spinach salad with mango and candied pecans

it's amazing what happens when you try a fruit you hate in the place where it comes from. has that ever happened to you, with any kind of food? like you normally hate gumbo, but then you're down in new orleans (my heart hangs heavy) and get the real deal and you're like wow, this is good.

six years ago (!!) mr. mimi and i enjoyed our honeymoon down in peru, and on our second week we stayed in the rainforest where of course there were fresh avocado and papaya trees, two of the fruits i typically hate eating. yeah, i know, advocado! weird, right? everyone loves avocado. well evidently i don't, unless it comes right off the tree. same with the papaya. buy me some up here in the US and i hate it. pick one off the tree in the rainforest and i love it. sure, i admit maybe it has something to do with the beauty of the place -- i fell in love with the fruit because i fell in love with being in the rainforest. i admit it because i know how closely food is tied to emotions and well-being (isn't that what "comfort food" is all about). but it's like my taste buds changed once i tasted what a real avocado should taste like.

same thing with the mango. i've always hated it. but down in haiti, mango trees are everywhere. it's the fruit du jour, tourjours! the first month i was in haiti i didn't eat any. but the second month i finally succumbed to needing some fruit in my diet and hesitatingly i ate my first mango in a really, really long time.

i loved it.

ok, maybe i admit i was in haiti and desperate for fruit in my diet -- that any fruit would have been delicious. but the mango was so fresh and juicy, with such a sweet flavor, but not like a berry sweet, just an unfamiliar (to me) tropical sweet. so when i came back home i went on a mango binge, 10 for $10 at the grocery store, done.

then i found this recipe and i was like hmm, mango and candied pecans?! what is not to like about that idea! and, indeed, i loved this salad, all three different flavors -- earthy spinach, tropical mango, and sweet candied pecans -- were wonderful.



spinach salad with mango and candied pecans: serves 4
adapted from bon appetit (april 2000, original recipe click here)

large piece of parchment paper
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tb olive oil
3 tb balsamic vinegar
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 lb baby spinach leaves
2 large mangos, diced
salt and pepper to taste

1. stir sugar, 1 tb oil, and 1 tb vinegar in skillet over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes.

2. mix in pecans and stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats evenly, about 7 minutes. turn nuts out onto parchment paper, separating them to cool completely.

3. combine spinach, mango, and pecans in large bowl. whisk remaining 5 tb oil and 2 tb vinegar in small bowl to blend, season with salt and pepper. toss salad with dressing, and enjoy!

pork chops with rhubarb-raisin compote

yes, yes i'm still here!! although i have had a lousy track record, these past two weeks were not entirely my fault for not posting. i finally started a new job, yay! but it meant leaving my beloved new york city, sniff sniff.

except i haven't had really any time to mourn the loss of living in the best city in the USA because i received the offer one week, and moved myself down the next weekend (with the faith that i would be lucky enough to find an apartment in a day, and not be camping out on a park bench), and started working last week! i'm still living in a basically empty room -- i'm living on an aerobed and not much else! -- because the rest of my belongings don't come down until next weekend. and hopefully mr. mimi will follow soon thereafter.

so you see my absence was not intentional, and to prove it here's a post about an obviously previously made dinner. why obviously? because folks, it has rhubarb!! and we all know the peak rhubarb season is only in spring. i was a little late to the party because i was in nigeria, but there were still some good bunches left in june.



we didn't have cherries so we used the raisins from the pantry. the compote (as expected) was delicious and could easily be used with a chicken dish as well. in this heat of august you probably won't find any good rhubarb around, but bookmark this for next spring and i'm sure you'll love it!

for the recipe, click here.

roasted chicken stuffed with dried fruits

how fitting that my election night post was about roasted chicken, and here we come back to roasted chicken for today.

besides my political dreams, as an adolescent i also thought i was going to be a famous artist. i'd skip classes for days on end to be in the art class studio all afternoon. i was passionate about van gogh, cezanne, and kandinsky. i loved hopper. i was sure i was going to be the next contemporary brice marden or julian schnabel.

