alisahuntsman

gingerbread beer cake with bittersweet chocolate glaze

Published on February 16, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsman1 Comment

gingerbread. beer. chocolate… what more does anyone need? mix it all up and bake it in a bundt and trust me, you will not need anything else. i recently entered this recipe in a food52.com contest so wish me luck! you can view the recipe here and use the photos below from the step by step to see what things should look like.

when i know that i need to sift dry ingredients, i place a mesh strainer over a bowl and place all the ingredients to be sifted in it. then i sift it into the batter a portion at a time. the bowl makes it easier to contain and the stuff that falls through the strainer can be dumped in without the hassle of lifting paper…

the two batters in the pan before swirling them

swirling the batters carefully, so that you do not remove the grease/flour layer from the pan, is best done with a small spoon. gently insert the spoon and stir and lift small quantities of batter to marbleize it.

the cake after turning it out of the pan. the hardest part-not cutting into it while it is warm!

drizzle the glaze over the cake in a free form manner for the best look.

and that meeting i took the cake to-this was all that was left; two skinny slices of heaven…so this is in this weeks food52.com contest for your best chocolate and spice. and as always, if you bake one, send me a photo and i will post it here! bake on my friends, bake on…

thali restaurant, decatur

Published on February 15, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

while i enjoyed the rainy weather during my trip to atlanta, i enjoyed the food even better. we ate out every night but only once did we take photos of the food. in decatur, there is a large indian population and judging from the restaurants, many of them are vegetarian. we stopped at one strip center where 3 of the 4 restaurants proclaimed they were vegetarian-indian restaurants. not a problem for us. we walked in to thali restaurant and were seated, handed menus and like a couple of tourists who don’t speak the language-we sat there lost. luckily for us, a nice young man came over and explained to us that we didn’t need to worry, the menu was prix fixe and all the dishes would be chosen by the chef-all we had to do was eat. so, eat we did! and by the way, we have no idea what we ate; we took comfort in the fact that it was vegetarian and that at least it would be plant parts and not critter parts.

a snack to start with-fried crunchy snacks that were a bit spicy when dipped in the sauces

the appetizer platter. i tried it all and i enjoyed it all too

the main course. i loved the breads and the potatoes. the soup and the dal were tasty too, i ate a lot

the third course was beans and rice and sauce. i liked the beans, they were creamy like refried beans but they were probably mung beans and not pintos. our fourth and final course was a scoop of ice cream with saffron, pistachios and fruit-it was tasty. we finished up, paid the check ($37.08 for 2 with a $5 tip!) and we rolled (literally) to the car…had fun and i can’t wait to go back!

mega mart, atlanta=mega amazing!

Published on February 14, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

parents dream of the day that the kids move out and they finally get the house to themselves. then, in the blink of an eye, it happens and parents don’t know what to do with themselves…what you do is you pack a bag and go visit them in their house-you take up space, eat the groceries, watch all the wrong shows, sleep in their bed and complain a lot. just a thought. i recently went to atlanta to visit alix in her new home town. she and i spent a lot of time wandering the shops and one of the best stops was mega mart. the korean community is huge in atlanta, so are many other ethnic asian communities, and the variety of shops that cater to each community is huge! after visiting a bunch of places, mega mart made the biggest impression on me and i look forward to going back to shop there and at another similar store, h mart. between you and me, mega mart has more to offer but h mart has better prices. like tourists in disneyland, we took lots of photos-gotta love the iPhone!

one of the cleanest produce sections i have ever seen and certainly one of the largest as well.

off to one side of the produce section is one of those little walk-in fridge sections that had an amazing selection of noodles, tofu and miso

just look at the different kinds of miso-have you ever seen so many to choose from?

the fresh seafood selection was impressive-so are the prices. amazing what being 8 hours from the gulf can do to prices.

i don’t care what you say, monkfish are ugly. so ugly that they are not at all cute…

grouper-try and find that in nashville

i loved these packages-fish soup kit. all you do is put it in a pot with water and cook-instant fish soup!
providing you like fish soup.

for those of you not likely to purchase a whole fish, no problem. they had the largest selection of cut/cleaned fish i have ever seen in a grocery store.

no trip to the market is complete without checking the bakery case.

gorgeous cakes!

the rest of the store looked like this aisle. wide, neat and clean. can’t wait to go back. i will share more of my trip to atlanta-i did plenty of eating there too!

