Cinnamon Bun Success!

Thanks to Jen and Tim for the Cooks Illustrated that allowed me to make my first successful batch of cinnamon buns from scratch! Now I just need some of your inside tips on perfecting the recipe and process!

Lots of butter, lots of sugar, and a really HUGE piece of dough - close to a brioche, says the Cooks Illustrated.

Some TLC, roll it up, cut it, wait... bake it, wait... make icing, wait...

Yes, more butter... Yes, they smell AMAZING! We are drooling, trying to pass the time...

It's not really working. They are HOT! Mmmmmm.... They smell SO GOOD! How are you supposed to be patient when you are waiting for one of the best things on earth, and you are smelling the fragrance of sugar, butter, cinnamon and love baking in the oven?

(Recipe called for cream cheese icing, but milk and me don't get along, so I went with a basic icing recipe with butter, sugar and vanilla... easy, and "low fat" I guess.)

I DID IT!

Cranberry Pecan Pancakes

You will notice that Aunt Jeanne replenished my nut selection, and it now includes pecans... I just can't stay away from them. I want to add cranberries and pecans to EVERYTHING I make!

Yet another batch of pancakes on a Saturday morning! Working at L.L. Bean I have A LOT of opportunities to taste Stonewall Kitchen's finest tasty treats. With the new "spring" floor set, we are carrying some new and different items.

This little bottle inspired a need for some tasty pancakes... though, many things inspire me to make new and exciting pancakes - they are my favorite breakfast food! Fresh (frozen) cranberries from Dad, toasted pecans and a dash of cinnamon made the Hungry Jack pancake mix worth the $.50 that Aunt Jeanne paid for them!

Generally, I would say, make your own mix! Cheap, easy, and by far the best taste. Stonewall does make a mix called Farmhouse, which is my favorite store-bought mix. I highly recommend this! If you have a chance to buy it, on sale, clearance, or full price, it is worth every penny!

When it comes to my pantry though, Aunt Jeanne generously gives us a few little bargains to try, and that is how we ended up with the Hungry Jack. I had never had this before. Bisquick was the pancake of my childhood, and Aunt Jemima at the Dodge's, why not try this other brand?

As it turns out, once you add delicious ingredients, it really doesn't matter what mix you are using! They are all yummy!

I will say that the syrup was nothing like what I had hoped for. It is probably better suited for ice cream or some dessert. Unfortunately, adding real pecans detracted even more from the flavor. There was an artificial aftertaste that is unusual for Stonewall products.

In the future, I won't buy the flavored syrups, and I will stick with the real fruit jam that they have mastered!

Do try adding some cranberries to your pancakes. Maple syrup would be a great compliment to the tartness, and I am certain that you'd enjoy this idea!! Also, come to the L.L. Home Store and try some of our tasty Stonewall products, and pick up some Farmhouse mix while you are there, it won't disappoint!

Another take on the healthy muffin recipe...

Fresh cranberries, organic pumpkin and toasted pecans.... mmmmmm...

We did go to Sea Dog in Topsham for their famous brunch yesterday, but when you wake up at 4:30am, 11:30 brunch is a LONG way away! I enjoyed these muffins for an early breakfast snack with Brian. Since they have such hearty ingredients, they really are satisfying and will hold you over for a few hours.

A quick recap of the yummy treats we tasted at Sea Dog:

(I wish I had photos of this stuff!)

Beer, onion, cheese bread

Crostini with dill, cream cheese, salmon, red onion and cucumber

Scallops wrapped in bacon

Pumpkin cheesecake filled crepes

Grilled mixed sausage

Hash browns

Corned beed hash

Pumpkin ravioli with pesto cream sauce

Caesar potato salad

Waffle and Omelet bar

Endless fresh fruit

Pastries.... mmmm.... raspberry cheesecake bars

The waitress asked us if we wanted something to drink, when we sat down. No one could decide. I spoke up and ordered a Bloody Mary... then... All 7 of us ended up with a Bloody Mary!

Mexican Spiced Cookies

Cooking Light published this recipe and I immediately made some changes - but not enough! It called for 1/2 teaspoon each of Ancho chili powder and Chipotle chili powder. This I immediately doubled, since I was making them for Brian who LOVES spicy!

We were both thankful for this, the flavor would have been lacking the heat that we both enjoy from the chipotles. The next change I made was to add some almonds to the top for a little more texture.

The biggest problem was that the recipe called for 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of oil. There is no room in a shortbread cookie for any fat other than butter! This made the cookie brittle and oily to the touch. Where the butter would have become solid at room temperature, the oil leaves your fingers greasy when you are done eating the cookies.

Ghirardelli cocoa powder gave this a scrumptious flavor - of course - and the heat from the chili peppers really did blend perfectly! Next time, blend some nuts into the batter, use only butter, and maybe blend a little more chili pepper flavor into the mix.

Cooking Light has SO many great recipes - they are always worth a try and always end up with a tasty result... I just usually end up adding back the items that when missing - make the recipes light!

Thai food!

Beef satay with peanut sauce

After having the flu and sitting around for almost 3 days, I decided to get creative. We love Thai food, and it is usually easy to make, as long as you have the right ingredients. Not authentic, but it definitely feeds a Thai food craving and you have lots of leftovers for tomorrow!

Coconut milk , peanut butter, onion, brown sugar and spices. Peanut sauce is SO easy to make. The center photo is the sauce cooking. I think given the right situation, I would eat this like soup! I have to say that satay overall is truly easy. The marinade is prepared with only a few ingredients and the longer it sits the better it gets. This is great for preparing it in advance because you can just throw it on the grill and have something to eat in less than 5 minutes. It gives you time to prepare the rest of dinner.

Just a note, Dad said that sirloin would be a nice choice for this, so I just bought a steak and sliced it up - really this only took 5 minutes to prep and 5 minutes to cook - with a few hours of marinating in between... this is when I slept!

With our satay, I made some red curry with lots of veggies and fresh baby Maine shrimp. Also easy - but this flavor is harder to get right. It is always tasty but never gets close enough to going out for Thai food in a restaurant.

The Flu

It's going around in many shapes and forms at L.L. Bean. Last week I was out of work 2 days, I sat on the couch and had ginger tea with honey. (Here is is waiting for the H2O)

Of course I watched 4 Harry Potter movies and all 3 Twilights!

Being sick does have the benefit of getting away with a couple of lazy couch days!

Christmas 2010 Treat Review

Dad's lemon pie

Dad's pumpkin pie... in a funny crust but STILL AMAZING!

(It's what's on the inside that counts!)

Blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, apple pie

Nancy's cookie tray (with little spice cake squares... YUM!)

Amy's famous coffee brandy pie! Mousse, homemade whipped cream and bittersweet chocolate sauce drizzle. This was DELICIOUS! Thank you AMY!

Wink's Trifle

(Homemade custard in the bottom!)

Gram's spinach bars - extra crispy with a sprinkle of feta - especially for Aunt Jeanne.

Memere & Pepere Villemaire's olive stuffed celery

(It isn't Christmas until the celery arrives)

Mama Dodges cookies! We never got a great photo of them, but we've been eating them for a week! Little nut cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner. Lacey cookies filled with chocolate, lemon cookies, and THE APPLE! This year had toffee, chocolate and caramel.

Crispy Maki with crunchy SURPRISE!

Even though I missed the party - Brian took a photo tour of the treats so I wouldn't miss out on the Kidder yums!

Kidder cookies... ginger cookie sandwich... gingerbread... raspberry jelly cookies....mmmmmmm...

CIDER!