I'm back!

Now that I've graduated I can devote more time to the things I really enjoy, like blogging, cooking, tweeting,  & reading. Fingers crossed that I can get a second summer job here in Iowa City & then a full time job in Minnesota at the end of July. :)

Here's a little taste of Graduation Day 2012:

Hello out there!

It's snowing here today & all I want to do is eat, eat, eat!

Mandy notified me this morning that it's been almost a whole entire month since I've written a post. I've been putting off writing anything because I'm worried that a.) It's not a good enough blog & b.) That it doesn't really matter.

So, here I am biting the bullet & kicking myself because I've been so lazy about this blog. I have at least two more recipes that I need to write about from when Mandy & I did our holiday baking. Also, I need to share some other recipes from my family that were given to me when I traveled back home to Des Moines.

Spring semester started this week. I'm taking Intermediate Spanish II, which is going to eat (get it?) up all of my time. I'm taking two lit classes: Modernist Women Writers & Literature and Culture of the Restoration. This is going to be my last semester at the University of Iowa so I really want to dedicate myself to getting better grades & actually trying instead of just skating through classes. Hopefully I can better manage my time with school & updating everyone here!

This week I received my financial aid refund check & out of that money I put away a good chunk into my savings for my big move to Minnesota in July. I put away enough money for rent, deposit, & two months worth of money for every bill that I have. If I don't find a job right away at least I'll be financial stable for a little bit. When I visited Mandy over Christmas break I got a feel for what neighborhoods have the best complexes & all of the price ranges around town. On the topic of schools, I think I'll apply to both Minneapolis Community and Technical School & The Art Institute of Minnesota. When I was visiting Minnesota last week, I had the chance to FINALLY try some of Liquor Lyle's pink sauce. My mom & her friends are always talking about it. I'm convinced that it's just mayonaise mixed with ketchup.

That next morning Mandy, Ali, & I made homemade French toast. The day before Mandy picked up some Vienna bread from Wuollet Bakery. Fancy, huh? I would have been satisfied with just some $1 bread from Hy-Vee, but that's okay. It's always nice to try out different variations of things.  Mandy ended up making her grandma's cinnamon syrup. It was amazing.

That's all I have for right now. I promise I'll be back to give out those recipes!

Peppermint Meringues

If you’re like me and somewhat new to culinary terms & recipe names, peppermint meringues probably caused you to raise an eyebrow or take a couple minutes to figure out what the heck a meringue actually is. The only time I’ve ever been familiar with the word “meringue” was when I was sloshed at Perkins on 86^th St in Des Moines at 2 am on a Saturday night gazing upon the endless rows of pies. Even while inebriated, lemon meringue pies didn’t look good. At all.

Cut to 2 weekends ago when Mandy told me that we were making peppermint meringues. I didn’t really even think about the process or what they would look like, all I knew is that I had to put on a brave face, step out of my comfort zone, & just cook.

As mentioned in one of my first entries, I’m not good at math. I couldn’t pass a fraction test if you had me try. I just don’t understand those types of things-math isn’t my strong suite. When Mandy was reading the instructions for the meringues & how we had to add the sugar in layers, I thought “Hey, no problem.” Yeah, that was until she said that we had to cut the amount of sugar we layered into thirds. “What the heck does that even mean?” With patience she explained it to me like cutting a pizza into thirds. “Oh, okay, I like pizza. I got it now.” If math teachers would have taken the time to explain things to me in regards to pizza, I think that I may have passed with flying colors.

Here's the link for the recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peppermint-Meringues-368976

Our first attempt at Peppermint Meringues went like this:

The eggs are supposed to be at room temperature, right? Do you know how long it takes eggs to drop down to room temperature after being in the fridge? It seemed like hours! So while the eggs were warming up we were anxiously waiting for the apple cider I wrote about in the last post to finish. During this first attempt at meringues I learned how to crack the eggs so that you only get the egg white part in your baking mixture. No part of the shell fell in either! I was kind of impressed with myself. The hardest part about that was making sure you didn’t let any of the fat from the egg get into the mixture.

