Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles

I need to apologize for my lack of blog entries these days - Christmas is right around the corner, and while I've been cooking often, I haven't had much time to sit down in front of the computer proper.

As I'm writing this, I have chocolate chip cookie dough (sans eggs and with condensed milk to bind everything together) chilling on a cookie sheet in the car (my car doubles as a refrigerator in the winter). Once the dough sets (approximately 2 hours in the fridge, but about 45 minutes or so in sub-zero temperatures), I'll take them out and coat them in chocolate to make truffles.

I stumbled across this recipe by Paula Deen (lovely lady with great recipes that must seriously be tested in moderation as they can get pretty rich) last year, and thought it was genius. The elegant appearance of truffles combined with the familiar and comforting taste of chocolate chip cookies. What's not to love?

Of course, like most recipes, I had to tinker - mostly with the sugar, as I find most recipes too sweet.

My tinkerings:
- 300 ML of condensed milk (slightly less than 14 ounces)
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar instead of 3/4 cup - condensed milk is already chock-full of sweetness - the brown sugar is for flavouring only
- 0.75 cups of mini chocolate chips (more than the 0.5 cups called for)
- 1.5 cups of pecans (up from the 1 cup called for)

The recipe is actually quite ingenious - no eggs, so you don't have to worry about salmonella poisoning - and it still retains all of the amazing flavours of the classic chocolate chip cookie.

I do have to say though, it is quite labour intensive. The dough was easy enough to make, but it was the chocolate dipping part that hurt the most.

Making chocolate is fun, but I'm definitely not an expert. Which means that dipping the cookie dough (which, BTW, were shaped with my awesome cookie dough scoop) into melted chocolate coating, taking it out and placing it onto waxed paper was quite painful for me.

Even with my chocolate dipping toolset, it still hurt. I definitely need more practice.

But the end results?  Not as bad as I thought.  Check it out:

While not perfectly dipped, I did manage to get the job done. Paula's recipe calls for 2 spoons if you don't have the right tools. Let's just say I did this last year and I would never, ever, ever, do this again.

Peanut butter granola bars

By now, you've probably realized that in a fearful way, I worship Martha Stewart. I didn't realize this until one day, I signed up for her daily newsletter. I also keep going back to her site for her recipes (note: I always tinker, but her recipes require minimal tinkering).

Case in point: granola bars. I'm a fan of granola bars but I never know what goes in them - plus store-bought ones tend to not be filling (or so I think). So in my quest for a granola bar recipe, I turned to Martha once again and found this recipe.

The recipe worked out really well, though if I were to attempt it again, I would leave out the vegetable oil. The oil in the peanut butter is enough to prevent anything from sticking to the parchment paper. I would also reduce the sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/3 of a cup.

After the granola mixture baked and cooled down, I had to cut the bars and package them (many of you also know that I rarely eat what I bake) to give away.
Like actual granola bars, I packaged each one in saran wrap and then placed them in a tin takeout box. The  fit was snug, and I was afraid to just shove them in the box - so I game up with a solution a la Martha: a pull tag!

All I can say is that I'm extremely proud of this.  Oh, and the granola bars were extremely yummy too.

New Korea Restaurant

Tucked away in the T&T Supermarket Food Court located at 5661 Steeles Avenue East in Scarborough is the New Korea Restaurant, a modest food stall offering exactly 10 menu items: one of them being spicy pork bone soup. Not knowing what to expect from a food court restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised at how perfectly spicy and delicious the soup was. The pork literally fell off the bone.

I was first introduced to pork bone soup by a friend (who is now back in South Korea). Fragrant, spicy and awesome for a cold winter day, I was surprised that something so simple could be so flavourful.

Boiling hot for a cold winter day

Now, I'm no expert on Korean food, but I have to say the soup I had today at New Korea Restaurant was good for this foodie's soul. Served with white rice (which I skipped) and a side of kimchi, the meal was really well priced ($8.95). The fact that it's easy-on-the-wallet is a definite bonus.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.  (Not that I think you'd need it - the soup really does consist of a spicy broth).

