Have you tried...Wheat Chex with Peaches?

I love, love, love peaches. But I'm picky. They have to be perfectly ripe and juicy, not mealy (of course), in season, and grown locally. I buy my peaches from Soergel's and let them sit on the counter until they are perfectly ripe (the fruit yields to gentle pressure and it is no longer green at the stem end). If you're not ready to eat them when they become perfectly ripe, they can be placed in the fridge for a few days longer.

I don't generally like my peaches cooked, like in a pie or a muffin. I think that some of the flavor is lost in the cooking as well as the texture that I love.

My favorite way to eat a peach is for breakfast with Wheat Chex and whole milk and maybe just a sprinkling of sugar, but often the sugar is not needed. There must be enough peaches in the bowl so that there is peach in every bite. It's a bonus if the peaches are cold from the fridge.  So delicious.

Favorite Cookbooks of 2009

To send the year off, I thought I'd share with you my favorite baking cookbooks of 2009. These are the books I turned to again and again this year for inspiration and great recipes. Any of these books would be a wonderful addition to your cookbook library.

1. Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Emily Huntsman- is THE best cookbook for layer cakes! Every cake in this book (except for the wedding cakes) requires 3 8-inch cake pans. I use these from Wilton. There is not one cake I've tried in this book that I didn't like - recipes like Triple Chocolate Cake, Buttermilk Cake with Instant Fudge Icing, and Peanut Butter Chocolate cake (made into cupcakes).

2. Martha Stewart's Cookies - when I posted my 12 days of Christmas Cookies, I realized that most of the recipes I used came from this book! These cookies were fantastic and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this book (just not anytime too soon - I'm "cookied" out!) Try the Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Crackles, Pecan Tassies, Jam Thumbprints, Lime Meltaways, Lemon Shortbread, and Chocolate Cream-filled Cookies.

3. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois - wonderful artisan breads like the basic boule and semolina sesame bread. They have a new book out, but there are still so many I want to try in this one!

4. Classic Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti - so far I've tried the Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies and the Lemon Bars. You know a recipe is good when the recipe pages are covered in flour and butter stains. That's what the lemon bar recipe looks like! Might even give Ina's lemon bars a run for their money!

5. Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Lewis and Polofito- Consistently good recipes that work and are delicious and a bit different. Recipes I've tried this year and some I've made over and over are Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins, German Chocolate Cake, Lemon Loaf, Coconut Snowball Cupcakes, and Rootbeer Fudge Bundt Cake (made into cupcakes).

6. Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan - I've only scratched the surface of this book. I'd have to say not every recipe is a slam dunk, but the Fruit Galette, the Perfect Party Cake, and the Brownie Buttons were very good.

7. The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz - a must-have cookbook for homemade ice cream, gelato and sorbet. Try the Rice Pudding Gelato or the Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream.

8. American Pie by Peter Reinhart- I haven't blogged about the recipes in this book, but we often make homemade pizzas at home. I've tried the Napoletana and the New York Style Pizza Doughs and they are both fantastic!

I'd love to know which baking cookbook is your favorite! Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to sharing more of my baking experiences with you in 2010!

Friday Favorite - Marzipan...

...chocolate covered marzipan actually. Inside this little box contains my very favorite treat. I'll tell you that it's not easy to find. I ask for it in every candy shop - even Godiva stores - and they never have it. But my wonderful husband always seems to find me some. And these chocolate marzipan hearts were the absolute best birthday present ever!






Marzipan is essentially almonds ground to a paste with sugar and egg whites or corn syrup to act as a binder. It is used in candy and pastries such as petit fours. It can also be tinted and shaped into edible fruits and other shapes to adorn cakes. I first tasted marzipan in Germany when I was in college and traveled with friends around Europe. I fell in love when I tasted it.  If you happen to see it covered in chocolate, you've got to try it! What is your favorite sweet indulgence?

Friday Favorite - Lux Egg Timer

Have you ever seen one of these? This egg timer takes the guesswork out of boiling an egg. You can find these at stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond on their kitchen gadget wall or at Amazon.com. And they're only about 5 dollars. Here's how the timer works:



Place your eggs and the egg timer in a saucepan. Add cold water to cover the eggs by about an inch. Bring the water slowly to a simmer. As the water heats and cooks the eggs, the timer begins to get a dark ring starting on the outside. Can you see it?

