Before we start into Way Back Wednesdays let me just say that today is the very last day you can VOTE (August 31st…in case you are reading this later ). So please vote today!!!

School starts back next week and hopefully that means fall weather will be right behind the corner. We have had warm temps as of late, though we did just get two days of cooler weather…yay! I like the intro that came with it as well, so I kept that too.

Teaching, as you know, is often a thankless job. Randomly you might get an atta girl thrown at you but other than that you don’t get a lot of positive feedback. Unless of course, “I hate homework” is positive feedback.

So when I started to get comments on my blog I was just giddy. Wow, positive feedback…and the actual day I post. But sadly there is some feedback I never get and wish I would. You might be surprised at the amount of email I answer a day. Sometimes I am even surprised. I always try and help when I can and I try and be honest when I can’t. No super woman here. But so many times after I get the email and help the person, I never hear from them again. It’s not that I am looking for a thanks, but I really want to know if what I told you worked out or not! It helps me too.

So a few months back (gosh maybe longer than that) a reader (who does not have a blog) wrote me and asked if she could have my address. Now I admit, I get nervous handing out my address to people, though really it is public record, but still (just keep in mind I do have an attack bunny…and a dog that will lick you…and you don’t want to know where that’s been). I gave it to her and that was it. Nothing came in the mail and of course part of me grew suspicious that now I would be getting extra junk mail.

But then the other day I got a letter. Handwritten, so it really stuck out. The name was not one I knew and it seemed bulky. Hmm ( here CCS sniff the letter…you didn’t die, okay, I’ll open it) . I opened it up to find $17 cash and a note. There outlined in the note were 17 recipes that my reader K had tried from my site. It went through each one explaining what she liked about each recipe. It also told me how my suggestions on two of my recipes turned out. Yay, feedback! It also went on to say some nice things about me to further make my day. I also had to laugh as she informed me that she would be sending me a dollar for every recipe that she tried and liked from now on. She said she knew that running a food blog could get costly and she hoped I could use the money ( who can’t ).

So readers of the Culinary Concoction world, please if you ask me a question, let me know how it turns out. Good or bad…I can take it, I’ve got my big girl panties on.

Perhaps one to add to her list is these here Butterscotch Tarts from my new cookbook obsession/crush, Baked. These are essentially Butterscotch Pudding in a Tart Shell, with Butterfinger Candy. So if you were feeling lazy and didn’t want to make the tart dough, you just just as easily spoon this into a glass and have at it.

Mine came no where as dark as the picture in the cookbook. I can understand for the pudding. I didn’t want to caramelize to dark, as it sometimes gets bitter. The tart shells however made no sense. I baked them for longer than what they said and they still stayed pale in color. They had great flavor and crispness but very pale. Odd. But I really liked the shell as it was different than what you normally get. I think it would be good with pumpkin pie filling as well.

Butterscotch Pudding Tarts

Oat Wheat Pie Crust

1 cup rolled oats
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup whole milk

Put the rolled oats in a food processor and process for about 30 seconds, until ground but not powdered. Add the flours, brown sugar, and salt and pulse until combined.

Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are small and the dough looks crumbly, like coarse sand. Add the milk and pulse for a few seconds.

Scoop the dough out of the food processor and form it into a large disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

Dust a work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Unwrap the disk of chilled dough and put it directly on the work surface. Cut the dough into eight equal pieces, about 2 ounces each, and gently shape each piece into a smooth disk. The dough will be sticky. Make sure t turn the dough over as needed and keep the working surface floured. Put the dough disks in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Using a rolling pin, roll each dough ball into a 6-inch round just over 1/8-inch thick. Place a round over a 4-inch tart pan and very gently press the dough into the pan. Roll the rolling pin over the pan to trim off the excess. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds. Use any excess dough trimmings to make a ninth tart shell or freeze for another time.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Put the tart pans in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Remove the tarts from the freezer, then arrange on a baking sheet and gently prick the dough with a fork.

Bake on the baking sheet until golden brown, 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking time.

Transfer the tart pans to wire racks and let cool completely.

For the Butterscotch Pudding

6 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 tsp salt
3 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP unsalted butter
2 TBSP whiskey

Put the egg yolks in a large heat proof bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, and ¼ cup water and stir gently with a heatproof spatula; do not splash the side of  the pan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, then increase the heat to medium-high heat and cook until the mixture begins to turn dark amber color. Swirl the pan, if necessary, to create an even color, but do not stir. Remove from heat, let stand for 1 minute, then use the heatproof spatula to stir in the cream. Pour the caramel into small bowl. Set aside.

