what I'm excited about.

I get excited pretty easily. Especially for things that only have one use.... I'm not kidding. That wasn't sarcasm.  I absolutely love things like grilled cheese makers and madeleine pans. I mean, really, what can you make in a grilled cheese maker besides the most perfect grilled cheese sandwiches? 

I went to the kitchen store at the Petaluma Outlet Mall a couple of months ago. I walked inside with a single purpose.... One particular gadget that was going to fulfill my wildest dreams of happiness. Finally, I can sleep at night, my life will be complete.  And, after 45 minutes of looking at every other single item in the store (what? A girl can look, can't she?) I walk up to the counter, slap down my item and pull out the ol' debit card.  The cashier could not have taken longer. She picks up my gadget slowly, turning it around a couple of times to analyze the shape.  "What is it?" she asks.  "A cherry pitter," I say, adding stupidly "it pits cherries." 

And after an agonizing 47 seconds, the debit card is processed, the receipt is in my hand, and a little bag containing my cherry pitter is finally handed over.  I almost push an elderly woman to the side on my way out of the door. Don't these people realize I have cherries to pit? Get out of the way! 

I get home. I throw my purse down, and immediately start on the cherries. Oh! So much faster! So easy to do!  My life is complete!   ...I made a cobbler. It was delicious. 

...I have not used the cherry pitter since. But I love my cherry pitter. I love that it lives in my drawer, and if I ever have a whim to make cherry pie, it will be there... waiting.   And it wasn't until 2 months later, when I saw this:  

Fred & Friends Cakewich

that I realized my wildest dreams of happiness could only be fulfilled by a baking pan that makes cakes shaped like a sandwich.   Fear not, Dear Reader. Amazon has shipped it. I'll be waiting by the door when it arrives.

Are you tired of panna cotta yet?

...because I am. I'll spare you the details, but after 3 more attempts, I finally have something to show all y'all. Thank god. I don't think I could have eaten any more botched panna cotta.

Please please please, if you have any extra time in the next week, make this recipe and give me some feedback. Too complicated? Too much cranberry? Not enough cranberry? You get the picture.

Okay. Without further ado....

Cranberry and Green Tea Panna Cotta
serves 8

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
4 green tea bags
2 tablespoons water
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup sugar
1 can jellied cranberry sauce

Heat cream and milk in a medium saucepan until just simmering. Remove pan from heat and add tea bags. Let steep for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour water into a small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over the top. Let gelatin soften for 10 minutes.

Remove tea bags from cream, making sure to squeeze out liquid from bags. Put tea infused cream back on low heat and add sugar. Stir until dissolved. Add gelatin, whisk gently (try not to incorporate any air into mixture) until dissolved. Add cranberry sauce and whisk gently until sauce is melted and fully incorporated into cream - about 5 minutes.

Take saucepan off heat and strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining cranberry sauce chunks. Pour liquid into 8 teacups, ramekins, bowls, what have you. Cover with plastic wrap.

Chill for at least 3 hours, up to 1 day.

Green Tea Cranberry Panna Cotta, TAKE TWO!

Still getting used to this new blog posting program...

Anywho!

The deadline to enter the Ocean Spray Cranberry recipe competition is looming. I've only managed to make the Green Tea Panna Cotta twice so far - I think I need to bump up my game.

Here are the results of the second attempt:

The Good- Much creamier texture! I researched gelatin a little bit, and found that for a looser texture, a good ratio is 3 cups liquid to one packet of gelatin. whew. Crazy how much time a little research will save you. I was muddling around in the 2 cups per gelatin packet - what a nerd!

The Bad- Jeez. Bad seems a little harsh. Maybe the "Not-Quite-There-Yet..." would be more appropriate, even if it doesn't have that same ring. The green tea flavor was still over powering. Last time, you may remember, I used the canned jelled cranberry sauce. This time, I used straight up cranberry juice - and apparently, not enough. I have always thought cranberry was kind of an intense flavor... I may have over-estimated its ferocity.