As the dark ring reaches the desired mark on the timer, you know the egg is done! Drain the eggs and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Split the eggs down the middle with a small thin knife and scoop the eggs out with a spoon. Top with a little butter and some salt and pepper. Perfectly cooked eggs every time.

Friday Favorite - Bodum French Press

I love my new Bodum French Press coffee maker. We bought one about 10 years ago in North Carolina and we used it every day. It does make the greatest coffee, especially if you use this kind! It had the coolest green handle and lid and a cork round to sit on. But a few months ago it broke and I replaced it with a french press of a different brand. It just didn't measure up to the old Bodum. I generally wouldn't be so particular if it was a gadget I used only once in a while, but this method of brewing has become a daily ritual and the new french press really bugged me. The base was hard to clean and it didn't filter out the grounds very well. So I found a Bodum at our Bed, Bath, and Beyond and used one of those 20% off coupons that have been piling up. 

I almost forgot, I also have an itty bitty baby Bodum which I found at this store that holds just the right amount for one big cup of tea. It works great for brewing loose-leaf teas! Isn't it cute?

Friday Favorite - My SIGG Water Bottle

It's summer, it's hot and we're thirsty! And fortunately, as a country, we are becoming more aware of our choices and how they affect our environment. Jane Goodall, in a recent speaking engagement in Pittsburgh, noted that one of the easiest things we could do to help the environment right now is to stop buying our water in plastic containers and refill your own bottle instead. (Read her great book Harvest for Hope and it just might change that way you look at food forever!) I stopped buying bottled water a few years ago when we installed a reverse-osmosis water filter in our kitchen. The initial investment was a few hundred dollars, but the water tastes great and is about the most pure as you can get. It's one of the best investments we've ever made.  But even if you do not have a water filtering system, it has been shown that most people's tap water in this country is just as pure as bottled water. Use a carbon filter system to remove off flavors very inexpensively.



I love my Sigg stainless steel water bottle for several reasons:
1. It's beautiful
2. The water doesn't get an "off" taste after sitting for a while
3. There are no chemicals leaching into your water as they can with plastic, especially when plastic sits in a hot car
4. There's no waste
5. It fits in the holder on my bicycle :)
Read more about the benefits of Sigg water bottles here and then go get one for yourself!

Friday Favorite - Brother P-Touch Label-maker

I was reorganizing my pantry today and it reminded me of a true favorite. I just love my labelmaker! There is no better way to feel organized than to have your belongings in neat containers which are labeled with their contents.



I use my labelmaker for so many things - files folders, bins, and kids' stuff just to name a few. But mostly, I use my labelmaker in the kitchen on everything from baking pans (they don't burn) and tupperware (so the teacher or a neighbor knows who to return it to), to containers of different types of beans, rice and flours.

My entire house needs to be organized so badly, but I feel instantly better when my pantry is organized (because I spend so much time in the kitchen!) Now I can get back to baking!

Friday Favorite - My iPhone!!!

Here she is...my new iPhone! I'd been waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for the day when I could upgrade from my Nokia flip phone and that day was yesterday! It felt like Christmas ALL day! I have a lot to learn about what this phone can do and oh...the apps!! If you have any good apps to suggest for me, I'd really like to hear about them. I've not searched the recipe apps yet but I'm sure I'll get to it! I have a list of to-do's and a shopping list application and the Today Show and I've loaded all of my music and contacts and weather - and of course I've bookmarked my blog. I love this phone!! Now I'm off to make sugar cookies! Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorite - Cool Cupcake Carrier

