apology cookies.

sorry i haven't bee around much. i've been wedding-ing and new work doesn't permit my being on blogger.

these cookies are my offering as an apology. if you haven't tried them. you must. via rachel via smitten

ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips - {i only used 1 cup, because that's what i had}

directions

preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. in a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. drop rounded balls of cookie dough, about a spoonful at a time, onto the prepared cookie sheets. cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

does anyone else use the cookie dough taste as a judgment of how good the cookies are going to be? or am i alone?

i didn't have time to photograph these before they were all consumed by our cookie maddness. so, the image is borrowed from the incredible rachel

muffins, blueberry

blueberry cornmeal muffins. from martha, with love

ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs, separated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

directions

preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in center. lightly coat a standard muffin tin with cooking spray. in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. in a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg yolks, and butter. stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until just blended. gently fold whites and blueberries into the batter until just combined. spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup three-quarters full. bake 20 minutes.

definitely having these for breakfast this week.

more cake.

there was more cake on the weekend; it was andrew's niece's birthday, and the cake last week was such a big hit that i made it again--only this time with chocolate cake and vanilla icing.

sadly, however i had the stomach flu all week, and didn't have an appetite for taking photos.

i did, however, promise andrew's mother that i would make her cake. i'm thinking something with raspberries. and maybe white chocolate? or lemon. and pistachio.

i will keep you posted.

plus du gâteau

as promised the recipes for the delightful cake that andrew and his family dined on {i'm in a cake-free zone until my birthday}.

for two 8-inch round cakes, relatively thick in height...

ingredients
1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

directions
preheat oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour.
in a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time.
beat in vanilla. alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
divide batter between pans; smooth tops. bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes.
let cool in pans 10 minutes.
run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack.
let cool completely.

buttercream icing
1 1/3 cups sugar
7 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer.
set over a pan of simmering water. whisk constantly until sugar has dissolved and mixture registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer {if you're like me, and without an electric candy thermomter, it should be about the temperature of your latte}.
return bowl to mixer; fit mixer with whisk attachment. beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, and mixture is cool, about 10 minutes.
with mixer on medium speed, add butter, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until mixture is smooth. mix in vanilla extract. use immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.

i added two ounces of dark chocolate, melted on my double boiler to this recipe for the chocolate icing, which was perfect!

{recipes adapted from martha stewart}

cake, epic.

having never baked an entire birthday cake from scratch, this was an epic. it was also an epic success. i made three smaller cupcake sized cakes for andrew, and he snatched two up before i could get out my camera. oh well. now, for the food porn...

recipes to come tomorrow...

lunch, home.

today marks the last day of my week-long vacation {aka unemployment between contracts}. it's also andrew's birthday which means indian food and cake for dinner. so, i wanted something light and cheap and tasty. and, i found that in roasted asparagus with fried eggs. ridiculously easy, relatively cheap {if asparagus is in season, which it's not quite yet} and very yummy {again, if you like asparagus}. this was also a win, because andrew doesn't like asparagus or fried eggs. i had it with brie cheese and baguette on the side and a glass of red wine. yep, pretty much the best lunch i've had in a while.

• procure as much asparagus as you and your eating partner would like. i used a pound, for myself, for lunch. mostly because i knew that's how much i would like this dish.
• drizzle asparagus with about 1 tsp of oil per pound {again, about how much i used}, and throw into the oven on a heat-proof dish of your choice {making sure that the aspargus is spread evenly} at 400F for about...10-12 minutes
• at this point, prepare your eggs {again, as many as you wish, or as few. i did two, on the theory that this is about what i would normally have}. i fried them in a little bit of butter, you may choose to do the same, or you could poach them. i haven't seen this done wth scrambled eggs, before but then again, this is an adventure in eating, right?
• once the asparagus is done {tender, but crisp}, plate it and drizzle an oil/vinegar-glaze/dressing of your choice overtop. i'd recommend either a touch more oil, or a flavoured oil, or balsamic glaze. spoon the eggs over top
• serve with your favourite bread and/or cheese, and enjoy.

was that so hard? i didn't think so.

• 
  

cake, birthday.

my favourite part of birthdays is balloons. however, my soon-to-be husband, andrew is a cake monster. or at least, that's what he was called as a child.

andrew's father, bruce and i bookend a season of birthdays. april 30th is his, there is one every second week until mine on june 26th. i gave up on eating cake after gorging on several pieces at bruce's birthday. i then promised andrew that i would make him his birthday cake. and his niece's, and possibly his mother's. oh, you can see where this is going, can't you?

cake it a very summertime food for me. like i said, there are a lot of birthdays. and weddings. and other good occassions for cake, like graduation {hi!}.

i surely hope that this cake is the start of something sweet.

butter, patience.

tonight while out for a walk, andrew & i were talking about the countless cakes that i have offered to bake for friends, family, my fiancé {andrew} and complete strangers in the next month. i mentioned something about the icing, and "if i have enough butter and patience". and so this blog was born. i love to cook and i love to bake. but sometimes i don't have the patience. not for the task, but rather for recipes.

so, this blog is about my experience in cooking, baking and creating my kitchen. welcome.