Daring Bakers January: Nanaimo Bars

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.

Au jour d'hui, tout en francais! Ma meilleure amie, elle s'appelle Elli, est Canadienne. De plus, aujourdhui est son anniversaire! Elle a 20 ans! J'aime les points d'exclamation! Et, pour elle, j'ai fait ses petits gouts.

J'ai fait deux types: une du citron et la vanille; l'autre de la framboise et du chocolat. Les deux bars utilisent l'homemade biscuit de farine complet (graham) epice avec la plante d'Asie (cardamom) et du sucre turbinado.

C'est pas tres dificile, mais ils sont tres riches, ainsi que on faut partager avec tes meilleurs amis canadiens aussi!

ca suffit du francais? oui...

toasting les coconuts

So, yes I still have yet to determine the phonetic pronunciation of this no-bake Canadian treat but I don't care so much as all I think about when it comes to Canada is Elli and half naked Mounties. Not together, bien sur. Les Mounties sont pour moi.

There is a sweet little bit about Nanaimo Bars on Cakespy, who has much more to say on the matter than I do.

The Nanaimo carnage...

Spiced Apple Cake

With new kitchen tools at my disposal and an empty sad looking cake platter beckoning me from the pantry I could only do one thing. Bake. While this sounds epic, it wasn't really. Just wanted to blow up your expectations there a bit. So here you are. No frills, no exclamation points, just apples, the rest of my bottle of cinnamon and loads of butter.


I sliced an apple wafer thin and dehydrated them ever so slowly in the oven to make apple chips for the top of the cake. I know am in the mood to do this to every fruit in my cupboard...it might not be a good thing. We will see.


What's more, my lovely kitten Eleanor has decided to become a chef. Yes, she told me so and has gone so far as to clean the contents of the kitchen sink to show her dedication ( even if it was with her tongue). She for some reason loves to watch you cook, clean or prepare anything in the kitchen. She helps you sprinkle flour leaving kitty paw prints on the black range. She is my taste tester for boiled noodles, although she doesn't understand the meaning of al dente quite yet. She likes all fruits and vegetables including strawberries, cucumbers and the dregs of the salad bowl. Although I've also caught her nibbling on the ends of sticks of butter...that must be her weakness.

Daring Bakers December Challenge: Gingerbread Structures

So instead of a basic gingerbread house I decided to go "all out" though my stomach and my ambitions were beyond me skills and time frame. No matter, four year old Tristan and I had plenty of wholesome farm-to-market fun while building our little Gingerbread Austin Farmer's Market.


Our Ginger Market's fair this week included gummy cherries, sugar plums (for the holidays of course), mallowcreme pumpkins, swedish fish, mini marshmallows and chocolate bits, sugared watermelon slices and olive painted jordan almonds.

The plans that did and did not help...



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.

Daring Bakers November Challenge: Cannolis

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

On a full stomach of turkey and cranberry stuff, I managed to fry up some cannolis and convince my equally satiated family members to taste test.


Pumpkin Cannolis...


black pumpkin seeds and chocolate shells with a real pumpkin and spice ricotta filling


Ginger Cannolis...


sugared ginger pieces and chopped ginger wafers top a ginger and vanilla spiced ricotta layered onto plain cannoli shells...

Cooking with the Copain: Scratch Made Corn Dogs

So just after we went to see AB we re-watched a few his episodes to keep the hysteria alive. Josh was particular smitten with the "Man Food" episode that begins as a ruse as Alton is pretending to show the male viewers how to impress their loved ones via fancy food and asks kindly that the women leave while the men are instructed. "It's a surprise!" As soon as the girls are "gone" he pulls a bottle of beer out of tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and macho fried food from under the quiche. Of course I didn't leave and we learned how to make homemade corn dogs.


We went and bought a gallon of peanut oil...and I feel like its coating my innards...


They were actually quite easy...but not so much on the stomach a few hours later.


We were going to wrap them up and take them on a picnic to Central Market Park however we didn't think they or our appetites would survive the trip, so we ended up on the front porch.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon peanut oil
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk ( it calls for this but a simple substitution is plain milk with a dash of vinegar)
  
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch, for dredging
• 8 beef hot dogs (I don't eat beef so we used turkey dogs!)

