guest post: cookbook author gesine bullock-prado of "Pie It Forward"

Today I'm thrilled to have cookbook author and blogging friend Gesine Bullock-Prado.
Gesine is the author of the memoir “My Life from Scratch: A Sweet Journey of Starting Over One Cake at a Time”” and the cookbooks “Sugar Baby” and the newest “Pie it Forward”. She lives in Vermont with her husband, is a chef instructor at the King Arthur Flour Company in Norwich, VT, and is slowly learning the process of becoming a gentlewoman farmer while remodeling their antique home and semi-working farm. And if that’s not enough, is currently on a book tour promoting her third book “Pie it Forward” via radio and television. (you might also have seen her doing cooking segments on the Today Show as well). It also needs to be noted that she did have a small pastry shop in Montpelier, Vermont: Gesine Confectionary and it has since been closed. I can’t imagine doing all this; I’m tired after typing it all. And don't forget to see her website: gesine.com It's just adorable and for me, literally sums up what her new life is like in rural Vermont. (read through to find out about a giveaway to win a copy of Pie It Forward!).

Gesine (geh-see-nuh) was incredibly kind to answer a few questions for me about her latest cookbook, and how she does it all in life, as well as her next steps in life.

What does “Pie It Forward” entail? It’s a new frontier in pies; sweet and savory pies that is; a different take of the classics; a creative twist with a heavy dose of Gesine imagination. Her press release says it perfectly: “….Gesine imagination—riffing on her German roots, her Hollywood background, and life on her Vermont farm. A blueberry brown butter tart, an Italian plum tart with a yeasted-dough crust, a tiramisu-inspired espresso tart, a Vermont pizza pie….”
And with each new pie recipe has its own crust recipe since Gesine states “not all dough’s are created equal!” Good point.
Bonus part of the book? A savory chapter filled with pork pies, Cornish pasties, Bavarian calzone…



Brief history of Gesine: she lived a large, glamorous, yet overworked stressful life in Hollywood working as a lawyer, film executive for many years. She left the Hollywood life to set her eyes on pastry-making, open a bakery, and start life again, from scratch, in an antique home, living as a soon-to-be gentlewoman farmer (with her husband, and I’ve lost count how many animals, and farm animals). And if you’re curious to find out why she left all that glamour and glitz for the simple life, starting from scratch, and choosing the baker path, I HIGHLY suggest you read her book “My Life from Scratch: A Sweet Journey of Starting Over, One Cake at a Time”.


chocolate fleur de Sel caramel tart, pg 153

Her blogs include:

Confections of a (closet) Master Baker – splendid recipes, secret tips and yummy pictures from a professional pastry chef

Sugar Baby Cookbook – a companion website for the cookbook: Sugar Baby. It includes extras like videos, extra pictures and ideas of what else you can do with the wonderful recipes in Sugar Baby.

Running in Circles – A blog dedicated to reconfiguring traditional recipes so that they work as the perfect fuel for runners while staying as delicious as the original. Also great advice of you want to run a marathon and never thought you could.

Freegrace Living – Living life completely from scratch: from raising farm animals, to growing food to restoring a Tavern built in the 1700’s. There’s more to life from scratch than baking.

Pie It Forward – The companion website for the cookbook: Pie It Forward.


Gesine's gorgeous homestead in Vermont (looks as if the renovations are going quite well)


Geese, she has lots of them. Chatty little critters too.




The newest additions to the farm. Precious right? Gesine takes really good care of the babies: they all sleep on flannel sheets!

questions:

Just typing up the intro, and all that you do, all that you have done in your past life, I thought to myself, where does she get the energy? It’s obvious you have a zest for life and taking on multiple projects.
I was under the impression that you just completely set your eyes on starting life over with pastry making. I had completely forgotten that in your busy Hollywood days you baked, a lot actually, as a stress release. Did you start out making fancy pastries? And is it true that you’ve had no formal training?
How did you learn all these fine pastry making skills?

