Alright everyone here’s my new blog address. Please make sure to update your feed readers, blog rolls (if ya got me on there), and any links.
Just click the link and you’ll be there. Hopefully all the readers will follow me (especially because I just made an awesome cupcake and it’s over there).
See ya later, dudes.
Very exciting news (for me, anyways)…
…Take The Cannoli will be moving to a brand new home very soon! Of course, this means bookmarks and blogrolls will need to be updated, but I’m not expecting to make the permanent move for another week or so. I’m a perfectionist. I need to get things just right.
Hopefully you all will follow me over to the new blog. Sit tight though…
And a special “thank you” goes out to Jess from The Tattooed Mama, All Things Cupcake, and Delicious Design Studio for helping me set things up.
I’ve made two more loaves of white bread, however, I used a different recipe. This time I got my recipe from Baking with Julia, a book I borrowed from the library.
Compared with the last loaf I baked, there are a lot of differences. Some good, some not so good. I’ll start with the good.
This loaf had risen much more than the previous one. I’m not sure if it was because I let the dough rise a bit longer during its second rise, but this baby got BIG, as evidenced by the photo above. The other nice thing about this loaf is that it’s not nearly as dense as the other one. The texture is lighter, but a bit chewier–almost like I was eating French bread. This leads me into the bad…
…the taste. So bland. I know, I know. White bread isn’t supposed to be full of flavor. My last loaf contained a small amount of honey in the dough, but that made such a difference! While there wasn’t an overpowering honey flavor, there was just enough to let you know it was there. It really added something. Like I stated earlier, this felt like I was eating a rustic loaf of bread–something drier and chewier. It wasn’t bad, but it’s not what I’m looking for in sandwich bread.
Oh yeah, and there’s that annoying gap at the top, just under the crust. Does anyone have any idea why my loaf would do that?
Back to the drawing board…sigh.
see more pwn and owned pictures
Today should have been the day I posted my fourth Daring Baker’s challenge. Alas, it is not to be. We were to make a filbert gateau, but you know that pesky thing called “life?” Well, it got in the way.
I had every intention on making this cake, but the first half of July was crammed with events and busy days. The second half of July was easier, but after looking at this recipe, I knew it was just too much. Too much for the cost of ingredients and too much cake for this household. There’s only so much cake two people can eat.
So if you dropped by hoping to see some marvelous cake, I’m sorry to disappoint. Instead, check out The Daring Baker’s blogroll and see some really gorgeous works of art. Hopefully next month will be better!
Click here and take part in sending our troops some oven lovin’!
I’m in the process right now of creating a portfolio of all the wonderful items I’ve baked over the last few months. I have a sort of “digital” portfolio, but I’m not always carrying my computer around.
When I was in culinary school, it was stressed to us that we take pictures of everything we made and create a portfolio for employers. I took pictures, but they never made their way into a portfolio (probably because I got hired straight out of school and didn’t see the point). Instead, all the pictures got crammed into a folder, stored away, and I eventually lost them. This was all before everyone and their mother had a digital camera.
Now that I’m trying to get a business going, it’s important I have photos of my work for potential clients to see. I also want to include some other things, such as the only published review of my desserts from Crain’s Chicago Business. This was way back in 2004 and when I look at it now, I still feel so proud.
The flourless chocolate cake was one of my personal favorites at the cafe. A slice of flourless chocolate cake, a thick layer of chocolate mousse, and a glaze of chocolate ganache. It was so rich and so intense, but really worth it if you were craving chocolate. I was especially proud of it because I transformed it from a lonely slice of plain chocolate cake with some chocolate shavings on top into something so much more worthy of showing off.
And wouldn’t ya know? I don’t have a picture of it!
I have not done much baking these last few days–mostly I’ve been cooking, which is surprising given my general dislike for making dinner. I’ve actually been making a full-blown dinner an average of 3-4 nights a week rather than telling my husband to go eat some Ramen noodles. I’m slowly building up my love of cooking and it’s so satisfying putting a nice dinner on the coffee table in front of the TV.
My two favorite cooking devices right now are the Crock-Pot and our brand spanking new gas grill. The Crock-Pot is a gift from the Gods. What else allows me to throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot, press a button, and walk away until it’s ready to serve? Everything that comes out of that thing is perfectly cooked and meat just falls off the bone. And the grill…oh, that lovely grill. It lets me off the hook and gets my husband to make dinner.
