What Was I Thinking!

That wasn't a question, but a statement of disbelief. Well, yesterday I decided to open my kitchen to the kids. My 10 year old niece and 11 and 13 year old cousins came by yesterday to get a cooking lesson. I promised them last week I'd show them how to make a few things. It started off with a lesson in the different types of Latin foods and a history lesson from within our own family tree. My grandfather, their great grandfather was originally from Spain and my grandmother, their great grandmother, was from the Virgin Islands. Somewhere along the line they met, got married, moved to New York and when my grandmother passed and my mother left home to get married (she's the baby of the family), my grandfather moved to Puerto Rico. But I digress.

My grandfather was a tremendous cook and I felt an appropriate lesson for the girls would be a Latin themed menu. I wanted to infuse some of the skills he passed on to me into the lesson and pass them down to the girls. I pulled out cookbooks from various Latin genres (Mexican, Cuban, Spanish, Puerto Rican, South American) to let them see that some dishes can have different variations depending on the region. They immediately fell in love with the variety of colors and "textures" of the foods they saw. They tried to get me to make Paella, but that was not happening. I need to do that alone in an empty kitchen! So we created the menu. Chicken & Rice, Black Beans, Pork & Pineapple Soft Tacos and Cilantro-Lime Rice.

As I chopped and diced I let the girls watch and ask questions. They were itching to do their own chopping but I wouldn't let them. Not just yet. Maybe after a few lessons. But it was so funny to see them say eww and ill at certain things, not sure it would be a good idea to use the ingredients, to watching their faces as the ingredients came together and started evolving into actual dishes to listening to them praises and requests for more after the food was done. The menu was a success. Not undertanding how tired I was, they asked to continue cooking. So I told them we'd make dessert. They didn't want anything fancy, just cupcakes. Easy enough.

What started out as something simple turned into a war zone. There was cocoa powder, sugar and flour all over my kitchen. At one point I moved everything into the dining room and started from scratch. The batters I was attempting to have them make for simple Black & White Cupcakes were a mess. But nothing I can't salvage ALONE. So I went into the pantry and came out with my trusty Pilsbury cake mix boxes! LOL One Devil Foods, the other White. We prepared the mixes and began filling the cupcake foils half white half chocolate and baked the cupcakes. They came out beautifully marbled...well some. The others came our exactly half and half, which was beautiful as well. As we sat and frosted the cupcakes the girls delighted in "their work". In essence it kind of was their work. I let them do the mixing, pouring and now frosting.

What I learned from that was not all kids are the same nor do they learn at the same pace. The one I thought was going to be a mess ended up being an A student and the one I thoguht would be the front runner ended up being a mess! LOL As they left I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief as my body was tired. Then I went into my kitchen and just about had a heart attack. I had a whole kitchen to clean up. I generally clean as I go but with the girls there it was too much going on. I just wanted to get them squared away and out of my kitchen. They really enjoyed themselves and for that I'm glad. Next time I need to have a designated assistant on hand to help with damage control.

Oh, and as far as the batter we tried to make from scratch. Don't worry, I took care of it. I finished them off and stored them in the refrigerator. I'll be making the Black & White today. But don't tell them. I only got one cupcake last night. So these will be all mine!

Til next time. Sphere: Related Content

We're Back!

WOW! It has been a while since we've updated the blog. But we promise we won't stay away so long again.

A lot has happened since we've last blogged. Cynthia and I are moving the business along and things are coming together nicely. We've been in the test kitchen experimenting with different recipes and making sure the work we do puts smiles on people's faces. And by the looks on my husband, my son and Cynthia's son's faces, I think we're on spot.

Last week we had our photo shoot and boy it was fun. We had the photographer in tears he was laughing so hard. We had to do multiple shots to make sure we were getting the shots we needed. No Glamour Shots here. I wanted something a little more edgy and fun. Cynthia just wanted the shots to be decent enough to show to the world. In the end, the photographer won out with a few business shots. You be the judge, and let us know how you think the came out.



Hopefully our hectic schedules will not be as hectic and we can bring you more blog posts more often. Stay tuned for recipes, insights and web clip out takes of some of our online classes. If you are interested in taking a class, contact us for more information. The website is under construction and will be available soon.

Take care.

Adrienne Sphere: Related Content

Pound Cake Thieves!

OK, so last night I decided I wanted to make my Lemon Pound Cake as a test run for Christmas. I haven't made it in over a year, when I sent them as gifts. I figured I'd wait until everyone was asleep or otherwise occupied so I can get in the kitchen uninterrupted. I made my cake, did pretty well from memory too. It came out just the right height and density. So I sat it on the stove top to cool with the intention of glazing it this morning. Well, when you have a man and a growing man-child in the home, it's hard to keep stuff around for long...especially anything resembling a dessert. Look at what I woke up to this morning...

Apparently, my son saw the recipe for the glaze on the counter and took it upon himself to make the glaze, put it on the cake and proceed to cut the cake. Him and his dad...who's supposed to be sick mind you...went to town on my cake. I didn't even get a chance to glaze and take a picture of it before it was cut! *Sigh* So go the hazards of living with cake thieves, pie pillagers and cookie monsters.