Cinnamon sugar cookies

Earlier this week, I mentioned Big Oven, a collection of recipes contributed by fellow foodies. One recipe in particular caught my eye: Mrs Fields' cinnamon sugar cookies. I followed the ingredients and instructions almost exactly, but tinkered with different cooking temperatures and times.

When I followed the recipe at 300 F and baked them for 18 minutes the cookies turned out very cakey.  According to the recipe photos, it's supposed to be cakey, but I' m not a fan of cakey cookies (haha).

So I started to tinker.  I baked the second batch at 350 F for 12 minutes - the texture was a little harder, but not quite there.  So I reviewed the recipe again.  

The recipe calls for 2 eggs - which is a lot. This most likely contributed to the cake-like texture. I think I'll try baking with 1 egg next time.

Overall, it's a tasty cookie, and one that I would make again.

Hangover foods

As I write this post, I am waiting for the butter to soften so that I can bake cinnamon butter sugar cookies - a recipe from Big Oven. A friend recently shared this site with me, and I'm eager to check it out. Said friend is also nursing a bit of a hangover (me too, but that's another story), which got me thinking about the best hangover foods.

Personally, I'm a fan of greasy foods, like bacon, eggs and something made from potatoes. A burger could be good too. Throw in some coffee, a couple of Advil and half a dozen glasses of water, and I'll be ready to rejoin the human race. But I know hangover remedies can vary from person-to person. Greasy breakfasts seem to be the norm, but I know some folks who like soup, congee, and even oatmeal (I love oatmeal, but the thought of oatmeal when hungover is well...disgusting).

I remember being at breakfast once and seeing a friend of mine eat a baked tomato with cheese. I'm not a fan of baked tomatoes on a good day, and when I saw that while hungover...ugh...let's just say I made a beeline for the bacon.

What are your hangover remedies?  I'd love to hear from you - feel free to Tweet or add to the comments section! Thanks in advance!

T&T Chinese gourmet bun festival

I love Chinese buns. Not the Westernized kinds (though those can be good too), but the traditional Chinese buns - white dough stuffed with delicious fillings - sometimes sweet, sometimes savoury (I personally prefer preserved vegetables with pork and ginger).  But sweet can be good too.

I was at T&T Supermarket today and saw an impressive and beautiful display of Chinese buns, or bao.  The display is part of their Chinese Gourmet Bun Festival. I recognized many of the baos, but there was definitely one that caught my eye: the pumpkin bun. 

Shaped to look like pumpkins, and filled with pureed pumpkin, I was definitely intrigued. (Pumpkins aren't native to Chinese cuisine, so it's always interesting to me when I see this item on Chinese menus). But I do have to admit that the biggest motivation to me buying the bun was the way it looked (yes, I too can be shallow when it comes to food).  

Lucky for me, the bun was tasty. The pureed pumpkin was mixed with...I'm not sure what...perhaps a lotus paste, and it was GOOD. The bun was freshly steamed and hot to the touch (I basically burnt myself on the first bite!)  The texture of the bun was a good balance of softness and elastickiness (yes, I just made that word up).  

There were lots of other buns available to eat, but since I am watching my waste line, I only ate one.  But I do urge you to try the buns - I'm not sure how long the festival runs, but it's definitely something to try before it's gone. (Note: the dried vegetable and pork buns looked yummy too).

Kitchen tool: cookie dough scoop

It's probably not surprising to you when I say I spend a lot of time thinking about food. What might be surprising is that I also spend a lot of time thinking about the tools I use to cook my food.

My latest purchase is a cookie dough scoop from Crate and Barrel Canada.  (BTW, I heart Crate and Barrel).

I've always ever rolled my cookies by hand, eyeballing each one at a time to try and make sure everything was the same size. It's not a tough job, but it is a looooong one.

The cookie dough scoop makes things MUCH MUCH easier.  Ah...to actually have cookies from bowl to pan to oven in 15 minutes...it's a beautiful thing.

A cookie dough scoop looks and works like an ice cream scoop - though I wouldn't use it as an ice cream scoop as the spring isn't meant to handle something as dense as ice cream. Nor would I ever subject my scoop to anything other than what it is meant for: cookie dough.  

