Wolf's Den

Mark says he hates me.

Why? Because I made evil cookies last night & he says I'm forcing him to eat them.

I told him I could make the rest of the cookies today (I made 1/3 of the dough into cookies last night) & he could take them to work, but then he'd have lots of other people wanting to marry me for my evil cookies.

He said 'NO! MY EVIL COOKIES! NO ONE ELSE CAN HAVE THEM!' LOL.

But then, he made me breakfast too. And says I only took the photo to humor him, cause he kept saying, I made it pretty.

True, I may have taken the photo to humor him, but I'm posting it cause I want to. So there.



He made me an omelet with feta cheese, sauteed mushrooms and red onions, topped with more feta cheese and fresh parsley. With leftover grilled flat iron steak slices on the side. It was yummy.


I think I'll keep him. *nods sagely*

I have a migraine. Going on day 4. I'm out of excedrin. So for now, until I can focus enough to finish editing my photos, you get this.



I will say, these are damn delicious, even if they are a bit rich.}:P

I'll have my 'real' post up shortly, I hope.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

( Recipes here. )

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.




Can I just say Yum?

I did two different meats for this Challenge- the specified Pork, and one other. Both came out delicious.

Now, I know, and you know, this is NOT an authentic recipe, ok? Just so we're clear. Cuppy made no bones about this being 'westernized'.}:P In fact, she even states that it is very British influenced. Huh. I wouldn't know, having never had Satay before. I really need to remedy that one of these days... oh wait... ok, authentic Thai Satay.}:P

( More! )

Growing up, my mom would make a bunch of different candies and baked goods to hand out to the neighbors every holiday season- fudge, spiced nuts, cookies, etc. But her Capt Crunch Candy was the one that just stuck with me even long after I moved out.

Although, somewhere, I still have the box she wrote her spiced nuts recipe on right before shipping it to me in Okinawa.}:P

Now, she doesn't make candies and cookies to give out to the neighbors anymore. Mostly because the old neighbors are all gone, but also because there's no kids at home to run the plates of goodies through the snow to the neighbor's door.}:P

This has become a yearly staple for me, along with the German Lebkuchen, and it gets handed out among friends, family and Mark's co-workers every holiday season now.

Not much about it has really changed from Mom's version. I did add chocolate chips a few years back and it was so well received that I've done that ever since.



1 largebox of regular Capt Crunch cereal
1 12oz container of spanish peanuts, any brand will do
2 12oz pkgs of butterscotch chips
2 12oz pkgs of peanut butter chips
1 12oz pkg of chocolate chips
1 10oz bag of mini marshmallows

In the largest bowl you have, mix 1/2 of each- the box of Capt Crunch cereal, the marshmallows, the spanish peanuts and the chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a double boiler, or a glass bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water if you have no double boiler, melt one bag of each- the butterscotch cips and the peanut butter chips. If ysing the bowl on pan method, be careful not to let any steam or water get in the chips.

Once the chips are thoroughly melted, quickly pour over the cereal, marshmallows, etc mix and stir, gently, until well coated.

Turn out onto waxed paper, and spread out into one layer. Do not smash, just gently push until it's all in one relative layer. Let sit to set up again. Once the coating has set, break the candy into pieces, however large you desire. (Mom used to do spoonfuls and make it that way. I found it tended to take too long, so spreading it out was quicker.}:P) Store in ziploc container or other airtight container. Can be frozen for up to a month, or refridgerated for a few weeks. It's best is eaten while chilled. And even better when fresh.

Repeat with rest of cereal, marshmallow, peanuts and chocolate chips, then melt other bags of butterscotch and peanut butter chips, and repeat until all candy is made.

Makes A LOT. So share with friends, or hoard it yourself. }:P

I do believe this is the best loaf I've made to date.



Recipe again, cause it's been a year since I last posted it...

Povitica (Croatian Sweetbread)

Sweet Dough:
1-1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup soft butter
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup warm water
7-1/2 to 8 cups flour

1-2 Tbsp melted butter for brushing top of bread


Filling:
1 can evaporated milk
1 heaping cup sugar
2 sticks margarine
1-1/2 pounds pecans (ground fine)*
4 eggs
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon cocoa
1 teaspoon cinnamon



Sweet Dough preparation:

Combine warm milk, sugar, salt, softened butter, and beaten eggs. Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to other ingredients. Add half of flour, mix well until smooth. Add flour to handle easily. Knead dough on lightly floured board. Put dough in greased bowl, cover and place in warm, draft free place until doubled in size.

Punch down and let double again. Divide dough in three parts. Roll each part until very thin in rectangular shape. Roughly 24"-30" in length and 12"-14" wide.

