cookies

I love to bake with Jackson. He loves to bake with me. I don't know why we don't do it more often. Oh wait - - the flour on the floor, the whining to eat the batter, the dishes piled in the sink just when it's time to make dinner and they're starving and look - all we have are cookies! to eat....I digress.

I treated myself to this cookbook, because I love the blog (I wish I had read this part before - she writes, ...knowing what I know now, I don't even recommend attempting a sit-down meal with your kids until your youngest is at least three......I digress again) and love the recipes (easy, yummy, and possibly-someday-kid-adaptable). The day it came we opened it up and made these cookies. And they were good.

Cade helped a little but preferred to play. He was there waiting when they were done though. He was quite upset upon realizing they had chocolate chips and m n m's in them. "Mamaaaa, I didn't WANT things in my cookieeeee!" Good grief! What is wrong with you, child?!

bumblebee cupcakes

For Jackson's Graduation party, I signed up to bring cupcakes. Since his class is Bumbleebees...well, I tried. Haha. There's so much wrong here - the stripes go the wrong way, no wings....let's just say they looked a lot cuter in my head. No matter. The kids loved them anyway.

a far cry.....

It's a far cry from Abigail's awesome gingerbread extravaganza (!), but we did our own little gingerbread village....

 

~ and Jackson and Mimi, 2009:

apple turnovers

This weekend Jon took the boys to the park all morning so I was able to make these Barefoot Contessa apple turnovers. I didn't have any dried cherries so I just omitted them. They were still delicious.

PS. Also - I cheated. I didn't make the dough. I used this. It was so worth the $8 more than the Pillsbury stuff.

THE RAINBOW CAKE!

Jackson had a rainbow-4th-birthday party last weekend. Abigail, bless her, made the rainbow-in-a-cloud cake you see above. Isn't it amazing?! We used 7 pans, three cake mixes (you heard that right, Mom) and three batches of Buttercream frosting. Yum.

More pics from Abigail here.

More pics from the party soon.

pie please

Today we went to a new AWESOME pie shop called Four and Twenty Blackbirds. They have pies like Peach Berry, Apple Rhubarb, Stone Fruit Crumble, Plum Crumble, Nectarine Blueberry, Honeyed Rhubarb, Blood Orange and Rhubarb, Lavender Blueberry.....

We got a slice of Blueberry Pie and Jackson chose a Chocolate Chip cookie. Of course they were out of the cookies. So he choose a Peach "Slab" - like a squashed turnover - and of course, decided "I not like it" after one bite. So Jon and I fought over it.

Cade fussed and crawled around and tried to crawl onto the table. He did not like either the Blueberry Pie or the Peach Slab.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds
439 Third Ave. at 8th St,
Brooklyn, NY 11215

today's activity - apple cake

Going through old magazines, found this recipe in House Beautiful. Jackson and I made it this afternoon. Mimi would like it because it's not too sweet. Although she might be tempted to put raisins in it.

APPLE CAKE

Recipe from Marcus Samuelsson

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for greasing pan
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch springform pan and coat with the breadcrumbs.
2. Toss together the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Set aside.
3. Peel and core the apples then slice one apple into 16 wedges. Combine the cinnamon and 1/3 cup of the sugar mixture in a medium bowl. Add the apple wedges and toss to coat. Roughly dice the remaining apple.
4. In the bowl of an electronic mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the remaining sugar mixture on medium speed until light, fluffy, and lemon-colored, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and baking powder. Slowly add the half-and-half and mix until combined. Fold the diced apple into the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Arrange 12 of the apple wedges fanned along the outer wedge of the pan and place the two remaining wedges in the center. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center is golden brown.
6. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a small offset spatula around the edges to release the cake from the pan and remove the springform. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, then cut into 12 wedges.

Recipe found online at NPR.

holiday spirit - cookies

Jackson made cookies at school yesterday, and I can honestly say, for the first time ever, I have no desire to even taste them. Happy Holidays!

waffle breakfast

Thank you Nonno, for the delicious waffle breakfast the day after Baby Cade's baptism.

Spelt in them? (said in Jackson's voice).

cupcakes for the christening - the secret's in the mix

1 box yellow Betty Crocker cake mix
1 cup buttermilk (in place of the water called for on the box) vegetable oil (the amount on the box) (I used canola oil)
4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified (the box will call for more water than the amount of buttermilk you are using), using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for (typically, white or yellow cakes call for 1/3 cup; the chocolate cakes usually call for 1/2 cup), and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes.

