Day 9 - Sugar Cookies & Ice Cream Cake

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Ok, so the holiday baking has officially begun. With family flying in from all over [LA, Rome.. no big deal], last minute shopping, wrapping presents, and oh a little thing called WORK - it's hard to find the time to bake! So I've split up my baking over the span of a few nights; tonight is phase 1. I started with my Grandma's shortbread cookie recipe. I knew I could make this recipe ahead because these cookies last forever! You could even freeze them and eat them months later - and I promise, they are still so yummy! The recipe is simple yet delicious and although they look a lot like regular sugar cookies - they are SO much better!! The dough comes together surprisingly easy and all thats left to do is roll it out, cut it into shapes, bake it off and sprinkle it with sugar. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what even makes these shortbread cookies so delightful - maybe it's just the fact that the one day a year I make them, I experience the exact, unique flavor of my Grandma's cookies which brings back a flood of wonderful memories.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

One day later and here I am again, baking away! I baked two cheesecakes today and one ice cream cake… I am exhausted but so ready for Christmas! I have made both of these recipes before (Grandma's cheese cake and my ice cream cake with vanilla and chocolate ice cream and an Oreo fudge center) so I wont go into too much detail. I will say that my cheesecakes came out great although it was quite a project since I have never baked two in one day! The ice cream cake looked delicious when it was done - it should be better this time since it has tons of time to freeze properly so it doesn't start to melt immediately when I serve it on Christmas! Below are photos of the chocolate layer and the vanilla layer of ice cream cake - except I forgot to snap a picture of the Oreo and fudge filling (which of course is the best part). I also couldn't take a picture yet of the topping made of vanilla frosting and whole Oreos because that won't take place until the day that I serve the cake.

Okay, here are the ice cream cake photos! The cake is mostly gone and starting to melt but it was delightful!!! 

Well that's all I have for now… I am looking forward to spending time with Dina, who flew in from Los Angeles yesterday, and my Mom, who flew in today from Rome today, along with the rest of the family. I think we will watch "Meet Me in St. Louis" tonight… one of our favs :)

Stay tuned for next time!

Day 8 - Snicker Doddles & Sugar Cookies

Sunday, December 19, 2010

This morning was all about COOKIES - the Christmas Edition!

We tried out two recipes and were most excited about the decorating part. First up were the Snicker Doodles!! Our dough came together perfectly, it was very similar to a sugar cookie. Once the dough came together into a ball we let it hang in the fridge for a while as we prepared the dough for our second cookie. When the snicker doodle dough was chilled, we took it out of the fridge and used a little cookie scooper to make perfect balls each time.  Each ball was plunged in a cinnamon and sugar bath and then they were almost ready for the tray. Before we put them into the oven, we couldn't forget to make cross pattern with a fork on each cookie!! How fancy! The cookies came out wonderful! They were slightly crisp on the edges but chewy in the center. The cinnamon and sugar gave the cookie a really warm flavor - perfect for the holidays!

Next up, Sugar Cookies!! This recipe was easy to follow and only had a few steps. This recipe came from Martha Stewart and had a little lemon zest and fresh squeezed lemon juice in the batter which gave it a new, fresh twist. Michael was our special guest today. We each rolled out our own little dough balls and got busy with all kinds of festive cookie cutters! We had a fancy sprinkle device that had several different compartments with different shapes and colors of sprinkles which allowed us to make each cookie personalized. The sugar cookies came out great [the recipe really made a ton of dough so we were cutting and decorating cookies for what seemed like forever!] The cookies were sweet and delicious - just as a sugar cookie should be.

Since this is our pre-Christmas blog, we are giving these cookies as gifts in holiday themed chinese take out containers [which can be found at Michael's for about $1]! Today was so much fun [especially having Michael help us out], it really helped all of us get into the Christmas spirit! There is still much more baking to be done before Christmas [Grandma's shortbread cookies and what else... more cheesecake!] so stay tuned for part 2 of our Christmas baking!

Day 7 - Chocolate Pudding

Sunday, December 5, 2010

I will apologize in advance because once again I am totally unprepared for this Sunday's baking - I think holiday madness has officially taken over - but never-the-less, here I am blogging! I am without Joanne again because as most of you know - School gets crazy with finals and papers right before the holiday break so she is focused on that!

