Happy Memorial Day!

Ray's aunt & uncle own a condo in Gulfport and they're in town visiting from Chicago, so the whole clan is driving over today for a little Memorial Day shindig. I love a good celebratory dessert, so I whipped out my Mary Jane pan and put together a buttery cake, filled it with some homemade custard cream, and topped it with strawberries. Yum in my tum.

A Mary Ann pan is simply one with a small indentation in the middle so that you can fill a small area of the top of the cake with ganache, custard, etc. (see this photo for a better idea). I bought my pan from Williams-Sonoma a few years ago, but I believe Wilton has them online under a different name. You could also probably use a 12" Springform pan and then cut out a piece of the top yourself.

Here are the recipes I used...

Mary Ann Cake
from Williams-Sonoma

• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a Mary Ann cake pan or other similar, deep 12" pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium until smooth and creamy (about 1-2 min). Reduce speed to low and gradually add the sugar, beating until blended. Increase speed to medium-high and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy (3-5 min), stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just blended and no lumps of flour remain.
5. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Turn out cake and let cool completely.

Custard Cream

• 2 cups whole milk (it's best not to substitute for a lower-fat milk)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a non-aluminum pan over medium heat, warm the milk until tiny bubbles appear on the surface (about 6-8 minutes). Stir occasionally while heating to make sure the milk doesn't scorch.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cornstarch and salt.
3. While whisking the egg mixture, gradually pour in half of the hot milk (to temper the eggs).
4. Whisk in the remaining milk and return entire mixture to saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a firm consistency (about 5-8 min). Note: One minute you'll be stirring and the mixture will be normal, and then almost if by magic the next second it will be thick as pudding and slightly curdled looking. Don't panic - that's what's supposed to happen! Once it gets all thick and lumpy, remove the custard from the heat and follow the next step.
5. Scrape into a bowl and whisk in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

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The great American weekend

I did a little more paper piecing this weekend! I find it's the easiest type of sewing for me to tackle right now with my neck issues, because there's no rotary cutting involved. I just grab some scraps, piece, and then trim the seams down.

I stumbled across this pattern a couple weeks ago whenever I was looking for star blocks, and bookmarked it for future reference. I didn't really have a set plan for using it, but then I had a moment of inspiration a few weeks ago, and thought maybe if I used different fabrics for the center and background, it would look like a little cherry blossom!

I tried it out with some pink fabric this weekend, and I think it totally passes the test :) What you see is just 1/4 of a complete block, so each block will contain a total of 4 little "cherry blossoms". It's intended for a mini quilt for a friend, and I think I'm going to make it 2x2, so the final measurements will be 24" x 24" and there will be 16 blossoms total. I haven't decided yet if I want to use 16 different pink prints, or do 2 each of 8 prints - we shall see...

So. Right about now you're probably wondering why the heck I titled my post "the great American weekend". Well, I couldn't help but laugh yesterday because I did some of the most stereotypically American things possible all within the span of a day. Not only did I quilt, but we had some apples that were spoiling, so I made an apple pie yesterday morning - and what's more American than apple pie? I totally wore my favorite flouncy apron while I was doing it. And gazed out my kitchen window while I made the crust.

It's basically a deep-dish apple pie that you bake in a cake pan (I used a springform pan instead because I thought it would make removal easier, and I was totally right). The filling was so rich and fantastic - instead of slicing and seasoning the apples and calling it a day, you place them in a dutch oven and cook them down into a soft filling with some butter, cinnamon and lemon juice. For those of you from the south, it was very similar to making fried apples. So yeah, imagine fried apples stuffed inside a thick pastry crust - pure heaven!

My husband and brother-in-law are are such good sons and spent the past two weekends helping their dad put a new roof on the house he and my mother-in-law just purchased, so I took this over to their new home yesterday morning. I figured there would be some hungry men coming off the roof for breakfast, so the 5 of us ate it as a sort of breakfast pastry with coffee. It was delish. And it was gone within 2 hours ;)

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Nick Malgieri's Modern Baker. I haven't found a bad recipe in it yet!

Item #3 on the list of uber-American things to do on the weekend? Grilling burgers. We made buffalo burgers with fresh basil, avocado and goat cheese. YUM!

So between the quilting, apple pie, and burgers, I should probably borrow Rex Kwan Do's American Flag pants to round out the weekend. "Nobody wants a round-house kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys!"

So what did you all do this weekend? The weather has been beautiful in New Orleans the past two weeks, and it makes me excited for summer to arrive! Hope you all have been having similar luck with the weather where you are :)

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German Chocolate Cake.

 

Need I say more?

