So we’ve touched on my coconuts (wow, that was bad) but lets move on to my best assets (yes, again, bad)… my buns. I can’t help it. I love getting new readers, so I need to keep F interested.

But in all seriousness (if I can even do that), I was in the mood to bake some bread. And I wanted a recipe that didn’t use the mixer. See apparently, it has been pointed out to me, that I have weak wrist. And I need strong ones for a better shot.
Not really my fault. I’m a girl. And well, we just don’t have strong forearms/wrists like guys. I mean, men get to ummm, *build* up their wrist strength on a more consistent basis (depending on their social life, or lack there of). So they have a slight advantage. Or disadvantage depending on your outlook.

Anyway, back to the bread. I figured it was best if I, you know, built up my wrist strength in a more appropriate manner. So why not knead bread?
Except, hardly anyone does that anymore. While Googling for brioche buns (I was making pulled pork sandwiches), Deb came up. Pretty much everyone knows Smitten Kitchen, if you don’t, you should. And since Smitten Kitchen is a reliable recipe site (as in, stuff I make from there turns out), I decided to give her buns a try….especially since you don’t use a mixer.

As far as bread making goes, these here buns were pretty easy to make (though I realize that some fear yeast). Other than having to knead them by hand for about 8 minutes, there is very little effort to put into these. Well that and just sitting around watching the dough rise. The key is to remember that this dough is a little on the sticky side. If you add too much flour and you will get tough buns (so use flour sparingly when kneading). Firm buns are good for the gym, but bad for a pulled pork sandwich.

All in all, two good things came out of this. The buns. The other is of course, my well developed wrists that will no doubt help improve the rocket that is my shot (any and all people who play hockey with me are now rolling on the ground laughing).

Light Brioche Burger Buns

Makes 8 4 to 5-inch burger buns

3 TBSP warm milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 ½ TBSP sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt
2 ½ TBSP unsalted butter, softened
Sesame seeds (optional)

In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.

In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be on the sticky side so it can be a bit messy, but keep in mind that the more flour you knead in, the tougher the buns will get. Try to leave them tackier than you would a round loaf.

Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours. (In my freaky, warm apartment this only took an hour.)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours. (Again, this only took one hour in my apartment and I suspect, you’ll also only need an hour for a second rise.)

Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

From Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from Comme Ça restaurant in Los Angeles, via the New York Times

As many of you know, I get quite a bit of email from this blog. Some good. Some bad. Some way out there. Some highly amusing. But then I got this one. The one I am deeming better than the Refund Muffin letter. The one that could lead my blog into a whole other direction.

Dear Peabody,

I stumbled across your site while searching for porn. Your site came up under food porn. I thought it would be something else. I read part of your blog and I did like the picture of you in your wedding dress and want to encourage you to have real porn on your blog or you can just send me naked photos.

Looking forward to seeing you, all of you.

F

Dear F,

Umm. In my almost 5 years of running this blog this has been my first request to remove my clothing. Thanks???

That being said there are only a few fortunate souls who get to see me naked.
#1 Husband (position is filled)
#2 Hockey team in locker room. And this is only partial, really I think my swimsuit probably shows more.
#3 Women’s locker room at gym.
So looks like you are out of luck.

Staying clothed,
Peabody

As you guess it, this one threw me for a loop. It was however the highlight of the day, perhaps the week. But then the hard part set in (perhaps on F’s part…bad I know). What to make to represent this fine email? I had originally thought something with melons, so that I could title the post “nice melons”. But then I got to thinking, I don’t really want to make/eat anything with melon. It’s not really melon season and I am not a huge fan of melon desserts.

In the true sense that inspiration can come from anywhere, I was folding laundry. I have this t-shirt that I wear to bed from time to time. I originally bought it to wear to a tropical themed party…it has a coconut bra on it. And I immediately thought…coconuts. And thought, “I have a lovely bunch of coconuts”. And thus came about the coconut theme of the day.

The ice cream was chosen because it is quick and easy, just like F hopes I am. But just like ice cream F, I’m cold and frigid. This is simple with few ingredients. I added the dash of rum, because really, after a email like that, I could use a little hard alcohol in my life.

Lovely Bunch of Coconuts Ice Cream

Makes about 1 pint

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup coconut milk

¼ cup white or unrefined cane sugar

1 TBSP coconut flavored rum

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring all the ingredients to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer gently for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and chill the mixture thoroughly.

Once chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Adapted from David Lebovitz.com who adapted it from Delicious Days by Nicole Stich

I think Joan Jett said it best. I really don’t give a damn ’bout bad reputation. Or my good one for that matter.

