instead of stressing about this, I served the tart at work with the minis, thinking someone would snap them up. And they did, before the tart was even half gone.

Even with a new kitchen, I still run out of space

Don't laugh, but this is a quick, easy recipe for a knockout tart. The chocolate shortbread crust recipe can be found in Baking From My Home to Yours. Here is my version of Dorie's pastry cream.

Pastry Cream, adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours.

Makes about 4 cups

3 cups whole milk (I only had 1%, so I used 2 1/2 cups 1% and 1/2 cup whipping cream)

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

9 large egg yolks at room temperature

3/4 cup of sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch, sifted

5 tablespoons butter, room temperature, cut into butter pat-sized pieces

3/4 cup (or more or less, to taste) whipping cream (optional)

I like the softer texture that adding whipped cream gives. If you like a sturdier pastry cream, skip the whipped cream.

Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan; add the vanilla bean and its scrapings, cover and let sit off the heat for 30 minutes. Bring the milk back to a gentle boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl or measuring cup and add the hot milk in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Once a third of the milk has been added, you can pour the rest in without danger of cooking the yolks.

Pour the custard through a strainer into a medium saucepan and cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Set it aside for 5 minutes, then add the pats of butter and whisk them in completely. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to prevent formation of a skin and refrigerate.

Before assembling your tarts, check the consistency of your pastry cream. If it's too firm for you, whip the cream in a clean, dry bowl, and whip it into the pastry cream. I always eyeball this. This time, since I made so much pastry cream, I added another dose of whipped cream.

Because you've added whipped cream, this pastry cream (which technically is more like a Bavarian cream) is not stable for long periods at room temperature.

I'm sorry, Katya, that couldn't tackle your pick before I left on vacation. It looks scrumptious and I hope to fit it in once I settle back in.

BBA - Focacci-aaahh

Some books change your life. They help you find your calling, open your eyes to social injustice, heal your inner wounds or push you beyond what you thought you were capable of. I recently read a book like that. The book? Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. While I'm not quitting my my job and joining the Peace Corps, it has made it possible for me to do something I never thought possible: make very good bread. Bread that people can't resist. This was one of those recipes.

I had a lot of trepidation about making this particular yeast dough. It called for stretching out and folding the dough repeatedly, like this ciabatta that was a resounding failure. But I should not have worried. This dough came together easily and stretching and folding it over 30 minute intervals was so relaxing.

I made the dough several days before I needed the focaccia, so I let it sleep in the fridge, allowing the flavor to develop. If you want to smile whenever you open your refrigerator, stick a sheet pan of focaccia dough in there.

I made the mistake of not measuring the olive oil to spread over the pan before stretching out the dough to rise, and I probably used twice what the recipe called for. There was some olive oil pooling in the corners, and the baked focaccia had a oiliness on the bottom that wasn't unpleasant, but it would have been nicer without it. I used my "good" olive oil from my adopted tree in Italy and it gave a wonderful flavor to the focaccia.

This bread was a delight to make and eat. It requires frequent intervention, but not a lot of hands on time. It holds well in the fridge before you bake it off, and a longer hold deepens the flavor.

When making the herb oil to brush on the top, I didn't want to go to the store (again) to buy fresh basil, so I used dried spices. How I have kicked myself over my laziness. But I will make it again, and I will use fresh herbs. And I will caramelize onions and garlic. And I will again thank Peter Reinhart silently as I marvel over how a yeast-phobe like me could bake such an extraordinary treat.

If you want to tame your inner (yeast) demons, buy the book and join us in baking through it. I'm blessed to be part of the Slow & Steady Subgroup of the The Bread Baker's Apprentice group, and it's a delightful group of bakers discovering their yeast muses.

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Lethally Delicious is on vacation, but we'll be back in a few days.

TWD - Cherry-Fudge Brownie Tart

Excuse the paper plate...I served this one at work

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie exploration of Baking From My Home to Yours was hosted by April of Short + Rose. This was one of those recipes where I wasn't quite certain how the finished product would taste. It tasted pretty good!

