So, I baked.

And I ate...

There were good cupcakes...

...bad cupcakes...

...and free [good] cupcakes.

Now that summer has come and gone, I'm excited to be settling into my new job, my new apartment, my new church and my new city. I'm thankful for all of the change thus far, but happy to have time return to blogging and food photography. Maybe now that I've cancelled my cable, I can finally get to unpacking those last few boxes so I can really give all this food stuff (the baking, the blog, the food styling/photography, even the food memoirs I got 3/4 through and never finished) the attention it deserves. Stay with me, friends. I have a feeling amazing things are yet to come...

Labels: emotional baking, life update

4 Comments:

Your photos are beautiful. I need to learn.

By  EmKiller, at September 28, 2011 at 5:32 AM  

Firstly, the Hemingway line is obvs at the end of The Sun Also Rises :)

Secondly, these pictures are FAB. And drool-inducing. And I still owe you $10 for the treats!!!

By  Jess, at October 15, 2011 at 7:38 PM  

Your cupcakes look awesome! Especially the 'sea' ones with the shells and sand :D I am incredibly jealous of your photography skills, mines never come out looking as professional as yours so well done :D

By  Ellen's Cakes, at April 3, 2012 at 5:16 PM  

Hey Ellen's Cakes! Thanks for stopping in! I've moved on over to kellybakes.com. Check out my new blog and see what I'm up to! There's even a contest going on :)

By  kelly, at April 3, 2012 at 5:22 PM  

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I have to admit that I was most productive today. I watched a lot of Netflix yesterday. I think it was the grey skies--they made my mood melancholy and I didn't have the desire to finish any project I started. Today, even though I woke up late, I was filled with an unusual gusto. I didn't have to fight with myself to go to yoga and even pushed myself to do more intense poses that I wouldn't get to do in a beginner's class. It was nice to feel challenged. When I left class an hour and forty minutes later, I felt sweaty, accomplished and in need of fruit. yes, fruit. I rarely crave fruit, but I found myself standing in front of a myriad of nectarines, plums and apricots in Trader Joe's, trying to picture which would be most juicy and satisfying when I bit into it. I was only going to buy one piece of fruit to have as a snack on the way home, but my eyes caught a container of black plums and the image of beautifully arranged dark crescents on a sweet tart shell popped into my head and my plan changed all together.

A quick Google search later, I had a recipe from Ina Garten in hand [thank you iPhone] and was headed home to start my tart quest. I had visions of sugarplums dancing in my head...well, almost. I had never eaten a black plum before and didn't consider that the inside wouldn't be the same sunset orange and bright yellow of the plums I had grown up eating. When I cut into the first plum, I was shocked at the jewel-like crimson color hiding beneath a Tyrian purple exterior. When fanned out in rows around the shell, the finished tart looked like a glistening chrysanthemum after an autumn rainstorm. Simply gorgeous.

I baked the tart for a smidge longer than I should have, mainly because I used a different kind of plum than Ina suggested and because the pieces were smaller, the juices didn't bubble as the recipe suggested they should have. Overall, though, the tart was just that...tart. The crust was buttery and delicious (I used almond flour instead of walnuts and it gave the crust a more interesting flavor profile while still being delicate in contrast to the puckering tart of the plums). 


Had I served this alone, I would have sprinkled sugar on top of the plums before cooking and possibly glazed the finished product with apricot jam for additional sweetness. My tart wasn't a solo dessert, luckily, as I whipped up a batch of vanilla bean ice cream to go along side of it. I had been agonizing over what kind of ice cream to make next, and couldn't come up with an idea. Then, as soon as I thought of the sour tang of the plums, I knew that plain old vanilla would be just the flavor to add sweetness and a creamy texture to balance out the nutty crust.

Plum Tart

(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties! 2001. As seen on foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup almond flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced

1 egg 

2 pounds firm, ripe black plum, pitted and sliced into thin crescents

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry cutter or by hand. 3. Once mixture resembles coarse meal (the butter pieces should be no bigger than peas), add egg. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.

4. Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan.
5. Arrange the plums in the pan to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.

6. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
7. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (adapted from David Lebovitz's Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream recipe, from A Perfect Scoop)

Ingredients

2 C heavy cream

1 C skim milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 T vanilla bean paste (or 1 vanilla bean, scraped)

Directions

1. Combine half of the heavy cream, vanilla and sugar in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring slowly until sugar is dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and add the remaining heavy cream and milk. 

3. Store in refrigerator until chilled.

4. Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

5. Store in refrigerator to harden before serving.

6. Serve along side black plum tart.

Labels: almonds, ice cream, plum, tarts, vanilla

2 Comments:

The plum tart was delicious - not tart at all - the crust was excellent - I would like to sue it for other pie recipes....Thanks for sharing Kelly!!!

By  Marybeth, at July 6, 2011 at 7:55 AM  

Thanks, Marybeth! I'm always happy to share recipes (and baked goods!). I'll be sure to give you a shout when I bake something next so you can share in the goodies :)

By  kelly, at July 7, 2011 at 9:59 PM  

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On my way through Stew Leonard's, I couldn't help but pass up a sale on porterhouse steaks--$3.99/lb? C'mon! Who could resist?

Friday was food-filled as well. I went up to Boston for my dear friend Kim's birthday and gorged on burgers and cheesecake. As if that wasn't enough, on my way home from Beantown, I headed to my alma mater and hit up their Dairy Bar for some homemade ice cream. To round out the day, my sister and I happily feasted on a smorgasbord of seafood from our favorite seaside spot, Lenny & Joe's. We've been coming here every summer for longer than we can remember, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Amy changes up her choice each time [this time going for the lobster roll], but I always stick with the fried shrimp roll. It tastes incredibly fresh whether I get one in January or July. I love it for its consistently delicious sweet flavor and crunchy exterior. The rolls are slightly toasted and the cole slaw has just enough celery seeds. It would be my last meal if I were on death row. 

Lucky for me, I found huge beautiful sea scallops at the fishmonger and brought two home. They were literally the size of my fists! I picked up my copy of The Dean and Deluca Cookbook and scoured its index for something light and delicious to make. It wasn't long before I stumbled upon seviche. After loading up on fried foods and heavy carbs all weekend, the light, citrusy balance between tart and sweet was exactly what my overfed tummy was craving. I used the recipe as a guideline for what ingredients to use and then took things in my own direction. It's definitely something you can play with to suit your tastes.

Scallop ceviche for one

Ingredients:

2 large sea scallops

Juice of 6 limes

1/3 cup grapefruit juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 of a small tomato, sliced

1/4 of a red onion, sliced

3 T chopped cilantro

olive oil to taste

Directions:

1. Chop sea scallops into small, uniform pieces (mine were roughly a third to quarter-inch cubes). Remember, the acid from the citrus will "cook" the scallop, so if you make the pieces too big, you'll end up with raw centers and no one wants that!

2. In a medium bowl, juice limes and grapefruit.

3. Add scallops to citrus juice. Let sit for 10 minutes.

4. While scallops marinate, mince garlic gloves, chop cilantro, onion and tomato.

5. When the scallops have sat for 10 minutes, add garlic gloves. Let rest for another 5 minutes. 

6. Drain liquid. Add cilantro, onion and tomato to scallops. Toss to combine.

7. Enjoy immediately.

Labels: ceviche, lobster, scallops, seafood, shrimp rolls

1 Comments:

I love new england seafood fests...well except for the caloric issues. Glad you had a good time!

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at June 24, 2011 at 11:32 AM  

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No, seriously. Make them. You won't be sorry.

Saturday started off with such promise. I woke up early, cleaned my kitchen, put out the recycling, played with Mars and came up with a game plan for the day all before 10am. I left my little apartment feeling like I could conquer the world [or at least cross off everything on my to-do list]. I drove over to the farmer's market, parked my car in the lot behind it and set off in search of organic veggies and a stickybun. I chatted with the growers about asparagus and bought some local honey to help with my allergies. I came back with a bag full of rhubarb and a birch beer and returned to my car to find that someone had hit my parked car...twice. [As if one side wasn't enough, they had to hit the other. eesh.] 