It was my mother’s death that really put the coal in the pastry engine. She died far too young of cancer, especially for a woman who was a health food nut (macrobiotic) and a marathon runner. But she was also a wonderful and adventurous cook, primarily during the holidays when she let loose with the butter and sugar. She was German and I was raised in Austria and Germany when I was younger and we returned most summers thereafter. Suddenly, my mother’s strict culinary regime went out the window. Kaffee und Kuchen (cake and coffee) was a daily meal, whether we baked at home with my aunt and family or whether we went into Salzburg and hit up a pastry shop where pastries are an intricate and edible art. When we were back in the states, I coveted my friend’s Oreos and Nutter Butters. Once I had my own kitchen and I set about baking earnestly, I drew from my childhood influences and the stubborn streak I’d inherited from my mother. The first task I gave myself was mastering laminated doughs and I wasn’t leaving my kitchen until I’d made those doughs my bi…well, you know where I’m going. And that’s how it progressed. If there was a treat I loved from childhood and couldn’t find in the states, (mandelhoernchen, macaron, millefeuille etc) I figured out how to make it myself.

And you do all this on your own, very little in the way of assistants I see? Does this energy stem from your busy Hollywood life? Always wanting to continue taking on more? I’m a loner and a perfectionist. Tina Rupp, who is the photographer on the books, always looks at me like I’m nuts for doing all the baking for the photo shoots alone. But it’s my work. I wrote the book. These are my recipes. So I feel like the reader should see how I do it. And under that kind of pressure, where you’re baking 100s of things in a few hours, it’s a great test to the workability of recipes and proof that they can look beautiful even if you’re losing your mind and have 5 minutes to finish.

I also bore easily. My husband is my true helpmate in life but in the pasty department, there’s no trespassing in my baking cave. On the other hand, when I’m teaching, I love everyone to get their paws in the mix: to feel the croissant dough as it’s rising and the butter block when it’s the perfect temperature for folding, just to play with the ingredients. I want to share what I know and love, so when I’m in that mode, I not only want people in my space, I want them literally poking my dough.


raspberry-lemon coconut panna-cotta tartlets, pg. 46

In one of your blog title’s you’ve dubbed yourself with the name “I’m gesine, helga’s daughter” tell me the story behind that title? This is in memory to your mom? You’re mom was the one that put that sparkle in your eye for baking at an early age? I’ve heard from your podcast on NPR how much of an influence that was. (listen here).

That’s actually my “handle” on Blogger, so whenever I post or comment that’s what turns up. It’s because I am truly my mother’s daughter. I wrote my memoir Confections of a Closet Master Baker/My Life from Scratch as a pastry journey and as a love letter to mom. I bake and she’s conjured before me.

Also, from that NPR podcast I learned and I admire that you said, regarding watching your mom slowly die of cancer, you said, and quite simply but with such intensity, “watching my mom slowly die of cancer, I realized life is too short….I can’t stop her cancer but I can certainly make my life happier…” And this is essentially, leading up to now, what you’ve done: make your life happier? Yes?

Absolutely, Life’s too short. I know she was proud of me before I changed my life but she’d have reveled in the life revolution we’ve made. At once it’s heartbreaking that I don’t get to share Vermont, the animals, the pastry and the peace we’ve captured. On the other hand, her hand is in all of it so I see her in everything I do.

And speaking of your strong German mother, she was the one that lived a macrobiotics lifestyle, but still baked buttery, rich goodies such as German tortes, tarts. Was this a contradiction or her balance of good food with bad food?

The wonderful thing about my mother is that she never saw beautifully made food as “bad” food because it isn’t. She saw processed food and unnatural food as bad. I think she was just incredibly honest with herself and her self-control. You put a pint of ice cream in front of her, she’d eat the whole thing. Same with a box of marzipan. But my mother was a huge advocate of using butter and gorgeous, real ingredients. When we were back in her home, in Germany, she relaxed and she let the dietary vice grip loosen and she’d enjoy her slice of cake and then we’d climb a mountain. Had she lived her entire life this way, you could make a good argument that she’d be alive today.

All those years, in your past life, of living the fast life of Hollywood--any of that make you now look back and say “Hey I learned something from this?”

The honest truth is if you work in Hollywood, it’s anything but fast. Film production is a “hurry up and wait” life. I didn’t party or schmooze. But that “hurry up and wait” actually does apply to baking. So often there are processes that require you to whip this, whip that, fold gently but quickly, IMMEDIATELY put it in the oven….and then wait wait wait until it’s done. Thankfully, I can make something else while I’m waiting.

