NFR: Project Samson

… and my hair stylist’s name was Delilah. HA! Ok not really. Actually her name’s Corrine but she had no remorse cutting my hair.

Let me back up. It all started with a tweet.

Next thing I know my friend calls me and says “Are you busy?” Why? “I made you a hair appt for Sunday at 1 o’clock.” WHAT? “It will be fun. We can get our hair cut together.” Why? “I saw your tweet.” Damn twitter.

So… (3 hours later) I went from this…

… to this.

WHOA right?

All I remember is squealing when she took the HUGE scissors and cut HACKED off my ponytail. I think I even remember my friend laughing at me. Then again the memory is kinda fuzzy b/c I’m trying to block the trauma. (Melodramatic, much? Um. yes. I’m a girl. Duh?!)

It’s been almost a week and I’m still getting use to short hair. Everyone seems to like it. Me? I feel like a tard when I try to use a flat iron. Forget trying to use a hair dryer and round brush at the same time. How the heck do people do that? I’m just not ambidextrous. My left hand is useless. Sorry Lefty. The truth hurts.

But I don’t regret it. It’s kinda becoming a tradition for me. Every year I cut my hair and donate to Locks of Love <~ Click the link to learn more. It's really a great cause and I'm sure I'll do it again next year. What do I have to lose? Just my hair.

TWD #85: Time to “turnover” a new leaf

Oh man! That (title) was cheesy. Even for me. And I like cheese. But cut me some slack. It’s hard work being this cheesy every week. You try it. Then you’ll appreciate me. HA HA!

This week my baking group, Tuesdays With Dorie and our hostess, Julie of Someone’s in the Kitchen, had fun with flour and butter (ALOT OF BUTTER) to bring you some apple turnovers. (You can find the complete recipe on Julie’s blog.)

I knew this was gonna be a good one esp if it’s anything like the Apple Tartlets or Apple Pie-Cake of past. Those are in my husband’s top 5 list. I think he has a thing for apples or maybe it’s the dough with ginormous amounts of butter. Either way them’s some tasty apples.

What I learned this week:
I need a pastry cutter or a bigger food processor. Oh what the heck! I NEED both. Are you reading Santa?

Flaky Apple (and Raspberry) Turnovers
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

Sour cream+flour

Since I don’t have a pastry cutter and giving me 2 knives when my left hand is useless (I could foresee bandaids with that method), I got the “brilliant” idea to dump everything in my food processor. But the quotation marks should tell you that something happened right?

Long story short. I reached maximum capacity in my 12 cup food processor and upon pulsing I got a lovely taste of splattered dough all over my shirt and face. Also my blade got stuck in the dough. Good times. Thankfully it balled up nicely after I took the blade out.

The dough balls aren’t very equal. I think the dough ball on the right has dough envy.

Dorie suggested a 4-1/2″ cookie cutter but my biggest one was 3-5/8″ so I improvised with my mini tart pan instead. I love the scalloped edges. Don’t you?

The smell of cinnamon and sugar always reminds me of Thanksgiving. Don’t ask me why. Just does.

When I read Dorie’s playing around section about raspberries I knew I had to add some raspberries with the granny smith apples. The color contrast is so purdy (and tasty!) IMO.

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A/A+
He loves these turnovers and I was kinda surprised that he liked the apple-raspberry ones more than the plain apple. He’s not a raspberry person. Go figure!

Wifey rating: A
These weren’t very sweet but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The dough was melt in your mouth buttery and I love the apples and raspberries together. Definitely will make these again with some ice cream on the side next time!

Other rating: A/A+
I made these to share with some friends on Sunday night and they all love them. My friend even called dibs on the leftovers. Another winner from Dorie!

All good things come to an end.

Don’t freak out! I’m not leaving the blogging world or anything.

Although I admit I’ve been a little lazy about posting though so I can see how you’d make that assumption. I blame summer. But I’m definitely not leaving. Don’t fret my pet. Just recharging my battery by doing other things other than sitting in front of my computer. I do have a life. Stop laughing! No really I do! You’re still laughing…

What I meant was Adopt-A-Blogger (AAB) ending. Actually it ended like 2 weeks ago 6 weeks ago (See? *I AM* a slacker!) but better late than never, right? RIGHT?! Don’t leave me hanging here. (My humblest apologies Erin!)

Just a little recap.

I can’t believe that 3 months is over already. I remember telling another blogger that I thought 3 months was actually quite a long time. (No offense Kristin!) To be honest I didn’t know if I really had that much information to pass on that would sustain Erin for 3 months. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed not only teaching a fellow blogger about my experiences, what works for me and what didn’t, but also getting fresh bright eyes into blogging with her. Sometimes I think when “we” do things over and over, day after day we start to lose the reason why we do it. Thanks to Erin, I remembered why I blog. I blog b/c I love to write and interact with my readers with my stories and recipes. More than the writing, I love crave the interaction. So maybe she was the teacher and I was the student. Food for thought, no?

I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Erin in the blogging game for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she signed up for AAB as an experienced blogger b/c I know she taught me alot. Hey maybe she’ll even turn her cookie love into a foodie event someday. I can’t think of anyone better that should host Martha Stewart’s Cookies Challenge. Can you? Heck I might even sign up. What can I say? Erin, she got to me. And I’ll admit that cookies are growing on me. Are they better than cupcakes? Whoa. Hold up. Let’s not get all crazy here. Cookies are nice. But cupcakes rock!

In all seriousness I can honestly say that one of the best things about participating in AAB was meeting a new friend.

Would I do AAB again? In a heartbeat.

T(hursdays)WD #84: It’s pronounced soo-flay

“The only thing that will make a soufflé fall is if it knows you are afraid of it.” ~James Beard

Oh man. I’m screwed. James Beard said so.