You would think we were entertaining, but this is all for the two of us. Most of it will be my husband's breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next couple of days.
What a man.
Vegetarians beware.
The other reason I haven’t baked up anything lately is because I was expecting to bake for a bridal shower of 50 guests, but the whole thing fell through a couple of days before the party (ugh, that’s a whole other thing). I’m tired of baking just for me and my husband.
And if you think my entire world is only centered around food, think again, because I’m still chugging along with this damn afghan I’ve been working on for the past 7 months. Another square down, another (what seems like) a million more to go.
These squares look so much better on camera.
I’ve become a bit obsessive-compulsive with this afghan. If I see a teeny mistake, I have no problem ripping the whole thing apart. What’s the point of undertaking such a huge project if I’m just gonna go at it half-assed?
I think I’ll make more bread tomorrow. I made us “eggs in a basket” yesterday, which was inspired by The Pioneer Woman. My husband says, “You know, this bread is really good. I think that’s what makes this so great. We should start making our own bread all the time! How cool would it be to tell people we make our own bread?” Notice the use of the word “we?” As if my husband is in the kitchen with me making the bread.
Then again, I recently asked him, “When are we going to change the tire on my car?”
This is pretty great. This video is from the British sketch comedy show, Man Stroke Woman. I can actually see something like this happening. Warning, this is NSFW (Not Safe For Work).
First Jenn over at The Leftover Queen blogged about it. Then Chelle from Brown-Eyed Baker blogged about it, too. I’m talking about home-baked bread, and after reading about these two ladies baking their own loaves at home, I felt the urge to overcome my fear of breads and try making my own loaf of white bread at home.
Back in culinary school, I took a breads class. An entire quarter of a semester devoted to learning and baking all types of breads–and I was terrible at it. I over-proofed or under-proofed everything. There were a few breads I was good at, but for the most part, I just didn’t have the knack for breads. So I’ve pretty much avoided making them over the years and stuck to making quick breads.
The more I read from fellow food bloggers baking their own bread, the more I wanted to delve back in to bread baking again. I figured I had nothing to lose. I had all of the ingredients on hand (including a packet of yeast that had been left over from my last Daring Bakers challenge) and the time–so why not? I used the recipe Chelle posted on her website (which is from Baking Illustrated), which was super easy. Join me on my bread baking adventure. Did I fail or succeed?
Clockwise from top left: The dry ingredients in the mixing bowl; the finished bread dough after mixing in the liquid ingredients; the round ball of dough sitting in the bowl ready for the first rise; into a warm oven we go–I crossed my fingers and said a prayer that the dough would rise.
Imagine the surprise when after nearly an hour, this is what happened. The dough rose at least double its original size. Pardon me while I do a happy dance.
Left: I’ve placed the dough into my loaf pan–ready for the second rise. Right: After 30-40 minutes, the dough has risen and is ready to bake.
Thoughts running through my head during the baking time: Oh my God…baking bread smells soooo good. They should really make a “baked bread” scented candle… …I will not open that oven door until it’s time to open it, even though I really want to… …I will never bake bread ever again if this comes out looking like crap.
So how did it come out? Judge for yourself:
Beautiful! The loaf wasn’t as high as I wanted, but after consulting with Chelle, I’ve decided to let the dough rise longer during the second rise. Still, I forgot how delicious a homemade loaf of bread tastes. So much yummy bread goodness. My husband’s review? “It tastes like fancy bread that you’d find in a bakery.” The picture on the right is my breakfast of bread and chunky peanut butter.
My faith has been renewed in bread baking and I’ve decided that next time I’d like to make a whole wheat bread (since I prefer whole wheat over white bread). I mostly want to bake bread again just for that wonderful aroma.
Ever since we started frequenting a Cuban restaurant in Chicago, my husband has developed an affinity for plantains. We were in a Super Target (the kind with groceries) the other night and while waiting for him at the checkout lane, he came running back with two plantains. Okay then, I guess I had to figure out what to do with them since I’ve never used plantains.
The way the Cuban place prepared them was by frying, so I figured this was the best way to go. I just fried them in some oil and a little bit of butter, drained them on paper towel, and sprinkled them with some salt.
I brought a plate into my husband, who was doing school work, and handed the plate to him. He didn’t notice what they were at first, so he just nodded and said okay. Then he took a look and he lit up like a kid at Christmas. Whenever I cook or bake for people, that’s the look I always hope to see on on their face.