then my tortured adolescence of drawing and painting came to an end, but i still loved visuals - typography, design, illustration. and so when i ended up working at a bookstore, i was always a sucker for the cover of a book. i bought man without qualities because when both volumes are put together, the spines are a image of his face. and no, i have never gotten past page 100, but i still love that cover.

another thing i learned working at the bookstore is that the holidays are prime cookbook buying time. who knew? but several years ago we joined that tradition and bought claudia roden's middle eastern book for someone. back then i was pretty ignorant and all i knew about middle eastern food was your standard kebabs, hummus, and tabouli. and i was definitely ignorant about what a great writer claudia roden is. she doesn't just give recipes, she's a storyteller - of food, history, and culture. honestly i really didn't know anything except that this book had a gorgeous cover! so gorgeous in fact that i had to buy a copy for ourselves the next year.

and after all that babbling, all i have to say is: make this chicken. you will love it.



roasted chicken stuffed with dried fruits: serves 4-6
adapted from claudia roden's new book of middle eastern food (excellent book, highly recommended, 2000, p. 225)

1 chicken, about 3 1/2 - 4 lbs (preferably organic, humane)
1 onion, finely chopped
butter
olive oil
1/2 lb dried prunes, soaked, pitted, and chopped
1/2 lb dried apricots, soaked pitted, and chopped
1/3 cup raisins, soaked
2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (a specific type is not mentioned; we used granny smith)
salt + pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

1. preheat oven to 325F. fry the chopped onion in 2 tb butter until soft and golden. add chopped fruits and raisins and sauté for a few minutes. season to taste with salt, pepper, and cinnamon.

2. stuff the chicken with some of this mixture, securing the opening with a toothpick. rub chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper. put the remaining mixture in a roasting pan. place the chicken - breast side down - on top of the mixture. salt and pepper. (this roasting method of breast side down is unsual, but mr. mimi is convinced what gave the chicken such great flavor and moistness and wants to try it with other dishes.)

3. roast the chicken for about 1 1/2 hours total, turning the chicken over after 40 minutes. serve the chicken with the extra stuffing mixture, accompanied by rice.

pork chops with pomegranate-fennel salsa

i confess. i often ... okay, yes almost always! ... buy pomegranate seeds already hulled out of the shell. i'm really not that lazy. it's more that i just can't help it. they are coming into season now and when i go to the market and see the little containers full of those gorgeous red tangy seeds i just can't help buying one or two! which is exactly what i did a couple days ago.



totally unrelated, one thing that i've been surprised about since i've been eating meat this year is how much i like pork chops and tenderloin. and with flying pigs up at the farmer's market every saturday by us, it's very tempting to treat myself at home with a nice pork dinner.



so i searched around for a recipe and when i found this one with pomegranate seeds i just knew i had to try it with the seeds i just bought! we added a bbq spice to the rub for the pork chop, just to give it a bit of complementary flavor to what i expected to be a relatively sweeter salsa.

and in the end, dinner was perfectly delicious. i'm not sure if it's because we bought the fennel at the farmer's market as well, so it was more fresh than usual, but it really had a great flavor. i highly recommend trying this! the recipe also suggests the salsa would pair well with lamb.



pork chops with pomegranate-fennel salsa: serves 4
adapted from gourmet (jan 2002, original recipe online at epicurious, click here)

1 lb fennel bulb, stalks cut off and discarded (although you probably could use some of the greenery as garnish if you'd like)
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 tb chopped chives
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
olive oil
salt + pepper
coarse sea salt
spice rub of your choice (we used a moderately spiced pre-made bbq rub)
4 thick cut pork chops

1. preheat oven to 400F. halve fennel bulb lengthwise and core it, then cut into 1/4 inch dice. cook fennel in olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat, stirring until tender, about 15 minutes. transfer fennel to bowl and stir in pomegranate seeds, chives, vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper.

2. pat pork chops dry and season with coarse sea salt, pepper, and spice rub. heat olive oil in skillet over high heat until hot (but not smoking). sear chops until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes each side. pour off excess oil - the easiest way is to use tongs to hold chop in the skillet and then pour oil out. put skillet in oven (make sure it has a metal handle!!) until 150F internal temperature, turning pork chop over once about 5 minutes in.