I understand the meaning of wanting to write your first book “My Life from Scratch: a sweet journey of starting over”. And can see the connection to then write your second book “Sugarbaby” a wonderful yet hard task I might add. But tell me how/why you choose the direction of pie for book three?

My life change was as much to write as to bake. Once my pastry shop opened, I had no time to write. Starting at 3:30 a.m. and closing up shop at 7pm leaves you with nothing left but a strong desire for red wine and a bed. But Vermont is filled with artists and writers and it turned out that a vast majority of our customers were writers. So we started a writer’s group that met in the shop after we’d shut the door. We’d nosh on left over goodies and share our latest and not so greatest. I had to produce something for the group so I started to write my pastry journey. Originally, the memoir had no recipes. It wasn’t until we were about to go to publishers that I rewrote the manuscript to accommodate them. The cookbooks are simply my need to share specific techniques. SugarBaby was the book I couldn’t find when I was training myself. I didn’t understand why you could get a candy-making book but there was nothing in it that explained that those techniques were the same as in making an Italian meringue for macaron or a Sacher glaze or pate de bomb for chocolate buttercream or croquant. It was as if there was a conspiracy to keep this knowledge away from home bakers and this ticked me off. As for pie, I have a really broad view of pie and I’ve heard so many people lament that pie crust is the bane of their existence. I wanted to produce a book that explained what makes up the flaky, tender crust and then show that there are many versions on the same theme and how to coordinate with various fillings. You can make a traditional American crust or you can blast it with 50% more flaky and buttery by making a quick puff and then you can take it to the moon by making traditional puff. And then there is the simple tart dough, which is my version of pate brisee, and so much more. Like SugarBaby, I find that when you get knee deep in the pastry world, you see these techniques that are interrelated and I wanted to share that pie can be so much more than what we’ve traditionally thought about in the home kitchen.

I know when I test recipes I often rely on my husband to taste test first. He’s not a foodie so he isn’t all that reliable, as he says “this is good” to just about everything. Does your husband have a good palette? Is he a good taste-tester?

He’s got a very sophisticated and broad palate. And he’s honest. So he’s my true barometer of what’s what in the kitchen.


vermont apple pie, pg. 91

Your bakery Gesine Confectionary in Vermont is closed now? Was this let go because of too much on your plate? I heard it was a fabulous little cake shop. Think you’ll ever own another bakery again—you know when things calm down a bit for you?

I’ll never say never.

Do you still sell those infamous macaroons online?

Instead of mail order, I’m partnering with someone to get them in retail stores nationwide. This takes more time than I’d like but it’s an interesting endeavor.

In “pie it forward” you literally live up to the title of “redefining the pie classics”. Going into this cookbook, did you have a set list of pies that you wanted to recreate or should I say re-design?

I usually develop recipes based on what I’m craving. Which can be really dangerous.

Years ago when my husband and I first moved back to cape cod, we rented a very old (like 1700’s old), antique house that belonged to one of the first constables of Sandwich, MA. The amount of money we poured into that place made us deem it “the money pit”. I know you and your husband bought an old house and farmhouse? Was this something you wanted to do? Do you still love it? My memories of living a our antique rental, made me coin it up in this phrase “living in the money pit was like owning a convertible car that had piles of money in the back seat, and every time you drove the car the money would just blown away…”

I grew up in a family that restored houses so I can’t imagine not having a project. The second a house is “done” I’m ready to move on. Thankfully, this house will always have a project in store. It was built in 1786 and has a lovely history but is in better shape than most new construction. I don’t think of it as blowing money as much as being a steward of Vermont history. I’d rather spend money on maintaining the property than buying shoes or clothes. Not unlike how I’d rather blow $100 on great chocolate than $300 on a purse. I’ll enjoy the chocolate and my carriage house turned bakery a hell of a lot more.

With all the skinny pastry chefs I know (and there are not a lot of skinny ones out there). I have to ask, and a few fans have asked me to ask you: how do you stay so thin? Is it because you’re always on the move?

