Heather Bakes

That’s What She Said…

Like a Bull in a China Shop July 28, 2008

Filed under: July 2008 — heatherwlu @ 2:27 am
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My final practical is tomorrow, so I decided to do a dry run today of the two desserts I was assigned:

Blueberry Turnovers & Chocolate Cream Pie

You know what? Ingredients are EXPENSIVE. I had to buy all of this specialty crap that’s standard for a bakeshop but not so much for home use: bread flour, pastry flour, graham cracker crumbs, heavy cream. And now the remainder will rot away in my pantry until weevils find it and make a home inside, and then I’ll open it 3 months down the road and almost poo my pants, spilling the entire bag of flour & weevils all over the floor.

I’m sorry… what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the pastries.

The thing with these desserts is that they each have many parts. For the chocolate cream pie, you have to assemble & bake the pie crust, cook the filling, fill the crust, wait for the whole thing to cool, make the whipped cream, and top/decorate the pie. For the turnovers, you have to assemble the dough, let it rest, roll it out, let it rest again, roll and cut it into squares, insert the filling, shape and vent the turnovers, let them rest, egg wash, and then bake. The whole process took about 2 hours. And I made a mess.

Kitchen before:

Kitchen after (notice Brian playing video games in the background):

Here are the final turnovers- I overfilled them and ended up with some spillage. No worries. Three of them are apple filled, three are apricot, and the final three are blackberry. They are good but super buttery… I think the butter was too soft when I assembled the dough.

Filled, pre-baked:

After baking:

Here is the chocolate cream pie pre-topping:

And post topping:

So the big question is, what am I going to do with 2 cream pies and all of these turnovers??? And I’m just going to come home with more tomorrow. Oh well, Chloe really appreciated the homemade whipped cream…

Brian took over the big part of dinner because I was hot and tired of cooking. I found this recipe for Grilled Chicken with Whiskey-Ginger Marinade on CookingLight.com, so I marinated and he grilled. Kroger had this big package of seasoned brussels sprouts (for only $2.50!) that I roasted, and then we had our old standby: Alexia fries! Brian thinks that this is the prettiest grilled chicken he’s ever prepared. I agree.

The marinade is super easy (no cooking) and delicious- it has a citrusy-asian flavor and the sugar, hoisin sauce and bourbon carmelize on the top. Carmelization is a great thing.

Wish me luck on the final! We tried a new restaurant this weekend, so I’ll post on that tomorrow… along with some of Chloe’s weekend adventures. Night!

 

Here Comes the Bride… July 7, 2008

Filed under: July 2008 — heatherwlu @ 3:03 am
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Okay guys, I took Friday off- so get ready for a MARATHON post…

Oh wow, what a weekend! While everyone else in the U.S. was celebrating Independence Day, we were busy, busy, busy with my best friend Lauren’s wedding. So much fun!! Friday consisted of a bridal luncheon, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner took place at a local winery (I’ve posted about this place before), Times Ten Cellars.  Times Ten provided the drinks- beer, sangria, and of course, wine- and one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Matt’s, catered fajitas.  And don’t worry, we got to see fireworks! We all headed out to the parking lot afterwards to watch fireworks put on by the neighborhood country club.

Brian and me at Times Ten:

Saturday morning we picked up Lauren at 11:30 and headed to the Hotel Palomar to get ready for the big day! Despite some, um, issues with the hotel (the suite they gave us the key to was dirty, they didn’t let the photographer take pics inside the hotel) we had a blast and Lauren was the most zen bride ever. No freakouts whatsoever.  OH, and there was a random competition going on at the hotel: The Meow Mix “Think Like A Cat” Contest.  All of these people (some even in cat attire) were lined up with their cats in little carriers and strollers. It was hilarious.

Lauren getting ready… don’t worry, she has clothes on under there:

And here she is in full bride mode right before the ceremony. Gorgeous!!

All of the bridesmaid’s bouquets:

The ceremony went off without a hitch and we headed to the Dallas Arboretum for the reception.  I didn’t take a picture of it, but Lauren had a local gelato company, Paciugo, set up a stand outside. I got wedding cake flavor (awwwww).

Here’s the first dance:

My parents had a great time, too. I think they danced more than Brian and I did! Nothing’s funnier than dancing to Sexy Back with your mom :)

I’m kicking myself for not taking a photo of the wedding cake. What a bad future pastry chef! But I did get a shot of the super cute groom’s cupcakes (MOCHA). Thanks to Joy for being my hand model:

And finally, the happy couple… with their favorite third wheel…

So yea! Gorgeous wedding and congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Wallace!

