Drop In & Decorate… Cookies!

I had a pretty great childhood… I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel loved, or secure, or encouraged by my family. And the holidays? Always a season of magic and love… and never without more than enough gifts under the tree. So it’s hard for me to imagine what it must be like to not feel and experience all of these things as a child… or to not enjoy the warmth of the holidays surrounded by people who love you. But, the reality is that there are many kids in this world who won’t be having a wonderful Christmas with their families. Kids who, instead, are spending it in a strange, new place… without many of the comforts of home… often not knowing whether they’ll return home to family or be placed into the foster care system. This is the reality of many of the kids who find themselves placed at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter.

As I mentioned earlier this week, after easily a full year of procrastination, I have finally hosted my first Drop In & Decorate Party! Drop In & Decorate, Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by fellow foodie Lydia Walshin. Their mission is to help individuals build bridges of caring and respect between groups within their own communities… with cookies! It’s really a simple (yet brilliant!) concept: bake some cookies, invite friends or family (or neighbors, or co-workers) to stop in and help decorate, then donate the cookies to a local food pantry, emergency shelter, senior center, lunch program, or other community agency. Such a fun and easy way to put a little good back into the world!

I invited my friends Gretchen and Robin over for an evening of pom-apple cider, cookies, royal icing and crazy sprinkles, holiday tunes, and girl talk. We had a wonderful time and managed to decorate roughly six dozen cookies without making too much of a mess! The creativity was flowing and once we all became familiar with the in’s and out’s of decorating with royal icing, we turned out some lovely (and festive!) cookies.

I can’t believe I waited so long to try my hand at decorating sugar cookies… it’s so much fun! You can go crazy with color and decorations, or you can take the minimalist approach. It’s all good! And if you happen to take a wrong turn with your cookie and decide you don’t like the way it turned out… you can eat your mistake and move on to a new cookie! Brilliant!

I also can’t believe I waited so long to host one of these parties. Lydia has struck on a wonderful idea and it felt unbelievably good to drop those cookies by the Shelter and know that the 30+ kids staying there right now would be enjoying our beautiful cookies with their dinner that night. I can only hope that it made the staff’s day a little brighter and brought a little bit of happiness to the rather uncertain world of all of those beautiful children.

This is a great event to host anytime of the year. But if you’re looking for a great way to put a little holiday joy back into your community during the coming week, whip up a couple batches of cookies and spend a little time with your kids, neighbors, co-workers, family or friends decorating cookies and then donate them locally. I promise you’ll have a wonderful time and will love knowing that you’ve given something back to your community. I’m certain I’ll be hosting a party again soon!

Thank to Lydia for bringing us Drop In & Decorate, to Gretchen and Robin for being my partners in crime, and to Frankie and the rest of the wonderful staff at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter for providing such an important resource to hundreds of kids in need every year. Happy Holidays!

Sugar Cookies
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl/bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until fully combined. Add the flour mixture in three parts and beat until just combined, scraping down the bowl occasionally.

Roll out dough on a floured surface to approximately 1/4 inch and cut into shapes. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. Let sit a few minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on size

Royal Icing
(courtesy of Lydia @ The Perfect Pantry)
1 lb + scant 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 Tbsp meringue powder
1/2 cup cool water (add more, a teaspoon at a time, if needed for desired consistency)
A few drops of paste food coloring

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, combine first three ingredients and mix on low speed until glossy and fluffy, 7-8 minutes. To color, place some icing in a small bowl or plastic cup, and stir in a few drops of food coloring until desired shade is reached. Royal Icing hardens quickly when exposed to air, so use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container; it will keep overnight at room temperature. Beat well before using.

Yield: 2-1/2 cups, enough for one batch of large cookies.

giving back this holiday season

It’s easy to forget, as we’re wrapped up in the flurry of gift-giving, holiday-partying, and (at least for some of us) holibaking that the holiday season brings, that there are people all around us who aren’t blessed with the good fortune that we are. When I’m feeling stressed that the universe is not letting me have my way… or things are feeling unfair, I try to stop and take inventory of just how many good things there are in my life and just how lucky I am. I have many, many reasons to be thankful.