The adage “never trust a skinny chef” is so so wrong. I say, “never trust a fat chef” because who is more likely to scarf the best stuff in the kitchen before it gets out to the customers? You always have to taste for quality and balance but leave the best for the customers.


nutella tart, pg. 182 and classic pecan pie, pg. 183

Personally, I learn a great deal from you, and your recipe posts at Confections of a (closet) Master Baker; you easily show us how easy it is to make macaroons. Watching your videos at your website www.gesine.com; you have a wonderful video about making a wild blueberry pie. I couldn’t agree with you more when you say the best part is the crust. And one of your tips: everything must be cold; even the flour. Where did you learn that from? Any other tips for exceptional pies and pie crusts?

I’m a geek, I like to know the true nature of things. The “cold” in crusts is a standard issue instruction but the why of it interested me more and the bottom line is that the nature of flour is to absorb moisture. If everything’s warm, the flour will absorb the butter and the crust will be tough. If you chill everything, the butter won’t be absorbed but will remain suspended in discernable chunks in the dough. In the oven, the moisture evaporates, creating a lovely puff and flakiness, leaving the proteins and the butter to create structure and gorgeous flavor. The other truism of pie dough is not to over process it, otherwise you’re working the gluten (proteins) in the flour which also leads to a tough dough AND warms the dough so your butter is going melt and then that whole absorption thing happens. The other thing is not to add too much moisture to most butter flour doughs (traditional pie crust and puffs) which will make the dough goopy and tough. Often, the dough will look too dry and a baker will add more water until the dough comes together and “looks” right. However, this is usually the sign of a grossly overprocessed dough. Instead, add just enough liquid so that when you pinch the dough between your fingers, it holds together. Then press into a round, cover with wrap and refrigerate. This allows the dough to rest and for the flour to start hydrating. About 20 minutes. You’d be surprised how 20 minutes can turn a round of dough from a rough, dry mess into a smooth, workable dough.

In a typical day, what do you eat? I know sugar is a staple in your diet for recipe taste-testing.

Eggs. We have so many laying birds from hens to geese to ducks, eggs are on constant rotation. I make fish stews and cassoulets for lunch. We have ramps and fiddelheads in the fridge now and hopefully a foraging jaunt today will turn up some morels for a nice tart. It’s a seasonal free for all here.

Most memorable travel destination for food? What did you have?

We’ve had so many memorable meals together, my husband and I. When we travel, it’s 1% exploring the new town and 99% food. But my favorite was an unexpected meal in Morocco. We detoured into a truck stop for a minute. We smelled a gorgeous tagine and suddenly we were ravenous. We ended up ordering beef kefta and washed it down with Coke, feasting in the middle of the dessert. It was one of those food experiences when you catch yourself gleefully humming while you eat, your feet doing that “I just put something unbelievable in my mouth and there’s more in the bowl” happy dance.

Favorite junk foods, if any?

Too many to list. I still crave cheese filled Combos whenever I drink too much beer. I won’t let you near my bowl of Kraft macaroni and cheese. And bacon.

Does your husband like to cook or bake?

He’s a great cook. He’s become an expert at Japanese pub food. He’s our weekend chef.

If someone wants to open their own bakery, granted they are going to be on their feet all day. I know you’re on your feet all day; a good pair of chef clogs goes a long way, but what about keeping your back strong? Any tips in that area?

Don’t lock your knees and stretch. Get a rolling counter at the right height for you. I roll laminated doughs by hand al day and while this is a phenomenal workout, it’s awful on the back. If you get the counter to just the right height, it takes so much burden off your vertebrae. And take walks. I actually find that a good run cures all my bake and back ailments.


strawberry love pie, pg. 226

Is there another book in the works? Something about ‘complicated desserts’?

The next book is a cake book, geared towards creations that are beautiful when you slice into them as much as the are beautiful on the outside. And by “inside” that means they look great slice and that they better taste damn great when you put them in your mouth. Some are complicated but others are painfully easy and just look complicated (my favorite kind). And we’re filming a PBS series called “Life from Scratch” (gee, wonder where that came from) that’s part homesteading lifestyle show part baking show. Want to know how to hatch and raise ducklings and then use your extra duck eggs to make an unbelievable pound cake? Want to make your own farmer’s cheese and turn it into the best cheesecake ever? Curious about keeping bees but want someone else to get stung first (i.e., me), this is the show for you.

Thank you so much Gesine! Your answers were just a joy to read and comforting to know I'm not the only one that has an obsession with those darn Combo pretzel things. Thanks for the back tips too!

To enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Pie It Forward, simply leave a comment here telling us which of Gesine cookbooks you've read, or which ones you'd like to read.
We'll do the drawing May 29, 2011.
One entry per person please. PLEASE have a valid email in your link and/or comment.

beef & cheddar hand pies

Sorry I've been m.i.a. My old faithful laptop died and I am in the process of converting over to a Mac.
A whole new world to learn really.
Change is hard, but good in this case. I'm learning....
Ever have a trusty old something that you hate to lose?

Making beef and cheddar hand pies is easy, easy since I used the same crust that I used for my raspberry-cheddar hand pies.



King Arthur really nailed it with this cheddar cheese crust. It's so versatile. The next use will be an apple pie or apple hand pies. And since I get asked all the time "does it freeze well?" I can finally say yes, this cheddar crust does freeze very well.









I found a small bowl makes the best outlines for cutting out circles.



The beef filling can be anything you want really. Ground cooked beef with any type of veggie and/or sauce. I'm a pepper jelly junkie--love it on everything.







beef & cheddar hand pies
print recipe
cheddar crust from King Arthur

cheddar crust
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Hi-maize Fiber (or substitute all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup Vermont cheese powder (or substitute ¼ cup fine-grind Parmesan cheese)
3/4 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or a dash of hot sauce, optional
1 1/2 cups (24 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pats (I grated mine, kept them frozen)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup ice water

filling
¾ - 1 pound of cooked ground beef
any veggie you want: I used chopped sweet onions
¾ - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
pepper jelly, but use whatever type sauce/condiment you like

Cook notes: I made this without the hi-maize fiber using flour instead, and used Parmesan instead of cheese powder. BUT I highly recommend using/finding the sharp cheese powder because I’m so sure that adds a nice flavor and the parmesan makes it a little more greasy. I separated this dough into 5 mounds and only used one mound for the fruit pies, and freezing the rest. Does it freeze well? Yes. For the square-like hand pies, I rolled my hand pies into long squares, but use any shape you want—keep in mind that the dough should be as thin as possible since it does rise a bit when baking. Always keep the dough cold when working with it and always work the dough as little as possible as we want a nice crispy crust. The more you work the crust the chewier and less tender it will be.
In terms of cutting out dough squares for perfect sized hand pies? -- I’m horrid at this, so I just cut them into long strips and filled one half and folded over the other half OR I used a bowl and cut out circles (as seen in the photos). It’s rustic, but it works for me. If you have a better way, then please go ahead.
You should get about 4 batches of dough, and each batch of dough should give you about 4-6 hand pies depending on how thick/thin you rolled the dough and how you cut out each square/circle.

To make the crust: Combine the dry ingredients. Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.

Add the cheddar cheese and water, mixing until the dough is cohesive; add extra water, if necessary, to make it come together. It will be crumbly, that’s ok, just mold them into mounds and cover with plastic—it will come together when it sits/sets up in the fridge. If you are using dough right away chill at least 30 minutes or more. If you are not using all of them right away then freeze the rest.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove a disk of dough from the fridge. Roll it into as big a square/rectangle, as you can. Using a sharp knife, slice out little squares (whatever size you want).
Fill the middles with about 1-2 TB of cooked beef, add on your veggies if using, then top off with shredded cheese and pepper jelly if using.
Make sure not to fill the centers too full or you’ll have a hard time closing/sealing up pie edges.
Once your filling is done, take another square or circle of dough and place over the top of the filling, gently seal up the edges with a fork by pressing down or pinching if necessary. It was not necessary to wet the edges before sealing; they stuck together just fine. I brushed the whole tops with the beaten egg before baking. Making a vent hole is NOT necessary.
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate while making the other hand pies; you always want to keep the dough as cold as possible.

Bake the pies for 18 to 23 minutes, until golden.
Let cool a bit before serving as the filling is HOT.
Each disk of dough should yield about 4-6 hand pies.
They are great alone or served with a dipped sauce.

friday links

A short friday fun stuff this week as my laptop is crashing every three hours; obviously on its last leg. Or is it on it's last CPU? No more PC, patiently waiting for tax refund to finally get a MAC. Yep a MAC. Can't wait.