Today we were in recovery mode. Slept in until 12:30 (!!!!) and then headed to Ikea to look at rugs.  For dinner we threw together an easy, summery meal:

  • Mango Cilantro Grilled Chicken
  • Coconut Creamed Corn
  • Roasted Asparagus

I marinated the chicken in an Annie’s marinade we picked up at Whole Foods:

It was good but very subtle- I only marinated for about 30 minutes.  This would probably be really tasty on shrimp, too. The Coconut Creamed Corn was awesome. Fresh corn is simmered with light coconut milk, lime juice, fresh cilantro and crushed red pepper.  The recipe was from the latest issue of Eating Well and if you want to try it, the recipe is here. Finally, I just tossed the asparagus with a couple tsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar and roasted at 400 for 20 minutes.  Props to Brian for the lovely grilling technique- look at those lines! Good thing, because I’m afraid of the grill…

Night! Babysitting and class tomorrow… it’s PIE DAY!

 

Taco, Burrito, What’s Coming Out of Your Speedo? June 20, 2008

Filed under: Uncategorized — heatherwlu @ 1:11 pm
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We got troubles! Whoo! You’re making bubbles!

Oh, how I miss the Spartan Cheerleaders.

I’m convinced that the crock-pot is pretty much one of the best inventions ever, with one caveat: you actually have to plan your meals more than an hour in advance. Hmm. Well the stars must have been aligned yesterday, because I actually had the foresight to start dinner at noon. WHAT? We had a package of chicken tenderloins in the fridge, so I threw them in the crockpot with a couple cups of broth and a package of taco seasoning. If you leave it on high for about 4 hours you end up with chicken that shreds really easily for salads, tacos, burritos, what have you.

So last night we had taco salads. Here’s mine, minus the blue corn tortilla chips (which I remembered halfway through dinner) and avocados (which I remembered this morning). Salad greens, tomatoes, black beans, chicken, tons of salsa, and light cheese and sour cream:

Brian’s was MUCH prettier- in a colorful bowl with little tortilla chips standing up around the edge. I offered to post the picture, but he declined. Don’t deny your food styling gifts, Brian. Embrace them.

This week my mom made a trip back to her hometown in East TX, and on the way back she stopped at a little bakery (and gas station, I think-?) in Marshall. I guess she thinks I really like cereal and marshmallows because here’s what she bought me. A Rice Krispie Brick:

To give you a better idea, here is it next to my (not at all tiny) cell phone:

How many boxes of cereal do you think went into this little treat?

I’m kidding… thanks, Mom :)

Hey, you know what’s fun? Wii Fit. If you recall, I received this game for my b-day but then quickly wrote it off after it insulted me (”Do you fall down a lot while walking?” Remember??). Well I decided to give it another shot last night. Although I still SUCK at all of the balance games, I’m actually kind of good at the aerobics and yoga sections. My level has moved from “Unbalanced”- which I will assume refers to physical balance- to “Calorie Burner”. Not as exciting as, say, “Ninja” or “Wii Sensei”, but I’ll take what I can get. So although I’ve resigned myself to failing at heading soccer balls and dodging ski gates, I am quite proficient at both step aerobics and hula hooping.

I know a nice resume booster when I see one.

 

Marco Pollo May 23, 2008

Filed under: May 2008 — heatherwlu @ 2:23 pm
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Stop the presses, people: Last night I actually managed to cook dinner!

I rarely prepare a recipe more than once, just because I either forget about it or am excited to try something new.  This one is an exception: Pollo alla Cacciatora. It’s from Nigella Express, which I received for Christmas and am enamored with- as I am with all things Nigella ♥.  Anyway, it’s a super easy recipe that is very unlike the chicken cacciatore recipes I’d tried in the past; really more of a stew than something you’d serve over pasta.  Here’s the link to the original recipe on Foodnetwork.com… but I tweaked it a bit by using chicken breasts instead of thighs, subbing turkey bacon for pancetta, adding some baby ‘bellas, and tossing in fresh garlic.  Brian said he likes it better with chicken thighs but dark meat grosses me out… and it’s all about me, really.

Pollo alla Cacciatora

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-sized chunks
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 6 scallions, chopped
  • 1 pkg fresh baby portabella mushrooms (maybe 8 oz?)
  • 6 strips turkey bacon, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp celery salt
  • 1/2 C white wine
  • 14oz can diced tomatoes (I used the Italian version with basil and garlic)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Heat oil on med-hi in a large saucepan or dutch oven.  Add garlic, scallions, rosemary, mushrooms and turkey bacon. Saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken and celery salt, stir.  Cook another 3 minutes or so.  Add wine and let come to a boil.  Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves and sugar.  Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, then add cannellini beans and heat through.

We served it over whole wheat “egg” noodles to make kind of a noodle soup, but it’s fine on it’s own.  Oh, and also especially good with crusty bread. Here’s my serving (still steaming!):

For sides, we had kind of a random assortment of clean out the fridge/what looked good at the store options: kale chips (the old standby) and a steamed artichoke.

Here’s the set up, with artichoke dipping sauces (butter for Bri and light mayo with lemon juice for me) and a “trash bowl” for leaves:

So there you have it.

On a sadder note, Brian’s grandfather passed away this morning and Bri will be traveling to New York sometime this weekend.  So thoughts and prayers for a safe trip, please!