Autumn Tease

Autum is my favorite season and one of the things I miss most about living back East.  Leaves changing, that first true chill in the air, a chunky sweater, and the beginning of the baking season that runs through the holidays. In Los Angeles, Fall seems to kick off more times than not by waves of 90 degree plus days.  Not the best way to kick off the season.  We had a reprieve from the heatwave, so I took advantage of the cooler temps and turned on the oven to bake these scones.  Apples scream Autumn and the scones did not disappoint, especially warm out of the oven with butter.

Apple Cinnamon Scones

Adapted from the 'Simple Scones Recipe' from King Arthur Flour
Makes 10-12

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter
2 cups minced apples (I used Honeycrisps)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 large eggs
1/ 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream, for brushing scones, optional

cinnamon sugar, optional

Preheat oven 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.  After mincing apples, put in a small bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Add cinnamon and stir to coat apple bits thoroughly.  

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in  butter until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in apples. Whisk eggs, extract, and milk together in large measuring cup or small bowl.  Gradually add the liquid mixture to the dry, mixing thoroughly until there's enough liquid to incorporate all the dry ingredients. 

Using your hands or a tablespoon, drop mixture onto cookie sheet.  Dust hands with extra flour to keep mixture from sticking to hands.  I made mine about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide, about an inch and a half high.  Place about an inch and a half apart on baking sheet.  

Brush tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes.  Serve with butter while still warm.

Stockings Are Hung

Another Christmas is almost here.  Four days to get cards in the mail, plan the big Christmas dinner, wrap the presents, and bake up a batch or ten of cookies.

I haven't been hiding behind that mound of flour in the kitchen (too much), though I have been doing quite a bit of baking and think the last batch of cookies has just come out of the oven.

Truth is...my laptop died a couple of weeks ago.  I've been doing most everything that takes use of a computer on my phone.  What did we do before smartphones? What did I do before smartphones?

A proper post will be coming before you know it.  Maybe even before Christmas.  Stay tuned.  Enjoy the Christmas lights.

A Bowl of Cherries

One of the reasons I like Summer is seeing the first crop of cherries coming into the market.  So far, I think I've gone through three or four pounds of them.  I can easily sit at the table and eat one after the other.  I've made my Cherry-Amaretto Syrup, now my favorite topping for French toast, and Cherry Almond Shortbread a couple of weeks ago for Girls' Night.  Yes, I see the pattern...I do love the tastes of cherries and almonds together.

The thought that I couldn't get out of my head was making a cherry clafoutis.  Part of the attraction was it being something that I hadn't made before and well, it was a little exotic.  I was originally under the impression that it was closer to a cake in consistency, but when I started to seek out recipes I saw the comparisons to flan.  Having not been a huge custard fan in the past, I decided it was time to change that.  You know, my egg issues.  I narrowed the choices down to three recipes (Saveur, Epicurious, and Simply Recipes).  I ended up going with the Saveur recipe, incidentally, the one that uses the most eggs.

You'll read that typically clafoutis uses unpitted cherries, so the batter can get a hint of the almond-like flavoring that the pits will release while baking, but I opted for pitting the cherries (by hand, just me and a knife, and some still very stained fingers).  Other than the time it takes to pit the cherries, this will easily come together.  I did it by hand and recommend it if you don't feel like dragging out the mixer.

It's amazing warm, dusted with confectioners sugar, just long enough out of the oven so the batter can set a little bit and nearly as good at room temperature.  Don't make me admit that it was a late lunch yesterday.  (And totally worth it!)

Cherry Clafoutis
(Adapted from a recipe at Saveur)


1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
6 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tbsp bourbon
3/4 cup flour
3 cups cherries, pitted
pinch of salt
confectioners sugar (for dusting)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease baking pan, pie plate, or skillet generously.  In a large bowl, whisk together the vanilla extract, bourbon, eggs, sugar, milk, and salt.  Add flour gradually until batter comes together.  