Did everyone see this amazing story of the disabled war veteran Arthur Boorman? His remarkable transformation using a powerhouse yoga regimen over the course of a year? Have you seen what he looks like now? He looks great, but what I really noticed was how happy he looked. Watch the video--it inspired me to give this type of a yoga a try. I have a bad back at times and a bad knee. I keep my back strong with weights, but my knee NEEDS flexibility. I'm definitely ordering the DDPYOGA. If you don't know about DDPYOGA, watch the above video. Or watch the original video on YouTube

Rest in peace Maurice Sendak. Your motto: "live your life, live your life, live your life..." Is on my wall in my office. Those words keep me grounded.




Love this article from Gawker on ice cream. 5 Things That Need To Be Put into Mainstream Ice Cream.



There's a new chip in town. I tried them, they are OK. They need more coating and they are a LOT harder than the normal cape cod chip--tooth breaking hard.



Coffee flavored coconut water. Hmm. Maybe as a cocktail, but not as a sports drink.



Saw this in Pinterest and had to share it with you all. Walking heals everything doesn't it?

Plants that help you get a good nights sleep?

I've heard so many good things about repelling flies with a hanging bag of water. Well, here's more proof, and something a little more attractive and easier than just a plastic bag of water. An eco friendly, safe way to repel flies.

Gutter gardening. No yard, no problem, gutter gardens.

Edible bingo.

The 2012 James Beard winners!

Thai shrimp cakes with sweet chili sauce. Already bookmarked!

And Thai shortbread! Fascinating.

A recap from the 2012 Sweet & Snack show in Chicago.

Avocado Fries. Easy recipe.

Video: Christina Tosi before she was famous.

How to make salsa from scratch.

Happy Mother's Day!! Have a great weekend!

pineapple-cream cheese blondies and my stint as an electrician

5am Thursday morning a smoke detector in my house goes off. Which one? Who knows--once one goes off they all have to chime in and sing out loud. Three minutes later they all stop. I look at the ones in the house that I can see, look for any warning blinking lights--nothing (of course). Two remaining smoke detectors in the house are not easily visible as one is in a small loft space in master bedroom (accessible by small, frail, DECORATIVE wooden ladder used for hanging clothes by lazy me), and the other is in the living room on our 30 foot ceiling. Fabulous! No 24 foot ladder in sight, nor would I want one because this body is not meant for climbing 24 foot ladders, it's meant for baking. Friday rolls around, I forget it all, nothing making noise, must have been a fluke, let's carry on.
4am Saturday morning, all smoke detectors are blaring. No smell of smoke, they aren't turning off even with reset buttons being pushed repeatedly. In a panic I go to open a window and all alarms stop. My mind races to CO poisoning in house as I remember all our smoke detectors pick up carbon monoxide as well as fire smoke. I close window and all alarms start blaring again. Hubby and I both agree to call fire dept to have them come out to check. As soon as I pick up phone to dial, all alarms stop. What the....? My mind says call them anyway, you never know.
So of course when the fire department shows up, there are no alarms going off AND all smoke detectors are showing no signs of distress with different colored/blinking lights. Fabulous! Two fireman race around the house with little devices that measure for any CO leakage while the nice Lieutenant checks all smoke detectors and changes all their batteries. No CO leakage to be found in house! Whew! What a sigh of relief. Lieutenant thinks it could be the batteries all needed changing, a good dusting out of dust/cobwebs or it might have been that all our smoke detectors are over 5 years old and should be replaced. The one smoke detector in the attic did have a red light, which meant it possibly could be showing a fault; this is the one that the Lieutenant says might have set them all off. Replace smoke detectors every 5 years? Who knew?
Thankful to have had the firemen be so nice and explain everything to us three or four times, as well as being generous at 5am to change all batteries as well as dust out each and every detector. Firemen leave in their big giant red truck which of course catches the eye of all our neighbors now standing outside our home (fabulous!). Hubby and I both breathe a sigh of relief and make mental note to call electrician on monday to replace all smoke detectors. Easy right? Not so fast.