Spread filling evenly over dough, roll and twist in circular shape like a snail or cinnamon roll, or roll up and coil, in 'S' shape for bread pans. Place in greased 8-inch or 9-inch cake pan, or stoneware bread pans. Cover, put in warm place and let rise.

Brush top of bread with butter, and rebrush at end of baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.

Filling preparation:

In heavy pan, over medium heat, combine sugar, evaporated milk, and butter and heat just enough to melt. Add pecans, then beaten eggs, and mix well.

Boil one minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add pinch of salt, cocoa, and cinnamon and mix well. Let cool till just warm enough to spread.

Yield: 3 loaves

* Ground walnuts can also be used. I even made some with strawberry cream cheese filling that was really good as well. so the filling is very versitile. It just needs to be able to withstand baking.

It refrigerates for several weeks, but only lasts a week if left out. Makes great toast, even french toast if you rolled it tightly enough to stay together well.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

To say I had... issues... with the recipe I chose to use (Y's Scandinavian one) would be a huge understatement.



( Continue.... )

Several years ago, my local newspaper did an article on a German family that lives here. They included a recipe for Lebkuchen that the lady of the family's ancestors had brought over from Germany.

It's perfect for those that don't care for molasses, great for eating as cookies, and even builds awesome houses. It's become a yearly holiday staple for me, as both my dad and my Father in Law love gingerbread.

( Recipe! And pics! )

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.



An easy Challenge... just what I needed this month. Considering all the cookie baking I've done just the last 2 weeks, I'm glad for a simple Challenge.

( Onward! )

Time for me to start that maniacal holiday baking that I swear to myself I won't go overboard on, every year, and yet, still manage to.

I was going to do 3 different cookies and one candy this year. That's it.

Then the SiL saw a bread in the latest Food Network magazine and it looked nearly the same as Povitica, which I KNOW I made her a mini loaf of last year, but apparently she doesn't remember it. So I said I'd make her one with just chocolate filling in it. Except the recipe makes THREE full sized loaves, which means, she gets one, we get one and I guess I can send one to my parents...

And thus it begins.

That spiral down into overboardness.

So what's on the list, you ask?

Well...

My mom's Capt Crunch Candy, of course, that's a yearly MUST.

Gingerbread cookies- another yearly MUST, for both my dad and the FiL.

Pizzelles- ANOTHER yearly MUST for my mom and the MiL. And only them. Sorry peeps. They take way too long, especially since they get made two at a time.

Hamantaschen cookies- I made 3 flavors last year for the first time. They went over very well, 4 flavors planned this year.

Sugar cookies.

And THAT was it, I swear.

But then I came across these two cookie recipes in weekly King Arthur Flour emails, and well, yeah... now I'm up to 5 cookies and one candy.

Linzer cookies- I actually have cookie cutters for these too! Thinking doing just a chocolate filling though. In my defense, I have wanted to make these for awhile now. So there.

Double-Shot Mocha Chunk cookies- they just SOUND delicious.


So...

5 different cookies with 5 different fillings between them, 1 candy and a bread that makes 3 loaves. Is it any wonder I get started early?

Did I mention that there's 30 people/families on my list that are getting boxes this year? Yeah. Luckily, half won't need mailing.}:P

Yeah, so I'm late. Between stressing over Max and accidentally leaving a few ingrediants off my grocery list, as well as running out of time, well, I didn't get it made by the Reveal date.

I did, however, make it yesterday. And man is it good. Besides, it gave me a chance to look over my bowls and realise that I needed to work on my bowl collection now, since I have well over 2 dozen various plates, after all. Heh. I added 6 bowls to my plating collection, with at least 4 more that I want to get. *headdesk*

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.



( Onward!  )

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I've never even considered making my own puff pastry. I'm one of those people who buys the Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheets and calls it good. In fact, I have a package of THAT in my freezer now, right next to the homemade.

Then of course, time got away from me, Max had a vet appointment where we found that his liver is STILL out of whack, so back onto 3 more weeks of antibiotics via force feeding he went. Yeah, that's fun.

I was, however, determined not to miss out on this Challenge, even if it meant my puff pastry didn't puff and I failed miserably.

( Read On! )

This month's Challenge was chosen by Debyi, of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen.

I've made Dosas before. But the ones I've made used regular wheat based flour.And they most certainly weren't vegetarian/vegan.}:P In fact, this was honestly the first time I've actively tried to cook a vegetarian/vegan meal.

