A Midsummer Day's Dream . . . Cream Cheese Nectarine Cake with Crumbly Streusel

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Nectarines . . . really fine, really sweet nectarines. Not something one can necessarily count on finding here in Michigan. Usually, though, that doesn't matter. Why? Because typically, in mid-July, we're wallowing in a surplus of glorious local cherries, baking them into this and stirring them into that, not giving those pretty nectarines from out of state a second thought. But late winter weather played holy havoc with Michigan's cherry orchards this year, leaving us with the most pathetic harvest in decades. Trees that would normally be bending under the weight of crimson fruit look instead as if they've been ever so lightly dotted with red.  Just a cherry here, a cherry there. Sorry, folks--forget about "pickin' your own" and keep your fingers crossed for next year.




No home-grown cherries? For born and bred Michiganders that scenario is virtually unheard of. So, nothing left to do but rev up the contingency plans. Time to focus on nectarines instead, nectarines that hail inevitably from elsewhere. A sobering thought, no doubt. Miraculously, though, they're incredibly sweet and more than up to snuff. I've been shocked by their quality, thus I've been munching them the last few days with an unbridled sense of righteous privilege, like a koala in a eucalyptus tree. Don't try to stop me.




About this recipe . . . 


I adapted this from The Grand Central Baking Book, by Piper Davis and Ellen Jackson (I love this book, by the way, and recommend it). I started with their recipe for a cream cheese apple cake, but made some significant tweaks.

First, I reduced the overall size of the recipe by about one third, from one that would produce a large 12" bundt cake down to a reasonably sized 9" round cake made in springform pan. I used a relatively small amount of chopped ripe nectarines, unpeeled, in the batter versus a sizable portion of peeled apples. I added in a modest amount of almond flour/meal (if you can't find it in your usual grocery store, check at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or health food stores), which lends a subtle richness to the texture without adding any overt almond flavor. I upped the amount of vanilla, in fact using vanilla bean paste instead of extract, and I also fiddled with the proportion of cinnamon. 


The addition of a streusel topping worked out well, too; I just threw together flour, sugar, almond flour/meal, cold butter, and a pinch of fine sea salt and went at it with a pastry blender. You can count on a cake that happily straddles the fence between a coffee cake and a not-too-dense pound cake. A great cake overall, even without our beloved Michigan cherries.




Cream Cheese Nectarine Cake with Crumbly Streusel


(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: About 16 slices

For the cake:
2 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened (that's one stick and about 2.5 tablespoons)
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 extra-large ripe nectarine, unpeeled, pitted, and chopped into very small pieces

For the streusel:
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons of cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 pinch fine-grain sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" springform pan.

Make the streusel first:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, almond meal/flour, and all purpose flour. Toss in the butter chunks and combine with a pastry blender or a fork until most of the mixture is in pieces approximately the size of a large pea. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge.

To make the cake batter:

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the flour, almond flour/meal, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until the mixture is fluffy and light in color (beat for at least five minutes and as long as eight). On low speed, add in all of the vanilla, and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Stop and scrape the bowl and paddle periodically.

Still on low speed, add in all of the nectarine pieces, beating just for a few seconds to combine, then add in all of the dry ingredients. Mix only until the flour looks completely incorporated. Scrape all the batter into your greased and floured cake pan. Sprinkle all of the streusel evenly over the top.

Bake the cake on the middle rack of the oven for about 55-65 minutes. You'll know it's done when the top is lightly golden, the sides are just beginning to pull away from the pan, the top of the cake doesn't jiggle at all when you move it, and a toothpick inserted in the center come out mostly dry. Check your cake after about 40 minutes and if it appears to be browning too fast, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top. Let the finished cake cool in its pan on a rack for at least 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides, remove the springform carefully, and let the cake finish cooling on the rack.


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Sweet Potato Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls . . . Let's Hear it for the Surprise Factor!

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There is a small organic-farm stand in the equally small city where I live. It sits on a wide grassy lot between an old-fashioned ice cream shop and an antique store, on what serves as our town's main street. It's only been here for a few months but I really, really hope it's going to become a permanent seasonal fixture. The beautiful produce it sells comes entirely from Michigan farms, most of it not terribly far from the Detroit area, and everything is so exquisitely fresh. They strive to ensure that the produce they sell has been picked within 24 hours of reaching their stand. The items available on any given day are an eclectic mix, so the selection is kind of unpredictable, and that's one of the things I like most about the place--its surprise factor. You never know exactly what's going to be there or, more importantly, what's not.


One day this week, I thought I'd check there for basil and, hopefully, sweet potatoes. I'd seen some remarkable purple-and-reddish sweet potatoes there a couple of weeks before, and they were like no potato I had ever laid eyes on in the past. But they didn't have any at all the day I was planning to make these dinner rolls, so I just ended up buying some fragrant Jonagold apples and ripe tomatoes as my consolation prize.

It's an unequivocal treat to visit this stand, in part because the fruits and vegetables are so artfully arranged without their placement seeming contrived; all emphasis is on the incredibly vivid colors. From dusty crimson beets, to glossy eggplants, to slender carrots with long bushy greens, Peter Rabbit would risk life and limb for this stuff, drop off his loot, and then head back for more. Every time I stop here I wish I had my camera with me. I wonder what they'd do if I just showed up one day and started clicking away like a madwoman.

After purchasing the apples and tomatoes, I spent a few minutes marveling over the remarkable variety of heirloom pumpkins for sale. I had an intense impulse to take home one of everything. Knowing that it's all so fresh and, even more so, knowing that it's all from Michigan, makes this kind of produce irresistible to me. I think I could give Peter Rabbit a run for his money. We would be partners in crime.


About this recipe . . .

I ended up using two standard sweet-potatoes from the grocery store. And, as for the surprise factor, I suggest you serve these and see if people can guess their secret ingredient. My hubby, Andy, only needed to give them a few discerning sniffs before coming up with sweet potatoes as the right answer (he's good that way). He loves these rolls.

I adapted this recipe from one at the Red Star yeast site ("Pumpkin Pull-Apart Pan Rolls") that called for canned pumpkin and pumpkin spice (I omitted both). I figured a recipe from Red Star had to be good and I was about to give it a whirl, unaltered, when inspiration grabbed me. I thought sweet potatoes would likely make the rolls even better, in part because the addition of potatoes in certain bread-dough recipes seems to reliably have that effect. The rolls I ended up with were extremely good, and they seem to have an impressively long shelf life, staying soft and moist for at least two days. The potato flavor is pretty subtle, giving the rolls just a slight sweetness. This would be an excellent bread item to serve on Thanksgiving. The recipe makes 15 rolls in one 9"x13" pan. I froze about two thirds of the baked rolls after they'd cooled, and I defrosted and warmed a few of those last night in the oven on 250 degrees, wrapped loosely in foil. Served them alongside steaming bowls of white-chicken chili. They felt and tasted like they'd just been baked. This one's a definite keeper.