Saturday night rolls around and of course I am all alone, and the one smoke detector in the little attic only accessible by the little, unsecured wooden ladder goes off!
And it keeps going off. I waited for that little *&#$ bugger to stop, but it wasn't happening. I knew I had to do the impossible: either run across street to nice neighbor man, wake him up at 10pm to come over, go up the ladder and disassemble detectors OR face my fears and make this non-climbing-ladder body go up the ladder and disconnect smoke detector. Maybe I should take a shot of whiskey before going up? No, don't do that, because if you fall and die the coroners report will say woman was drunk and attempted to climb ladder in drunk fit. Oh no, that would not be good. Just do it, Focus, you can do this. I get to the top relatively easy; HUGE sigh of relief there as I thought it would be a lot worse. Go into attic and try to unscrew smoke detector. Flashback to when my hubby showed me the smoke detector downstairs and how he disabled it: a SIMPLE un-click of a tab thingee from the wires and you're done. This flashback does not help me now as this smoke detector is nothing like the one downstairs; its completely different with no "easy-to-unclick-tab-thingee" How fabulous is that? Let's just panic shall we? And of course the detector is blaring away, at full speed, numbing my ears as I stand under it thinking I should have had that shot of whiskey! My brain comes back, and tell me to unscrew the bottom half and look inside. I do this and see three wires with plastic caps on them and think to go ahead and unscrew the caps, pull apart the wires as this will release the detector from it's base. Why did I think this? Who the hell knows, but to make a long story short (and about 15 minutes later) the noise stopped, the base was apart and the detector was DEAD. Amen.

Did I mention that I got zapped? I didn't? Oh yeah, I got zapped trying to pull out the last wire, that was nice and snug up there and refusing to come down. Sticking my finger up there to pull it down I got zapped. Did it make me cry like a baby? Yes it did. But I ventured on. See when said baker meets said annoying smoke detector that won't stop ringing, said baker triumphs and wins. OK now, stop crying, you need to go down the ladder. Oh wonderful, I had completely forgotten about the climbing down part. I promised myself that when I got down I would have two shots of whiskey. Rewards make people do better--that's my philosophy.

Here's where the really tricky part comes in: going down the ladder was hard because I stupidly stood at the top and looked down. Not good. This is a bad visual to have. So I laid down on the floor and inched my way to the first rung of the ladder, foot down, firmly on ladder. Now the creaking of ladder starts. Fabulous!! Really fabulous! My mind says hurry the hell up and get down before this f****er breaks! Of course halfway thru I pause with fear and hear more creaking. I think just jump down! Only 5 more steps to go. I made it down. Nightmare over.

As I write this post, the electrician comes tomorrow and the whiskey shots, btw, were amazing, and I am not a drinker, but was that night I became one. The pineapple-cream cheese blondies are for me. Two of my comforts: pineapple and cream cheese together. This is when the word fabulous is truly fabulous.



pineapple cream cheese blondies
print recipe

blondies:
10 TB unsalted butter, room temp
Extra butter for pan
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ts baking powder
3/4 ts salt
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ ts pure vanilla extract

Pineapple-cream cheese:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temp
¼ - ½ cup diced (and well-drained pineapple chunks)
1 egg yolk
1-2 ts sugar (a lot of sugar is not needed here as the pineapple chunks are very sweet)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
For the pineapple-cream cheese mixture:
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, pineapple chunks, egg yolk and sugar until well combined; set aside.
For the blondie mixture:
Line a buttered or non-stick spray a 8-inch square baking pan. If your pan needs to have parchment paper to avoid sticking go ahead and do so. In medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

In a glass or cup, mix the eggs and vanilla extract until combined.
In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; cream on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Then add in eggs and vanilla mixing well; add flour mixture and mix until just combined. No need to overmix.
Pour batter into prepared pan; spread with a rubber spatula or wet hands.
Take the pineapple-cream cheese mixture and gently, using a spoon or pastry bag, place lines down the pan. No need to cover the entire top with cream cheese mixture; we want lines instead as the blondie batter will puff up when baked.

