LAUSD Coffee Cake

A couple of months ago, I hosted a brunch for a few of my friends from high school [well, technically we've all known each other since elementary school].  One of my friends brought a coffee cake to the brunch.  All of us were slowly eating it because it tasted so darned familiar.

"I've had this before..." i said, "but I can't figure out WHERE."

Jana smiled at me and said, "think down memory lane...it's a recipe from a long, long time ago."

Judy shouted, "OH MY GOSH, this is the coffee cake recipe from junior high school!! I used to eat this all the time!"

When she said "all the time", she wasn't kidding - we all did.  It was our go-to snack/breakfast during recess.  You know...back in the day when calories didn't mean anything because you could burn it off by simply breathing.

I've been craving this coffee cake so I thought I'd do a nice thing and make some for my co-workers [who sadly, can not burn off the calories from this coffee cake just by breathing...but don't tell them I said that!].

LAUSD Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Adapted from LAUSD

CAKE INGREDIENTS

3 ¾ cups all purpose flour

½ cup plus 2 Tbsp nonfat dry milk

1¼ tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1½ tsp cinnamon

3½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp vinegar

1½ cups water

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp butter

1¼ cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

TOPPING INGREDIENTS

¾ cup plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp brown sugar, packed

¼ cup granulated sugar

dash salt

¼ + 1/8 tsp cinnamon

¼ + 1/8 tsp nutmeg

¼ cup butter

CAKE:

Combine flour, dry milk, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Combine vinegar and water in measuring cup. Set aside.

In mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on low speed until blended. Add eggs and continue to blend on low speed for 1 minute.

While mixer is on low speed, add dry ingredients alternately with water and vinegar to butter-sugar mixture. Scrape down bowl, then blend on medium speed for 1 additional minute.

TOPPING:

Sift together all ingredients except butter into a bowl, set aside. Cream butter in mixing bowl, adding the dry ingredients until topping is crumbly.

Evenly divide batter between 2 greased 9-by-9-inch pans. Spread ¾ cup topping evenly over batter in each pan. Bake in preheated 375° oven until tester comes out clean when inserted in the center of cake (about 45 to 55 minutes).

Makes 18 servings.

Happy Thanksgiving Disasters

I had finished the cranberry sauce, the dough for the dinner rolls, candied yams, apple pie and was waiting on the pumpkin pie when disaster struck.  Have you guys ever seen what a pumpkin pie looks like upside down on the floor??

Well, now you have. It looks like BARF.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

* No family members were hurt during the filming of this disaster.  Although my dad came pretty close [if we lived under the same roof] when I heard him laughing hysterically in the background while I was crying to my mommy.

* No real tears were shed in the making of this pie 'cuz there ain't no cryin' in the kitchen.  Even though I came very, very close.  A nice fennel by the name of Colloquial Cook gave me words of encouragement that helped me carry on.  Thanks, C!

Suzi's Cookies & Cream

I'm not a big fan of mousses, parfaits, or anything like that.  This week has been insane for me [as it is with many people throughout America] so when I first heard of the office potluck, my first inclination was not to participate. That is, until my friend and colleague, Suzi, from Oklahoma City decided to send me her recipe for Cookies and Cream.  She promised it'd be a guaranteed hit.

I was skeptical at first but it was an easy recipe so I thought, "why not??"  To my surprise,  I nearly licked the bowl clean as I was making it.  And the best part??  This no fuss dessert was one of the most popular one out there! So you have a last minute potluck to go to?  Need something easy and cheap?  Here it is!

Suzi's Cookies and Cream

3 boxes French Vanilla Instant Pudding Mixes [3.5 ounce box]

3 cups of Milk [come on, use whole milk]

2 tubs Cool Whip

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 package Oreo cookies

Mix well, the French Vanilla Instant Pudding packets with milk & Cool Whip.  Chill for 30 minutes.

Soften Cream Cheese and mix with powdered sugar.  Combine the two mixtures together. Sprinkle with bag of crushed Oreo cookies as desired.

Serve in glass or clear cup & enjoy!

