Mmmm, Baked Bacon.

This week has been a blur. Last weekend Dave and my friend Elie took me camping in the Ozarks for my 31st birthday, and on Saturday it rained biblical proportions on a tent that was downright sinful (and soggy).

Despite the downpour, life was still good. We found a greasy spoon diner in Osage Beach called Kay's Home Cooking--home of the all-you-can-eat breakfast, no kidding--and drank hot, plentiful coffee, ate biscuits and gravy, Western omelets, French toast, and sausage links until we were about to burst. S'mores, grilled steak, roasted carrots & garlic, and biscuits on a stick were also a part of Dave's campfire cuisine prior to the Kay's orgy. His food was decidedly more tasty and healthy, and our hike down to the Lake helped burn off a S'more or two until we headed in town for Kay's.

Ultimately, dear readers, there is something you should know: Dave is the cook in our relationship; I am the baker. And boy howdy did he cook last weekend. Elie was expecting hot dogs (and I was too), but Dave wouldn't hear of it. He even roasted a surprise baked apple that was quite delicious.


So, I let Dave continue cooking when we got back from the Ozarks. On Tuesday night, Dave made dinner--BLTs with a twist. Dave baked the bacon at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, paired the center-cut bacon with sourdough I had bought from a local bakery, patio tomatoes I grew on our front porch (they're still growing and supplying us with late-season goodies), Boston leaf lettuce, and Hellman's mayo to make my favorite sandwich of all time. The sandwich that was, and will forever be, the figurative apple Eve gave to Adam if Adam were a vegetarian and that apple were a tasty pork product. I know pigs are sentient, intelligent creatures, but as long as there are BLTs, I will no longer trek in vegetarian cuisine despite all of the Molly Katzen cookbooks I own (and love).

So, dear readers, try baking your bacon sometime. We're not sure if it's any healthier for you, but the bacon is crispy, which is my favorite, and still tender.

And since fall is finally upon us, I hope to go apple picking this weekend so I can make an apple pie. I think, thanks to my friends Jane H. and Joni, that I know the trick to flaky, lovely pie dough too. So, stay tuned for more ovenly goodness.

Hugs and high fives,
Kella

If the Stars Were Mine, I'd Bake You Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes

Tonight was a relaxing little jazzy interlude from a busy day. I got my hair cut at Lemon Spalon, met Dave at home with cupcakes from The Cupcakery, had a lovely laid-back Qdoba dinner, and then walked with Dave to browse music at Vintage Vinyl on The Loop. I came away with two CDs I've been dying for by a jazz artist I just love: Melody Gardot.

We came home and twirled around the kitchen to "Our Love is Easy" as the Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes I baked for the class I teach on Monday and Wednesday nights did their thing in our little gas oven. I turn 31 on Thursday, and I believe birthdays should always be celebrated. Another year of life is another year of life, and for each year I'm given, I'm eternally grateful.

So, I'd like to wrap my baked goods in ribbons and give them all to you, loyal readers and dear friends. Here's to another year of life, love, and learning! Thanks for supporting me along the sweets-filled journey.

Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients
16 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
24 small chocolate-covered peppermint patties (Hello, York!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Place chocolate and butter in the top pan of a double boiler--not in the pan of simmering water. Stir occassionally until just melted, 4-5 minutes.

2. Remove bowl from heat. Whisk sugar and salt until mixture is smooth; whisk in eggs. Stir in flour and cocoa until smooth, but don't overmix.

3. Spoon 1 heaping tbsp. of batter into each lined cup. Place one patty on top, pressing into batter. Top with 2 tbsps. batter, covering patty completely. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until the cake tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs (um, I use toothpicks... doesn't everyone?). In other words, bake the cupcakes for about 35 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack and cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Hugs, high fives and 31 birthday candles,
Kella

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Sometimes Traditional is Beautiful

I'm all for experimentation in art, jazz, love, and life, but sometimes plain old vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies or a simple shot of amaretto are flavors I crave. I don't think one has to always muddle lime basil in her salsa or make goji berry-flaxseed-chocolate chip cookies to make traditional fare taste great, though I will admit little fusion tips and tricks like these amuse me.


Sometimes, though, it's easy to understand why some tried-and-true recipes are just that: unflappable, honest, and incredibly comforting. Great bakers know that you don't have to be exotic to create delicious food. There's something beautiful about the simplicity of high-quality ingredients.


So, in tonight's post, I want to pay respect to the unfussy Chocolate Chip Cookie. You are simple, you are humble, but oh-so good when you come straight from the oven. And now that fall is settling in, let's fire up the ovens and bake.



Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
by Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything
Makes 3 to 4 dozen

Time: About 30 minutes

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract (pure... no imitation, folks)
2 cups premium chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugars; add the eggs one at a time (this is key!) and beat until well blended (smooth, baby, smooth!).
3. Combine the dry ingredients--flour, baking soda, and salt--in a bowl and add them to the batter by hand, stirring to blend. Stir in the vanilla & then the chocolate chips.
4. Drop by teaspoons or tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheets and bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool for about 2 minutes on the sheets before using a spatula to transfer the cookies to a rack to finish cooling. Store in a covered container at room temp for no more than a day or two.

Blackberries, Part I (Not the Things You Text On...)

I've been a reluctant food writer lately. For the past two weeks, I've been in the spin cycle of busyness at my job, my part-time teaching gig, planning an engagement party with the hostess with the mostest, Nicole H., and also working out with my personal trainer on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and making time for the gym a day or two beyond those days). This past weekend Dave and I drove down to see my granddad, John Dee, who just turned 84. Happy Birthday, Granddad! Even though I know he's never seen a blog, I hope my message goes out to the universe at-large...

Ultimately, though, as good as all of these calendar items sound, I know they are excuses. Sad but true. Sometimes the truth is boring, even though I know it doesn't have to be. I really want to prize my creativity, my writing, and you, my lovely readers. I am really going to step up my game, and get to blogging on a more regular schedule. Whenever I e-mailed Terry B. of Blue Kitchen about advice for new foodie bloggers, he told me to keep to my schedule. Once a week is what I'm good for, and so I'm going to endeavor to post my goods, my odes to oven-raised goodness, by Tuesdays at midnight. It's going to be tough some days, but the girl knows she can do this, wants to do this. So, enough talk.

Let's bake!

Tonight, instead of the chocolate chip cookies I thought about making, I realized that Blackberry Pie was in order. I had all of the ingredients at home, including the blackberries I had frozen from my two-flat bounty this past July at the Soulard Farmer's Market. The Scharf Family Farms (shout out, Illinois!) have some great deals on produce, especially if you visit the Soulard Market before it's closing on Saturday. The berries I used in tonight's recipe were beautiful looking, but not necessarily the sweetest blackberries I've ever eaten. Therefore, baking pies and cobblers (and making jam... more on that front next week) for not-quite-there produce is ideal.

Again, I go to my favorite minimalist cookbook author, Mark Bittman. I truly believe that in life, as in baking, less is more if you have quality ingredients and simple cooking ethos. I'm not into culinary foams or deconstructed BLTs. I like my food real, tangible and enjoyed by many. While I may never write for Saveur or Gourmet, I know that the trick to good eating rests in making the ingredients you do have taste as lovely as possible with minimal (there's that word again!) fuss or obfuscation. Opaque, I am not, nor is my kitchen.

So, without further ado, here's the skinny on how to make Blackberry Pie--one last huzzah to summer fruit before fall completely takes us over.

Blackberry Pie
Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman, How to Cook Everything

Makes about 8 servings

Time: About 30 minutes ('cause I cheated tonight and used pre-made pie dough*)

5 cups blackberries, picked over, briefly rinsed
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsps. corn starch
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (It's the best when freshly zest... Use it!)

Pre-made pie pastry (see *)

1) Gently toss the blackberries with the sugar, corn starch, salt, and spices.
2) Roll out the pie pastry and place the first layer into the pie pan.
3) Pile the blackberry mixture in the middle of the pie pan, making the pile of blackberries a little higher in the center than at the sides.
4) Cover with the top crust; decorate edges with a fork or your fingers.
5) Refrigerate the pie while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
6) When the oven is ready, place the pie on a baking sheet and brush the top with milk and sprinkle sugar all around.
7) Use a sharp knife to cut two to three 2-inch-long vent holes in the top crust to let the steam escape while the pie is baking (I always gravitate to what my mom taught me: a stalk of wheat.)
8) Place in the oven for 10 minutes and bake at 450 degrees F.
9) Reduce to the heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 40 minutes until the pie is golden brown. Do not underbake.
10) Cool on a rack before serving warm with Vanilla Bean ice cream. Yum!

*I know I'm going to baker's hell for admitting that I used pre-made pie dough, but it's true. I still am learning the fine art and craft to making truly exquisite pastry dough. If you have tips, I'm all ears.

Hugs and high fives,
Kella