I have to give myself credit. I'm an anxious, hyper person by nature, but I managed to stay pretty calm at first. My car was only scratched and the damage appeared to be minimal and superficial. It wasn't until I was swarmed by a group of men who kept heckling me and talking down to me that I started to get upset. I called the police to file a report, but they were taking quite a long time to arrive at the scene. Time passed and the group wouldn't leave me [or my car] alone. Eventually, I decided that it wasn't worth dealing with a giant hassle for a few scratches if it meant having to tolerate being harassed while I waited. I called to ask that the call for police be cancelled. As I got in my car to leave, just as one of the men thought it would be oh-so-charming to ask me out to lunch. Really, sir? Really?

When I got home, I felt like my whole day had been ruined. I had intended on making homemade falafel and grilling eggplant, but I had lost my appetite. My mother called and I recounted the whole ordeal to her and she was worried about me, but her questions and suggestions only stressed me out even more. I just wanted to take a nap and forget my afternoon. I forget exactly what happened, but at some point I bucked up, stopped being upset and decided to bake my feelings into something delicious. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been trying to use up what I already have in my apartment. To give you an idea of how much I bake [and how many baking ideas I have that never come to fruition], I had pre-baked mini tart shells in my freezer, several lemons, a container of mascarpone cheese [the last time I counted I had ten kinds of cheese in my refrigerator. I may need an intervention.], and bags upon bags of berries in my freezer. Life had given me lemons, but I mellowed them out with creamy mascarpone and made them beautiful with some berries. It was a sweet ending to a sour situation.

These little tartlets can be as homemade or as store-bought as you'd like. I made my pastry crust from scratch, but you can certainly use a pre-made crust. If the thought of making lemon curd from scratch makes you weary, use store-bought. And, if you've got raspberry bushes in your yard like I do at home, use those. If not, grab some at the farmer's market or the grocery store. Though my berries were frozen, I had bought them at the farmer's market and frozen them myself. I find that the frozen berries in the freezer section are always broken and never look pretty on desserts like this. 

Lemon Mascarpone Berry Tartlets

Ingredients

1-9" pie crust [store bought or homemade]

1-8 oz container of mascarpone cheese, at room temperature**

8 oz lemon curd [store bought or homemade]**

raspberries, blackberries or strawberries to garnish

optional: seedless jam [raspberry or strawberry] to glaze 

**Note: You can make more or less of the filling, but be sure to keep an equal ratio of curd to mascarpone. If you have extra filling, it would be great in fluted glasses with berries on top or in a trifle with angel food cake or lady fingers. The possibilities are endless!

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to temperature given by manufacturer's instructions or according to the pie crust recipe. [My recipe called for 375 F]

2. Roll out pie crust. Using tartlet pans as cutters, cut circles out of the pie crust.

3. Take each circle and roll it with a rolling pin to stretch it out a bit. The goal is to get it to cover the inside of the tartlet pan and have enough dough to go up the sides as well.

4. Place each circle into a tartlet pan, pressing against the walls of pan and trimming any excess.

5. Mark the bottom of each tartlet shell with a fork to prevent the shell from puffing up during baking. Blind bake [aka line each shell with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie beads] for 10 minutes. Take out paper and beads and bake for another 5 minutes. Let cool.

6. In a bowl, cream mascarpone and lemon curd together until smooth. It's important that the mascarpone be at room temperature, else it has a tendency to be lumpy and uncooperative when combined with the lemon curd.

7. Add lemon curd mixture to pie shells, filling each almost to the top of the pie shell.

8. Arrange berries on top of mascarpone.

9. If you choose to glaze your tarts, thin out berry jam of your choice with water until it becomes liquidy, but still slightly viscous. The goal is to have it stay on the berries and make them shine. If you add too much water, it will run off the berries and make your tarts soggy.

10. Grab a fork and enjoy!

Labels: blackberries, lemon, mascarpone, raspberries, tarts

4 Comments:

And why exactly were these strange men harassing you? I'm sorry your day started off yucky, but at least you got some delicious noms to make up for it. I'll have to try these out on one of my cheat days... I'm currently eating a slice of mango key lime cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory... so. good.

By  LF, at June 5, 2011 at 10:57 PM  

So sorry you had such a bad day... However something good sure did come of it - these are beautiful! Great photos!!

