Dessert Fail

After two failed dessert attempts it was going to take something truly delicious to make me feel as if I have been saved from my slump. Thankfully baby artichokes were cheap at Trader Joe's and something delicious would come easily with them, but we will get to that later. First, about my failed desserts... One of those failed treats was Aunt Pearl's recipe for a 4 minute brownie pie. I like pie, I like brownies and I like anything that is only going to take me 4 minutes so it sounded like a winner. Unfortunately the recipe was a little vague at best and what I ended up with was not really a brownie or a pie or anything at all edible for that matter. But no worries, after pulling the disaster out of the oven it was immediately clear to me what crucial part of the recipe must have been missing and I will be trying it again very soon, but this time with stories of deliciousness and beautiful pictures.

The other recipe that went bad was an old favorite I have made many times- a vegan chocolate chip cookie that is just to die for. But I think the cookie hates the hot weather as much as I do... the heat melted my coconut oil and everything sort of went down hill from there.

Both of these were going to be served at a lunch time pot luck/play date for Ally that I was hosting during the week. And as luck would have it, that didn't turn out either! The day before the pot luck almost every single person canceled for one reason or another and one just did not show up. But this sad story does have a happy ending. One person did show up with her little boy and he and Ally had a great time. We talked and since she does not like chocolate, neither of my failed desserts would be missed. Good coffee and good conversation was exactly what I ended up needing anyway.

And because I cannot leave you empty handed and I seem to be better at making dinners than desserts, here is a quick dinner idea for baby artichokes...

6 baby artichokes with the outer leaves pulled off, the top 1/2 inch cut off and quartered
1 lemon
a bowl of water
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
18oz can diced tomatoes with herbs
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water or broth
1 tsp rosemary, fresh or dried
salt and pepper

as you prep the artichokes, place them in the bowl of water with the lemon. In a large saute pan saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and saute one more minute. Add in the artichokes and tomatoes. Simmer until the tomatoes soften. Add in the wine and deglaze the pan, then add the water, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the artichokes are soft and the sauce is thickened and fragrant. Serve with crusty bread or over pasta.

serves 4

The Magic Lemon Pie

With my first practice "party" I had anticipated every single little thing and it went off without a hitch. I was so happy with the results that I asked over another couple for dinner without a moments hesitation! However I have now learned that having people over for dinner is not really the same thing as a small get together of ladies. For a first dinner party I think I did well and I certainly did Aunt Pearl justice with her fantastic lemon pie! But there are definitely a few things I will keep in mind for next time...

I made these dinner party plans with an acquaintance that Will met at work and I had never met him before. I decided to make a lasagna with freshly made noodles, something I had done many times before, some artichokes, a salad and bread with rosemary lemon butter. It sounded yummy, easy and perfect to please a crowd! Unfortunately the week leading up to my dinner party was horribly hot. This sounds like it has nothing to do with the party but it really affected the way I planned. I was so hot and miserable in my AC-less house that it took me days to get the house in order and then I waited until the last minute to cook anything because I didn't want to turn the oven on! So the day that my guests were supposed to arrive I was left cleaning last minute things, rolling out pasta dough and making the lasagna, making the lemon pie, the salad, the butter, the artichokes and then getting myself ready... by the time my guests were at the door (and Will was still driving home) I was pooped! I put on my best smiley face and greeted them. We sat around and made small talk and thank goodness Will walked in the door just as I put the artichokes on the table. I am so thankful for that delicious wine that really pepped me up or I might have been the most boring hostess of all time.

So lesson learned, do things ahead of time, plan plan plan, and if at all possible make sure to have someone able to be with your guests while you inevitably will have to be fiddling in the kitchen. But all in all not a terrible first try for a young house wife! Plus, a good dessert always seems to magically save any evening. It gives everyone something to ooh and ahh over.

In this case it was Aunt Pearl's lemon meringue pie. It was delightfully easy to make and I really loved the tartness that offset the heat of the day.

how to make a meringue...
place 3-4 egg whites in a bowl. Begin to whip up the whites using an electric mixer on high until the whites begin to form soft peaks. At this point add in about 1/4 cup of fine sugar and continue to beat until the whites form very stiff peaks. Some people add cornstarch and this helps to hold it all together but I do not always have it on hand and I find that you don't always need it.