Sweet Potato Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: 15 rolls (One 9"x13" pan)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lukewarm water, or more
2 tablespoons milk, no colder than room temperature
1/4 canola oil
1 cup of baked sweet potato (no skin), mashed, and cooled to room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
unbleached bread flour, approximately four cups (have more on hand, just in case)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used coarse kosher salt.)
1/3 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or use 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)

melted butter, 1/4 cup

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment on the lowest speed, stir together 2 cups of the flour, the salt, brown sugar, and yeast.

In another bowl, stir together the water, milk, oil, and sweet potato. Pour all of it into the dry ingredients. Beat at medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs, and continue beating for about 3 minutes. On lowest speed, slowly add in 1 and 1/2 cups more of the flour. If the dough seems too dry, sprinkle drops of water in a few at a time.

Use part of the remainder of your measured flour to liberally flour your work surface. Flour your hands. Dump the soft dough out onto the floury surface and knead it for at least 5 minutes; you want it to feel smooth, spongy, and elastic (it should feel tacky but not sticky). Add in additional pinches of flour as needed.

Grease, or spray with vegetable spray, a large bowl. Place the dough into the bowl, turning it over once to coat it. Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap that's also been greased/sprayed; cover that with a thin dish towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for up to two hours, or until almost doubled (whichever comes first). One way of telling when the dough is ready is to gently press a finger into it; if your finger leaves an obvious indentation that does not seem to spring back, the dough is ready to move to the next step.

Liberally grease a 9" by 13" pan with vegetable shortening.

Turn the risen dough out onto a very lightly floured surface (it's not a good idea to add much flour into the dough at this point). Have your melted butter close at hand (warm, but not hot). Very lightly flour your hands. Deflate the dough gently but firmly by pressing it with your palms.

Use a bench knife, or very sharp chef's knife, to divide the dough into three equal parts. Then divide each third into five even pieces (15 pieces total). Cover the pieces with the greased plastic wrap and let them rest, not touching each other, for about 12 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and shape each piece of dough into a ball, being careful to seal any seams on the bottom (if you're not quite sure of the best way to do this, here's a helpful tutorial that explains how to successfully shape dough into rounds). Dip the top of each dough ball into the butter. Place each buttered ball into the greased pan, in 3 long rows with 5 dough balls in each short row. Space them evenly, but don't worry if a few of them are almost touching. They will bake together in the oven in any case.

Cover the pan of dough with a piece of sprayed plastic wrap. Lightly cover that with the dish towel and let the dough proof (ie., let it have its final rise) for up to about 90 minutes, or until the dough leaves an impression when pressed with a finger; it won't necessarily looked doubled and that's okay.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

When the dough has risen, bake it on the middle rack of the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Check the rolls after about 18 minutes; if it appears to be browning too quickly, cover the pan loosely with foil. (The inside of the rolls should be about 190 to 200 degrees when they're all done; if you're not sure, poke an instant-read thermometer into one of the biggest rolls in the pan. I routinely do this when I'm not sure if bread is done baking.)  They will be quite golden, and dark golden on the bottom.

Remove them from the pan and let them cool on a rack.


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Parmesan-Cheddar Crackers with Poppy Seeds . . . You Can't Eat Just One!

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There are two very big silver-maple trees in our backyard, one of which always holds onto its leaves for dear life, as if to let them go might be painful.


But the wind that swooshed in last week, compliments of Sandy, stripped most of them off within a day or two. The yard is now cushioned like a feather bed with its leaves. You can hardly spot a patch of grass anywhere.


I know winter is on its way when that stubborn tree is almost bare. The leaves on the ground are so dried out, and so thickly layered, they positively crunch underfoot. It's like walking on a field of  saltines, or maybe thousands of Wheat Thins.

Hey . . . did someone just mention crackers?


About this recipe . . .

Adapted from Gourmet, these babies are addictive. Once your cracker-loving friends and family get samples, they'll keep coming back for more, so anticipate the demand. Make a lot.

What aspects of the recipe did I change? The original formula called for 3 parts white flour and 1 part cornmeal, but I decided to use a combo of mostly white flour, a little rye flour for added flavor, and just a wee smidgen of cornmeal so that mealy aspect would be limited. I also used Parmigiano Reggiano cheese along with some sharp cheddar, instead of using all cheddar, and I added in a couple pinches of dried thyme, well crushed, as well as a dab of garlic powder. And, I upped the baking powder slightly because, gosh, the spirit moved me.

I decided, just for the heck of it, to cut mine out with a scalloped-edge cookie cutter, but feel free to simply cut your rolled-out dough with a pastry wheel if you like, leaving far fewer dough scraps. That would also allow you to avoid transferring your unbaked crackers to another surface, one by one, as I had to do. Bake them long enough, and they'll be quite crispy and dark golden brown around the edges, which is what you want if you're going for maximum crunch.

These crackers smell ferociously good when they're baking, just so you know. (Forewarned is forearmed, theoretically at least.)

Parmesan-Cheddar Crackers with Poppy Seeds

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: Makes approximately 6 dozen crackers

Ingredients:

3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons rye flour
1 tablespoon well-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (I used Holland Blue poppy seeds from Penzey's.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup (half of one stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into very small chunks
1/2 cup well grated parmesan cheese (I used Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.)
1/2 cup well grated sharp or extra-sharp yellow cheddar cheese
4 to 5 tablespoons very cold water

1 egg, large
1 tablespoon water
fine sea salt

In a big bowl, whisk together the white flour, rye flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, and baking powder.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or use your fingertips, until the mixture has lots of small coarse lumps. Add in all of the grated cheese, and mix with a fork. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the cold water evenly over the dry ingredients, and stir with the fork until well distributed. Add in the final tablespoon of water if it still seems really dry.

Dump your dough out onto a clean work surface, and smear the dough away from you a few times to distribute the fat. Now, use a scraper to gather all the dough together again and shape it into a ball. Cut the ball in half. Press each half into a disk about 1" thick, and wrap the halves in plastic wrap. Let them rest in the fridge for an hour or so.



Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Or roll your dough directly onto the paper or onto mats, if you're not using a cookie cutter. See "Or, alternately," in the instructions below).

On a floured piece of parchment or a rolling mat or a pastry cloth, roll out one of your dough disks using a floured rolling pin (leaving the other disk refrigerated while you work with the first disk). Try to roll the dough evenly, so it's no more than 1/8th of an inch thick all over. Cut the dough with small, simply-shaped, cookie cutters of your choice and place the pieces on your prepared baking surface, lifting them with a thin offset spatula. (Or, alternately, roll your dough disk out directly onto the parchment sheet or silicone sheet upon which it will bake, and use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to slice the crackers into rows in both directions.)

Pierce each unbaked cracker with the tines of a fork; this will help the crackers lay flat and keep their shape as they bake.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and the 1 tablespoon of water. Use a pastry brush, or even your index finger, to lightly coat each cracker. This egg wash will make the cracker tops nicely shiny and help them to brown. 
Take a pinch of fine sea salt and sprinkle a tiny bit on each cracker (remember, the cheese in the crackers is pretty salty too, so you don't need much added salt). 


Bake the crackers until they're deeply golden on the bottom and on the edges. This might take  12 to 15 minutes or more. If you want to help ensure crispness, turn the oven off when they're done and let the crackers sit in there for another minute or two. Let the crackers cool on the baking sheets, or if the crackers are on parchment, slide that off onto a cooling rack. Keep the cooled crackers in an airtight container.


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Dead Man's Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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Devil's Food & Dead Man's Peanut Butter Mousse
Slathered in chocolate fudge.
Oh yea. 

We're revisiting my Dead Man's Peanut Butter Pie recipe today, with a few fun tweaks.

Today I found myself wrestling with a familiar peanut butter and chocolate craving.  In such situations I have the following options:

1. Go to the store and buy all the available peanut butter cups. Of course, this isn't much of an option since getting out of the house with two small children and going anywhere requires nearly as much planning and preparation as a mission to Mars.
2. Eat peanut butter from jar with a spoon, dipping it into that 20lb bag of chocolate chips I have. Also not a great option, since with this method of consumption, any semblance of portion control vanishes and I just bought skinny jeans.
3. Bake something with peanut butter and chocolate for the blog, while wearing said skinny jeans and pretend that they will encourage restraint while tasting and testing.

I think we all know how this worked out.




So today we're working with the base of my Dead Man's Peanut Butter Pie, which is actually a relative of my scrumptious cream cheese frosting. We're just adding peanut butter to the cream cheese, whip cream and sugar mixture, so naturally it doubles as a topping for cupcakes too. Though, I like to think of this rich and creamy concoction as more of a peanut butter mousse than a sugary-sweet frosting.

We're also taking a page from hi-hat cupcakes and dipping the peanut butter death into a fudge-y chocolate coating. Though it might seem like you're asking for trouble, inverting a cupcake into molten chocolate, the process actually works like a charm.  If I can do this with a toddler clinging to one leg and a squirming six-month-old hitched under one arm without any frosting falling off, you can too.

So let's get down to it, starting with the cake.


I decided to try a new chocolate cake recipe today. Now, usually when I want a cake recipe or to be inspired, I first look to expert--i.e. baking math oriented--cake makers like Nick Malgieri, Rose Beranbaum, and Susan Purdy. Today however, I'm trying out a new recipe from one of my Thomas Keller cookbooks.

I've had my eye on an interesting cupcake from Ad Hoc at Home. It's not an oil cake or a butter cake, but something a little different. The fats in the recipe come from a generous amount of sour cream and a little melted butter. Since I adore sour cream as a tenderizer in my coffee and pound cakes, I gave it a go and you should too. You'll find the recipe quite simple to make and the texture surprisingly light and moist.

Ad Hoc At Home's Devil's Food Cupcakes
from Ad Hoc At Home
yields 24 cupcakes
1 2/3 cups (188g) cake flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (33g) unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder (dutch processed)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups (330g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F and prep cup cake pans with 24 paper liners.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and sugar into the bowl of your mixer. Stir in the salt and equip the paddle attachment.

In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk and sour cream, whisking until smooth.

In yet another bowl, combine the eggs and melted butter.

Now turn your mixer onto medium low and add your buttermilk mixture to the bowl in thirds, alternating with the egg-butter mixture. Scrape down the bowl, as needed to ensure everything is combined.

Divide the batter into your cupcake cups, filling each cup roughly half full.  Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the pan(s) and bake for another 10 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool completely on wire racks before continuing.

(Cupcakes are best frosted and eaten the same day they are baked but can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

I guess I couldn't be bothered to remove the paper liner
on the other half of the cupcake before photographing it.

 While your cupcakes are baking, get cracking on the peanut butter mousse.

Dead Man's Peanut Butter Mousse Frosting
yields enough to kill anyone
2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream, (recommend 40% ultra)
1/4 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar
12 ounces cream cheese (none of that low fat stuff)
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Beat the heavy cream and sugar together in the bowl of your mixer until stiff peaks form. Scrape the whipped cream into a second mixing bowl and it set aside. Now add the peanut butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar to the mixing bowl (you don't need to wash it) and equip the paddle. Beat the mixture on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Reduce speed to low and add the whipped cream, beating until just blended.

Refrigerate the peanut butter mousse mixture for a couple hours before using.

By then your cupcakes should be baked, cooled and ready to rock.

Grab your peanut butter frosting and fill a piping bag with it. We're not going to go mile-high on the cupcakes, simply because the peanut butter mousse is heavier than that marshmallow stuff typically used on hi hats.  Still we're going to be pretty generous. To frost cupcakes like these, use a bag equipped with a large round tip (believe I'm using an Ateco 804). Hold tip steady just above the center of the cupcake and squeeze a large blob onto the cupcake. Now lift your tip and hold it steady again just above the blob you just piped and pipe a smaller blob. Very technical language, I know. This is why I'll never teach baking.

Once you've blobbed all your cupcakes, place them on a sheet pan and then stash them in your freezer.  They need to freeze for at least 30 minutes, until they're firm to the touch before proceeding to the next step.

Chocolate Glaze
4 cups chocolate chips
1/3 cup canola oil

1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Combine chocolate chips and oil in a large heat safe bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring often until smooth.

Pour this mixture into a narrow vessel, deep enough to accommodate your cupcake and the chocolate.

Now we're ready to get down to business.


