The New Love of My Life

Sorry, Nate, but there's someone new in my life.

My pearl metallic KitchenAid Professional 600 series 6-quart stand mixer. I've wanted one for years (and I've always kicked myself for not registering for one as a wedding present), but have more recently become somewhat obsessed with the idea of getting one. I mean, I cook and bake quite a bit, so it only makes sense, right? Luckily, my birthday is coming up and this particular mixer -- the one I was considering anyway -- came up on sale at Amazon for a really good price, so I just had to get myself an early birthday present. And my mother-in-law -- who is an avid baker and cook herself, and undestands the importance of having a stand mixer -- sent along some "mixer money" (thanks, Julie!).

The thing is really pretty big, and it took quite a bit of kitchen rearranging to figure out where to keep it after we learned it wouldn't fit underneath the cabinets. But I think we figured it out, and it has a prominent spot in the kitchen.

Because Nate was the recipient of a random text from me mid-day last week saying "I bought a KitchenAid mixer. Hope that's OK!" I told him the first thing I would make would be for him. After settling on cookies rather than beer bread, I turned to the Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe in the instruction and recipe booklet that came with the mixer. I followed the recipe very closely (see p. 43) because I wanted to be sure I used the mixer just as the recipe intended. But I subbed in 1 of the cups of flour with whole wheat flour, added some mixed chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds and pecans, probably 1/4 cup) and didn't measure the chips I threw in, but rather used up the three partial bags (milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and butterscotch) I had in the pantry.

Rather than using a teaspoonful of dough, I used closely to a tablespoon, so I ended up baking my cookies for closer to 15 minutes. The cookies were fantastic -- they had a bit of a crunch on the outside, but were still soft on the inside. The butterscotch offered a nice burst of flavor.

It was a great first experience using the mixer, and I can't wait to use it again ... and again ... and again!

Bacon + Caramel Corn = Happy People

Last year during a foodie-friend soup night, my friend Rachel brought bacon bourbon caramel corn as an appetizer/dessert. As you can imagine, the dish was a hit! If you attended last May's Cookies for Kids' Cancer, you might have snagged a bag of this deliciousness for yourself.

When trying to think of something unique yet crowd-pleasing for my office's Friday treat club, I quickly thought of doing the bacon bourbon caramel corn. I know my colleagues would enjoy the treat. I decided to do one batch of the full-on bacon and bourbon and the other batch of a regular-old caramel. 

Luckily, Rachel had blogged about making the caramel corn, so all I had to do was follow along with her instructions.

For the "regular" batch, I followed the recipe exactly (by the way, five quarts of popped popcorn is 20 cups), except that I just omitted the bacon and the bourbon. This batch was fantastic, and I could eat lots and lots ... and lots and lots of it in just one sitting. The caramel flavor is great and the popcorn stayed crisp and wonderfully buttery. 

For the other batch, I followed Rachel's recipe to a T. While this batch was good, too -- and got rave reviews at work -- the bourbon smell was very pronounced and I think there might have been just a bit too much in that batch. The popcorn also seemed to shrink a bit. But, like I said, it was still good and the bowl was just about empty by the end of the day. The sweet-salt taste is fantastic.

One thing that worked well for me (probably because I can get a little messy in the kitchen) was to divide the popped popcorn  into two big bowls, pour the caramel sauce on top and mix that way, rather than in the jelly roll pan. I tried it this way the first time, and it was a little too messy.

Even if the bacon and bourbon portion of the recipe weirds you out, try making the regular caramel corn. You'll be glad you did -- and you'll be especially glad when there is a little extra caramel left on the spatula you've been using. Yum!

Beer-y Cupcakes

Like lots of other people (mostly gals, I'm sure), I'm currently obsessed with Pinterest. My "Yum!" board is definitely the fullest of my boards, and there are TONS of recipes I want to try.

One of the first Pinterest recipes I made was this one for Blue Moon cupcakes, from The Bitchin' Kitchen. The thought of beer inside cupcakes was just too much, so I knew I had to make them and bring them to work for our Thursday afternoon beer club.

I followed the recipe closely, as I usually do for baking, only -- despite the name -- I didn't use Blue Moon beer, but rather Gumball Head from Three Floyds Brewery. I also elected to make mini cupcakes instead of the regular-sized ones, as I knew many people would want to try them.