The Pioneer Woman Book Signing, Los Angeles Edition

I didn't even know about Food, Home, Photog blogger Ree Drummond's book signing until Saturday night when I saw it tweeted by @WhatsGabyCookin. I had a copy of Ree's book that just needed to be signed.  The only thing is that I've never waited in line for anything other than a Sample Sale. I just don't do lines very well unless I know for fact that I'm going to get a HUGE bargain on something. It was with surprise that I found myself waiting in line for over 2 1/2 hours to get The Pioneer Woman to sign my book for me.

Step 1: secure seats. actually, step 1 was arriving an hour early, buying a couple more books, and getting the "pink" wristband [aka Group 2]. Then it was to secure seats. I was lucky that there were just a couple of seats left.  The person next to me asked if I had a blog to which I replied, "blog?? what blog?? no, I don't have a blog..."

Step 2: take really, really blurry photos of Ree as she walks in because I don't want to stand and block anyone's view.  *SIGH* [Ree is the glamorous reddish/brown one, not the hairy one]

Step 3: Stop myself from asking questions so as to not attract attention to myself during Q & A. Although she did sing "No Business like Show Business" for a clip.  A clip that I unfortunately was not quick enough to get on tape. 

Step 4: Belatedly realize that I should not have secured a seat so far up front because now I'm at the back of the Group 2 line.  Hmmm...how long could it take to get through a couple hundred people [halfway point shown below, about 1 1/2 hours into event]?

Step 5: near the front of the line only to see the wave getting started by the lunatics behind me [just kidding guys...you were super cool...if a little nutty!].

Step 6: Finally get to take my photo with Ree, when I attack her in a bear hug

Step 7: Am amazed by the fact that she actually remembers my name considering that we met only once before.  I can barely remember my brothers' names.  She asked me if I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to come down to the signing.  Well, not so much but it was all worth it!  And I finally got some Christmas and birthday shopping off my list of things to do!

Chocolatey Chocolate Cookie

I'm about 3 weeks away from a Bake Off Challenge at my work.  Prize is a $100 gift certificate.  I can't lose this.  I need to win.  For no other reason than I'm just that kind of person.  I'm searching through my recipe box and am ramped up to be in a frenzy of baking.

I used to work with this wonderful cook/baker/entertainer at my first job out of college.  I don't know where she got this recipe but I love this, especially after I added some toffee bits to it.  Even one of my VPs at my office, who would rather swallow his tongue than compliment me, said that he liked this cookie [no, really...he likes me...he just doesn't realize it quite yet].

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 large egg

2 tbl milk

8 squares (8 oz) semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 cup toffee bits (like Heath)

Adjust oven racks to divide oven into thirds. preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda and cocoa together; set aside.

Beat butter in mixer bowl until softened. Beat in vanilla and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and milk. With mixer at low speed, add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate and toffee. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, no more than six on each sheet. With fork dipped in water, flatten tops slightly to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake 2 sheets at a time 14 to 15 minutes, switching position of pans halfway through, until lightly browned but still soft. Let cookies stand on sheets 1 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Makes 32 cookies.

Top 5 Reasons to visit Lisbon, Portugal

I had no idea what to expect when I first hit the "purchase" button on my flight to Lisbon [and returning from Barcelona].  Lisbon had been on my "places to visit" list mostly because I didn't know a proliferation of people who'd actually been there.

So, on to my Top 5 reasons [in no particular order]:

Reason #1: An interesting way to tour around Lisbon - Go Tours

They've got GoCar Tours in Lisbon [as well as a few other cities around the world].  I was interested in doing something I haven't done before. I'm constantly searching for new [for me] fun ways to experience new locations. I found the GoCar Tours site after a quick search on the internet and was immediately intrigued - the bonus? They had a special promotion for bloggers who take this tour for the first time!

I've never even ridden a scooter before but there I was tooling around in a foreign country in a bright yellow amped up, souped up go-cart!  Belem was my chosen destination and what a fun [if not a bit too bumpy due to potholes and cobblestones] way it was to experience the trip.  I like the convenience of those big hop on/hop off tour buses in that they hit the major sites that I want to see but they are SO incredibly boring, I end up falling asleep on them.  The GoCar was hands on and was a thrilling way to view parts of the city [not to mention that it was easy to find a spot to park it!]. 

One piece of advice: Be sure you rent for several hours instead of the 90 minutes that I did.  I regretted not having more time to play around the city on that thing. 