There are only two things in life I do better than most people: 1) parallel parking, and 2) making a German Chocolate Cake. Believe me when I tell you it's even more delicious than it looks. And yes, you should torte the cake because the icing soaks into all the thin layers and makes the cake extra moist and delicious. Don't chicken out and attempt to make it into a sheet cake! Torting is easy...and honestly, I don't bother with trying to make it level unless it's for a public function or charity event like a cake auction. I just cut and stack, and if it ends up a little wonky, I stick a wooden skewer (the kind you use for grilling) right through the center to keep it from sliding around until we devour it :)

Case and point...since this is for a family birthday party, you can see I didn't bother with making it straight and pretty *wink*

CAKE

• 1/2 c boiling water
• 6 oz. German baking chocolate (in the baking aisle – the kind I buy is Baker’s brand and it comes in a 4 oz. brown and green package)
• 2 c sugar
• 1 c butter, softened
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 c cake flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c buttermilk (I know it can be hard to find in a regular grocery outside of the South, but usually you can find powdered buttermilk in the Baking aisle). 
• 4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

ICING

• 2 c sugar 
• 1 c butter
• 2 c evaporated milk
• 2 tsp vanilla  
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 ½ c flaked coconut
• 2 c chopped pecans

CAKE DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round pans.
2. Pour boiling water on chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted; cool.
3. Combine sugar and butter in large mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add in eggs yolk, one at a time. Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed.
4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt)
5. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk, and beating after each addition until batter is smooth (you'll begin and end with the flour mixture). Fold in egg whites.
6. Divide batter among pans. Bake 35-40 minutes until cake has pulled away slightly from the sides of the pan and cake springs back to the touch. Let cool completely before assembling the cake.  

ICING DIRECTIONS 

1. While cake is baking, mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and egg yolks in saucepan.
2. Whisk together over medium heat (stirring often) until thick (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Let cool completely before assembling the cake.

ASSEMBLY 
With a long serrated knife, torte all three cakes, spreading icing in between them as you stack (you’ll have 6 layers when finished). And make sure you save a little icing to pour over the top when finished. Eat and ENJOY :)

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A Little Slice of Heaven

God bless you, Quilter in the Gap.

She posted a link to a chocolate pie recipe at 6:30 Saturday morning, and it looked so delectable that 3 hours later, the pie you see above was cooling on my counter. Words cannot describe this pie. It is without a doubt the best pie I have ever eaten (and I don't say that lightly, because I've eaten a lot of pie in my day). So ladies, stop whatever you're doing, and go make one. Even if you hate baking, I promise you it's worth every bit of the effort, and then some.

I took this pie to a cookout Saturday afternoon (a bunch of the young married couples from our church were getting together), and I'm not lying when I tell you it was completely gone 10 minutes after the first slice was cut. There was complete silence as we all sat around eating it - men and women alike. I'm pretty sure this pie could single-handedly bring about world peace if given the chance.

So, before I share the recipe, I'll give you my 2 cents...

1. The blogger that originally posted this recipe is right - the crust is inconsequential. It feels borderline blasphemous saying that, because I'm a firm believer in homemade pie crusts. If I'm gonna eat the calories, it's gonna be a flaky, delicious crust, rather than a cardboard pre-made one. But in this instance, no one cares about the crust...it's merely a vehicle for transporting the smooth, heavenly filling into your gullet. Therefore, don't waste your time making a homemade one. Just slap one from your grocer's freezer section in that pan and roll with it. 
2. Growing up, I remember sitting in my grandma's kitchen listening to seasoned Southern cooks compare recipes and share tips that had been passed down for generations. Sadly, a recipe for Chocolate Pie wasn't in my family's repertoire, but I do remember one important thing from listening to those ladies all those years: any chocolate pie worth it's salt has a secret ingredient - caramel. 

So. Because I'm a notorious recipe tinkerer...and because, 20 years later, I still have the cooking wisdom of those ladies in my noggin', I changed a few things from the original recipe. Here's my take on it:

Southern Chocolate Pie
(adapted from this recipe)

1 frozen/refrigerated pie crust
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa (I substituted Hershey's Special Dark Baking Cocoa)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp. salt
1 - 5 oz. can evaporated milk (it's the teeny tiny can, not the normal 12 oz. can used in most recipes)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup caramel (caramel sundae topping works fine)
Pinch of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press crust into a 9" pie pan. Crimp edges and prick bottom and sides with a fork.
2. In the bowl of your mixer, combine sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon. Start the mixer and gradually pour in the melted butter. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time (making sure the first egg has been incorporated before adding the second). Once both eggs have been added, mix for 3 minutes. 
4. Add salt, evaporated milk and vanilla. While the mixer is still running, drizzle in the caramel.
5. Pour filling into unbaked crust and bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is brown and the filling is slightly set in the middle. Cool completely before serving.