* note: we had very thick pork chops and that's why we suggest finishing off in the oven. if you only have very thin pork chops, you could very well just finish in the skillet on top of the stove.

spicy green salad with manchego and pears

tonight we went over to our neighbor's house for dinner (which was delicious btw, thanks k.!) and k. asked us to bring a side or salad. i knew she was making some mushroom risotto so i wanted to bring something with a bit of contrasting texture and spiciness or tartness.

i was tempted to make the broccoli crunch i saw recently on 101 cookbooks. but i needed something i could do quickly right between getting home from school and going over to her house.

this green salad was perfect for the meal, and a great salad if it is fall wherever you are. for ultra convenience you could certainly buy pepitas that are already toasted, but it's so easy to do it yourself and buying raw makes it more versatile for other uses. i did buy an arugula mix to make the grocery shopping simpler; you could probably use any sorts of greens you prefer, but do make sure it contains some spicier ones so they complement the sweetness of the pears and saltiness of the manchego.



spicy green salad with manchego and pears: serves 8
adapted from gourmet (nov 2007) found on epicurious

1/3 cup hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/3 cup plus 1 tb olive oil
3 tb sherry or red wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp grainy mustard
4 cups packed spicy greens (radish, watercress, arugula, etc)
4 cups packed frisée
1/2 lb piece manchego cheese, shaved into thin slices
8 small bartlett pears
salt + pepper

1. cook seeds in 1 tb oil in small skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until puffed and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. transfer with slotted spoon to paper towels and reserve oil. season seeds with salt and pepper.

2. whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper. add remaining 1/3 cup olive oil and reserved pepitas oil from skillet in slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

3. cut around the core of each pear and cut slices 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. toss pear and cheese slices with greens. drizzle dressing over salad and sprinkle with seeds.

salad days: light and easy

even though i'm currently a full-fledged omnivore, i still crave greenery and love having salads for dinner. here are two that were made quite a while ago, but would be perfect for the end of summer produce.

when mr. mimi first put some strawberries on one of our side salads, my first thought was creative but gross. and then i ate it. wowzers, i loved it. the sweetness complemented the tangy vinaigrette so well. and it felt so refreshing.



what i happily learned is you can basically add any fruit to a green salad and it is wonderful. this time we added nectarines to a romaine with tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and boca chick patties with a simple champagne vinaigrette for a big main salad. but really, you could use any summer fruits - plums and peaches (yumm, grilled peaches too) would be delicious!





another simple side salad we made was a mix of green and wax beans, tomatoes, and a spicy sesame-vinaigrette. if you've never used sriracha sauce, this is *the* spicy sauce - and now you can even get it on amazon! i bet you'll never go back to boring tabasco!

martha mondays: peach, apricot, and cherry pie

sorry about that political diatribe. it should be an interesting week. but regardless, even if you don't agree with me, hopefully you still keep reading this blog! because food knows no political bounds :)

this lovely martha monday pie was made about a month ago. i rushed to get it done by the date i picked out and then didn't have any time to get it posted, but better late than never (i think?!)



despite the fact that i just bought a bunch of grapes, i do normally like to stay within season for my fruits and vegetables. i'm not so much a fruit pie person (you either are or you aren't) but it would seem heresy to let summer pass by without at least one fruit pie baked. i tend to like the pies in the old standby book, but wanted to give martha a try.



this was easy enough to assemble (although i did not have time to do the lattice) and pretty much your standard pie filling technique. i wasn't exactly fond of the flavors - i think it was the cherries that bothered me - but mr. mimi loved it. and of course, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and almost anything turns into delish!



the next martha monday will be on september 8th. keeping with the summer theme, the recipe will be the tomato tart on p. 268 - pretty simple but a great addition to any one's labor day picnic! if you want to join me, simply make the tart and post about it on september 8th. if you email me a link, i will make sure to include you on my post.



peach, apricot, and cherry pie
from martha's baking handbook (2005, p. 236)

i'm omitting the recipe part for the dough, so just use whatever one that's handy!
1 lb fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
1 lb fresh aprictos, pitted and sliced into sixths
1 lb fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
2/3 cup sugar (increase to 3/4 if you like a more sweet pie)
3 tb cornstarch
1/4 coarse salt
juice of 1 lemon
2 tb butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tb heavy cream
sanding sugar for sprinkling (optional)

1. in large bowl, toss together peaches, apricots, and cherries. add sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice; toss to combine.

