Each year, round this time, there is a woman who sits along the side of the road for two weeks and sells cherries out of the back of her truck. She doesn’t really speak, I’m not sure her English is all that great. If it sounds sketchy, it probably is, but they are the best cherries I have ever had and so I hand over my cash no questions asked.
However, every time I see her I can’t help but think of the Chris Farley Saturday Night Live character Matt Foley. It was one of my favorite SNL sketches. If you don’t know the character, he was a “motivational” speaker and a pretty bad one at that. Often sent to homes to get kids on the “right track”. He would usually get frustrated and end up telling them in some manner that he lives in a van down by the river:

“You kids are probably saying to yourself, “Now, I’m gonna go out, and I’m gonna get the world by the tail and wrap it around pull it down and put it in my pocket!” Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re probably gonna find out, as you go out there, that you’re not gonna amount to JACK SQUAT!” You’re gonna end up eating a steady diet of government cheese and living in a van down by the river!”

I keep thinking that if the side of the road cherry lady ever does talk to me she will tell me that she lives in a van down by the river.
Okay, enough of that and on to the food. Since I did have these gorgeous cherries, I needed to do something with them. A few weeks ago Joy the Baker had on a Strawberry Cake that she got out of a cookbook called Sweets. I went and hunted down that book(you can’t buy it new) and immediately had a crush on the book when I opened it up. If you can, get a hold of a copy yourself. I spied the Strawberry Jam Cake and decided to use my mother’s cherry jam and some fresh cherries to make my own version. The actual cake is a layer cake and you spread jam in between the layers, but I made a cherry jelly glaze instead. I am sure both ways are equally delicious.

Cherry Jam Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
4 ¼  cups cake flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup sliced fresh cherries
1 cup cherry jam

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and flour a 8-x-8 inch square pan. Set aside.
Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
In a small bowl combine baking soda and buttermilk together.
In another bowl, sift together flour, salt and spices.
Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, to the creamed butter and sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients; mix well.
Fold in walnuts, cherries and jam. Mix well to make sure it is incorporated in the cake batter.
Pour cake into pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from the oven. Let cool on racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pan.
After cake has been removed from pan and placed on serving platter, drizzle cherry jelly glaze over cake.

Cherry Jelly Glaze

1 cup cherry jelly( you want jelly because it has no chunks of fruit in it, you want this to be smooth)
¼ cup sifted powdered sugar

Place jelly in a small saucepan. Over medium heat, heat jam until it becomes liquid. Take off of heat and add in sugar. Whisk until sugar has dissolved.

Source: Adapted from Sweets: A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories by Patty Pinner

If you are old like me you probably remember the “Don’t hate me because I am beautiful” campaign for some shampoo I can’t remember the name of(great advertising, eh?). The actress/model Kelly LeBrock said those somewhat famous words. Someone’s beauty doesn’t make me hate them. It takes a lot for me to be a hater. Now, if they are beautiful, can eat what ever they want(without going and throwing up it) and are genuinely nice…then I am HATING that bitch. Lucky for me most of the “beautiful people” in this world don’t fit into this category. Most of the beautiful people are living off of 6 almonds a day, 2 packs of cigarettes a day and a diet Red Bull every other hour to keep them going. That and working out with their trainer, who comes to their house(now that I wouldn’t mind).
And Kelly LeBrock, can I be hating her? Nope, she was on Celebrity Fit Club a couple of seasons ago…that’s right, she’s a fatty now. Though, to be honest, she really wasn’t that fat. I would just say she had meat on her bones. I guess that is what happens when people stop paying you to starve yourself…you realize it wasn’t worth it. She lost weight and looked a little more like her former self, but I was still not hating.
Who you really should be hating is me. That’s right, me. Why? Because on Saturday morning, or more like afternoon, I leisurely got out of bed and strolled downstairs. I whipped up some pate choux. Made them into spoons. Stuff the spoons with peppermint whipped cream. Then dunked them into peppermint fudge sauce. Yes, ladies and gents, after I slept in, I ate whipped cream filled pate choux dipped in chocolate for breakfast. See, I told you…you are hating me. It’s okay, I understand.
This recipe is a take on the Tuesday With Dorie recipe for Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, selected by Caroline of Consuming Passion. I must admit I am really liking having to figure out how to do the Dorie recipe(even though I don’t use the actual Dorie recipe) in a different way. They were lots of fun and I think I will serve them at a dinner party with the Peppermint Fugde Sauce in a fondue pot.

