Spork or Foon?

Happy Halloween!

I just want to wish you a very happy halloween and also show off you my Chucky Pumpkin. I carved this for a pumpkin carving contest in my building at work. With the insides, I made spiced pumpkin seeds with cumin, garam masala, ras el hanout, salt and cayenne pepper, a caramel topped pumpkin cheesecake, and a pumpkin pie. I've never had pumpkin pie before (does that mean that I can't call myself an American?) I'll post recipes and crappy pics later (because really, my pics are truly crappy).

Not to toot my own horn here, but if I don't win then this contest is fixed! Fixed, I tell you! This almost looks as good as my werewolf cupcakes! :)

Hi. I'm Chucky. Wanna Play?

And since this might be the cutest thing I have ever seen, I have to post it (although it has nothing to do with food).

I mean come on!!!!

TWD: Dragons and the Female Anatomy

This is supposed to be a werewolf!

This week, Clara at I <3 Food For Thought gave us a fun Halloween pick, Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes, which we were free to decorate as we pleased. I just bough Hello! Cupcake and thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to make these awesome little werewolves.

However, I am impatient and didn't want to buy Fruit by the Foot for the tongue, didn't feel like making my own pastry bag with a ziplock bag and 359 layers of scotch tape, and waited until the last minute to make these. 

Therefore, my cupcake looked like a dragon with boobs.

Also, my CRAPPY camera makes it look like I glossed these over with some type of gunk (gunk!). 

You need to check out Clara's page. She's got a cute little setting with a variety of Halloween characters. I know if I weren't so hasty, my cupcakes would have looked nice and pretty. This icing was a bit too soft to ice according to the directions in Hello Cupcake (they just have you take store bought icing - in the words of Cher Horowitz: "AS IF!" - and pipe it onto the cupcake) so I can understand why it flopped. But it still looks like a dragon with boobs.

As for the cupcake, I'm not sure how I felt about it.   I shortened the baking time, and they were very light and fluffy. But I will forever compare chocolate cupcakes with Magnolia Bakery, because there is this really strong cocoa flavor to their cupcakes that is just to die for.  Dorie's were pretty good, but I don't think it will be my go-to cupcake recipe.  Plus, this cupcake really can't compare to that of Georgetown Cupcake (DC) or Magnolia Bakery (NYC). What are their secrets?!

OK, seriously, I can't get over this. It looks like some rabid chihuahua that is frothing at the mouth because it is choking on an M & M. Ugh. Patience is truly a virtue, no?

Check out TWD for some more delicious cupcakes!

TWD: No TWD.

So sick. So, so sick. Love you TWD. Look here. Pumpkin Muffins. See you next week (I hope).

Click the picture to read what it says. I love these cards.  Via Bald Guy Greetings

Oooh Baby Do You Know What That's Worth?

French Toast makes heaven a place on earth.

 

I have two weaknesses in life. Tasti-d-Lite frozen yogurt and french toast. I can't say no to either one. Ever.

 

So when I made my Pumpkin Challaaaaaaaaah, all I could think about was making some amazing french toast for days and days on end.

Pumpkin French Toast with walnuts!   I added some more fall spices to the egg mixture for the french toast to boost up the spiced flavor a bit (since I felt like the spiced flavor of the challah was not that strong) and went straight to heaven!

 

They say in heaven, love comes first, challah makes heaven a place on earth. Ahhhhh-men.

(Notes: For the egg mixture, I used one egg, 1 tbsp milk, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. But you can use any flavor you like. Nutmeg or allspice would be a nice addition as well!)

Pumpkin Challaaaaaaaaaah!

In college, my roommates and I would always yell out "Challaaaaaaaaaaaah!" (Like, Holla! but with the "ch" sound).  I graduated college in 2003 and to this day, I still do that.

Since I would like to impress my future in-laws (who are Jewish), I made some pumpkin Challah like a good little shiksa would. Sure, they live 250 miles away right now, but my boyfriend was with his parents whilst this was cooking up in the oven. I used my trusty little iPhone and sent him a photo of the finished results, titling the photo "Pumpkin Challaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"  His parents were very impressed, yet did not get my use of the word. You can't win them all. But they were impressed and thought it was sweet that I don't know what challah is supposed to taste like (seriously). 

Braiding this was a bit difficult. For some reason, I forgot how to braid. I kept having to put the loaf down and practice on my own hair. I almost held the strands up to my head to work them that way, but I used my better judgement for the sake of the loaf --- and not having my hair filled with flour.

This recipe was courtesy of Martha Stewart. The loaf smelled wonderfully of pumpkin (does that sentence make sense? It does in my mind.) but did not taste that strongly of pumpkin (again???). Next time, I'll definitely be a bit more liberal on those fall spices. 

Now, I've got two huge loafs of challah and need to make lots of French toast and bread pudding. Woe is me, right? :)

Pumpkin Challah Courtesy of Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS

Makes 2 loaves.

