Happy Father's Day and Some Other Things

My dad. The greatest dad ever.
I won't challenge you if you make the same claim about your dad.
Seems only right. :)

As has become the custom since joining the BBA Challenge, the weekends have become bread baking days. But I often bake more than just bread, mostly because I just like to bake, but sometimes because the occasion calls for it. Such was the case this past Sunday as it was Father's Day and my side of the family was gathering at my sister's house to celebrate with good food and good company.

No one mentioned bringing dessert, so I decided to whip up something and went the easy route. Cake mix. I remembered the simple chocolate cake my mom often makes, who in turn, got the recipe from her mom. It's so simple. Chocolate or Devil's Food cake topped with a handful or so of chocolate chips then sprinkled with both white and brown sugar. Incredibly simple yet so good. The chips add another dimension of chocolate and the sugars create a delightfully crunchy top, without any need for frosting.


It turns out that my mom, my sister and I all made dessert, so I had plenty of leftovers to bring to work the next morning. You would have thought I brought in a gourmet cake. I got so many complements, it was kind of embarrassing. I kept telling them, "It's just a store-brand cake mix with a couple of things sprinkled on top." "REALLY?" "Yes, really."


It struck me as I was preparing for Father's Day, baking challah and cake, taking numerous photos, that I was thinking not only of my dad, but also of my grandmothers, both of them. As I mentioned, the cake was my maternal grandmother's super simple, super delicious concoction. And the table cloth I chose to use in my photos reminded me of my paternal grandmother. I can't tell you why. I don't recall that she owned one like it, but it was something I thought of as I unfolded, ironed then spread it over the table.


I look a lot like my paternal grandma and I love to bake, something I fondly remember of my maternal grandma. (She made the best apple dumplings.) Isn't it funny how things like random objects and certain foods bring back memories, connect us with our past, even if we're not sure why or how? I don't really have a point, it was just something I found interesting as I was going about my day, memories of both grandmothers, floating in and floating out, recalled by the simplest things.

Some shots of the day of family gathered together.

Father's Day passed quickly and happily. We got to spend time together and enjoy a nice summer evening. I hope all of the dads out there had a great Father's Day.

BBA Challenge Week 5 - Casatiello

I really wanted to love this bread. I was looking forward to it, especially after reading rave reviews from those getting a head start on the BBA Challenge schedule. It sounded wonderful—rich, savory bread loaded with meat and cheese.


Unfortunately, it was just OK. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't the fault of the recipe. I made alterations to the it, some mentioned in the book, but the others were my own. Based on what I've read and seen, the lackluster quality of the bread almost has to be the result of these changes.


This was definitely a "learning experience" bread for me. Here's what I learned:

1. When making a recipe for the first time, follow the recipe. Don't assume you know more than the author, at least that first time. I used some whole wheat flour in place of bread flour and cut the butter in half. While the latter was an option listed in the book, the former was not. I also used less pepperoni than called for because it seemed like way too much.

2. Use chunkier pieces of cheese and meat. I used turkey pepperoni slices and sliced provolone. I was trying to keep the fat content down with the turkey pepperoni and the store I shopped at only had provolone in slices, not blocks. I think the nature of the thin slices of both ingredients made it difficult to knead into the dough and I didn't used as much as was called for (see #1). The density of chunkier add-ins would work better.

3. Use stronger flavors for add-ins. This might not be a problem if I used the correct amount of meat and cheese, but mine didn't have the depth of flavor I was hoping for.



Now, even though I didn't love this bread, it was pretty good, especially fresh out of the oven. I served it with pizza sauce, and Dwight and I had it as our dinner that night. We ate about half of the loaf, so clearly I didn't hate it. I just think it has the potential to be great, not just "good."


Check out some of the other Challenge members for better examples of casatiello. It seems like there were as many different takes on the bread as bakers.

Italian sausage and robust provolone
Mortadella and asiago
Pepperoni, extra sharp cheddar and sun dried tomatoes
(2 versions) Sun dried tomato with double cream Gouda and Sopressata with provolone

Nicole of Pinch My Salt has a list of links to additional posts as well, so check them out for inspiration and read about other experiences with casatiello.