For the frosting, I followed the original recipe fairly closely, but after reading some comments, I decided to cut the amount of powered sugar in half, from 5 cups to 2.5 cups. It was plenty sweet, and 5 cups would have been way too much. 

I had the cupcake testers frost the cakes as they ate them, as I thought the cream cheese frosting would get to soupy if I had frosted them beforehand.  

  

The verdict? Really tasty with just a hint of beer flavor and smell. The orange cream cheese frosting was great, too (I used up the last of it on Nilla Wafers and graham crackers. Yum!).

Pudding Shots

So the story of pudding shots (think Jell-O shots but made with pudding) goes back to a few weeks ago, when Nate, my parents and I were on a motorcycle trip around southwest Wisconsin. We stopped at a bar in a very tiny town (Gratiot, WI, to be exact) for a drink before heading back to our homebase for the weekend.

We all ordered beers, and in addition to those beers, the bartenders gave us little cups of what looked like frozen yogurt. It turns out, they were pudding shots--little alcoholic desserts made with four simple ingredients: pudding, schnapps or Pucker, milk and Cool Whip.

The ones they gave us first were strawberry or raspberry (really can't remember, and that has nothing to do with drinking) and delicious! I thought they tasted like taffy. We another one--one with a chocolate pudding base, I believe--which was equally good. The bartender kindly shared the recipe, and Nate and I knew we'd be making them someday soon.

That day came last weekend, when Nate and I went to that cookout in which we took the roasted corn salsa. We thought it would be a good opportunity to try making them.

Nate couldn't find Pucker at the liquor store he stopped at, so he got a bottle of watermelon schnapps, which worked out just fine. They're so easy to make--the hardest part is finding appropriate popsicle sticks for them!

Pudding shots

• 1 cup milk


• 8 oz. Cool Whip


• 3/4 cup schnapps or Pucker


• 1 small package pudding (they told use to use white chocolate, which I couldn't find, so I picked up cheesecake pudding)

Put everything in a large bowl and whisk (don't stir with a spoon!) everything together. The mixture will be chunky at first, but keep whisking--it gets very smooth.

Pour into small plastic or paper cups, place some type of popsicle stick in the center (we used toothpicks and broken plastic spoons) and freeze overnight.

These were also a hit at the cookout, and everyone was talking about the different flavors you could try--chocolate pudding and creme de menthe was a popular idea.

Indian-Spiced Rice Treats

This was the third batch of baked goodies I took to the bake sale.

I've made these once before--for an Indian-themed potluck with the ethnic dining ladies. They're super tasty and put a great spin on the typical rice krispy treat. I found the recipe from Allrecipes.com.

They're pretty straightforward and I followed the reipce exactly.

You could substitute different nuts and fruits if you wanted, but I like this combination.

Coconut Macaroons

For my second batch of cookies for the bake sale, I wanted to try making coconut macaroons. I've never made them before, but alway enjoyed eating them. I contemplated trying to make French macaroons, which I love, but they seemed a bit more complicated and I wasn't sure I wanted to try a new, slightly more difficult baked good to try to sell to strangers.

After doing some Googling, I found this very simple coconut macaroon recipe on AllRecipes.com. I followed the recipe exactly, and took some of the advice I found in the comments section: let the dough sit in the frige a bit so the cookies are easier to shape. I'm not sure what it's like if you don't chill the dough, but it was easy enough--although a bit messy--to make them into balls for baking.

I doubled the recipe so that I could maximize the amount of cookies I could bring to the bake sale!

These were really easy and really good.

Dark Chocolate Bark

When I was trying to figure out what I was all going to make for the Cookies for Kids' Cancer bake sale, I found this recipe in my Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health book (I've been using it a lot lately!). The recipe sounded delicious and easy enough to make and bag up.

It's a good recipe to tweak as you like it--you can add all different types of nuts and dried fruits. I had forgotten it called for orange peel, so I didn't pick one up and I think the dessert was just fine without it. Additional suggestions call for adding lemon peel instead of orange peel, using different nuts like pistachios or cashews and mixing in ground cinnamon or cayenne. Yum!

Here's what I did:

• 12 oz. 60-70% cacao dark semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (I think the chocolate I used was like 67%)


• 1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts and hazelnuts


• 1/2 cup chopped, dried apricots and cranberries


• 1/8 teas. coarse salt

Smoothly line a 9x13-inch baking dish with foil.

Heat the chocolate over a double boiler or in an ovenproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and smooth (don't let any water get in!). Stir in half the nuts and all the fruit, and immediately pour into prepared pan.