Reason #2: The food and wine

I didn't delve too much, technically, into the wine scene in Lisbon.  I just drank and enjoyed [and drank a LOT more].  I found out that a lot of the producers have such a small lot that they don't ship out their wines outside of Portugal.  Those hoarders. 

The seafood in Lisbon was fantastic.  Fresh, interesting and grilled so perfectly - crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside - that I thought it was deep fried.  The sardines were HUGE.  I mean...how do they find sardines so huge? I thought they grew in a can with mustard or various other spices. 

One of the Porto wine stores I visited [and subsequently bought stuff from] informed me that the Portuguese olive oil was complex and excellent.  I tried some of it and was duly impressed, right along with some of the cheese selection he offered.  He proudly shared that Portugal has some of the best quality cheeses, wines, olive oils, and meats around. 

Reason #3: The beauty of the city

I am not a museum person.  I walk through museums looking at paintings on the walls, appreciating the complexities of light, texture, and precision of the art.  It's very rare that these 2 dimensional object d'art will inspire me to linger longer than a few minutes.  Instead, what inspires me most are the buildings and nature...everything that this 3 dimensional world can offer!

So it should come as no shock that most of the time was spent meandering around the city, walking around, and getting lost [we got lost a lot. unusually so].  I carefully walked throughout the city since I had this very bad habit of spraining my ankles whenever I walk on flat pavement so you know that cobblestone was a personal joy for me.  I loved looking at the beautiful tiles on the walls and the interesting cobblestone artwork.  There's just nothing like it.

Reason #4: The people

Everywhere I went, the people were so warm and friendly.  Portuguese is very difficult to pronounce.  Luckily, it wasn't an issue since so many people had a rudimentary grasp of English. 

Everywhere we went, people were so willing to share their heritage and knowledge with me that I felt like I was missing out by not staying longer in the country. 

Reason #5: The value

The cost to play in Lisbon was an outstanding value.  We had some very great meals for $30.  I loved hearing that my breakfasts only cost me $5 - something I rarely hear when I travel in Europe.  The cost to get in to various attractions and transportation were also a lot more reasonable than in other parts of Europe. 

All in all, I wish that I had spent more time traveling throughout Portugal than just the one city.  The people are friendly, there's a lot of wonderful food to eat, the architecture is awe inspiring, and Lisbon just took my breath away...

Postcards from vacation...

I am compulsive about printing out labels with addresses of my friends and family.  That's usually one of the first things I print out and it's the 2nd thing I take care of on my vacation. So you can imagine how horrified I was when I realized that I totally forgot to print out and bring my labels.  I decided to send postcards via my blog, generic though it may have to be. Please fill in the blanks where instructed...

Dear [fill in your name]:

Greetings from [Lisbon or Barcelona]! I hope you're having as great a time in Los Angeles as I am in [Lisbon or Barcelona].  I've been having a fantastic time here - eating, walking, shooting photos, cooking, and shopping. 

I really wish you could be here [unless you're someone I'd rather not be around] with me sharing [well, having your own] cup of chocolat & churros.  I never knew a cup of chocolate could be so thick.

You would have loved the cooking class Carrie & I took at Cook & Taste [unless you hate to cook].  In spite of my squeamishness from the monkfish that really, really grossed me out, I feel pretty confident that I can make paella [I was the one who made the fish stock...i KNOW i can make THAT]!  I'll tell you more about this class later. 

Tonight is my last night in Barcelona, so I'd better get packed and ready to go out.  I know I'll never be able to pack after a night of food & drinks.  I look forward to seeing you when I get home [unless I don't normally see you, in which case I won't]!

With Much Love [unless I hate you...]

Jen

Ola, Lisbon!!

Admittedly, I probably should have practiced or learned some key phrases in Portuguese but it appears my mix of English, Spanish, Italian, & French seems to be working for me.  Well, kinda.  I probably shouldn't try to mix it all in one conversation.  That's probably working more against me than it is for me.

Moving right along, I decided to try something different for my trip to Europe this time.  I gave in and napped.  Twice.  After 18 hours of travel time, my body just needed it.  Plus, my body was still in distress after getting caught smack dab in the middle of a near fist fight between my Portuguese seatmates and the flight attendants.  My travel buddy, Carrie, just looked at me with a horrified expression on her face.  Classic.