I will freely admit that I did not make the filling in this recipe. However, I DID stay true to the vegetarian requirements. To appease the hubby, I also baked a few herbed chicken breasts and served them along side- otherwise, he'd never even of tried them.}:P

It's a quick post, not near as long as my usual ones, nor does it really have as much acerbic humor as usual. It's been a rough 1.5 months. Next Daring Bakers or Daring Cooks post will be back to normal. I promise.


( Continue! )

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite
Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.



Oh boy.

When I first heard of the Daring Bakers, I came across this Torte. Well maybe not this particular recipe, but something similar. And I've wanted to make one ever since.

( Onward! )

Better late than never, yes? Due to vacation, then issues with Max kitty- who's STILL refusing to eat on his own, I didn't get to make this before the reveal date, let alone the week of the reveal. BUT, I did make it, I made it last night and I do not regret it.



The Challenge for August was hosted by Olga of Las Cosas de Olga and Olga’s Recipes She chose a delicious Spanish recipe, Rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes by José Andrés, one of the most important Spanish Chefs at the moment. Well, so she says.}:P

I hate artichokes.

From what I understand, Cuttlefish is like squid, in taste, and guess what? I detest squid.

So. Yeah.

I had to make acceptable substitutes. In my dish, I used shrimp, sea scallops and asparagus instead. I also used Turmeric, as Saffron is gods awful expensive and after all those vet bills? Yeah, can't afford it. Also used was Arborio rice, as that was the closest I could find to the suggested rices.

( But it was all worth it... )

**** Remember- FireFox does not like my posts. So if you can, try using IE8, or viewing this post in ‘compatibility mode’. Thanks!****

The July 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth.
She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

I really wanted to like this Challenge. Really, I did. After all, Milanos are one of my absolute favorite cookies.




But... I don't like Mallow cookies. Sure, I like marshmallows, I like cookies, I love dark chocolate. But... unless it's a s'more, I can't stand eating them together.

So I procrastinated doing this Challenge. Then I thought I'd just do the Milan recipe of it. Then I went ahead, and about 1.5 weeks out from posting/reveal day, I bit the bullet, tracked down Xathan Gum powder, and resolved to make the Mallows as well.

( Read on! )

When Pinch My Salt mentioned this on Facebook and Twitter, I thought it was a great idea.



I had just one issue with the whole BLT sandwich though. I hate raw tomato. I know, what's wrong with me?

I LOVE bacon, egg, cheese and lettuce sandwiches though. So how could I pass this up?



I even used leaf lettuce from my own garden in this delicous sandwich. Sharp Chedder cheese, eggs, LOTS of brown sugar cured bacon...



All on toasted whole wheat bread with a slight spread of Miracle Whip. (I know, I know, but I HATE Mayo too.)

Let's just say, this was the best lunch I've had all week. I'm thinking we should do this weekly. Ok, maybe not weekly, maybe monthly.}:P Yeah, monthly sounds good.}:P

**** Firefox HATES my long posts. So if you use FF, it will apparently cut off on you. IE seems to work otherwise. Thanks Audax for the heads up.****


This month's Challenge was hosted by Sketchy, of Sketchy's Kitchen. And it's a doozy.

In fact, when I first read what the Challenge was, my reaction was holy shit. It took a few weeks to get around to doing this Challenge. It was actually about 2 weeks before the reveal date that I even started on aspects of this one. Unusual for me, to say the least.

The main issue was trying to find actual Skate. That turned out to be impossible here. So I went with 'Previous Frozen fresh Cod, wild caught'- an oxymoron if you ask me. How can it be fresh if it was previously frozen? Hmmm.. Anyway...



As with any Challenge or baking/cooking excursion, I gather everything I think I'm going to need... and then some. And it took 2 days.

( Onward, with a guest appearence! )

This is what procrastination looks like. *nods sagely* I meant to post this, what?, 3 weeks ago. Whoops.



My private swap partner was annamosscity, who lives in Hong Kong. She really did an awesome job on filling the box too!

( More! )

There are about as many different variations of Potato Salad as there are, well, trees. No two are ever really alike, and no one person generally ever agrees on exactly what goes into it.
Hot German Potato Salad is, in many ways, no different.



I first tried it at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Va a number of years ago, and was hooked. Mark mentioned that his paternal grandmother used to make it when he was young, but he had no idea if she ever wrote her recipe down. His mom I don't think made it, as she didn't have a recipe either. Nor did my mom.

So I went scouring the Internet. There I found quite the variety of different recipes, all claiming to be 'authentic' Hot German Potato Salad. It was staggering to say the least, as many were near carbon copies of each other.

( Onward! )

Dried Tarragon and Parsley in my handcarved apricot wood mortar. I loved the brilliant green the dried herbs created.