Christmas Goodies

I am a bad person - I wholeheartedly admit it. I didn't meant to leave you all hanging, but the moving kicked in along with the aftermath of the other news, and, well, it was overwhelming. So let me jump straight to the biggest news.

I got married.

Boyo and I finally tied the knot and couldn't be happier. It was a small wedding, about as small as it gets in fact - a judge, two last-minute witnesses, and ourselves - but even the planning involved for that level was scary. From deciding to do the deed to doing it took a week, and I honestly cannot remember anything about that week leading up to the ceremony. I'm sure I worked (right up to 2 hours before the wedding - rar!) but I'm just going to have to hope I was productive because I don't remember a lick of what I did. My family is thrilled as they love him to pieces and I can completely relate.

The other news was that it was my birthday, but that's old news now and a bit blown out of the water by the wedding anyway. We timed it perfectly so we could have one celebration for both (I was born, and I got married - yay!). Of course, if he forgets our anniversary, he's doubly screwed ;)

So we got married, moved during one of the worst snowstorms this century in Seattle (yay snow!), fully unpacked, and cleaned everything. And just in time, as I now have a gorgeous kitchen and a serious itch to bake!

For this round: I'm a fan of chocolate and mint - I think I've mentioned this before, although it may have been drowned out in the "NOMnomnomnom"-ing. I got invited to a Christmas cookie party which was sadly cancelled due to the snow and the ice and the hills and the 20+ mph winds and the fact that no-one in the state of Washington knows how to drive in poor weather (me neither!)... but after I'd made the cookies. I should be complaining - these are by far the tastiest cookies I've ever had (evar!!) and having them around for Christmas break has, er, not helped my waistline. But, what can I say except NOMnomnomnomnom.

Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies (adapted from Epicurious.com)
Cookies
* 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 large egg

Frosting
* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
* 2 drops (or more) red food coloring/gel

Preparation

For cookies:
Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4-1/8" thickness. Use your cookie cutter to cut out the shapes you want, transfer to a cookie sheet, and refrigerate another 10 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes (do not overcook or they will be crispy). If making sandwich cookies, make sure to bake half the cookies backwards! Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate cookies to racks and cool completely.

For frosting:
Using electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl until well blended. Streak the opposite sides of your piping bag with the food coloring/gel and add the frosting (you may want to only use 1/2 the frosting so the color shows up for all cookies. Make sure the coloring goes all the way to the piping tip, otherwise your first few cookies won't have any coloring.).

Pipe the frosting short-ways back and forth on one cookie. Place backwards cookie on top and press down gently. These are best cold. Makes 18-20 cookies (depending on size)

Maple-Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies (and a tall glass of good news)

Gentle readers, it has been over a month since I last posted, and I do apologize. My excuses are good ones though, as I think you will agree. They number three (to be presented in three posts):

First: my boyo and I are moving! We got tired of the loud music and people throwing eggs at our door (no, this wasn't a Halloween thing, sadly), so we went looking. Folks, this is the market for renters - we found a beautiful condo with a waterfront view, for several hundred dollars less a month than we're paying now. The best part is the kitchen - I'll post pictures once we've fully moved in.

To celebrate our move to a better place (and one significantly closer to work, thankfully!) I give you Maple-Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yes, I finally jumped on the bacon-bandwagon and I cry to think of how long I resisted. I should have instead reasoned: "Bacon = good. Chocolate = good. Maple syrup on anything = good. Maple-Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies must logically then = AWESOME!"

The recipe is from Never Bashful with Butter, who is one of the funniest individuals I have yet to meet - seriously folks, I'm not going to bother reiterating the recipe here, because you'll enjoy her version that much more.

Stick around; news items 2 and 3 are coming up, and they're doozies!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cheesecake Topping

Oh sad! Autumn is nearly here and I'm already missing my summer fruit. Luckily, there are plenty of winter goodies to substitute - apple turnovers, pecan pie, .... pumpkin cupcakes? Now, see, I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin anything, but you wouldn't have guessed it from my cupboard. I had six cans of the stuff sitting around with no plans to use them and no memory of how I had acquired them. They're breeding I tellsya!