For the Lemon pie...

1 can sweetened condensed milk
lemon zest of 1 lemon
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup lemon juice
pinch of salt

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mix ingredients in order given and beat well. Pour uncooked into baked pie shell. Cover with meringue piled high and in peaks. Bake in moderate oven (250 to 300) for about 15 minutes or until meringue has browned.

I found it better served right away than if you prepare it a couple days ahead of time.

Aunt Pearl called this one "Magic Lemon Pie" and it really was! It was ready in no time at all and didn't give me any trouble. Everyone really enjoyed it and I can see how it would pair nicely with almost any summer dinner. Personally I enjoyed it frozen the next day during another very hot summer afternoon! A little tip, I found it took me about 4 large lemons to get the 1/2 cup of lemon juice.

I wish I had gotten pictures but all i can give you now would be a picture of an empty pie plate with a few crumbs! I will not be so forgetful with my next recipe which will be here very soon! A true glutton for punishment I am hosting another get together tomorrow. This one is a small lunch time pot luck that I am very much looking forward to becuase it will double as a play date for Ally! I cannot decide if I would like to make an old favorite recipe for cookies or a chocolate pie... why not both?! ;)

A Summer Salad

Getting ready to have people over has left me with a couple nights where cooking is the last thing I feel like doing! After all of the cleaning and chasing Ally all around, standing over a hot stove is just sounds kind of... ick. So the other night when it had been an especially hot day I thought a salad might make a good dinner. But how to make a salad into a meal fit for a big man? It turns out I did quite well and I loved the recipe so much I thought I would share it! This is not an Aunt Pearl recipe, but a quickly thrown together Jasmine recipe, and we have a lemon meringue pie from aunt Pearl coming soon. ;)

The salad was a giant mound made up of all sorts of shredded lettuce, feta cheese, chunks of chicken breast, cucumbers, tomatoes, and black olives. To make a dressing I blended feta cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, a small bit of agave nectar (honey would also work) and some salt and pepper. The dressing was thick and creamy and just delicious with the chicken and other ingredients! All together it was surprisingly filling, however I am a girl who likes her bread so I felt like it needed a little bread on the side. I warmed up a half a loaf of french bread and to jazz it up I put together a little whipped butter...

Lemon Rosemary Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp lemon juice
a little lemon zest
pinch of salt

soften the butter and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend with an electric mixer until it is all mixed well and the butter is "whipped" looking. I served it by placing all of the butter into a heart shaped cookie cutter on a plate. Slowly lift up the cookie cutter and you are left with heart butter! :) What a way to show your sweetie some love.

I wish I had taken some pictures but hunger got the better of us and we dove right in to eating before I thought of a camera. The butter was just delicious and really went with the tart flavor of my dressing on the salad. All in all, very refreshing and very easy! Plus, no standing over a hot stove which was the goal all along.

effortless darlings, effortless...

Betty Crocker said that to have any successful gathering of friends you must make your effort to put the party together look, well... effortless! I was feeling like I had accomplished just that as the first girl to arrive to my "coffee break" walked in the door. On the dining room table I had casually laid out the desserts and cakes, strawberries with freshly whipped cream, coffee freshly pressed in my red coffee press and all of the coffee fixings. The rest of my house was pristinely clean, Ally had just laid down for a nap and I was all dolled up in that special kind of way where you look like you actually didn't doll yourself up but in reality it took you a couple hours to get ready. There were chairs in a circle in the living room and toys waiting to be played with for the toddlers. All in all it looked cozy, casual and effortless.