I’m not quite sure when it happens. When you start to care what others think about you. Your youth I guess. Lord knows you obsess over it in junior high and high school. And for some it never seems to go away.

My mother is a people pleaser. I used to be one too. Then somewhere along the way something snapped. The realization that I would never be pleasing all of the people all of the time finally sunk in. And so I just moved on. It’s very freeing I might add. Though I often get the reputation of being a heartless bitch. Eh. At least I am a bitch who brings you baked goods.

One reputation I do have and don’t mind having is that Cookie Baker Lynn calls me Queen Caramel, because of well, my love for caramel. And the fact that this blog has a lot of caramel. I should write a whole caramel based cookbook. Recently both Cookie Baker Lynn and Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms named me a food blogger that makes them happy. Normally I am bad about filling these things out, but since two of my favorite people named me, I had to do it.

So here I go. I’m suppose to list 10 things that make me happy. I will skip all the regular family, friends, health, blah, blah, blah and get right to the shallow, superficial crap.

1. Hockey. Duh. Play it. Watch it. My day is much happier with hockey in it. Even happier when I am playing and do something right (such a rarity).

2. 96.723% of the clothing that Anthropologie carries. Some of their clothing makes me so happy I have been known to twirl in it.

3. Baking/Cooking for others and having them really enjoy it. It’s one of the most satisfying things ever to me.

4. Receiving random care packages from people out of the blue. There is nothing more fun than going to the mailbox and getting something other than a bill!

5. Getting a new cookbook and having the time to sit down and read it cover to cover. Same thing goes for a new cooking magazine as well.

6. Having someone cook/bake something for me. I think because this sooooo rarely happens that it makes it so much more extra special.

7. Hot Pockets…and other bad things for you. Eating a Hot Pocket and not burning the roof of my mouth. Eating Captain Crunch and not losing pieces of the roof of my mouth. Eating both of those and not have the calories count or the artificial everything destroy my insides.

8. Beer. Enough beer and I am really, really happy.

9. Discovering a new restaurant…a good one. Finding a crappy one isn’t all that hard.

10. Mascarpone cheese. Caramel. Hence this tart.
As we all know I have a Mascarpone cheese issue. I use it a lot. I use caramel a lot. I figured since they both make me happy, making this tart seemed like a no brainer for the happy post. It’s basically really creamy cheesecake (but no tang) topped with caramel baked into a cookie-like crust. Um, makes you pretty happy.

Caramel Topped Mascarpone Cheese Tart

For the Crust:
6 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup semolina flour
½  tsp salt
zest of one orange
Vegetable oil spray

Filling:
2 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 ½  cups mascarpone cheese
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP heavy cream

Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)

For Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg yolks, zest, and vanilla.
Beat in the flour, semolina, and salt and until a dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a large nonstick baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and roll it out to a 9-inch square, a scant 1/4 inch thick. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Immediately transfer the dough to a food processor and pulse until fine. Lower the oven temperature to 300°.

Line a 13 3/4-by-4-inch, straight-sided rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom with foil. Spray the foil with vegetable spray. Press a 1/2-inch layer of the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the side of the pan. Refrigerate until firm, 20 minutes.

For the Filling:
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add half of the mascarpone cheese and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the remaining mascarpone cheese, the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and cream and beat just until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the filling into the crust and smooth the surface.

Set the tart pan on a sturdy baking sheet.

Position racks in the bottom and center of the oven. On the bottom rack, place a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of water. Place the tart on the center rack and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the filling is puffed and set. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. Lift the tart from the pan and remove the foil. Transfer to a platter. Top with caramel sauce and serve.

Adapted from Food and Wine

Caramel Sauce

2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 ½ TBSP light corn syrup
½  cup heavy cream plus 1 TBSP
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

To make the topping:
Put the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan, stir just to combine the ingredients and then put the pan over medium-high heat.
Heat, without stirring , until the caramel turns deep amber, 5-10 minutes.
Take the pan off of the heat and, standing back from the saucepan add the cream and butter. When the spatters are less vehement, stir to calm down the caramel and dissolve any lumps. Add in the vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Now, here’s the 10 blogs that make me happy:

Fabulously Broke: Always amusing and random. Just how I like things.

Angry Chicken: Because also amusing and random. And if I were to have a non-food blog I would totally want to name it Angry Chicken. Or Bow Legged Swamp Chicken. It’s a toss up.

Bittersweet:  Hannah is about the sweetest person there is…and she makes great vegan treats.

Cakespy:  Jessie is not only a talented artist she has a way awesome blog with funny posts. Plus it helps me find local bakeries.

