Salted Caramel Brownies

Poor MAS, he came home, after a month of being elsewhere, to me sick and in bed.  For like, the entire long weekend.  I'm thinking he didn't really mind, he slept even more than I did.  In fact it might be ideal for me to be sick every time he returns from either a long trip or a European trip.  He always comes back wasted, I am always overly excited and plan way too much, he sleeps in, I cancel brunch reservations an hour away that I made for 10 am (really, what was I thinking?).  But this time was different.  We slept.  He made me tea.  I re-watched and he started House of Cards.  We slept some more.  There was much more tea made.  And then, after complaining for days that I just wanted a cookie, we got up and made the Smitten Kitchen Salted Caramel Brownies.  We ate half the pan and went back to sleep.  The next day we woke up and polished off nearly the entire second half of the pan. Went to bed and then come Tuesday (a whopping two days after we made the brownies) we fought over the last little gooey and oh-so-delicious corner.  In the end it was a 50/50 split.

To say these brownies are delicious is to not say nearly enough.  I'd like to have them around always, but then I'd eat them always, and that, would be bad.  I'm thinking about making them again though.  This afternoon.  I might even credit them with making me well again.  There was no sign of improvement until that entire block of brownies had been devoured.  So if you've got that cold thing that's going around and can't shake it, make some brownies, worst case you'll be blissfully happy for the five minutes it takes you to eat them.

eating habits.

my favorite food is the cheeseburger.  mas' is split between cheeseburgers and spaghetti.  there was a time in our lives, a good chunk of time even, when we were eating meat only once a week (mostly in cheeseburger form).  but something happened.  we moved, mas started travelling, we came across good meat available for purchase just down the street, we live in a city where the food is actually delicious and the variety great.  we started eating meat every other day.

and now we both kind of feel gross.  so we are taking a break.  we've gone vegan for the week.  we say we're going to do things like this all of the time.  so far it's never worked out.  but we're on day one point five and so far i haven't dipped into the challah we bought on friday and stupidly didn't finish over the weekend, i consider this a win.

tomorrow morning it's muesli and spiced strawberry syrup from my new roots.  tonight is't black pepper tofu from ottologheni's plenty.  two recipes i'm fairly certain i wouldn't have gotten around to making if we hadn't cut out butter and cheese and yogurt.


i know it's not a lot, but now it kinda seems like it, and maybe it'll change our piss poor eating habits ... at least for a while. 


{image of tomorrow's breakfast from my new roots}

corn cookies.

ok, ok, ok, this is my second recipe (in as many weeks?) from milk bar.  but what can i say?  i see a kindred spirit in christina tosi.  i mean, it's like she's gotten inside my head and taken all of my guilty sweet pleasures and turned them into some kind of mind blowing reality.  and for one of the best cookie recipes ever here we go :

CORN COOKIES

a few notes to start

1.  tosi highly recommends using plugrá butter and i gotta say i don't disagree.  i first made these with the butter i had in my fridge, and then went to the store, bought the plugrá and decided it would always and forever be the butter we used for our cookies.

2.  if you don't have corn flour (or can't find it) you can substitute it with 40 g (1/4 c) of regular flour and 8 g (4t) of freeze dried corn powder.  i've done it both ways, and the corn flour is most definitely the way to go.  try to find it, it is absolutely worth it.

3.  freeze dried corn.  ok so you go to whole foods and buy this.  i put the whole bag into my food processor and grind it all up at once, you won't use it all, but you'll be ahead of the game for the next time you make these cookies, and trust me there will be a next time.

4.  grams vs. cups  i wasn't exactly a kitchen scale kind of person until i started obsessing over the tosi recipes.  and now i'm pretty die hard.  i use my scale at least three times a day (coffee, baking, etc) so if you don't have one and can't justify the expense, send me an email, we can chat.  i've included the non-weight measurements as well, just in case.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED!

