Corn Fritters

Going off the high that is Cheesecake Factory's corn fritters I decided to give Martha Stewart's recipe a try. The fritters came together easily but they were lacking for me. They were more like corn pancakes and I was expecting more of a crunch. They also tasted a little bland; I think some sugar would have given them the taste I was hoping to attain. These are described as being savory but I think a bit of sugar would have given them a nice flavor kick that would have picked up on the natural sweetness of the corn.

Corn Fritters
Source: Martha Stewart (here)

3 ears corn, husks and silk removed (I used canned corn, about 1 cup)
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Remove kernels: Cut off tip of each cob; stand in a wide shallow bowl. With a sharp knife, slice downward to remove kernels. To bowl, add milk, egg, sugar, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix. Fold in cornmeal and flour.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Working in two batches, drop batter into pan by heaping tablespoons. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt; place in oven. Repeat. Keep warm in oven up to 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, if desired.
There won't be a TWD post today. That post will be up later in the week once I decide whose Thanksgiving dinner this dessert will be a part of. Thanksgiving is being celebrated 3 times this week and I am so ready for the turkey feast.

Feeling Lost

I really didn't think I would miss Boston. I thought I would be so happy to be back in Miami that I wouldn't even think about Boston. But, I think about Boston all the time. I don't miss living there and I definitely don't miss the weather mood swings. I find comfort in know that the weather will either be hot or hotter here in Miami. What I do miss about Boston is the dining. I miss not being able to go to our go-to places. If we wanted pizza we always went to Crazy Dough's. If we wanted Chinese we always went to East Ocean City or China Sky. For burgers it was The Met Burger Bar or Abe & Louie's. For Mexican it was Cactus Club. You couldn't get a better breakfast than the one at Mike's Diner. The list goes on. We had our favorite spots for every type of food and there was always comfort in knowing that if we went to those places we would get exactly what we wanted. We haven't been able to find our go-tos here in Miami. I know it takes time to search and find that gem but it sucks when you search and are constantly finding places that aren't really worth your time or tastebuds. So I feel lost. Every time I want something and Alex asks me from where my response is always "well, if we were in Boston I'd know where."

What brought on this sense of feeling lost was going to Sir Pizza. We have driven past this pizza place many times and finally decided to go in and give them a try. Their prices are incredible and hope immediately built up that this would be our go to pizza place. We ordered a cheese pizza and were disappointed. There was nothing special about this pizza. It was a bland pizza. The crust was bland, the sauce was bland, and the cheese was bland. The sauce tasted like tomato paste straight out of a can. Nothing in the pizza made me want to go back. Was it because we ordered a cheese pizza? Would the pizza have been better if it had some kind of topping on it? I mean a cheese pizza is pretty basic and I feel like it's hard to mess up, so is it us or the pizza? Who knows. It seems like the place is pretty popular. It was full of people and is even open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.
I guess the search will just have to continue.

The Cake Slice: Burnt Sugar Cake

I can't believe it's November 20th already. Thanksgiving is next week. December is a blink away. January is steadily creeping on us. February is right around the corner. My due date is in February. Oh my. Let me stop before I start freaking out. Let me focus on today. November 2oth. The Cake Slice posting day. Oh what a day to bake and post a delicious cake. Not just any cake either. A burnt sugar cake. Don't be fooled by the name. Just because the word "burnt" is in its name, it doesn't mean the cake tastes burnt. It's a cake with a pretty golden color and almost a sweet, nutty taste. I quartered the recipe and was able to get 4 single mini cakes (baked for 20 minutes). Like some of the other bakers I was apprehensive about the amount of sugar in the cake and quartering the frosting gave me just enough frosting to frost the middle an tops of my two cakes. I am especially happy about this adjustment because the cake was the perfect amount of sweet.

Burnt Sugar Cake

(Recipe from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott)

For the Cake

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1¾ cups sugar

4 eggs

½ cup Burnt Sugar Syrup (below)

For the Burnt Sugar Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup boiling water

For the Burnt Sugar Frosting

3¾ cups confectioners sugar

½ cup Burnt Sugar Syrup (above)

¼ cup (½ stick) butter

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 – 3 tbsp evaporated milk or normal milk

Method – Burnt Sugar Syrup

Heat the sugar in a cast iron skillet or another heavy bottomed pan with high sides. Heat over a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts into a clear brown caramel syrup. It should be the colour of tea. Gradually add the boiling water, pouring it down the sides of the pan so that if the syrup foams and bubbles up, you should be protected.

Continue cooking, stirring often, until the water combines with the syrup and turns a handsome brown syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Store the cooled syrup in a sealed jar if not using straight away.