Note: I baked this casatiello two weeks ago knowing I wouldn't have time to make it last weekend. I'm just now getting around to writing about it! I made challah today, the next BBA Challenge recipe. Stay tuned for my report on this lovely, braided bread. It definitely did NOT disappoint!

Oh my gosh, it's so cute!

And when I eat the entire carton, I don't have to resort to the self-flagellation and the wailing and gnashing of teeth usually associated with such behavior. Even on sale at $1 each, I paid a premium for the tiny, adorable container, but the built in portion control is priceless.

I guess Edy's has redeemed itself in my eyes since my last rant. Thank you, Edy's, for limiting the damage I can do when in the presence of ice cream. Amen.

BBA Challenge Week 4 — Bee-utiful Brioche

So how much butter DO you want in your bread? That was the question BBA participants faced with this week's bread—brioche. Peter Reinhart offers three variations on the classic, with varying amounts of butter and eggs. Because of the cost of the ingredients, the names of the different formulas—RIch Man's, Middle Class, and Poor Man's—relate to how much butter and eggs they contain.


The Rich Man's version contains a whopping 88% fat. Middle class is 50% and Poor Man's is about 20%. Ouch. One of the few recipes I've made from this book prior to the challenge was the poor man's version. I didn't think I could handle the Rich Man's, so I went for Middle Class. Don't let the name fool you. This one still has two sticks of butter (for the record, Rich Man's has four sticks—one pound—of butter) so it's plenty rich.



Brioche is very versatile so I wanted to try something whimsical with mine, especially after seeing a tweet from @bodaciousgirl showing bread in the shape of Hello Kitty. I keep an "idea notebook" with me almost all the time, so I jotted a few things down and brainstormed a bit. I landed on shaping them into a sunflower and a bumble bee.


While it was good in theory, it didn't work quite as I'd hoped, at least for the flower. Brioche is so soft that it didn't hold the shape I'd sniped with kitchen shears and formed with a toothpick. No matter. It still tasted wonderful.

The bee, on the other hand, with it's cinnamon roll wings and plump body, turned out very cute. After I took my photos, I decided to wrap up the bee and give it to the neighbors. I could hear that their grandkids were visiting, and thought they could all enjoy the bread. Besides this way it wouldn't end up in MY mouth and on MY hips!


Giving away the bread sounds like a great way to avoid consuming WAY too much delicious buttery goodness during this challenge.

Ruthmere Summer Garden Party

When you live in a fairly small city, it seems like there is never anything interesting going on or fun things to do. However, if you look more closely, pay attention to local events, there are little gems hidden in what might otherwise be just another day.


One such gem is Ruthmere, an historic mansion now a museum and special event locale. Today was the annual Summer Garden Party which I never knew existed until my mom called me last night, inviting me to join her, my sister and her three daughters. I'm so glad she asked and that I accepted.

Not only was it a beautiful day, I got to see my wonderful nieces and take lots of pictures—many good things rolled into one. There were a number of small events scheduled for the party, including a magician, a puppet show, face painting and paint your own paper lantern.

First up—the magician. He was surprisingly good, and aside from the one obnoxious kid (seriously, I wanted to smack this kid) the show was a lot of fun. The kids loved it—just look at C's face! M desperately wanted to get picked to help when Steve the Magician asked for a volunteer. Alas, she was not chosen, but Steve had a couple of announcements at the end. He's available for parties, of course, but he also offers a magic camp.

Oh my goodness. I wish I could have gotten a picture of M's face when he said this. She just lit up, slowly sucked in her breath and got this look of wonder and joy on her face—not huge, not a giant grin, just pure excitement. "I want to do that SO MUCH" was so clearly written on her face, it was adorable.

Getting information for the magic camp

On to lantern painting.




M & C jumped right in, but K wasn't interested. I asked her to do one for me and she agreed. Hooray! They all were concentrating very hard and did such a good job. All three were beautiful. The staff hung string from a nearby tree so the kids could hang their freshly-painted lanterns to dry. Aren't they all so pretty together, all of them.


Here's mine. K did a lovely job!



Next up—Face painting!
C had hers done while the other two started on their lanterns, so M & K stood in line after the puppet show to get theirs.