Note: This pie doesn't "set up" and get as solid as most pies, so I definitely recommend waiting until it's fully cooled before serving.  Also, don't freak out if you peek in the oven and notice the top of the pie has risen really high and is bubbling around...it will deflate as soon as you take it out :)

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Our Favorite Summer Meal

 If I could eat Caprese Salad every day, I would. And in the summers, the hubby and I aren't far off. We fix it a lot. I make it a less conventional (read: less fancy) way, so it's really quick and easy to put together. Instead of cutting large slices and stacking, I chop the tomato and fresh mozarella into cubes and toss all the ingredients together in a bowl. It's just as tasty, but much easier to prepare and eat. Here's what you'll need:

Caprese Salad

• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, roughly chopped
• 1 tomato (we prefer an heirloom variety), roughly chopped
• 8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1-2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Coarse salt, to taste (I use kosher or sea salt)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss. This will make enough to feed 3-4 people. It's best eaten within an hour or two of preparation, because it doesn't keep well in the fridge.

For an even bigger treat, we love to combine Caprese Salad with bison burgers. It's a real party. If you've never tried bison, you should! It tastes exactly like beef, but has way less fat and cholesterol (the ground bison we buy is 4% fat, and has less cholesterol per serving than even chicken). Bison also contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, so it's pretty much the perfect meat. And did I mention it's delicious? Ray has me prepare several pounds at a time and freeze the raw patties so he can cook them throughout the week for lunch :)

In case you're interested in trying something new, I'll throw in my recipe for Bison Burgers too :) And I realize some of you might not have ground bison available in your area (understandable), so I wanna let you know this recipe is equally tasty made with beef.

Also, I recently tried a new trick that has made our burger experience 10x more delicious. I've been mixing the meat in my food processor instead of by hand, and it makes them so much more juicy!

Bison Burgers (makes about 7)

• 1.5 lb ground bison
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 small onion, minced (I prefer sweet onions like Vidalia when I can find them)
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp crushed rosemary
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)

Note: I experiment from time to time, so if you prefer sweet over savory burgers, try adding 1 or 2 teaspoons of mustard powder to the mixture. 

If mixing by hand, simply combine all ingredients in a large bowl and squish together. If using a food processor, throw the garlic and onion in first to mince, and then add remaining ingredients. Pulse until thoroughly mixed and meat slightly resembles a paste.

Form into 6-7 patties and using your thumb, press a small well into the center of each patty - this prevents your burger from puffing up in the center and helps it cook more evenly. Also, you should never mash down on the burgers with your spatula while cooking, because this squeezes out all the juices and makes them dry. Cooking time varies based on how well done you like your burgers, but we cook ours for 4 minutes on each side and they end up a perfect medium well.

Happy eating :)

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It's a wonderful day for pie.

I finally found my beloved rhubarb here in New Orleans, and our reunion was glorious!!! Thanks for the awesome new recipe Tong...I love that the crust calls for both shortening and butter, because I think butter gives a pie crust so much more flavor, but shortening gives it that awesome texture.

About to go in the oven...

About to go in my belly...

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SURPRISE!!!

When I asked for people to leave their favorite fall recipes as a way to get another entry into the giveaway, "Quilary" jokingly suggested that I should make a cookbook for The Plaid Scottie. After I thought about it for a while, I realized it wouldn't actually be a bad idea! It would be a real pain for you guys to have to go to my website, click around looking for the post you needed, and then have to sift through 200 comments for a specific recipe. Soooo....*drumroll*...I've put together a pdf file of "reader's choice" recipes!!!! All the recipes posted as of 5 o'clock today are included, and I'm gonna go back and update the file on Tuesday with any new ones that are posted over the weekend. If I knew you had a blog, then I tried to write the title out next to your user name. If I missed your blog and you'd like for me to go back and add it, I'd be more than happy to. Also feel free to email me with any typos or other errors you notice.

So in case you'd been wondering where the heck I was the past few days, there's your answer! You guys are so awesome, and since I can't give every single one of you a fat quarter bundle (much as I'd like to), I wanted to do something small for everyone as a "thank you for reading my insignificant craft blog" present...hehe! Consider it a tiny repayment of all the happiness your support, suggestions, and compliments bring me :) It really means a lot to me that so many people have become followers, and I can't tell you how nice it is to come home from Corporate America every day and read your sweet comments. Sewing is my true passion, and I look forward to working on my projects and blog every day (sometimes it's the only thing that gets me through work!)