It seemed fortuitous then that I stumbled across this recipe by Peabody. Don't let the title (or her story) fool you - she's a right sweetie, and a hell of a good cook!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cheesecake Topping (adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody):
Maple Cheesecake Layer:
* 9 oz cream cheese, room temperature
* 1/4 c granulated sugar
* 1/4 c brown sugar
* 6 tbsp real maple syrup
* 1 tsp maple extract
* 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
* 1 large egg

Pumpkin Spice Bread:
* 2 c all-purpose flour
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
* 1/4 tsp ground gloves
* 1 c pumpkin puree (plain, not the already made pumpkin pie kind)
* 1/2 c canola oil
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
* 1 c chopped pecans, plus extra for garnish

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line the holes of a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the maple cheesecake ingredients; beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
Place pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat for about 1 minute, until fully combined

Add flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in the pecans. Spoon ~1/4 cups of the pumpkin batter into the liners, and indent so the batter is shaped like a cup. Spoon cream cheese mixture into the cupcake hole until one cm from the top of the liner. Garnish with chopped pecans, if desired.

Bake in preheated 325° oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Variants on Old Favorites

These were fun - I got invited to a party (Rock Band parties ROCK!) and was asked if I wouldn't mind bringing a dessert. Hee. Me? Mind? Good grief no. I wanted to spend more time decorating though, so I took a couple of favorites from the past (my blondies and brownies) and dressed them up for the occasion. Raspberries for the white chocolate, boyo's favorite, and I'd been dying to try out the chocolate-apricot combo I'd had on the cruise.


Because I was more decoration-oriented this time, I bought a couple jars of raspberry and apricot jam and strained out the seeds from the raspberry. After the blondies and brownies and cooled, I injected the jams into the middle, then covered the hole with a base of chocolate and bits of fruit, almonds, and chocolate designs. The overall appearance was nifty, and very, very tasty. My only objection is, at the time of making these I didn't have my mini cheesecake pan yet, so I had to use a muffin pan. The bulk of each goodie rather set off-balance the delicate decoration, but now I have my wonderful cheesecake pan I can fix this next time around. On the other hand, who's going to complain of too much brownie?

Mini Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecakes

You'd think I liked cheesecake or something. Actually, I had a container of mascarpone that needed to be used, some extra lemon curd, and a love for my new mini cheesecake pan. Those three ingredients led to this tasty tidbit - a lighter than usual morsel with a refreshing lemon tang.

This will probably be my last cheesecake for a while - I've made other (boring, standard) cheesecakes that I haven't bothered to post here, and frankly, I'm cheesecaked out. I still have plans for that pan though; my birthday is coming up (ed: yea, in two months!) and I am plotting a big ole birthday feast. I have two companies and myself to feed, after all! If anyone has any suggestions or cravings, let me know in the comments and I'll add to my feeding extravaganza menu. I bet you can't wait (I know I can't!).

I used Trader Joe's lemon curd, but lemon curd is one of those recipes that's easy to make and gorgeous to taste.

Mini Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake (minorly adapted from Diana's Desserts)
* 2 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
* 1/3 c sugar
* 8 tbsp butter, melted
* 1 c blanched almonds, coursely chopped
* 12 oz cream cheese
* 1/4 c plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
* 1 tbsp lemon zest*
* 1/3 c mascarpone Cheese**
* 5 tbsp heavy cream
* 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsp lemon juice*
* 2 large eggs, separated

Preheat the oven to 350F. Set mini cheesecake pan on a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, and almonds. Put a heaping spoonful in each cup and pat down with a shot glass.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese and lemon zest. Mix until smooth. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix until just combined. Add cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Stir in the yolks then transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl.

Wash and dry the electric mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture. Add batter to each cup leaving about 1 cm from the top. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 20-25 minutes. Let cool, then dollop a teaspoon of lemon curd on top. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Mini Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecakes

I couldn't get apple pie out of my head. I tend to be naughty - I try to think of desserts that will poke at the boyo's weaknesses, even though I know he'd rather eat ... well, let's say "more wisely" tho I think "less funly" is more apt. My boyo loves apple pie. Pies of all kind, but give him apple and he won't even protest.