Method - Cake

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and stir with a fork to mix well. Stir the vanilla into the milk.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer at high speed for 2 – 3 minutes, until they are well combined. Stop now and then to scrape the bowl down. Add the eggs, one by one, beating well each time. Pour in half a cup of the burnt sugar syrup and beat well. Add a third of the flour mixture and about half of the milk, beating at a low speed, until just incorporated. Mix in another third of the flour and the rest of the milk. Finally, add the remaining flour.

Divide the batter between the cake pans and bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched gently in the centre and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for15 minutes. Turn out the cakes into the wire rack to cool completely.

Method – Burnt Sugar Frosting

In a large bowl, combine the confectioners sugar, the burnt sugar syrup, butter and vanilla. Beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl now and then to bring the ingredients together. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and continue beating until the frosting is thick, soft, smooth and easy to spread. Add a little more sugar if it is thin, and a little more milk if it is too thick.

To Assemble

Place one layer, top side down, on a cake stand or serving plate. Scoop about ¾ cup of the frosting onto the cake. Spread to the edges and place the second cake layer over it, top side down. Frost the sides of the cake, and then the top until it is evenly covered.

Oink Oink

Alex's brother's birthday was last week. His awesome girlfriend planned a surprise birthday luau for him that included hula dancers. Her equally awesome and extremely talented sister made a cake for the party and every time I look at it I laugh. It's just so darn clever:
Doesn't it just fit perfectly with the luau theme? It definitely made me feel like I was back at the Old Lahaina Luau again. The cake was red velvet which made for a slightly disturbing picture when the cake was being cut and served:
I am constantly in awe of the dessert talent out there. People create the most interesting, intriguing, and beautiful things.

TWD: Apple Crisp

A huge apology to Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef. I meant to have this post up yesterday but the truth is that I didn't make the apple crisp until today. Things are getting busier around here with the due date nearing. It also doesn't help that I think my house is having an identity crisis because it keeps breaking down. Our roof is teetering very close to that line that separates the don't-replace with the replace. Our a/c has been having issues for close to 2.5 months and that includes having zero a/c for the past 3 weeks. Being pregnant, not having a/c, and living in Miami is a recipe for disaster. But at least we have a ceiling fan! Our latest issue is a bathroom leak that is pushing a planned bathroom remodel ahead of schedule. So my house is having an identity crisis. Or maybe it's a midlife crisis. My house was built in the 1940s so maybe it's telling us it wants to be young again? I was hoping it would let us have a little bit of a honeymoon period before it started nagging us. My advice is to take your home inspection as a suggestion of the condition of the house and not a statement of facts. My other piece of advice is to make sure to have a separate house repair savings account to cushion you for the inevitable breakdown of things.

So on a day where I alternate between being happy to be a homeowner and being overwhelmed by being a homeowner, apple crisp is the perfect dessert to melt the worries, even if only for a few fleeting minutes. I left out the cranberries and the shredded coconut. I kept things simple because right now I need simple. The result was a crisp that was fulfilling, satisfying, and nurturing. I just love apples and the warmth they bring once baked.
Thanks to Em for a great selection! The recipe is here and while you're looking at it make sure to check out the rest of her blog because it's pretty great. Also, don't forget to head over to the TWD site to see what everyone else baked this week.

A Little Honored

So you might think this is the dumbest post but I can't contain myself. I received an email today regarding a page (go here) created in honor of the M&M cookie. On this page is also a photo gallery of M&M cookies and one of my pictures is there. But that's not the cool part. The cool part is that my picture is there with one of Bakerella's. I'm a HUGE fan of Bakerella so I feel totally honored that my picture is highlighted in a round up of pretty in pink cookies along with one of her pictures. I'm blogger-awestruck. I feel like I just took a picture with a celebrity! Anyway, this is the picture and I'm sorry for the silliness of this post.
And wow, when is the last time I posted twice in one day??

Going Into the Unknown

I'm going to leap and I don't know where I will land, but at least I am taking a chance. At least I will be doing something I enjoy. And in Alex's words at least I'll be doing something that finally makes me happy. Not that I'm not a happy person because my ultimate goal in life is to be happy, but the past few months have been tough on several fronts. I've had to wrestle with feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, and loss of control. I've had to reevaluate life, what it means to me, and where I want it to go. I've had to let go of what I thought I wanted, what I thought should be, and what I expected. I've had to embrace the new, the chaotic, the scary, and the unknown.

I am lucky enough to have a close group of friends that have been nothing but supportive each time I feel the world crumbling around me. They have inspired me and given me renewed hope. They tell me the same things Alex does but for some reason hearing it from someone not as intimately tied to me as Alex makes all the difference and allows me to really hear what they are saying.