After their rest in the freezer you'll find the cupcakes are now very sturdy. I wouldn't juggle them, but they'll certainly survive a dunk into your chocolate.

Slowly dip the cupcake, submerging the top completely in the chocolate. (Try to avoid coating the paper liners as it makes them pesky to peel and eat later.)




Once dunked, quickly remove and set upright. Transfer to the freezer again briefly to set the chocolate coating. 
If desired, sprinkle the freshly dipped cupcakes with chopped peanuts. 

Or just be a little weird and decorate these deadly-delicious cupcakes with little chocolate dead men, white chocolate skulls (piped onto parchment and allowed to set), or whatever other dark ideas you can dream up. 
The cupcakes are best eaten the same day, or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Allow the cupcakes to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. 
Enjoy! They're good. 





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Macarons Framboise - Ladurée's Recipe

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Well I'm back folks!

Not really, but bear with me I'll be back in the groove of things as soon as I'm settled. I really have been busy, juggling some major changes around here. You see, among other things, I'm buying a new house and dealing with all the madness that goes along with that process. It's been a hectic couple of months but hopefully, if everything goes well, I'll be baking future macarons in a brand new oven soon.

No, who am I kidding. The next several weeks will be spent packing and moving an entire household. Maybe replacing a few door knobs too, since our builder decided to go with a design that I can only describe as suitable for your Grandma's cottage--on Mars. Anyway, breaking in my bright and sunny new kitchen with a little baking will happen, I just need to get settled in.

Of course, this means you all have to wait and I just feel terrible about that. Those of you who check in regularly are just terrific and so patient and here I am producing nothing to entertain you. So here is what I'm going to do to make it up to everyone:

I'm going to forget this house craziness for the weekend, bake and give away a very lovely book.

And not just any book, a copy of Laduree's Sucre.



Say it with me now, folks: "Oooooooooh"

If you're not 'Ooohing', I'll assume you've unfamiliar with this cookbook. Sucre is an absolute jewel of a cookbook. The velvety little tome in Laduree's signature sea-green with gleaming gilt pages, wrapped in lavender tissue and nestled in a Laduree box. It is filled with such gorgeous photographs of dainty pastries that you will ache from an excess of sugar and cuteness.

It has a bird on it! Yeah!

Seemingly out of print, Sucre is just about impossible to get ahold of around here--unless you're willing to pay the exorbitant prices set by the very few people who have copies. As much as $999? Seriously. It's a rough market out there for shoppers looking for a copy of this book. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just made some Amazon Marketplace bookseller's boat payment for the month. But, I did what I set out to do months ago, that is actually get a copy of this perpetually-pending-restock book in my hands. So this week I'll be giving away a mint copy, unopened and in the original Laudree gift packaging to one lucky reader. For everyone else, the consolation prize is my decision to buy a second copy for the blog--so everyone will have a chance to see some of these recipes here on NSHP. Sound like fun?

I will note that the cookbook is indeed the English copy of Sucre--no French/English dictionary required--and it includes measurements in both weight AND volume.

So let's break out the book and give my kitchen here one last go before I start boxing up my pots and pans.

I think I know what recipe everyone wants to see too. One of the several Laduree Macaron recipes, right? Which one? Citron? Almond? Framboise? …Chocolate?


How about Framboise! Since it doesn't require me to run to the store. Don't worry though, I'll likely bake others from the book later on.

So this recipe, let's take a moment to talk about the cookbook, the recipe and how it went in my kitchen.

Right off the bat I'm going to warn you this cookbook does not hold your hand. It's very French, handsome and awesome--and you, as it's owner, are expected to be awesome too. At the very least, you're expected to have mastered some basic techniques, as it keeps the instructions succinct.

This recipe is within the general range of points tested during my French macaron madness period (the scatter plot macarons post). The almond flour ratio is towards the higher end, so it does give the cookie a more assertive and appealing almond flavor--especially if you grind your own almonds, as I do--and it is every so slightly less sweet than my own. Nor does it seem prone to large hollows if baked correctly, as every cookie I made was complete. This is all good, but these ratios do have their draw backs (as noted in my original scatterplot tests). The cookies are a bit heavier than my own and don't turn out quite as pretty. This can be considered a reasonable exchange though, as I think they taste a bit better.

24hr matured macarons.
See how the jam filling has absorbed into the once dry almond cookie?
 The cookie shell now gives way with a delicate crackle and the inside is now soft and tart with the flavor of fresh raspberries. 

There is one catch though to these macaron ratios. At the end of the recipe in italics: "It is possible your macarons shells will slightly crack on top for many different reasons….", it then goes on to pat your back and explain that it's okay and you may get it right in time.  It's almost like the author is right there, giving you a hug. Aww.

The recipe does seem to be more crack prone than my own. I had 2 trays that contained 30% burst shells out of 6. My first split shells in years. I'm pretty sure this was my own fault however, due to my oven temperature dropping nearly 50° after my first batch and then my putting new trays in while the oven bottom was hot and re-pre-heating. The back of my oven is also a hot spot and this is where all the burst shells were located. I allowed my subsequent trays of macarons to go into a properly pre-heated oven and everything worked out fine. Still, these cookies may be a bit more touchy when it comes to bursting.

Another somewhat non-issue issue: this is a rather large recipe. It makes a lot of trays of cookies (about 6 half sheets) and it is difficult to handle and bake that many cookies without allowing some of them to rest for ages on the counter. My advice if you're not going to divide the recipe is to pipe the cookies in stages while baking each batch. Avoid piping all the cookies at once. Macaron batter tends to be fairly stable inside of a piping bag, so pipe out trays and limit the resting time to 10-20 minutes. With prolonged resting periods I was seeing stunted foot formation.

Taste vs the real thing? Indeed the macarons shells are very similar in looks, taste and texture to bakeries' own cookies. They're very good.

Okay let's get to the recipe. I'll even throw you by-volume cooks a bone for once and include the measurements in cups for the recipe.


Laduree's Macarons Framboise 
Raspberry Macarons 
From Ladurée's Sucre: The Recipes 
Yields approximately 50-60 1" cookies


Macaron shells 
275g (2 3/4 cups + 1 tbsp) ground almonds (almond flour)
250g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) confectioners (icing) sugar
210g (6 1/2) egg whites (I used fresh egg whites)
210g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) granulated sugar
a few drops red or maroon food coloring gel

Raspberry Jam Filling
225g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
2 tsp powdered pectin
375g (3 cups) french raspberries
1/2 lemon

Start by preparing the Jam. In a large bowl combine the sugar and pectin. In your blender or food processer, puree the fresh raspberries and then pour into a medium sauce pan. Over low heat bring the berries to just barely warm then add the sugar and pectin mixture and the juice from the half lemon. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for two minutes.