By  Souffle Bombay (Colleen), at June 6, 2011 at 6:54 AM  

They were harassing me because they were friends of the guy that hit me, so they tried to make it seem like I was overreacting. I'm just glad it's over and that I at least got to eat a most delicious dessert [and that my lightbox took such great photos at 11:30 pm! go little lightbox, go!]

By  kelly, at June 6, 2011 at 7:01 PM  

wow, I can only imagine how good they taste, but I can totally appreciate those pictures, they are fabulous! Sorry you had to deal with a crappy situation to get you to such a tasty situation!

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at June 8, 2011 at 8:27 PM  

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The donuts were a big hit at my office--my boss is always reminding us to eat healthy, so she couldn't resist these little guys when I told her they were loaded with sweet potatoes and baked, not fried. I'm pretty particular about donuts because I don't eat them that often, but I didn't feel the least bit guilty about having a second [or third] of these tiny, cakey, sugar-sprinkled treats.

Check out the recipe over at Fifteen Spatulas. I added some ginger and cloves to the batter in lieu of nutmeg and it definitely made for a fall-ish flavor. If I were to them again [I most likely will], I would invest in a larger circle cutter to make them bigger, leaving more room for the fluffy interior. I neglected to look at the very helpful and very lovely pictures as I was following the recipe, so I would also roll the dough out a little thicker than I did. 

If you're looking for a healthy alternative to the average donut, give these guys a try--the only things you'll miss are the fat and extra calories!

Labels: cinnamon, donuts, sweet potato

3 Comments:

You know... I hear this week is National Doughnut Day. Perfect timing! They look delicious!

By  LF, at June 3, 2011 at 11:47 AM  

I keep meaning to make these, I had all the ingredients and put them to other uses...next time I see a giant sweet potato in the house, I'm gonna do it.

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at June 4, 2011 at 10:40 AM  

Thanks, Lindsay! And Beth, you definitely should! They're super easy--the only thing that I struggled with was patience while they rose [hence, why I don't make a lot of recipes involving yeast], but they were worth the wait :)

By  kelly, at June 4, 2011 at 2:27 PM  

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The donuts were a bit hit at my office--my boss is always reminding us to eat healthy, so she couldn't resist these little guys when I told her they were loaded with sweet potatoes and baked, not fried. I'm pretty particular about donuts because I don't eat them that often, but I didn't feel the least bit guilty about having a second [or third] of these tiny, cakey, sugar-sprinkled treats.

Check out the recipe over at Fifteen Spatulas. I added some ginger and cloves to the batter in lieu of nutmeg and it definitely made for a fall-ish flavor. If I had to make them again [I most likely will], I would definitely invest in a larger circle cutter to make them bigger. I neglected to look at the very helpful and very lovely pictures as I was following the recipe, so I would also roll the dough out a little thicker than I did. 

If you're looking for a healthy alternative to the average donut, give these guys a try--the only things you'll miss are the fat and extra calories!

Labels: cinnamon, donuts, sweet potato

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I ran back to my hotel room to Google home photography kits. I found quite the range--everything from super professional packages costing well into the thousands of dollars to overpriced small starter kits with a tiny box plus what looked to be nothing more than a desk lamp from IKEA. My grad school income didn't allow for extravagant purchases, and even the cheaper versions seemed like a waste of money. Not to be defeated by pecuniary limitations, I immediately searched for instructions on how to build a lightbox for food photography. My search lead me here. 

I should probably mention that I'm not the most handy gal. Admittedly, I often use my lack of height to my advantage and bribe my taller friends to hang pictures for me with the promise of cupcakes. My sister has always been the organizer, the mathematician and the builder of the family. She's been methodical about constructing things since we were younger when she'd spend hours making elaborate LEGO scenes. She reads the instructions, measures, and thinks ahead. Me? Well, I read the instructions. I try to measure accurately, but I lack patience when it comes to things besides baking. So, you can imagine my happiness today when, after three days of effort and one giant glue fiasco, I finally finished my lightbox.

Mascarpone, aka Mars, trying out the finished product. Perhaps he has a future in modeling?