Spread chocolate mixture evenly. Sprinkle with salt and top with remaining nuts. Press down lightly to set nuts in chocolate.

Stick in fridge for about 30 or until firm and cool (or can let harden at room temps). Break or cut into pieces. Store in covered container at room temps or keep in fridge.

Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies!

Last Saturday, I--along with lots of other Milwaukee foodies, food bloggers, local chefs and people who just wanted to bake some goodies--helped with a bake sale to help raise money for an organization called Cookies For Kids' Cancer. You may remember me blogging about it here. Check out that link for the back story about the organization.

We had a great time with TONS of baked goods (anything you could think of, we had it!), great auction items (I won a huge assortment of Rishi teas) and a great group of people--both volunteers and those who came out to support us (thank you if you're one of them!). All together we raised about $2,100 which will be matched by Glad products. Pretty cool! Check out this link for pictures from the event. Check out some one of my Twitpics from the event here.

I came home with lots of great treats, including bourbon brownies, French macaroons, turtle bars, cupcakes, cookies and dog treats. I contributed four different types of baked goods. Check out each link for photos and recipes:

• Chocolate bark.


• Indian-spiced rice treats.


• Coconut macaroons.


• Dog treats.

All in all, it was a great day and great event! If you're interested in contributing to Cookies for Kids Cancer, visit this website. (The box below was almost full to the top with baked goods (thanks to my neighbor, Eileen, too for contributing 8 dozen-some cookies!)!

What Are You Doing May 21?

If you're around Milwaukee, you should definitely stop by Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery to check out the Cookies for Kids' Cancer bake sale and silent auction. There, local foodies, bloggers, chefs, bakers (really, anyone who wants to help out!) will be there, selling our homemade goods. Additionally, there will be a silent auction going on throughout the afternoon.

Cookies for Kids' Cancer is a nonprofit that two parents started to help raise money for their son's cancer by hosting one huge bake sale. Over the years, more and more bake sales throughout the country (and even in Canada, I believe) have been held by people who want to raise money for kids' cancer effective therapies.

Here are the details for the bake sale that is being held in Milwaukee:

WHEN: 1-4:00 p.m. Saturday, May 21

WHERE: Best Place, 901. W. Juneau Ave.

WHAT: Bake sale with tons of homemade goodies plus a silent auction

RSVP: If you're on Facebook, RSVP here. Or, just feel free to show up!

MORE INFORMATION: Learn more about the organization

Now, just to whet your appetite, here is a sampling of what I'm going to be making for the bake sale:

• Dark chocolate bark with nuts (maybe hazelnuts?) and dried fruits (I'm thinking cranberries, apricots and maybe something else?)


• Indian-spiced rice treats. I've made these before, and they are SUPER tasty! The recipe calls for cardamon, cashews and golden raisins.


• Coconut macroons. I've never made them before, but they're always delicious, and I think they'll go over well.

So what are you waiting for? Sounds like a pretty great event, right? You get to buy home-baked goods from people who really love to cook and bake all the while supporting a great cause. See you there!

Super Bowl Eats: French Dips & Crispy Footballs

If you didn't know, the Super Bowl was this past Sunday and the Green Bay Packers won! Having the Packers in the Super Bowl was cause for a small celebration, so we invited my parents over, as well as our friend Craig and Margo.

Everyone provided great food--Margo and Craig brought little smokies two ways: in a tasty and slightly spicy sauce in the crockpot, as well as rolled in cresent dough and baked for a few minutes. My parents brought spinach dip, a beer cheese dip and one of my favorites, sesame potatoes (hashbrowns baked in sour cream, cream cheese and other deliciousness!).

For our part, Nate and I made crockpot French dip sandwiches. and I attempted to make mini Rice Krispy footballs (more about that later).

I had never made French dip sandwiches before, and franky, I'm not sure I've ever ordered one. But a few weeks ago, my coworker Val was talking about a tasty and easy crockpot recipe she had. I thought it would be perfect for a Packers gathering.

Here is the recipe I used, from Our Best Bites food blog. We followed it pretty closely, with a few additions:

-We used a 3 lb. rump roast, since we knew we were cooking for six people.

-We used just one cup of water and then a bottle of Nate's homebrew to give it some more flavor.

-For additional toppings, we sliced and sauteed onions, mushrooms and green pepper.

