Negligent

Sorry. I've been negligent about blogging. It seems school has taken over my life. The fact that I'm taking 4 classes this first half of the semester and trying to get my thesis done isn't helping the blogging or the baking. Also the fact that STATA is consuming my life due to my projects for Economics of the Family are grueling. But I guess I shouldn't be complaining that much as I haven't started my data analysis for my thesis as my clients (The NCCCS) haven't gotten me my data yet. Still, I have to write out my different specifications and justify why I'm doing it that way. Hopefully it will pay off and I can get it published if I find interesting results.

Talking about that, I have thus far applied for 5 jobs, oddly all in DC. Jim is thankfully checking in with my client to see if he may have a job for me come June as I would love to stay in Durham for another year. But I'm also looking at applying for this two year fellowship in Winston-Salem. Should be interesting. I have to pump out a cover letter this weekend for it.

Oddly, this job hunting is just making me be thankful that I have a fun hobby that my pay check can support! So let's get to describing what I have been up to.

First, I need to mention that J makes a mean black bean soup. We also made potato's au gratin and some cornish game hens for dinner this past weekend. As for other cooking I did make a beef and barely soup which I think came out great. I currently have a version of it in my crockpot. I'm worried that the barely is going to over cook, but it seems so much easier to cook it in the crock pot compared to on the stove.

As for baking I do need to mention that Bethy got me Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours for Christmas. So for dessert last weekend I made a lemon custard. I do love custard and Dorie has such an easy recipe. It is definitely a keeper and often maker. I've also made a lemon poppy seed loaf with a bourbon whipped cream topping.

I'll share all these recipes this weekend as I should get to bed soon as my PMF test is tomorrow at 8 and I have to complete my Economics of the Family data project by 5 tomorrow. But just wanted to share as I have been negligent. Sorry I haven't taken pictures to share.

This weekend I'm hoping to make some lemon curd and scones and also the cookie mix jenny's mom made for me. I'm also hoping to experiment with Dorie's chocolate chip cookie recipe to make a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie!

Wish me luck!

Resolutions!

So I haven't quite decided what my resolutions for the new year will be as finding a job is likely a necessity and publishing my thesis is more of a dream but I think collecting cookie cutters shaped as the 48 contiguous states can count right? At any rate these are pretty cool!

http://www.thelittlefoxfactory.com/cookiecuttersamericana.html

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! It is officially 2010 and the year of the tiger! Having been born in the year of tiger, I feel that this is going to be a great year. I hope I am correct as the thesis needs to be written and a job needs to be found by May. I guess since it's a sign that I was born and will have to grow up in the same animal year.

Anyway, to ring in the new year I spent a quite evening at home with the rents. They got back from Vegas where they did not hit the mega buck and therefore are not able to buy me a kitchenaid stand mixer. Rather they both got sick. So I spent the evening at home watching TV, listening to music, hunting for recipes, and baking bread. I made Ina Garten's honey white sandwich bread and I think it is the best bread recipe I have tried yet. I know...lame right? But it was a nice way to ring in the new year. I think since it was a nice peacefuly night despite all the illegal fireworks going off in the valley that it means my 2010 will be easy going as well.

As for new years day ate my zoni and got my head swept. My fortune told me that I was going to have an execellent year, to study hard, not to get caught up in love or alcohol, and that traveling will pay off. Mom, dad, and I also made mochi with the mochi maker they bought. Seriously...a kitchenaid would have been nicer, but mom said that I needed to make mochi b/c it was the year of the tiger and I needed to have a good year. So, we made mochi. I also roasted a chicken for dinner. I feel like that is all I have done this winter bread. Roast birds. Mom and dad are making me brine and roast a turkey before I leave for North Carolina again. It should be fun. I'm going to try adapt my brine a bit and see if it comes out better than the one I made for christmas eve.

Anyway that's about it. Here is the recipe for the honey white sandwich bread. Hope everyone had a great start to 2010!!!

Honey White Bread

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 packages dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (110 degrees)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
2 extra-large egg yolks
5-6 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Place warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add yeast and sugar; stir and allow them to dissolve for 5 minutes.

Add the milk, butter, and honey. Mix on medium speed until blended. Add the egg yolks, 3 cups of flour and the salt. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes. With the mixer still on low speed, add 2 more cups of flour. Raise the speed to medium and slowly add just enough of the remaining flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the bowl. Knead on medium speed for about 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary.

Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a bowl with butter, put the dough in the bowl, then turn it over so the top is lightly buttered. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in volume.

Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans with butter. Divide the dough in half, roll each half into a loaf shape and place each in a prepared pan. Cover again with the damp towel and allow to rise again for an hour, until doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the dough is ready, brush the tops with egg white and bake for 40-45 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped. Turn them out of the pans and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

As J would have it..

I wouldn't have had made pumpkin bread because he is tired of pumpkin baked goods. But as my defense, I did make a yeasted pumpkin bread. I personally think it came out great. Going to bring some over for my grandmother tomorrow afternoon. She'll like it. If she really likes it maybe I'll make some for J if he wants =p.

Anyway...here is the recipe.


Pumpkin Bread:
- Mix 2 teaspoons of yeast w/2 teaspoons of sugar in 1 and 3/4 cups of warm water.
-Mix water/yeast mixture into a bowl of 5 and 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of salt.
- Knead for 10 minutes
- Let rise till doubles (about 1 and a 1/2 hours)
- Punch down and split dough into two loaf pans.
- Let rise for another hour and a half in pans.
- Bake at 450 degree's for 30 minutes.

