It's All About the Garnish!

Christmas Eve 2009: Sticky Toffee Pudding

Planning my Christmas Eve dinner was almost an afterthought compared to what happened when trying to come up with dessert. My criteria:  not too sweet, not too big and not too elaborate. And even though I can't bake to save my life (I have a problem measuring and following directions) I didn't want to turn to a box of mix. I really don't like cake or pie, so those options were out. Cookies? Not fancy enough for a major holiday. Hmmm...

Once again I turned to the interwebs for help. One of my favorite cooking sites, Chow.com, had the answer, right on the landing page:  Sticky Toffee Pudding

Now, this isn't a pudding in the way we Americans think of it (Bill Cosby, snack packs, etc.). This is a British way of saying dessert. Looking at the recipe, I saw that it had everything I wanted:  small servings, dates instead of chocolate and a short ingredient list. I followed the recipe to the letter, cursing at the measuring spoons and scorning the nancy-pancy procedure. But, it came out perfectly in the end, and is one of the best desserts I've had in years. Triumph!

(My camera batteries died before I could take a photo, here's what it looked like on Chow.com)

Chocolate Covered Bacon

I'd been seeing it online and hearing about it from fellow foodies, and this was the day I had the perfect storm of reasons to make chocolate-covered bacon. 1) I was going to my friends' house for a Memorial Day barbecue and the host loves meat more than anything else. 2) My Dad was thinking of entering it in the Pork category for the Napa County Fair Barbecue Contest and was wondering about methodology and toppings. 3) I had the itch to make something weird.

So, I first baked a bunch of bacon. I used both applewood smoked Niman Ranch fancy bacon and Jimmy Dean whatever bacon. I baked them in a broiler pan on a rack so the fat would drip off, as you really want your bacon as crunchy and dry as possible. (Make sure you save that bacon grease for future use!)

There was going to be about 50 people at the party, so I cooked up three packages (minus the slices the husband and I had for breakfast).

I then put the bacon in the fridge to cool down a bit more while I dealt with the chocolate. It's simple:  empty two bags of good quality chocolate chips into a double boiler with a tablespoon of canola oil. Melt. Dunk the bacon slices (which I halved) into the chocolate and place on waxed paper. If you're going to put toppings on any of them, this is the time to do it, so they'll stick. I left most of the slices plain, but put chopped candied pecans on some and 'crazy dust' on a few more. The crazy dust was a combination of equal parts cinnamon, chili powder and Kosher salt. When you're done making them, they're still not very attractive, so make sure you arrange them nicely, like this:

The verdict? When I passed the plate around at the party the guests' reaction was easily broken down into three types:  revulsion, curiosity and enthusiasm. Obviously, those repulsed by the concept didn't even try them, but of those who did, most really enjoyed it. The ones topped with the candied pecans were the biggest hit, and a British guy really like the crazy dust (not sure what to make of that...).

These aren't a snack for everyone. If you're going to make these, make sure most of your guests have adventurous palates. Don't serve these to people who like Lunchables, hot dogs or garden salads with ranch dressing.

I wonder if peanut butter or caramel sauce would work with these?

Take-Them-Anywhere Brownies

Do you not really like baking, always pass up dessert, or generally just not like sweet stuff? These brownies are for YOU! I don't usually like desserts and these are heaven to me. 100 Kiwanis crab feed attendees loved them last week. Calistoga is begging for the recipie (wink...). And seriously these are the easiest brownies to make. Ever. Even easier than the 'mix'. You know by now that I'm all about the organic, true tastes that you can find in simple stuff. This recipie is easy enough for any kid to prepare and could become the 'signature recipie' for anyone - even party-foul bakers. Steal it, please. You'll make the world a better place by serving this warm plate of happiness with a giant glass of milk.

• 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate (usually comes in a bar, usually by the choc chips in the store)
• 1 cube of butter
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder (this is different from baking soda- make sure you have the right one)
• Handful of choco chips or chunks. Or peanut butter chips would be good. Or peppermint bark, wow.

THAT'S IT - really. 8 ingredients.
Chop up the chocolate and add a stick of butter to a microwave safe bowl. Melt this slowly (30 seconds, stir, repeat) until the chocolate is melted. Set it aside and in the meantime mix the sugar and eggs together. Add the vanilla and baking powder. Mix a little. Add the choco mixture. Stir in the flour and don't mix this too much. Just until it's combined. Add the chips. Pour into an oiled/sprayed square baking pan. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until they look done. Cut them into little squares because a little goes a long way. I do 5 rows of 5.
And I apologize in advance for how many extra pounds you may gain or how late you will stay up (caffeine) because of these crazy brownies.

Breakfast in Bed - Oooh La La

Why isn't there a company that delivers breakfast? Like Dominos but better... I was thinking about breakfast in bed this morning. I'm a fan of whole grain and low sugar breakfasts. And coffee. Lots of coffee. We rarely celebrate the 'event' of breakfast. I love breakfast in bed, or breakfast with the family before opening presents on Christmas morning. My dad likes to do "short order cook" breakfasts with pancakes and eggs hot off the grill. By the time the last set of pancakes and eggs is made, the others have gone cold. So our tradition is to eat them as they come. Informal. Good.