baking with julia: white loaves

Published on February 7, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsman7 Comments

way back when, at the beginning of my blogging days, i discovered the tuesdays with dorie group. they were hard at work on their mission to bake every recipe from baking: from my home to yours and they did. just before christmas, they posted their final challenge. and then the whole bunch of them found themselves with a little time on their hands-whatever would they do with tuesdays? luckily for everyone, and folks like me who missed out on the first run, the decision was made to do it again but this time with julia child too.

in 1996, dorie greenspan wrote the companion book to the julia child pbs series, baking with julia. it is a large book with wonderful photos, many of which are step by step process shots, that give the user a complete idea of what things should look like as you prepare the recipe. as a cookbook author, and more importantly a cookbook user, those are the most important parts of a recipe. nothing is worse than choosing a recipe that is new to you, it includes unfamiliar techniques and absolutely no photos. frustrating!!!

having borrowed the book from a friend long ago, it was always on my wish list but as a mom (with 2 kids) the priority list always placed the book way down near the bottom. then, several years ago, my mom and i were wandering through a flea market in saylorsburg, pa and i happened to see it lying on a blanket with several other cookbooks. i immediately snatched it and when i saw the $3 price tag, yes $3, i nearly yelled out and did a stupid fist pump. however, i contained myself and just paid the nice lady and quickly wandered off before she realized what she just sold me and how much she should have asked me to pay. needless to say, i have enjoyed using the book. and now, i get to use every recipe in it, something i have never done with a cookbook before.

so, the way this works, we will post the results on tuesdays, every other tuesday to be exact but in respect for cookbook authors, the members will not post the recipes-only the host will do that. we want you to buy a book and keep cookbook authors and publishers working. you can check the tuesdays with dorie website to see what the next challenge is and follow the links to see the results of all of the participants.

with my baking assistant, twitch, i got to work on my bread loaves

white loaves

allowing the yeast to activate in warm water with sugar

the kneaded dough rising in my kitchen

after shaping the loaves, they rise until they are just above the tops of the pans

warm from the oven….nothing comes close to the aroma of bread, warm from the oven

quite possibly the best loaf of white bread i have ever made. it made incredible sandwiches and toast too.

what a great way to start the challenge. the technique of adding soft butter to a dough that is already mixed is a little different but experienced bakers will recall that brioche is mixed in the same manner. this step makes the mixing process a little nervewracking but the results are amazing. so follow the links and see the results of all the participants then buy the book and make some bread!

what are we baking next??? i has cookbook, i will bake kitty treats…

tangzhong style bread, wishful thinking and bread baking day #46

Published on January 19, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsman2 Comments

it has been way too long since i participated in a bread baking day challenge. each month, a host is selected and a theme is announced. this month, the challenge is being hosted by noor of ya salam cooking and when i read it, i couldn’t wait to bake a loaf of bread. i know, what a party animal; she bakes bread for fun. no really, i am but the theme for this month is to bake a loaf of bread from a place you would like to visit. so if you want to go to france, bake a croissant. if you want to go to italy, bake a loaf of pannetone. you get the idea, i know you do. so did i and i finally had a reason to try the recipe i had bookmarked for tangzhong bread. tang-what? it is the most unusual bread technique i have encountered and it comes from a place i hope to visit some day; china. the technique is credited to a chinese woman, yvonne chen, who wrote a book titled 65c bread doctor. in this book the technique of making a “water roux” starter is demonstrated. while the technique is attributed to the chinese, it is apparently very popular in japan too. so either way, my bread is a nod to a place i would like to visit, and if somebody wants to buy me a ticket, i’ll go to either china or japan, i’m not that picky!

i discovered the technique by accident. i was trying to find a conversion table for ingredients so that i could convert a recipe in ounces to grams when i stumbled upon the website christens recipes. while looking at some of her recipes, i found the tangzhong recipes and bookmarked the page for a day when i had the time to test the recipe. for all of you that know me, you know that i can bake-i do it for a living but bread is not my specialty and as much as i have worked with bread, it still intimidates me. well, after making two loaves with this technique, i may not ever be scared again!

my first batch of tanzhong bread, hokkaido milk bread using the recipe

found on kirbie cravings

my second batch was a multi grain loaf from une-deux senses

look at the beautiful crumb of this bread! so light and moist and easy to slice. wait until the next day and you will get picture perfect slices-no one will believe you made this at home! the best part, no chemicals, no stabilizers or conditioners and nothing artificial! the extra boost in moisture from the tangzhong helps to keep the bread fresh. the only thing i would suggest, if you do not like your bread to taste sweet, cut the sugar. for the multi grain loaf, i reduced it from 3 tablespoons to 2 and i like it much better than the white loaf. the white loaf is still very good, just not my first choice for a savory sandwich but i bet it would make great french toast!

