Stories

Coconut Milk Rice Pudding – Gluten and Dairy Free

Mmmmm... rice pudding...

Growing up, I’d come home from school to find a tray of little glasses filled with a creamy, sweet mixture, dusted with cinnamon and garnished with raisins, chilling in the fridge.  I knew, then, that my Avo, my Portuguese grandmother, was somewhere near by.  And I knew how much my father loved her rice pudding.   Avo learned everything by tradition: she gardened, plucked chickens, baked bread in a brick oven in her garage, and fed her 15 grandchildren and countless relatives at an endless table on holidays.  If I ever have half the skill of my Avo, I’ll be one happy, dusty baker.

That rice pudding looked so delicious.  This rice pudding tastes so delicious.  And I can eat it. Because it’s dairy-free!

A friend left New York City the other night to move back London, and shared her last meal in the states at my apartment: cheap and delicious Mexican food from up the block.  And before that meal, we had this for dessert.  She proclaimed it her favorite of any of my creations.  I always know I’m onto something when someone makes that statement.  I miss you horribly already, Mel.  And I don’t care who knows it!!!

This recipe is incredibly easy: gluten and dairy free, it contains only 2 tablespoons of maple syrup as sweetener.  It’s delicious warm from the stove, at room temperature or chilled.  A vanilla bean really adds incredible flavor to the small list of ingredients, so I highly recommend it instead of using vanilla extract.

Make it for people you love, please!

Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons raisins
  • 1 Tbsp cachaca, dark rum, brandy or cognac
  • Scant 1/2 cup long grain white or arborio rice
  • Scant cup water
  • dash of salt
  • 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk (full fat and preferably organic)
  • 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 1 egg, beaten well

Method:

In a small bowl, soak raisins in alcohol and allow to sit while you prepare the pudding.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, toast rice until it becomes fragrant, about 4 minutes.

Add water and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until absorbed, about 12 minutes.

Add 3/4 can of coconut milk, maple syrup and scraped vanilla bean and cook until almost fully absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Beat remaining coconut milk with the egg.  Pour over pudding.  Stir in raisins and alcohol.

Spoon into four glasses.  Serve warm, bring to room temperature or chill completely.

One Cocoa Cupcake and Lyme Life Lessons

How To Make One Cocoa Cupcake (gluten-free)

After a loooooong (lovely!) week and a loooooong (lovely! lovely!) Saturday, I found myself hobbling a bit while walking my dog last night, my aching hips and knees a reminder that I crossed a line somewhere in all the awesomeness of hard work and good people, and still have chronic conditions from almost 20 years of Lyme Disease and its related terrors.  I wanted to take a hot, Epson-salted bath.  Or break my legs with a hammer.  I know a few of you out there will recognize that sensation.

So instead of going out dancing way downtown, I cut my night short and parked it inside.  I was shocked to find myself drawn to a Josh Duhamel movie.  This made absolutely NO sense since I’m generally not a “chick-flick” or “rom-com” or any other horribly kitschy-named movie genre fan and don’t think I’ve ever actually seen this dude in a film before.  Why was I drawn to a film that would bring out my innermost, snarkiest criticizer but also bring me some weirdly cheap comfort?  Because I recalled that during my last serious bout of Lyme all my exhausted brain and body could handle were the most mindless shmather (it’s a word, now), movies that were nothing more than visual background noise (realize I’m taking too many liberties with language now… I’ll get to the point). 

One cupcake.  Along with my bad movie I just wanted one cupcake.  Not a bunch of cookies, not a batch of anything to have sitting around.

Just.  One.

So I made one.  Using Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio for sponge cake as a base, I made an incredibly dense, fudgy cupcake, perfect with a dab of the leftover vegan blackcurrant “cream-cheese” frosting haunting me from another recipe (posting soon).  I sloppily mixed weighing and measuring ingredients together and checked the timing on it occasionally while giving myself a good stretch on the floor.

And then I ate it while pondering Duhamel’s left eyebrow.  And mulling over the state of romantic comedies of my age demographic.  And willing myself to just change the channel!

You ever have nights like this?

When you just want one… here ya go.

Oh, and now that I’m rested and medicated, the sun is shining and I’m off to review a few incredible NYC food events… life is back to lovely.

Blackcurrant Cream Cheese Frosting – Vegan!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce unsalted butter
  • 1 ounce beet sugar
  • 1 ounce beaten egg
  • 1 ounce gluten-free cake flour
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp chocolate extract
  • 2 tsp cocoa powder
  • dash of kosher salt

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350°.  Put a cupcake liner in a tin or ramekin.  
  • Add the salt and cocoa to the flour.
  • In a small bowl, beat butter on medium/high until creamy.
  • Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add egg and beat until pale and fluffy, and slightly expanded in volume.
  • Add extracts and beat to combine.
  • Add flour and mix on low until just combined.
  • Pour into prepared dish and bake for about 18 minutes or toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Gluten-Free Churros – a Family Holiday Recipe

Gluten-Free Churros

A few hours before posting this I had a huge panic moment: I’m still not quite sure how it happened, but while cleaning out unneeded photos from my hard drive collection I accidentally erased ALL OF THEM!!  These are the only two that survived as they’d already been dragged onto the desktop.  It was frustrating, to say the least.

I spend way too much time on little machines and it’s oddly refreshing sometimes to have them revolt against me.  It reminds me of what I love most about what I do: Words. Food. Art.  Not computers, DSLRs and smartphones. Simple, old-school.

Which is what this recipe is: simple and old-school.

My father is from Portugal, and my favorite recipes are ones that I’ve learned from my Tia or inherited through my Avo, my grandmother.  When I was 13 or so I remember walking into the garage at her house in Povacao (a small town on the island of Sao Miguel in the Acores) to see her plucking a chicken, with several others hanging from a rafter.  I also remember a sweet, dense bread she’d bake in a brick oven in that garage.  And fried sardines, spicy orange beans and creamy kale soup that she made magically with rustic cookware in her old kitchen.

One of my favorite family recipes, and one that was reserved for the holidays, are malasadas – a yeasted fried dough that she’d bring over, all puffy and risen, in a big bowl to whichever family was hosting.  As kids, we’d be given a ball of the dough to stretch out for ourselves.  After a quick fry (always stove-top, none of us had a deep fryer), we’d toss them in a paper bag of sugar and devour them warm.

My avo died last summer, and this is how I ended her eulogy which, of course, was a lot about food:

Avo loved to take care of all of us, and loved how we take care of each other.  As I learn how to make more and more of the foods that I remember coming from her, I thank her with all my heart for teaching us how to make a home, and bring a family to a table, to have faith that god loves us, and say those two precious words that I’ll never forget…

“Come, querida.”  Eat, darling.

I miss her the most when I’m in my kitchen.

A few years ago my Tia taught me several versions of the malasadas recipe.  It’s now one of my standards, and my favorite at-party trick.

This is how they usually look:

Malasadas

Light, fluffy, chewy and lemony, they’re little bites of heaven, especially when served warm and slathered with homemade jam.

The only problem I have with them – they’re not gluten-free!  Which means I haven’t eaten one in a long time.

So, finally, with a little nudging from FoodBuzz and Frigidaire’s Talk Turkey Campaign, I figured there’s no better time like the present.

I adapted my family recipe with gluten-free flours and the knowledge that gluten-free donuts  don’t always whip up with the same texture as their glutenous counterparts.  Instead of stretching and frying the dough, I was planning on piping it into churros.  See, I live in Washington Heights in New York City, which has an incredibly high Latino population.  And I love my neighborhood.  As I walk my dog around the area, down by the Hudson River during sunset and through Riverside Park, I inevitably run into neighbors who have now become friends.  We let our dogs romp, catch up on city news and almost inevitably talk about food: what we’ve made for dinner or to where our sweet teeth have taken us.