So this year, I’m channeling that perspective into a little holiday giving. And, if you’re looking for a fun and easy way to do the same, I encourage you to check out Drop In & Decorate and consider hosting a party of your own. More details on my party later in the week, but what a fantastic way to spend an afternoon with your family… your friends… your co-workers… your neighborhood kids… whatever group, large or small. And it’s perfect for the young, old, and everyone in between.

Though you’ll have a fabulous time, the best part is knowing that you’ve shared a little cheer with a nonprofit agency serving basic human needs in your own community… one of the best gifts you can give at this, or any, time of the year.

Lebanese Kebabs

Looking for something tasty and easy for dinner? Head over to FGG and check out yesterday’s Foodie Friday recipe… Lebanese Kebabs!

Way #2 to use up Thanksgiving leftovers

I linked  yesterday to a great way to use up leftover turkey coming out of Thanksgiving (though it’s also a great way to use up leftover chicken). And, my friends, I have one more for you….

Imagine a vanilla milkshake with a full piece of pumpkin pie blended into its creamy goodness. And then imagine no more. If you’ve got leftover pumpkin pie and a little vanilla ice cream, you can make this Pumpkin Pie Shake into a reality. Don’t wait. Do it now. Scale up the recipe and share it with your family or friends. You’re welcome.

Pumpkin Pie Shake
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 slice pumpkin pie (1/8 of a standard-size pie)
2-3 tablespoons freshly whipped cream
pumpkin pie spice for dusting

Combine ice cream through pumpkin pie in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass, top with whipped cream and dust with pumpkin pie spice.

you say it’s your birthday?

It is! It’s my birthday! What better way to celebrate than with cupcakes?

And… because I stumbled across this over at The Boastful Baker… who pulled it from Brownie Points… (both of which are fantastic blogs!)… a little getting to know you quiz!

GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUIZ

Metal or non-stick?
Non-stick for now. The future is negotiable.

Cast iron or stainless?
Cast iron all the way.

Cutting board: silicone or wood?
Both!

Knife: carbon steel or stainless?
Carbon steel – I’m a Wusthof girl.

KitchenAid or hand mixer?
I love my KitchenAid. I bought it as a wedding gift for myself five years ago and still get excited when I get to bring it out.

Cooktop: gas, electric, induction?
Electric for now… though we just recently discovered that our kitchen has a gas line, so I’m hopeful that one day I can change that answer to gas!

Side-by-side, freezer on top, fridge on top?
Side-by-side in the kitchen… fridge on top in the garage.

Apron or whoops?
Whoops!

Mashed potatoes: by hand, ricer, or mixer?
Weeknight meals are by hand with a masher… for special occasions/holidays I do the mixer.

Sandwich or wrap?
Sandwich — I never, ever turn down bread… particularly a good sourdough.

PB & _________ ?
Strawberry All-Fruit… or milk chocolate… or dark chocolate… or bananas… on toast… or an English muffin… I could go on and on.

Pancakes: syrup or applesauce?
Syrup – even the cheap stuff. And, on really decadent days, peanut butter. Yummm…

Cake: scratch or mix?
Scratch. Without a doubt. Though I do have an undeniable love for boxed butter cake with uber-fudgy frosting.

Chili: beans or no?
With beans… unless we’re putting it on a hot dog or nachos or frito pie… then no beans.

Napkin: cloth or paper?
Paper.

BBQ: takes the whole weekend to make or take out?
Someday I’ll learn to truly BBQ, but until then sign me up for some take-out.

Chicken: white or dark?
White.

Ice cream: cone or dish?
Either is great. Both is fine, too.

Daring Bakers… What a Maroon!*

Another month gone again already? Let’s not even talk about the fact that it seems as though it’s barely been a couple of weeks since our last Daring Baker Challenge… the speed at which time flies only depresses me. The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

The French macaron (or macaroon) is one of those things that I’ve always only admired from afar. After all, the cool kids have been churning out gorgeous macarons in countless flavors and beautiful colors for quite some time. Me? I’ve always been afraid to try. I mean, seriously, have you seen how delicate these things are? Surely I cannot be trusted.

