Like Strawberry Wine...

The blog has taken a hit this year – I haven’t been writing nearly as much and there are several factors at play.  First, I’ve been thinking a lot about my next moves for Bakeri.  The trademark should (knock-on-wood) be going through any day now, and there is potential for my products to be sold at a venue I frequent on the regular, so that would be really cool.  But more details on all of that as I know more…

Next, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to survive this race.  Ha.  I’ll make it through, of course, but this is definitely one of the biggest physical challenges I've placed on myself, possibly ever.  Well, there was this moment in New Zealand a couple years ago:

But that was quick – it was like, “Ok, are you going to do this or no?  What the f*@!, just do it – it’s New Zealand!!”  And it was amaazzzing.  I’m sure the relay will be as well and I really can’t wait for it, but it has definitely been at least a partial cause of my lack of sleep.  I wake up early and run, then come home from work and go to pilates.  Of course then I still try to be out and about having fun as much as possible – I mean, a lady needs a social life, right?!  And oh yeah, time to cook and bake too.  It’s been rough!  Assuming I manage to keep it all in check, it’s worth every minute of stress and exhaustion. 

All excuses aside though – let’s get to the cooking I did manage to do last weekend…

So who doesn’t love a big tender meatball?  I know this girl certainly does.  And ahem, I’m talking about chicken, people!

Summer’s coming (someday), and like it or not, that means less clothing, which means I start looking for more lean protein, low(er) carb meals.  I’ve made these meatballs a few times now and they have yet to get old.  First you sear them for a good crust, then you bake them in a basic marinara sauce topped with cheese.  The flavor comes mainly from the seasonings in the meatballs themselves, rather than the sauce, and that isn’t always the case with meatball recipes.  It means they taste great when they are first served.  However, the next day when you go back for more, the sauce has seeped into them and added even more flavor…basically you just can’t go wrong with this recipe.

You could definitely use whatever type of ground meat you like, or a mixture, but so far I’ve only used turkey and chicken and I like that they aren’t as heavy as beef.  Also, for added lightness, you could follow my lead and just omit the cream from the sauce altogether.  Sure, it adds richness and mellows out the acidity of the tomatoes, but in my opinion it’s just unnecessary fat and calories.  Other than that, I pretty much stuck to the recipe on this one, with the exception of increasing the herbs and crushed pepper a bit, as well as adding about 1 tsp. of dried oregano to the sauce. 

Of course you can serve these over pasta or as a sub, but if you wish to keep it a “light” meal, I often either eat the meatballs on their own, or over some spaghetti squash, which is a great low carb alternative.   Pick your poison and enjoy! 

After almost 2 ½ years of sending baked goods overseas, it’s difficult to come up with something I know will be delicious, but that I haven’t already sent.  I flag tons of recipes to try out, but a lot of them likely wouldn’t survive the shipping (those brownies last month were definitely a risk!).  This time I decided to go with my old trusty White Chocolate Cranberry cookies (Road Cookies) , but with a twist to make them new again…

I omitted the cranberries and instead added both milk and dark chocolate chips to the white.  I left out the nutmeg, but included ¼ tsp of the cinnamon for that warm “Mexican chocolate” touch.  I think they turned out great….in fact, I may make them a new staple on www.bakeridc.com.  I just hope my guy this month likes chocolate!

I have a couple new scone recipes churning in my head – next month I may have to go that route – stay tuned….

*Also, if you feel so inclined, I have a feeling some chopped up bacon would taste absolutely amazing in these!

Grab a spoon.  Yes, a spoon.  These brownies are probably the most chocolaty and decadent, and definitely the gooiest, that I have ever had.  I am generally a brownie purist – no chips, no nuts, no chunks of any kind…however adding a layer of delicious caramel in the middle?  Bring it.

They are in fact so gooey, that I had to remove all the edge pieces first, then use a super thin spatula to even get the others off the parchment paper without them completely just falling apart into a big blob of goo.  Not that that would be a bad thing if I was just eating them myself, but I had to ship these out!  I am just crossing my fingers that they arrive in Afghanistan in some semblance of the proper brownie shape.  I did forewarn the recipient that he may just need to attack them with a spoon….preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For those who may not be familiar with dulce de leche, it is basically just caramel, but made a little differently – you can make it by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for several hours (and hours and hours).  Open the can, and voilà – caramel!  However, I took the easy route and found this in the Latin/Hispanic section at the grocery store.

