Infomercial Envy

What is an infomerical?

Well… I aint Wikipedia but my definition goes something like this:

A sponsored program that runs from 10-60 minutes that brainwashes you to think that you can’t live without [insert product here] for only 3 easy payments of $19.99 but if you call RIGHT NOW you can get it for only 2 easy payments of $19.99! They’ll even upgrade you to priority shipping!

Oh yes. I’ve watched my fair share of infomercials. I think I’ve mentioned a few times that I am kinda addicted to them. Most ppl (like my husband) will just channel surf right past the infomercials but forget Grey’s Anatomy or American Idol, I’ll watch an hour long program on the Magic Bullet any day! (And I have!)

I figure I can’t be the only infomercial freak out there, right?

RIGHT??

I know I’m not. I am just not afraid to admit it. (Why are you walking towards me with a strait jacket?) So I decided to have some fun and post the good, the bad and the ugly of the infomercial world on my blog. Should be fun, huh?

Let’s get started.

Right now me and the hubs are obsessed with the Snuggie. We crack up every time we see it on TV. Its so bad that it loops around to AWESOME. LOL

Tell me it doesn’t remind you of a backwards robe or a cult cloak? I don’t know about you but I hate knitting without my entire body under a blanket too. And its one size fits all. Heck yeah!

I am totally getting T one for his birthday.

Nothing says “Happy 30th… You’re 1/2 way to death!” like a Snuggie.

TWD #48: Berry berry late surprise cake

Let’s pretend that its Tuesday, January 20th and I am actually not a week late posting this berry cake hosted by Mary of Meet Me In The Kitchen. (Sorry Mary!)

Also one more favor?

Can you get past the fact that I am a week behind baking up the Ginger Chocolate Gingerbread hosted by Heather of Sherry Trifle, which I was actually suppose to post today but haven’t had the chance to make yet.

Can you do that for me? It would really help take the shame away… Thanks.
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Do you have those family and friends in your life that pick up on one of your hobbies and from that moment on every gift they give you is related to that hobby? I do.

As soon as people find out I like to bake they get me baking stuff. Now this is not necessarily a bad thing. I get alot of cupcake related gifts that I absolutely adore. Notecards, liners, plates, towels, apron… Even a teddy bear cupcake cake pan, though Jen of the famous Cake Wrecks, calls cupcake cakes wrecktastical. I suppose I’d have to agree with the ones on her blog (some of them are downright hideous to the point of hysteria!) but after seeing Karen Tack and Alan Richardson’s Starry Starry Night cupcake cake, I know cupcake cakes *can be* works of art! Someday when I have about 5 hours of free time (Free time? Whats that?) I’d love to be able to recreate it.

Dang. There I go. Off on a tangent again. I am easily distracted by cupcake talk.

So about gifts. I can’t blame people. I do it too. My SIL likes ladybugs so I get her ladybug stuff. My BIL likes wine so he gets a bottle of wine for practically every occasion. I try to mix it up but I have a fear of getting people gifts they won’t like so I tend to stick with what I know.

What’s your point, CB?

Oh yeah. My point.

So I’ve been hoarding this mini cake pan that my SIL gave me for Christmas last year b/c I wasn’t sure when I’d use it. I don’t make alot of filling cakes. But the berry surprise cake was perfect to break it in. That was my point.

I totally lost you huh?

What I learned this week:
You can never had too many random pans b/c you never know when the right recipe will come along and you’ll be able to use them. At least that’s rationalization for buying them. And I am sticking to it.

Surprise [Straw]Berry Cake
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

Aren’t my Wilton mini tasty fill cake pans so cute?

I baked my minis for about 18 minutes. It puffed up really nicely. Before assembling the cakes, I used a serrated knife to level each top. Don’t worry. No cake went to waste. It went in my tummy.

Making the filling. Cream the cheese, add the sugar, fold in the whipped cream.