Pour the jam into a bowl and cover, allow to cool and then refrigerate until chilled.

(Note: It is perfectly okay to substitute your favorite store-bought or homemade jam to save on time. Pick a jam that is bursting with fresh flavor and isn't too runny.)

To make the macaron cookies. Preheat your oven to 300°F with an oven rack in the lower third (If your cookies tend to burst, move the rack higher. If your cookies tend to brown, move the rack lower).

Combine almond flour and confectioners sugar together in a food processer and blend thoroughly. Sift the mixture through a medium gauge sifter to remove any lumps or large pieces of almond and repeat until fine.

In a large clean dry mixing bowl, beat your egg whites until foamy and then slowly add the granulated sugar beating on medium speed. Once the sugar has disolved, increase speed to medium high and beat until a thick glossy meringue forms. Add the food coloring and beat briefly to combine.

With a large flat rubber spatula, fold one third of your sifted almond/sugar into the egg whites until combined. Repeat, until you've added all the almond mixture. How much mixing beyond incorporation is the tricky part to describe.

If you're used to my most recent macaron recipe, you'll find that this recipe needs a few strokes more mixing. The batter is thicker and packs a lot of air and if you don't deflate it during mixing your shells may have nipples or crack.

My batter could have used a few more turns of the spatula.
 It was still a little thick and piping left the nipples on the cookies seen on the left. A few smacks of the pan on the countertop helped level them before resting and baking.

Pipe your cookies onto parchment or silicone baking mats (I used parchment and a Ateco round #11 tip) and then allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before baking.

Bake one sheet at a time for 15 minutes. To prevent hollows, I recommend snatching one cookie from the oven and breaking it open prior to removing the cookie sheet. If the insides are still overly moist or molten, leave the cookies in the oven for 1-5minutes longer until the insides are set. This will prevent the insides from collapsing during cooling and forming hollows.

Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.

Fill the cookies with a small dollop of jam and then arrange in an air tight container. Refrigerate the cookies for a minimum of 24 hours to mature. Then bring to room temperature and serve.

Enjoy!

---

Okay, so back to this cookbook and how you win it!

Let's do something silly… I have some jellybeans on my nightstand. Take a guess at either the number of jellybeans OR the total weight (in grams) of the jellybeans here in my possession at this very moment--I won't eat any, don't worry--and post below (those who can't post below can email me at notsohumblepieblog@gmail.com). You have until noon (PST) next Sunday to enter, then I will select the winner. (You can leave your email address below, to make it easy to contact you about the book).

The best guess will win the cookbook and ANYONE can guess. In the event of a tie guess, I'll flip a coin or use a random number generator. Yes, even my international readers can participate. I'll ship this book anywhere my local post office allows (Try not to be located at an antarctic research station, okay?). However, I can't be held responsible for any duties, taxes or crazy customs regulations that your country may engage in.

Thanks for being so patient while I settle into my new home!


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48 Hours in a Time Machine

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I'm not sure what the running count is, but I think Klecko has around 212 vacation hours stockpiled.

Hold that thought............

During the last few weeks, a young Polish kid, a young Pollack baker I know, has kinda moved up the ladder at a small retail bakery that specializes in Eastern European fare.

6 days a week this guy heads into work at 2:30 a.m. and bakes rye bread, kolaches, pumpernickel andVienna's.

Some of this product goes into the display case, and another portion goes into a thriving deli like restaurant that feeds the entire NorthEast population of Minneapolis.

Awhile back I offered my services to cross the ocean sometime in December and work with the guy prior to the holiday rush.

Well....this was the week.

Yesterday (Monday) was my first slated shift. I was on the roster for 2:30 a.m.

In my mind, when I agreed to do this, it seemed romantic, to turn back to my youth and return to a the nocturnal lifestyle that has turned the Last American Baker into who he is today.

But Sunday was interesting.

The Twin Cities got it's first snow fall of the year.

Actually, it was more of a minor blizzard.

I never heard the final totals (if you're a local and know.....do a brother a solid and post it at the end of this post) but when I pulled away from my house at 1:30 Monday morning, I felt isolated, as if I were navigating Siberia alone....on a night where there was little or no moon in the sky. 

"You certainly are a dumb a**."

Klecko muttered to his self as he inched along on this voyage of peril.

As I passed through downtown Minneapolis, dump trucks blocked 7th street. I couldn't get through for 12 minutes because small Bob Cat's were loading mountains of snow, located in the middle of the street, into the backs of  dump trucks.

Saints of Warsaw....hear our prayers!

When I finally arrived to work I sat in the parking lot, I was a few minutes early, so I just sat there and soaked everything in.

"You know you can't go home?"

 Klecko was reported to say to himself...

"Every-time you do, you always seem to get disappointed."

LOL....the price one pays for being sensitive I guess.

But truth be told...Klecko might have received salvation from the Lord, but it was me that saved myself, from himself....and the rest of you crazy wrecks when he spent those 2 decades as a baking vampire.

When a person works alone in the middle of the night, it doesn't matter if they are religious or not, every thought that goes through their mind, none of them passes their lips.

Those quiet thoughts leave behind no audible finger prints, instead.....they just flow free, in a lucid fashion, and at such a different pace than people who live amongst the daylight, they actually become part of a long running prayer.

The kid shows up, the parking lot is ice, the wind is freezing and silently the 2 of us slide down the alley and enter the back door.

After crossing the thresh hold, my host darts forward and click-click-click, I hear him flipping light switches from every corner of the iconic destination spot.

Now with the lights on, I can see through the saloon doors into the dining room.

I can see the very tables I sat at as a young-young man.

But now I'm here during "off hours" like a fly on the wall.

I am thrilled.

The kid is focused, but I can see he is still in the process of waking up. He doesn't have the same inspiration that a first timer like me has to keep him amped.

The space is cold.

It is the first "frozen" day of our Minnesota winter, I couldn't have picked a better time to start.

The first day I did 10 1/2 hours. Much of this time was spent shadowing the kid.

Much of the time I spent answering well thought out questions.

The guy didn't mention a single solitary thing about his personal life.

All he wanted, was to talk about baking.

And finally, and most importantly, much of the time was spent building trust in one another.