These may be a mess (and maybe I used more caramel than I should have – oops!), but they are a mess that is 110% worth it.  Make them - you can thank me later.

*You could always try with this pan too – maybe that would help: Edge Brownie Pan

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker (www.browneyedbaker.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
11 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used dark chocolate chips)
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup dulce de leche

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a glass or light-colored metal 9x13-inch pan. Line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper, and butter the parchment; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cocoa powder; set aside.

3. Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water, and stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and combined. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water of the double boiler, and add both sugars. Whisk until completely combined and remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be at room temperature.

4. Add three eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until just combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage, or your brownies will be cakey.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate. Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until there is just a trace amount of the flour mixture still visible.

6. Pour half of the brownie mixture into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Drizzle about ¾ cup of the dulce de leche over the brownie layer in a zigzag pattern, making sure the dulce de leche doesn't come in contact with the edges of the pan or it will burn. Use an offset spatula to spread the dulce de leche evenly across the brownie layer, leaving about a ½-inch border around the edges. In heaping spoonfuls, scoop the rest of the brownie batter over the caramel layer. Smooth the brownie batter gently to cover the dulce de leche layer.

7. Bake the brownies for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, and check to make sure the brownies are completely done by sticking a toothpick into the center of the pan. The brownies are done when the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove the brownies from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack; allow to cool completely to room temperature before cutting and serving. The brownies can be stored, tight wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

First and foremost, it’s time to applaud the 100^th post on my blog!  Whoot whoot!  To celebrate, I went to Canada and ate a lot.  Ha.  Not really, but the timing matches up….  Anyway, thanks to all 1, 2 or come on, perhaps maybe 3?? of you avid readers.  I truly appreciate every single second you spend reading, or even just taking a gander, at my little corner of the internet.  Over the past few years, when I’ve gone out to a new restaurant, or I’ve cooked after work to blow off steam,  when I’ve been off traveling (and therefore eating a ton), or just have taken to the kitchen on a lazy Sunday, sitting down and writing my posts has brought me such gratification.  It’s therapeutic for me and I hope there’s a least one person who has enjoyed each entry.  A couple stats before diving into my latest Canadian adventure…not too shabby:

Total pageviews:  8,865

Most popular recipe post:  Ma! The Meatloaf! – 11/21/11

Least popular recipe post:  Homemade Falafel & Yogurt Sauce – 6/7/11

Most popular restaurant review:  Thai X-ing – 10/23/12

Least popular restaurant review:  Dinner with Spike – 6/22/10

Top 10 countries reached in the last month:
United States, Russia, China, Germany, India, Canada, Australia, France, Ukraine, Netherlands

Ok – where to begin on Montreal…  From bagels to poutine to an amazing steak – I definitely ate very well.  But first, have you ever been there?  I hadn’t, though I’d been talking about it with friends for years.  It’s so easy to get to – a quick 1.5 hour flight from DCA and you’re in a mini-Paris.  Paris without the attitude (seriously, everyone can agree that Canadians are some of the nicest, right?).  Quebec is a French-speaking state, though 99% of the people we encountered all spoke nearly perfect English as well.  I highly recommend a trip North, but wait until summer…our 22 degree day with steady snow was the warmest, by about 30 degrees!

Despite the cold, we still managed to pack a lot into a long weekend.  We ate at a fancy restaurant, went to a museum, checked out some of the hot new bars, ate the famous smoked meat, ate both of the famous bagels (Montreal Bagels), shopped in the underground city, and of course, took in a hockey game.  In between all of that we had café au laits and drank wine, wine and more wine.  It was a blast and I can’t wait to go back.  I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

This is a must try - great ambiance, amazing food! Joe Beef

Famous Bagels - Part 1

Famous Bagels - Part 2 (try the pesto cream cheese!)

Adorable cafe where we warmed up with a couple bottles of wine!

French Onion Soup - always hits the spot

Cheese and Fruit Plate - to go with the wine, of course!

Famous Smoked Meat and home of Montreal Steak Seasoning!

Mmmm, beefy.

Live well, love well and eat well, my friends.  Skål! Santé! L’chaim! Salud! Prost! CHEERS!