Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Cupcake Taste-Off
I was inspired to try out a few chocolate cupcake recipes to help me decide what is a critical component in a cupcake. I selected a recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s recent book and a recipe from Nigella Lawson’s earlier book.
The hands down winner was Molly Wizenberg’s Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze. Her recipe had an unfair advantage by using yoghurt and coffee to enhance the texture and flavor. Not to mention the bittersweet glaze was nothing less than melted bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate. (Photos of the final product are forth coming). We shared these scrumptious treats with our friends Erin and Tony who agreed, these were the best cupcakes, ever. Who needs piles and piles of too-sweet buttercream frosting? Not I.
Unfortunately it was a one sided battle. Nigella’s cupcakes didn’t even resemble cakes. I must point out that I followed her recipe exactly so that it would be a fair competition. (Usually I tweak recipes as I bake). The poor cupcakes (or fairy cakes) were either over beaten or did not contain enough flour. I am not sure what to do with them now. Perhaps load them up with frosting? Or a scoop of ice cream? But don’t blame Nigella… she taught me to make brilliant cupcakes.
In conclusion, my results do not help me decide what the “critical component” actually is. I suppose one could speculate that having a good recipe is the critical component, but that is just silly. Further research is necessary to better understand this question. (I can’t say no to that and neither can Robb.)
Farewell Summer Frittata
As summer ended yesterday, we celebrated with a hearty (yet colourful) frittata. I adapted my recipe from several others which I found on Epicurious and AllRecipes. I like to think that this is now my own.
I hope you enjoy!
Potato, Spinach, Pea and Gruyere Frittata with Prosciutto.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 small cloves garlic, pressed
1 medium russet potato, grated
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
7 large eggs
½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4-8 slices of your favorite prosciutto
Time: 35 minutes
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the shallot until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium add the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until the begin to brown, about 8 minutes. stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking.
Meanwhile, crack and beat the eggs together with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the Gruyere cheese.
Once the potatoes begin to soften and brown, incorporate the spinach and peas. Once mixed, pour the egg-cheese mixture over the potato mixture. Tilt pan to ensure the eggs cover all of the potato mixture and seep down the gaps.
Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes. The frittata will be set when the eggs no longer wobble when the pan is shook (I like to use a fork to peek into the pan and ensure the eggs are thoroughly cooked.)
I serve slices straight from the pan and forgo the presentation (i.e., flipping the skillet onto a plate and lifting off) because I have had one too many burns. Plus, my potatoes like to stick to the pan.
Enjoy with a slice (or two) of prosciutto.
Serves 4.
A Rainbow of Pickles
Our garden has produced a bounty of carrots. In all shapes, sizes and colours. That’s right. Not all carrots are orange. On Friday I harvested half of what was in our plot which resulted in eight pounds of carrots trimmed and cleaned sitting in our fridge.
Now, I am a faithful follower of Molly Wizenberg (author of the blog Orangette and the book, A Homemade Life) and I recalled a photograph of pickling carrots from her wedding preparations. Cathy gave me a signed copy of Molly’s book for my birthday, which just so happened to have the recipe for the hot (spice-wise) pickled carrots. Now of course, I had to try out the recipe which I had to double so I could use three pounds of my carrots.
The chapter on pickling foods made me grin. As Molly described her husband, he began to remind me of Robb. They share an uncanny taste for vinegar. And, like Molly, I don’t think I appreciated vinegar as much as I do now after being married to Robb. (Not to mention, Molly’s husband also has a mop of curls.)
While Robb was still in Seattle, I decided to break in our new kitchen by trying something I had never done before: pickling. The recipe is quite simple (I’m sorry, but I won’t share it here because it is not mine to share) and includes some wonderful ingredients bound to excite the taste buds and enhance the carrots. My favourite ingredient, besides the rainbow of carrots, was the garlic. I am always so thrilled to be able to use one of our many heads of garlic. Never have I seen such beautiful garlic. I’m just sayin’…
Now that they are bathing in their tasty brine, we must wait. I’ll let you know how they taste. I’ll even give you a jar if you stop by. But knowing our habit of eating pickles, they wont last long!
My Schedule is Clear
For my last night in Seattle, I went to the Late Tuesday “reunion” concert at the Triple Door (what an amazing venue) with Hayley and Jamie. Hay introduced us to the band during our first year at Central Washington University. Since then we have been hooked. (We even drove to Moses Lake in December 2005 to see them!) Anyway, there was a man sitting next to our booth who told his waiter that he was waiting for his wife to arrive and only then would he place his dinner order. He went on to explain that the previous night he had told his wife that he had a huge surprise for her and explained which bus she should take after work and that he would give her further instructions when she got off the bus. Needless to say she was thrilled. The next day I told Robb about this little surprise and how I’d love to be surprised like that someday.
Little did I know what was waiting for me at home. Apparently our friend Aaron informed Robb that Sufjan Stevens was coming to Madison (I was oblivious to this upcoming concert). Now, if you don’t already know, Sufjan is probably one of our favourite musicians. After Ruthie and Eric dropped me off at our new apartment, I noticed a letter on the table that Robb had left for me. Reading it I discovered that Robb had already planned to surprise me just as I hoped he would. (I love that we think alike). Anyway, we are going to see Sufjan Stevens at the Majestic on 28 September. Hooray!
In case you are wondering, Robb made those tickets (I thought that those were the actual ones being distributed for the concert). Are they beautiful or what?