You might think that sounds weird, or creepy, but it's just fact, if you've ever worked night shift, or even day shift, but your tasks had you secluded from others with the exception of one other, before you can decide to invest in this person....

Usually you just want to become certain that this dude isn't a habitual liar, somebody who is going to bullsh** you throughout your entire shift.

On other occasions, I have been saddled with lazy people, or high maintenance employees that insisted on me coddling and praising everything they did, that they didn't mess up.

I've been chained to drug addicts, I've been chained to strippers.

I've been chained to coke heads, I've been chained to theives.

But this kid....he was simply a baker, a baker who wanted to talk about bread.

When I tell you that a "feeling out" process is mandatory, I say so with a "Matter of Fact" tone.

If you don't share an element of comfort with your baking partner, let's just say it leads to bad baking sessions.

The building was in good shape, but like all old buildings.....the building was old.

In between doughs, I stood in silence, and tried to picture the conversations and experiences that were shared between the Pollacks, Slavs, Bohemians and what not.

The "Kid" impressed me. I had been told by ownership that he had worked in other aspects of the operation, but he "took a shine" to baking.

"Ya think?"

This kid knew every bit as much as I did at his age, and he didn't go to baking school like I did.

Throughout our shift, older women from Paraguay, Ukraine, Russia and who knows what other parts of the world, came filing in.

None of them talked to me at first, I just got the look.

One thing that probably will never change in restaurant/bakeries is that on your first day, most employees will just give you an inquisitive look.

Conversation is seldom merited.

If I were Barack Obama, it wouldn't have been different. It's just a universal law.

The New Guy buys his time.

Next ingredient reps came came to pimp their wares, some of these cats knew me, but none of them asked what I was doing, or why I was there, but I'll bet there's rumors buzzing around Capitol City as we speak.

On day #2, me and the kid were like long tenured work mates.

All the pleasantries and formalities had been dispensed with....and all we talked about was baking.

As the little hand on the clock kept ticking, I knew my 2 day stint was quickly coming to an end.

After my baking companion shook my hand and thanked me, I went into the deli with the concepts owner.

He thanked me several times while he pulled a thick wad out of his windbreaker, but I have to tell you the truth in front of Polish Jesus.

For 2 straight days, while you and yours slept, Danny Klecko had an opportunity to travel back into time and bake with kid who really reminded him of himself.

And Klecko likes himself, so he shoved the cash back at the owner, grabbed a couple pounds of Polish Sausage out of the deli case and steered the bread truck towards home.

Hollywood Soup Prep - Vote for Sheen or Lohan

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Over the years, I've experienced a lot of weekday - days off.

For many people, this would constitute murder, because it breaks into the Eb and Flo of weekends at the cottage, Sunday morning church service, or even a specified block of family time.

Let me tell you L.A.B. Rat's, I have yet to find a person that can take Klecko for 48 hours w/o wanting out for life.

Klecko is wonderful in small doses, like a cartoon before a movie, or Celtic music.......

But if you commit to walking the extended saw dust trail with him...........

So as some of you know, I have been on vacation this week, and on one of those days, I made soup for Sue McGleno.

Actually, I made it for myself, and a few other peeps (more on that at a different date) as well, but whenever I cook at home, I don't make what I want....I make what Sue McGleno likes.

She finds this so unusual, and throughout the years she has alluded that perhaps my willingness to roll over and feed her-her preferences was due to ulterior motives.....

But as the years have passed, she seems to finally be coming around, and realizing that when a person loves cooking, they prefer to cook for others more than themselves.

Can you imagine if you painted Mona Lisa or American Gothic and simply left it in your hallway at home?

What a waste.

So it's a couple of days ago, midweek, midday, and Klecko is in his home kitchen with a mountain of vegetables... 

"She's not going to eat the soup if I don't cut this into microscopic pieces."

Klecko prefers "stew sized" veggies however, maybe because of the texture, or maybe because he's feeling lazy and doesn't want these carrots, beets and onions to be reduced to mush.

CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT-CUT goes Klecko, while a radio, that Sue McGleno left on from when she was getting ready for work that morning is blaring away.........

"And on an interesting note, reports are in the Charlie Sheen sent Lindsay Lohan $100 000 to help her alleviate her tax debt. However, although Lohan's camp took the money, nobody sent Charlie a thank you. He said that he was kind of put off that she couldn't even send him a text."

I set down my Wusthof and thought about this for a second.

"Maybe Charlie shouldn't give money if he's needing a thank you." I thought.

But then I thought some more.

If you know Klecko, and let's say Klecko covers your $142 bar tab.........

He'll want a thank you, maybe even on a billboard LOL.

But perception is a funny word isn't it?

Lindsay could have so easily have sent a simple thanks, and the whole issue would be over, but she didn't.

Who knows, maybe she's thinking...............

"I didn't ask for this, and after all...Charlie just did this to maintain his visibility otherwise.... why does the media even know about this?"

But then Charlies probably thinking......

"Whatever......if she felt slighted......she didn't have to cash the check, did she?"

I have my opinion as to who is right, and who is the D-Bag here, but I will reserve comment.

Afterall, just like making soup....................

I would rather hear your thoughts on the topic.....

OK LAB RAT'S,

WHO IS RIGHT, AND WHO IS WRONG?

The vote starts in 3-2-1

My Dentist's Irish Cream Recipe

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Bailey's Irish Cream, certain to be a culinary staple of any Mick or Pastry Chef.....right?

Well, wouldn't you know that just prior to Thanksgiving (the day before in fact), I was talking to my dental hygienst out in their buisness office where she asked me.....

"Hey Klecko, what kind of pie will your family be eating tomorrow."

I responded.....

"Funny you should ask, Sue McGleno took it upon herself to put herself in charge of pies this year and she got Pumpkin, Chocolate Cream.....and get this, Triple Berry! I asked where is the Apple? And she just rolled her eyes, like I said a swear word in church."

Desi (my dental hygienist) stood there for a second, smirked and then with a full throttle smile decided to support my wife....

Apple, what's wrong with you Danny? Nobody has Apple at Thanksgiving. I'm having Pumpkin and Triple Berry too."

I swear to the Polish Christ......I thought I was dreaming, and God had placed me in the script of some bad sitcom from the 80's.

As I stood there motionless, one of the 10 women from behing the buisness counter asked....

"Danny, why don't you make that Irish Car Bomb Bundt that you demoed at the State Fair?"

This brought back fond memories and I smiled.

Another woman somewhat befuddled by what an Irish Car Bomb was asked for a description.

I was more than happy to comply....