 Having a family party to go to is always fun because it gives me a purpose and motivation to bake so I can bring something for everyone to enjoy. This Saturday was my cousin Toni-Ann's confirmation party, and of course I was asked to bring a dessert. The basics were already being covered (cake, brownies, cookies) so I had to think outside of the box. I decided to make an ice cream cake because I knew it was something all of the children would enjoy. I had tried to make an ice cream cake before and it didn't come out that great but this time I had a different strategy - I would freeze each layer before adding to it to try to keep a nice shape. Another thing that was helpful this time was that I had a spring form pan which I didn't have before, which would provide a great base for the cake. I started by softening the vanilla and chocolate ice cream so they were spreadable. I first spread the chocolate ice cream in the bottom of the pan into a smooth, even layer. I put the pan into the freezer to get this layer hard before building upon it. While the chocolate layer was hardening I put a sleeve of Oreo cookies into my mini food processor to create the crumbs that would go in the center of the cake. I spread the cookie crumbs over the chocolate ice cream and then put a layer of chocolate syrup over that. Again, I put the pan in the freezer. Once that layer was set I spread the vanilla ice cream over the top to finish off the cake. Once the whole cake was frozen I spread a layer of vanilla frosting over the top to complete it. I decorated the cake with whole Oreos and put it back into the freezer until I was ready to go to the party. Once I got to the party and we were ready for dessert I took the ice cream cake out of the freezer and it started melting IMMEDIATELY! I then realized my obvious mistake - I needed to let the cake freeze over night for it to really be completely frozen. Luckily, the kids [and may adults] attacked the cake and it was gone in literally 5 minutes. Thank goodness this was the case or else in those same five minutes if it had not been eaten, it would have been a big, messy puddle!    

Everyone loved the cake [even though it was melting by the second!] A few people asked for the recipe and one person said it was the best thing they have ever eaten! I knew this cake was an instant hit and that I would make it many more times in the future. I did learn one important lesson - make this cake [and any ice cream cake] at least a day before I need to serve it - this way it holds up much better and doesn't melt as quickly as it did this weekend. I think the best thing about the ice cream cake is that I can use any type of ice cream and any time of cookie to reinvent the cake every time I make it!

The second thing I decided to bake this weekend was homemade chocolate pudding. I was looking for something simple and something I had all of the ingredients for [it was a lazy Sunday - I couldn't bear to go to the store!] I personally love chocolate pudding - with its smooth, creamy texture and topped off with a little whipped cream - it makes the perfect dessert or snack. I always buy chocolate pudding from the grocery store [Kozy Shack is my favorite brand] or make it from the box [the "just add milk" kind] but have never made it from scratch. I looked up a few recipes and they all looked pretty simple. The only problem was that I realized I had no whole milk so I made it with skim milk. Since I refused to go to the store, I figured I would just see how it turned out.

I made the pudding over the stove using cocoa powder, sugar, skim milk, egg yolks, corn starch and a pinch of salt. By the end of the process I was left with a thick, chocolaty mixture. I poured it into small bowls and put it into the refrigerator to cool. Later I planned on making homemade whipped cream to top the pudding. The pudding came out great - the texture was really smooth. While whole milk would have made the pudding a bit creamier and richer, the skim milk provided a great, low fat option to make this a guilt free pudding [gotta love that!]

Ok, so I have no pictures of the ice cream cake but ask anyone in the family and they will tell you how delicious it was! I did manage a picture of the pudding after it was cooled and ready to be eaten [above]!

Stay tuned for next week…

Day 6 [part 2] - Thanksgiving Continued

Thursday, November 25, 2010

So after last nights fiasco I woke up with a new attitude and a clean oven! I decided to go ahead and make the lemon bars. I received a box mix for Ina Gartens Lemon bars for my birthday and decided to try it out. The box had separate packages for the crust, the filling and the topping. The only thing I needed to add was some butter and fresh squeezed lemon juice. It was a simple recipe but the fresh lemons really brightened it up and made a huge difference. Hope my family enjoys these later day!

Crust ready (Left) Lemon Bars Ready! (Right)

 All cut up

The last thing I decided to make was a batch homemade cream puffs. I had made them once before and they were pretty simple and incredibly delicious! The dough is called a "pate a choux" and you actually make it over the stove top. My favorite part of the process is putting the dough into a pipping bag and pipping small circles of dough on a baking sheet. After they bake for about 35 minutes, you are left with puffs of light and flakey dough - its awesome! The finishing touch is whipping up some fresh whipped cream [I'm not a fan of the pudding like fillings] and pipping the whipped cream inside the puffs by poking a small hole in the bottom of the puffs and filling them with a pipping bag [can you tell this is my favorite tool!?] Can't wait for everyone to eat these later!

Dough coming together

 All done!!

All in all, my baking was successful - everything came out great and I am excited to enjoy them later with my family! 

Happy Turkey Day :) 

Day 6 - Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ok, so it's NOT Sunday - but it is a big baking day because it's the day before THANKSGIVING!! We didn't bake on Sunday because with the holiday coming up, we were both super busy. Today Joanne wasn't able to bake so I [Lele] am on my own! I was off of work today so it gave me plenty of time to do my baking for thanksgiving. I have a lot to bake today [after all, we are having about 25 people!]- frozen key lime pie, apple pie, lemon bars, and let's not forget.. it's the big day for the cheesecake we practiced last week!

First up was the frozen key lime pie [I know it sounds a little summery but it is soo good!]. I made this for the first time 2 years ago for thanksgiving and it was a big hit - so I've been making it ever since. It's a recipe from Ina Garten. It is so delicious - it has a sweet and tart flavor and even though its a "frozen" key lime pie, it still has a smooth texture. The best part about it is that it is super easy. First I make the graham cracker crust (graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter) and then I make the filling. The filling consists of egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, fresh squeezed lime juice and lime zest. The pie came out great as usual [kind of hard to mess this one up!] and I am excited to serve it tomorrow.