Mandy had measured out all the sugar & things we needed for the meringue recipe so that it would be smooth sailing as soon as she started mixing. Well, it was all going great. The mixture was peaking, sugar was being added, you name it. Then it was time for the peppermint extract. I was freaking out because I couldn’t tear the foil off of the extract bottle & I was also trying to strain the apple cider that was on the stove. Adding the peppermint extract was my only job. My ONLY job. Mandy was mixing like a pro & telling me to hurry up & add the extract or the mixture would fall. So, the foil comes off & we can’t find a measuring spoon. Mandy tells me just to eyeball it. Okay, fine, I’m a good eyeballer. Two seconds later almost half of the peppermint extract bottle was in the mixture thus causing it to fall. I had ruined the peppermint meringues.

Because we hadn’t ever made something like this before we figured we could salvage the meringues. We improvised and poured the now liquid meringue mix into a tiny cake pan & topped it off with candy cane Hershey kisses. Our meringue mixture was now cake batter. No big deal.  Needless to say after it had finished baking it was terrible. We laughed for a really long time about the situation & decided that we had enough ingredients to try again.

Our second attempt at Peppermint Meringues went like this: My only job this time around was to add another layer of sugar to the mixture after 2 minute intervals. Mandy was going to add the extract this time. During the first attempt Mandy was mixing & adding the sugar without actually waiting the two minutes in between each sugar layer. So maybe THAT’S why the mixture fell & not because I added more peppermint extract than needing. (I highly doubt it.) After the meringue mixture has peaked, the peppermint extract was to be added.  We had no problems what so ever that time around. We added red food coloring to the ziplock bag that we had transferred the mixture to. This was to make it appear like red peppermint swirls. I have had some experience in piping cookies & frosting things, so I offered to put most of the meringues on the baking sheet.

Here’s the finished product! These meringues & the apple cider were the only things we got around to baking that afternoon. Even though we messed up the first batch of these meringues, it was a great learning experience on how much you need to be prepared before you start baking & how attentive you really need to be instead of just going with the flow.

Spiced Apple Cider

The first thing that Mandy & I made together last weekend was apple cider. This isn't just any apple cider-this is the best apple cider that I have ever had. I'm not lying when I say this. I've never really been a fan of apple cider. The cinnamon to apple ratio has always made me cringe. Cringe I did when I saw the ingredients to make it on Mandy's grocery list. I saw that this recipe called for cloves & immediately rambled out a story about how my mom used to make ham with cloves. I never cared for cloves & I think they smell odd. But, because all of the things we were making that weekend were things we had never made before, I thought I better give this apple cider a shot. Speaking of shots, this cider is non-alcoholic.

Look at those orange peels! I did that. :) 

Mandy had to show me how to peel just the orange part of the peel with a peeler. I got the hang of it pretty quick. She also demonstrated how to use a mortar & pestle while crushing up the cardamom pods. Those things are nuts! I had no idea how they worked. I thought they were strictly for people who wanted to pretend they were pharmacists. Mandy got all her recipes from Epicurious.com in case you guys wanted to check out that website. It's pretty neat & easy to navigate. 

Ingredients:
1 large orange
4 quarts apple cider
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
15 whole cloves
10 whole allspice
8 whole green cardamom pods, crushed
5 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half

Directions:
Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (orange part only) from orange in strips. Place orange peel in heavy large pot (reserve orange for another use). Add apple cider, golden brown sugar, fresh lemon juice, cloves, allspice, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks to pot. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until cider mixture is reduced to generous 8 cups, about 40 minutes.  Strain cider into medium pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated). Rewarm cider. Ladle into mugs.