the two loaves side by side. i will make this again and i hope to find the book someday-reading it will be a challenge though…

since there are several important steps to take when making this style of bread, i am not printing the recipes here but rather including the links to the websites i used. on all of these pages, you will find valuable information along with detailed step by step photos that would do so much better than anything i could post here so i encourage you to use these sites and make a batch of wonderful bread!

kirbie cravings-milk bread
une deux sensés-multi grain bread
christine’s recipes-bacon and cheese bread
65c bread doctor by yvonne chen

a big thanks to noor for such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. feeling brave, bake a loaf and head over to ya salam cooking and join in on the fun!

lemon-lime cheesecake muffins

Published on January 18, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsman1 Comment

citrus fruits are at their peak during the dreary months of winter. many desserts made around this time of year are flavored with lemons, limes and oranges. but there is something comforting about cheesecakes and pairing it with lemons and limes makes these little muffins an irresistible treat.

quick and easy to mix up, you will have many little treats in no time. i doubled the recipe and you can too if you want more than a dozen.

fresh from the oven. the topping sinks during the baking and creates a pocket of rich citrusy cheesecake filling

remove them from the pan after 10 minutes or they will be soggy on the bottom.

now brew a cup of tea or coffee and indulge! this is my entry into the food52.com contest of the week and you can use my original recipe by viewing it here. and if you do, send me a photo, i will post it here!

anadama bread with walnuts and sage

Published on January 6, 2012November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

since the 52 week pie challenge ended, i have been asked what i will do next on this page. now that the holiday season has ended, i can give that some thought. my plan? not much actually. i am going to try and participate with the group that will be baking their way through the book baking with julia by dorie greenspan. you may remember that the group was baking their way through dories book, baking: from my home to yours and posting every tuesday; they called themselves “tuesdays with dorie“. next month they plan to start baking with julia and dorie and since i have the book, i hope to join them. in the mean time, i am bumbling around in the kitchen with cats underfoot and a husband hoping for treats. i have also taken the time to explore other sites such as food52.com and this week, my post is a recipe that i entered into a contest on the site.

with a theme of walnut-sage, i knew it had to be bread. right now, sage is one of the few herbs still available in my garden and with that in mind, i decided to make a batch of bread. after searching, i settled on anadama bread and finally chose a recipe from peter reinharts book, the bread baker’s apprentice. there is a group that blogged their way through his book and this recipe was featured on the blog, brown eyed baker. what i love about the recipe is all of the information that comes with it. the bloggers also did a great job of posting lots of step by step photos so that i could look at several sites and see whether or not i was doing things correctly. this recipe is also one that is easily manipulated and the few changes i made did not cause any trouble!

one of the first things i did was to pick a cornmeal. sounds difficult doesn’t it? well if you are me and you have 4 different ones to choose from (not including the cornmeal masa) it can be. my selection was brinsers best roasted yellow cornmeal. it is a golden yellow color with a slightly toasted flavor.

to make the soaker, boiling water is added to the cornmeal and it is allowed to sit out overnight. now you can see the color difference that the roasting adds, can you imagine the flavor?

the soaker is added to a sponge and this is allowed to age for an hour or two.

fresh picked sage leaves from the garden

the sponge is now ready to be kneaded into bread

toasted walnuts added along with the sage

ten minutes of kneading and now we wait…90 minutes later, loaves are ready to proof!

mmmmmmmm………

looks wonderful and it made fantastic blt’s! we used a recipe for tempeh bacon from happy healthy life, picked some lettuce and arugula from the hoop garden and made blt’s with avocado. let’s just say that dinner was fabulous! as a cookbook author, i understand the need for people to buy books so i will not post the recipe again here but you can look at it on the brown eyed baker’s blog or read my version here.

and just because i am done with pies doesn’t mean i don’t want to hear from you! make it and send me a photo, i will post it here!!!

greek style zucchini pancakes

Published on December 19, 2011November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

not having to make a pie each week has left me searching for something to do. who wants to clean the house or do laundry? me neither!!! so i jumped at the chance to participate in a community pick recipe test on food52.com. my choice was the greek style zucchini pancakes. zucchini is one of my favorite things from the garden and i miss it now that winter has arrived. luckily, my herbs were still growing and i had plenty of mint, parsley and chinese leeks. the recipe calls for chives but chinese leeks are so similar in appearance and while they have a hint of garlic in the flavor, they are a great substitution.

