January 9

boy January is bleak isn't it? The good news is, sausage is on sale down at the Sunflower Market!

here are the photos. promise this will be the last week of junky cell phone photos, justin is going to teach me to use his fancy pants camera. i didn't get to make quite all of the things i wanted to this week because i started my job. pre school kids! they are fun but they are tiring! also seem to have had a cold. bleak bleak bleak!


brown sugar cinnamon french toast breakfast

12 slices of old bread (mine was a cinnamon raisin variety mm)
1/4 c flour (i used whole wheat for thickness)
1 c milk
Pinch salt
3 eggs
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
1 T brown sugar

Sift flour into mixing bowl. Whisk in milk until blended without lumps. Whisk in salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar. Heat up a pan medium to high, grease lightly. Saturate bread slices in mixture, then cook each side until golden brown.


quichey!


quichey part deux

Quiche Lorraine (from The Hows and Whys of French Cooking by Alma Lach)

For the crust (Pate Brisee):

2 c sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 c sifted cake flour
1/2 t salt
1 t sugar
3/4 c butter
1 egg
ice water

1. Sift together flours, salt, and sugar. Put into large mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center. Add butter and cut into flour with a pastry blender, mixer, or your fingers. Blend in the egg, and sufficient water to make a firm dough.
2. Once dough is made, do not knead it, but, with the heel of your hand, push the dough out, little bits at a time, away from you. Do this twice, and then shape into a ball, wrap in foil, and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. Sufficient for 2 pie shells.

For the filling:
2 large onions, sliced
butter
6 slices bacon
2 t corn starch
1/2 t salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg
1 c cream
1 c milk
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 lb sliced gruyere or swiss cheese

1. Saute onions in a chunk of butter for 20 minutes. When done, pour into a sieve to drain off butter. (Catch butter and use it for cooking--it will be onion flavored).
2. Partially bake pie shell: Roll out dough to 1/8 inch. Lightly grease pie pan with butter. Drape pastry over pan, trimming edges, leaving about 1/4 inch surplus. Crimp edges between thumb and finger for decoration. Prick bottom of crust about 8 times with knife or fork. Line the bottom with foil or wax paper, weigh it down with navy beans. Bake in preheated 450 oven for 15 minutes. Take from oven, remove paper and beans (save the beans for next time). Return it to the oven for 5 minutes to dry. It is now partially baked.
3. Cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Fry crisp and drain on paper towels.
4. Put cornstarch, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in mixing bowl. Add enough cream to make a paste. Add remainder of cream, milk, eggs, and yolk. Throughly mix together with a whisk, but do not beat.
5. Put bacon pieces into pie shell. Top with sauteed onions and cheese. Pour egg-milk mixture in. Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake about ten minutes more, or until set like a custard. Serve warm.


these were marzipan cupcakes, and let me just say YUM! almond butter cake with vanilla custard filling, topped with marzipan. which yes, i made myself. hooray for almonds!


mm i ate most of them

Marzipan cupcakes

Almond buttercake (from "Cupcakes" by Pamela Clark)
1 stick plus 2 T butter
1/2 t almond extract
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c self-rising flour*
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c almond meal*

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Beat butter, extract, sugar and eggs in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in sifted flours and almond meal, in two batches. Divide mixture among baking cups, smooth surface.
4. Bake about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto a wire rack to cool.
*can be made at home. self-rising flour = 2 t baking soda/1 c flour. almond meal can be made by grinding almonds until they reach the consistency of corn meal.

Vanilla custard (from "Cupcakes" by Pamela Clark)
1 1/4 c milk
1 vanilla bean, split
4 egg yolks
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch

Bring milk and vanilla bean to a boil in a small pot. Discard vanilla bean. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in small bowl with electric mixer until thick. With motor running, gradually beat in warm milk. Return mixture to same pot; stir over medium heat until it boils and thickens. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap. Cool.

Marzipan
Mix together equal parts almond paste and confectioner's sugar, with a small amount of corn syrup, until right consistency is reached. Dye with food coloring if desired, roll out with rolling pin on sugared surface, cut into desired shapes.

Assembly:
Cut small cone out of each cupcake, fill with custard. Spread a thin layer of custard over the top of the cake as well to help seal the marzipan. Cover over with marzipan, decorate as you like.

nom nom nom


mid week, tired-from-work run to the local pho place. thank heavens i put their number in my cell phone!


butterscotch pudding! the finished product was topped with whipped cream but i dont have a photo of that because it didn't last very long...the butterscotch flavor was really yummy and strong.


making puddin

Butterscotch Pudding

1 c dark brown sugar
3/8 c corn starch
1/2 t salt
2 eggs beaten
2 c milk
1 t vanilla
1/4 c butter
1/2 c whipped cream (optional)

In a 1 qt sauce pan stir together sugar, corn starch, and salt. Place over medium/low heat and stir in eggs and milk. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Stir in vanilla and butter. Let cool briefly and serve warm. Top with whipped cream, if desired.


Rose Hip Tea

Boil rose hips in water (about 1 c to 2 T rose hips) for ten minutes or until seeds split. Strain, sweeten with honey if desired.


cranberry sauce mm!

5 comments:

jeannesioux said...

Man alive you are making some yummy stuff!!!!!

jeannesioux said...

I challenge you to cut back on the butter, and use canola oil (or something like that), and still make it taste good. (About 2/3 c. oil per 1 cup butter)

Vee said...

I challenge you to keep the butter & not feel guilty about! because yum, butter!

I'm excited to see the upgrade with Justin's camera. I remember when Tranquilitea changed her camera/technique. I thought it was a great improvement.
I'd bet it'll make the food sexier than it already is ;-)

minisuperbias said...

ooh, the cakes look yummy yummy! and where did you get the rose hips? That sounds good!

amlamonte said...

thanks you guys! dang and thanks for being patient on the photos! these look worse than i remember them. but the food was good :)

agreed vee! sorry jeanne, i am a firm believer in the butter. canola oil may not be saturated but it sticks to your arteries like cement. at least that's what i heard. but i am also philosophically opposed to substitutions except in case of need. if i am going to make marzipan cupcakes i am going to make them good dang it! and then maybe eat one or two and give the rest away, although this blog is not about dieting tips. if i want to eat canola oil/apple sauce/pumpkin/other non-butter items, i will make recipes that are built specifically for those items. not re-shape butter recipes.

just my cooking philosophy :)