The best part about making this cider was watching the stream roll off the top of the pot & the smell of spices & oranges filling the kitchen. We kept sticking our noses over the top of the cider & breathing in super deep. (Mandy wants to me to put in a disclaimer that you could get a steam burn from doing this. She doesn't want me to get sued because people weren't smart enough not to burn themselves!)  It was so hard to wait the 40 minutes until it was ready because we wanted to drink the cider as soon as we started making it. The cider was absolutely delicious! I was craving some my entire trip back to Iowa.

Enjoy guys!

Christmas baking & decorating Minnesota style.

This last weekend I was in Minnesota visiting Mandy. We dedicated the weekend to recharging,  & spending some time baking & decorating her house before Christmas. A couple of days prior to me leaving Iowa City for the Twin Cities, she had given me a run down of the items she was interested in baking. Quite honestly, the list of treats made me nervous because they seemed so fancy compared to what I was used to nibbling on for the holidays. But, that's Mandy, she's fancy & isn't afraid to take risks with cooking.

Saturday afternoon after we stopped for sandwiches at The Cheese Shop & smoothies at Jamba Juice, both of which I had never been to, we headed out to tackle the long grocery list of what was needed to complete this baking adventure of ours. I ordered a chicken salad sandwich & Mandy ordered a Thanksgiving turkey type of sandwich from The Cheese Shop. Hers had brie & cranberry chutney on it. (Side note, the chutney smelled terrible but was so delicious!) Jamba Juice was kind of intense only because there were so many options, but I ended up with Pomegranate Paradise. It was super tart! Mandy got Orange Carrot Karma which she said was fantastic. I tried it & disagreed. Who wants to taste carrots in their smoothies? Not me!

We went at Target in Eden Prairie to pick up some bake ware that Mandy needed before we could start making cookies. She found a lot of great deals on cookie sheets, cooling racks, & a hand mixer. The night before her & I had been discussing if she should splurge & spend the money on a nicer mixer or just suck it up & get a cheaper one. I told her, "I bet a hand mixer would only be, like, 6 dollars. It's not a big deal." I was using my vast knowledge of kitchen items & holiday sales to convince her to save her money. Little did I know...

While I  browsing the Christmas end caps/stocking stuffers & wishing I could buy everything in Target, she was deciding on kitchen items. She walked over with a big smile on her face & held up a hand mixer. She asked, "Guess how much?" I said, "No way! 6 dollars?" She said, "YES!" The celebratory dance I did in the middle of Target was quite extensive. People were staring, but that's what made it even better. We had an in-depth conversation about mixing bowls. Do you get the stack of 3 with handles & a lip for $20 or do you get the stack of 6 regulars bowls for $20? She choose the stack of 3. (I would have chosen the stack of 6.) Before we left Target, Mandy was deciding between a set of flannel sheets that were on sale or a pair of house slippers. I'm not joking, we went back forth between the two for at least 20 minutes. She decided on the slippers.

Knox decided he needed to show his slippers too! 

Just across the street was our next stop: Cub Foods. There were so many items on the list that it seemed like were in there for 10 hours. I was bumbling around testing out different crackers, spreads, & cheeses because it was sample day & in the meantime Mandy was concentrating on buying the right kind of New York strip steak. I'm a great helper! 

How much chocolate do we need?

In the middle of the baking aisle Mandy & I were comparing bars of chocolate to bags of chocolate chips while old ladies & soccer moms bustled around us fretting over their own recipes. I don't care what anyone says, it was really neat to be doing math out loud in the grocery store with someone who makes me feel really happy, not stressed out. My mom called while Mandy was looking for some particular spice & I didn't realize it until the end of the conversation, but I had been "facing" baking items while I was chatting with mom. I worked at Fareway, a grocery store native to Iowa, for almost 4 years so it's kind of instilled in my brain that I need to fix the shelves when they're messy. Facing is where you bring two of an item to the lip of the shelf so that it looks neat & stocked. Now I understand why I was getting weird looks from all of the women walking by me. 

"Do they even make chopped hazelnuts?" 