Bake in oven for about 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into blondies comes out “almost” clean; okay to have a few bits of crumb on the cake tester. Cooking times vary depending on oven, so please check at 25 minute mark.
Let cool before cutting into squares. If you are having a hard time slicing squares, you can either use a wet, sharp knife or I’ve found putting blondies in fridge for a while helps to harden them up.

friday links

Here in the new england we've had a lot of rain and cloudy days. Starts to take it toll on one's sanity. On the horizon though summer is right around the corner--which I hope means more sunny days. Other signs of spring here on cape cod mean the swans have had their babies. I was lucky enough to get these photos as both the mommy and daddy are fiercely protective. Even coming within 20 feet of them they start to hiss and charge. So with my handy little iphone I was able to snap these photos.
And if you look closely at first photo (left swan) there is a baby on the back, hidden under the feathers; the head is sticking out. I watched the baby climb up onto the wing, the swan (the mom I think) then lifted the baby up to her back and the baby swan snuggled in. It was one of the most touching moments I'd seen in a while.





This is chatham, mass, down by the chatham fish pier market. Boats are beginning to resurface.



A clammer heading over to Tern Island to dig up some steamers.



Cape Cod National Seashore is just breathtaking when the sun finally does shine on cape cod.





One lone surfer going to a surf just before sunset at Nauset Lighthouse Beach.



Another clammer digging away at Corporation Beach in Dennis.



Ice cream season has begun! And I'm already indulging, a little too much lately. We have a new ice cream joint in Sandwich, The Shipwreck in Sandwich, MA, down by the sandwich marina. Prices and ice cream aren't too bad. This size, in the photo is a small! On sunny days the lines are long, but that comes with the territory of good ice cream. The Shipwreck Ice Cream (no website) 2 Freezer Road, Sandwich, MA down just before the entrance to the sandwich marina.



Found a new love for energy bars. This one is by Bonk Breakers. Really good, and does not taste like a chemically energy bar. All wholesome ingredients too. The best one was the almond butter-honey. Tried contacting them for a product review and giveaway, no response yet. Fingers crossed!



Next Organics new chocolate covered ginger are ok. Really sweet in the middle. I think if they did not use as much sugar in the middle with the ginger it would taste good.



My latest Trader Joe obsession are the vegetable pakoras smothered in tzatziki.



Heard really good reviews about the new Stonewall Kitchen coconut curry sauce. Anyone tried it yet?



Recipe fail. I tried using nutella inside a berry pie. It came out horrid tasting. The nutella when baked with the fruit had a taste of burnt nutella. Not good.



Need to recreate these little gems. Oh these are good. From Lark Fine Foods.



From around the web:

Found a wonderful recipe for homemade vegan ice cream bars from veggie-wedgie.com. Wait till you see the photo!

Lays potato chips now has BLT flavored chips? That sounds so good. I love anything bacon flavored. Anyone tried them?

Cornflake crumbles from Serious Eats. Like little crunchy type muffins. Don't these look good?

Son-in-law eggs -- Thai style.

The classic Coca-Cola cake. I never tire looking at it.

Summer cocktail season will soon be here. Here is a rhubarb-ginger drink that's already bookmarked. (isn't that color fabulous?)

Waffle furniture (edible). Love this.

Small scale remodeling to help you plan out your next remodel. Yay or nay? Not sure.

Garden hose storage that's easy to do for non-DIY'ers like me.

And this is my favorite, when I first showed this to my friends on facebook, they all screamed in horror. I love this idea for a bathroom. You?

There are times when I get asked to review a cookbook and I simply cannot wait.
This would be one of those times.
Received this little gem in the mail and fell in love with it because it's all about quick and easy baking with a huge dose of creativity, as well as the option to be make it healthy. I mean the ideas are endless on what one can do with a muffin pan.
Muffin Tin Chef is a very creative look at making meals, snacks, and even desserts using a muffin pan! I highly recommend this book--very creative and not full of fat.





You can make everything from peach stuffed french toast, lasagna rolls, taco cups, and no-bake mini cheesecakes! All with a muffin tin! With summer heat just around the corner, this little kitchen staple cookbook will be a lifesaver for fast and easy meals that aren't boring. And the best part, is that most of the recipes are semi-healthy, not a lot of fat or junk is used. The author Matt Kadey is a registered dietitian who has done a few articles for Mens Health, Womens Health, Shape, Prevention, Eating Well, etc... So you know he took the time to develop good recipes with a healthy edge. His mission was to make you see that muffin tins are not just for cupcakes and muffins.



Have a great weekend! Don't forget to watch the supermoon this saturday night (may 5, 2012). It's going to be a beauty.