November 2006 Archives
I love the packaging on Fresh Direct's new line of chocolates, and the varieties, like this dark chocolate bark with fig, pine nuts and cinnamon, are enticing. But I'm withholding judgment; I learned from Target's choxie that pretty packaging and yummy sounding flavors do not a good chocolate make.
I have opened up the PB & J bar and it's pretty good. I'm not swooning, but the raspberry puree is a tart hit. The peanut butter, though, is all texture: smooth, bland peanut butter with crunchy little bites of toasted rice throughout. No, wait. Yummm. Chocolate. Peanut butter. Raspberry.
Poor boy, whose birthday falls on Thanksgiving every few years. His cake this year was from an apple-spice cake recipe that I found in the November issue of Real Simple. Someday he'll be old enough to know that doesn't count and we'll be eating chocolate cake after our turkey dinner, but he's only two right now.
Warm, then topped with ice cream and drizzled with apple saba I bought at Zingerman's, the spice cake was a very grown-up treat with a deep, musky apple flavor. The saba reminded me of an aged balsamic, thick and syrupy with sweetness and bite. I've been looking for a good ways to use it, and this was it. It's amazing how a little condiment can elevate something as simple as spice cake and ice cream.
August ate the ice cream and pecked at the spice cake, then ran off with his two little friends for a raucous race around the apartment.
It's become high praise when Todd turns to me after trying what I've made for dinner and saying, "Are you going to write about this?" And finally, finally, one of Fresh Direct's one-click recipes has worked out for me. While browsing the FD web site, I decided I wanted to make a lamb stew, but didn't have a recipe. Yes! One-click had it.
I did cut down on the amount of stew I made, and I used antibiotic-free lamb. You start by dredging the cubed lamb in a mixture of flour, oregano, salt and pepper, then browning it in oil in a large dutch-oven. Removed it from the pot, then sauted 1 sliced onion, 4 carrots that I peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces and 4 crushed garlic cloves. The moisture from the veggies softens the browned bits on the bottom of the pot, then you add half a bottle of red wine, bring it to a simmer, add the stew meat, then bake in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours.
I've made two different types of pumpkin baked goods in the last couple of weeks, but I'm not sure that the pumpkin contributes much to either in the way of flavor. They were both nice and moist, though, and a very autumny shade of orange, and after a couple days they develop a nice bit of spice from cinnamon, allspice and family.
The cookies are like little round cakes, and August and I had a bit of adventure making them. We discovered we didn't have much flour and sugar, so we went for a half-batch. And August dumped half of my baking soda into the sugar, so that gave the final cookies a metallic taste. But I've made these before, using the correct proportions, and have been really happy with the results. This is the full-size recipe; should make between three dozen and four dozen cookies.
Mix 2 1/2 cups flour with 1 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg, cloves and salt. Beat 1/2 cup softened butter with 1 1/2 cups sugar; add 1 cup pumpkin, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix. Mix in dry ingredients, then drop tablespoons batter onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. The recipe called for a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze, but I think a swipe of cream cheese frosting would be better. We ate them without any adornment, which was a little austere but less messy for a 2-year-old.
I cannot decide whether to go to the NYC chocolate show this year (it's this weekend). $25 to get in, and I'd have to go on Saturday (which is the only day Todd's home) and face the mad crush, or go on Friday and risk someone tripping over my 2-year-old in the stroller on the way to a free sample and either crushing the toddler or suing me for damages (also not sure August would sit well this year; he was a sleeping angel last year).
What's happened to me? Am I not as hard-core as I used to be? I found a lot of great stuff at last year's show and made a few friends; I also have a very vivid memory of other showgoers taking half-eaten Payard macaroons off my plate every time I set it down to take notes.