2. spoon mixture into chilled pie shell, mounding fruit in the middle (to make sure it doesn't get soggy, fill the pie shell right before you're ready to cover). dot with butter. brush rim of pie shell with water and cover with lattice, or entirely. if you cover entirely, make sure to cut some steam slits. in small bowl, whisk egg yolk and cream and brush on top. generously sprinkle with some sanding sugar. freeze or refrigerate pie for 30 minutes until firm.

3. meanwhile preheat oven to 400F with rack in lower third. place pie on parchment lined baking sheet. bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. reduce oven temp to 350F. continue baking, rotating halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling and thickened, about 40-50 minutes more. let cool completely and enjoy!

please check out lil miz lynn over at bites and pieces who made an awesome looking pie!

martha monday: pistachio tartlets with crème fraîche and berries

welcome (back) to martha mondays, where i work my way through her baking handbook ... trying things out, challenging myself, and hopefully learning (and eating yummy things) along the way.

i have to admit i'm a sucker for photos. if a recipe doesn't have a photo, i'm apt to neglect it but if something has a gorgeous photo, i can't wait to dig in even if it has ingredients i'm not fond of (exhibit A, mocha roulade).

so with warmer weather finally here, there are several things i've been wanting to try out, purely based upon martha's photo :)



i decided to start with the pistachio tartlets with crème fraîche and berries (p. 255) as they seemed easy and fresh. the dough was quite soft, but really lovely and definitely a keeper for other fillings. i loved that the crème made it not too sweet, which was perfect with the berries.



for some other tartlets, please check out zakia over at the frosted bakeshop who also loved the pistachio dough. and new blogger, lynn from bites and pieces also joined us this week. and she made the crème fraîche from scratch, quite impressive!!



next martha monday: either the peach, apricot, and cherry pie (p. 236) or the sour cherry cobbler (p. 279). both seem your standard summer fare, but i would love the challenge of doing a "real" lattice top. post by monday, 28 july and email me your link: marthamondays -at- gmail.com!

and i apologize for the poor overexposed non-color corrected photos of my delicious pistachio tartlets! i promise next time not to wait until 11pm the night it is due!! :)

cherry clafoutis

this post is going to be short and sweet, as befitting of such a jewel of a late night sweet snack.

the truth is i hate cherries. no really, i do! but when you see the ephemeral pints come 'round just about now, all defenses are down. even a cherry hater couldn't pass up picking these up at the farmer's market.



but what to do with them? because goodness forbid, you can't just eat them ... you have to bake something with them!! (what have i become?!) i didn't have enough to make a pie (plus, that would just give me bad flashbacks of warrant's cherry pie). so i googled around until i found an idea for a clafoutis. i never even heard of a clafoutis until i started blogging and then i saw a couple and they all looked so small and good. never heard of a clafoutis either? clotilde from chocolate and zucchini writes it best:

"Clafoutis is the epitome of the French grandmotherly dessert: unpretentious, easy to make, and blissfully comforting. The fluffy custard, light as a cloud and studded with fruit, hails from the Limousin region in the heart of France, where each family has its own well-guarded recipe."

easy to make and blissfully comforting sounded perfect. there are many recipes online. i was intrigued by martha's addition of almond, but really, it seemed to only complicate things and on this night i wanted super simple. and when trying a new french dessert, go to a french source, n'est-ce pas?



this classic cherry clafoutis is brought to you thanks to the simple recipe of la tartine gourmande. for the recipe, click here.

i didn't have the exact same size ramekins so i didn't know how high to fill mine. needless to say as you all know, i'm an overfiller, and did so on these.