And then along comes Ami with this month’s challenge. Time to make friends with the whipped egg white and conquer another fear! (But I still went in with HUGE amounts of self-doubt and absolutely positive there was no way I was getting trademark macaron “feet” on my first try.) However… small win… I at least managed to not wait until the very last minute this month!

I opted to go for a chocolate on chocolate combination — chocolate macarons with cinnmon-chocolate ganache. I read and re-read the instructions… I combed the forums for tips and tricks (and, quite honestly, success stories to make myself feel better)… and then… I took a deep breath and got to work.

Everything actually came together suprisingly smoothly. I piped my little macaron rounds and popped them into the oven. After five minutes, I pulled them out and raised the oven temp. While I waited for the oven to warm up, I eyed my macarons suspiciously… no sign of feet. None. Nada. Zip. I was bummed. But… since there was no turning back at that point (I’d still need to post something, even if it was a footless macaron)… I continued on.

Back into the oven went the macarons and, a few minutes later… “I HAVE FEET!!” Needless to say, my husband was more than a bit confused. This has to be one of the most beautiful success stories ever — sure my little macaron feet are a bit more “out” than “up” but for my first go, I must say that I am rather proud of the results.

I let the macarons cool a bit while I made my ganache and then pulled them off the silpat and matched them up by size. Filling them was a breeze — I only broke one cookie and it was, no doubt, the tastiest mistake ever. And then…. I stood back and admired my work. And it was good. So good, in fact, that it’s highly likely that I’ll give these another try for Thanksgiving and yet another for the Christmas holiday. No doubt every time I make them I’ll wonder why in the world I waited so long to give them a try.

*BTW… for those of you wondering what’s up with the title of this post: I can’t help it — every time I hear or see “macaroon,” I think of this. You’re welcome.

Thanks, Ami, for a fantastic challenge and a wonderful learning experience! Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to see all the other beautiful macarons popping up across the blogosphere.

Macaroon making is somewhat labor intensive, yet simultaneously less difficult than you think it will be. One thing you must do is have your egg whites at room temperature. This ensures they beat up properly, as texture is an integral component to macaroons. You will be piping the batter onto parchment paper or nonstick liners, and some home bakers use stencils to make sure their macaroons are uniform in size. It’s your choice.

Be aware that you are beating your egg whites first to soft peaks. Soft peaks means that the peaks of the meringue curl over when you lift up the beaters. After you add the granulated sugar to the soft peak meringue, you will beat the mixture to stiff peaks, which, true to their name, stand straight up. Be careful not to overbeat your eggs.

You will also be folding the nut flour into the meringue. As with most recipes when you combine something with beaten egg whites, be gentle in your mixing to keep the egg whites light.

Some recipes call for drying the piped macaroons on the counter prior to baking for 30 minutes to an hour. This recipe stipulates that you bake the macaroons at a low temperature for 5 minutes, then take them out of the oven, raising the temperature, and baking them for an additional 7 to 8 minutes. Drying is necessary to get the trademark “feet” on your macaroons. Experiment to find the best technique for you.

If you plan on using parchment paper rather than nonstick pan liners, be careful when removing the macaroons from the paper, as they can stick and are very delicate. Some recipes suggest lifting up a corner of the paper and letting a drop of water fall onto the hot baking sheet, thus producing steam, which helps the macaroons release.

Flavor variations are infinite. In Fleming’s original recipe, she calls for adding vanilla bean seeds to the granulated sugar, and folds in the zest of a lemon to make lemon macaroons. You can add cocoa powder, instant coffee or espresso powder, green tea powder, fruit zests. You can tint the batter (use powdered food coloring to keep from adding too much moisture to the batter). The same goes for fillings—anything goes. Ganache, buttercream, jam, caramel, custard.

An important note about coloring and flavoring: liquid food coloring can be used, but be cautious! Use 1-3 drops maximum, otherwise it increases the moisture in the batter, and that can ruin the macaroons. Trick: mix the liquid color with the almonds and powdered sugar and to let that air dry for a couple of hours. This reduces the moisture a little bit. If you use more than 3 drops of food coloring, you’re going to have a disaster. That means using fruit puree is out. One way to flavor the macaroons is to use 1-2 teaspoons of citrus zest, 1-2 teaspoons of matcha (green tea powder), or 1-2 teaspoons of herbs or freeze-dried fruit powders. If you want savory macaroons, you can try 1 teaspoon of saffron or other savory dry flavorings. If you want to use powdered color, up to 1 tablespoon is a safe amount.

