Out of the oven comes my souffles, looking puffy and lovely. Then there is a knock on the door, which I ignore, even though I know it is the UPS man. I quickly bring it to the "photo" area and set it carefully down. Then an oh too familiar sound...my dog is in the corner throwing up...I ignore this too and set up. I whip out the camera, which is already to go and get two pictures taken...and the camera freezes(which means I am out of batteries...point and shoots just take double A's). Frantically running through the house and using language that I usually only reserve for playing hockey I find two batteries and thrust them into the camera as quick as I possible can. The sinking had already begun so I just went ahead and put the sauce on and took pictures. It still had a little puff but had life not intervened(once again) I could have gotten a few more "good" ones in. I chose to do a cheese souffle for HHDD(Hay Hay It's Donna Day), hosted this time around by Running with Tweezers... … [Read more...]
How do I hate thee, let me count the ways…
Sometimes being able to cook/bake is a curse. Gone are the days when you can go to a get together and swing by and pick up something from the store on your way there(even though that is what everyone else did). People expect a little more from you and you can often see the disappointment in their faces when you bring just cookies or something that is easy to make. When I was fresh out of pastry schooling I seemed to be double cursed as everyone and their mother(mine included) seemed to be volunteering my services to everyone...for free. Oh sure they would pay for the ingredients but it was always a friend or a friend of the family or such and the guilt would pile on whenever I thought of charging(I have since gotten over that :)). The number one thing people would volunteer me for were swan cream puffs. You know what I am talking about, those lovely little birds that get put out at fancy buffets. Having a baby shower, bridal shower, small wedding...no problem....Peabody is your girl. … [Read more...]
Love Me Tender
When my uncle lived in Tennessee for awhile he developed somewhat of an obsession for Elvis. Now not the kind that Elvis was used to(no panties were flying here :) ) But an obsession with finding all things tacky that were Elvis related...which lucky for him, was not hard to do. It became sort of a quest for me too. My aunt of course hated this with a passion and discouraged it greatly...I still do it...giving him Elvis wine for his wine cellar just this last year :P. My best find however, came on the Mexican border, when I found a velvet painting of Elvis(his later, fatter years) dressed as a bullfighter and crying. I knew that would push my aunt over the edge and so I passed since I thought I would be nice to still get to talk to her at family functions. I was trying to figure out what to do with my leftover brioche. On one of Dorie's side notes she talked about Bostock, a treat that the French came up with to use up their stale brioche. Traditionally it calls for almond cream and … [Read more...]
Sticky Situation
Well I feel so behind lately. The Seattle area has been having beyond weird weather for us lately and the city is not adjusting all that well and neither am I. Now I am from cold weather country, and snow and ice are usually not a problem. The problem is that up there in the Nordic tundra you have appropriate clothing and more important appropriate vehicles to drive in. Currently we drive a Ford Focus(we only have one car because hubby takes the bus to work and we are trying to be more enviro-friendly). Anyway, Ford Focus plus ice equals driving in a zig-zag when I am trying to drive straight. So the grocery store I have not been to and so my staples are getting quite depleted. I saw the other day on Cooking is Medicine that she made cinnamon rolls from Baking: From My Home to Yours. She said her brioche was a little dry(the loaf she made, not the buns) and so I had to give it a try myself. I chose to make the pecan sticky buns because I have to reach my goal of 16 pounds gained … [Read more...]