In order to achieve this special kind of effortlessness, I planned ahead exactly one week. On day 1 I planned the menu I would be serving for the small get together and invited guests. Day 2 was dedicated to the shopping. I do not put anything in my coffee so I knew I would have to buy little packets of sugar and we would need cream. Day 3 was too soon to do any real getting ready, but I put together my game plan and did laundry and other such normal things all the way through day 4. Day 5 was baking day. I spent the entire day baking aunt Pearl's apple cake, angel food cake, and my own dark chocolate brownies. The kitchen was a wreck... Day 6 I scrubbed the house from top to bottom. Shelves got un-cluttered, laundry was all put away, the floors were cleaned and everything was put in it's place... and then I spent the rest of the day chasing after Ally as she reverted it all back to disarray. This literally took me all day and by the time she went to bed I was pooped. Day 7, the day of this small get together, I quickly got myself ready, fed the baby and got her cleaned up, tried to clean up the messes she had already managed to make, set everything up and anticipated anything else I might need to put out, cleaned the floors one more time, put out the dog, put the kettle on for coffee and tea and ta da! It is time for people to arrive. Looking effortless took a lot of effort.

Thankfully, Aunt Pearl's cakes were less effort and more fun. This time I was prepared so when the recipe's procedure simple read: "bake for one hour" with absolutely no further instruction, I took all of my previous knowledge of cake baking and was able to fill in the many blank spaces. I liked this cake for its denseness and the fruit and nuts in it. It reminded me of something you would eat for breakfast alongside a big mug of coffee and the paper. Very similar to my own mom's banana bread recipe that we have all used and loved for years. Here is the original recipe. I substituted pecans for walnuts because they are cheaper and I used golden raisins because they were all I had in the pantry.

Apple Sauce Cake

1/2 cup lard
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 cup pecans
4 Tbsp hot water
1 tsp soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup raisins

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Bake one hour.

I know what you are thinking... lard?! So let me answer your question now: no I did not substitute the lard. It was one of the things that made this recipe intriguing and I found that lard sells quite cheap in the baking aisle at Stater Bros. :)

The other cake was a light and flavorful angel food cake. I followed the recipe exactly; even the part where it said to beat the eggs "long and hard". I have a ridiculously juvenile brain and this made me laugh for a long time. Whoo Aunt Pearl, get it girl! I served it with strawberries and the fresh whipped cream and made a little strawberry shortcake. This one is my favorite so far.

Angel Food Cake

6 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 Tbsp orange juice
2 cups flour (I used super fine cake flour)
1 tsp vanilla
(I also added a couple Tbsp of blood orange olive oil from the Temecula Olive Company for the orange flavor)

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Beat egg yolks with 1 cup of sugar, beat long and hard. Then add flour with orange juice. Beat whites with other cup of sugar, fold into yolks, add vanilla.

put in cold oven and bake one hour in ungreased pan.

All in all my effortless coffee party went off without a hitch. Everyone ate and talked and the kids played sweetly between us. Now I wonder if I am ready for the dinner party I have set myself up for on Friday?!

chocolate cake!

I sat cross-legged on the floor and gently laid out every single recipe card, reading them and marveling out loud at some of the ingredients or techniques. Naturally, as I read aloud the names of the recipes, I decided the very first one I would have to try would be the chocolate cake and the chocolate frosting. I have made plenty of chocolate cakes in the past and had images of myself wearing an apron and pulling out a beautiful cake then setting it on the counter with a freshly lipsticked smile... yes well that would have been nice but I think Aunt Pearl had other plans.

The recipes for the chocolate cake and frosting are type-written on yellowed, brittle pieces of paper and it became painfully obvious that they were written for someone who was already familiar with the recipe and did not need much direction. Certain key parts of the recipe were missing... things you kind of need to know, like the measurements of the amount of chocolate you will be using, the temperature of the oven and the order in which you should add the ingredients. But I smiled as I pulled out my mixing bowls and wooden spoons anyway. My counters were clean, my hair was pulled back and I was feeling good!

Now fast forward about 30 minutes and you will find my hair disheveled and laying over my shoulder, the front of me is splattered with flour and batter and I am not smiling. For starters, I have no idea what the recipe means by "4 squares of chocolate" because the size of a square will be completely different depending on what chocolate you buy. So I guessed, and I also guessed that by "sweet milk" she meant sweetened condensed milk and just crossing my fingers that this was correct. But the real trouble came when I got to the frosting. The recipe reads like this:

3 squares chocolate
12 marshmallows
1/4 cup water
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp butter

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melt the marshmallows on fire slowly, add 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar to above mixture, also vanilla.