So this season I’ll be whipping up a few batches of these as my holiday gift: the perfect combination of my Portuguese heritage and my Latino location.

I created this post as part of Frigidaire’s Talk Turkey Campaign. Share your own recipes and tips at Frigidaire’s Make Time for Change site. For every recipe or tip that’s shared, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save The Children’s U.S. Programs, which creates lasting change for children in need! Join me!

Happy Beginning of the Holidays!

– Jacqueline

Lemony, spicey and chewey! Perfect with a good espresso.

Notes about gluten-free churro-making love: because of the lack of gluten, you don’t need to worry about how long you knead the dough as there’s no gluten to develop.  The dough isn’t also necessarily going to rise as high as it would normally.  Don’t fret!  This dough shouldn’t be sticky, and should easily be scooped into a pastry bag. 

You also don’t want to fry them until golden – thirty seconds or so does the trick to keep them nice and light inside. I usually fry about 10 at a time, and just as I pipe the last one in the first one’s ready to come out.

Because I wanted to see which flavor combination I like the most in the sugar tossing, I added spices progressively.  This step you can suit to your taste – my favorite ended up being the all-four combo.

And they’re best eaten fresh – though a quick warming later makes them perfect for coffee dunking.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups gluten-free cake flour (my blend is HERE with xanthan gum)
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 eggs at room temperature
  • 2 packets of yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp lemon oil
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 1 Tbsp of strong cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • Large bottle of pure vegetable or canola oil

Method:

  • In a small bow, combine yeast and warm water, stirring with a fork to dissolve.  Set aside to sit and let get all foamy and homey-smelling.
  • In a Pyrex measuring cup or small bowl, combine butter and milk and microwave until butter is melted and milk is warm.
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the breadhook, place flour and salt.  Make a well in the center and pour in eggs, lemon oil, lemon zest, eggs and milk mixture.
  • Start mixer on low and progressively increase speed until the ingredients combine.
  • Turn off mixer, add yeast mixture, and slowly increase speed until at medium/high (6 on a Kitchenaid).
  • Mix until the dough is thoroughly combined, and pulls away from the side of the mixer in light air bubbles, about five minutes.
  • Place about 1 Tbsp of oil in a large bowl.  Move dough to bowl, tossing in oil to coat.
  • Cover with thick towels and place in a warm spot.
  • Let rise for about an hour, punch down to release air, and let sit to rise again, about another hour.
  • In a large heavy-bottom pot (I used a 7 quart Creuset dutch oven), heat oil on medium/high heat.
  • Pour sugar in a doubled small paper lunch bag (or use a large paper grocery bag).
  • Move dough to pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
  • Pipe dough directly into hot oil, snipping ends with kitchen scissors.
  • Fry for about 30 seconds (it should take about 30 seconds for you to pipe 10 churros in, and then you can start removing them one by one), then toss into the paper bag.
  • Toss in sugar and remove to a plate.
  • Add cinnamon to paper bag, and repeat frying and tossing a batch.
  • Add ginger, repeat.
  • Add nutmeg, repeat.
  • Serve warm to people you love, maybe with strong espresso or a glass of red table wine.


The Girl Effect

Shumi, 19, Bangladesh

“I would tell the girls of the world, whatever you do, even if it’s small, you will see a brighter future.  I would tell big companies and big people, if they could help a poor person like me, that person can do good in the world.”

I grew up in a strong family in an upper-middle class town in suburban Connecticut.  Girls there competed in academics, sports, the arts – we were taught to fight for the brightest future we could dream for ourselves.  We were taught to respect our minds, our bodies, and what we had to give back to the world at large. 

I also went to college with strong, fascinating women who have dedicated their lives to their varying fields, to creating safe and prosperous homes for their own families, and to contributing to the communities they choose to live in.

Not that I don’t have incredible male role models in my life as well, but in my generation I’ve noted an incredibly passionate energy in women, specifically, who use their own success to educate and lift up others.   

For the past few years I’ve kept my eyes on micro-loan programs that empower women to receive an education and open their own businesses, increasing the income of their families and communities by putting other women to work in their various fields.  By and large these programs see incredible results – loans are paid back directly and reinvested in others in their community.   The resounding effect is that neighboring women are educated in how to independently earn and invest their income, and the community as a whole sees a point of prosperous growth rather than generational stagnation.

According to The Girl Effect, women receive less than 2 cents of every dollar of aid relief given.  In cultures where women have no political voice and live solely reliant on their male relatives – especially when they’re illiterate and completely unaware of their rights – it often only takes one woman to start providing for herself to open the floodgate for other women to do the same.

Shumi is one such young woman.  She resisted pressure in her native Bangladesh to marry and opened a salon, employing other women and building her business independently.  In turn, she heads the local girls’ center, teaching that small steps can make a huge impact.

By supporting organizations such as The Girl Effect – Global Giving, we can provide basic means of survival that snowball into helping communities climb out of poverty: 

Giving access to identification papers – a simple thing that many girls lack – means that child-labor and marriage laws can be questioned when needed.  Educating a girl to read makes her infinitely more likely to be able to work and understand her political rights and protections, especially those guarding her from unwanted marriage and pregnancy. 

Educating a girl on the transmittal of HIV gives her the ability to avoid contracting it.  And as girls are statistically more likely to reinvest their aid money and income into their communities, they deserve to be given more than 2 cents of their dollar in aid relief.

This post is part of a yearly global blogging campaign to spread the word about The Girl Effect.  Please watch a few of the videos below, and head to The Girl Effect to learn more and find out how you can give your support.  If you’re a blogger yourself, check out Wise Living to find out how you can join in the campaign.

I’ve made my donation – will you please make yours?

Pomegranate Lime Ice Cream – Dairy free!

Pomegranate Lime Ice Cream with Coconut Milk Whipped Cream

This morning I had to face a personal demon and reason some things out: what do I do if the project I’m currently working on fails?  Since I lost my creative partner on the project a few months ago I’ve had to fully invest in moving it along myself.  And many times I’ve cursed the former partner’s name because it all would have just been so much easier if we were still working on it together.  I’ve equally been thankful that we’re not – the project is coming along well and I don’t know if the same fire would have been lit under me if he had taken the reins.

Without saying too much, just know that it involves food.  And it could lead to me eventually not having to leave the city to perform so much or spending so much time in audition rooms.  I love performing.  I love love love playwrights, directors, producers, other actors, the live audience, the thrill of a really good piece of work.  And I love work in general, so much so that I completely overdid it and had a relapse of Lyme several years ago.  And since that last bout I’ve realized I need something with a bit more of a direct path that doesn’t require such dramatic energy.  Yes, food work is obviously exhausting.  Which is why I could never spend as much time in a kitchen as is needed to be a chef.  But I have food to thank for making me well enough that I can work again at all.

Which brings me back to the whole failure thing.  I came to one awesome conclusion that has cleared a lot: I want to push this project forward so badly because I simply love performing and food and want to share with a community of people.  For 18 years I’ve gone back and forth between sickness and relative health.  I’ve had to watch what I put in my body meticulously.  When I go over the edge, it gets messy: a tiny bit of dairy can make me ill for days, alcohol can be temperamental depending on my sugar levels and if I don’t eat in proper rotation my body freaks out.

I love food for those very reasons.  It is a powerful thing.  It is my medicine, my magic.  It is a form of art that I highly respect when I see it in others and want to nourish in myself.

So if this project “fails”, I’ll still have learned how to make an exponentially yummy list of treats anyway. 

Like this one.  Two years ago I had no clue how to make coconut milk taste so good.  Let me share it with you.