No pictures of making the syrup but I brushed my mini cakes with alot of syrup before adding the filling and fruit. I think the syrup gave the “cake” a yummy flavor.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A-/B+
T wasn’t a huge fan and said it wasn’t his favorite but he still ate a couple small slices.

Wifey rating: A-/B+
I thought the cake by itself was so yummy but I wasn’t a fan of the filling. It wasn’t sweet enough for me. If I am gonna spend a couple hours making and assembling a cake, it needs to be painfully schedule-a-trip-to-the-dentist-because-you’re-gonna-get-a-cavity sweet or whats the point?

Bunday Monday

OpieBun isn’t a picky eater. At. All.

She has many “favorite” foods. (I guess she takes after mommy that way, huh? HAHA) She would NEVER refuse a banana, strawberry, apple, carrot, cherry tomato or craisin if offered. But I’d say of all the leafy greens, cilantro is her favorite. Can you tell? Nom. Nom. Nom. Good.

Happy Vietnamese New Year everyone! Here’s wishing you and your family an Ox-ellent 2009!

(Get it? Year of the Ox. Man, I kill myself sometimes!)

Pomegranate Molasses Chicken

I haven’t been cooking dinners lately. I am so tired by the time I get home from work that all I wanna do is sit on my couch until the couch molds to my butt. Come to think of it. I think we have a take out menu from every local joint within 5 miles of our apt now. I know Spicy Thai’s number by heart. I have a feeling this isn’t something to be proud of though.

To be honest, I miss cooking. But I love eating out on the weekends with friends and family. See the dilemma. When’s a girl have time to cook? So I made a deal with my hubs. Friday night is date night (as usual) but Saturday night Wifey cooks dinner and Husband does the dishes. I’d say that’s win win for everyone, no?

Now you all know I have an obsessive personality. Right now its all about the pomegranate molasses. I used pomegranate molasses for some cupcakes back in December and ever since I’ve been wanting to make some more pom molasses to cook something savory. And tonight was a good a night as any.

BTW I am feeling kinda girly. I got my nails did this afternoon b/c T and I are chaperoning his school’s Winter Formal tonight. There’s just something about hormonal boys and girls bringing sexy back on the dance floor that makes me nostalgic for my high school days. Things don’t change much. They just seem to get “shorter” and “tighter”. LOL.

Maybe if you ask nicely I’ll post some pictures tomorrow. Maybe…

Until then you’ll just have to be happy with some breasts. teheee…

Recipe adapted from Gluten-Free Girl

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken thighs (I used 3 large chicken breasts)
4 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of butter
1 large white onion, chopped (I used 1/2 an onion)
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of cashews (I used 1/2 cup of cashews)
1/4 cup of pistachios, shelled and unsalted (I omitted)
zest of one lemon (I used about 1 tbsp)
juice of one lemon (I used about 2-1/2 tbsp)
4 tbsp of pomegranate molasses*
1 tbsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste)
1-1/2 cups of chicken stock (I used fat free chicken broth)

* If you can’t find pom molasses, you can make yourself!

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat olive oil with butter in a heavy saucepan. After butter has melted, add the chicken thighs. Brown them, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Take off heat and put on plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Set aside.

Add the onion to the olive oil and butter mixture and cook until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Add garlic. When garlic is golden, add the cashews and pistachios. Stir these continuously until they are golden and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Watch them closely. They can burn fast!

Add the chicken stock, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Bring mixture to a boil. Add the sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Place the chicken back in saucepan and let simmer, on medium-low heat, for about twenty minutes, or until they are tender.

(I served with Parmesan Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus.)

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A-
He loves chicken but this wasn’t his favorite chicken recipe. I think the pom molasses was a sweet and tangy flavor that he isn’t use to but he still ate it up!

Wifey rating: A/A+
The chicken was moist and full of flavor. I love the sweet and tangy flavor that the pom molasses added to the chicken, garlic and onion. The cashews were so good with the chicken too. Definitely will make this again.