The Ugly- A tip for you: when un-molding panna cotta, DO dip the mold into warm water. DO NOT leave it in the warm water for 3 minutes while you finish up watching a scene from Juno that happens to be playing on TV. It will melt.

Welp! I'm off to try out the third (and hopefully final) version of this recipe. Cheers!

Lime and Limoncello Sherbet

Do any of you out there have an ice cream machine? I've got a recipe for you to try out. I adapted it from a Lemon Sherbet recipe in "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz.

1/3 cup hot water

2/3 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk

3 Tbsp lime juice

3 Tbsp Limoncello

Combine the water and sugar, stir or shake until the sugar is completely dissolved. Put syrup in fridge until cool.

In a large mixing bowl, pour in buttermilk, lime juice, and limoncello. Whisk in chilled syrup.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer directions.

So there you go. Creamy, tangy, and refreshing. Beware: because of the alcohol in the limoncello, the ice cream won't ever harden - its more like soft serve. OK by me. Please tell me what you think! Brownie points if you can come up with something to serve it with. Fresh raspberries?

UPDATE! Now that the sherbet has been in the freezer for a couple of days, it has hardened to a dreamy frozen lemonade consistency. You know the stuff you get at the ball park or the fair? Yes!

Ocean Spray Cranberry Recipe Competition

This is it folks! I'm going to win $10,000!

Ocean Spray Cranberry is holding their annual "Ultimate Cranberry Contest" recipe competition - and i'm going to enter. Heyo!

Who has two thumbs and is super excited? This girl!



Here's the official website: http://ultimatecranberrycontest.com/ You know, just in case you wanted more information....

But really, what you are super interested in (I hope you are, dear reader) is the mega awesome dessert recipe that I'm going to be developing. Ready for it? Green Tea and Cranberry Panna Cotta. Boom!

I've already made a preliminary attempt. (Sorry, no pictures of this one - forgot the camera)
The flavor was good. Could be more cranberry-y. The tartness didn't quite come through, and I think this is because i used the molded cranberry sauce. Too sweet.

Also, I accidentally used twice as much gelatin in the mix. oops! The result was a very thick panna cotta, not that creamy smooth heaven that it could be. Thats all for now! I'll be making it again this Sunday - and I'll be sure to take some pictures!

Hamburger Cupcakes

OK, not exactly gourmet... And I definitely did not come up with this recipe. But hey - it was Friday night, and I wanted a hamburger cupcake.

I saw this recipe (or creation, rather) from Bakerella (who is utterly amazing). They really are too cute to pass up. Here's the gist: brownie burger patty, sandwiched between a yellow cupcake bun, with frosting ketchup, mustard and lettuce. Um, yes please?

My analysis: Incredibly easy to make. I basically followed Bakerella's recipe exactly. Nothing exciting. Boxed yellow cake with buttermilk instead of water (try it - you'll never go back to water in your cupcakes), boxed brownie mix, and homemade butter-cream frosting. My friend ruth helped assemble them- they were really almost too adorable to eat.

The soft cake of the bun was such an amazing contrast to the fudgy burger patty. And the frosting squishes perfectly, like ketchup/mustard/mayo when you take a giant bite of the cupcake hamburger. Mmmmm!

However, they took for-ev-er to make. From start to finish, including cooling brownies and cake, the process took about 3 hours. I am excited to make this again, but not on a weeknight. This is a Sunday afternoon type of project.

Here's the sitch (aka "Day One")

I like food. I like writing.

wait. more specific: I like ALL food. I like 62% of writing. The thing is, I have a lot of experience with food. I've been eating it all my life. (I know, right?) I cook a lot. I bake a lot. I read recipes for fun and I am going to school to become a pastry chef.

What I don't have experience in: writing. So that, lovely reader, is where you come in. Your job is to read this blog patiently and often - Watching my (hopefully) inevitable growth as a writer, baker, cook, and recipe creator. You are to try out recipes, "ooh" and "ahh" at my accomplishments, and tell me that my hair looks pretty when something turns out terribly.

Got it? Good. See you tomorrow.