Creamy, frosty, tangy goodness

A few years ago, one of my dearest friends (hi Ruark!) gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday.  Actually, he was more than a dearest friend – we had been dating for about 7 years at that point.  It was the perfect present – given to me in the dead heat of summer, while I was pulling out of that nasty Lyme flare and just able to eat food again.  That summer I made a lot of sorbet, and he made full-fatted, full-dairied ice cream for our friends and loved ones.

I was psyched to welcome the machine back into my life this summer.

With it I made a Coffee Ice Cream Pie for a Burwell Recipe Swap and Honeybun Ice Cream for my FoodBuzz 24×24 Scarborough Fair Supper Party. All dairy-free, of course.

Unfortunately Ruark wasn’t around to taste either of these creations.  We broke up a bit after that birthday but miraculously have remained good friends, supporting each other in work and new relationships with a familial kind of love.  So when we decided on a little dinner reunion tomorrow night, ice cream went right on the menu.   Along with another dear friend of ours, we shall feast in my tiny Washington Heights kitchen.  And, as per usual, I always plan my desserts first.

This ice cream is completely dairy free and uses honey as sweetener – the half cup of honey made it a bit too sweet for me, but I have a feeling others may find it just right.  If you’re diabetic or hypoglycemic, a warning: about five bites and I was shaking like a leave in the cooling autumn wind (it’s coming, NYC, sooner or later).

I upped the egg yolk content a bit to add some extra creaminess – I found this made an incredibly decadent texture, spot on to the original that I remember those many moons ago.

I knew I wanted to add something to the mixture in order to compliment the pomegranates, and found lime to work perfectly.  Using the zest of two limes and the juice of one gave it an awesome current of citrus that wasn’t overpowering, nor overpowered by the sweetness of the ice cream.  The fresh pomegranate seeds at just a touch of tang and crunch.

I’m a huge fan of this recipe  Huge.

A note on pomegranates: Yes, you can buy containers of pomegranate seeds from the store, and that was my plan.  But they were out.  And so I grabbed two ripe pomegranates to seed myself, and am so glad I did! In doing so I was reminded at how beautiful a fruit they are, and how intricately constructed.  They sort of remind me of lapas, one of my favorite seafoods when I visit the island my family’s from in Portugal.  You use a tiny fork to get at the luscious meat hidden within the barnacle.  I have a feeling Salvador Dali would have like them.  And pomegranates.  And if you’re curious at the connection email me.  I’m a nerd for the surrealists.

Pomegranate!

Ingredients:

  • 5 oz egg yolks (that was about 8 large eggs for me)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3 cups coconut milk (full fat, please)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder / starch
  • pinch of kosher salt
  • zest from 2 limes
  • juice of 1 lime
  • seeds of one pomegranate (more or less if saving some for decoration)

Directions:

  • In a heatproof bowl whisk yolks and honey together until smooth and thick, about 1 minute.
  • In a large heatproof bowl, whisk vanilla into about 2 3/4 cup coconut milk, reserving the rest.
  • Set either in a double boiler or over low heat and bring the milk up to steaming.
  • Slowly warm the egg mixture by adding the warm coconut milk to it 1/4 cup at a time, whisking thoroughly, until about a half of the milk is whisked smoothly into the eggs.
  • Remove the heated milk mixture from heat.
  • Slowly whisk egg mixture into milk mixture, whisking continually while you work and whistling as well.  (It’s much more fun if you whistle.)
  • Dissolve the arrowroot in the remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk.  Slowly add to milk mixture and whisk in.
  • Add salt.
  • Return bowl to heat and whisk thoroughly for about 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken. Now I don’t work with dairy a lot and it’s been forever since I’ve made a cow-milk-custard. But I have a feeling it thickens moreso than the coconut milk.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.  But I whisked (and whistled, literally) to the point where it just coasted the back of a spoon.  Because of the high content of egg yolks, it worked well.
  • Remove bowl from heat and stir in the lime zest.
  • Let cool a bit, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge, either until cold or overnight.
  • When ready to churn (we don’t get to say “churn” enough nowadays), stir the juice of one lime into the mixture and pour into your ice cream maker.
  • Churn (he he) according to its instructions.
  • Meanwhile, remove pomegranate seeds from fruit.  When the ice cream is just starting to look icy and thick, pour in pomegranate seeds.
  • Remove to a sealed container and freeze until hard.

To make coconut milk whipped cream: Place two cans of coconut milk in the fridge and your whipping bowl / whisk in the freezer overnight.  When ready, pour both cans in and whip at medium speed for a few minutes, then at high speed until frothy and light.  Add honey, maple syrup or powdered sugar to your desired level of sweetness, and 1 tsp vanilla extract if desired.  It won’t get quite as light as regular whipped cream, but tastes great and is a nice touch to any dairy-free dessert!

Thanks to the humidity, melty and ready for eating.

Holiday In a Hand Pie!

Holiday in a Hand Pie

Runner Up: Best Pie (Judges Choice)

Winner: Most Creative Pie (Audience Choice)

at the

Great American Pie-Off!

Pie and dogs make me happy.  The connection?  The other night I told a friend I don’t think I could date anyone who doesn’t like dogs.  Especially since my dog is particularly awesome.  And as I sit here eating leftover turkey and stuffing from this recipe, I’ve decided the same goes with pie.  You don’t like pie, no date with this little dusty baker.  Also, if you’re a vegetarian I just don’t see how it could work out between us.

Moving on.

This weekend was pretty incredible, and I’ve got the tired eyes, slight headache and absence of writing wit to show for it.

Saturday I participated in the Great American Pie-Off, a fundraising event for the New York Theatre Experiment‘s Lift Every Voice program, which brings artists together with NYC Teens to build nurturing creative environments and foster self-expression.  In one of those glorious friend-of-a-friend things I heard about the event a few weeks ago and was asked to participate.  Baking for a good cause?!?! Um, sign me up, lady!

Now pie is pretty much my favorite dessert.  I make it yearly for my gluten-free birthday indulgence (this year was Blueberry Fig), when I’m particularly blue (My Broken Heart in a Pie was quite messy) and when I just need to throw a bunch of good things in a pastry (Bourbon Molasses Apple Pie with Candied Bacon pretty much rocked my world).

For this event I wanted to do something savory, and keep it in line with the way I prefer to bake: gluten-free, minimal (if any) dairy and naturally sweetened.  And as the weather began to change and I started daydreaming about holiday baking, Thanksgiving dinner came to mind.  Particularly the awesome sandwich made the day after, where turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and baked pumpkin gets layered between bread.  Could I get them all into a pie?  I’d give it the old college try and see what happened.

Oh, and I decided to make hand pies instead of one big one.  Why?  I have no clue.  But once I got the idea into my head I couldn’t shake it, so creating a flavorful and durable crust was a must.

After a few Goldilocksian crust creations (one was too buttery and flakey, perfect for a sweet pie but neither savory nor strong; the other had too high a content of cornmeal and so fell apart) and some different wrapping techniques (true empanada hand pie style or shaped in oversized muffin tins?!), I had my pie. And, yes, Goldilocksian is a word.  Now.

Setting up my little "tastes"

It wasn’t until setting up my little gluten-free pasties that I questioned my choice: all around me were incredibly sweet, luscious looking pies of varying deliciousness.  To one side was a pumpkin pie with bacon and candied pecans.  To the other was a chipotle pecan pie with homemade ice cream.

I don’t have a competitive bone in my body.  Friends often send me casting notices for food reality shows and my manager is looking into food hosting for me.  And while I obviously geek out about food with anyone who will listen, I would generally WANT someone else to win if I felt their creations beat the frosting outta mine.  And, well, I’m a dusty baker.  Messy.  Often swapping ingredients or proportions if I’ve just happened to run out of something.  Alton Brown I am not.  Food reality competition show thingy – not gonna happen.  My skills aren’t that badass.