In another small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk and whisk to combine.

Add the vanilla extract. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add the caramel. Whisk together until combined, then pour one third of the mixture over the eggs. Keep whisking the egg mixture and add another third of the hot milk mixture. Transfer the egg mixture back to the saucepan with the milk minute and, whisking the whole time, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2-3 minutes, or until very thick.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and whiskey.

Keep whisking vigorously for about 1 minute to cool the pudding slightly. Let the pudding sit for about 15 minutes.

To assemble the tarts:

Whisk the pudding one more time until smooth. Divide the pudding equally among the tart shells an sprinkle some crumbled Butterfinger bar over the pudding. Cover the tarts with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.

The tarts can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

I’m pretty sure that if I put as much effort into actually cleaning as I did in avoiding cleaning, I would have the world’s cleanest apartment ever. Sadly this is not the case. This weekend was super clean weekend. Scrubbing floors, stain treating carpets, rearrange closets, and laundry galore. I don’t mind laundry. I will put clothing in and out of the machine all day long. And gladly plop it down on the ground. Now folding it, that’s a whole other ball game. A ball game I do not like to play. And then putting it away…ugh. I like Mount Laudrious and so does the dog. If I folded the laundry and put it away all the time she would have nowhere to lie down. So I’m really just helping out the dog, yeah, that’s it, the dog.

Needless to say I was a trooper and got it done. What I hardly got done was baking. And that’s the weather’s fault. No hurricane here, well not the natural disaster kind anyway. But it was warm and I just really don’t get in the mood to bake at all when it’s warm. Or cook in general. Oh how I long for a crisp fall morning to come.

I don’t know if you have them but around these parts we have Business Center Costco’s. To me they are like the most exciting thing ever. You can buy restaurant supply stuff there. It’s exhilarating and overwhelming all at the same time. One thing they sell there that I had been eyeing for a long time but never pulled the trigger on was a five pound tub of mascarpone cheese. Now if you are new to my blog this might seem excessive but if you are not you know that I make a lot of stuff with mascarpone cheese. I love it in my quick breads and cakes. I love it on my toast. In my marinara sauce to make it creamy. I love it.

But I also had to start figuring out what to do with it. I love Amaretto with mascarpone so I decided to make a cheesecake. I found a recipe for a cheesecake with a shortbread crust and realized I had no shortbread but did have a shortbread crust pie shell that I bought when they were one sale. So I figured I would make a little Amaretto Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake Pie. Turned out to be a good idea. It’s also a great way to avoid doing laundry.

BTW- you only have a couple days left to VOTE. So please do. It really is about the nicest thing (other than becoming my life sponser…any takers?) you can do for me.

Amaretto Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake Pie

One store bought shortbread crust (I used a Keebler Ready Crust)…feel free to bake your own
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
12 ounce containers mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 TBSP Amaretto
2 TBSP flour
3 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add mascarpone and flour; beat until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.

Gradually add sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in Amaretto.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Divide the batter in half. Add cocoa powder to one of the batters and mix until fully incorporated.
Pour chocolate filling into pie shell. Carefully spoon plain Amaretto batter on top. Scatter chocolate chips if using. Since cheesecakes don’t really rise that much, fill to the top just below the top of the pie shell.

Bake cheesecake until top is golden and cake is almost set (center 2 inches will still move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour. Cool cake on rack 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
Adapted from Epicurious.com

I’m more than half way to old, and I don’t just mean in age. There is a trend I have noticed as my parents have gotten into their so called golden years. They talk about five things: People dying, what they ate, what hurts/doctor visits, the weather, and how much stuff costs. Crap I am old. Other than constantly talking about people dying…I’m there. What the heck will I have to talk about when I am actually old? This is bad.

At least I don’t really delve into the people dying thing all that much. I mean I get why they do because they are at the age where people are dying. When someone my age dies we freak out a little more because it doesn’t happen as much. But the conversation with my mother is always the same:

Mom: So and So died yesterday, it’s so sad.
Me: Who?
Mom: You know so and so.
Me: No mom I do not know so and so.
Mom: Yes you do. She’s so and so’s neighbor.
Me: Oh, yeah… No mom. I don’t live in your town remember?
Mom: Don’t be sassy with me. You met her.
Me: When?
Mom: At the Christmas party 9 years ago, she was the nice quiet woman.
Yes, clearly it’s all coming back to me now! Not. Then we go round about how she swears I met them. When we finally mutually agree that at this point it doesn’t really matter if I met them or not we then move on to details about what they died of. Joy.