Using the scoop helps ensure the cookies are the same size, and it helps keep your hands clean. The best part  is that it's fast - instead of spending 30 minutes rolling cookie dough, it only takes 10 minutes.

Advice from this cookie maker: at $14.95, the scoop is worth every penny. 

Glammed up burgers

Ah, the hamburger...a delicious ground beef patty, layered with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and onions, and placed between a soft, white bun. Yum. Meat, veggies and carbs - perfection.

Or so I thought until I recently visited the Gourmet Burger Co. You walk in, and what you have to do is simple: follow the steps outlined for you on the chalk board - your options of what to put on your custom burger are laid out. And if you're up for a side, you have a choice of a number of things to choose from, ranging from onion rings to sweet potato fries (I had regular fries with vinegar).

I went at lunch with a girlfriend on a Friday afternoon...let's just say this is one place where you truly have to wait for your food.  Each burger is cooked after you place your order, so rest-assured, you're not getting anything from a heating tray (no offense to McDonald's or other fast-food restaurants...there are often times where I would absolutely kill for a Big Mac or a McChicken, but that's a post for another day).

In fact, in took nearly 15 minutes for me to get my order - which was fine with me, since I had a place to sit, but for others, it would've been a long wait. I also had a side order of fries (it WAS Friday afterall).

The verdict? Absolutely amazing. The burger was perfectly cooked and not oily (I find burgers are either dry or too oily) at all. I had lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms on my burger. Even the bun was perfectly soft and fragrant (no stale bread here). And the fries? Fresh cut and made from real potatoes.

(By the way, some of my readers know that I am also a fan of Craft Burger. In terms of a difference between Craft Burger or the Gourmet Burger Co. I have to say there isn't much of a difference, in terms of pricing, taste and popularity. Both produce an extremely delicious burger.)

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

Chef's Challenge part 2

View from stage right(?)

So I was really tired when I posted earlier today (this a.m.) and will most likely be passing out shortly (my attempt at a nap failed).

I have to preface this particular culinary adventure with this line: through my job, I was lucky enough to attend the first inaugural Chef Challenge. I attended as staff, but was able to enjoy many parts of the evening as well.

The Chef's Challenge with Gordon Ramsay, in support of Mount Sinai Hospital was generously sponsored by MasterCard Canada.

Billed as "Canada's premiere culinary fundraising event for Mount Sinai Hospital's lifesaving research and care of women in their daily battle against breast and ovarian cancer", the premise of the event was simple: raise money for Mount Sinai - and if you're one of the top 50 fundraisers, you get to compete in the culinary challenge. The coolest part?  Each fundraiser was assigned to a team captain, each one, a top Canadian chef: Mark McEwan, Lynn Crawford, Jamie Kennedy, David Rocco or Massimo Capra - all of Food Network fame.

And of course hosting the evening was none other than the culinary rock star himself, Gordon Ramsay.

As guests ate, the various teams would go and create culinary arts of work to impress the celebrity judges.  The evening was a mix between Hell's Kitchen and Iron Chef. The evening was absolutely amazing.

And what were the guests eating?

First course: butternut squash soup with chestnuts and sage, paired with 2006 Wildass Riesling.

My thoughts: amazingly creamy and paired perfectly with the riesling. There was a touch of truffle oil in the soup as well.

Second course: seared and marinated salmon, beetroot carpaccio, Gravenstein apple, honey and soy dressing, paired with 2006 Wildass white.

My thoughts: perfectly cooked salmon with a nice crisp wine. The wine was a blend of many grapes, but what came through most was what I believed to be the chardonnay. (Side rant: chardonnay is an amazingly buttery wine, which went with the buttery texture of the salmon).

Third course: braised Pacific halibut, fennel confit, tarragon and a red pepper vinaigrette served with a 2006 Stratus White.

My thoughts: the flavours were amazing, but the halibut was slightly overcooked.  The wine while good, clashed with the red pepper vinaigrette.

Fourth course: fillet of Ontario Angus beef, sweet potato fondant, glazed red onion and wild mushrooms, served with a 2006 Stratus Red.