Hawking my hand pies like a London lass circa Sweeney Todd

But as the tiny space filled I relaxed into what I love and the reason I was there: delicious things baked for a cause.  While I took in the pies around me (that obviously I couldn’t taste), I appreciated more and more the only one I could.  And as I started to describe it to tasters, I fell back in love with my little pies.  The gluten-free crust was made with a combination of quinoa, millet and brown rice flours and arrowroot starch with a little palm sugar, Vietnamese cinnamon and nutmeg.  I had decided to use Earth Balance instead of butter because I found during my empanada days that it helps bind the savory crust together best while still giving a butter flavor that a good shortening lacks.  I used no white sugar to sweeten any aspect, choosing maple syrup and honey for their delicious darker flavors.

Now, these are meant to eat hot, with your hands.  I had to serve the room temperature in little bites.  So a lot of my worry was making sure that everyone got every aspect of the pie and not too much crust (handpies were created so that you had the thick part of the crust literally as a handle, which you threw away once you ate all the filling).   A few of the pies had been baked the day before and suffered some stiffening from being in the fridge.  Perfect, they were not.

Breaking down the pie to the judges

Being a novice to the whole competition thing I was unaware that we actually had to present our pies to the judges.  Johnny Iuzzini (Top Chef: Just Desserts judge and Executive Pastry Chef at Jean-Georges), Douglas Quint and Bryan Petroff (owners of NYC favorite Big Gay Ice Cream Truck) and Jordana Rothman (editor of Time Out NY’s Food and Drinks and overall awesome food writer) obviously know their way around a recipe.

I didn’t expect to enjoy discussing it so much.  As I talked I realized I actually knew what I was talking about.  In deciding to start this blog almost a year ago and take a few months off from auditioning to start transitioning into food more directly, I’ve had to look more specifically at my ingredients and figure out how best to share them.  When baking for charitable organizations I’ve had to keep costs in mind and how long it takes me to make certain things (400 pipes cookies for the Susan G. Komen / Frosting for the Cause became a series of various cookies, with less hand cramping).  The other day the guys at the office I was squatting in  said they’d actually pay for my Morning Jolt Cookies: the same guys that raised their eyebrows when hearing that they were gluten and dairy free.  18 years of eating alternatively and now, here I was, talking about flours.  With food people of whom my knowledge is comparatively at about .5%. 

I did feel an affection for my bin of refrigerated alternative flours in that moment.

And I think it’s time I start branching out myself.  It’s been a long time since I used red wine and mesquite flours, specifically.  Just ordered them again.  Expect recipes soon.

Until then, here’s a Holiday in a Hand Pie.

Special thanks to Allyson and Steve for getting me involved, NY Theatre Experiment for doing what they do so well, Kym at FreeSpiritEater for the awesome event photos (she took all the live ones and has an incredibly sweet, supportive, enthusiastic energy) and to the judges for being such rockstars. 

Stuffing, baked pumpkin, baked turkey and cranberry sauce

Pumpkin

Pumpkin:

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Quarter and remove pulp from a small pumpkin (mine was about a pound).
  • Place in deep baking dish and pour on about 1/4 cup of maple syrup.  Use a pastry brush to make sure it coats completely.
  • Bake for about 45 minutes uncovered or until the edges of the pumpkin start to brown.
  • Allow to cool, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Pre-baked.

Stuffing: Ingredients

  • 5 cups of cubed gluten-free bread
  • 1/4 cup ground walnuts, pecans or almonds
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries (either unsweetened or sweetened with fruit juice)
  • 1 Tbsp freshly chopped rosemary
  • 2 tsp dried Herbes de Provence
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp groundcinnamon (preferably Vietnamese or Indonesian)

  • Baked.

    1 1/2 cup leeks, whites and greens chopped thinly

  • Swirl of olive oil
  • 2 cups turkey or chicken broth / stock

Stuffing: Directions

When I normally make stuffing for Thanksgiving I’ll toast up the bread all crusty-like, use my own stock, pile in butter and roasted vegetables and chestnuts and all.  But this had to be rather simple and just serve its purpose. I left it a little drier than I would normally as well, so that it wouldn’t literally mush the pie when filled.

  • In a dutch oven, bring a healthy swirl of olive oil up to a low heat.  Add the leeks and let sweat until soft (keep it on low and wait it out – don’t brown them).
  • Toss the dry ingredients together in a baking dish and stir in leeks.
  • Add enough broth / stock to moisten the bread but not enough that it sits in the dish.
  • Throw in the oven (uncovered) and bake alongside pumpkin until the bread is soft but slightly toasted at the edges.

Cranberry Sauce

OK, I didn’t make cranberry sauce from scratch, as I couldn’t find cranberries in the shops I went to and wasn’t going to kill myself to find them.  So I just doctored up some whole-berry cranberry sauce with the zest of one lemon, about 1 Tbsp of red wine vinegar and 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice.  Done.

Not just for Thanksgiving...

Turkey:

Instead of baking a whole darned turkey I used 2 large wings and 4 breast cutlets.  I spread them out in my largest Creuset, melted about 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter, whipped in about 1 Tbsp of my awesome Greek olive oil (thanks to a friend who sends it over in 25 gallon jugs), and poured that on top.  Then I stole about 1/4 cup of my roommates chilled Sancere white wine and threw that in too, along with kosher salt and cracked tricolore peppercorns.  Baked at 300° for 35 minutes they were perfect.  Juicy and slightly underdone to finish in the pie.  I then used my fingers to shred them.  Made me miss my grandmother, for some reason.  Maybe because one of my first, favorite, food memories of her is finding her in her garage, plucking chickens that she then baked to perfection.  Love you Avo.

Ingredients: Dough

  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 cup quinoa flour
  • 1 cup millet flour
  • 1 cup tapioca starch
  • 2 tsp xanthan gum
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon*
  • 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg**
  • 4 Tbsp palm sugar
  • 20 Tbsp Earth Balance Butter or unsalted butter, cubed
  • Up to 1 cup ice-cold water
  • About 2 Tbsp ground cornmeal

*I love Vietnamese cinnamon because it’s sharper and more fragrant than others, with a darker tone.  If you have a more generic grocery store cinnamon (which I have and use too), just add another half teaspoon or more to taste.  In general, having several kinds of cinnamon on hand is fun.

**Oh, and a jar of whole nutmegs will last forever and give you so much more pop if you grate it directly with a microplane than using pre-ground.  Obviously all spices are better pre-ground.  Little thing that makes a great difference.

Directions: Dough

  • In a food processor, whip all flours, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together to combine.
  • Add the cubed Earth Balance and pulse to combine until the butter is wrapped in flour in little pea-sized clumps.
  • Slowly add the water, bit by bit, until the dough just comes together into a ball but is not wet.
  • Roll out directly on a floured pastry board (I used millet to roll as it’s not as bitter as quinoa and less grainy than rice).

This amount of dough made me 6 large hand-pies and one VERY large empanada.  Because there’s no gluten you don’t have to worry about over-working, but you may want to pop it in the fridge between rolling / filling so that the earth balances doesn’t soften too completely.  This dough doesn’t require rolling between wax paper yay).