He also won't protest over cheesecake - remember those two from the cruise? Hmm, I thought. Could I possibly make him a dessert that is so in tune with his cravings, that he implodes from the tastiness? Hey, who can resist a challenge?

On top of that, I had a new pan I'd been dying to try: a mini cheesecake pan. Now, if the idea tickles your fancy, a word of recommendation - they're cheap, get two. I found myself taking way too long with the baking, just because I only had one pan in rotation. But, then again, I'm crazy and generally bake for 50. If buying pans for single projects isn't your thing (-cough-) you might be able to use a muffin pan .... but I really wouldn't recommend it. The cheesecake pan works because the bottoms come out, allowing you to push the cheesecakes up-n-out with very little hassle.

So. I'm going to give you guys options. There's the way I actually made the recipe, and then there are the tweaks. I'll add the latter in as notes so you can decide how you want to go, but let me just say, either way you go, YUM.

Mini Apple Pie Cheesecakes (adapted from Diana's Desserts)
Ingredients:
Crust:
* 2 c graham cracker crumbs
* 1/2 c granulated sugar
* 7 tbsp (3/4 stick/3 oz/85g) unsalted butter, melted
* 1/2 c pecans, coarsely chopped (tweak: my recommendation would be to omit the caramel swirl and caramelize the pecans instead before chopping them up)

Filling:
* 2 large apples (I used fuji)
* 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 1/4 c granulated sugar
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 4 large eggs
* 1 tbsp cinnamon (or to taste)
* 1 tsp nutmeg (or to taste)
* 4 oz apple concentrate (or to taste)

Caramel Sauce (from The Food Network)
* 1 1/2 c sugar
* 1/3 c water
* 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c heavy cream
* 1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Serve with:
Leftover caramel sauce

Instructions:
For Crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. Place removeable bottoms in mini cheesecake pan.

Stir cracker crumbs, pecans and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Spoon a heaping teaspoon into each hole and pat down using the bottom of a shot glass.

For Filling:
Peel, core, and finely dice the apples. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reserve 2/3 c batter for caramel swirl; add apple concentrate and spices to the remainder, then gently fold in the diced apples.

Note: The caramel swirl is optional - the contrast on the top wasn't as strong as I was hoping and there was only a hint of caramel in the overall flavor. Caramelized pecans in the crust would do better if you're looking for a caramel punch... but if you're looking for subtlety, the swirl's the way to go (or hey, both!).

For Sauce:
Mix the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a medium brown, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Watch it carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Stand back to avoid splattering, and gradually add the cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract). Simmer until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth and thick, about 2 minutes. Let cool before using.

Note: I think this is what is called "dry caramel" and boy is it scary as all heck (mostly because I wasn't expecting it). As a warning - that water you're adding? It's going to evaporate and leave big chunks of hard sugar to very slowly dissolve. I would leave the water out entirely - just watch that pan closely!

To the reserved cheesecake liquid add spoonfuls of the sauce until it turns a light golden and is still fairly liquid. Make sure the sauce is well incorporated into the batter.

Assembly:
Pour ~1/4 c of apple cheesecake batter over each crust (about 3/4's way full). Drop by teaspoons the caramel batter into each cup and swirl around with a toothpick. Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before removing.

For those curious - he didn't implode. He did eat five though!

Alaskan Grandeur

Ok, I know you all are going to think me the greatest living dork alive, but on the cruise, surrounded by éclairs and napoleans and mousse and tartlettes, can you guess what I found to be the most delicious, scrumptious, going-back-for-thirds dessert?

Soft serve.

That's right, chocolate-vanilla swirl soft serve ice cream. I hadn't had it since I was 10 and at McDonald's (which probably accounts for the time it's been since my last taste) but this stuff was nectar from the gods. Creamy beyond belief, sweet, and with the right speed of melty-ness so I could dip my cookie in the leftover soup.

So I gained a little weight. Who's asking? :P

I did remember you guys though, and dragged myself from the ice cream machine long enough to visit several of their restaurants and take pictures of our meals. The two of us made quite a spectacle: we'd get our food, and the boyo would pick up his fork expectantly.

"NO! Don't touch it, give it here" I'd say as I pulled out my camera.