FF: [Flash]

You may remember a couple weeks ago when I wrote about Fotography Friday. No? Well let me refresh your memory. Ah. Now its ringing a bell huh?

Our January-February assignment is flash.

As a foodie you’re kinda brainwashed to hate flash. Since I am easily brainwashed. I hate flash. So you can imagine I wasn’t sure how much use I’d get from learning about flash. Because honestly I only take food pictures. I have more pictures of cupcakes than my husband.

But maybe its time to branch out, no?

A couple weeks ago I took my camera over to my IL’s house and in the middle of the front lawn, next to a leaf-less tree, in the middle of aging flowers I found this one perfectly pink flower. (Anyone botanist readers know the name?) I don’t know about you but there’s just something about the brilliancy of a flower. It provoked me to lay on the wet grass and take a picture (or 10).

Click image to enlarge
AUTO
Auto is pretty self explanatory. The camera chooses all the specs for you. You have no control. It picks a suitable power outage (intensity) so that your image is well exposed as long whatever you’re shooting within your flash’s range. Its great for the amateur photographer like me who confuses easily if there are too many choices.

Click image to enlarge
NO FLASH
Again pretty self explanatory. No flash means no flash. You don’t get any extra power outage from your camera. All the light in your environment is all the intensity you get. Obviously a good choice if you are shooting in good natural light and you don’t need any supplemental power. If I remember correctly (that aint saying much with my memory), I shot this picture in the morning so there wasn’t alot of light yet. If you compare it to the auto flash picture above you can see the difference in light intensity around the flower. No flash picture seems more subdued to me.

Click image to enlarge
FILL FLASH
You can use this on a sunny day or a cloudy day. The camera’s metering system will evaluate the light intensity and either lighten shadows on a sunny day or provide more light compensation on a cloudy day. If you compare this picture to the no flash picture above you can see that the fill flash provided more light to bring the flower out of the background so that its not as subdued.

Click image to enlarge
SLOW SYNC FLASH
After you choose the mode (ie Program or Aperature), the camera will set a slow (long) shutter speed. The longer exposure time will take in account the surrounding ambient light but without affecting the flash exposure. What does that mean in English? Well think about it this way. Let’s say you want to take a picture of the Las Vegas strip that includes dear ol husband in the picture too. Usually the lights get kinda washed out but using slow sync flash option keeps the Vegas lights from interfering with the flash and you get the best of both worlds: Vegas and husband. Not sure my subject in this picture really demonstrates it well though. I’ll be going back to Vegas in July (omg am I really turning 30??) so I’ll have to put my money where my mouth is.

Click image to enlarge
REAR SYNC FLASH
Conventional photography flash fires at the start of exposure but rear sync flash fires at the end of the exposure. Have you ever seen those city pictures that trail light from cars? This flash option produces those motion streaks that follow the cars. Obviously since the flower wasn’t moving you really don’t get to see how that works but next time you are standing in the middle of oncoming traffic… Try it out! (Warning: Do not stand in the middle of oncoming traffic. We are trained professionals.)

There you have it.

Who knew you could do so many things just by changing the flash. Maybe I am not a flash hater anymore?

NFR: Let’s talk about debt, baby!

I was talking to my friend, Julie (See J? I told you I’d pimp out your blog. LOL) , the other day about debt. Probably not the most pleasant conversation among friends but one that many people are facing right now. At least I know I am. I remember reading that 2008 was the highest bankruptcy filing, almost 1 million (say it like Dr. Evil) people; young, old, married, single, student. Wow.

Julie even mentioned that her pastor was doing a sermon series on financial peace. Now I am not a very religious person. I guess I believe there is something out there but I really can’t say what. Officially my family is Buddhist but a certain Bostonian friend once told me that the teachings of Buddha are about living a simple life free from material things to reach enlightenment and I am not simple or free of wants. Ok I admit it. I want alot of things. I am a material girl.