225 g (2 sticks)  room-temperature butter
300 g (1 1/2 c) sugar
1 egg
225 g (1 1/3 c)  all-purpose flour
65 g (2/3 c) freeze-dried corn powder
45 g (1/4 c) corn flour
3 g (3/4 t) baking powder
1.5 g (1/4 t) baking soda
6 g (1 1/2 t) kosher salt

WHAT YOU WILL DO!

combine butter and sugar in a mixer with the paddle attached and cream them on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.  they should turn fluffy and pale yellow.  scrape down the sides of the bowl.

with the mixer at a lower speed, add the egg.  increase the speed to medium-high again and start a timer for 8 minutes.  mix and mix and mix.  the mixture will become pale, almost white, and the will almost double in volume.

after you timer goes off, turn the speed down to low and add the dry ingredients.  i'm pretty bad at adding while mixing so i tend not to do it.  i turn the mixer off, add a third, turn the mixer on for about 5 seconds and repeat until all ingredients are just combined.  you must be careful to not over mix.  it will really change this cookie.  i know it sounds silly, but it is perhaps the most important thing to remember ... do not over mix!

take a big bowl, something that will be able to hole 18 - 24 round balls, and put it on the counter.

start balling your dough.  i use a bigger spoon, like a soup spoon to aid the process, but technically you are supposed to us a 2 3/4 oz ice cream scoop.  the choice is yours.

after you make your first dough ball, place it in that big bowl.  then repeat until all of your dough is resting quietly in said bowl.  (i will sometimes just throw these into a freezer safe storage container, mostly because i like to always have corn cookies in the freezer, but also because if i cook off the entire batch i will eat the entire batch.  that is no good.  so i save about half of the dough balls, maybe more and eat them throughout the month)

place the bowl/storage container in the freezer for at least and hour.  i've never skipped this step, but apparently if you do you will get giant melt balls instead of cookies.  something about the amount of butter ... it needs to be cold going into the oven in order for the cookies to maintain their shape.

wait an hour .....  it's hard, i know.

pre-heat your oven to 350

place cookies on cookie sheet, just like any other, they will spread as they flatten, so don't have them touching.

cook for 18 minutes -OR- until their edges start to brown.  i cook mine for 15 minutes, because i like them a touch underdone and my oven runs a tad hot.  the brown edges are the key, you don't want any other brown other than the edges.

eat.  and eat again.  these cookies are so beyond delicious it's ridiculous.

recipe by christina tosi from the second issue of lucky peach, but it's also in the milk bar cookbook and i'm sure around the internets.

crack pie.

okay ladies and gents.  start your week of right and make a crack pie.  i kid you not, everyday you come home and have some of this scrumptious pie waiting for you, will be a good day.  i've made it a few times now and everyone who has nibbled on it has also turned around and made it (if that isn't a good recommendation i don't know what is).

a couple of quick notes:

1.   there is an overnight chill required to let the pie gooeyness set-up.  i didn't read the directions very well and didn't allot for that time.  in the end it was fine, i just chilled it as long as i could, but then again i did overcook it.

2.  it is stupid easy to overcook this beast.  and i did, every time i tried.  but i now know that you take it out of the oven when the center still looks uncooked.  it will be all wobbly and the sides will be barely set and you will think that you need a few more minutes.  but you don't.  those few more minutes will effectively cook the center and give you a delicious, though no longer gooey, pie.

3.  they say serve cold, we did not.  maybe had i not overcooked it to the point of turning it into something closely resembling toffee when chilled then it would have been fine.  but ours needed to be room temperature in order to enjoy.

4.  dry milk powder, it took me four groceries to find this stuff.  but you should know i was limited to what was within walking/biking/i need it fucking right now distance.  in the end i paid way too much at our thoroughly over priced organic market.  maybe whole foods sells it?  i dunno, but our harris teeter and safeway people looked at me like i had lost my mind when i asked them.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED!

Crust

• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 5 1/2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

Filling

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 6 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)

WHAT YOU WILL DO!

Oat Cookie Crust

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.
• Using hands, crumble oat cookie into large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.