I've been busy planning for a super-duper baking weekend!  I volunteered to provide sweets for three functions and they all happen to fall in the same weekend, so check back next week for a rundown of all the goodies I'm making in the kitchen! In the meantime, I thought I'd share a super find with you. At Costco, they have these cool cupcake carriers made by snapware. Each of three trays come with an insert tray with handles which has circles to hold 12 cupcakes, or you can turn the tray over and it's a flat tray for carrying any type of goodie. The containers are deep and so versatile. All three containers lock together for carrying and you can use as many trays as you need. I bought two of these handy carriers and I'm thinking of going back for more before they're all gone - especially if I decide to go ahead with my baking business I've been thinking about lately - but more on that later. The pink non-skid rubberized pad I added myself so that my mini-cupcakes wouldn't slide around in transport. I'm so glad I found these! Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorite - Building New Hope Coffee

This coffee is delicious and you can feel good about drinking it because you're supporting a Pittsburgh-based non-profit company as well as helping families in Central America by paying a fair price for organic, shade-grown coffee.  You can also find it at Whole Foods, through various CSA's or directly from the website.   Read more about Building New Hope and where to find it here.

Friday's Favorite - Herb Keeper

There are three herbs that I like to use fresh and keep on hand for cooking: parsley, cilantro, and basil. Other commonly used herbs are just as good dried like oregano and thyme, but herbs like parsley lose most of their flavor when dried. Basil is best kept in a cup with water in it right on the kitchen counter, like flowers in a vase, and can last quite a while. To keep cut herbs like parsley and cilantro fresh the longest, try one of these herb keepers. It's the best thing I've found for keeping herbs fresh. The height of the container needs to be ample enough to contain the herbs, but you could make your own herb keeper out of just about any container. Place water in the bottom so that the water covers the stems. (Try not to submerge the leaves since wet leaves will turn slimy very quickly.) Change the water if it starts to look cloudy. Keep the container covered tightly in the refrigerator. These herbs will keep for more than 2 weeks in your refrigerator if they aren't too old when you buy them - a real money saver if you buy fresh herbs!

Friday Favorite - Marshall's!

If you shop at Marshall's, you probably enter the store, start browsing through the clothing and shoe departments, meander back to the home interiors aisle and around through to the toys and books. Not me - when I go to Marshall's, I make a bee-line right to the gourmet foods and kitchen supplies section, and then, if I have time, I might browse through the clothing and handbags. You might not think that Marshall's is the best place to buy food items, but I'm here to change your mind! I've been buying my favorite Greek extra-virgin olive oil there for a few years now. It has a "use-by" date so I can tell that it's fresh and I use it for almost all my cooking. It's especially good in a Greek Salad. The other staple I've stocked up on is the Vanilla Bean Extract "Crush" made by the Sonoma Syrup Co. It's a combination of the best vanillas (Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian) and has a lot of real vanilla bean seeds in it so you can see the bean flecks in your baked goods. It's so delicious - and a few dollars cheaper than if you bought it from King Arthur Flour.



My other recent finds are in these pictures as well - all-natural apricot jam which I used to glaze the Lemon Tart, delicious and unique rapeseed blossom honey from Germany (to add to my honey collection), and some baking spices. I LOVE my new green casserole dish which turned out to be perfect for the Tomato Sausage Lasagna and my two white cake stands, one round and one square - heck, I even found the tablecloth at my favorite Marshall's! Happy Shopping!

Friday Favorite - Casabella Hot Pink Rubber Gloves

Strange thing to be listing as a favorite perhaps, but I LOVE these gloves. If you do a lot of cooking and baking, inevitably you'll be doing a lot of dishes too. These gloves will protect your hands from constant water exposure, the lining is soft and makes the gloves easily donned and removed. And the cuff around the bottom folds up to catch any drips from going all the way up your arm. They last a pretty long time - probably 3 months or so of constant use. And they're hot pink! I'm pretty sure that makes doing the dishes a little more tolerable.  I may just have to get the matching pink lipstick to wear while I'm doing my chores... Happy Dishwashing!