My thoughts: I'm not a huge fan of Ontario reds, so I won't go further than this on the wine. The dish itself was perfectly cooked - LOVED the glazed red onion and the mushrooms. The beef was done medium rare (which is the ONLY way to eat beef) - my only hangup is that the beef didn't taste as though it had been seasoned.

Fifth course (dessert): honey creme brulee with clementine sorbet and hazelnut shortbread, paired with Inniskillin 2007 Vidal Icewine.

My thoughts: The wine wasn't too sweet (I'm also generally not a fan of icewines) and was a perfect ending. The overall dessert itself? Amazing - I don't have a sweet tooth, but I could've gone for seconds. I loved the shortbread (subtley buttery), and the texture of the creme brulee was perfect. The sorbet was good too - very refreshing - though I had to say I left that on my plate.

The food for the evening was catered by Daniel et Daniel.

But oddly enough, the focus of the evening was not on the food the guests were eating, but on the stage.

Encouraging Team Massimo

Gordon Ramsay truly is a charismatic man, and kept the action going all night. Not only was he funny, he was also extremely gracious. It's no wonder he's a media darling (though I don't doubt for a sec he has a temper, I'm now more convinced than ever it's all an act).

I was lucky enough to have access to the staging area and managed to snag a few photos as well.

Being back stage gave me a chance to see how the stage kitchen was set-up. Let's just say that a lot of work goes into making sure these kitchens are working.

David Rocco and a team member

Mark McEwan and part of his team

Team Crawford: the winning team

The event ran straight through until 11:30, with all the challengers working hard throughout the night. And while it was a tough call, Team Crawford was the strongest and placed first overall. The trophies?  Eggbeaters mounted on a base - genius!

But of course the best part of the night was when they announced over $1 million dollars had been raised that night.

It was definitely a night to remember, and one that this foodie will never forget.

Chef's Challenge

It's been awhile, and I'm only posting a short entry before heading to sleep. But I am lucky enough to be attending the Chef's Challenge at The Carlu - sponsored by MasterCard Canada to raise funds for Mount Sinai.

The event is hosted by Gordon Ramsay and will feature the following chefs:

- Massimo Capra

- David Rocco

- Mark McEwan

- Lynn Crawford

- Jamie Kennedy

This is going to be amazing foody experience. Stay-tuned for pictures!

My love-hate relationship with coffee / plea for new coffee shops

As you can tell by the title of this posting, I have mixed feelings about coffee. On the one hand, coffee is an elixir; party too hard the night before and need a pick-me-up? Coffee will do the trick. Getting up at the crack of dawn and need a little help before sitting down for a busy day at the office? Go coffee. And the smell? Oh I LOVE the smell of coffee. Strong, smoky and fragrant.

On the other hand, coffee is also disgusting. How can something that smells so incredible taste so incredibly disgusting? I would never drink my coffee black (okay, unless I was seriously desperate). It's bitter, burnt and...bitter. Did I mention bitter? Cream and sweetener all the way!

And if I drink too much, I get heart palpitations. Not to mention that coffee acts as a diuretic (joy).

Ironically, as I write this, I'm hunkered down at my local Starbucks.

But coffee is also an incredible baking ingredient. I've used instant coffee (yes, yes, blasphemy to you hardcore coffee drinkers) in cookies and am currently testing it out as an ingredient in savoury dishes (my poor, poor, loved ones). Oddly enough, I've never tried coffee in anything beyond, well, coffee.

So...with the weather getting colder, and coffee becoming a necessity (I definitely drink more coffee in the winter), I send this plea out to you, my fellow readers: I'm on the lookout for some new coffee shops in the Toronto area (but I'm also willing to travel as far as Prince Edward County). Please share your coffee stories / recommendations with me. Thanks in advance.

Bake it in a cake (a.k.a pumpkin pie baked in a cupcake)

Seriously delicious

So a good friend of mine found this insane web site that - get this - collects ideas on what can be baked into cupcakes. With the intense cooking from Thanksgiving, I decided to take a break and bake strictly for fun: hence Bake it in a Cake.

