grippin the floor with my toes

i've been in the mood to drink coffee at home this past couple of days. i would say its merely to allow me a greater amount of time to sit around in my nighttime wardrobe, but i actually don't enjoy the moonbeam attire enough. instead its more for the pleasure of simplicity in my environment and process of obtaining a hot cup of brew. no trekking down the road and dealing with computer tapping patrons and a potentially bad music selected by the scheduled barista. instead i have control of all things dark and potent.

potent is exactly what my french pressed coffee was this morning. currently i'm bouncing around my head and house trying to relocate the purpose of my day, which i have a hard time finding even without being overly stimulated. so i'll try and focus on something i've been meaning to post for a week or two now, photos of my wedding cake.

don't freak out people. there was no trip to vegas or shotgun pulled on this boy, i was required to decorate a three tiered styrofoam dummy cake for check off as part of my school curriculum. this exercise gave us students the opportunity to try our hands at dressing the cake in modeling paste, drop lacing, flower modeling, and a few other things.

my cake, as you'll see below, acquired an art deco theme. i like art deco and art nouveau for that matter, but have no clue what drew me to style the cake in such a way. for whatever reason this is what it became and i'm happy with it, so thats that. enjoy!

take that chip off your shoulder...

and put it into some batter with toasted hazelnuts.



last week i was scouring david lebovitz blog and saw a video where he made chocolate chip cookies and fed them to appreciative parisians. it entertained me to see inquisitive first glances given by the pedestrians which quickly morphed into delight as they tasted this strange american delicacy. cookies like these really aren't in vogue anywhere else but america. even so no creature can resist such a wholesome goody.

it had been too long since i had tasted a chocolate chip cookie and was beginning to take an alien view of the treat myself. so, i decided to whip up a batch. i used david's recipe, which was featured on the blog 101 cookbooks, as well as a few other sites. i could spend the time writing down the recipe here, but i really did little to modify it except for substituting the walnuts/pecans with hazelnuts.

my only tips would be to make sure you use all-purpose flour as the recipe states, as well as taking care not to over cream the butter and sugar. i used pastry flour the first time attempting this recipe and i think the lower gluten in the flour caused the cookies to run a bit much. creaming the butter too long can also have this effect. lastly, i suggest chopping your nuts fairly uniform and not too big to achieve even distribution in the cookies. other then that i think the recipe is pretty spot on. the only other thing i would suggest is spinning the tray midway through baking, as most home oven heat unevenly, which i'm sure a lot of you already know.

now go and be six, but maybe leave out licking the mixing spoon unless you know the eggs you used are nice and fresh.

a shopping uncle finds enlightenment in chocolate and puff dough

its official on april 10th my nephew emmett herschel kincer was born. as cliche as it may be, it feels very crazy knowing this new person has appeared into my world. what lays in store for this nephew of mine? what will he think of his silly uncle? i guess its a wait to find out.

unsure what to do after receiving such news and being on the other side of the continent i surprised myself by gushing to a few students about it before going back to work finishing my wedding cake. the next day i followed the decorating by making some very puffy puff dough, which i was happy to see come out well. below is a photo of some pinwheels i made with it. i haven't taken pictures of my cake yet, but will make sure to snap a few next week.



before all this i did some venturing around town shopping and snacking. i found some great flashcards. a few of which i just had to include in this photo due to there subject matter. also in the photo is a fine metal sheave, which i've been searching for a bargain on and finally found at a restaurant supply store downtown. it shook me to see what it would cost to stock a kitchen with new supplies from scratch. this sticker sock didn't stop me though from spending more money on some delicious chocolate from sahagun. a quaint little shop off burnside, which has created along with there other delicacies an anti-chocolate bar called kapow made entirely of coffee beans. solid coffee! sounds like nasa might come knocking at their door. i can't wait to go back and try some hot chocolate. i'm sure there are still a few cold days left in portland to make that happen.

is it as good as it looks?

i just read this article in the new york times. the topic of photographing food is something i have struggled with. actually photographing anything for that matter. i have always felt that it distracts to much from the experience at hand. this is especially true for people like myself who want to try and achieve a decent snap shot when engaging in such journalistic efforts. although they still never manage to be exactly as i'd like and by that time all thats left is cold food or an outlined feeling.

currently i have found myself frustrated with the lack of natural light my current kitchen receives, wishing for a radiant beam to heighten my food to salivate inducing elegance. honestly though i'm more interested in the action of cooking and baking not the notation, which may require a few trees to fall without observation, but i'm trying not to care. i'd like to be more diligent about documenting all my culinary efforts, but realize i must do as i feel.