I made the following mistakes/changes:

• I didn't use alcohol (although I considered using orange juice, I boiled my dried cherries in water)

• I didn't notice the recipe called for 12 ounces of mascarpone, and since I had already been to the grocery store four times on the day I made this, there was no way I was going again, so I made 2/3 of the topping recipe. It was plenty.

• I forgot to add 1/2 cup of sugar to the melted chocolate, and I was glad I did. It didn't need more sugar. I used bittersweet feves and semi-sweet chips and thought it was too sweet.

• I didn't wash and dry the pan before putting the cake back in it.

I sprinkled on some Valrhona crunchy chocolate pearls for decoration instead of dusting it with cocoa, and they added a nice flavor and texture contrast. I found them at Whole Foods (springform but you can order 2.2 pounds of them from Chocosphere. Don't taste them out of the little plastic tub because you may discover they are swell on their own, and there goes your fancy decorating idea. Not that that happened here. Nooo.

Thanks, April, for a great pick. It disappeared soon after I put it out at work.

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Lethally Delicious is on vacation, so I may not be able to visit your blogs for a few days. Can you guess where in the world we are???

Vacation Update

Where are we?

Any more guesses on where we are, if I give you a photo or two to as an additional clue...

There's no prize for guessing; I'm just taking advantage of the wireless in our hotel room.

BBA Rewind - Artos; and Guess Where We're Going on Our Vacation

I never finish anything. Not cleaning the house. Washing the dishes. The laundry. The filing. Cleaning out my closet. The only reason I get through our audit at work is the paralyzing fear of failure.

So it is indeed peculiar that I am determined to bake all of the breads in The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. But it was no surprise that, with so many other deadlines looming before our vacation, that I decided to "make up" Artos bread. The group baked this bread before I joined, and I've been meaning to give it a try. With its heavy dose of aromatic spices, it made the house smell amazing. Nancy tweeted that it was great with the optional glaze so I made it with it and the sesame seeds. This bread was so fantastic that, with the deadline of catching a flight (with intermediate stops at the post office, vet, and--don't ask-- the Apple store) hanging over me and not the first item of clothing in my suitcase, I felt compelled to complete this post. So it's a short one with one takeaway...

AMAZING BREAD

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Lethally Delicious is on vacation! I will have limited access to the Internet so may not be able to respond to comments for a while. We may go here...

As well as a large city nearby. And we may go here, too:

As well as a large city nearby.

Any idea where we're going?

Ina's Gruyere Cheese Souffle and Ellie's Easy Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas

This week, the Barefoot Bloggers are making Ina's blue cheese souffle, chosen by Summer of Sexy Apartment, and I owe her big time. This was my first time making a souffle. I messed it up every way I could, and it still turned out great:

1. I substituted gruyere for the blue cheese, adding about 1/3 more gruyere than the recipe called for.

2. I used 1% milk instead of whole milk.

3. I used pre-grated parmesan from Trader Joe's.

4. When I separated my eggs, a whisper of yolk got in the egg whites. They still whipped up fine.

5. I used large eggs instead of extra large, and used all the yolks and whites.

6. My attempt to draw a circle around the edge before baking was unsuccessful, but it still rose and the cracking didn't bother me.

I've heard before that souffles are not difficult, but I never believed it. Now that I've made Ina's, I'm a believer. The best part was the toasty crust, but it was all good. This was even terrific for breakfast the next day (the crust was less crusty, but no less delicious).

If you'd like to conquer your fear of souffles, you'll find the recipe here. Many thanks to Summer for picking this recipe, and to the commenters on the Musings on Barefoot Bloggers who suggested gruyere for those of us who weren't feeling the blue cheese.