"Irish Car Bombs are a flavor concept that incorperates Guinness Beer, Jameson Whiskey and Bailey's Irish Cream. It's one of the top flavor hits on the internet, and some are bold enough to announce it as this years Red Velvet."

Now the woman (Mari) who asked if i was going to make the Bundt continued questioning me.....

"Do you make your own Irish Cream, or do you just use Bailey's?"

What kind of silliness was this? Bailey's is the ONLY Irish Cream....isn't it?

So now I ask her (Mari), and she also rolls hers eyes as if to say that Bailey's is crap, and only savages use it, but I can't say that because I am at work here in the dental office.

"Wow" I said "I never knew anybody made their own."

Now all the woman behind the counter flashed this look of disdain, as if to say......

"Some kind of baker you are, Thanksgiving at your house must be ghetto."

Mari just shook her head and demanded my e-mail address, the following recipe is sent with compliments from Mari, and all the kids at Metro Dental......

Hi Dan Mari from Metro Dental and I told you I have an Irish Cream recipe. It rocks and is soooooooooooo good! Bailey's Irish Cream 1 3/4 c irish whiskey1 can sweetend condensed milk1 c whipping cream4 eggs ( I use egg beaters)1 tblsp chocolate syrup2 tsp instant coffee1 tsp vanilla extract1/2 tsp almond extract1 tsp coconut extract As I said, put this all in a bowl and use my stick blender to mix this, or you can put it in a blender to mixShake before servingRefrig-keeps for up to 1 month (if it lasts that long) Let me know what you think. This makes the stuff in the bottle taste bad. You'll never drink it again. Mari

Santa's Irish Pudding Recipe

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Yeterday, my TV was blaring away like it pretty much does everyday....around the clock.

Sue McGleno hates this, because she prefers "quiet moments."

However, continous television isn't the worst of it for her, what she really hates is my ability to watch the same movies over and over, and over and over...........

AMC is such a great cable station because they are custom fit for lab mice such as myself.

I haven't kept count, but I'll bet that 10 of the last 12 nights they've played back to back showings of Miracle on 34th Street.

First they run the black and white version, and when that's over they rotate to the colorized.

Sue McGleno has been more than annoyed by this, but with that said......

Klecko prides himself on being a problem solver and has found a partial solution to this.

One of Sue McGleno's favorite moment's in Hollywood's Cinematic history is when Natalie Wood (Little Susan Walker) goes down to talk with Santa Claus.

She is skeptical because her mother has preached the virtues of practicality. There simply is no way such a wonderful person can exisist in the world that her mother has painted for her.....

So now her mom sees her and pulls her away from Santa's throne and begins to yell at her love interest for taking her over there, and while this confrontation takes place....little Susan Walker peeks out the door and spys on Santa once more.

"Sue McGleno, hurry up.....you favorite moment is about to happen."

CLOMP-CLOMP-CLOMP.....Sue McGleno slams her little feet to let me know that shes participating, but under protest.

The only thing a woman hates is when they know that a man has discovered their kryptonite.

And with my Sue McGleno, her 2 weaknesses are chocolate cake and the following scene........

So like I said, Natalie Wood is spying out on Santa, and a woman and young girl  who have been waiting in the Macy's line for hours finally get their turn to approach Santa.

The mom syas something like........

"Good morning Santa this is my daughter from Rotterdam Holland. I have just adopted her, and I told her that you wouldn't be able to understand her request since you don't speak Dutch."

Then Santa stops......smiles and starts talking Dutch to the little girl whose eyes light up and shoot beams of joy over in Sue McGleno's direction.

Although I know what will proceed, I am always kinda surprised knowing that my wife is tough and holds her emotions closer to herself than a Friday night poker hand.

But then it happens........

Santa and the Dutch Girl move from discussion, to laughter.....and then finally into song.

Are those tears welling up in Sue McGleno's eyes?

And when Santa and the little Dutch girl start singing, he embraces her, pulling her close to him in such an innocent yet intimate way.....Sue McGleno falls apart.

Sometimes I think if the world could just experience the safety and understanding that - that little Dutch girl got to experience for those few short minutes, we'd be a much better palanet.

"Sue McGleno" I asked "What is it about that scene that moves you so?"

She stops for a second, and I can hear little hampster wheels roaring in her mind as she responds.

"I've always pictured Santa as American, not that he is. I think he originated in Germany right? But thats not even relevent. I have him pegged as American, so when he steps out of his mold and then is able to cure somebody that has no hope. In Dutch..... Can you get any better than that?"

Anyways, that lengthy digression, basically is the build up to the recipe portion of this Blog post.

I have this friend Billy D.

Billy D is lives in my neighborhood, and I see him often on Saturday mornings at my coffee house of choice.

Everbodyy want's to be friends with Billy D because he has a commercial kitchen set up in his house.

And in that kitchen he has been known to pour cocktail and make sausages.

When I say sausages, I mean every style, flavor and version that exsists in God's Kingdom.

For years I have been enjoying the spoils of his work.

That's why I found it odd when he asked me recently if I ever made Irish Christmas Pudding.

I know just yesterday I posted about the dental chick and Irish cream, but you have to remember.....

Capitol City is a city full of Micks (I being one of them.)

So anyways, I have yet to try this, but if Billy D says it's good, I trust him.

BTW....before I go, one last factoid on Miracle on 34th Street.

Did you know that Robert Shaw, the dude who played the captain in Jaws was the Taxi Driver in this film, and they didn't even list him on the credits?

Anyways....here it is in 3-2-1 and action.......

Yo, ....here is that recipe I talked about... from the Beginish Restaurant in Dingle Ireland.

• 8 ounces dates, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups packed)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter parchment. Place chopped dates in small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over dates and let cool, about 1 hour.
Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl to blend. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half of flour and beat to blend. Add remaining 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Add remaining flour and beat until blended. Combine instant coffee and baking soda in small bowl. Pour into date mixture, stirring to dissolve coffee granules. Add date mixture to batter and beat to blend. Pour batter into prepared pan. Place on rimmed baking sheet and bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Cool pudding until just warm. Unmold; sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream and Caramel Sauce.

Carmel Sauce:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Bring cream, brown sugar and butter to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer sauce until reduced to 1 3/4 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Before using, rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring frequently.)

Jane Goodall, Food and Hope

To contact us Click HERE

 L.A.B. Rats -

We've made it 12 more months huh?

 The Last American Baker has a new Mantra for this year....

