It’s battle of the seasons right now. Summer is fighting bitterly to hang on while Fall is bullying itself right in. I of course, am pulling for the bully this time around. It’s actually been quite nice. The mornings just have that hint of chill that let you know that Fall is on it’s way. Patches of fog coat the ground until afternoon comes around and burns it off. Leaving behind a warm and sunny day.

To represent the clash of the seasons I made a Zucchini-Cranberry Bread. Using the last of my friends over abundant zucchini (well, the last that I am taking…I have had my full of zucchini) and a little face of Fall, the cranberry. Since it isn’t Fall, you can’t get fresh cranberries and I have used the frozen ones I had. So I used unsweetened ones (I got mine at Trader Joe’s). If you can’t find unsweetened, use sweetened, but reduce the amount of sugar in the bread.

The bread is nice and moist. You don’t have to have the glaze, but I like that it adds a little tartness to the bread. The glaze calls for half a cup of sugar, but you can use any amount you want, just taste as you go along.

I’d like to give a big thanks to those who commented in the last post. It was nice to hear from you. I was just wondering where you all went. My readership has dropped…almost by half. And then my comments went from about 50-70 a post to 20-35. I can’t help it. I like comments. I liked getting a sticker on my papers when I was in elementary school and I like people commenting.
Some said they stopped commenting because I have so many. Um, I read them all, for real. I read the Pioneer Woman. And though she gets a TON of comments, usually in the thousands, if I really like something she made, I leave a comment and let her know. One more couldn’t hurt.
So yes, I get more comments then some other blogs, but darn it all, I was getting used to a certain amount. It’s like going to a job and getting paid $24 an hour. Then without warning they drop you down to $12 an hour…without telling you why. You just kind of want to know…ya know?

Enough rambling, point being. Thanks for commenting, I hope you will keep it up.

Zucchini-Cranberry Bread

3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest of one orange
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 heaping cup dried unsweetened cranberries (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, rinsed, pated dry)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs, oil, mascarpone cheese, vanilla, zest, and sugar. Beat until mixtures turns a pale yellow, about 3 minutes.

Add zucchini and mix until incorporated.

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Mix until incorporated but don’t over mix, treat this like you would muffins.

Fold in cranberries.

I used 4 super mini loaves (they are super tiny, only like 3 inches in length)  and two mini loaves. You can also use 2 standard sized loaf pans. Spray with baking spray or grease and flour.

Bake for 30 minutes for super mini, 45 for mini, and for 1 hour for standard size. As always, check by using a knife or wooden skewer to test for doness.

Remove from oven. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from loaf pans and continue to let cool on wire rack. Glaze if desired.

Adapted from my Mom.

Cranberry-Orange Glaze

1/3 cup jelled cranberry sauce
juice of a large orange
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted

Mix together with a whisk. Pour or brush on bread.

So since the passing of John Hughes there has been a surge in his movies being on as of late. Which is great, because I can always watch them. But the thing is, why do I always watch them with commercials?

I own pretty much every movie made by the man on DVD. And yet, I don’t bother to get them out and watch them, but will sit there and watch the edited version on TBS.
I was watching Ferris the other day thinking to myself, I own this. My husband must have thought that too because he walked in and was like…”don’t we own this?” “Why are you watching it with commercials?”

All good questions.

Baking and the bathroom are the answers. Not at the same time though. Don’t worry. I think when I watch a movie that has no commercials I feel like I owe it to the movie to sit down and watch it all the way through. Oh sure there is the pause button, but for some reason it just doesn’t seem right to pause it.
But with commercials I have a potty break. A snack break. And I can bake something while watching as well. And if it comes back on, no biggie, I’ve already seen it. I can still hear it. It’s all good.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is where I first developed my crush for Mathew Broderick. Dark hair, dark eyes…and what a charmer. Every body loves him. After all, “sportos and motor heads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads…they all adore him. They think he’s a righteous dude.”

By definition, I had to hate his best friend Cameron for the fact that he wore a Red Wings jersey the whole movie. Nuff said.

Though I loved this movie as a kid, I grew to appreciate it more as a teacher. I can’t tell you how many times “anyone, anyone” was coming from my mouth as a teacher.
“In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the… Anyone? Anyone?… the Great Depression, passed the… Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?… raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. “Voodoo” economics”
Of course, I was far more interesting.

These are pretty simple to make. If you are not a chai tea person, that can easily be omitted. I have kind of thing for chai lately and so the thought of it with some orange and spice sounded really good. And it was. I made these for a Kitten Shower (like for a baby, but was a kitten…this is a story for another day).
I chose to just go with a vanilla spice buttercream as I didn’t want the chai to be in both. It can be a strong flavor if you aren’t careful.

Hopefully if you are reading this you are commenting. You readers haven’t been commenting as of late and it is making me feel like I am doing something wrong, sigh.
Anyone, anyone?