Finished Key Lime Pie

Next, I was ready to attempt the cheesecake for the second time. I had to borrow Joanne's food processor. I only have a mini one and that would not do the trick - so THANKS JoJo!! The process went smoothly [no smoking food processor] and I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic knowing that my Grandma and more recently my Aunt has made this exact recipe every year for Thanksgiving. The cheesecake came out great - it looked light and fluffy and had a golden top. Can't wait to share this with the whole family tomorrow! I'll be serving it with strawberries and whipped cream!

Finished Cheesecake

The next thing on my list to make is an apple pie. Every year my Mom or Dad make 2 apple pies. This year it's up to me [with Maria in Roma and Dean working late]! My goal is to make one but we'll see how many apples I end up with.. if it's enough, I'll make a second pie. The best part about my parent's apple pie is the amazing crumb topping - let's just say I'm terrified!

So I started by peeling and cutting up 12 apples that I picked up from Silverman's Farm yesterday. Once they were all cut up, I put them in a bowl (well actually, two bowls since I had so much!) and I added sugar, cinnamon and a little flour. I mixed the apples well so each slice was covered. I filled two pie crusts with the apples and the whole time I heard my Mom's voice in my head telling me to "make sure I really make a mound of apples because they'll cook down" and I did just that. Next came the crumb topping. I crumbled butter, brown sugar, flour and a dash of cinnamon. This was the point where I made a phone call to both my Mom and Dad just to make sure I was on the right track! After they eased my mind, I topped both pies and put them in the oven to bake.

Pies before going in the oven (pre and post crumb topping!)

When the pies were cooking, the oven was smoking the whole time from old crumbs on the bottom. I was also slightly concerned because the crumb topping was melting rather than staying in tact and browning [like Maria's]. Just when the pies were about done (so I thought) all of a sudden I saw flames inside the oven!! I mean BIG flames!! So of course I freaked out (thank God Anthony was here because if I was by myself it would have been worse). So I turned off the oven and kept the door closed and what else.. called my Dad! I asked if we should get the fire extinguisher because the flames were pretty big but he said no, to use salt instead. Just when we were getting the salt out, the flames went away and I was able to pull out my pies.. which amazingly looked okay [PHEW!!!]

Finished Apple Pies

Ok - so that ends my baking for the night! I actually think the fire started because while I had both pies on a cookie sheet, the butter topping was melting off the pies and was dripping off the cookie sheet and onto the bottom of the oven and we all know butter burns!! In any case, my Dad is going to clean out the oven tonight so we have no issues tomorrow for Thanksgiving :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!

Day 5 - Apple Strudel & Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Sunday, November 14, 2010.

Today we were inspired to make birthday treats because it was Lele's birthday this weekend. We picked a chocolate cupcake recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis and an Apple Strudel.

We watched a video about how to make the apple strudel. It looked simple enough, we didn't really even need to follow a recipe. When it came down to using the phyllo dough we had MAJOR problems. It broke apart within the first few minutes we started working with it so we had to use the back up roll that we had on hand. This time we didn't take it out of the package until it was completely thawed and it seemed to work better. The apple mixture consisted of thinly sliced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. We filled the phyllo dough with the apple filing and made a nice roll [sort of!] We then brushed the top with melted butter and put a dash of sugar to top it off and into the oven it went! We had a number of distractions during this process including a Skype call from Maria and a small cappuccino colored pony roaming the kitchen trying to swipe our goodies off of the counter. After about 30 minutes we saw a golden brown log with bubbly filling seeping out. When it was cooled and ready to be taste tested, we found we probably used to many layers of phyllo causing the shell to be dry. The inside however, was delicious. Next time we will use less dough and make sure it is flavored better.

We were especially excited to get working on the chocolate cupcakes. This recipe included some intermediate level techniques that are beyond a box bakers capabilities. [Although we have to admit - later on we made a box white cake mix and jazzed it up with some mini chocolate chips]. We mixed the batter together and it smelled super chocolatey.

Melting the chocolate

                                                        
                             Mixing the chocolate with the batter

                                        Ready to go in the oven!

While the cupcakes baked we made a chocolate ganache to dip the cooled cupcakes in. To make the ganache we heated heavy whipping cream with some vanilla extract. Once it was hot, we took it off the heat and mixed in the semi sweet chocolate chips until it formed a smooth, shiny dip.

                              Making the ganache

We dipped each cupcake into the ganache and had a taste test….WOOWWW!! They were so amazing! This was more than we can ask for. The cake was chocolatey and moist  with warm pockets of melted chocolate chunks on the inside. Topped off with more chocolate and we were in heaven!

Today was somewhat of a success. Despite the kitchen being a mess we are so proud of our treats. There is going to be a quite a spread at tonight's birthday party!

Stay tuned for next week..