Peppermint Pate Choux “Spoons” with Peppermint Fudge Sauce

pate choux “spoons”
peppermint whipped cream
peppermint fudge sauce
Pate Choux “Spoons”

1 stick(4 ounces) unsalted butter
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup water
1 ¼ cups flour
4 eggs(and possibly one egg white if needed)

Bring butter, salt, sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan. When reached boiling point. Add flour, all at once, and start stirring. Stir until the sides pull away and a film will develop on the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes. If you are using a nonstick pan you usually do not get the film on the bottom. In that case just set the timer for 3 minutes while you stir the flour/butter mixture.
Remove from heat and transfer to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed for two minutes using the paddle attachment. This allows the mixture to cool down a little. Switch to medium speed and add eggs one at a time. Sometimes the dough will still be a little dry so add the extra egg white if needed. This batch I needed the extra egg white. When dough is done it should be able to make soft peaks(think meringue or whipping cream soft peaks).
Spoon into a piping bag. (To make the spoon shapes, make a long, steady line then stop and continue to squeeze the bag. It will form a ball at the end…don’t make the ball too big for we want them to bake up at the same time). Line baking sheets with parchment paper and pipe out the spoons.
Preheat oven to 375F. Place choux spoons in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pan and drop heat to 350F. Bake for another 10-15 mintues depending on your oven. Be sure to watch, you are going for golden brown. If you take them out too early they will deflate and you don’t want that.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Baking Handbook by Martha Stewart

Peppermint Whipped Cream

1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint

In an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk heavy whipping cream on high speed. When it starts to thicken, add sugar and mint. Continue to whip until cream forms stiff peaks(remember you have to fill the choux with it so it needs to be stiff).

Peppermint Fudge Dipping Sauce

7 ounces semisweet chocolate
½ cup heavy whipping cream
3 TBSP unsalted butter
1 ½ TBSP corn syrup
1-2 TBSP(depending on your liking) Peppermint Schnapps

Put all ingredients in a saucepan except for Schnapps. On low heat let ingredients melt together, stirring occasionally. Should take about 4-5 minutes for it to fully melt. When everything is melted, take off of heat and whisk in Peppermint Schnapps. Serve warm.

Assemble:
Spoon whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a tip(go small). Take cool pate choux spoon and poke a hole at either the bottom(if you don’t want people to see the hole) or to the side. Squeeze bag and fill spoon with cream. Continue doing this for all the spoons.
Serve with warm Peppermint Fudge Sauce.

We had a rule in our house growing up. No one(meaning us kids) was allowed to sleep in past 10am. If we dare do this my father would have us greet the day by Scotland the Brave being blasted through the house. Being a teenager, I relished my sleep and so I heard that damn song over and over and over again throughout my teenage years. So much so that I grew to hate that song.
Now you are probably thinking, no problem, you don’t hear that song all that much. Well, when your father is in a pipe band you sure do. A lot. You hear him practice it. You hear the band play it. You hear it in the car because your dad plays Scottish bag pipe music everywhere you go in the car(still does). There was a brief period when I was encouraged to play the bagpipes and went to practice with my dad(it didn’t take), you heard it then of course. Every year we would go to the Scottish Highland Games, you would hear it there. A lot.
It became a joke in the family how much I grew to hate that song. Heck, my parents housewarming card to me had a little piper on it and when you opened the card up it played, you guessed it, Scotland the Brave. Bastards.
Though I must admit that I do have it on my Ipod and I don’t really hate it all that much anymore(could be not hearing it at 10am every morning). See, it reminds me of my dad, and well, nothing that reminds me of my dad can be bad right? I’m definitely a Daddy’s girl. My mom is my best friend, but I’m a Daddy’s girl. When I was about to be born my father told the doctor, “if it’s not a girl, send it back”. My dad already had two boys at that point…plus he knew girls are just better. Lucky for him he ended up with a girl. And even more lucky for him he ended up with me.
My dad is off of sugar right now(I know, the horror!). But I still made him a virtual dessert. One we had a lot growing up, pineapple upside down cake. Mine is different than what we had growing up, but the flavors are pretty much the same…that and mine is made with fresh pineapple.
Happy Father’s Day to all that applies to and a special Happy Father’s Day to my kilt wearing Pop(love you Dad!).