Orange Spice Chai Cupcakes with Vanilla Spice Buttercream Frosting

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
zest of one medium orange
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
 ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 chai tea bag
¼ cup water
½ cup buttermilk
½  cup orange juice, preferably fresh squeezed

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two mini cupcake tins with baking spray. Or grease and flour them.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Set aside.

Place sugars in a medium bowl. Add zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. Oils should release and give your sugar an orange flavor.

In a small saucepan, bring ¼ cup water to a simmer. Add tea bag. Leave for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you want the flavor. Remove tea bag. Let cool to room temperature. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, add the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed of an electric mixer for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl often.

In a large liquid measuring cup add cooled tea, buttermilk, and orange juice.

Add sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk/chai mixture, starting with and ending with the dry ingredients.

Mix until fully incorporated and batter is smooth with no lumps.

Bake for  12-15 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and move cupcakes to wire rack to finish cooling. When cool, frost with buttercream.

Vanilla Spice Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 to 8 cups powdered sugar
½  cup milk
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk, spices, and vanilla.

On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.

Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Frosting source: More from Magnolia by Allysa Torey

Planes, Trains and Automobiles was one of John Hughes non-teenage based movies. Two men stuck together trying to get home for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Because I am extra lazy today….here is the plot from Wikpedia.

“Steve Martin plays the tightly wound Neal Page, a bundle-of-nerves advertising executive. John Candy portrays the innocent and well-meaning, but accident-prone and somewhat feckless, Del Griffith (Director of Sales, American Light and Fixture, Shower Curtain Ring Division), a shower curtain ring salesman who seems to live in a world governed by a different set of rules from those governing Neal Page’s marketing life.

The movie follows the story of Neal Page as he tries to return to his family for Thanksgiving in Chicago after being on a business trip in New York. The journey is doomed from the outset, with Del Griffith interfering by inadvertently snatching the taxi cab that Page had hailed for himself. The two inevitably pair up later and begin an absurdly error-prone adventure to help Page get back to his home. Their flight from JFK Airport to O’Hare is diverted to Wichita due to a blizzard in Chicago, which ends up dissipating only a few hours after touchdown in Kansas. When every mode of transport (including a train and a rental car) fails them, what should have been a 1 hour and 45 minute New York-to-Chicago flight turns into a three-day adventure.

Neal frequently blows up at Del, blaming him for much of their misfortunes. Del in turn regards Neal as pretentious and uptight, while Del is less afraid to be himself. After much heated argument between the two men, a bond between them forms, and Neal finally manages to overcome his self-centeredness and both men pull together to finally make their way home.

Under the assumption that Del has a wife and family of his own (he frequently mentions his wife Marie and puts a framed picture of her on his various motel nightstands), Neal is taken aback when he later pieces together things Del said to realize that Del is alone. He goes back to the train station where he had left Del and sees Del sitting alone, inside an empty station, after they finally make it back to Chicago. Del tells Neal that Marie actually died eight years ago and that he’s been homeless ever since. The bond between the two men strengthens further when Neal invites him into his home for Thanksgiving.”

It’s a very funny movie and sweet at the same time…well, at the end.

My favorite moment is when they are driving their car that has been burnt to a crisp (one of the many mishaps along the way). They get pulled over and the officer asks them if they “feel this car is safe for highway travel?” They reply yes. The officer disagreed. My parents used to give me crap about my one car. It had been hit several times by various people, the last was when a semi truck back up over the front of it. It still drove. But my parents always joked and used that line on me.

Since the whole idea of the movie was to get back to Chicago in time for Thanksgiving dinner, I thought making a more Fall/Thanksgiving dessert was in order. I didn’t want to do the traditional pumpkin pie, so there are no pumpkin pie spices in this. Just honey. Which that flavor comes through nicely. I really, really LOVED this. The flavors were so yummy. It made me want Fall to be here even more.

Honey-Pumpkin Meringue Tart

Tart Crust:
3 cups finely ground Vanilla Wafers (most of the box)
4 TBSP brown butter
3 tsp cinnamon sugar (or ½ tsp cinnamon and 3 tsp sugar)

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix until completely combined and you can press the crumbs into a shape with your hands. If you can not, add  more butter, 1 tsp at a time.
Using your hands press the crust mixture into the bottom of the tart molds (or tart rings depending on what you are using). Gently work the crumbs up the sides of the mold and press them together to form edges for the crust. I got nine 3-inch diameter tart rings. You can use mini or make one large tart. If using mini, place on baking sheets.
Bake at 325F for 6 minutes if using mini, 8 minutes if doing full size.
Let cool.