I tried out this recipe, and it was AMAZING. Unfortunately, I didn't have any cream cheese for the icing so tried this Martha Stewart recipe instead (warning: I found it WAY too sweet - even though I only used 2 cups of icing sugar).

I have to admit, it did take awhile to make the mini pumpkin pies, and then the cake batter, and then the actual cake. Oh...and then the icing. But the end result was worth it. Special thanks to SMC for finding this cool web site. The recipe is as follows (just in case the site ever goes down, I'll always have a copy of the recipe).

This recipe should make 24.

For the pumpkin pies you’ll need:

- 1 batch of your favorite pie crust dough 

- 1 15 oz. can pumpkin pie filling, prepared according to the can’s directions.

For the cupcakes you’ll need: 

- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

- 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

- 3 eggs (room temperature)

- 2 t. vanilla

- 2 t. baking powder

- 1/2 t. baking soda

- 1/2 t. salt

- 1 1/3 c. whole milk

- 2 1/2 c. flour 

For the buttercream you’ll need:

- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

- 2 c. powdered sugar

- 1 c. Hershey’s cinnamon chips (or any cinnamon chips you like)*

- splash of whole milk 

*Not available in Canada - substitute cinnamon and brown sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F).

First ingredient: mini pumpkin pies

First, prepare the pumpkin pies. Mix up the pumpkin pie mix according to the can’s directions (or make your

own-fancy!). Roll out the pie crust dough and cut it into small circles that are large enough to cover the bottom and sides of mini cupcake tins (I used the opening of a small juice glass as a cutter). 

Press the dough into the lightly greased mini cupcake tins, and then fill them with the pumpkin pie mix. (Don’t go all the way to the top, the filling will expand a little while baking.)

Bake the pies for about 7 minutes at 425 degrees (F), and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees (F) and bake them for another 10 minutes or so, until the crust is brown and the filling is completely set.

After taking them out of the oven, cool them on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then take them out of the pan and allow them to cool further while you mix up the batter.

Pies in the batter

For the cupcake batter, combine the butter and the cream cheese together on medium speed for about 90 seconds—you want the ingredients to be well incorporated. Then mix in the sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then mix in the milk and the flour, alternating between the two ingredients. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, to make sure everything is getting well-mixed—beat again on med-high speed for about a minute. It should be smooth and creamy.

Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into regular-sized, paper-lined cupcake tins. Plop a cooled pumpkin pie 

Covering the pies

into the center, and press gently into the batter. GENTLY. You don’t want it to touch to the bottom of the pan. 

Cover the pies with another heaping tablespoon of batter, so the top and sides are completely covered.

Bake at 350 degrees (F) for about 25 minutes, until the cake is set and the edges and tops of the cupcakes have turned golden brown.

Allow them to cool in the cupcake tray for atleast 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack—they’ll be a little fragile at first. 

Once the cakes are cool, frost ‘em! 

To make the buttercream, melt down the cinnamon chips with a splash of whole milk. Pop ‘em in the microwave for about 45 seconds on high. Stir until all the chips are melted, and allow it to cool a bit while you whip up the rest of the frosting (you can put the bowl in the fridge, it’ll cool faster that way, and the milk will keep it from solidifying). 

1 down...many to go

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until they’re well incorporated. Then whip in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the cooled cinnamon chip “ganache” (if it’s too hot it’ll melt the buttercream and ruin it—you don’t want that). Put in about half, then stop to taste it and decide if you’d like to add more. Some like it strong, others like it milder. 

If  you have any pie crust left over, roll it out and cut smaller discs and sprinkle them with a little bit of 

cinnamon and sugar. Bake ‘em for about 10 minutes at 350 and look at that, a cute and tasty cupcake topper!

You can also try candied pecans or a drizzle of caramel on top. Tasty!

This recipe was created by Megan Seling for Bakeitinacake.com

Chocolate-dipped potato chips (that's right)

Chocolate chips

Whether I'm cooking, grocery shopping or trying a new restaurant, I always think of these activities as culinary adventures. Last night, I embarked on such an adventure. Along with a friend, I tried chocolate-dipped potato chips at The Chocolateria, located at 361 Roncesvalles Avenue.

