2nd Catering Job, not so much a failure: Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

My second catering job!  They turned out well!  I know this because I snuck a cupcake (or two).  

Martha Stewart's Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I've re-discovered Martha Stewart's "Cookies".  It's a really exciting book.  I made gingerbread cookies because I'm on a bit of a molasses kick.  I used chopped chocolate rather than chocolate chips so that there would be large chunks of melty chocolate.  

Here is the recipe.  I recommend it highly.  

Pineapple, Molasses, and Lime Zest

I have a new side job.  My mom and her husband are going to Spain and France in September.  I'm in charge of planning the whole thing, from flights to dinner reservations.  I'm pretty much planning my dream vacation, but for someone else.  (sigh)  I'm totally more excited about this trip than they are.  I've been downloading every itunes show about Spain and France that I can find and predictably I'm tending towards the ones with a foodie bent.  The other night I watched "On the Road Again" with Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Mark Bittman.  It's really mediocre.  Gwyneth Paltrow is pretty obnoxious.  But, they do eat some beautiful food.  In the episode about Barcelona they went to Inopia, a restaurant by one of the Adria brothers (tangent: I tried to make a reservation of El Bulli, the Adria brother's restaurant but they are booked up for the next year!).  For dessert at Inopia they serve fresh pineapple with lime zest and molasses.  Simple, simple, wonderful.  I've never thought about using molasses with fresh fruit.  I like this very much.

Cranberry Macadamia Cormeal Biscotti

I'm back on the horse! I don't really know what that means.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs (room temp)

6 tablespoons of butter

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

zest of one lemon

for the maple icing:

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon water

1. preheat oven to 350

2. sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt--set aside

3. cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy and light

4. beat in the eggs, one at a time

5. add the flour/cornmeal mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture

6. add the lemon zest, chocolate, cranberries, and macadamia nuts

7. combine all the ingredients

8. on a parchment lined cookie sheet form the dough into a log that is about 14 inches long

9. bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bottom edges are slightly browned and the top begins to crack just a bit

10. remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes

11. slice the log into 1/2 inch slices and place back onto a parchment lined cookie sheet

12. bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned

13. remove from oven and let cool completely

14. mix the ingredients for the icing and pour into a sturdy ziploc bag

15.  push the icing into one corner of the bag, making sure to release all the air from the top of the bag

16. snip off a tiny part of the corner of the bag and drizzle the icing over the biscotti

17. serve dipped in coffee or milk or dessert wine

A Good Gathering

requisite

honey brined chicken

jab chae (glass noodles with vegetables)

bean sprout rice

soups (also requisite)

saeyoung and patricia

marinated tofu

no one ate this but me

i found orange cauliflower at the market and i couldn't resist

butternut squash fries

maple dipping sauce

peanut sauce

my favorite guacamole : thai guac

mango cherry salsa

I love cooking with my mom and sister.  Once in a while we'll have extended family over for large weekend dinners.  We say it will be a simple meal, but it never is.  Simplicity just isn't in our blood.  We meticulously plan. We make several trips to the grocery market (the korean market, the american market, and the last minute trip to Ralph's).  We toil. We barely sit down to eat but somehow manage to gorge until our stomachs are disgustingly rotund.  We then clean for what seems like centuries.  And then we pull out leftovers from the fridge and eat again.  

These make up some of my happiest moments.  We're oddly cheerful when we cook.  We have a sense of collectivity, of doing something together and enjoying what we made together.  Call me sentimental, because there's no denying it, I really am.  

This last Sunday we had one of these large dinners.  I was in charge of appetizers because I believe that's my favorite part of a meal.  I made a Thai guacamole, which is my favorite avocado dish, hands down.  Also, I made a mango cherry salsa, inspired by the fruit we had in the fridge.  Also, butternut squash fries with peanut sauce and a maple dipping sauce.  Saeyoung made a strata, which she will post about very soon (yes, she also blogs here *nudge nudge saeyoung cho).    She also made her famous peach drop cookies, which are always excellent.  Mom, being the faithful Korean that she is made jab chae, spinach soy bean soup, tofu salad and bean sprout rice .  Doc, faithful to his grill, made korean short ribs and a very tender honey brined chicken.  

Very pleasant evening. 

My First Catering Job

last minute "business cards"

Carly Yu hired me to bake a birthday cake + some cupcakes for her sister's birthday. It's exciting to get paid for something you enjoy doing. Unfortunately, I have a nagging suspicion that the red velvet cake was not as good as it could have been. Let me explain. I don't like the idea of baking cakes too far in advance. I like to bake things the morning of the day it will be served. In this case, this meant staying up all night baking. Seriously, I didn't touch my bed that night. I don't know if my mind was fuzzy from lack of sleep but when I unmolded the red velvet layers they felt a little stiffer than they usually do. And obviously I couldn't sample a bit to confirm my suspicions so now I feel all anxious about how the cake was. I'm scared that I didn't measure something correctly, that maybe in my sleepy delirium I put an extra 1/2 cup of flour or left out a few ounces of butter. What if it was horrible? What if it was stiff as a board? To be honest this is really bothering me. It felt really important that my first catering job went well, like it was supposed to be good omen of things to come. Oh (!!) I'm almost positive it wasn't my best red velvet. I'm sad and disappointed in myself.

I also made strawberry pink lady cupcakes, which were adorable. I bought these great tulip baking cups that were just perfect. I thought they tasted pretty good and I made a double batch so that I could take some to Felipe's 27th birthday party. But Thomas later told me that they weren't my best cupcakes, that they weren't as moist as they could have been.

....................

I am a failure!

Oh, I am very unhappy with this. Maybe I just wasn't meant to exchange my baking for money.