Filling

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes longer. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep chilled.
• Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into wedges and serve cold.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/09/crack_pie#ixzz1tMMhnypq

re-do.

the past weekend was a bit less than stellar.  i mean, we got stuff done, like the floor and trim of our basement!! and there was the marathon cooking of lasagna/tons of bolognese that will keep us fed for the next few weeks.   but there was also the car accident that has left us carless for the next month*, the opening and assembling of a bed from ikea that is missing the mid-beam rendering it completely useless (did i mention we have no car for the next month and ikea is FAR?), the cancellation of a brunch reservation that took me A MONTH TO GET (again, no car = no trip to baltimore for one of the most popular brunch spots around, their dinner is delish, have you locals been?), and the general moping-ness that sometimes just happens.  so all in all it's left me very excited about this monday.  it's a new day, a new week, and a new start.  because sometimes you just need a fucking new start.  also leftover lasagna.  what is better than leftover lasagna??




*we very nearly just ditched the prius for a this (TDI, of course), which we've been thinking about past year, but we're apparently so specific we'd have to have it ordered which would take four months and really, maybe, we'd rather throw that money elsewhere .... like on tearing out that kitchen wall and turning it into giant glass sliding doors??

pulverized almond bits.

all of that leftover almond meal sitting in the cheesecloth after a fresh batch of almond milk is squeezed turns into a pretty tasty hummus in no time.

via my new roots, via kismet & happenstance.

happy valentine's.

here's wishing you at the very least a good bit of cake ... or brownie ... or doughnut.

frances and i are each other's sweethearts this year and i've already ruined it for her.  so, she's gone back to bed. i might attempt walking down to barracks row and trying out this place for the first time (i think it's the last cupcake only shop i'm left to experience). or perhaps i'll just hunker down into some projects and go for these brownies instead.  or maybe we'll head on out to the suburbs for a lowe's/petsmart trip and just hit up krispy kreme?  our options are endless and all very sugary.

{image via}

bread, the making of.

about once a month mas and i have THE talk.

you know, the one that goes like this :

m - oh, warm bread, YUM.
c - i know, isn't it the best?
m - yeah, we really should start making this.
c - i know, wouldn't that be the best?
m - yes, in fact, it would.  let's start.
c - hmmm, ok, how about we spend our sundays making bread and soup for the whole week!
m - perfect, let's start.

and then, something happens.  mas goes out of town, or he gets back into town and we spend our sunday doing things around the city.  like buying slabs of wood for the making of tables.  or heading out to ikea ... again ... to buy more faux wood flooring because we've decided to rip out that gross carpet in the apartment after all.  or we spend it watching homeland, etc.  whatever it is we are doing, it simply is not planning meals and breads for the upcoming week.

but those days are over. it's a little bit because that last prairie boule we nabbed from the whole foods was a disappointment.  and its a lot because i am done with disappointing bread.  also, i've got the time.  so last week in an effort to use our williams sonoma cash back, or somethingoranother coupon that expired on the 29th, i went on a shopping spree.  enter this book.   it's fantastic.

and now, i've got my starter made and am well on my way to what i hope is the most delicious county loaves around.  because there really is nothing better than fresh bread.

side note : i'm really quite a fan of these chronicle cook books, plenty has gotten a lot of play in our house recently as well.

housewares.

i used to be nearly violently opposed to ceramic plates, bowls, mugs and really anything that went on a table. i think it is mostly due to the fact that i spent a decent amount of time growing up in the mountains of western north carolina, BEFORE, the hipsters came out and took over.  it was a time when everyone hawked the ceramic shit everywhere.  it was all brown and blue and blandly terra cotta, boring and ugly.  but recently, i've been coming around to the art and beauty that is ceramic pottery. the throwing and the shaping and the glazing. and so our collection has started, we have five ricebowls.  but now i'm thinking we could toss those anthrolpologie plates i found on super sale about 8 years ago and then the chipped cb2 plates that were a christmas present for mas six years ago (a time when we were somehow short on household goods so agreed to purchase only housewares for each other for christmas) and replace them with the likes of these.

{soda fired shallow bowls and wood fired plates part of the motley collection curated by ashes and milk}

joining forces.

over the weekend mas came up with (what i think is) THE BEST IDEA EVER.  he wanted to, and actually started blogging over at the {not so} urban foodie.  i think he might be using this writing for what is now a joint blog, mostly as a motivational technique.  you know, since i've not exactly been on top of that shit.  though it doesn't matter, i'm happy to take him as my co-author (obvi), and am actually pretty pumped for him to offer up a different view on the food we eat, because honestly the two of us approach things from completely different directions.  for example he would never break down into tears while trying to plan a menu and i would not be happy eating pasta every night.

so, that's it, a hopeful new life for that nearly dead fish of a blog that is the {not so} urban foodie.  i can't wait ... it's gonna be FUN.

the food, it's moving.

because i started a stupid food blog about 8 months ago and left it floundering while turning ppp into just that.  not the case anymore, the food stays in it's place from now on ... at least mostly.