Pour batter into baking dish and scatter cherries in the batter.  Bake for 30-40 minutes  until edges and bottom are golden brown or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  The clafoutis will puff a little while baking and deflate a little once you remove it from the oven.  


Let cool a few minutes before serving.  Dust with confectioners sugar.  

Another Step Forward...

...because sometimes I think I excel at taking steps back...not today...no, siree...

...don't even ask me how nervous I've been all day getting this together, though it's been going on for close to a month, I made today THE day...a weird (or not) mix of nervousness,  a little anxiety, and excitement...it kept building with each step I completed....and with a wee bit of hesitation, my finger hovered over the 'Launch' button...

...but here she is...is all her infant glory...months ago I told myself, "Onwards and upwards because there is no other way to go."  See...I really am trying to be more positive...

...humour me...PLEASE!...and check out the shop...  :)

Semplice Gourmet

It's Been Some Week...

...or Midnight Baking Session #834.  I couldn't decide which to name this post.  Pick whichever strikes your fancy at the moment.  Neither will be wrong.  So, it's been a busy week, a strange week, a sad week, a happy week.  Just think...the week isn't even over yet.


I don't talk about the Day Job too often.  I don't think this is particularly the correct platform.  I've typically kept a pretty obvious boundary between my work-life and the rest of my life.  Here's the 2-minute version of what's been going on:  On April 25th, I found out that the corporate office of the company I work for decided that our store would be closing.  Despite being the Number 1 store in the company for fiscal 2011, according to a report that measured certain metrics, we weren't profitable enough in the space we were in.  It was totally unexpected.  In fact, I spent much of the past two months being either pissed off and angry or resigned (I get that it's a numbers game, but it still sucks).  As the store slowly emptied out over the past couple of weeks, it started to sink in how sad it made me, despite the fact that I took great joy in taking down another wall or moving fixtures from one shop to another to condense down.  I found myself humming "Another One Bites the Dust" every time I walked back to the stockroom with another handful of fixturing.


Well, the end finally came.  Our last day of business was this past Sunday and we were done, final checks in hand (those of us who were left), keys turned over to the construction team (they really should be called the de-construction team) this past Tuesday.  And I finally cried.  I had been holding it in over the past week, covering it up with Queen.  I let it sink in that the people I've worked with over the past 2 years weren't just co-workers, but friends.  They were joyful guinea pigs for baking experiments and went along with potluck meeting ideas...even the ones who claimed not to cook...I will not forget Pam's stuffed mushrooms.


Let me share a few more thoughts.  It was strange waking up Wednesday morning.  There's a certain mindset when you wake up on your day off, it's another mindset when you think, "I've nowhere to go to tomorrow."  I am not happy to be out of a job...a girl's gotta pay the rent.  But I am beginning to be a believer in the 'things happen for a reason' camp.  I've had more than a few people tell me it's time to push the food business forward.  It's time to follow the passion.  And I absolutely believe that to be true.  I also decided to pursue something else I've been wanting to do for a while.  Volunteer at a museum.  I met with the events manager at the Fowler Museum on UCLA's campus this afternoon and I am thrilled to pieces to report that I have orientation and my first day as part of the visitor services group next Friday.  


:::Deep breath:::  Okay...back to business.  As a last hurrah and 'thank you' for working with a great group of women, I baked treats...not just once, but twice.  And with another Girls' Night on Wednesday, I baked a third time.  Tomorrow may bring something else, as I bought cherries and have clafoutis on the brain.  Though this time around, I won't have the usual group to share it with.  


Cherry Almond Shortbread
(Adapted from the Classic Shortbread recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies)


2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped cherries (I used fresh Bing cherries, you could substitute dried)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 teaspoon almond extract


Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and line an 8 x 8 square baking pan with parchment.  Toast the almond slices either atop the stove in a skillet or in the oven for a couple of minutes.  In a bowl, sift together the flour and salt.  In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add extract and mix.  Alternately add the flour, cherries, and almonds to the creamed butter.  Using a wooden spoon, mix all ingredients until well-combined.  Press mixture into the baking pan, spreading into the corners.  Flatten and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.  After chilling dough, transfer to oven and bake until golden brown around edges, about an hour.  Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling.  You may need to use a knife edge to loosen shortbread from pan.