See how that works. Its a vicious circle really. Being a material girl isn’t cheap. Therefore I have acquired some credit card debt. Thankfully I do not have any other debt. No school loans, no car payments, no mortgage. It could be worse. I have friends and family that over under in their home, have 10x the debt that I have, lost their job. I know its easy to blame the lenders and economy but let’s be honest and place some of the blame on ourselves too. Did we really need those $300 Coach shoes that were 50% off? (Yes, I am talking to you A.)

But I think there is a difference between good debt and bad debt. School loans are good debt IMO. Buying things you can’t afford and putting on your credit card is probably bad debt. (Why are you all looking at me like that?) I have gotten better though. I use to have 10 credit cards. Now I have 2. Hey baby steps right? I am working on freezing my last 2 credit cards like my friend, Amanda, does with hers to avoid using it in snap Nordstrom sale decisions but I am not quite there yet.

Right now T and I have figured out a 1 year plan to pay off our debt. No more paying the bare minimum. Now practically my whole paycheck goes to our debt and we live on his income. Right now it kinda sucks b/c I feel like I am working my arse off and not getting the instant gratification of spending my hard earned money (ie I really want a Wii+Wii Fit!) but I know I will later when that giant credit card debt weight is lifted from my shoulders and we can buy a house (and adopt a doggy!)

What are you doing to find financial peace?

TWD #47: Surprise! No berry cake.

Here are my excuses.

1. I was out of town all weekend. Vegas baby Vegas!
2. I got home Monday @ 1pm.
3. I had an order of 50 cupcakes to bake by Tuesday.
4. By the time I was done baking 50 red velvets I was over being in the kitchen.
5. I still haven’t done the dishes yet.

Thanks for hosting this week, Mary of Meet Me In The Kitchen. Sorry I slacked. I am a bad TWDer. *hangs head* But I am hoping to bake the berry cake up sometime this weekend. All the P&Q drama is making me want to tackle it even more! I guess I am just a sadist like that.

Looking forward to seeing the reviews and blog posts from fellow TWD bakers.

Happy Inauguration Day readers!

Real Simple Broccoli and Walnut Pasta

This weekend I spent a sinful amount of time indulging in more than 1 buffet in Las Vegas *hangs head* so when I got home, I was ready for a home cooked meal. I think there’s only so much gluttony you can take before your stomach starts “urging” you to give it a break with something light. Know what I’m saying? Maybe TMI? haha.

But after driving 4 hours to get home I wasn’t about to spend too much time in the kitchen either. What’s a weary traveler to do? (Besides call Pizza Hut to deliver. LOL)

And there it was. Laying on the counter. Just waiting for me to get the hint.

My newest Real Simple magazine.

Anything with “simple” in the title was exactly what the doctor ordered.

PS. Vegas was AWESOME. Just what I needed to jump start my battery esp since the blackjack gods were good to me and I came home up $100. Heck yeah! Mama needs a new pair of shoes! w00t!

Recipe adapted from Real Simple Magazine, February 2009

makes about 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

12 oz (3 cups) orecchiette(I used 1lb penne pasta)
1-1/2 lbs broccoli, cut into small florets (I used ~1lb fresh broccoli florets)
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 3 cloves of garlic)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter,
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups pre-cooked chicken strips, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 400F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 3/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and return to pot.

While pasta is boiling, toss the broccoli, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, chicken, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Roast the mixture (tossing halfway through the cooking time) until broccoli tender, about 18-20 minutes.

Combine the pasta with broccoli mixture, butter and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. (Add more water if needed.) Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese before serving.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
My hubs is a protein man so I added some chicken to the recipe. At first my hubs asked “Where’s the sauce?” but after taking one bite he was hooked. I think he was surprised how much flavor you can get from olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese.

Wifey rating: A+
I am trying to eat more veggies so this broccoli pasta was a good compromise. I like that it was easy to make and not heavy on my stomach. Flavors were yummy. Definitely will make again.

Bunday Monday

Click image to see original picture

I look a little creepy (according to Nikki) but I think Opie looks cute esp her little nose, right?