This is a really simple recipe. Keep in mind, that while this cake is relatively moist for a pound cake, they are not meant to be as moist as a regular cake, nor is the weight the same. Feel free to adjust or add flavorings as you see fit. You can add almond, chocolate, or any other flavorings as you wish. Just adjust to your taste.

Lemon Pound Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (unsifted)
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter (softened)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 whole eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp lemon extract (or more to suit your taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt style cake pan with Crisco Flour Baking Spray (you can find it on the same shelf with Pam or any other cooking spray. It comes in a light blue can). Or you can butter and flour the pan the old fashioned way. My way is quicker.

In a bowl using a hand blender, cream together butter and sugar until well blended. Add 1 egg at a time beating after each addition until blended. Then add vanilla extract and blend. Then add lemon extract and blend. Do not over blend. Set aside.

In another bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and blend together well. Take the dry ingredient mixture and slowly add it to the butter mixture adding 1/4 of the flour mixture at a time. You do not want to use the blender for this. Use a rubber spatula and incorporate by hand. You don't want to over mix the batter. After all the flour mixture has been mixed well with the butter mixture, add milk. Give it a good stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Next, pour or spoon the batter into the pan. You may want to tap the pan on the counter a few times to get any air out of it. Put it in the oven in the center of the rack and bake for 40 minutes. Take the cake out and test it with a cake tester to make sure it is fully done. I usually pick the center most part of the cake. If the tool comes back clean, it's done. If some batter is on it, let it cook a few more minutes. You can also test by lightly pressing down on the cake with your finger tips (or a butter knife so you don't burn your hands!). When the cake has some spring to it, it's done.

When you take the cake out of the over, turn the pan over onto a cooling rack and remove the cake from the pan. Let the cake cool for about 20-30 minutes. Then glaze (or not glaze) and serve.

Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:

4 tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract
Milk (just enough to make it a smooth consistency)

Combine ingredients in a cup. Blend until well incorporated. Let sit for a bout 2 minutes. Then drizzle slowly onto the cake. Let the cake sit uncovered until the glaze sets. Then serve.

Had my family not destroyed my cake, I would have garnished it to make it more festive. Next time, I'll have to take the cake to bed with me or set a boobie trap. LOL

Til next time.

Adrienne Graham Sphere: Related Content

I'm in Cookie Heaven

Last night I had a sweet tooth. I didn't want to go to the store (not too fond of store bought baked goods). But I was too tired to bake. As I looked around my pantry, I decided I had all the ingredients to make just about any dessert in the world...literally. After some debating back and forth, I decided to go ahead and make my blissfully sinful Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. I wasn't in a chocolate mood. *shrugs* Now you must be thinking, what the heck is so blissful about Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. My hubby and my son always say it's the last cookie people will choose when put up against the likes of Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodles, etc. They don't know what they're talking about.

Ordinarily I follow baking recipes to the letter. But with these cookies, I add a little extra something here and there to make them so blissful. Each person that I've made them for have had their own taste in Oatmeal Cookies. I've made them with diced apple, dried cranberries, dried cherries, even chocolate chips. On some versions I kick up the cinnamon content, in some I add pumpkin pie spice, in some I'll throw in some nutmeg. Sometimes I'll drizzle with icing. It all depends on what I'm feeling that particular day.

I'm sharing the basic recipe with you all today, but I encourage you to try your own version. I love these cookies and eating them warm, fresh out the oven with some ice cold milk makes me feel all giddy inside! LOL

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of light brown sugar (dark brown sugar if you want them sweeter)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda (not powder!)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups Old Fashioned Oats (I use Quaker but you can use a store brand)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup of chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper or you can lightly spray cooking spray directly on the cookie sheet.

In a bowl with an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and brown sugar. Once creamed, slowly add regular sugar. Then add eggs, one at a time until blended. Then add the vanilla extract. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Add this mixture to the bowl with the butter mixture. Add SLOWLY so the flour doesn't end up on your floor! Once combined, slowly add the oats, then the raisins, then the nuts. Now, I generally start blending by hand when I get to the flour mixture so I don't burn out my mixer. Plus doing it by hand allows you to get everything, even the stuff at the bottom of the bowl.

If you're using a standard sized cookie sheet, you should be able to have three rows of 4 cookies each. I usually put a spoonful of batter for each cookie. You can make them as big or as small as you like. The ones in the picture above were a little over a spoonful. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes. Set the timer and remove them exactly at 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on a rack and not on the cookie sheet. Don't worry about how they look. Remember, they continue cooking after you take them out. As they cool, they'll set and crisp up around the edges.
Repeat the process with a new sheet of parchment paper until there is no more cookie dough left.

If you want to save some of the dough, scrape the dough out of the bowl with a rubber spatula and put it directly on plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator or freezer. I would use within 3 days for best result (1 month if you freeze it).

This recipe yielded me 3 dozen cookies.

Adrienne Graham

Sphere: Related Content