don't worry this isn't the end of postings or photos for that matter, i just felt like having a little late night ramble session. i guess ultimately my point is too have fun and if it feels like work its lost the point. so here is to keeping whatever i've created enjoyable in every random acts that entails.

with this said. i decided to experiment a little and make some ricotta, marionberry and thyme ravioli the other night. i wasn't going to mention this little gastronomic adventure because my photos of the final product lacked the grace i strive for, but who cares. i accompanied the ravioli with some sauteed cauliflower. if you ever have had reservations about this white veggie impersonating a brain i say open your arms and give this pale plant another chance. it can be truly delicious with the slightest bit of oil and seasoning. in this case olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and some more thyme. sorry, but all i've got is thyme these days. ouch, i can feel my fathers corny gene pushing forward.

a belated nod to miss vitucci

recently we had to make a celebration cake. its the type of cake i'd assume most americans would associate with any special event. every supermarket from portland to baltimore will churn out one of these buttercream bombs effortlessly, filling in the blanks with the names or edible photos of the celebrated recipient. when it came time to address the empty space on my cake i decided to dedicate it to my extraordinary friend miss kacie vitucci, who i have been unavailable to hangout with on two recent weekend outings due to my culinary endeavours. oh, and her birthday just happened.

so, kacie this cake is for you.



not all celebration cakes are equal and i must say mine was exceptionally delicious. kacie, can you picture it? a light spongy chiffon soaked with simple syrup keeping the interior nice and moist. this is accompanied by a delicate serving of real coffee flavored buttercream. don't think kroger cake icing, i'm talking no shortening to be found just gobs and gobs of butter, but whipped to taste deceivingly light. if your having a hard time picturing this here is a photo of me enjoying a slice. so grab yourself an imaginary piece and come eat cake with me. you can use a real fork and plate if that helps. anyone else reading this feel free to do the same. lets celebrate!

concentrate on the muffins

i don't know what my deal is today, but i'm super distracted. i can't sit down and focus on anything. i just started writing and i'm already eager to move on to something else. maybe its the absurd weather portland is receiving this friday. its been a roulette wheel of rain and sun. i need to try and focus. maybe writing down a recipe will help.

earlier this week i used up some of last summers bounty and made blueberry muffins. like most quick breads these are simple to make, but care must be taken not to over work the batter or you'll end up with nothing more then fruit filled paper weights and door stops. this is because a lot of mixing works the gluten in the flour too much preventing the muffins from achieving that delicate crumbly texture.

i added a streusel topping to mine, but feel free to keep them boring.

blueberry muffins w/ streusel topping (makes: 1 dz.)
for streusel:
- 2oz (1/4c) cold butter, cut or grated into small pieces
- 1oz (2 tbsp) granulated sugar
- 1.5oz (3 tbsp) brown sugar
- pinch of salt
- 4oz (3/4c) pastry flour or all purpose flour
- 1 oz (2 tbsp) rolled oats or chopped nuts (optional)

1. sift all the dry ingredients together
2. rub butter into dry mixture until crumby
3. set aside in frig

for muffins:
- 10oz (2 1/4c) pastry flour or all purpose flour (i typically go half and half since the most accessible pastry flour i've found is whole wheat, which can be a little heavy by itself)
- 2.5oz (1/3c) granulated sugar
- 2.5oz (1/3c) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder (check the date to make sure its fresh)
- 8oz (1c) milk
- 4oz (1/2c) melted butter or oil
- 1 egg

1. sift together dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl
2. mix together milk, butter, and egg (i gently heat the milk to prevent the butter from seizing in the cold liquid. take care not to warm the milk too much or you'll end up scrambling the egg when adding it to the mixture.
3. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids.
4. with a whisk slowly incorporate the flour into the liquid until just combined with no lumps, taking extreme care not to over mix.
5. portion the batter into a greased or parchment cup filled muffin pan. (i actually tried something a little different when lining my muffin tin. stealing an idea from one of my favorite food carts in portland moxy rx, i cut squares of parchment that i stuffed down inside each circle pressing and folding to shape. it provides a more unique look and actually makes for easier removal.
6. grab streusel and sprinkle mixture generously on the top of each muffin.
7. bake immediately in 400 degree oven for 15-20 min. carefully rotating halfway through. (you'll know they're done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean)

wa la! beautiful berry bread!