With that project crossed off my to-do list, I moved onto my next big idea: trying out my beautiful new Calphalon grill and panini press. I won it at EWR11 and couldn't wait to try it. After all, I don't even have a toaster or a George Foreman grill. But, I had lugged the box around DC, carefully balancing it on top of my wheeled suitcase. I was anxious to see if it had survived the many tumbles it took after hitting curbs and cobblestones. But before I could get grilling, I had one question to answer: What should I make first?

Taken in my lightbox--Look, Ma! It really works!

I was inspired by a beautiful eggplant I had purchased the day before at Trader Joe's. Whenever I see eggplants, I want to buy them because they have skin that looks rich and elegant and it always makes me want to make something equally luxurious with them. I somehow manage to resist their allure, however, because I never know what to make. My experience with them has been limited to eggplant parmesan, and whenever I think about how to expand my repertoire, my brain immediately goes blank. Despite my rationalizing, however, I convinced myself that I'd figure out what to do with the purple vegetable and it somehow found its way into my cart.

I was also inspired by a recent purchase on Amazon. My dear friend and culinary mentor Steve recommended The Dean and DeLuca Cookbook when I was in search of an all-around good cookbook. Steve is like the King Midas of cooking because his apartment kitchen is tiny, but everything he whips up turns to edible gold. Naturally, I took his advice and ordered the book. To make the deal even better, I bought it used and it was barely $5 including shipping! When it came in the mail a few days later, I spent hours devouring the recipes in front of me, anxious to check my cabinets to see which ingredients I had so I could start make something to abate the immeasurable excitement that had commandeered my thoughts. About halfway through the book, I had an epiphany. I was reading a recipe for falafel when it dawned on me that I had all of the ingredients. I loved falafel--why had I always assumed that it was too complicated to make? At that moment, I was struck with a feeling of invincibility. I wanted to make Thai chicken coconut soup and homemade hummus. I wanted to bake brioche and braise short ribs. I wanted to be the master of my kitchen. I was going to get rid of processed foods and preservatives and fill the space with from-scratch dishes and the feeling of accomplishment.

I decided to make mayonnaise. Well, backup. D&D had an amazing recipe for roasted potato salad with rosemary and lemon that called for mayo. I don't normally use the stuff, so I never have it on hand. Filled with culinary courage, I looked up the recipe and gave it a whirl both literally and figuratively, as it came together beautifully in the food processor. I was a bit shocked to see just how much oil goes into the recipe, but it didn't deter me from adding it to my beautifully roasted potatoes.

For the main course, I brought out my friend the eggplant, amputated a few slices from him and put each piece on my pre-heated grill pan next to a bright red onion slice. The veggies sizzled when they met the hot surface and were done in a few minutes' time. When I lifted the cover, I was met with a wave of steam and the sweet smell of caramelized onions. The grill had left beautiful sienna-colored grill marks, grafting the veggies with diagonal stripes. I lifted them off and placed them on a grilled panini roll, lightly sprinkling the top with crumbles of feta cheese. I didn't even bother with salt and pepper. The sandwich had the crunch of bread, lemony mayo, salty feta, tangy onion and a surprising sweetness from the eggplant. It was a fantastic meal to christen my new grill.

Labels: eggplant, EWR, food photography, grilling, panini, potatoes

4 Comments:

What a cute post! I loved your descriptive account,from beginning to end. Glad you're enjoying the new gadgets. It was great to meet you at EWR!

By  Betty Ann of AsianinAmericamag, at May 29, 2011 at 9:49 PM  

Ugh, hungry now!!! (But great post!)

By  ckhampton, at May 30, 2011 at 6:37 AM  

Great lightbox! I need to rework mine, it's been a bit overused, but it's so helpful! Glad the panini press made it

By  Beth @ Kitchen Minions, at May 30, 2011 at 5:01 PM  

Thanks y'all! It was great to meet you both, Betty Ann & Beth! I've actually hit a snag with my lightbox, as I keep ending up with the box showing in the pictures. I also forgot that The lightbox should have 3 lights around it, so I went on an epic quest to find cheap desk lamps and both Walmart and IKEA failed me. I've made two separate attempts and failed. boo. At this point I wonder if it would just be cheaper to have bought a lightbox online :/

By  kelly, at May 30, 2011 at 9:23 PM  

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