Friday's Favorites, and White Sandwich Bread

This week's favorites are must-haves for every kitchen. I can guarantee that if you don't care for cooking, you will love to cook (or at least not hate it) if you have a sharp, high quality set of knives (like Wusthof) and a nice big wooden cutting board (like a Boos board). Almost all jobs in the kitchen can be done with these 3 knives, although a well-stocked kitchen would probably include a carving knife and fork, and perhaps a boning knife. And I really can't go without mentioning my Rada serrated tomato knife - you know the ones they sell at flea markets and church fundraisers for about $5. I love it for slicing - well - tomatoes.
Here's the lowdown: you need a chef's knife that feels comfortable in your hand, so go to the store and hold a few to see what you like. My chef's knife is a Wusthof 17 cm "santoku" knife which was popularized by Rachael Ray.  It's a great all-purpose knife and I use it for all but the smallest jobs. For peeling and slicing up fruit I use a Wusthof 8 cm paring knife. And my latest purchase is the Wusthof 23 cm serrated knife.  It slices bread like a dream! (see the recipe below). Keep your knives sharp by washing them by hand and using a honing stick frequently.
And don't forget a nice big wooden cutting board. Wooden cutting boards are not so hard on your knives so they'll stay sharp longer. I have a smaller cutting board which I use only for garlic and onions and I use my Boos board for everything else. It's a good idea to brush a little mineral oil on your board every so often to keep it in nice condition. I wash them with soap and hot water. Make an investment in these items and you will have them for years - you'll never be sorry!



Basic White Bread
adapted from Walter Sands' recipe in King Arthur Flour's 200th Anniversary Cookbook
Makes two loaves

2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp honey
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup dry milk (optional)
2 Tbsp butter, softened
6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp salt

Pour the warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the honey and yeast and stir to dissolve. When the yeast is bubbling, add the dry milk, softened butter, flour, and the salt. Mix with the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook until the dough comes together, about 5 minutes. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes, then knead again with the mixer and dough hook for another 3-4 minutes. The dough should be dry enough to not stick to the sides of the bowl, but moist enough so that the dough sticks a little to the bottom of the mixer bowl. Add flour or water 1 tablespoon at a time to obtain the right consistency.
Form the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl, turning the dough once so that the top of the dough is lightly greased as well. Cover it with plastic wrap and then a clean kitchen towel and place in a draft-free place. Let it rise until doubled in size and you can poke the dough with your finger and it doesn't spring back at you (usually at least 1 1/2 hours).
Deflate the dough gently and turn it out onto a floured board or counter and knead out any stray bubbles.
Cut the dough in half, form 2 loaves by folding in the sides and tucking the sides under the dough. Place them in 2 lightly greased bread pans. Cover the pans and let rise until doubled (about an hour). About 15 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the loaves in the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven when nicely browned and sounds hollow when you tap it. Remove the bread from the pans and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack (so the bottom doesn't get soggy from the steam as it cools). Slice with a serrated bread knife. Freeze any portion you won't be able to use within a day or two.

Friday's Favorite - The Kitchenaid Mixer

This is a new weekly series of posts highlighting my favorite things - including, but not limited to, kitchen gadgets, food items, destinations and blogs.

The very first of these favorite things: My kichenaid mixer! How could I survive without it? It effortlessly mixes cake and cookie doughs, whips up perfect buttercreams, kneads bread dough, and cranks out pastas (with the awesome pasta attachment). With other attachments, you can freeze ice cream and grind your own meats. My kitchen has a surplus of appliances, but if I could only keep one, this would be it. A few years ago, I upgraded from the standard 4.5 quart to the Professional 6.0 quart. I purchased an extra mixing bowl and plastic lids from kitchenaid.com. When I have a cookie dough which needs to be chilled, I place the plastic lid right on the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator - quite handy!

Mark your cup!

I know there are a lot of cute and artistic ways to mark your cup, like the beautiful beaded wine glass markers from Joy Beadworks, or the adorable, creative shrinky dink coffee markers from Hope Studios. But when you're time challenged and you've got a whole crew of kids coming over and you want to keep their cups/cans/bottles straight, try this little trick...



Save some thick rubberbands from your grocery produce such as broccoli and asparagus. Place a rubberband around each cup and write one name on each with a ball point pen. The rubberband stays put and, at the end of the night, take the bands off and save them for the next time. There's no need for plastic cups, and you don't get a dishwasher full of cups because no one can remember which cup is theirs...re-using and recycling at its best!