So how do we make breakfast special but easy? It's a tricky meal. The cook will not want to be up for hours preparing things. Here are a few easy shortcuts for making it work:

• Fruit salad. Prepare everything the night before EXCEPT the bananas and strawberries. Add those in the morning. Toss with fruit juice to freshen it up. Plop some whipped cream on top.
• Strata. If you're cooking for a big group, breakfast strata is elegant and hearty. There are so many great recipies for this traditional breakfast dish. It's like a breakfast lasagna. Layers of bread, spinach, sausage or bacon, cheese. A one-pot meal. The great thing about strata is that it must be drenched in beaten eggs overnight to soak the entire dish, and pulled out to bake in the morning. Hard to mess this dish up!!!
• Coffee bar. Spice up the morning coffee with a selection of accessories (garnish!) such as cinnamon, cocoa powder, whipped cream, or the fixin's for Irish Coffee. This also works with tea.
• Fresh squeezed anything. Carrot juice mixed with raspberries. OJ with a hint of strawberry. Mango lemonade. Anything. Unique, homemade but really quick and simple (if you have a juicer....)
• Decor. Throw on a tablecloth and dress up the table with some white roses. Pull out those funny little bowls you've never used, or the teacups your grandmother gave you. It doesn't take much!

One last sage piece of advice. Don't forget to brush your teeth. :)

Turning Down the Heat

Congrats Jamie and Family for sweeping the fair contests! Woohoo!!! And she didn't mention that it was one of the hottest weeks we've seen here in the Valley. This week, completely tired of the 100+ degrees (and a horrible a/c), I decided to do a weeklong ban on cooking. With my stove, grill and oven off limits, what is there to make? I made some fantastic salads, sandwiches, got creative with leftovers, and overall had a fun time experimenting with cold options. One of my favorites-- instead of baking a dessert for the 4th of July, we had a fantastic fresh fruit salad with raspberries, plums, peaches and melon (all really sugary and sweet), and spooned large quantities of homemade whipped cream on top. To make it a little more classy, I added a splash of Grand Marinier in the whipped cream. Wow it was good. And not that bad for you either.

I also went very rustic one night for dinner, pulling out the old-school Italian sandwich idea and revamping it with a Napa flair. I bought a skinny baguette and fresh (in water) mozzerella, clipped some fresh tomatoes and basil, and made a really nice and basic sandwich. I mixed up a clove of minced garlic and a large amount of fresh chopped basil with some olive oil, salt, pepper and balsalmic and let it sit for a while. In the meantime, I thinly sliced the cheese and tomatoes and then tossed them in with the mixture. I let the whole thing marinate for a while and put it on bread. Wow so good. And really fresh flavors. Very filling and balanced meal - carbs, protein from the cheese, veges. Sometimes simple is a really good thing. In a smaller quantity this could easily be an appetizer, but why not make it a meal?

Going Bananas for the Bread

I had a request today! I'm heading over to a bbq reunion tomorrow with my leadership class, and we're all assigned to bring either a dessert or an app. My friend asked me to bring my infamously fabulous banana bread. I was of course flattered, but also a little embarrassed. It's so easy to make!

The only trick is to have some super-ripe bananas on hand. At a minimum the bananas should have dark speckles on the skin. For sugar content, for consistency, and for other reasons too I bet. For this reason, banana bread is something that demands to be made, rather than being able to seek it out. One rather gross but completely effective alternative is to freeze your bananas as you go. Before they rot, stick them in the freezer, and let them defrost before you begin this recipe. I've saved them for up to two months and they are totally fine. Be prepared though- the skins turn black in the freezer and look disgusting.

• 3 really ripe bananas


• 1/4 cup nonfat sour cream


• 2 eggs


• 6 tablespoons butter


• 1 tsp vanilla

(Mash the bananas well, and add the rest of the ingredients above in a large bowl)

• 2 cups flour


• 3/4 cup sugar


• 3/4 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Without stirring, put all these ingredients in the bowl- on top of the wet mixture. Give a superficial stir to the dry ingredients to make sure the soda and salt are mixed into the other dry ingredients. After this is done, then softly mix the entire bowl (Yes! ONE bowl to clean!!). If this, or any, dough is mixed too long, it will become very dense and chewy (like pizza dough, which is thrown around the room before it is baked). We don't want that here. So mix it only until you have to!

Pour this mixture into a greased loaf pan and pop it in the oven for probably 55 minutes on 350. Baking requires a much more evenly heated oven than cooking, so I suggest turning the pan every 20 minutes or so. The toothpick test (or a clean knife) can be used to see if this is done- if it comes out looking pretty clean, you're done. Isn't it embarrassingly simple???