The chips were interesting. The salt from the potato chips helped to balance out the sweetness from the chocolate. I liked the texture very much - crunchy and soft at the same time. Again, it's all about balance. 

However, I would say this snack is only good in very small doses. Any more than 2 or 3 chips, and the overall experience becomes too much.  Too much sweetness, too much saltiness and just too much in general.  (And when I start thinking about the calories involved....ugh...)  

Having said this, I think the chips could be much more enjoyable if paired properly with a beer.  Chocolate beer has been around for a while - a black chocolate stout would go well, as would a beer like Okocim Porter.  

One other thought: someone I know used to put potato chips in the freezer. I've tried this and chips do tasted better cold - less salty. I think freezing these chips could also improve the experience.

The chocolate was a little heavy

Beyond the potato chips, The Chocolateria also has a wide array of truffles, and other goodies.  I didn't get a chance to try them, but could see myself going back. 

BTW - my friend didn't enjoy the chips, but he is willing to go along with my craziness and try the chips with beer. I'll be sure to write about it when it happens. 

Apple pie cake

Mom says add vanilla ice cream

The fall harvest is one of my favourite times of year. Especially when it's apple season. Apple cider, apple pies, apple sauce, the list goes on and on. I went apple picking last year, but didn't have time this year. Luckily, my cousins M&C went and treated me to some apples (empire and cortland).

Not being entirely sure what to make, I turned to Martha Stewart and tried her recipe for apple pie cake.

This recipe was easy-to-follow and the results were very tasty. Though it took nearly 7 hours for the cake to completely cool down (if you try to remove the cake from the pan while it's hot, it will fall apart).

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing (i.e. my first successful cake!)

I love Alton Brown. Seriously, he's smart, entertaining and generally comes across as a really nice and quirky guy. Nerdy chic might be the correct term. His recipes are also really people friendly - i.e. he tells you to check for the internal temperature of a cake to see if it's done, instead of just eyeballing it. Which is exactly what I did using his carrot cake recipe.

Carrot cake in the raw: not that pretty

I've never made carrot cake before (or for that fact, successfully baked a cake), so this was a brand new adventure for me. I grated the carrots by hand and then followed the recipe. After I mixed the flour, eggs, spices and carrots together I did a double take. Why? Because it DID NOT look appetizing. To be honest, it looks like the remnants of too many drinks the night before. But I did continue on and placed the cake into the oven.

The result? A delicious one.

Oh, and the cream cheese icing was to die for. (Though I did reduce the icing sugar to one cup).

Carrot cake complete: it was a hit!

Also, the cake looked way better after it was done.

------


Carrot Cake
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Prep Time:40 minInactive Prep Time:1 hr 0 minCook Time:1 hr 10 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
- 1 (9-inch) cake

Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for the pan
- 12 ounces, approximately 2 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
- 12 ounces grated carrots, medium grate, approximately 6 medium
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/3 cups
- 2 ounces dark brown sugar, approximately 1/4 cup firmly packed
- 3 large eggs
- 6 ounces plain yogurt
- 6 ounces vegetable oil
- Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch round and 3-inch deep cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Put the carrots into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for 5 seconds. Add this mixture to the carrots and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.

In the bowl of the food processor combine the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and yogurt.

With the processor still running drizzle in the vegetable oil. Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the cake reaches 205 to 210 degrees F in the center.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, turn the cake out onto a rack and allow cake to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting after cake has cooled completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 9 ounces powdered sugar, sifted, approximately 2 cups (1 cup is more than enough)

In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and butter on medium just until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. With the speed on low, add the powdered sugar in 4 batches and beat until smooth between each addition.

Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Yield: approximately 2 cups

Thanksgiving prep and event day scenario

So the Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, and I'm excited.  Preparations began on Wednesday with a trip to the grocery store for turkey (I feel bad for those poor souls that haven't bought one yet). Since then, I've been planning away, from the menu right down to event day execution (that's right, I pulled together an event scenario for this).  
      
