Years ago, I was an avid blogger.
I had a network of talented bakers that I interacted with regularly, was part of baking circles and recipe swaps, and eagerly combed through various websites on a constant basis every morning. I loved blogging, and I’m thankful for what it brought into my life. Like the chance to make some new virtual friends and occasionally write a recipe for their wildly successful blogs.
I don’t like being cold. Yes, I like bundling up and being cozy, but cold is not my thing. When you live in a city, you cannot help but meet with the elements in full force, and I know soon I’ll be facing pools of slush on stopped-up street corners, shlepping my tiny dog through sopping snow four times a day, and dealing with the wind tunnels that take over some of the avenues, melting faces and freezing fingers. Yes, New York is gorgeous in the autumn with the falling leaves, and nothing fills my heart like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade prep on Wednesday or accidentally finding myself near Rockefellar late at night after the tourists are sleeping off their days. I love New York during the holidays. But I’m still not ready to give up on flip-flops and jacket-less tromping.
And yet…
It’s Burwell Recipe Swap time again – check out my past swaps for more info about the group.
So… I had plans to make something that would blow my mind. Something I learned from Alton Brown, who’s tied as my favorite brain crush with Brian Lehrer (all you WNYCers know what I’m talking about). Something that I figured I could mix and measure and adapt as necessary. I even wrote the post out last night. It was brilliantly witty. Pinky swear it was.
And while the experiment worked up to this point…
… that beaker of coolness was as far as I got. They were to be these beautiful pearls of dark red wine that I had simmered with some really potent dried ginger, honey and gelatin sheets. Dropped into chilled oil, they were to separate easily when rinsed clean.
I tried several variations – still think I need more gelatin.
So, in a pinch – what could I make?!?! Because the recipe we were given, the one that we were to try to keep close to, was this:
Honestly, reading it invoked a reaction of reverse peristalsis in me (probably the only phrase I remember from high school biology). Look at that ingredients list: really?
So what I took from it was: fruit, gelatin, ginger. My original idea for the swap was to be a take on Charlotte Russe, which I’ve been wanting to adapt since I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn again a few months ago. But for the same reason that this recipe makes me gag, I couldn’t do it.
So the result was a relatively healthy, bi-blueberry dessert served with a gluten-free lady-finger. I did not make them. If you want to make your own, I suggest this recipe from Krissy’s Creations.
This is definitely not my most proud swap. But as this post goes up I’m not even near NYC at all, but on an island off of Portugal touring a vineyard, cooking food in the ground, interviewing chefs and chasing dishes around the island while my recorder runs and my photographer clicks away. In prep for the trip I’ve been working like mad to meet deadlines. And as I gobbled this up, I realized sometimes even last-minute creations come together when you need them.
Now please go check out my fellow swappers for, I’m sure, a tasty combo of creations!
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Method:
Sometimes this whole blogging thing trips me out.
I remember where I was when these were made and photographed last year. Who I was with, what we were all doing, and the St. Pat’s party I was preparing for.
Much has changed this year – not in a bad way. But changed.
Today I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know if I’ll be back…
…Okay, I’ll be back next Tuesday.
My St. Patrick’s Day will be spent on a small island in the middle of the Azorean Atlantic. In the morning – while you’re still sleeping here, my lovely New York City – I’ll be touring a vineyard, interviewing the proprietor on his ancient machines while my photographer clicks away.
Later we’ll meet up with some family at a park by a lake, where we’ll cook food in the ground, still hot from the volcano simmering quietly underneath.
There will be no green hats, or Guinness bombs, or my brother vomiting in my hallway and then denying it to everyone’s faces (in fairness he simply didn’t remember vomiting in my hallway, so he wasn’t lying…).
So in my absence I invite you to check out this Gluten Free Irish Carob Cupcake recipe. And take a tiny walk down one gal’s lane o memories.
Slainte,
– Jacqueline
Last week my lil sis went through a breakup. A relatively sane one, sans drama, and she’s rolled with it very well. But a breakup is a breakup, with highs and lows and unanswered questions. A few months ago I went through a very hard breakup (see My Broken Heart in a Pie) and my siblings were there for me as soon as I was ready to talk to them. Upon my first trip home, they threw me a night of gluten-free beer (well, for me), board games, a bunch of bad jokes and “socials” and “waterfalls”, and the freedom to wander alone in my thoughts when I needed to.
So when Lil Sis texted me the news, I threw all the gluten-free beer I had in my fridge into a bag and headed to Connecticut. And after one or two drinks and some quiet conversation, I knew what she needed: brownies.
We rummaged through hers and my dad’s kitchens and got together some basic ingredients (including the gluten-free flour blend I stash there) and I went to work, whipping things together and giving her a little baking lesson as I went. I love brownies because of how few ingredients they require, how fast you can make them and how versatile they are – purely for emotional purposes we poured some of the dark Green’s Gluten-Free Sorghum beer I had been sipping, which did wonders in intensifying all the flavors and giving the brownies lift without and baking powder/soda.
The result? Incredibly moist, fudgy, dark cocoa brownies. Just as I want them. Easy to slice, packed with chocolate and with a slight zing from the beer. Incredibly easy to make, and from start to finish we had the brownies in about a half an hour.
She plopped a little vanilla ice cream on her slice to balance the chocolate. I love dark chocolate, and savored my sweet little piece (normally I never eat refined sugar, or much sugar in general, but desperate times…). We sipped our drinks, enjoyed some telly and as she worked things through in her head, we talked about it.
And don’t worry, both Lil Sis’ and my heart are doing just fine.
Check out my My Gluten-Free Brownie Video for eHow.com!
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a small 8×8 or so glass baking pan.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Slowly whisk in cocoa and whisk until dissolved. Then slowly whisk in beer (it will foam a bit) and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a standing mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer on medium/high speed beat eggs, brown sugar and white sugar together until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very smooth and creamy.
Reduce the mixer to low speed and slowly add the chocolate mixture until combined.
Toss the salt and xanthan gum into the flour and fold into the chocolate mixture.
Pour into the pan and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out smooth.
Cool for at least 15 minutes (if you want them soft and fudgey) or completely before cutting.
As lil sis pointed out, these would be great with a dairy/gluten-free ice cream or with some fresh fruit.
The Dusty Baker 