But other than that…I do the other stuff. I list what I eat (luckily not to everyone). I live in Seattle therefore you must talk about the weather. I’m always hurting myself so I complain about aches and pains. And of course I talk about how expensive stuff is. So really, they are going to have to invent new stuff for people to talk about when I get old or I am screwed. Sigh.

These kind of relate to the story since my mom likes to list everything she makes for community center bake sales. She makes peppermint brownies a lot. These are nothing like hers as she uses peppermint patties. But I didn’t have those but I did find Andes Mints (which my mom loves) Pieces when I was at Winco and bought a bunch for times like these. These are a pretty dense brownie and go well with ice cream as you can see. Which if you are old, you won’t need your teeth for. See, I got you covered.

P.S. Don’t worry about me picking on my mom…she loves it. And she would want you to VOTE for my home farm!!!!

Hint-O-Mint Brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
5 ounces Andes Mint pieces (if they don’t sell them just buy the mints and chop them up)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with baking spray.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Gradually mix the dry ingredients until well combined.

Stir in the chopped chocolate and mint pieces.

Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake 35-40 (I went on the 35 side) minutes, or until the sides of the brownies have begun to pull away slightly and the center tests slightly moist when a wooden skewer is inserted.

Remove the pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut and enjoy.

Adapted from The Greystone Bakery Cookbook by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan

As some of you may know there has been recent war ragging among Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain. Let me be the first to tell you that I like them both equally. I enjoy the show No Reservations, but will gladly say that I won’t be willingly (you just never know what you get at those taco trucks sometimes) eat fish balls or guniea pig intestines. I enjoy his enthusiasm of the countries he visits and his sincere interest in both the food and culture.

But I also like me some Paula Deen. People often call me the Paula Deen of food blogging because I can take something bad for you and make it worse. I will agree with Anthony on the fact that the majority of Paula’s cooking isn’t all that healthy. But then again neither is spending most of your 20’s and 30’s doing cocaine and still drinking heavily and smoking heavily. I’ve made many a thing by Paula Deen, mostly desserts I will admit, because I appreciate her love of butter. And they have all turned out well so to say that she is the worst cook I can’t really side with.

In a way this reminds me of where the food blogging world has gone. We almost in some ways have gone divided. Between those who do the organic, all in season, fair trade, $16 a pound chocolate and those of us who have to work with an extreme budget and feed 5 people (which yes, I sometimes do). As much as I would love to make chocolate cupcakes with organic fair trade chocolate, 8 year olds don’t give a crap and can rarely tell the difference. If your kid can, then yay for them. And boo for them as well as they will be sadly disappointed when going over to a friend’s birthday party and get store bought cake.

I shop at Winco because I can get things for a $1 that cost $4.29 at Whole Foods. I shop at Costco and Trader Joes and every now and then when I get a bonus Whole Foods. That’s just how life is. Paula makes things with cream of crap soup because it’s cheap. And as much as I prefer to make my own cream of mushroom soup to go with my tuna noodle casserole it can really add up in price. I find that most of the people who live this lifestyle often either don’t have kids, or have a rather comfortable income to do so.

Neither side is wrong but I will say that it seems that some bloggers look down on those bloggers who throw in a boxed cake mix to their recipes. Do I prefer mine from scratch? You bet. If I was making cupcakes for ten 5 year olds…mine would be coming from a box and I would save the scratch for the adults. So no matter what side of the line you stand on this subject, just remember that you aren’t in that person’s shoes or living their life.

This cake is definitely more Paula than Anthony since three sticks of butter go into the recipe. Yep, three. I saw this on good old Pinterest (I swear people this is where it’s at…and gee how I wish they were paying me to say that but they are not). My friend E went and picked a bunch of cherries from her parent’s tree but then decided she didn’t really want to pit them or make anything with them so she offered them up to me. Which I of course don’t turn down free pie cherries. I decided that this cake was probably pretty sweet so the cherries would help cut some of that and they do. This cake is very moist and I found it best eaten the day I made it…or maybe that’s just because it only really lasted that long.

BTW- did you VOTE today for my Home Farm???

Cherry Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cake:

3 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. Baking powder (that is not a typo…4)
1½ cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup tart pie cherries, pitted, and chopped (coated in 2 tsp. flour)

Topping:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP flour
1 TBSP cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
5 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In an electric or stand mixer mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter.

Fold in the cherries. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoonful’s and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center. You want to make sure it’s done.

Place powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything who adapted it from Picky Palate