The first problem came when I looked at the ingredients and made my grocery list. After returning home I noticed the elusive "confectioners sugar" that sneaks up on you in the procedure. I didn't have any so I decided to blend regular sugar in the blender to make powdered sugar... it sounded easy when I said it in my head. I'm all for doing things by hand but I recommend just going to the store and buying it. The second problem came when I melted the marshmallows, unsure of the size of the kind she was using, and then started to add the rest of the ingredients. Somehow after all of the work I went through to get it, I forgot the powdered sugar! So my frosting looked... well not like frosting at all. I was getting really frustrated and was about to eat the cake without frosting when I realized what I had done and added in the sugar.

The end result? Well let's just say I didn't invite anyone over to share it with me. My "powdered sugar" was still too grainy and made a gritty frosting and I think I over-mixed my cake batter because I ended up with a dense brownie like cake instead of the fluffy chocolate cake I was hoping for. But the good news is I realized that Aunt Pearl knew what she was doing and I can't just mindlessly follow the typed words; I will actually have to think about what I am doing! The challenge gives me a little thrill and I have already picked my next 2 recipes for a small group of girls I will be inviting over for coffee.

Even though the first recipe wasn't exactly a success, I still enjoyed my results! It is exciting to cook from something other than a glossy cookbook. I can almost taste a certain personality in this recipe that you don't find in generic Food Network recipes. What the personality is I am not quite sure of yet, but maybe the next few cakes will reveal it to me! And once I have mastered the sweet stuff... it is on to some of these barely legible, strange dinner recipes I have never heard of. Recipes with things like "from Mary" or with small grocery lists written at the top of them.

Bring it on Aunt Pearl!

Mrs. Housewife

Make your party seem effortless. The best way to keep up with the Jonses' is to not try. This and other advice can be found in a small worn first edition copy of "Easy Entertaining", a book written by Betty Crocker herself. It is with this book and a handful of yellowed, type-written recipes from my Aunt Pearl that I embark on my newest journey: marriage.

My Great Great Aunt Pearl, from what I have heard for I never did meet her, was the classic sweet little old lady who wore aprons and made delicious hand-made food. Basically she embodied everything I ever wanted to be once I got hitched and became a real Mrs. She was born in 1903 and died in 2007. Her hand written and typed recipes were given to me as a wedding present and I am sure that the person who gave me the gift has no real idea of how much this really meant to me. Along with this I also received some very old and worn cook books that I have nestled between two blue mason jars on my counter. I read the book about entertaining from cover to cover on my honeymoon and declared that I feel it is time for some of the 50's to make a comeback.

I will be cooking from these books and recipe cards and reporting back here so that you too can bring out your inner 50's housewife!

It seems I have started a new blog with every new life change in these last couple of years. Many of you will already be familiar with me, but for the new people, a little about me: my name is Jasmine. I am the mother of a daughter who just turned 1 and the wife to "the one who made me laugh". I went to school to become a Natural Chef because I wanted to battle childhood obesity through my cooking. I never did defeat obesity, but I did cook for and live in a Buddhist monastery and then at a frat house. We moved to a small town during my pregnancy, got a classic all-american dog (a chocolate lab) and a couple chickens and set up camp. I never did go back to work; raising my baby girl, keeping the house clean and making my man happy are now my full time job(s).

I have to admit I am about the opposite of a feminist. I love cleaning my house, I happily make my husbands lunch every day he goes to work and I have dinner ready when he gets home. I have no problem being helpless every now and then and I love that I get to stay home all day to enjoy my baby. I plan on popping out many more children and staying home with all of them as well. To me, equal rights means that my husband provides me with a place to live and it is my duty to make sure that he is taken care of. I even touch of my make up before he comes home from work so that I can always look good for him. If you have a problem with this you will probably not enjoy my blog! But for those of you who believe that being a strong woman means doing laundry whole holding a crying baby and vacuuming... well then you stay tuned! My next blog will be to report back to you my Great Great Aunt Pearl's chocolate cake with chocolate frosting... oh yes!