Being a foodie and watching the food network and Top Chef, I feel like I should know who James Beard is. I’m sure you’ve heard of this chef or that chef getting nominated or winning the James Beard award right? Regardless, it’s a pretty big deal (apparently) to win his self-titled award. At least that’s the impression I get. So if James Beard says that you can’t do souffle with fear you can imagine that added to my apprehension.

Don’t ask me why but I had the distinct feeling that souffles were complicated, temperamental, tedious.. well… you get the picture. Maybe that’s why I put it off until Thursday. My apologies to this week’s hostess with the mostess, Susan of Doughmesstic (you can find the complete recipe on her blog) for procrastinating this week. A souffle might not be a daunting task to a master baker like herself but me… little ol me… was scurred. I wonder if any other Tuesday with Dorie bakers shared my fear.

Anyone… Bueller? Bueller?

Chocolate Souffle
Recipe from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

I used 1/2 bittersweet and 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate. The melted chocolate+sugar doesn’t look to appetizing right now but just wait and see…

Don’t ask me why but I love the picture (R) where I caught it mid-mix and you can see the beautiful bubbles. Point and shoot baby!

Folding egg whites always makes me worry. I’m not a good egg white folder. I tend to doubt myself mid-folding and probably fold more than I should. <~ Yes, I am a neurotic baker.

Aren’t my mini 2oz souffle cups so cute? I am in love with them. I halved the recipe and got 8-2oz souffles. What the heck am I gonna do with 8?? I guess I have no choice but to eat them. There are starving children in China!

IT’S ALIVE! *muhahaha* But dang they deflate fast. I was all ready to pour some caramel sauce on top for an uber fabulous picture but I swear I turned my back for <1minute and it was a flat cake. When Dorie says "serve immediately" she wasn't joking!

ENJOY!

Husband rating: A/A+
At first he saw it and said “That’s it? Where’s the frosting, the sauce, the bells and whistles?” but after one bite he was sold. Last count he ate 3 of the mini souffles. HA HA

Wifey rating: A+
Sinful. I wasn’t sure I’d be a souffle person but I’m definitely a souffle person. Only takes one bite and you’ll never go back.

Foodie Question of the Day

What food are you willing to splurge on no matter how bad the economy gets?

(A) Meat, poultry, seafood
(B) Coffee
(C) Cheese
(D) Wine, alcohol
(E) Chocolate (dessert)
(F) Organic foods
(G) Other

I think I’ll have to go with (A) seafood. I pink puffy heart shrimp.

You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That… that’s about it.

Bubba Gump knew his shrimp.

But cheese would be a close second.

TWD #83: Orange you glad you stopped by?

Forgive my corny attempt at a foodie joke.

You probably won’t even get it until you scroll down. Actually you’re probably totally confused since this week the Tuesday with Dorie bakers are whisking up some ESPRESSO Cheesecake Brownies chosen by Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell (you can find the complete recipe on her blog).

So you’re probably asking yourself what “orange” has to do with anything right?

Go ahead scroll down. Keep scrolling. I’ll wait…

Get my joke now? See! It’s not that corny. Ok maybe it’s still corny. Gimme a break. I haven’t had my kit kat bar today. I’m on a roll! Wheeeeee!

I promise I’m not drunk. Hey! Why are you giving me that look? I think I start telling lame jokes when I have blogger’s block. But honestly this recipe doesn’t need much hype from me. I knew even before I made it that they would be delicious. I mean. It’s brownies AND cheesecake. What’s not to love? That’s why I doubled the recipe. I have good instincts about desserts. Don’t mess with me.

What I learned this week:
I use to be a straight-by-the-recipe kind of baker but I had so much fun with this recipe coming up with a slightly different flavor for a dessert that fit my tastes. I admit it kinda sucks when you try things and they fail but when it turns out even better than you thought… it’s worth playing around!

Espresso Orange Cheesecake Brownies
Recipe adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours, Dorie Greenspan

To make brownie:

I used 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 bittersweet chocolate instead of all bittersweet.

To make orange cheesecake:

I may have overfilled the tsp and use more vanilla than recipe called for but you have no proof. *looking innocent*

The original recipe is suppose to be espresso cheesecake but I’m not a big coffee person (much to the dismay of my husband aka Mr. Vente Starbucks Mocha no whip) so I decided to leave out the espresso and sub zest of 1 orange, juice of one orange and 1/2 tsp orange extract to make an Orange Cheesecake instead! I love chocolate+orange flavors!

To assemble:

I love the layers!

I doubled the recipe and baked in a 13×9 glass pyrex for about 45 minutes. The center wasn’t completely done so I probably could have gone for 50 minutes but I was worried the brownie layer would overbake. I’ll take slightly underbaked cheesecake vs overbaked brownies. Ya feel me?

I skipped the sour cream topping, cut them up, saran wrapped and froze these bad boys!

ENJOY!

Husband rating: B+ (for the cheesecake) / A- (for the brownie)
He liked the the brownie layer but it wasn’t his favorite brownie recipe b/c he tends to like his brownies more gooey vs cakey. Sadly I could tell he wasn’t a fan of the orange cheesecake since he’s a cheesecake purist. He’s LOVES the basic cheesecake recipe though.

Wifey rating: A (for the cheesecake) / B (for brownie)
I thought the orange cheesecake was SO yummy but I ditto hubs about the brownie. It had a cakey less gooey and chewy texture. I prefer gooey and chewy.

Other rating: A/A+
I made the cheesecake brownies for Hubs’ work meeting today. I’ll let you know what they say tomorrow! Hubs reports that there were RAVES all around! Many requested the recipe. Some mentioned that they thought Hubs had bought them at the store since they were pre-cut, wrapped and delicious! What a great compliment!

Next week: Chocolate Souffle page 406