I was gonna wait to post this tomorrow for the inauguration but I had too much fun playing with pictures that I decided it would be fun to post for Bunday Monday as a pre-inaug celebration instead.

Anyone gonna be watching the inauguration broadcast tomorrow? I’ll be working but checking my iphone constantly for podcasts and twitter updates.

If you wanna make your own Obama icon picture here’s the linkage.

http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

Fair warning. Its addicting. LOL

Happy MLK day everyone.

Foodie Question of the Day

How much “useable” counter space do you have in your kitchen?

I struggle with counter space whenever I cook or bake. I think back in the 60s when my apt was built, people were more liberated to eat out b/c my kitchen is so FREAKING small. (Although I do think the blender outlet in the countertop is pretty darn cool. 60s must have been a mixed drink era, no?) Or maybe it was more single men living in apartments in the 60s?

In my kitchen, I have about 3.5′ x 1′ of “useable” counter top. Meaning there’s nothing in that space so that I can prep there. I have more counter space (albeit not that much more) but they have my microwave, KA mixer, toaster, rice cooker, spice rack, knife block etc on them so I don’t count them as useable counter space.

Anyone wanna buy me a house preferably something with a mega kitchen, prep island and one of those cool faucets above the stove so I don’t have to lug a gallon of water in a pot from the sink to the stove? Please. Please. Please. I’ll be your best friend…

Happy Friday readers.

TGIF, seriously!

This has been a long, emotional week for me. I for one am ready for the weekend.

PS. Thanks for all the TWD comments. I am hoping to check in with you peeps this weekend. Just haven’t had a chance yet. I know. I fail. *hangs head*

TWD #47: Wanna hear a corn-y joke?

Question: How is an ear of corn like an army?
Answer: It has lots of kernels.

Bahahahaha!!!

*ignoring muffled groans from my readers*

Oh hush. Just laugh for joke’s sake. Ok fine. Don’t laugh at my joke. At least I can relish in the fact that you’ll have that joke stuck in your head all day.

I guess I am feeling more corny than usual. Must have something to do with this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe but I bet you already figured that out with the TWD logo above huh? You readers are so smart.

I gave everyone a sneak peep to today’s TWD recipe in a recent blog post a couple days ago. I bet I know alot of TWD members (esp the ones that read the P&Q every week) who probably got a weird craving for chili like me. Gotta love the power of subliminal commenting. Come to think of it. That seems to happen to me alot. No wonder infomercials work on me. I know. You don’t have to tell me. I have issues. But I can’t be the only one that loves infomercials. Come on. Who needs to join IA (infomercials anonymous) with me?

Hello my name is Clara… I am an infomercial-holic.

This week’s recipe is hosted by one of my favorite blogging chicks, Rebecca from Ezra Poundcake. You can find the recipe on her blog. Don’t forget to see what the other TWD bakers thought of their muffins too.

What I learned this week:
My little brother likes chili. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with the corn muffins but I wouldn’t have found out unless I was making the corn muffins with the chili so its semi-related, right?

Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A-
He likes cornbread but he’s a cornbread purist so he wasnt a big fan of the veggie chunks.

Wifey rating: A-/B+
I am not a big cornbread fan. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had added more corn and bell pepper chunks? It was really good crumbled in my chili though.

Other rating: A
I was really surprised that he totally liked these muffins. My little brother is a picky eater but he ate like 3 of them!

Bunday Monday

CB: You are such a beautiful bunny. Your fur is like velvet. I love petting you.
Snickerdoodle: Stop stop. You’re making me blush.

Barack Obama’s chili (in a crockpot)

I got a hankering for chili last night. (All my TWD readers will get why. HAHA)

Now I know that a hankering for chili doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary esp since it’s still kinda chilly (no pun intended) here in CA. (How’s the weather everywhere else?) I don’t know about you but craving something warm makes sense on chilly+windy days right? But… I don’t like beans. Whaaaaat? I know. I am just not a bean person. I always get my tacos, burritos, tostadas, nachos etc sans frijoles. It really makes my husband sad b/c I never make chili for the bean reason. Whereas he’s a bean man. He likes beans. Pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans… He tells me about his mom’s chili all the time. I think its a subtle hint, no?