Anyhow, the first thing we did was to go shopping since my brain was incapable of taking in anything more taxing.  One thing I love to do is shop at the local grocery stores.  I love to see what kinds of local candies and snacks people around the world love to eat.

Whaaat?  Chips Ahoy??  How the heck did that make the cut??  Hmmmm...guess I'll go and check out the candy aisle next...

...Oh good.  I was worried I'd be stuck without my M & M access.  Phew. 

That photo is for my friend, Henry, who works for Nestle.  He likes to see his stuff from around the world.  I'm going to check and see what I can buy for breakfast tomorrow...

Right. Of course.  Kellogg's cereal.  What was I thinking, hoping that there'd be something I can buy that's typical of a Portuguese breakfast?  I decided to pick up some gum from Portugal.  I should've known by now that there was just no hope...

Our next stop was to try to find some gifts to take home with us to 'Mericah. 

Right.  Disney.  Of course.  Why shouldn't components of the happiest place on earth be in Portugal?

Geoffrey??  HE made it to Portugal??  Ok, since I did spot a Sanrio store in Portugal, I guess Toys R Us should be here, too...

Well.  Shoot.  I guess shopping was a strike out for me today.  Hope tomorrow will net some better [and more typical of Portugal] results!

Chocolate Chip Cookie [MONSTER]

I love sweets.  I just can't get enough of it.  I'm sure that I'm going to have diabetes within the next 5 years.  I'll still be shocked and dismayed when it happens.  One of my favorite sweets to nibble on are chocolate chip cookies.  Crispy, chewy, chocolate-y. I can eat a dozen of them all by myself.  In one sitting.  A 5 minute sitting at that.

I'm leaving for Lisbon and Barcelona soon so I decided that I needed to have some snacks for my long flight.  In addition to that, we're having a Holiday cookie bake-off at my work and the prize amount is $100.  I'm looking for the perfect recipe because I *HAVE* to win [please let me know if you've got a recipe that will send me over the top]. Thus, the decision was made that Chocolate Chip Cookies would be in my future [along with anyone who is lucky enough to sit next to me on the plane]. 

I had a lot of options in chocolate chip cookie recipes but I decided to go with Sherry Yard's Dessert by the Yard...mostly because i had all the ingredients and in the appropriate quantities. It was good, but I don't think this is the "winning" recipe.  Not that anyone at work was complaining.  They still polished it off...and asking for more.

Well, i'm packing up my cookies and getting ready to leave for my trip. i'll do my best to update on my trip..in the meantime, adios!

Cheesy Bread

I was fortunate to make it to this year's annual Hollywood Farmer's Market Cookbook sale.  I scored some great books including a full year's worth of 1963 Gourmet Magazine for $5.  I've been flipping through and marking the recipes that I want to make!

Besides my bagel experiment, I've never really made bread before. Due to an unfortunate High School Chem Lab mishap, I've been emotionally traumatized at the prospect of messing with yeast.  As you may have surmised, making bread without yeast is very difficult.  Then I "met" the Sophisticated Gourmet who inspired me to give it a try!

I've discovered that the one thing I love most about making my own bread is the kneading process.  It gives me a chance to zen out.  When I worked an event at the Atlantis, my meeting planner told me that he enjoyed making bread because it was such a soothing process.  Now I understand.

This was the best bread I ever ate.  Not only because i made it with my own two hands but also because the bread is really, really good - nice crusty exterior with a wonderfully chewy interior.  I put about 8 ounces of cheese in but I think it could really stand for some more.  Don't be shy.  Go for it.

Cheese Bread

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

1 package yeast

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup wheat germ

8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

3 1/2 cups sifted flour

melted butter

In a large bowl dissolve sugar and salt in 1 cup boiling water and let cool to lukewarm. Stir in 1 package yeast dissolved in 2 tablespoons lukewarm water.  Add egg, wheat germ, and cheese and gradually beat in flour.  Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth and elastic.  Shape the dough into a ball and put it into a buttered bowl.  

Brush the dough with melted butter, cover it lightly with a damp towel, and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.  

Put the loaf in a buttered bread pan and let it double in bulk again, about 40 minutes.  

Bake the bread in a moderate oven at 350 F for about 40 minutes.  Remove it from the pan to a wire rack and brush the crust with melted butter.  Cool before slicing.