Cherry Almond Shortbread for Girls' Night

Red Velvet for the best team I could have!

Raspberry Scones

Feeling (Un)kneaded

Every now and then I believe that a little indulgence is good for you.  It doesn't have to be big or expensive.  A chocolate bar (with no guilt attached), a new lipstick, or a latte from Starbucks.  I bought myself a little indulgence.  A 14-lb indulgence in the shape of a cast iron Dutch oven.  I know I mentioned it in a previous post and I'm sorry, but I'm still excited about it.  I can make so much in it:  soup, chili, stews, roast chicken, and the primary reason I bought it...bread.

I was having breakfast at a friend's last year and she brought out a homemade ciabatta that was outstanding.  I asked her about it, and she told me how easy it was...no knead, bake it in a Dutch oven and there you go!  So, from that day on, acquiring a Dutch oven was in my plans.  I also checked into the no-knead bread baking and discovered Jim Lahey.  This is where I discovered how easy baking bread can be.  Past attempts have been okay, but this...is fantastic.  You mix the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and for at least 12 hours, let the yeast do its work.  It doesn't get easier than this.  I was so thrilled with the first attempt that I have two bowls sitting on the stove now, rising away, that will be bread by this evening.

May I make a suggestion?  Dig out the Dutch oven that you haven't used in ages, say 'thank you' to Jim Lahey, and bake bread.   Don't wait for it to cool and don't forget the butter, plenty of butter.

Click here for the link to Jim Lahey's recipe.

From a sticky, gooey, yeasty mess...

...to deliciousness.

Late Night Baking Session No. 562

The number is totally random.  It could be baking session number 562, 1289, or 48 for all I know.  It's my version of an inside joke (really inside), or my (sad) attempt at being funny.  I'll sometimes post a Facebook status when I get the urge to bake at night.  These are also sometimes known as 'Midnight Baking Sessions.'  The updates usually include a photo of what the late hour produces or provides a tease of what's to come.  There were a lots of those sessions around the holidays when I'd come home from the day job and decide to tackle just one more batch of biscotti.

Wednesday night turned into a late night baking session, after a lovely day off where I had lunch with the Girls, drank a latte with the best design ever, ran errands, and even made it to the gym!  It's those kind of days that get me itching to do some baking.  Like good foreplay leading into good sex.  All the right moves to put me in the mood---to find my hands covered in flour.  Wait...we're talking about baking, right?? RIGHT!

I bought a few Cara Cara oranges on the last grocery trip.  Yes, marketing by Mother Nature strikes again.  Not just any oranges, no Navels or Valencias here!  Cara Cara!  You know I was fascinated by the idea of a blushing pink surprise inside that bright orange peel.  I didn't want to hide the fruit.  It needed a showcase!  I considered a loaf cake with a layer of fruit on top, but after perusing some of the blogs I normally read, I saw a post for an apple upside down cake.  That's it!  Cake, fruit, caramelized sugar.  A little recipe searching and sorting and I decided on a David Lebovitz recipe.  If you haven't read his book, 'The Sweet Life in Paris,' you should.  He's funny, charming, and the book is filled with killer recipes.

His Upside Down Cake Recipe is just the kind of recipe I love, easy and adaptable.  The cake is amazing, moist, yet stands up to the caramelized top.  I used a 9-inch cake pan (even when making the caramel on the stovetop---tongs are helpful!) and vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract.  With the paste, you get the vanilla bean speckles.  I love that!

Find David's recipe here.  And go bake a cake.

Fresh out of the oven...Cara Cara Orange Upside Down Cake

Best latte art ever...meow!