mint on the left, leeks in the middle and flat parsley on the right. with the cold temperatures, these herbs are still producing and are not sending out flowers. we also have some oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary out there too.

the directions called for grating the zucchini, placing it in a colander lined with cheesecloth and then salting it to draw out the moisture. when i did this, i could hear a sizzling/bubbling noise and it was amazing how much liquid i was able to squeeze out. i was skeptical that what started out as nearly 5 cups of grated zucchini would eventually end up as two cups but it did. just look at all of that green juice!

the recipe was very simple to follow even with a typo; the ingredient list called for baking powder but the instructions referenced baking soda. a quick email to the author fixed that-use baking powder! hopefully she has fixed that on the site at well.

to save time, i used a small portions scoop-#50 to be exact. it helped me get a consistent size and the recipe stated i would get 24 small pancakes and i got exactly that-24. my old paella pan gets a frequent work out and it was perfect for frying these pancakes.

greek style zucchini pancakes

recipe #14816 from food.52.com, member dymnyno

Makes 12-3 inch pancakes, or 24 bite sized pancakes

2 pounds green zucchini, 2 cups aftergrating and squeezing as much moisture as possible
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons chives, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest(finely zested)
4 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
olive oil for frying pancakes

using the large holes on a box grater, shred the zucchini. line a colander with cheese cloth and put the zucchini in the colander. sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt and toss the zucchini. try to extract as much liquid as you can from the shredded zucchini. pick up the cheesecloth and wring as much more as you can until you feel the zucchini is pretty dry. add the herbs, pepper flakes and zest and mix. add the flour and baking powder and eggs and mix. pour a very thin layer of olive oil into a frying pan and heat over medium high heat. using a tablespoon, scoop a heaping spoonful into the pan and flatten the top a little. this should make a 3 inch patty. repeat until the pan is full. fry until a nice brown and flip and cook the other side. for bite sized appetizers, use a teaspoon. set aside on paper towels and finish the rest of the pancakes.

serve alone or with your favorite yogurt (Greek, of course). The sauce should be very simple, like just with some lemon zest or chives, because there are so many flavors going on in the pancakes.

almond butter hummus with kale chips

Published on December 18, 2011November 18, 2014 by alisahuntsmanLeave a comment

has it really been a month since the pie challenge ended? wow-time flew! while i have been contemplating my next project, i have allowed myself to be totally sucked into the holiday madness. the husband and i have both been busy with work-him way more than me, such is the life of the executive banquet chef for a university. that has left me at home alone for more than a few meals. when i am left to cook for myself, you can be pretty sure that it will not be an elaborate meal and it will most likely be vegetarian and quite possibly vegan.

lately, without our girls at home(both are living elsewhere right now), we have taken to purchasing more organic produce and are shifting our diet towards less meat laden meals. as i have mentioned before, i have had a few blood tests come back with higher than normal levels of cholesterol. thankfully, the highest number so far has been less than 220 but that doesn’t mean i shouldn’t be concerned. a diet change that eliminated many dairy products has helped me get that number back down below 200 and i hope to keep it there.

my recent obsession with the cookbook, appetite for reduction has given me a new weapon for my arsenal too. that book is chock full of great vegan recipes that even a carnivore can find satisfying-providing they eat veggies, beans and grains. while i do not plan to make the leap to a vegan diet, i am happy to say that i can easily eat vegan meals and not feel deprived. darry is also learning to enjoy some of these changes and he recently experimented with some organic kale chips, a tasty addition to my favorite meal for one, hummus on crusty bread. and before you say “hummus, how boring” keep in mind that i never do anything boring-of course i have changed it up a bit! i am not a huge fan of tahini; it tastes a little bitter to me and the level of saturated fat is high enough to cause me to think twice before consuming it. so a thought occurred to me, what if i used unsweetened almond butter instead? wow!!! what a concept and what a difference-i am sold and will probably never reach for tahini again!

almond butter hummus with kale chips

yields about 1 1/2 cups hummus

1 (15oz) can of chick peas

4 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter

2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

salt-if desired

kale chips-purchase or home made (great recipe here)

baguette slices or other bread

drain the chickpeas but reserve the juice. place all of the remaining ingredients into the bowl of a food processor with the drained chickpeas and pulse to combine. scrape the bowl and run until it is smooth adding the reserved liquid as needed to reach the desired consistency.

to serve, top each of the baguette slices with a tablespoon or two of the hummus and top it off with a kale chip. enjoy!!!

and if you would like to try this out, please do and remember that the pies are no longer the focus here but the power of pies will always be with me…