-Next time, I wouldn't add so much water. I'd pour the beer in, and if the meat is uncovered at all, I'd put some water in just to cover or mostly cover the meat.

We served the sandwiches (we topped them with provolone cheese) on fairly large, crusty sub rolls from Peter Sciortinos Bakery, and, of course, with a side of the au jus and my mom's potatoes. Yum!

Years ago, for a Super Bowl party, I had made Rice Krispy treats in the shape of footballs. I remember those being good, but not quite as flavorful as what I was looking for (and I couldn't find that recipe!). So I did some Googling and came across this recipe from About.com Cooking for Kids (should be easy enough, right?).

I had a helluva time making these things, and even vowed never to make Rice Krispy treats again (we'll see what happens!). They tasted really good, so that was good. But it was a mess trying to get the mixture out of the bowl when I was done and on to the wax paper. I formed the first few footballs fairly easily, but as the mixture started to harden, it was almost impossible--plus my hands were continously covered with the mixture.

So, I attempted to just stuff the mixture in a pie plate (why a pie plate, I don't know--I was desperate!). Then, I thought, well, maybe from the pie plate I could make football-type shapes by taking a chunk and shaping them. That worked ... OK. Some looked better than others. I was so frustrated by this point, that I didn't want to make any icing for lacing, but then as I looked at the treats some more, they looked really ridiculous without the lacing (not going to lie--they looked like turds!).

So I made some homemade icing, and, of course, I ran out of powered sugar! Nate was out and about later on and he picked up some more for me, so I could finally put the laces on them. Like I said they tasted pretty good (they had Nutella in them, after all!), but getting to that point was a bit of a mess! (And it looks like I didn't take a picture of the final product. Oops!)

Christmas Cookies

Each Christmas, I'm in charge of the family Christmas cookies. I don't make a ton of them, but enough to keep some to snack on and then take to my parents' house for our dessert Christmas Day.

For as long as I can remember, my family has made two familiar favorites: gingerbread (or, more specifically, German molasses) and spritz. So, of course, that's what I made this year.

The spritz recipe I use comes from the 1967 Electric Company Cookbook. It's an oldie but goodie.

Here's the recipe:

Spritz

-1 cup butter

-1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tbs. sugar

-1 egg

-3/4 teas. salt

-1 teas. vanilla

-1/2 teas almond extract

-2.5 cups shifted AP flour

Cream butter; add sugar. Blend in egg, salt, extracts and flour; knead dough in hands until soft and pliable. Press dough through cookie press onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen, depending on size.

For the gingerbread, I used this recipe. Until this year, I've always used a family recipe for German molasses, but I just couldn't seem to find it this year. this recipe is pretty similar, so I thought it would be fine.

I don't know if I did something wrong, or if the recipe is that different, but I had a helluva time with these cookies. For one (and this was my fault, but still), I let the dough ripen for only 1 day, rather than 2. But the dough was softer and stickier than it usually is, so I had to add A LOT of flour as I was rolling out the dough.

Some of the cutout shapes look rather funky. But, everything tastes OK, although the cookies a little crispier than usual.

After everything was cutout and baked, I frosted and decorated the cookies (notice the New Glaurs Moon Man!).

I used my old-standby recipe I have in my heat for frosting: about 1 tbs. butter, melted, mixed with a few dashes of milk, a small drop of vanilla extract and enough sugared powder to make it the right consistency.

On Christmas Day, we'll be having the cookies with Brandy Alexanders. Can't wait!

White Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake

Sounds delicious, huh? Oh, and it was!

I had to bring a dessert to a work holiday dinner. I never know what dessert to make for some reason. I guess I always feel like I have to make something fancy. I was doing some Googling and came across this recipe for White Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake from Midwest Living.

I had never made a cheesecake before, so I was a little nervous.

It turned out to actually be pretty easy. A bit tedious with all the steps and different levels of letting it cool, but overall, it wasn't too bad. The worst part was that I couldn't figure out if and when it was set.

It was still pretty jiggly after 40 minutes, so I baked it another 10. And it was still jiggly after those 10, so I baked it another 10. By then, I figured it was probably OK, and the top was browning quite a bit.

I followed the recipe exactly--the only thing I really changed is that I added more white chocolate to the top of the cake than the recipe called for (I put the melted white chocolate in a small Zip-Loc bag and snipped the edge off), and probably a bit more candy cane.

All the hard work definitely paid off--everyone at the party really liked it, and everyone requested leftovers to take home.