Warm, crusty deliciousness

Assemblage:

  • Roll dough out to about 1/8 thick.
  • If using muffin tins to shape, find a good cereal bowl to press into the dough to create large round circles.
  • Press into pans, making sure dough is pulled slightly away from the tins on top.
  • Sprinkle with ground cornmeal.
  • Layer the four ingredients so that all quarters of the crust contain a little of everything, using the cranberry sauce throughout as a bit of a moist binder.  Leave a bit of room- about 1/2 inch –  at the top so that you can press the top layer in to seal.
  • Use a 3″ cookie cutter to create a round for the top.  Or just cut with a pastry knife.  Whatever ya got.  Press onto bottom filling and seal completely with fingers.  Do not cut vents in the top crust – this pie needs the moisture to stay inside and help keep it steamy.
  • Wash with egg, milk or water (I used egg whites) and sprinkle with cornmeal.  If desired, use a cookie cutter or press to make a little decorative shape on top.  I was going to press some leaves but time ran away with me and a tiny heart was all I had nearby.
  • Bake at 400° for about 25 minutes or until the crust is brown slightly.
  • If planning on eating hot, let cool in pans for about 7 minutes (yes 7) before popping out of the pan.  I found a miniature frosting spatula very helpful.

Serve with a little apple sauce if desired.  Eat outside, preferably.  With your hands.

 

Rosemary Mint Linzer Cookies for the Cure – Frosting for the Cause

Rosemary Mint Linzer Cookies to Cure Cancer

I am honored today to once again contribute to Frosting for the Cause with these Cookies for the Cure after being the guest blogger on September 11th with my Big Apple Cupcakes with NY Cheesecake Frosting.  Every day of the year, a blogger from around the world shares a story about someone that has been touched by cancer – specifically a women’s cancer – bakes and shares a special recipe, brings that baked good down to a shelter, hospital or community center, and makes a monetary donation to a cancer organization.  After being allowed to stretch the rules a bit and profile how cancer has affected 9/11 first responders, I was excited to step in for a second post this week and share with you this recipe and these stories today.

The stories:

Becky Hewitt

Becky Hewitt was 30 years old, married for five years with two children, when a lump in her left breast turned out to be Stage 2 breast cancer.  After a year and a half of treatment, she thought she had the cancer licked.  But two weeks shy of her 1-year cancer-free anniversary, she was feeling run down.  She was then diagnosed with Stage 4, terminal breast cancer.

In 2008 Becky signed up for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, a 60 mile walk over three days that take place all over the country.  Each walker raises a required minimum of $2,300 to participate.  In the past 28 years there has not been a major advancement in the battle against breast cancer that wasn’t funded in some way by a Komen grant.

Becky was asked to speak at the Saturday nightly ceremony in the meal tent, where thousands of walkers, crew members, volunteers and staff gather to share hot meals, discuss their walking journey, and hear the stories from others who have been so affected by breast cancer.  If you have a few minutes have a good watch, maybe with a box of tissues (it was Niagara Falls over here).

“I am now going through treatment and hoping every day that God gives me more time with my family.  I decided to walk because I thought by walking I could take a stand against breast cancer. I thought both my children could look back and say “wow, my mom walked 60 miles to find a cure for breast cancer”.  I want them to know how hard I have fought and how hard I have fought to stay alive to be with them.  To see both of them grow into young women and have children of their own.  I know that eventually this disease will take my life unless we find a cure.  But I know when I cross that finish line on Sunday that I have done everything in my power to find a cure for breast cancer…. My name is Becky, and I am walking because I want to dance with my children at their wedding.  I want to learn the fox trot and dance with my husband on our 60th wedding anniversary.  I walk because when I’m 80 I want to laugh until I pee my pants.  I am walking because I want my children to watch me die from old age and not to have to watch me die from breast cancer.  My name is Becky and I am walking because I believe everyone deserves a lifetime”.

Unfortunately Becky did lose her battle in February of 2011.  She had walked in several 3-Days by that point, with so many friends and family members, as well as other breast cancer fundraising events.  And in her honor this year, 24 people walked as team Becky’s Hope in the Twin Cities 3-Day for the Cure, raising over $50,000 for the cause this year and bringing Becky’s Hope’s grand total to over $170,000!

I never met Becky, but my team Walking for Udders chose the Twin Cities event as our 10th walk with the Komen organization.  Becky’s team was all over the walk: in the shirts  that her walkers wore in her honor, in the team members who were at every cheering station with signs, noisemakers, clapping hands, treats and big smiles, encouraging all walkers along.  They were delightful.  And made such an impact that as they walked over the finish line together, the crew members standing by to cheer (including my two sisters) knelt down on one knee and raised one of their sneakers in the air – a salute of support and respect at these events.

Team Becky's Hope Walking Their 3-Day Finish line

I was drawn to profile Becky because she is the perfect example of how a passion for life, a big heart and true friendships can inspire change and encourage people to act for the causes they believe.  And, as she died too young at age 36, she is also a reminder of why we still need to work hard to erase this disease.

Over the years we have walked for many people – friends, family members, family members of friends and friends of family members.  And as our miles added up we saw more and more pictures of walkers who passed away between walks – some who we walked with one year to find they were not there to walk again the following year.  My heart goes out to Becky, her family and her team.  I’m proud to make my donation for Frosting for the Cause to her team’s next walk.

To donate to Becky’s Hope in their 2012 walk, please CLICK HERE.

Dr. Bob Kirshbaum

I want to share with you one more very special person who we lost this past year.

Dr. Bob Kirshbaum was Team California along with his wife, Barbara Jo.  Barbara Jo is a hero in her own right – at age 73 she has walked in over 100 multi-day events for breast cancer, and raised over $1,250,000.00.  I met her years ago and have seen her at so many events.  And Dr. Bob.

While Barbara Jo walked, Bob would be on the sidelines throughout the route, from as soon as we took our first step until Barbara Jo walked over her daily finish line.  He would just be standing there, clapping, with a smile on his face, an encouraging “good job, keep going ladies” and a hug if you wanted one.  And, dotted throughout the course just when you needed them, would be bright pink pieces of paper with “Team California” in tiny letters on top, and a show of encouragement or a joke like this:

I’ve seen dozens upon dozens of these over the years, and walked several miles with Barbara Jo in different cities.  So when I saw the Team California signs on our Twin Cities route this year, I immediately got excited.  I looked for Dr. Bob all that first day, and well into the second, when I overheard someone talking about Bob and Barbara Jo, and asked where he was.

The woman told me that Dr. Bob had died the previous May, from cancer.

My heart clenched immediately.  We had truly lost a warrior in the battle against breast cancer, and a true friend of the 3-Day.

I finally found Barbara Jo on Day Three and walked with her a few miles.  We talked about Bob, what he had meant to so many people, and how generous the Avon and Susan G. Komen organizations had been in helping all they could when Bob was ill.  Barbara Jo is still walking, still raising money, and I look forward to seeing her at the Avon walk in NYC this October, and help her son-in-law put up those precious pink signs.

And I join thousands of walkers, crew members, volunteers and staff members in holding up this sign that the staff made:

Thank you, Dr. Bob Kirshbaum

To donate to Barbara Jo, please CLICK HERE.

The Donation:

Our team slogan is “GOT A MAMMOGRAM?”.  Raising money is so important when battling cancer, but so is raising awareness and educating.  Over the years on these walks I’ve had hundreds of reminders how important monthly self-exams and yearly doctors visits are.

As part of my 2011 fundraising, I promised to make a cookie for every $10 that was donated to my team.  So now I have about 400 cookies to make! This is the first batch of many, and several places will get the literal cookies in thanks.

But for this first one, I brought them to Women’s Health Care of New England, my local OBGYN office.  The doctors and practitioners and staff there are amazing – the kind of place that makes women feel comfortable with all the bits and pieces that go into womens’ bodies and womens’ illnesses.  I dropped them off with just a few words, received a few smiles, and enjoyed a huge breath in of health and happiness.

Linzer Cookies with Minted Peach Jam

The cookies:

I wanted to make Linzer cookies in the shape of hearts for my first batch, inspired by some beautiful ones I had seen my friend over at Cakewalker make.  So figuring, “why mess with perfection”, I doubled his recipe and prepared it with just a few modifications.

