Irish Stout Gingerbread

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bring on the corned beef dinner, green beer and green cupcakes!

Just one teeny, tiny problem.

Mike, the only Irish descendant in the relationship, has forbidden me from making a corned beef dinner.  We like our beer dye-free.  And, without even tasting one, I've had my fill of green cupcakes with white frosting.

Instead, while trying to plan the food portion of the holiday, I decided I wanted to serve a dessert with a bit of personality.  Perhaps with beer as my secret ingredient?

This is where my amazing, handsome, beer-brewing boyfriend comes in rather handy.  That's right - he brews beer in our tiny apartment.  Lots and lots of beer.

His "Breakfast Stout", a dry Irish stout, would be the perfect complement to a spicy, warm gingerbread.  I knew it.  Mike knew it.  And he handed over one of the last bottles with a sigh.

No pressure here.  I stole one of the last bottles of this brew for an experiential dessert.  This dessert will be served after a dinner of corned beef paninis, because I love corned beef.  And I don't think it's very Irish-like of Mike to forbid me to serve it.

But I do promise to leave the green dye out of the beer.  Just to be safe.

Happy Pi Day!

Today is March 14th. 3.14 = pi. And, in baking world, pi = pie!

For my pie, I was hoping to incorporate some of the plump blackberries which have recently graced the shelves at the corner grocery store.

But a monsoon hit Manhattan yesterday and I absolutely refused to go outside and risk being swept away by the rain and wind. This left me to the mercy of whatever I could scrounge from my pantry, the refrigerator and the freezer.

I created an apple-cranberry filling, sweetened by sugar, cinnamon and minced crystallized ginger. Instead of making a traditional 9" pie, half of which would have gone to waste, I created heart-shaped pocket pies.

I plan on serving these after dinner this evening with a scoop of homemade cinnamon ice cream.

Are you whipping up a pie to "celebrate" the day?  What filling did you choose?

Éclair Birthday Cake

The day has arrived.  I turn 24 today.

Remember, as we were making resolutions with the ringing in of the New Year, how I shared that I felt a little strange about my upcoming birthday?

I couldn't put how I was feeling into words, making me restless and annoyed.

But the words finally came to me Sunday morning, in the kitchen with the sun beaming through my lovely yellow café curtains.

I realized, standing there with a cup of coffee in my hand, for the first time in my entire life, I am no longer terrified of being an adult.

I no longer fear moving to a strange city and building a life and a home.  Paying bills doesn't scare me.  Finding my niché and developing my career is no longer a distant dream.  The thought of marriage no longer turns my stomach with fear.  And the idea of, one day, having my own little family no longer makes my throat involuntarily close up in a panic.

And knowing I was no longer terrified of these things scared the bejesus out of me.

At this time last year, I really had no idea who I was, what I wanted or where I was headed.  I was a transplant Manhattan-ite who had just decided to pursue a somewhat crazy dream of making a career out of my passion for baking.

So it's really no surprise that the thought of others being, in some form, dependent on me, was terrifying.

Today, one year older and a little wiser, many things are still uncertain about my future.  But I feel like I am chasing my dream and enjoying the adventures and obstacles along the way.  I know I will never look back with any regrets for the path I have chosen.

So I welcome 24 with open arms and a big slice of birthday cake.  The butterflies in my stomach are not there because I am scared of being a year older, but because I feel like the best is yet to come.

Of course, if Mike stopped saying it's time to trade me in for another, younger model, that would help too.

Jordan Pond House Popovers

When I was younger, my family returned to Maine each summer to visit family and friends during whatever two week period we could all align our schedules.  Even little girls have busy lives!

On one of the days during our vacation, we would drive to Acadia National Park, enjoy the views and the serenity followed by afternoon tea and popovers at Jordan Pond House.

This tradition was surely one of our classier ones and I always felt like Samantha from our American Girl books - sitting-up perfectly straight, surrounded by the rich and middle-class alike and sticking out my pinkie finger as I sipped my raspberry lemonade.

Even today, when I return to Maine in the summer, my only request is to visit Jordan Pond House.

As I have grown older, the raspberry lemonade has been replaced with coffee.  Although, if my sister happens to be visiting as well, I usually steal a few glorious sips of her raspberry lemonade.  And since she misses me, she lets me get away with it.  It's good being the older sister.

But my popover order has not changed in the least.  With just a smear of strawberry jam, I am in heaven, surrounded by mountains, trees, water and sunshine.  And it must be strawberry jam.  Other flavors just don't cut it.

I have resisted making popovers because I do not have a popover pan.  I don't have a popover pan because it won't fit in my tiny counter-top oven.  Whimper.

But with all the rain and gloom of last week, I needed to be transported somewhere sunny and warm, with just a slight breeze blowing through.  I needed to go there even if it was just through my breakfast plate.

I prepared the batter the night before so it had time to properly age before baking on Sunday morning.

The recipe was easy enough and it whipped up in no time.

Lesson: Basic Macarons

Remember a couple weeks ago when I couldn't stop blabbing about how much I love macarons?  After being assigned the task of making macarons at the restaurant, I fell deeply in love with creating, eating, researching and dreaming about macarons.

And it turns out, I'm not alone.

Since then, I have received several requests from people, trying to perfect the art of macaron-ing, to give step-by-step instructions for making macarons.

Let's begin with a few important notes.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join me.

First and absolutely most importantly - you need to muster up every ounce of patience possible as you practice creating these treats.  There is a lot of room for error and some things, like humidity in the air, are completely out of your control.

Did you just get home from a stressful day at work?  Do you feel fed up and at the end of your rope for the day?  Today is not the time to try making macarons for the first time.  Seriously.  Pour yourself a glass of wine, relax and try it some other time.

When you are feeling as though you have some patience to spare, make sure you also allot yourself enough time to read the instructions thoroughly, prepare everything and slowly and carefully go through all the steps.

Macarons are not the easiest of desserts, but once you become comfortable with the techniques, the creation process is actually quite enjoyable.

Feeling patient?  Have some free time?  Me too.  Tie on an apron and join me in the kitchen!