Pages, Pucks and Pantry: What is not to love about a site dedicated to food and hockey. Though you must forgive her for being a Sharks fan.

Seattle Tall Poppy: If anyone has ever met Traca in person, you instantly love her. She is the best and runs an insightful blog.

Veggie Girl: This is a no brainer if you read my site. You know that I love all things Veggie Girl. Liz is about as awesome as a person is allowed to be!!!

What’s for Lunch Honey? Great photos and diverse recipes.

And of course, Cookie Baker Lynn and Feeding My Enthusiasms. I have had the pleasure of getting to meet both of these ladies. And let me tell you…I’m a better person for it!

So growing up I listened to a lot of punk music (still do). There was a group called Guttermouth that had a song called Perfect World. The song highlights all the things they would want in a perfect world. Got me thinking about all the things I would want in a perfect world. So here they are, in no particular order.

*The news would have to stop scaring people with stupid stuff. Telling me at 3pm, “you could you die from eating your dinner tonight. Find out at 11pm.” Find out at 11? If I am really going to die from my dinner, don’t you think you should give me a heads up before 11? In fact, go ahead a interrupt Oprah for me. It wont matter if I don’t get to find out some of Oprah’s favorite things if I can say, prevent myself from killing me and my family. Just saying.

*Hockey would be just as popular as Football. In fact, more popular. This would actually help men a lot in certain areas of their life. See, I don’t know if you watch the NFL, but there are a large amount of commercials for erectile dysfunction. LARGE amounts. It seems almost every other commercial is one. Apparently football watchers can’t get it up (yes, I know you are going to send me large amounts of hate mail). But watch a hockey game. Especially one being broadcast from Canada. Those commercials are usually for pizza and beer. Hmmm. Pizza and beer? Or non-functioning penis action? You decide.

*Reality shows would have to skip to the good parts. Sure, that would mean that the show would only be 4 minutes, but hey, I’m in charge in my perfect world. I don’t need two hours of the Biggest Loser. In fact, just make the whole show be them getting on the scale and weighing in. Then show me what the person who got voted off how they look today. No crying, vomiting, yelling, etc.

*Fake stars like Heidi Montag (btw- why the heck did you mess up your banging body with horrid looking breast?) and other Hills cast members don’t get to be popular. I don’t need to know where they shop. Or where they are getting coffee. Or that they are “just like me” because they pump their own gas. Oh yeah, we are so alike.

*No kids get to get sick. Ever. Just not fair. And only pain in the ass adults should get to get sick. Of course, I am a pain in the ass adult, so I would probably get stuck getting sick, but I would still enforce that rule.

*I would come out with a new food pyramid. One where bacon is the entire bottom. Swedish Fish, Whoppers, Toffee, and Red Vines become their own special food group, that you are encouraged to eat daily. We can keep fruits and veggies, just not force them on people. And I wont segregate them into starches. French Fries are indeed a vegetable. They are a really awesome vegetable when you fry them in duck fat.

*Whatever my horoscope says, actually has to happen (only the good ones like winning the lottery). Same thing with fortune cookies.

*I get to have all of Jerome Iginla and Danny Briere’s hockey skills…but still get to keep my winning good looks.

*And of course, everyone gets to eat dessert whenever they want….even before dinner. Or heck, as dinner.

Case in point, this here Baked Mocha Pudding, topped with Chocolate Mousse. If you are not a coffee fan, just leave the espresso powder out of them.

Chocolate Mousse Topped Baked Mocha Pudding

1 recipe chocolate mousse (I used this one)
2 Heath Toffee Bars, crushed

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup half and half
1 tsp instant espresso powder
½ tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar

For Puddings:

Preheat oven to 300F.

Bring cream, half and half, and espresso powder to a boil. Place chocolate into a heat proof bowl and pour cream mixture over chocolate.

Let chocolate sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla extract, salt, and sugar.

Whisking quickly and constantly, pour the chocolate cream mixture in a slow and steady stream to the egg yolk mixture.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large liquid measuring cup and let sit in fridge for 10 minutes.

Place ramekins (I used 4 ounce ones, will make about 7) into a deep baking pan. Pour custard evenly among the ramekins. Fill the baking pan with water, just until the water reaches the middle of the ramekin, creating a water bath.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. They will still jiggle in the middle (don’t we all ) but will set more as they cool.

Cool on a wire rack at room temperature for 1 hour. Then move to fridge for at least 4 hours.

To serve, pipe chocolate mousse on top of the baked puddings and top with toffee pieces.