yet, the custardy overfill peeled off and and was a yummy hint of what was to come. and it was oh so lovely with a little whipped cream melting on top! i think this will be my new favorite way to bake with early summer berries. i want to try this one next!

martha mondays, strawberry shortcake, and a little break

this is going to be an all-purpose post ...

martha monday on a wednesday? sure, why not! i was very happy to see that patricia from technicolor kitchen brought us her best brazilian martha dinner of rolled flank steak. oh yes, flank steak is my favorite, how did she know?! and with roasted peppers and mozzarella, need i really say more? go over and check out her post and all her other wonderful creations.

and what did i bring? some lousy herbed couscous. honestly, after i told the world to go out and check out martha's little "best easy dinners" i took a more careful look and couldn't find anything that caught my appetite, which is of converted omnivore who sometimes prefers to be a vegetarian. so i made the couscous (minus the chicken breast), which was super simple, but it didn't really have enough flavor. nor was it very photogenic so you'll just have to take my word for it!

but i don't think i'm going to continue with my little martha monday endeavor. i "met" some people with great blogs: addicted sweet tooth, the frosted bakeshop, columbus foodie, and technicolor kitchen but it was kind of a lonely event. so for now, it's taking a little break, and maybe it will come back tweaked and tinkered to attract more people. or maybe ya'lls just hate martha?? ;)

and honestly, when i started blogging i had no idea why i was doing this, who i was doing it for, and creating food wasn't even on my brain. but then it grew with me and i loved it and i couldn't wait to cook and bake and shoot a gazillion photos along the way.

but now i just don't feel the love anymore. it could be (probably is) because of personal things going on. it could be i'm a little bummed about the nomination, okay i'll admit it, a lot of pissed. it could be i have probably eaten more butter and sugar in the past few months than i have in the past few years. it could be, it could be, it could be.

whatever it is, i guess i feel i need to shrink back a little and be a little quiet. which is perfect timing because in a couple hours i'll be on my way to a sunnier place. it's only a week but hopefully i will come back to new york refreshed, balanced, happy, and energized.

and then we will see what happens.

in the meantime, here is a strawberry shortcake to get you excited about summer (i mean, if you live in the northern hemisphere). the strawberries have finally arrived in the farmer's market and what's not to love? i didn't even sugar these because they were so fresh and delish, none was needed.

maybe that should be my motto right now. no extra sugar needed, because it's great just the way it is ...



strawberry shortcakes: makes 8
from martha's great food fast (2007, p. 86)

2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup butter, cold cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tb
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
6 cups fresh strawberries
whipped cream

1. preheat oven to 425F. in food processor, combine flour, butter, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. process until mixture resembles coarse meal. add milk and pulse just a few times to moisten. do not overprocess.

2. turn out dough on floured surface. with floured hands, gently pat dough into 4 x 8 inch rectangle.

3. dust knife with flour and cut dough into 8 squares. transfer to baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. bake until golden, 25 - 30 minutes. cool on baking sheet. split biscuits with knife, layer with berries and whipped cream.

tonka bean white chocolate and apricot cakes

this post is long overdue in coming. way back when this blog was still just a nice distractionn (before the obsession that it has now become. are you, too, obsessed with blogging? please tell me i'm not alone!!) i innocently asked some questions of the lovely helen from tartelette about her beautiful pineapple almond cheesecake. then out of the friendliness that is bloggo-land, she sent me some of my very own tonka beans! yes, she really is that lovely.

and that was two months ago!!! ack! every time i thought of using them, for one reason or another i didn't. they were sitting in the vacuum sealed box in the fridge, right next to the boxes of butter, just waiting to be picked up and tried out. but instead i just guiltily baked one thing after another without them.



well today is as good a day as any. and what better way to start my tonka bean adventure, then with tartelette's very own tonka bean white chocolate and apricot cakes. i admit, i was hesitant. white chocolate?? meh, too sweet. i considered myself lucky that i didn't have quite the full cup listed in the original recipe.