DAMAGED BUT OPTIMISTIC

As we embark on a new year of love, service and culinary trends, let's try to do so with a heart that doesn't recoil from hope.

Let's become bullet proof.

Other than the Polish Christ, I can't think of anyone greater to get you where you might like to be than the monkey chick herself....................

 One-on-One with Jane Goodall

BY Michael Kaminer
Nearly 50 years after she first joined legendary anthropologist Louis Leakey to study chimps in Africa, Jane Goodall, PhD, remains a force of nature herself. As leader of the international Jane Goodall Institute (janegoodall.org)—which she founded in 1977 to protect primates and their habitats—she travels the world teaching about the interconnectedness of all life and how we can help overcome ecological crises. Her 17th book, Hope for Animals and Their World, offers a renewed optimism about animals, humans, and our future together. VT caught up with Goodall, 75, a longtime vegetarian, at her family home in Bournemouth, England.

Q: You write about “symbols of hope” you’ve collected— a leaf, a feather, tree bark. What symbols can we find in our own backyards?

A: A symbol of hope could be a little plant coming up through concrete. You can treasure a child who’s survived cancer. There are all kinds of symbols.

Q: What changes can we make in our own lives to perpetuate the arc of hope you write about?

A: The most important thing is changing the meat diet. And eat organic as much as possible. Buy locally grown foods. Boosting small farmers and family farms is incredibly important.

Q: During your travels, you must have sampled some exotic vegetarian dishes. Can you recall your favorite?

A: There is one I loved best. I was literally in the middle of nowhere, in a forest in the northern Republic of Congo, visiting people studying chimps. We were out one evening in the forest with pygmy trackers. They picked these orange mushrooms, along with a large leaf from a low-lying plant—I have no idea of its name. They cooked them together; the leaves made a kind of broth. It was absolutely delicious, and the vibrant orange and green colors were so beautiful. And it was definitely vegetarian.

THE END

Alright friends, the Queen of the jungle is getting you out of the gate with hope.

After spending time with you cats for the last couple of years, I've learned a few things......

One is that you guys really are damaged......LOL, I shouldn't laugh, but let's face it....

How can we not be?

This year I will turning 50, so to think that I came off God's production line a 1/2 century ago, and don't have a fair share of dents, rust and maybe even a broken axle would be insane.

But damaged isn't so bad.

Damaged doesn't have to be the end.

Damaged might even lead to insight........

As long as we remain optimistic.

Jane Goodall spoke here about how we can heal, or move forward with food.

I hope each of us will take that challenge this year.

 Don't you love how Jane discusses "Symbols of Hope"?

And she isn't doing this with expensive art, tattoo's, materialism or flighty intellectual concepts.

Instead she is plucking God's creations from her own back yard.

L.A.B. Rats.....WAKE UP!!!!!!

Each and everyone of you.

Each and everyone of you.

Each and everyone of you..................

Has the power to have incredible impact on YOUR world.

All you need to do is serve your community...........

All you need to do is feed your friends.................

All you need to do is gather the dishes, embrace those that are important to you while they have a full stomach, make certain you tell them how much you love them.

Our lives and successes are as simple as that.

Remember, the people that will surround you this year.....each and everyone of them will be damaged.

Let's try to give them a reason to be optimistic.

Your contribution will make this planet a better place.

I love most of you...........................

The Last American Baker  

Christmas Snapshots

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Hey guys!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and a lovely holiday season. For me, this year was actually a pretty unique one, with lots of surprisingly crafty and cooking-y bursts of activity. Thanks to a bout of a sinus infection earlier in December I really hadn’t been feeling in the Christmas spirit, which made me all the more pleasantly surprised by how nicely things turned out.

After the initial rush of helping pick out presents and wrapping ‘em all up, my real Christmas-y activities began a few days before Christmas with my cousin’s graduation. Getting to drive all over Houston and see the pretty decorations out and about really helped make the season feel special again.






After recuperating a bit from that (it was great to see all those relatives, but the ceremony was huge), we spent Christmas Eve with one set of grandparents and that whole side of the family. Like I mentioned earlier, I hadn’t been planning on getting too involved with any holiday projects this year but inevitably I got bit by the Yuletide bug the day before and ended up making two really simple, but seriously yummy dishes, the first one being a ranch dressing cheese ball topped with toasted pecans…


…and the second being some quick little gingerbread cookies topped with white chocolate Hershey kisses (a.k.a. “Hugs”). They were both big hits—my own immediate family and I liked the cheese ball the best while my dad’s family devoured the cookies.


Christmas Day itself was nice and quiet, thanks to some early planning on my mom’s part as well as our family consensus to not worry about wrapping presents. For the former, my mom introduced the fantastic new tradition of Japanese food for Christmas. While the traditional Texan fare for the holidays tends to be either the regular turkey route or the tastier tamale route, Japanese food really piqued our interest and sounded like just what we were in the mood to eat. So, we grabbed a big spread of takeout goodies from our favorite Japanese restaurant on Christmas Eve and simply reheated it all for Christmas Day—best idea ever.





The latter part of what made Christmas Day so delightful—not worrying about wrapping presents—really took the stress off of everyone after what had already been a busy month leading up to Christmas. It was actually a nice mixture of wrapped and unwrapped gifts, though, since everyone still had a present or two that they were really excited to give to someone else, thus necessitating the most festive presentation possible. For instance, I was hilariously excited to give my mom this set of bling-ed out insulated tumblers, since she loves her un-blingy versions of them and uses them all the time. Not to mention that she has quite the affinity for all things that sparkle.


They’re actually kind of hypnotizing.

As for me, I can definitely tell you my favorite gift I got this year. After using my Dad’s old Nikon 50 mm lens (which to its credit has endured beautifully over the years) for over a year now, I got my own new lens this year. Thanks to it’s autofocus and light metering capabilities, it’ll be a lot easier to pass my camera off to someone else so I can actually be in a photo or two without having to teach manual focus on the spot, as well as spend a lot less time trying to guess and check my shutter speed/aperture combination. Not to mention that it came with a lens hood, which I always see attached to the cameras of my favorite food bloggers. Having one of my own makes me feel all fancy.


Just revisiting the events of the past week in this blog post has helped me to appreciate once again all the unexpected, lovely things that seem to come about especially at Christmastime. Even if there were a few rocky moments getting there, I find myself feeling very pleased with how things turned out. Especially when it comes to the joy of finding a new cheese ball recipe.

I know you thought I was going to say something about love and family and all that jazz, but you underestimate how much I love cheese.

What did you love about your Christmas?