3. Spoon half of the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip a 1/4 inch corner form the bag and fill the paper liners 2/3 full. Repeat with the remaining batter. Back until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pans, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

From New York Times Bestseller Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack (of which I have a signed copy, thank you, Hierros!)

cooking class 101

The basil is in full effect at the Farmer's Market, and here's Jackson helping me make pesto one night.

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Ingredients

	2	cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
	½	cup extra-virgin olive oil
	3	Tbsp. pine nuts
	2	garlic cloves, chopped fine before putting in the processor
	~	Salt
	⅓	cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
	2	Tbsp. freshly grated Romano cheese
	3	Tbsp. butter, softened to room temperature
	1½	lb. pasta

1. Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, and an ample pinch of salt in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.
3. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the two grated cheeses by hand. (It is worth the slight effort to do it by hand to obtain the notably superior texture it produces.) When the cheese has been evenly amalgamated with the other ingredients, mix in the softened butter, distributing it uniformly into the sauce.
4. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.

To freeze pesto, make the sauce through to the end of Step 2, and freeze it without cheese and butter in it. Add the cheese and butter when it is thawed, just before serving.

Jackson can say TEA

One of my oldest friends, Bess, sent me a beautiful package of two leaves and a bud tea.

Before I even had a chance to try them, a friend came over, saw them and was raving about how good they are. She said, "I don't know what it is, but they have the same flavors, and they just taste so much better!"

She was right. They are delicious. The packaging is so nice. The label says exactly how much caffeine is in each flavor. Great for me because I can't tell the difference between green and black if you paid me. And I don't want to be accidentally drinking caffeine right now when I can hardly sleep anyway. And the website is beautifully designed and full of information about tea - did you know tea originated in 2737 BC? That, Jackson, is a LONG TIME AGO. And the website tells you everything you might want to know about the tea you are drinking, ingredients, best way to prepare, even the origin of it. So cool.

Bess also told me that iced tea is good for kiddies, maybe I will mix 1/2 and 1/2 with some juice. I bet Jackson would love that. I'm going to try it with the Alpine Berry Herbal tea this weekend, when it's supposed to warm up to 56 degrees on Saturday.

Thank you, Bess!

number cake

This pan would have come in handy when I made Sammy's 3rd birthday cake in Florida. It adjusts to create any number you want.

Then again, cutting the shape out with a knife was not actually that hard. And takes up much less room in the cabinet.

{seen on lil sugar}

that Abigail!

Abigail was planning on coming to visit on Tuesday but couldn't when her dog ('pant-pant-pant' ~ that's Jackson saying 'dog' in baby sign language) got sick :(.

So what arrives in the mail this evening?! All the treats she was going to bring with her! Like these wonderful cookies, homemade, bright green pesto, and......drumroll please......a loaf of her homemade bread.

Jon is still at work. Sorry, Jon, but I couldn't wait for you.

T h a n k y o u A b i g a i l !

spear it

The other day I gave you a vintage 'cocktail pick' to eat your pieces of apple. Now you use the spear for everything - - cheese, peas, toast, raisins, etc. Well, you weren't really into the peas, but I tried.

cupcake

and the cupcakes that we let you eat......

{by Kate, of course!}

baking bread together

Remember when I mentioned that recipe for raisin bread from the River Family Cookbook? Well, last weekend we made it together. You got a little bit of dough and a few raisins to stick in the dough, but you pretty much just kept eating the raisins.

The bread was good (toasted, with lots of butter and jam) but I think could've been a lot better if I hadn't used the whole wheat flour (had run out of white flour).

molten goodness

This freezing cold weather just makes me want to turn the oven on and bake something. I've got my eye on this Molten Chocolate Cupcake recipe, but we only have one egg in the fridge. Jon, can you bring home two eggs please? Jackson refuses to put his coat on to go and get them - it's just too cold out.

*update: February 2, 2009 - - finally made it:

oh, delicious!

A while ago I mentioned that I really liked the book, A River Family Cookbook. And I hadn't even seen it in person. Well, Ruth and John got it for us for Christmas and it is wonderful! I say got it for US because it really is a family cookbook. The authors' children are in all the gorgeous pictures, cooking away. I hope soon Jackson can cook with me.

The first thing I'm dying to make - some delicious looking raisin bread, especially now that Jackson is raison-crazy after discovering them in Florida with Sammy.