but oh my! this little cake surpassed all my expectations! first, the grated tonka bean was such a dreamy scent. and its flavor was that perfect mix of almond and vanilla. the cake was super moist. the white chocolate sweetened it, but not too much as i had feared. i used my easy cheat foil cups instead of the regular tin, so the cake sides didn't brown, but it kind of made this neat crunchy ridge on the top. but oops, i forgot to dust my apricots with a little flour and they sank. this seems to be my bad habit. uhh, let's think positively here ... maybe it's just my signature look. watch out martha, i've got a new trend!



thank you tartelette!! i'm already plotting my next tonka bean adventure! :)

tonka bean white chocolate and apricot cakes: makes 8 large muffin cakes
from tartelette (click here)

1 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
1 cup white chocolate, melted
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
2 tonka beans
15 dried apricots, cut in small dices

1. preheat oven to 350F. whisk together sugar and eggs until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. add butter and chocolate. whisk well and add the flour.

2. finely grate the tonka bean and add to batter. add dried apricots and mix until incorporated.

3. divide evenly between muffin tins coated with cooking spray and cook for 15 minutes.

* yes, i know tonka beans have coumarin, a compound used in medical blood thinners. but everything in moderation folks!

happy pesach!

the start of any great gathering ... the wine!

when i was very little i attended lutheran services, and my stepfamily is jewish. but if you gave me a form to fill out, next to "religion?" i would check off "none". i don't follow or practice anything. but if you met me and had a discussion about what religion i feel the most affinity for, i would reply, judaism.


when i was an adolescent, rabbi davidson gave me a copy of a chaim potok book, and i felt like she was nearly the only one who understood my passion (and obsession) with creating art, and my struggle identifying as an artist, even if we didn't explicitly talk about it in that way. i would have loved to have her officiate at my wedding if it were permissible. we did celebrate the jewish tradition of breaking the glass; it's one of my favorite momentos of our wedding day.

when i got older, i was swooning over my philosophy professor (who doesn't fall in love with their college philosophy professor??!) but what really interested me was his philosophical and moral interpretation of judaism. i felt like it spoke to my perspective, moreso than any other organized religion.

seder plate

and one of my fondest memories is celebrating the jewish holidays with nanny and pop-pop. hanukkah was always fun. who doesn't love receiving gifts? oh yeah, and eating latkes!! yumm. but passover was always a real favorite too. even though reading through the haggadah took f.o.r.e.v.e.r, i loved all the rituals and traditions. i loved bargaining to return the matzoh in exchange for some new nail polish (i think one year that is what i actually asked for!) and for being together with family. although pop-pop no longer presides over the seder prayers, i know that he was with us, in spirit and happiness, as we celebrated on saturday.

vegetables ready to be roasted

and of course, what's a family gathering without me trying to bring a baked goodie? i saw this recipe with an article on passover desserts in living last month and knew i really wanted to make it. the online recipe can be found here. i don't have any slice photos because everyone ate it up so quickly! but it came out absolutely delish. just the right balance of sweetness and juiciness. it would be a wonderful dessert, any time of the year.

almond filling

almond-coconut tart

lemon yogurt cherry cake and the next martha monday

i had to take a pass on this week's tuesdays with dorie. the selection was marshmallows and i don't use gelatin and i didn't have time to get some vegan alternatives. but please do check out the other awesome TWD bakers that did!

last week i still had leftover lemons and just in time, smitten kitchen to the rescue with her lemon yogurt anything cake, adapted from ina. i've never made a yogurt cake before, but i love yogurt, so why not? although i hesitate to buy berries out of season, i decided to go against olfactory principles and that i must have berries in this lovely cake. until i saw they came from chile. sigh. if i wait just a couple of months i can get them right down the street at the farmer's market. was i going to be stuck with lemon yogurt nothing cake?

but then i decided to buy frozen. cascadian farms organic cherries, ahhh, the packaging looks so californian! and california is closer than chile, so you know, being environmentally sensitive is all relative. then i get home and see these frozen buggers are from chile too!! ugh. serves me right for thinking i could trick mother nature of the northeast. and with that, my watery cherries (because i was in a rush and didn't wait for them to dry out) fell to the bottom of my cake. boo hoo. was still quite delish, although i think i probably would have preferred the blueberries. and can anyone tell me, is yogurt cake supposed to be this sticky? or was it because of the lemon syrup?