{image from marina ekroos via i love widfox}

apparently i eat and work - and that is all.

and since i can't quite (though ALMOST) share my work, i'm settling with sharing my food.  because recently it has been delicious and abundant.  like our bbq dinner from 12 bones while we were in asheville a couple of days ago.  also i may have finally perfected our salty chocolate chip cookie recipe, which i will happily share before the end of the week.  it's one for keeping, i promise you.

cake.

over the weekend mas and i had one of the best slices of chocolate cake ever.  it was magical.  it was from the french broad chocolate lounge and it was the highland mocha stout cake.  the cake was rich and moist with the perfect taste of the stout, and the frosting, oh my.  it was the quintessential butter cream.  i can still taste it.  so when i was catching up on my much overdue blog reading and saw this post over on design*sponge i thought i might just have to save this recipe until i have the time to make it.  which will hopefully be soon, because honestly i could use a piece of good cake.  right now.

{image from katie quinn davies via design*sponge}

french toast.

i went a little nutty with the breads our CSA was offering this week.  when the 2 loaves of rosemary pumpkin bread, 12 yeast rolls and sack of pitas arrived i was relatively elated, but then it hit me, we hardly keep bread in the house, what in the world are we going to do with all of this?  it's all very delicious, don't get me wrong, but we are two. not four/six/twelve.  we, quite simply, are over breaded.

well sunday morning came and with it a fix to the current situation.  three yeast rolls were made into french toast.  orangette french toast (or burg's) to be precise.  and it was delicious.  i'd been wanting to make this recipe since i first read a homemade life, but like i said before we rarely have bread in the house.  anyway, i think those days of no bread are OVER because this was by far the best french toast i've ever had.

summer's respite.

temperatures that did not go over 88. baby guinea hens running around our yard. fresh peach and blueberry ice cream. homemade in-n-out* (for realz, all of you ex-west coasters if you have not seen this, well, you must now). lawn mowing. windows open. air conditioning OFF. bike ride. the starting of true blood (yes, we're a little behind). adventureland. cleaning out that shit hole of a front room to the point where we can actually use it as a front room. carrot cantaloupe juice. chocolate chip cookies. sushi. laundry almost done. wearing of jeans. thunder storms. all in all it was a very good weekend.

*check out the article along with the recipe, i think i may have fallen in love with kenji alt a little bit this weekend. i mean the ketchup mayo ratio illustration would have done it alone, but dude, the burger rocked. my hero.

yes, yes, yes please.

a few rows of these for the bathroom
(maybe 2, for all of the stuff that has no home)

and then one of these for the kitchen. i'd have to splurge on pretty pots and pans, but i'd be ok with that.

{items by produce}

plans for the weekend?

unfortunately we are not heading to the beach, however we are heading to asheville in about an hour. then meeting up with some friends from ny. and then partaking in some wondrous bbq (careful there is sound on that site). my parents do this every year ... a whole weekend of smoked foods leaving me feeling, well, ill for the following two weeks. SO WORTH IT though.

have fun, be safe, see you tuesday.

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no point in stopping with the housewares now.

i've been spending quite a bit of time researching housewares recently. i swear you would think that we were in the market for a complete home makeover ... we're not. so for now maybe i can just add some placemats to the mix? placemats that i LOVE? placemats that are dying to live in our house, and um maybe a tray(the wee chick, obv)?





all placemats and goods by a most fabulous find, simrin.

and a few for our kitchen.

i've been obsessed with jorine oosterhoff ever since i saw her tea set (one day i will own the entire thing) but now she has to add snout cups? oof is she trying to KILL ME? i would like one of each please, thank you very much.

we're growing things.

as in foods, in a garden, that we will eat. i know, i too can hardly believe it. but it's true. and you can keep up with it all (and our eating adventures) here.

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