My Baking Adventures

Greetings! Just arrived in fantabulous Los Angeles for a much needed break from Vegas. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and was desperate for a change of scenery.

Every time I return to my former stomping grounds, I am always amazed at the vivid colors of the city. Vegas only comes in one shade - brown. But here, everything is in bloom, and it pops at you in technicolor.

Tomorrow I’ll have my TWD post, but now we are off to the beach - we have got to get some moisture and humidity into our skin!

I am so excited! Sabrina is taking her first Wilton class today - and after she finishes Course 1, she and I can move onto Course 2.

I took Course 1 about 7 years ago, way back when we lived in New York. I have always wanted to finish the entire session but haven’t been able to - you know, life and stuff happens.

Now for the first class, she won’t be doing any actual decorating, but she’ll get her little caddy. Next week is when the real fun begins!

Stay tuned!

Note to self: when the kids want Chocolate Chip Pancakes, DON’T give them the bag and think that the chips will automatically make it to the pancakes:

BUSTED! Can you say - deer in the headlights?

This weeks choice of recipe comes from my children, Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking With The Kids. They chose Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread, and may I say, what an excellent selection!

We all love cornbread, and the addition of spicy peppers and cheese just pushes it over the top. It was moist, flavorful and a great addition to the chili that Alexander had made. It was also great the next day, toasted and served with a salad. This would be outstanding with barbecued ribs for a summer cookout. Thanks, kids!

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread - Ina Garten

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups milk
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan
8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided
1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions
3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don’t overmix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Now, some of you *Susan* find this hard to believe, but I actually killed a mint plant. *silence*

I cut it back about a month ago, and I thought it would regenerate itself, since mint is known to do that.

Well, I guess it did, but then……………. the Vegas heat came and killed it for good.

So when I read all the blogs out there, and everyone talks about how they walk into their backyard and have all this fresh, non-contaminated produce and herbs, well, just have a little pity party for me. Really.

I had an epiphany tonight (I didn’t make a mess, did I?).

The kids made chocolate ice cream - and I learned a valuable lesson.

1. When the recipe calls for cream, use it. I’ve tried to use whole milk but I’m pretty sure this is why the consistency is never right. (duh!)

2. Sweetened condensed milk shows up in quite a few recipes - and now I know why. It sweetens the mixture but you don’t get the grittiness from adding regular sugar - especially if you aren’t cooking the base.

3. You don’t need eggs to get super creamy ice cream.

Ok, so it was more than one lesson. By far, this ice cream was the best I’ve ever made. Even David said it tasted like chocolate mousse. Well, thanks again to Dianne - she is having Ice Cream Week on her blog and you can bet I’ll be there every day staking out new recipes!

If you want to see what the kids have been up to, head on over to Cooking with the Kids - Alexander has been cooking up a storm!

Yeah, yeah, I know - it’s corny. But I made the cutest little pies for this weeks TWD, chosen by Amy of South in Your Mouth. The recipe is actually Double Crusted Blueberry Pie, but since mine were more like turnovers, I’ve decided to call them “pie-ettes”. The dough was a snap, the filling was easy, and the execution? Flawless.

Ha! Look at them - a little herd!

To give you a size reference, that’s a salad fork the pie is sitting on:

Just look at that crust! I haven’t seen such flakiness since my last visit to L.A.!

I even filled one of the rounds with chocolate chips, and gave it to the kids. Before I could ask how it was, it was gone!

The only change I made was to use all butter for the crust, since shortening gives me the heebee-jeebees. And, I made the pie dough by hand, using the old fashioned pastry cutter. Wow, what a revelation that’s been!

A winner all around! For the recipe, you’ll have to buy the book, which is on sale at amazon.com, with free super saver shipping!

It’s that time again - the Cookie Carnival is here! The always lovely Kate chose Blackberry Almond Bars for this months’ Cookie Carnival. And she made special note in her email that tinkering with the recipe is allowed. Now I’m SURE she wasn’t talking about me. I never always change things around.

But this recipe was special to me. I actually made the blackberry curd myself! No, I mean I really did! My evil twin suggested using store bought blackberry jam, but honesty and integrity prevailed - and I had blackberries in the fridge that were so tart they were almost inedible. So I introduced them to the mini-prep, strained them, and cooked the puree with eggs, sugar and butter. I could have taken a bath in that mixture. It was smoooooooth. Just say it in your best Barry White impression and you’ll know what I mean.

Now Kate, the ONLY change I made **drum roll please**………………….was to omit the almonds in the crust. I had meant to put lemon zest in but I got distracted and forgot.

These are really good - all the powdered sugar on top makes the blackberries less tart, and the shortbread crust is always a bonus!

Yes, I know it’s not Tuesday……….but I made these biscuits over a week ago and realized that I never posted them! Like many of the TWD members, I am trying to catch up with the recipes that were made before I joined. What’s funny is that I’ve made quite a few of the recipes in the book that haven’t been chosen yet. But I’ve got 2 years before it’s my turn to select a recipe! Wow, that seems really far away………………

Back to the biscuits. I made them as per the recipe, just left out the pecans. They are very good, with the brown sugar adding quite a bit of flavor. We’re not big biscuit eaters (don’t let the dogs hear that!), so I can’t say I’ll make them again. But I’m glad I tried. These would be good split in half, filled with whipped cream and fruit. Hey - now I know what to do with the biscuits in the freezer!