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, (1 1/2 packages)
• 1 cup warm water (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
• 3/4 cup egg yolks, (11 to 12 large eggs), plus 1 large egg yolk for glaze
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more for bowl
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 cups homemade Pumpkin Puree, or one 15-ounce can
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
•   

• DIRECTIONS

  1. Proof the yeast: Place 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl, and sprinkle yeast over it. Stir to combine, and let sit until mixture becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup warm water. In a medium bowl, combine salt, canola oil, honey, pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Replace paddle attachment with dough-hook attachment, and add the pumpkin mixture to the mixer bowl; combine. Add the yeast mixture, stirring until combined.
  3. Slowly add flour, 1 cup at a time, until all the flour is incorporated into dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough, and then form it into two 8-inch loaves. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  5. While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 350º. Mix remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze, and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, and serve.
    

TWD: The Best Damn Biscotti Period.

I would just like to profess my gratitude to Gretchen from Canela et Comino for picking these biscotti. They never jumped out at me from the book, and if I were going through this book myself, I may have never made them. What a mistake that would have been.

I usually have great willpower when making these Dorie treats. But not with this one. I ate so much of this dough. So. Much. I may have been able to make a third log with all of the dough that I ate. But I never count dough as actually eating calories, because really, it's not considered food. Right? Anyone?

Then, when they came out of the oven, I ate all of the small end pieces while they were still hot.

Then, I decided to take it up a notch and dip the ends in bittersweet chocolate and sprinkle some more almonds on top. 

I had two of those (but broken up over a period of 4 hours, so the calories didn't feel as bad).

Hard on the outside, soft on the inside, covered in bittersweet chocolate, the almond flavor lingering on your tongue....

Snap out of it!

I had to get these out of my house.  I brought them to work. I had one half of one that had broken (I mean, the poor thing was just lying there helpless. I had to eat it). People loved them. I mean, seriously loved. I had three people tell me they were the best biscotti they had ever eaten.  My colleagues were taking them two and three at a time and stashing them in their drawers.

Was there crack in these cookies that nobody told me about? Because I'm tweaking for more biscotti.

Check out TWD for more biscotti brilliance!  

Ice... on the rocks.

"Nordic Rock is mined from ancient Swedish pollution-free base rock. It is the purest way of cooling your drink - literally 'on the rocks'. Stone does not melt, which means no unclean water in your glass. They are also reusable making them very eco-friendly."

I can't get around the fact that these look like they would make my drink taste like a cavity filling.

Source

TWD: Well Slap My A*s and Call Me Suzie

Or is it Sally?

First thing is first. My camera cable was returned to me in one piece. I took the advice of many fellow TWDers and threatened those elves with my new favorite weapon - my creme brulee torch.  They spoke and they spoke fast.  

My camera cord was in the glove compartment of my car.

???

I don't know how it got there, either. Not only do I have a penchant for burning myself, cutting myself, or splattering my body with scorching hot oil as if I should bathe in it, but I lose things very easily. I have a problem.

But back to spanking and calling people names. Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy chose Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake. These are DECADENT. Sure, I don't know what the title has to do with decadent cakes, but they are so good that that is the first thought that crossed my mind when I took a bite.

The caramel took much longer to make than Dorie suggested. The recipe says 10-15 minutes. I think I waited 3 1/2 hours for mine to color. Maybe it was closer to 22 minutes, but it felt like 3 1/2 hours.  I stared at that boiling concoction of sugar, water and corn syrup and willed it with all my might to turn amber. I wouldn't turn away in fear that I would return to black liquid. It was like watching paint dry. Now, when something feels unbearably long, I will say "It's like watching a simple syrup turn into caramel." It may not make sense, but us foodies will know what it means. We're like the cool kids.

I wanted to make these into cupcakes, and I took Dorie's advice by using the extra caramel and adding some more heavy cream to make a rich and creamy filling to the cupcake. I cut a cone out of the inside of the cupcake and filled it with a spoonful of the caramel, and topped it back with the brownie piece that I cut off. You can't see it in a finished picture, but oh is it there.  Here is an example of the filled cupcake.

I only found one problem.  The batter is so good. I ate a lot of it. The caramel with the nuts is so good. I ate a lot of it.  By the time I put the two together, I wanted to vomit. Appetizing, I know. I am actually contemplating a trip to the gym, and it is 11:30 at night. I actually feel caramel finding its way into pockets of my body and making a permanent home there. 

These are very impressive, though. There are definitely going to be some happy people at work tomorrow. 

Check out TWD or more gooey, gloppy goodness!

OH! It's slap my a*s and call me CHARLIE!!! 

Who is Charlie?

Here are photos of my little creme brulee tarts from last week.

When Life Hands You a Lemon

Pound the crap out of it until you get some lemonade.

Source

Zoom Lense Coffee Mug

At least if I have to deal with camera woes, I can calm my nerves while drinking out of the lense of my dream camera.

Source