Click Here for Cakewalker’s Linzer Cookie recipe and some great photos and instructions.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup almond flour / meal
  • 2 cups white sugar, divided
  • 5 cups flour
  • 1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp lemon zest (one full lemon)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 2 cups jam
  • 4 Tbsp chopped spearmint
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Prepped and ready to go

Directions:

  • Mix the almond flour, white flour and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl – whisk to combine.
  • In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add the remaining 1 1/2 cup sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated, scraping the bowl between additions.
  • Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.
  • Add the lemon zest, cinnamon, salt and rosemary, and beat on low to combine.
  • In small additions, add the flour mixture and mix on low until combined, scraping the bowl occasionally.
  • When combined, turn the dough onto a floured board and knead a few seconds until smooth.
  • Divide into three pieces, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until at least one hour or until almost hard.
  • When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If you’re not crazy confident in your baking sheets, line with parchment.
  • Om a heavily floured surface roll the first disk out to about 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick and cut in desired shapes.  Make 12 cookies.
  • Continue to reroll and cut, cutting the second dozen with little windows.
  • Bake for 14 minutes or until slightly browned at the edges and let cool completely, a few minutes on the sheets and then on racks.
  • Repeat until all the dough is used.
  • Place the top cookies on drying racks and use a sifter to sift powdered sugar on top.
  • Mix the chopped mint with the jam, spread about a half teaspoon on the bottom cookies, and then sandwich with a cutout.

These cookies will be perfect when left for a few hours or overnight so the jam has some time to absorb into the cookies and glue them together.

My modifications to Cakewalker’s recipe:

I love using fresh herbs in cookies (see my Lavender Rosewater Shortbread and Lemon Poppy Butter Cookies, with Lemon Rosemary to come).  So when I added the lemon zest to the batter I also added 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped incredibly fine.

And because I happened to have almond flour/meal already (vital when obsessed with macarons), I just used 3/4 of a cup almond meal instead of toasting and grinding a cup of blanched almonds (his instructions are great if you use whole almonds though).

So, for about 36 filled cookies I made a double batch of his Linzer cookies cut out in heart shapes and then filled them with peach jam that my poppa made last year, laced with a LOT of freshly chopped spearmint:

Thanks so much to Paula at Frosting for the Cause, Cakewalker, Becky’s Hope, Team California and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for this opportunity!

Love Love Love Linzer Cookies

Big Apple Cupcakes with NY Cheesecake Frosting – a 9/11 Frosting for the Cause

Big Apple Cupcakes

This weekend is a somber one for our country, and especially for those of my glorious city.  Time is such a fickle thing – at some points seeming so fleeting and delicate, a paper crane crushed in a child’s ecstatic palm.  Yet a dark night can stretch on for what seems like a year, and goals and dreams can seem so inevitably far away.  Ten years have passed since September 11, 2001, and how the world has changed for so many people.

This post is part of Frosting for the Cause, an online baking event that connects bakers from all over the world with womens cancer charities.  365 days a year, a blogger posts a recipe on the site, as well as shares a story of someone they know who has been affected by cancer.  They then make a small monetary donation to a cancer organization and bring the baked goods to a local cancer shelter.

Because my posting date fell on September 11th and I love my city Paula, the wonderful woman who runs the site, allowed me to stretch the rules of the post a bit and focus it around how 9/11 has caused cancer amongst the first responders who had spent much time around Ground Zero in the months and years following the collapse of the towers.

The Cancer…

Hundreds of first responders – firemen, police officers, medics – died on that day.  But since then that community has seen a large increase in serious chronic illnesses, and not all respiratory illnesses, as you might expect.  Many are developing serious cancers – melanoma and lymphoma specifically.  Hundreds have been diagnosed: in fact, first responders who worked at Ground Zero following the collapse are 19% more likely to develop serious cancers within the first 7 years of repeated exposure to the environment of Ground Zero.

The toxic dust that was in the air for months after the collapse is the cause, though the Environmental Protection Agency won’t conclude that the mixture of non-fibrous materials, asbestos, glass, lead, cadmium and other toxins is the link between.  Asbestos is highly carcinogenic, and a report from HP Environmental, a firm from Virginia, found that the asbestos was so pulvarized it was literally just too small to show up on the EPA’s tests.

Debates have gone back and forth, but the reality for first responders and their families is this: they saved lives by rushing people out of buildings, mining them out from under the rubble, and helping to clean up the wreckage.  And they’re paying for it – both with their own money and their lives.

Roy Chelsen

This is Roy Chelsen.  He was a “Viking” of a firefighter, one so strong that he could hold a blasting hose that would usually take two men to control.  Quiet and somber, he did his job well and love his company, Engine Company 28.  “To say he loved it is an understatement” his son Christopher said.

His company rushed to the first tower and started evacuating civilians at 1 World Trade Center.  But a point came when Roy knew that the second tower would begin falling, and he commanded his colleagues to get the last people they could and evacuate.  They made it to under a nearby bridge as bodies started falling, and when the tower collapsed were able to run to safety.

Many firefighters and civilians credit Chelsen with saving their lives – though he was so humble about his affect that day that few knew of this during his life.

Roy died on January 9, 2001.  1/9/11 – an almost bittersweet set of numbers.  He died of multiple myeloma, a serious blood cancer that requires bone marrow transplants along with a rigorous regimen for treatment.  He had finally received a match and had a stem cell transplant only a month before he died: doctors believe all those who donated blood in hopes of matching with his saved other lives through their donations, and will continue to do so.

As of now first responders do not get their cancer costs covered by the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, a fund that has allotted more than $7 billion in funds over the last ten years and now is working with about $2.8 billion.  While the Zagroba bill (named for James Zagroba, a police detective who died of 9/11 related illness) was signed into law in January to follow up on and in some cases cover medical bills for those suffering from toxicity related to 9/11, there needs to be overwhelming scientific proof in order to get “cancer” put on the list of applicable illnesses.

John Feal doesn’t need scientific proof to know the connection is there: “I’ve been to 54 funerals. 52 of them were 9-11 cancer,” Feal said recently at town hall meeting held by the 9/11 Compensation Fund.  He heads up the Feal Good Foundation, an advocacy group for first responders, and was instrumental in getting the Zagroba bill signed.

While certain other factors obviously play into how and why someone gets cancer – age, genetics, lifestyle – there is little doubt that working through the toxic rubble of Ground Zero has increased the chances for first responders, and that they should get compensated for it.  They’re getting cancers at young ages, and dying from them quickly.

The Donation…

The FealGood Foundation - Click on the logo to donate and for more information

For my monetary donation for Frosting for the Cause, I am proud to donate to John’s efforts at the Feal Good Foundation.  Since his own injury at Ground Zero – 8,000 pounds of steel fell on his foot, causing a partial amputation and years of therapy – he has been a stalwart in teaching others how to advocate for their own rights.  Those who need the help are mostly blue-collar, hard-working, physical people, and John is the perfect spokesman for them.  He is out there, every day, challenging unjust laws and educating politicians, so that first responders who risked their lives to save others and clean up the literal mess that is Ground Zero don’t continue to suffer alone.

Several friends have mentioned that they’d like to contribute to an organization in honor of those lost on September 11th.  If you’d like to join your little Dusty Baker and Frosting for the Cause in supporting the Feal Good Foundation, CLICK HERE or on the image above to donate.

FDNY Ten House

The Cupcakes…

I consulted John as to where my baked goods should go and he responded: “the 10 House next to GZ would be the perfect gesture. They lost so many people that horrible day.” On September 11 2001, they lost a captain, two lieutenants and 3 firefighters.