There were only two items that we couldn't find or buy at Cub foods: Fleur de Sel (Flour of the Salt in French) & Crème de Menthe. Apparently, you can't buy alcohol in grocery stores in Minnesota. Also, you can't buy alcohol on Sundays. When Mandy told me this I threw a fit & shouted, "What about Sunday Funday?" She replied calmly, "That's why you plan ahead, like on Saturday night." Who does that? Who is prepared for Sunday Funday on a Saturday? Ridiculous, I say. 

All stocked up!

Whenever I check out of a grocery store I like to put my groceries on the belt in order of how they should be sacked just out of convenience for those who are sacking my groceries & most importantly, efficiency for the cashier. Mandy let me do this & watched intently, I think maybe she was smirking as I separated cold meats from boxed items. As she was paying, I noticed that all of the groceries were sitting down at the end of the conveyor belt. No one was around to ask "Paper or plastic?" I turned to Mandy, "You have to sack your own groceries?" Quite shocking for someone who worked around groceries all throughout high school. 

The rest of this entry will be dedicated to the decorating we did around her house Sunday evening. My next blog post will feature the first thing we made on Saturday, so just keep reading! 

Sunday afternoon we decided that Mandy needed some sort of holiday tins or bags to put her cookies in to give out as gifts. We hit up Family Dollar for some cheap tins. After that we went to the holy grail of all things Christmas, Michael's. For those that are unfamiliar, Michael's is large arts & crafts store. If you're feeling some what of Scrooge, go walk around Michael's for a hot second. You'll leave the store feeling like you spent time in Santa's workshop spreading Christmas cheer. Mandy was bopping around from aisle to aisle & I couldn't keep track of her so I suggested that we get a cart & take it aisle by aisle. I am turning into my mother, I swear. There were a lot of sales on Christmas tins, holiday wreaths, & tree ornaments. She snagged a very elegant wreath for $20. 

Happy Holidays! 

My mom always has cinnamon pinecones scattered around the house during the winter months so when I saw them at Michael's, I got all sappy & kind of nudged Mandy into buying some for herself. That smells always makes me think of home. It was nice to share that memory with Mandy. Once I'm back home in Des Moines for Christmas, I'm going to Trader Joes to buy my mom a cinnamon broom to sit in the corner just like I did last year. 

Mandy found a vase on sale & added some jingle bells to her pinecones. Great accent piece!

Putting up the Christmas tree together was absolutely warming to my heart. Not only because we were making our own memories & having a blast while doing so, but it made everything else around us feel like Christmas. There isn't any snow on the ground & it's been a very warm winter so far. I put all of the hooks on the bulbs & she hauled up her tree from the basement. She's very organized so we separated the different parts of the tree limbs into piles before attaching them to the base. I appreciate organization in my life so this was just the cherry to my holiday sundae. We tackled stringing the lights like a team & the tree went up in no time at all. 

The finished tree. I think it looks amazing next to her red couch. What do you guys think?

The bear cub ornament we got nestled in lights! 

Even though the shopping was a little tiring the end result was very satisfying. Like I said, the next few entries will be focused on the treats that we made over the weekend. I'm thankful that I not only got to spend time in Minnesota, but that I was able to participate in something so special with someone who means a lot to me. 

Once finals week is over I'm going to make some posts about the weekend I spent with Mandy & all of the things that we baked for Christmas. :)

Just be patient!

Melting Moments

As long as I can remember my Grandma Janet has made a plethora of cookies & goodies for Christmas. I could be mistaken, but I know that she starts right around Thanksgiving or a little bit after we've filled our bellies with turkey. She's famous for two different kinds: melting moments & spritz cookies.  This post I'm going to give you all the famous "melting moments" recipe. Seriously, these cookies are such hit. You'll be craving them all year round.