Honey-Pumpkin Mixture:

2 cups canned pumpkin (make sure it is not pumpkin pie mixture)
3 ounces brown butter
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream
14 ounces (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup honey
5 eggs
dash of salt

Using a mixer or food processor mix together the pumpkin, butter, vanilla extract, whipping cream, honey, salt, and condensed milk. Mix until completely incorporated.
Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl after each addition.
Pour pumpkin mixture to just before the top of the tart shell.
Bake at 325F for 12 minutes. Rotate pan.
Bake another 10-12 minutes. You want it to be set but not brown on top.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Let tarts cool completely.
You can refrigerate them at this point but don’t put the meringue on until you are about to serve.
Meringue

5 egg whites, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar

Set a large, perfectly clean metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Pour in the egg white and sugar. Heat the egg whites and sugar while whisking constantly until the sugar melts and there are no visible grains in the meringue. Take a little meringue mixture and rub it between your fingers to make sure all sugar grains have melted. Remove the meringue from over the simmering water and whip it with a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on low speed for 5 minutes; increase the speed to high and beat 5 minutes longer, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Meringue recipe from The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather
Top tarts with spoonfuls (or pipe) meringue onto the baked tart. Caramelize with a blow torch and serve immediately.

Poor nerd boy with little friends, except for tomboy best friend, is in love with hot popular girl. Popular girl dates jerk. Jerk is cheating on popular girl. Popular girl also poor but because she is hot, she is popular (ah the power of lip gloss and a nice rack, eh ). Girl finds out jerk is cheating. Goes out on date with Poor nerd boy to get back at jerk. Meanwhile best friend tomboy is jealous as she is in love with poor nerd boy. They practice kissing to make sure he can give a good kiss to popular girl. Poor nerd boy feels something (no doubt in his teenage hormonal pants). Still goes on date with girl. In the end girl learns to stand up on her own, nerd boy learns he is in love with tomboy best friend. Got all that…Some Kind of Wonderful.

Now, this is actually not one my all time favorites. I like it. I watch it when it is on TV, but I have issues with it. Like him buying diamond earrings for the popular girl. I get it. She shouldn’t have to borrow her friends. But what I didn’t get was his dad freaking out for spending the money. Now let us keep in mind that his family is poor. And I mean poor. So clearly, if he is applying for college he is going to be able to qualify for financial aide and grants. The first time I saw it, I was mapping out his future for him and wanting to scream to the dad it would be okay. But I am a nerd that way.

The one thing I did love about the movie was the soundtrack. Pretty and Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful are pretty much my two favorite movie soundtracks of all time.

Today’s food tribute to the movie comes from the scene where they are at the fine dining restaurant. Poor nerd boy had ordered ahead and the first course was snails. Since this is a baking blog, I wasn’t about to bust out real snails….so we did one better, Brioche Snails. Back when I participated in Tuesdays with Dorie, my selection was Brioche Snails. These are a take on those. Brioche dough filled with Key Lime Pastry Cream and Gingersnap Cookie Crumbs. Then topped with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. Um, yeah. Better than the movie.

Key Lime-Gingersnap Brioche Snails

2 giant Ginger cookies (or 10 small gingersnaps), grated (they are easier to grate when frozen)
½  recipe for Golden Brioche (recipe follows), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating overnight)
Key Lime Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
On a flour dusted surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long, with a short end toward you. Spread the pastry cream across the dough, leaving 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you.

Scatter the gingersnap cookies crumbs over the pastry cream.

Starting wit the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it up to 2 months; see Storing for further instructions. Or, if you do not want to make the full recipe, use as much of the dough as you¢â¬â„¢d like and freeze the remainder.)
With a chef¢â¬â„¢s knife(I use a bread knife), using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends if they¢â¬â„¢re ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into rounds a scant 1 inch thick. Put the snails inside the individual muffin holes. You can also make them in one large round cake pan.

Lightly cover the snails with wax paper and set the baking sheet(s) in a warm place until the snails have doubles in volume¢â¬â€œthey¢â¬â„¢ll be puffy and soft¢â¬â€œabout 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Getting Ready To Bake: When the snails have almost fully risen, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the wax paper, and bake the snails for about 25 minutes, or until they are puffed and richly browned. Let cool for 5 minutes then remove from muffin pan.
Golden Brioche

2 packets active dry yeast
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can¢â¬â€œ this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you¢â¬â„¢re doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you¢â¬â„¢ll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You¢â¬â„¢ll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.
Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

Brioche recipe from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Key Lime Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk
¼  cup granulated sugar, divided in two
2 TBSP key lime juice
2 large eggs
1 ½ TBSP flour
pinch of salt

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, 1/8 cup sugar, flour, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan whisk together milk, 1/8 cup sugar, and key lime juice. Don’t panic, it will curdle. Heat over medium and heat until hot, but not boiling.

Take a ladle full of hot milk mixture and add to the egg mixture in a steady stream, whisking the INTIRE time! Add another ladle full and do the same thing. Pour tempered egg mixture (what you just made) back into the saucepan.

Cook on medium heat, whisking constantly. In about a minute the cream will start to thicken up. Go about 3 minutes, until the pastry cream has about the consistency of pudding.
 
Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 cups powdered sugar (depending on the consistency you are going for)

Beat together the cream cheese and butter, about 2 minutes. Add key lime juice and vanilla while mixer is on low until fully incorporated.
Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until you reach desired consistency.