Directions:

Special equipment: 8 sets chopsticks, not separated

Pour oil into a deep fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and stir only enough times to bring the batter together; there should be lumps. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Scatter the cornstarch into a dry pie pan. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap well to remove any excess.

Transfer enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass. Refill the glass as needed. Place each hot dog on chopsticks, and quickly dip in and out of the batter. Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the oil, and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, remove to cooling rack, and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.

(recipe from AB on foodnetwork.com)

Just met AB

For those of you who are not foodnetwork saavy, that would be THE Mr. Alton Brown.


He was doing a book signing at Austin's downtown location of Whole Foods...


It was actually by pure chance we happened up on the marquis at Bookpeople while we were picking something up for Clover (family dog/sister) at REI...


it ends up her package was at the other REI uptown, thank goodness I forgot that little detail...


I'm so glad the boyfriend appreciates good food, and Good Eats, as much as I do...he had the great idea to watch each episode while reading the book at the same time.


Otherwise I would have missed out on one of the best afternoons ever! Alton wouldn't let me carry the books and made the boyfriend do it cause "chilvary's not dead." He also said he wants to move to Austin because no one gives you grief for wearing big cowboy hats here...

Slow Food Feast in the Field: Help Out Local Austin Ventures

Forget spaghetti dinners, though in reality spaghetti is never unwelcome, our local Green Gate Farms is hosting "Slow Food Feast in the Field" to help raise funds for the Austin Discovery School. This is a wonderful opportunity to eat local and fresh and help out your fellow half-pint Austinites. "Enjoy an evening of fresh local food and wine served on the farm under twinkling stars. Chef Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine will be preparing a five course dinner paired with wines from Flat Creek Estates. Green Gate Farms is a small historic farm in East Austin. Come explore the grounds, participate in our silent auction, and sit down to a slow feast, fresh from the field."

Saturday, October 24, 2009 7:00 p.m.

Green Gate Farms, 8310 Canoga Avenue, Austin TX 78724

Tickets are $100 each

Participants must be 21 and over

Here is a link to the Austin Discovery School's website where you can purchase tickets: www.austindiscoveryschool.org

or you can send a check to:

Austin Discovery School
8509 FM 969 Suite 200
Austin, TX 78724

Tickets may also be purchased at the front office of the school

Sponsor List:

Motorblade Postering Service
Slow Food Austin
Ecstatic Cuisine
Marquee Event Group
Flat Creek Estate
Stacey Hoyt Events
Sweet Leaf Tea
Richard's Rainwater
Elixercoffee.com
Texas Olive Ranch
Texas Medicinals
Good Flow Honey
Mary Louise Butters Brownies

For more information about this event and its contributors follow these links:


About Slow Food, www.slowfoodaustin.org
Sara Weber, Slow Food Austin President
The Slow Food Austin Convivium hosts slow educational and taste events throughout the year. It is part of Slow Food International, founded in 1986 in Italy, in reaction to the opening of first the McDonalds in Pizza Spagna near the historic Spanish Steps in Rome - a nod to the contrast with fast food values. The organization was created to celebrate and promote rich and delicious food traditions that are part of our cultural heritage.


About Green Gate Farms, www.greengatefarms.net
Skip Connett and Erin Flynn, co-owners
Green Gate Farms, a small family farm, uses sustainable methods to grow vegetables, flowers, and meat just eight miles east of downtown Austin at the historic Bergstrom farmstead. Visitors and volunteers are encouraged to participate in our weekly CSA membership program, shop at our farm stand, tour the farm, and join in our workshops and events.


About Ecstatic Cuisine, www.ecstaticcuisine.com
Jesse Bloom, Chef
Ecstatic Cuisine creates spectacular food events that inspire clients, nourish community, and sustain the earth. They use Iocal and organic ingredients in a unique brand of world fusion cuisine. Their professionalism, passion, and uncompromising gift for flavor combine to create food experiences that are, in a word, ecstatic.