But first, for those of you who are new to the baking world or just out of the loop a little bit, spritz cookies are a simple butter/sugar/almond type of cookie. A cookie press let's you decide what shape or size you want. You can dip them in icing, frost them, sprinkle them, whatever you heart desires. My Grandma Janet, or Gma J as I will be referring to her from here on out, has this really old, tattered cardboard box that she keeps all of her spritz cookie baking bits in. No matter where she has lived, no matter how many times she's been in & out of the hospital, somehow & some way, she's always asking my mom, "Teresa, did you get the spritz cookie box?" My mom just rolls her eyes, as if to say, "Yes, mom, I wouldn't dare forget your spritz cookie pieces." I like watching my mom & Gma J talk about baking & cooking. I've only seen the press pieces of a couple of times. All I knew is that once the holidays come around, Gma J's cookies were in my mouth.

Here's a sample of what you can do with the spritz cookie pieces. I don't really care for the green cookies, but I don't tell  Gma J that.  I remember my sophomore year at Iowa, Gma J sent me back to school after Christmas break with a 3 pound cookie tray of spritz cookies, melting moments, & other Christmas goodies. That's probably why I gained 20 pounds that semester. Unfortunately, these past 2 holiday seasons we haven't been blessed with Gma J's baking. She's had some medical issues that prevented her from being in her own home. Right now she's skating around on her new Jazzy scooter & I really don't think she'll be that agile in the kitchen this year. I hope that once I become more experienced with baking, I can start playing with her cookie recipes. She'd be incredibly happy that I'm interested in the things that bring her joy.

Now on to Gma J's famous "melting moments." These cookies take a little bit of baking professionalism in your blood on your first couple of attemps, but once you've made them enough times, you're set. Below is the a picture of the actual recipe. My mom submitted the recipe to her company's cookbook one year. For those friends and family members fortunate enough to have tried these cookies that's all we hear about when the holidays roll around, "Is your Grandma going to make those melting moment cookies again?"

Ingredients: 
1 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups flour (do not use self-rising)

1/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cookie:
Mix butter, cream, and flour thoroughly, then cover and chill. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough 1/3 at a time on a floured surface to approximately 1/8" thick.  Keep remaining dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll out. Cut into 1-1/2" circles-if you don't have a cutter this size, use a lid from a spice jar. Transfer rounds with spatula to wax paper covered with white sugar. Turn each one so that both sides are covered. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. (I use parchment paper on them when I bake these) and prick each round 4 times with a fork. Bake 7-9 minutes until set but not brown (just when the edges are starting to turn). Let cool and put together in pairs with creamy filling. You can be creative and add flavorings like vanilla, lemon, or almond extract or food colorings to the filling if you want. Sometimes I add 1 teaspoon of almond extract to the cookie dough.

Filling:
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. If you need to add water, do so a few drops at a time. Makes sure this is not too thin or it will harden.

Grandma let me help her one year. From what I remember, this was the year that Grandma came to visit us for an extended period of time while my mom & I were living in Ogden, Ia. We had this really huge house & an open kitchen-perfect for making holiday treats. Not only did we have ample space, but we had this front porch that was just the right temperature for putting cookies on cooling racks & storing them in festive tins.

I'm cutting out the shapes for the melting moments here in the kitchen of that fabulous house, fabulous because of the wallpaper. Also, we had a farmhouse sink. Those, in my opinion, are fantastic. I have flour all over my hands & like any normal 14 year old girl, I'm multi-tasking. I'm trying to cut out the dough, move the hair out of my face, & trying to remain calm while my mom snapped pictures of me assisting in the tradition of Grandma J's famous cookies. HOW UNCOOL MOM!

Grandma has had some changes to her hair since 2001, but her surprised face hasn't changed in the last 10 years. My mom caught her while she was placing the melting moment cookies on the cookie sheet before putting the cookies together with the filling Also, I really miss that wall phone. I remember talking for hours to all of my friends & getting tangled in the white cord. See that gingerbread man on the wall? My mom still has that!

I hope that you guys get a chance to try these melting moments out. Let me know if you have any questions about them. They really are a super hit! I couldn't imagine Christmas without them.