Today I have decided to leap into the unknown. To take a chance on something new. Or semi new. You see, I'm going to take something I already do and try to do more with it. My friend Lauren suggested I try to sell cookies for the holiday season. This suggestion was supported by my other friends and was received with ecstatic enthusiasm by Alex. The more researched it the more excited I became. I can do this! I will put all my effort and energy into this and hope for the best. My idea is to start off small and sell M&M cookies with holiday colored M&Ms (I'm still figuring out pricing and quantities). Depending on how that goes I will expand. Alex wants me to become the Cold Stone of cookies and have a base cookie with multiple options for additions. I want to take it slow at first until I adjust and get more comfortable with doing something like this. So wish me luck!

Because I have dreamed of doing something like this for the longest time but was too scared to actually do it, I already had a little name and logo inspired by my precious poodle, Perla, lined up.
I really can't believe I am even attempting to do something like this. I'm scared but also very excited to see where this leads me.

PS TWD post will be up tomorrow! Sorry for the delay.

Pregnancy Talk: Pregnant Not Fat

I have reached a milestone in my pregnancy. Not only is it the whole reaching the third and final (gasp!) trimester thing but it's also the finally looking pregnant thing. I feel pregnant every day. Oh do I feel it. Between the back aches and the not being able to sleep comfortably through the night, I definitely feel pregnant. For the longest time, however, I didn't feel like I actually looked pregnant. Sure, I have gained weight (it's my secret and I will never tell!) but the weight has sat on my body in a way that does not scream "BABY ON THE WAY!" The weight instead has sat on body in way that says "girl, put down that cookie!" But now when I look at myself in the mirror and in pictures the belly looks rounder, more full of baby. And hey, if you look close enough you can see Baby Girl pounding away at my right side. It really is amazing to see the journey your body takes and to see how each passing day confirms the existence of a growing, living person.

This is my most recent picture and I nearly screamed in delight when I saw that I look pregnant:
PS Why is it that when you are pregnant you instantly become a Buddha? I feel I may get carpet burn on belly with all this rubbing. It's like there are magnets on a person's hands that draw those hands to the belly. What is it??

National Bundt Day: Lemon Bundt Cake

Have you been over to The Food Librarian's blog? She has done the most amazing and inspiring thing. She made 30 bundt cakes in 30 days all in celebration and anticipation of National Bundt Day, which is today. Every day I would see her post about a new bundt cake and it was so hard to resist wanting to lick your screen. Seriously, check out this round up post about all the bundt cakes she made. It was also hard to resist not wanting to make a bundt cake yourself! I made a lemon bundt cake with a lemon glaze in a sign of bundt cake love solidarity. The cake was delicious and had just the lemony flavor I was craving.

Lemon Bundt Cake
Source: Taste of Home (here)

Cake
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk (I used 1/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup lemon juice instead)
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
~2 Tbsp lemon juice

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in lemon peel.

Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes longer. Place rack on waxed paper.

Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over the warm cake. Cool completely before serving.

A little bit of drizzle makes the world a better place.

PS This is half of the original recipe. I was able to get 4 mini bundt cakes out of half the recipe. The cakes baked for about 25 minutes.

How I Eat Pumpkin

I wanted to surprise Alex with a special dessert. He loves pumpkin pie but never gets it because I don't like pumpkin pie. I figured I could compromise some and make him a pumpkin cheesecake. I thought the cheesecake would help take away from the pumpkin taste and this would be a dessert I would be able to indulge in too. I made the cake and Alex loved it. I, on the other hand, could do without it. I tried the cheesecake because Alex swore it didn't taste like pumpkin. At first I tried it by itself and then I reverted to my old ways and tried it with lots of whipped cream on it. Without the whipped cream the cake had that taste of pumpkin pie I don't like. I knew if I was going to finish my slice it would need some help. I put so much whipped cream on it that all you tasted was a hint of the pumpkin cheesecake. Don't let me dissuade you from trying this cheesecake though. Alex loved it and it might just be the dessert you need to love pumpkin too.
Deluxe Pumpkin Cheesecake
Source: Culinary Covers who got it from Taste of Home-Thanksgiving (here)

1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (about 20) (I used Dorie's Molasses Spice Cookies)
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
Four 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1. Place a greased 9-inch springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 19 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.
3. For filling, in a large bowl, beat the one package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in remaining cream cheese, one package at a time. Add remaining sugar. Add 2 eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Add vanilla and remaining eggs, beating on low speed just until combined.
4. Place 2 cups filling in a small bowl; stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove 3/4 cup pumpkin filling; set aside. Pour remaining pumpkin filling over crust; top with remaining plain filling. Drop reserved pumpkin filling by spoonfuls over cheesecake; cut through with a knife to swirl.
5. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
6. Garnish with chocolate syrup, caramel sauce, whipped topping and additional crushed gingersnaps if desired.
PS. I quartered the recipe and it was enough for 4 servings. Baking time was about 35 minutes.