Archive | January, 2009

January DB: Light and Easy Tuiles

Compared to last month, this month’s DBers challenge was a breeze. Hands down I will be making these again. Possibly in cigar format with mousse in the middle.

MmmMMmm

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I made these tuiles for some friends and tried my hand at making a sweet little star cup. While the plastic placemat worked perfectly as a pattern, the original star pattern I made was just a little too detailed for the recipe. Now I know what to do next time. Not only was the tuile just downright tasty, the ice cream complimented it nicely.

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Tuile Recipe:

Yields: 20 small butterflies/6 large (butterflies are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)
½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 350ºF

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake butterflies in a preheated oven (350ºF) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven’t tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….

This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.
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It’s just a one-time thing. BLERG.

The first night on Christmas vacation, sister-in-law, Brooke had Penelope dialed in. The whole week we were there they were two peas in a pod. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have the camera rolling for Penelope’s laugh attack.

Contagious, isn’t it? My cheeks hurt terribly from smiling and laughing while editing the video. Maybe I should just play this thing every time Penelope gets on my nerves? Also, we can’t seem to replicate this level of laughter even though we try and try. Brooke, can you teach us your secrets?!?

penelopesunglasses

I just wanted to announce that Penelope is now 9 months old. Here are her milestones, Penelope can:

  • Pull herself to stand
  • Bounce really high in her bouncy swing
  • Say ma ma and da da and boo and ga
  • gurgle
  • blow raspberries
  • occasionally wave
  • maintain a completely straight face while complete strangers try to make her smile [and go to great efforts to do so]
  • eat all solid food in sight pretty much without a bib
  • call family members from my cell phone
  • cry and throw a whirlwind of a temper tantrum [wonder where she gets that from?]

penelope9mo

Penelope’s doctor’s visit went really well on Friday. She’s growing spectacularly. Here are her stats:

  • Height: 85th percentile [up from 73% ]
  • Weight: 83rd percentile [down from 90% ]
  • Head: 99th percentile [up from 95%]

While we’ve had a rough couple of weeks [it wasn't all bad], she still is my favorite. Chris’s favorite, too. I love you Nells Bells.

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Crazy Cat

Nothing spices up oven-fried catfish like a deformed lemon. Chris and I make sure to pick all of the weird ones from our tree first, mostly because they’re the tastier ones.

catfish and deformed lemon

A couple of nights ago I made catfish fish sticks from a recipe I found online titled Fishsticks in a Flash. Of course I’m going to make them. If it’s made of few ingredients and takes less than a half hour, I’m all over it. The fish sticks took 20 minutes. BONUS. They tasted just like the large cat we always order at Jonathan’s Fish & Chips. DOUBLE BONUS. And Chris couldn’t stop talking about it. TRIPLE BONUS.

Penelope even had a taste. She was mad we didn’t give her more.

Fish Sticks in a Flash

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets, cut into 1-in thick strips

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F.
2. Lightly oil or coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
3. Combine the cornmeal, cheese, garlic powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix well.
4. Place the oil in a small bowl. Lightly coat each piece of fish in the oil and then roll in the breading until well coated.
5. Arrange the fish on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

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A Hostage Situation

hostage dolphin

Dear Vivian,

If you ever want to see your dear dolphin (or platypus?) ever again; meet me at the park tomorrow at noon with my mom’s green plates. OR ELSE!!

Penelope the Destroyer

Vivian’s Response:

picture-12

Update: Dolphin and green plates were returned to rightful owners. No harm or incident occurred at the park.

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Creating New Neural Pathways

I’m definitely a monkey see, monkey do-type person and unfortunately Christmas break wasn’t long enough for me to glean from my mother-in-law’s mad knitting/crocheting skills. Fortunately, the books she gave me teach to the lowest common denominator.

crochet washcloth

Here’s my first attempt at making something functional. A washcloth. Maybe I’ll make a uniform square next time.

I’ve really enjoyed learning something new, and while crocheting is new to me, it somehow reminds me of elementary school where my friend, Michelle, and I would sit at recess making scarves and bags from a square loom. I hope I’m not that awkward anymore. Thanks, Michelle, for staying my friend through all my weirdness. Oh gosh… remember SNEILAs? Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Who knew washcloths could be so embarrassing?!?

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