and totally unrelated but without further adieu, i poured through my martha's baking handbook. it's really a tough call, there are so many things that i really would like to make. and plus, i want to get to savories too! but for the next martha monday, i'm staying with the sweet, and have selected ... mocha roulade, p. 187. honestly i don't even like coffee, but the photo looks so luscious, and i know many people who would love a little espresso powder in their dessert! if you really don't like coffee, you could also try the blackberry roulade on p. 184. i couldn't find an exact version of the mocha recipe on her website, but you can check out the chocolate-chestnut one here.

there are no "rules" to martha mondays except these:
1. post your roulade on monday, 28 april
2. email me the link to your post so i can include it here (mimikatzchen-at-gmail-dot-com)
3. have fun!!

the making of an (almost) chef

don't worry, this is still your favorite mimi on the move, just with a new look! spring is coming (i think?) and i wanted something lighter and brighter. some of my older posts look weird now in the new template (if anyone knows why, please let me know so i can fix!). i'm not really 100% happy with the template layout and design, but since i'm too busy (lazy?) to learn HTML or CSS, it is what it is. but now on to the food!

i don't entertain the idea that i am a chef or a cook. and i am certainly not a pastry chef. and until i understand the science of the fine art of baking, i don't really consider myself a baker either. i'm really a student.
sizzling pineapples
however, as most people in the profession will tell you ... there comes a moment in every kitchen where someone goes a crackin' and something goes a flyin'. now sometimes this is a regular occurrence because the guy running the place (and let's face the sad fact that most of the bosses of the kitchen are men) is just a mean and nasty a**hole. yep, plenty of those to go around. but usually, it's just the point of boiling in a pressure steamer ... nothing even really has to go beyond technically wrong, but there's a palpable feeling of negative energy in the air ... and then wack! a fork is flung, a dish is tossed, a wine glass chucked.

welcome to my past saturday night :)

because i waited until the last minute to shop at fairway i got stuck baking all my desserts on saturday night before the supper. and because i am an über-doer, i also just *had* to do (i mean, truly had to do!) three different kinds of desserts. folks, this the ultimate mix for the pressure steamer if you couldn't tell already.

the scene: about 1:30 in the morning. the oven has been on all night and i'm sweating (figuratively and literally) to get this shit done. my last baking (because i thought it would be easy) are some icebox cookies. mr. mimi is snoring on the couch, totally and blissfully immune to the storm brewing in the kitchen.

martha may be very good with what she does, but she had the brilliant suggestion to stuff the rolled cookie log into an empty paper towel thing for it to keep its shape. let me save you the heartache: don't do it!! as i'm trying to stuff parchment wrapped cookie logs into this stupid towel tube (which by the way, i took off half of the paper just so i could do this) it became an obvious what the frick? the roll becomes a completely mess of nearly melted butter and i'm ready to toss it into the trash, but i'm too proud.

it's at just about this swell time that sleepy mr. mimi saunters by. we have very different styles, and basically, we drive each other crazy in the kitchen. so he's yapping about cleaning up after myself, a few choice words are exchanged, and he walks away.

and then i had my first (almost) chef moment.

i threw a just-cooled mini cheesecake at his head, but i missed, and it splattered the wall instead. it wasn't my finest moment, but you know what? i happily went back to rolling my icebox cookies (sans the stupid paper towel tube). it was as if a weight had been lifted.

of course the mimis talked about it the next morning. gracious mr. mimi forgave me and said it happens to the best of us in the kitchen. so without further adieu ...

i found this wonderful pineapple almond cheesecake over at tartelette, and i knew i had to make it. i only had a 9" cake pan, so i had the leftover batter for mini cheesecake cups (which, yes, are better used as dessert than as arsenal). it came out a little creamier than i expected, the pineapples were a little under-caramelized, and the crust stuck to my parchment lining. so it wasn't the purtiest of things. but we served it as our first dessert for our sunday supper, and it was devoured. so delicious! for the great recipe, click here.

pineapple almond cheesecake

not the best looking slice, but delish!