"Do you have to take pictures of my food? Can't you take pictures of yours?" he'd grumble.

"What, are you starving?" I'd retort.

And of course he wouldn't be due to the 3+ course meals we'd have 3 times a day, so he'd hand over his plate and roll his eyes while I posed it. More than one waiter eyed me askance as I would photo the dish before even tasting. Unfortunately I only remembered to bring the camera a couple of times but I think I got the best meals we had anyway.


So! Onward for a food-recap of our trip. What better way to start a vacation than with a cold mai tai, complete with cherry and umbrella?


I don't normally get to eat fish (the boyo doesn't like the stuff) but while at sea I indulged almost every night. Here we have seared swordfish (which was as smooth as butter) with braised-pork lentils - I was tempted to go back a second night!


My dessert for the night was a chocolate napolean: dense chocolate cake with something crispy throughout, layered with caramel mousse and topped with a chocolate disk. I may have been spoiled by all the soft-serve, but this dessert sort of missed the mark. It was cold when it was served, straight from the freezer, so I missed any subtlety of flavors in the density and chill overall. Still - chocolate, crisps, and caramel! It can't be all that bad.


I didn't grab the boyo's plate in time to photo his dinner, but I did snag his dessert! This strawberry cheesecake looks as though it's about to launch into space, but it must have been good, as he didn't save me a taste. That's ok though, I didn't save him one of mine either!


Even had I not been indulging in three full meals a day, there's no way I could have finished this veal chop on risotto. I tried though, oh how I tried. How many times can I compare meals to butter and still get away with it? Honestly though, the veal was tender and salty (I love salt) and the risotto was thick and creamy. After eating this I was sooo full.....


...but not too full for dessert! This was a gorgeous, gorgeous idea that I plan to duplicate immediately. The tort had a dense shortbread crust that encased a chocolate custard studded with apricots and walnuts. OMGGOOD!


The boyo may hate fish, but lobster he'll partake of. Besides my veal chop I also nibbled on his lobster ravioli which were floating in a pool of tomato-ey cream sauce. It was good, but not as good as mine!


Do you see a trend here? Cheesecake with strawberries and a branch of hard caramel - he definitely has his favorite dessert. Can't say I blame him though, I'd wavered between my tort and the cheesecake before choosing - chocolate always wins!


We got an unexpected knock at our cabin door one evening and the porter delivered this plate of chocolate-dipped strawberries. It was a gift! we were told, but the name on the card was not familiar at all. We called the kitchen and they told us, oops! wrong address, go ahead and keep them. Woot, free strawberries. Now, for the $20 they probably cost someone, they didn't look too nice (the strawberries were a bit tired) but even full as we perpetually were, they tasted fantastic. I'd never had chocolate strawberries before, but they're a new favorite now!


What cruise would be complete without a midnight chocolate buffet? Not this one, that's for sure! I didn't take pictures of the actual buffet because the crowd was incredible, but there were beautiful chocolate statues stationed between tables with big "Do Not Touch, Not For Eating" signs. But, but, but, chocolate! If it's not for eating, what good is it?

Ok, I didn't eat everything. But I tasted it all and I had some definite favorites. Clockwise from top, we have a chocolate-raspberry mousse cake (good), brownie coated in white chocolate ganache and nuts (blah), chocolate strawberry (awesome!), and a rum cake coated in chocolate (favorite!!!)


And for our second plate of midnight chocolate: at top is a milk/white chocolate mousse with a raspberry-chocolate decoration (decent), right is a dome of chocolate mousse on a chocolate cake base (decent), and left is a chocolate cake with white chocolate ganache pooled in the middle (meh). To be fair, I was very full at this point but my favorite of them all was by far the rum cake. Expect to see some of those in the future!

For those of you who are thinking "Ok, those are yummy-looking, but I see no evidence of Alaska: I think you lie!" I have proof! Non-food evidence can be found here. Now, I know that I took much longer to post this than I promised (a month! Yuck.) but I have excuses and compensation! I started my new job all of one day after we returned from the cruise and have been plugging away pell-mell since. But, I haven't stopped baking - in the next day or so I'll have posts of delicious, wonderful cheesecakes and then you all shall forgive me my absence and love me once more! :)