Or if you prefer something savory for Dad, how about a nice Smoked Salmon, Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche?

Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Coconut Yellow Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture then half of the milk.
Add vanilla and coconut extract. Mix until blended; add remaining flour and milk and beat until smooth. Fold in the coconut.

For the Pineapple:

1 medium pineapple, chopped into chunks
1 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Take brown sugar and butter and combine and melt in a saucepan on medium heat until sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly, 2-3 minutes. Pour mixture into a 10 inch diameter cake pan(that has been greased and floured)with 2 inch high sides. Arrange pineapple chunks in a single layer on top of the brown sugar mixture.
Pour batter over the the brown sugar mixture and pineapple.
Place cake middle of the oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate.

Pick up and rock and throw it around the Seattle area and you will either hit a Tanning Salon or a Coffee Shack/Stand/Cafe. With all that competition it appears that some owners have taken on a new marketing strategy. Sex sells.
You no longer need to head to the beach to see an itsy, bisty, teeny, weeny yellow polka dot bikini….you just need to get a double shot espresso. Or a mocha. Or a vanilla latte. Or anything else they sell at your local coffee shack. Yes, Bikini Baristas are all the rage here in the Pacific Northwest(gosh, I’m so proud). And even better, who needs a bikini when you can just wear pasties? Hot Chicka Latte in Bonney Lake, WA features “Pasties Tuesday.” Make your travel plans now out of towners, shockingly enough, some people are trying to get those girls covered up!
Giving new meaning to “perking up” your day,  the ladies are not without support. I have seen many a fine looking gentleman(cough, cough) throwing his support towards these women on the local news. In fact they even formed Supporters of Bikini Baristas of America to combat all the negative protest that have been going on. Power to the people.
In all seriousness, I could really care less about the bikini girls. They advertise it quite predominately outside of the shack so I know to stay clear so that I can get a nipple free latte some where else. If girls want to shake their goodies while they make your goodies, I suppose that is what it means to be a free country.
So in honour of our recent controversy I made this lovely chocolate chip espresso shortbread. It is simple and more importantly has no eggs(I was out). Oh and you will be happy to know, I made these while being fully clothed.

P.S. If anyone knows why Tastespotting had to go down, please let me know. I am bummed, I loved that site.

P.P.S. Enjoy this after a lovely dinner of Crab Macaroni and Cheese.

 Chocolate Chip Espresso Shortbread

1 ½ sticks butter, at room temperature
½  cup sugar
½  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ½  cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP espresso powder
1 ½ TBSP dark unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Special Equipment: 9 by 9 inch baking pan
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds. Next add the flour, espresso powder and cocoa powder and mix until the dough is smooth, about 1 minute.

Spray the shortbread pan with cooking spray and scatter the chocolate chips across the bottom of the pan. Gently press the dough evenly into the espresso covered pan. Place the pan into the top half of the oven and bake until the shortbread is set, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 15 minutes.

Using a sharp paring knife score the top of the still warm but cooling short bread. Cut in any size you prefer, we like 2 inch squares. Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a cutting board. Give 1 sharp rap and the shortbread will release from the pan. Let cool an additional 10 minutes.

Source: Adapted from the Food Network