(Yes, M has on makeup. K did it!)

What a fun day! Although there isn't as much to do in this town as I'd like, there are moments like this that make me realize that there ARE gems to be found, I just have to do a little digging.

How to Make a Present Cake

When I saw the picture of this adorable cake, I discovered that my friend Kathy had hidden talents! I proposed that she write a guest post on my blog, and she graciously accepted. I wanted to share it with anyone who might wander in here—and hopefully get her cake on Foodgawker. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the mean time, here's how you can make this super cute and super easy cake! Take it away, Kathy...


First, let's start with the bow.

Two days before you need the cake, you'll need to start preparations for the big bow that goes on top. I made it out of fondant. You can find ready-to-use fondant in your local craft store in the cake decorating section. (I would suggest this over attempting to make your own.) Take about 1/2 of the fondant and roll it out, using confectioners sugar to keep it from sticking to the counter. Roll into a rectangle, about 1/8" think, and a little over 12" long. Cut the fondant (I used a wood ruler and pizza cutter) into 6" x 1" strips. Moisten the end of the strip and fold it over to create a loop. Lay the loop on its side to dry on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Create 16 loops. These need to dry for a couple days before assembly.

One day before you need the cake, it's time to assemble the bow. After the loops have dried and hardened (at least one day) lay them in a circular patter, ends touching—I used 8 for the bottom. Moisten the flat ends very lightly and then pressed them together to form the circle. (Kelly's note: Take another look at the pic and you'll get a better grasp of what Kathy's doing here.) Take a tiny piece of fondant (from the other half to be used later) and mix it with a little water to make it pasty, like glue. Put that in the center of the bottle layer. Then moistening the ends of the remaining loops (just a little) layered them on top of the bottom circle. Let dry one day on a cookie sheet lined with clean wax paper.

Next, bake your cake. I used an 8" square pan and a regular cake mix. After baking and letting the cake cool completely, I sliced the cake in half with a a cake leveler that I bought at my local craft store. It is the best thing EVER and only cost $3.99. I also leveled off the top layer so it would be flat.

Then make your buttercream icing. Here is the recipe I used.

• 1/2 cup butter (real butter, no margarine) room temp
• 1/2 cup shortening (I know some of you may not want to use shortening, you can substitute another 1/2 cup of butter for this but the frosting will not be quite as firm)
• 1 lb confectioners sugar (about 4 cups)
• 1 tsp clear vanilla (you don’t have to use clear unless you want a white frosting, if you want white then use the clear, as regular will discolor your frosting)
• 2-3 Tbsp milk
• A pinch of salt (this is very important, don’t leave it out.)
• Food coloring of choice

Assemble cake layers with layer of frosting between. Gently brush off any crumbs on the cake and lightly frost the sides and the top with a thin layer of the buttercream. Let this dry 10-15 min. This will prevent crumbs in your final frosting. Continue frosting with remaining buttercream.

Getting the pretty design on the cake is very easy. Let your cake dry for 15-20 min after frosting. Lay a clean paper towel on top of your frosted cake and gently rub your fingers over the raised pattern, lightly smoothing the frosting—a quick and easy way to add a pattern to your cake. Repeat for the sides. Let dry completely.

Back to the fondant for the ribbon sides.
I measured the height and width of my cake to figure out how long I need the strips to be and made them 1 inch wide. Drape the strips on the cake like you would a present. Add a little buttercream to act as glue in the center where the two strips intersect. Gently pick up your assembled bow and put on the buttercream spot. Gently press it down in the center. Next cut a small strip of fondant, 1" wide and 3" long, and make a circle. Press the ends together. Put a small amount of buttercream in the center of your bow (you may want to use white buttercream here so it is not seen). Place your circle in the center of your bow pressing down lightly to attach. Take a small amount of tissue or paper towel and roll it to insert into the center of your circle. This will help it keep its form while it dries. Just be sure to remove it before serving!

If desired, you can dust your cake and bow with an edible pearl dust (also found in your local craft store in the cake decorating aisle). This adds a very nice shimmer! Just be sure to let everything dry completely before dusting.

Enjoy!!!!


Thanks, Kathy!