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven to proper temps.

French Macarons
(adapted from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern)
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) confectioners sugar
2 cups (190 grams) almond flour
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
5 egg whites (room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Combine the confectioners sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off.

Pipe one-inch-sized mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper). (Stack the baking sheet onto a second sheet to assist with getting a proper rise)

Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F. Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

Cool on a rack before filling.

Culinography turns TWO!

Two years ago today… and during a particularly down spot in my life… I decided that I needed a creative outlet that could fill up a little bit of the “extra” time that I had on my hands. I had no way of knowing then that this would be such a wonderful experience, that I’d “meet” so many fantastic, talented people, and that I’d learn so much along the way (thank you, Daring Bakers!).

There have been lots of ups and downs over the past couple of years… lots of change… but this place and this food blogging community have been one of my few constants — even when I’m not able to check in here as often as I’d like.

So, having spent a couple of trips around the sun as a “food blogger,” I’m pretty sure there’s no better way to celebrate Culinography’s second birthday than with cake! I wanted to go with something fun, so made a chocolate-ancho-cinnamon cake with ancho-cinnamon frosting. It sounds like there’s a lot going on there, but really… it’s all fairly subtle, with the ancho chile powder and cinnamon hanging out in the background providing just a little added kick to my easiest “go-to” chocolate cake recipe (original recipe courtesy of my wonderful friend, Becky).

So… here’s to another year of fun. Thank you all for coming along for the ride! Let’s eat some cake!!

Chocolate-Ancho-Cinammon Cake
3 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 9×13 cake pan (or 2 6″ round cake pans and a 12-cavity cupcake tin). Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes (or 15-20 minutes for smaller pans) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Ancho-Cinnamon Frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
1.5 pounds powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch ancho chile powder

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and heavy cream. Once incorporated, beat on high for three minutes. Add vanilla, cinnamon, and ancho and beat for another two minutes. Taste and adjust cinnamon/ancho… add a bit more heavy cream if frosting consistency is too heavy or a bit more powdered sugar if consistency is too light.

spicy candied pumpkin seeds

For those of you carving pumpkins this weekend in advance of all of the Halloween festivities, don’t throw out those pumpkin seeds! Toast them up using this week’s recipe over at FGG… Spicy Candied Pumpkin Seeds!

it truly IS POM Wonderful!

A few weeks ago, I got a very exciting email from Kristen over at POM Wonderful, offering to ship me some POM pomegranate juice to try and to play around with. Of course, I gladly accepted this kind offer and then waited patiently for my juice to arrive. While I waited, I did my research… antioxidant superpower… free radical killer…. superfood in a bottle!

I decided that one powerhouse food needed to be paired with another, so I pulled out the salmon fillets and got to work! Salmon is low in fat and calories, while high in protein and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Pomegranate juice is full of antioxidants. This, my friends, is a match made in heaven!

The juice, as you would expect, is fantastic (not that we did lots of sampling while we cooked or anything). Combined with balsamic vinegar and reduced to a glaze it’s simply wonderful. Big thanks to the folks at POM for giving me the opportunity to try out their product… and be sure to stay tuned for another POM recipe or two coming soon!

Seared Salmon with POM-Balsamic Glaze
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup POM pomegranate juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
4 (6-ounce) skinless center-cut salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Stir together vinegar, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a small bowl.

Pat salmon dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat but do not allow to smoke. Increase heat to high, add salmon, and sear until well browned, about 4 minutes. Turn fish over and sear until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more.

Transfer salmon to plates and carefully add vinegar mixture to skillet (liquid will bubble vigorously and steam). Simmer, stirring, until thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 2 minutes. Spoon glaze over salmon.

turkey meatballs

Join us over at FGG for another great Foodie Friday recipe…. Turkey Meatballs!