From their website:

Thanks!
FDNY spacerThe Officers and Members of FDNY Engine Company 10 and FDNY Ladder Company 10 would like to express our sincere thanks to all those that have supported us and continue to show your appreciation.  Words can not adequately express our feelings of gratitude for the tremendous outpouring of support.
FDNY spacerMaybe you contributed in our efforts to support the families of our lost Brothers or maybe you stopped by just to say Hi!  Maybe you waved or smiled as we drove by on the streets.  We join the thousands of other FDNY Firefighters serving New York City from more than 200 Firehouses in saying we are truly grateful to all.
FDNY spacerIn the words of William Shakespeare, “I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”

I’m a little in love with any firefighter who can quote Shakespeare, frankly.

Thursday I trekked down with 2 dozen Big Apple Cupcakes to the Ten House, which sits literally next to the gaping hole we call Ground Zero.  It was already packed with tourists, many who wanted to see the inside of the fire house, and the man who answered the door looked calm but slightly exhausted amongst the chaos.  I handed him my package, gave a quick little introduction as to what I was doing, pointed out that my info was in the bag, shook his hand, received a warm smile, and went on my way.  It wasn’t my intention to add any more chaos to the scene, just to drop off something sweet.  They were very sweet and humble in their appreciation.  I am thankful they continue to serve my city, open their house to those who want to see it, and offer them my prayers, thanks and love.

Big Apple Cupcakes

The Recipe…

I’m going to warn you, this is not the quickest recipe to make.  And I can’t even promise that it’s the best cupcake I’ve ever made because I didn’t get to taste them – the batter made 24 exactly, and because they contained dairy and gluten I wasn’t going to risk sampling.  But the parts I could taste were rather delicious, and they looked and felt wonderful.  I made the two batches of 12 only slightly different (the second had a bit less fat and calories in the cake) but in most respect the content was the same.

This is a 5-part recipe:

  1. Make the cupcakes
  2. Make the apple pie filling
  3. Make the cheesecake frosting
  4. Make the fondant apples
  5. Assemble the lot

Vanilla Cupcakes

1. Make the Cupcakes:

Though I’d consulted it often when adapting recipes, I had never directly made a recipe from The Joy of Baking before.  These tested recipes are known for being rather simple and straightforward and foolproof! I chose a basic vanilla cupcake thinking it would best compliment the apple pie filling and cheesecake frosting.  I made the first batch according to plan, and simply replaced the butter with Earth Balance and cut the sugar for the second batch.

Click here for the recipe I used, or have fun with your old favorite.  Just make 24 awesome vanilla cupcakes.

Apple Pie Filling

2. Make the Apple Pie Filling:

I made an easy apple pie filling on the stove top – using just a little maple syrup and apple juice, it was incredibly sweet.  Sauteing it for a while and then letting it cool completely made sure it gelled correctly and that the spices had time to settle a bit.

Big Apple Filling:

  • 3 cups chopped peeled apples (I used one Gala and one Granny Smith)
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
  • 1/4 cup apple juice

Place the apples in a medium nonstick pan over medium-low heat.  Add the spices and mix well, then add the maple syrup.  Cook until the mixture is bubbly and the apples begin to soften.  Then add the apple juice and sprinkle on the gelatin.  Let the gelatin sit until it is absorbed, then continue to stir the apples as the liquid boils down and the mixture softens completely.  When golden-colored and almost dry, remove from heat and chill until completely cooled.

If you don’t have gelatin on hand (or just prefer not to use it) you can mix a tsp or so of tapioca starch in with some cold apple juice before pouring it over.  It will give you a slightly different texture but will help to pull some of the moisture together.  Or you can just omit completely and use slightly drier apples.

Cheesecake Frosting!

3. Make the Cheesecake Frosting

This frosting is only slightly sweet and laced with cinnamon and nutmeg – too sweet and it would completely overwhelm the cake and pie filling flavors.  It’s super easy to make but does need to be cold in order to pipe clearly and retain its shape.

This was not exactly easy on the warm and humid NYC afternoon during which I was piping away and trekking on the hot subways.  Oh well.

I used a large pastry bag with a large star tip on the end to pipe my frosting.  But if you don’t have a pastry bag set or just hate piping, you can easily just swipe the frosting on with a small spatula.  Or you can cut the corner out of a plastic ziplock bag to pipe it on.

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages of plain Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 heaping tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

  • In the bowl of a standing mixer with the beater attachment (or with a hand mixer) beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add the powdered sugar a cup at a time, sifting as you go.
  • Once you’ve mixed in all four cups, test the flavor.  If you want it sweeter or with a thicker consistency, add more sugar a 1/4 cup at a time.
  • When at the proper level of sweetness and flavor, add the vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Beat to combine.
  • Fill into a large pastry bag and place in refrigerator to chill until ready to frost.

Fondant Apples!

4. Make the Fondant Apples:

I must admit, this was my first time using fondant (gasp!) and boy was it fun.  It brought back to mind my art teaching days, where I made homemade play dough and colored it with my hands.

Fondant!

Instead of making my own fondant, which is an art in its own, I bought some ready-made from Wilton and used my trusty gel colors to get the red and green hues I wanted.

Warning: if you use too much green coloring the majority will end up embedded in your fingernails, making it perfect if you want to audition for Elphaba in Wicked.  Which I don’t particularly but it was fun to think about.

I simply pulled off a good-sized piece of fondant, rolled it flat with a rolling-pin, added about 3 drops of red gel and started working it in with my hands like a happy kindergartener.  I then did the same with the green (Elphaba!).

Working it with the heat of my hands kept it moist so that I could roll the red into balls, shape the bottom with a toothpick and top them with little leaves I had cut out of the green.  Yes, they look like something my kindergarten self could have made – but on top of the cupcakes they made the right impression.

Filling the Cupcakes

5. Assemble the lot!

This is mostly self-explanatory.

I used a tiny espresso spoon to scoop out about a teaspoon size hole in the cupcakes and filled with the cool filling.  Then a swirly piping of frosting and an apple – voila!

Cupcakes ready for hungry firefighters!

Thank you to: Paula at Frosting for the Cause, John at the Feal Good Foundation and the men and women of the FDNY Ten House for allowing me to create this recipe for them.

Thank you for sharing your comments, retweeting this post on twitter, and sharing it with friends.  And please click on Frosting for the Cause so that site gets the traffic it deserves today too!

I’m also stepping in on Frosting for the Cause on Thursday, September 15th for a blogger who had to back out.  My Pink Ribbon Cookies to Cure Cancer and stories about my walking with the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure will be posted then – please check it out!

For more information on how cancer is affecting first responders, the Feal Good Foundation and Frosting for the Cause, please check out the links below.

Please also check out these tributes I wrote on several people we lost on 9/11 as part of Project 2,996:

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A Tribute to 4 Victims of 9/11 from Wilton, CT

My hometown of Wilton, CT

I grew up in the quaint New England town of Wilton, CT, a  45-minute drive from Manhattan. This conservative, sleepy town is known for its incredible school system, competitive sports and respectful community: kids are enrolled in Boy and Girl Scouts, families go to church on Sunday and then to the local diners, kids get bored on weekends and the man-made swimming hole is packed next to the busy soccer fields in the summer.

It is also a town on the major commuter rail into NYC, and many parents make the daily commute.  Which is how our dreamy little town lost four of its members on September 11th.

On that day in 2001 I was a hundred miles further north at the University of Connecticut.  Not being able to donate blood due to an illness but wanting to do something to help, my roommates and I volunteered at the Red Cross, primarily organizing names of those who had called in to report loved ones of theirs that were missing.

Several names came into my possession from my hometown.  It was only several weeks later, at a memorial in the football stadium of my youth, packed with so many familiar faces, that I found out who we had lost.