Family is off to vegas...

and I'm stuck home alone taking care of the dog and making sure the house doesn't burn down. I should note that the parents did ask if I wanted to go, but I felt a) I would probably loose all my money at the black jack table, b) get really drunk loosing my money at the black jack table, c) drunk dial all my friends after loosing all my money at the black jack table, d) get sick after getting drunk at the black jack table and flying back to Hawaii where I would recover and then fly to North Carolina. So instead of having the chain reaction I've decided to stay home, get my eye's checked while my parents are still willing to pay for my eye care and do absolutely nothing.

Well not absolutely nothing. I have plans on attempting to make pretzels, english muffins, and try out my new spring form pan my sister got me for christmas! I also have to pick up supplies for my mom so she can make zoni for new years. I need to make sure to drink a lot of the zoni because 2010 is the year of the tiger, which is my year! I hope that this is a good sign for job prospects and everything else. Call me supersticuous but I think it is a really good sign that it is the year of the tiger and the same year I will become "independent" from the rents.

And because it is the year of the tiger, mom had to buy a mochi maker so I could make mochi. So tonight they tested it out and made me make some mochi with azuki beans inside of it. Luckily my mocki making skills (e.g. making sure it comes out pretty) are still pretty good. I'll take pictures of the ones we make for the new year so as not the jinx anything. Oh and I did make this cream cheese rippled pumpkin bread. I didn't layer it properly so it didn't come out as great as I was expecting it to. I also don't think that it is the best pumpkin bread recipe out there, but the recipe was from the Joy of Baking so I feel assured that it probably is one of the better ones out there. But sine I screwed up on making it I didn't take any pictures. There is still pumpkin left over so I don't know if I should try it again or try another pumpkin recipe. I was on a pumpkin kick earlier this fall but J got tired of eating pumpkin baked goods so I moved on. Right now I'm thinking of either pumpkin scones again or pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!

As for cooking things I did brine and roast a turkey for christmas eve dinner at my uncles. My uncle also showed me how to make jook, so I now know how to make it the traditional way instead of the way I made it for thanksgiving. For christmas dinner I marinated a pork loin and roasted it. I used Ina Garten's herb roasted marinating recipe. Personally, I think to make the pork loin more tender it should be adapted to become a little bit more of a brine or beer should be used to tenderize the meat a bit more. I forgot to take pictures of the pork. Sorry. But here is a picture of the turkey. I think it was my best turkey yet! Just to make sure though I bought another turkey as they were on sale at Safeway for 29 cents a pound. So before I leave for NC I will have to brine and roast another turkey. But what I'm really excited about is I get to roast 4 chickens for the family New Year party. I'm debating what I should do. There is the possibility of brining two and doing two in a more traditional fashion or doing different kinds of herbs on different ones. I'm thinking making one a garlic, one a rosemary, one a thyme, and one sage. We shall see. I have a few days to decide.

Well here is what you all have been waiting for. Below are Ina Gartens herb marinate recipe and how I brined my turkey.
Kelsey's Tukrey Brine (yes my own concotion):
for a 14 pound turkey
- 8 small dried bay leaves
- 4 tbspns peppercorn
- 6 big rosemary sprigs
- couple dashes of garlic powder

bring to boil in 1/4 gallon of water. then cool

add mixture to 1 and 3/4 gallon of water which has 1 and 1/2 cups of salt disolved in it.

brine for at least 12 hrs.

put into a roasting pan with sprigs of rosemary and thyme. pour a 1/3 of a bottle of good beer into the pan. drink the rest.

coat breast with olive oil and ground pepper.

roast in 325 degree oven for 3 and 1/2 hours and baste every 30 minutes.

enjoy!
Ina Garten's Herb Roasted Marinate: adapted
*I suggest trying to turn it into more of a brine by using 1/2 cup of salt to a gallon of water and 1/8 cup sugar. Try this at your own risk as I didn't do this, but will try in the near future and report back on to it.*

Ingredients:
3 lb boneless pork loin (or tenderloin)
2 lemons, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from the 2 lemons)
4 rosemary sprigs
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tbspns salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

I roasted my pork at 350 degree's for 50 minutes. I flipped it half way through so that both sides would cook nicely. Ina calls for you to pan sear it before you throw it in the oven for only 30 minutes. I peronally just like throwing things in the oven. Less hassle.

Cream Cheese Rippled Pumpkin Bread
From Joy of Baking
Makes two 9″x5″ loaves

Cream Cheese Filling
8 ounce package (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread
1 cup (110 grams) toasted pecans or walnuts [optional, I leave them out]
3 1/2 cups (450 grams) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 – 15 ounce (425 grams) can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9″x5″ pans.

For the Cream Cheese Filling: Beat the cream cheese just until smooth in a stand mixer or food processor. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour. Set aside.

For the Pumpkin Bread: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs until lightly beaten. Whisk in the sugar and melted butter, then stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and (optionally) nuts.

Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture, being careful not to overmix. A few streaks of flour are fine. Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it between the two pans. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into each pan, then top with the remaining half of batter. Smooth the tops and bake an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool loaves to room temperature.

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I think I have been a good boy this year. My roommates and friends are prime witnesses (particularly if they continue wanting baked goods). Therefore can you please delivery the following Christmas presents to my house in Durham. I will forever love you and never doubt your existence. However, I will still worship Dorie Greenspan, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, Peter Reinhart, and many others as actual gods because they give the presents of recipes that you will hopefully facilitate me making.

Please, thank you, and much love!

1. KitchenAid
2. Ramkins
3. Bundt Pan
4. Ramekins
5. Dorie Greenspan's From My Home To Yours
6. Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice

and if you think i've been really good a le creuset set or a set of copper bottom pots and pans please!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from the farmers market in Hawaii and the banana bread I baked with my mom!