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I always love the irony of Barefoot Bloggers posting on the same day as Craving Ellie in My Belly. I've never seen Ellie Krieger unwrap four sticks of butter on any of her shows. This week, Marthe of Culinary Delights chose our recipe, Easy Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas. This recipe came together so quickly, and the filling for the quesadillas was delicious. This was a fast and delicious weeknight meal. I only wish I'd had some guacamole to go along with it!

If you'd like to give these a try, you'll find the recipe here. Thanks, Marthe, for such a super pick!

TWD - Sweet Potato Biscuits (sort of)

Reading. I need to learn how to do it. Or maybe it's just reading comprehension I need to practice.

It would have made these biscuits much different.

For starters, I found canned, mashed sweet potatoes at Trader Joe's, and smugly substituted them for the ones the recipe called for.

I substituted two cans of mashed sweet potatoes for two cans of sweet potatoes.

And I did this even though I read Dorie's intro to the recipe, where she tells us that if you have left over mashed sweet potatoes, measure out 3/4 of a cup or so and go with those.

Two cans of mashed sweet potatoes is about 4 cups.

It took me a while to realize I had made a batter not a biscuit dough. So I added lots more flour.

Lots.

And lots.

And then more.

I tossed in some maple syrup.

And then more flour.

Then I realized the rest of the ingredients were off, too. There wouldn't be enough butter.

I threw up my hands, and decided to make drop biscuits.

They were decent. Not decent enough to share, but enough for me to eat one. I told no one I messed this up. So please keep this to yourself.

If your reading comprehension skills are better than mine, you'll find this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe on page 26 of Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It was selected by Erin of Prudence Pennywise. I know her reading comprehension is superb, so I am confident you'll find beautiful biscuits on her post.

BBA - English Muffins

The next recipe in the Bread Baker's Apprentice agenda is English muffins. I pick these up at the grocery store from time to time, and I'd never given any thought to making my own. I normally pick the whole wheat ones, and initially planned to sub some whole wheat flour when I made them. I forgot to make the substitution, so mine were made with white flour.

To make English muffins, you simply make a basic bread dough, let it rise, divide it onto 6 supposedly equal pieces, let it rise again, and then cook them on a griddle. Who knew English muffins were made on a griddle?! Since I don't own a griddle, I stole borrowed one from my friend Susan. She's in New York for a wedding and I'm on cat patrol. I left some cinnamon crumb muffins in her freezer so I think she won't mind.

Peter Reinhart says to cook them on the first side until they're almost burned, but mine wouldn't get that browned even after I left them on the griddle 4 minutes longer than the recipe suggested. Next time, I won't do that since it made one side tougher than the other. After cooking on both sides, you finish them off in the oven. And then you have to wait 30 minutes before breaking in to them. Except I waited ten minutes and then attacked.

They were good! They had a much lighter texture than commercial English muffins, and a heady yeasty flavor that I loved. I think next time, I'll let them proof in the fridge over night to develop the flavor.

These were one of the most fun things I've ever made! They're very easy and reasonably fast. If you made the dough the night before and let it proof in the refrigerator, you could serve fresh English muffin sandwiches with eggs and cheese for breakfast...but I enjoyed mine with butter.

If you'd like to see more breads from our fantastic group of bakers, visit the Bread Baker's Apprentice Slow & Steady subgroup: Nancy (of Corner Loaf), Cathy (of The Tortefeasor), Audrey (of Food From Books), Jessica (A Singleton in the Kitchen), Melissa (of From Laptop to Stovetop), Kayte (ofGrandma's Kitchen Table), Sarah (of Blue Ridge Baker), Di (of Di's Kitchen Notebook), Margaret (of Tea and Scones) and Natalia (of Gatti Fili e Farina).

P.S.: I made these again after writing this post, but took them in a different direction. Instead of butter, I used orange olive oil, I subbed about 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour, and I used buttermilk this time. I made them 2.5 ounces so they wouldn't be such a big bready muffin. They were terrific! The olive oil adds a wonderful fragrance without making them oily (or even adding a detectable olive flavor). Now I want to try them again with hazelnut or walnut oil.