I still go home weekly to visit my parents and help work the family business.  More so now than in my youth do I appreciate the beauty of our town, especially in contrast to my life in the city.  People are a bit friendlier the air is much clearer, you can see thousands of stars at night, and the picturesque town square still shows children in uniforms between school and games, mothers marketing frantically, families out to eat at the all-locally-run restaurants.  It’s a good town.

So for my final tribute this week to Project 2,996, I’d like to offer a tribute to the four men who we lost on September 11th, 2001:  Edward T. Fergus Jr., Peter Christian Fry, John Iskyan and Edward P. York.

Edward T. Fergus Jr.

Edward T. Fergus Jr

It only seems appropriate that the photo honoring Edward Fergus shows him by the water – he would spend Saturday mornings helping to fix his parents’ boat and then the afternoons on Long Island Sound, fishing with his two children, Tom and Shannon.

Edward worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm who lost one third of their international work force when 658 of their employees perished, having worked on the 101st-105th floors of One World Trade Center, the floors above which the first plane made contact.

His energy on the floor translated well into his family social life, and he was known for rousing his siblings and their children to Connecticut for the annual Oyster Festival in South Norwalk, or to have picnics on their boat, or to go skiing in Vermont in the winter.  He also dedicated himself to helping others through volunteer work, and attended church weekly.

He was survived by his wife, Linda, their children Tom and Shannon, who were 10 and 11 years old at the time of his passing, and a score of siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, most of whom live in the tri-state area.

Peter Christian Fry

Peter Christian Fry was 36 years old and had two children when he went to work at Euro Brokers Incorporated, the global securities firm of which he was Vice President of Institutional Money Markets at 2 World Trade Center.

Peter was an avid athlete, having played lacrosse in both college (he was an All American lacrosse player at Curry College in Massachusetts) and in the Fairfield County Lacrosse League.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to find too much on Peter.  I know that he went to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, the largest one in our town with a lovely community that I am sure took care of his wife and family after his death.  His extended family still lives in the New York / Connecticut area.  And I did find this lovely note, one of many on 9-11 Victim Memorials, from a cousin of his:

I would like to tell you something that happened to me in while at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. I came across an American Flag in a case that had names written on it. One name popped out to me and it was Peter’s name and I realized it was a Flag with all the 911 victims on it. I have deployed many times to Iraq and Afghanistan and I always go to the flag and look for Peter’s name and remember why I’m there.
A Salute to you Peter and your Family.
Don DeBord TSgt. USAF

The family set up a college fund for Peter’s two daughters. Donations can be sent to Fry CollegeBoundFund, Attn: Joseph Miller III, c/o The New Canaan Group, 100 First Stamford Place  4th Floor West, Stamford, CT 06902.

John Iskyan

John Iskyan, 41, had been working at One World Trade Center for 19 years, straight out of college, and evidently he hated the building.  Back in 1993, he had taken over an hour and a half to vacate the building from its bombing, helping others escape before he finally left.  But he loved the company, Cantor Fitzgerald, for which he had worked his way up to being a partner.  And so he rose at 5am on September 11th, 2001, and took the early commuter train from Wilton so as to be at his desk by 7am, as he had done for 19 years.

Later that afternoon, John died of smoke inhalation.

Somehow he did made it out of the building, so his family was one of few to have a full funeral ceremony for him at Our Lady of  Fatima Church.  They were able to sing to him, to shower his body with love and tears and sweet memories.

John was an avid athlete, enjoying lacrosse and football and skiing.  His brother joked that John was such a loyal Giants fan that he’d let his brother buy him tickets every year.  He was still much in love with his wife, Margaret, so much so that he threw her a surprise birthday party the week before at the Old Town Hall, complete with family, friends, a lot of food and music.  His two children, Peter, 12 and Carolynn, 9, had kept the secret the entire year he planned.

John was known for being a hard worker, easily pulling 12 hour days for his firm. A Long Island native, he grew up with the kind of suburban, playful childhood that he provided for his own children.

Unfortunately I could not find a picture of Edward York, 45.  In a time where the internet runs wild with images and remembrances, it comes as a bit of a shock.  But also a bit of a relief – what is personal to the people who knew him remains personal to them.  He was their friend, their family, their father and husband, and it is their wishes that should be honored in remembering Ed. 

But what I did find was this:

“Ed hosted new employee orientation sessions that featured a dozen or so presenters to groups of about 30 associates and his introductions stopped just short of claiming each presenter could walk on water. Before one such session I asked Ed if he could “tone it down” a little and he promised he would. When my turn to speak came later in the day, Ed simply said “Our next speaker is a man who needs no introduction.” Sheepishly I walked to the podium, but when I arrived the entire group rose, wildly cheering, whistling and applauding. In the back of the room was a broadly smiling Ed, who had put them up to the whole thing beforehand! It was the best practical joke anyone had ever played on me and typical of his sense of humor.”

Greg Pierce, Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Stories and admiration like this abound for Ed, things like “he always brought a smile to everyone’s face” and ‘he had an unconventional way of bringing people together” and “his family was the center of this universe”.
From what I can gather, Ed worked for many years at several firms including MA Hanna and Daymond and Associates before moving on to Cantor Fitzgerald, where he was the Vice President and director of Human Resources.
He is survived by his wife, Kim, and three children. 
And, in closing, here’s a sweet little contribution to Ed’s page and a good reminder to us all.  It’s been an interesting week, writing testimonials for people I’ve never met, making cupcakes for firemen and reflecting on how many millions of people were affected by the actions of a single day.  And I agree with this woman’s testimony:
I never met Ed, but I worked a block away from the WTC, and after 9/11, found his business card outside my office. I framed it with other cards I found there, and after research, found that he had died. His card remains framed, on my desk, as a daily reminder of how precious life is, and that we have to keep our priorities straight. I hope your family has found peace.
Ellen Sundheimer, Middle Island, New York

This tribute was written as part of Project 2996.  I picked the first six names on the list who had not been written yet, and am posting one every day in the week leading up to September 11th, 2011.  To read my initial post on this organization and to donate to The Feel Good Foundation, an advocacy group for first responders affected by serving on September 11th, please CLICK HERE.

A September 11th Tribute to Abdu Malahi

Abdu Malahi, Age 37

 “Abdu saved my life. Because we were told not to evacuate the hotel by management via the intercom system (before the intercom system was destroyed by the second plane crash), Abdu took it upon himself to alert the remaining guests that they must leave. I was waiting in my room when I heard him shouting in the hallway. I opened the door, and he told me I must leave immediately. He escorted me to the stairways before continuing on to save other guests. He is constantly in my thoughts. He is my guardian angel. I love this man whom I only met once. It is still hard for me to comprehend his sacrifice for strangers. Abdu was a very special man, indeed.

–Donn Monroe

We so often hear about the heroes in uniform that were running up stairs to help victims flee while others ran down.  And they, of course, are incredibly worthy of our love and respect.  But we forget, sometimes, those good, good people who helped others as well until their final breaths.

Abdu Malahi was one such man.

Raised in Yemen, Abdu loved music and played keys in a band before becoming the audi0-visual engineer at the Marriott Hotel.

He was known among colleagues as being incredibly polite, and only opening up with his wife and two sons, who he was trying to get visas for so that they could join him from Yemen before the September 11th attacks.  But his formality also garnered him a great deal of respect and he was well liked amongst coworkers and friends.

When the towers were struck, Abdu risked his own life to help save the lives of others.  There is little about this incredibly generous man on the internet, but I am sure that he lives on in the hearts of his family and the many people whose lives he saved by giving up his own.

This tribute was written as part of Project 2996.  I picked the first six names on the list who had not been written yet, and am posting one every day in the week leading up to September 11th, 2011.  To read my initial post on this organization and to donate to The Feel Good Foundation, an advocacy group for first responders affected by serving on September 11th, please CLICK HERE.

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