So you can imagine when I asked him yesterday morning if he wanted chili for dinner, his eyes got big and he gave me an exuberant YES! right before he touched my forehead to make sure I wasn’t sick. When no fever was felt he promptly asked me “Who are you and what have you done to Clara?”

To calm his stepford wives fears, I just explained my backup plan. Mickey Ds. Two big macs for $3.50. And french fries. Can’t forget the chemically enhanced french fries.

PS. I posted the crockpot chili recipe below but if you want the jalapeno corn muffin recipe and rating, you’ll have to wait until Tuesday. *wink*

Happy Sunday readers.

Hope your Sunday is as lazy as mine is planning to be…

Recipe adapted from A Year Of Crockpotting

INGREDIENTS

1-14.5oz can kidney beans
1 lb lean ground meat (I used ground beef)
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I used a red bell pepper)
1 large onion, chopped (I used 1/2 large onion)
5-6 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 chopped cloves of garlic (I used 5 cloves!)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp turmeric (I substituted with ground mustard)
1-2 tsp chili powder (I used 1-1/2 tsp chili powder)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp red wine vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop up the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Add to the crockpot. Open the can of beans, and pour in the whole thing. Brown meat on stove. Drain fat before adding to crockpot. Stir in all of the spices and the red wine vinegar.

[NOTES: Browning meat is optional. You can add to the crockpot without browning if you want. To soak up the fat I usually use a paper towel and discard towel but I've also sucked it up with a turkey baster too. Ghetto? But it works! HAHA]

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

[NOTES: I cooked on high for 4 hours.]

* Barack Obama serves his chili over white or brown rice. I was going to but I forgot. Oh well. Next time.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
He said it was better than his mom’s chili. Oh damn. You know if any hubs says that, the recipe’s a keeper!

Wifey rating: A/A-
I don’t like beans and this recipe didn’t really change my mind but I have to admit that the spices were awesome. I just picked around the beans. HAHA

Other rating: A+
My little brother came over for dinner and he ate 4 bowls! Guess I won’t have any leftovers huh? I don’t think he even chewed. Just swallowed each spoonful whole and was on his way to the crockpot to get his 2nd bowl before I even started eating my first one.

Non-Foodie Question of the Day

Its more of a blogger question than a foodie question I’d say…

Do you like memes?

It depends for me. If the meme isn’t too long or I was tagged by someone I know and adore then I’ll do it. Unfortunately if its too long then it cancels out the “know and adore” rule. LOL.

Case in point. Sent via email from Alanna b/c I adore her.

Scattergories Meme

RULES: Highlight and copy this meme, erase my answers, enter yours and send it on to 10 people including the one that sent this to you. Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. They have to be real places, names, things. Nothing made up. Try to use different answers if the person before you has the same first initial. Its harder than it looks!

The hardest part is finding 10 people that will play with you! <– Thats why I did it on my blog. I figure I have at least 10 readers, no? LOL

1. What is your name: Clara
2. A 4 Letter Word: corn
3. A Boys Name: Charlie
4. A Girls Name: Catherine
5. An Occupation: Coroner (is that too morbid in the morning?)
6. A Color: chartreuse (I think this stems from my wedding planning days… I have issues.)
7. Something you wear: crown (What? You don’t wear one when you wash dishes?)
8. A Beverage: Coca Cola (Do I get double points for this one?)
9. A Food: cavier (I have never tried or have urge to try fish eggs.)
10. Something found in the bathroom: crap (Sorry! Is that TMI? I couldn’t think of anything else!)
11. A Reason for being late: Couldn’t find my keys
12. A Place: California baby! (Yes, you have to say “baby”. Its a rule.)
13. Something you shout: Cowabunga dude!! (Shoutout to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh stop. You know you totally watched when you were little too.)