In an extremely nerdy way, I'm proud of my schedule. Let's hope the execution goes accordingly. See below for what my Sunday will look like (those closest to me who've already seen this think I'm completely insane).
      
Please keep your fingers crossed for me! If things work out, I'll share recipes (let's just say a great deal rests on Martha's shoulders as well).


And if I don't post again this weekend - Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


Menu:
- Turkey (|20 lbs!)
- Brown butter brussel sprouts
- Hearty garlic greens (swiss chard, kale, mustard greens)
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Stuffing
- Mac and cheese
- Sweet potato foccacia
- Apple dessert 
- Carrot cake 
- Small pumpkin tart

Friday, October 8

- Brine the turkey


Saturday, October 9

- Clean the kitchen

- Bake the carrot cake

- Bake the coconut cookies for PL

- Prepare fire place for bread dough

- Clean out the dishwasher

- Prep cooking area

- Wash second cooking board

Game Day: Sunday, October 10

Timing	Task
7:00 a.m.	Wake up!
7:30 – 7:40 a.m.	Start fireplace
7:40 – 8:30 a.m.	Prep for apple pie cake Flour mixture Carve apples Etc.
8:30 – 10:00 a.m.	OVEN in use for apple pie cake 1.5 hours
8:30 – 9:10 a.m.	Cut and caramelize sweet potatoes Stove
9:15 – 9:35 a.m.	Sweet potato focaccia Preparing bread dough
9:35 – 9:55 a.m.	Dough rises
10:00  a.m.	Remove apple pie cake from oven
9:50 – 10:05 a.m.	Prep focaccia dough
10:05 – 10:35 a.m.	Let dough rise
10:10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.	Grate gruyere for focaccia
10:35 – 10:50 a.m.	Focaccia Preheat oven to 400 F Finish topping focaccia
10:50 – 11:20 a.m.	Bake focaccia
10:50 – 11:20 a.m.	Mac and cheese Grate cheddar and parmesan Store in container
11:15 a.m.	Preheat oven to 330F for turkey
11:30 a.m.	Roast turkey 20 minutes/lb @ 325F (330F) 20 pounds = 6.6 hours
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon	Lunch
12:30 p.m.	Prepare Brussels sprouts Wash and cut
1:00 p.m.	Cut chives / herbs for mashed potatoes Wrap garlic into foil Prep garlic for garlic greens
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.	Prep all garlic greens Wash, etc
3:00 p.m.	Throw wrapped garlic into oven
3:15 – 3:45 p.m.	Stuffing Cook sausage Add celery and onion
4:00 – 4:30 p.m.	Put mac and cheese together
4:30 – 5:00 p.m.	Prep potatoes Wash and cut into smaller pieces Start boiling water
5:00 p.m.	Boil potatoes and remove garlic from oven
5:15 p.m.	Round convection oven - prepare
5:30 p.m.	Preheat small toaster oven to 400 F Mac and cheese
5:45 p.m.	Put Mac and cheese into toaster oven Remove foil from turkey to allow skin to brown
5:45 – 6:15 p.m.	Remove potatoes from water Mash potatoes Add ingredients (except for chives) Keep warm on stove
6:00 p.m.	Prepare garlic greens for cooking Cook partially Place on top of stove to heat (under foil)
6:10 p.m.	Preheat round convection oven to 350
6:20 p.m.	Put stuffing into round oven
6:30 p.m.	Remove foil from Mac and cheese – continue to cook
6:45 p.m.	Remove turkey from oven to rest Cooked = 170F in thickest part of leg (unstuffed turkey only)
6:45 p.m.	Remove mac and cheese from the oven
6:45 p.m.	Pre-heat oven to 450F to brown butter
6:45 p.m.	Place cooked focaccia on top of oven to heat up
6:55 p.m.	Brussel sprouts Place butter into oven
7:00 p.m.	Remove butter and toss in Brussels sprouts
7:05 p.m.	Remove stuffing from the round oven
7:10 p.m.	Toss water onto Brussels sprouts
7:15 p.m.	Make the gravy
7:15 p.m.	Carve the turkey
7:17 p.m.	Remove Brussels sprouts from the oven

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