Anyone that wants to play please feel free! I’d love to read your answers.

McD, you reading? You *must* do this meme.

TWD #46: Pear with me. This one’s a doozy!

Can you believe it?

My fabulous baking group, Tuesdays with Dorie turned 1 year old on January 1, 2009 and I’ve been baking for 46 weeks of it! What a milestone huh? Excuse me while I toot my own horn. *toot toot*

I have learned so much from all the Dorie bakers since I joined this amazing group. Thank you to everyone for their comments, twitters and sharing their creative adaptions/substitutions with me. I am a better baker now b/c of you all. Truly. No fooling. Here’s looking at many more years… ::champagne glass clink::

To celebrate TWD’s blogiversary, the esteemed author herself, THE Dorie Greenspan, chose this week’s recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog. Also don’t forget to see what the other Dorie bakers thought of the pear tart too!

Let me just start out by saying that this one was a comedy of errors for me. ::smacks head::

• I made my sweet tart dough the day before, pressed it into mini tart pans and put them in the freezer overnight. Everything aok so far…
• I went back and forth on using canned vs fresh pears and decided that I wanted to impress Dorie so I went out and bought the fresh. Don’t ask me why I thought fresh was more impressive. My brain is just crazy sometimes…
• Still wanting to impress Dorie, I did the optional pear poaching for 15 minutes per recipe instructions.
• While the pears were poaching on the stove, I combined the sugar and butter in food processor for the almond cream and then realized, as I was staring at my Costco size bag of unblanched almonds, that I needed BLANCHED ground almonds. FYI – How to blanch almonds. Some of those suckers peeled so easily while others forced me to drown them in boiling water again. Blanching almonds is not fun. Luckily my husband was nice enough to help me. (Those are his fingers in the picture.)
• Instead of 2 tsp of rum I started putting in 2 TBSP but noticed my error after the first tbsp and tried to soak up some of the rum with a napkin so who knows how much rum really went into my tart.
• I was expecting the almond cream to be more cake batter but mine was more like thinned out cookie dough. *shrugs
• I put the almond cream in the mini tart pans and smoothed them out with a offset spatula before I realized that I never pre-baked the crusts. DOH!
• I contemplated scooping out all the almond cream to pre-bake crusts but then laziness got the best of me and I said “Screw it!” and started cutting up the poached pears.
• Poaching the pears made them too mushy. Maybe my pears were too ripe? I have a mushy texture thing so I kinda gagged while assembling the tart. Next time I make this I probably won’t poach or maybe I’ll go for canned.
• After I put the pears on the tart I thought about taking them off but again the laziness thing came rearing its ugly head so I left them on, popped the tarts in the oven and hope for the best.

What I learned this week:
Sometimes things don’t go as you plan but you just have to roll with the punches, don’t give up and hope for a baking miracle. Who knows. You might just realize that you don’t need to pre-bake the crusts and a little more rum never hurt anyone. LOL

French Pear Tart
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

Makes 1-9inch tart (I made 4-4 inch tarts)

After you poach the pears, slice them lengthwise from top to bottom and remove the pit. I use a small melon baller. Makes it very easy!

I baked my mini tarts for about 30 minutes.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A+
He couldn’t get enough of the pear tart and is struggling with what is his favorite – the cheesecake or this tart. Right now he’s still saying that the cheesecake has a slight edge but not by much. haha

Wifey rating: A+
Even though I had some “issues” with the tart and major pear sinkage this was SO freaking delicious! I will definitely make it again. Maybe next time I’ll switch out the pears for raspberries! YUM!

Other rating: A+
T and I split 1 mini tart and he brought the rest to work. His CWs raved many times. According to T they want to buy me a “thank you” gift now. You know something’s good when ppl want to spend their hard earned money to buy you a gift to say thank you. haha

Next week: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins page 6