So enough of the mushy stuff. Readers - time to fire up those ovens!!! (Note: The cookbook has been updated with the change requests I received and the new recipes that were posted over the weekend)
The Plaid Scottie Fall Recipes

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Speaking of Chai...(and yet another giveaway!)

I promise there will be more quilting & crafting and less random "other things" in the near future, but I can't help myself! Fall does strange things to me :) Plus I'm in that weird in-between stage on most of my projects. I've posted pictures of a lot of WIPs, but haven't yet finished the next stage on them (quilting, binding, etc), and therefore can't take pictures and blog about it! Quilting is such a slow process, ya know? Take heart though, because I will have a TON of stuff for you after our MQG Retreat in 2 weeks...A TON!!! Basted quilts, top-secret finished tops (*cough* Spiderweb). What? Did someone say something?

Since I mentioned Chai Lattes the other day, I thought I'd give you my recipe. If you can't find green cardamom pods in your local store, you can always order some from my favorite culinary spot in the world - The Spice House. And word to the wise, if you ever decide to type the name directly in the address bar, make sure you type "www dot thespicehouse" rather than just "spicehouse"....or you might be in for a nasty (and graphic) surprise...haha! Their shipping is a little expensive because they send everything via UPS (I think they might offer Flat Rate USPS now though), so I'd recommend ordering several things at once (darn!) to get your money's worth. It's a family run business that was down the street from my apartment in Chicago, and I went there once a week for two years, so I can personally vouch for the quality of their products. And BONUS, their prices are super reasonable because they cut out the middle man and directly import all their own spices from producers around the world. Their spice blends are made in house and the meat rubs are fantastic. Some of my favorites are the Tuscan Seasoning, Old Taylor Street Cheese Sprinkle, Lake Shore Drive Blend, Pumpkin Pie Spice (I use it in all kinds of things like quick breads, muffins, cake rolls, etc...the Apple Pie Spice is good too), Vanilla Beans, and Tomato Powder.

Chai Latte
from my sister, Kendall :)

1 small cinnamon stick
10 green cardamom pods
1 in. piece of fresh ginger root, mulched
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 c. milk (we're Skim people, but I use 1% for this to give it more flavor)
2 c. water
2/3 c. sugar (I adjust it to 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp. loose tea leaves (Lipton sells them in a small yellow box in the coffee & tea aisle)
A stove (verbatim from her instructions, haha!)

1. Pour water into a medium pot and add the following: cinnamon stick, cardamom pods (crush with the flat of your knife and throw in everything - seeds & shell), mulched ginger root, cloves, peppercorns, and nutmeg


2. Turn on burner and bring to a boil. Boil about 2 minutes, and then add the sugar. Stir well.


3. After about another 2 minutes, pour in milk and turn down heat to Low-Medium heat (if your dial is numbered, I usually take it down between 2-3). Let simmer for about 10 minutes (if you stick your spoon in and pull a thin "skin" off the top, it's ready).


4. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit on burner 15 minutes.


5. Take off lid and return to a boil. Turn off heat completely and add tea leaves. Cover and let sit no more than 5 minutes.


6. Strain tea through a fine mesh strainer and pour into a fridge-friendly container. Can serve hot or cold.

To make things even more fun, I've decided that whoever posts the tastiest looking recipe in the giveaway comments will win 2 scrappy modern potholders made by yours truly and a packet of spices from my cabinet to make this chai tea! (if the winner doesn't care for tea, I'll find a substitute! I live in New Orleans aka "the land of food and beverage" after all!)

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Foothill House Sweet Dreams

Here is the recipe as promised. You won't regret making these! They're delicious with a hot cup of chai latte :)

Foothill House Sweet Dreams Cookies
from the Foothill House B&B

1 c. butter, room temp.
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg, room temp.
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
12 oz. package chocolate chips
1 c. powdered/confectioners sugar

• Cream butter using an electric mixer. Beat in brown sugar, then the egg, and finally the vanilla extract.
  
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans (dough will be very stiff). Refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Place all of the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Remove dough from fridge and roll into 1" balls. Roll each ball in the powdered sugar, place on cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 5 min. before transferring.
  

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Everybody Loves Cupcakes

Did I mention that in addition to the Brick Path quilt, I'll be making my friend Roxanne's wedding cupcakes? Her future husband likes rich, chocolatey goodness while she picked vanilla, so I'm making Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy White Icing and Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Frosting. I decided to give a new recipe a whirl for the chocolate cupcakes, so I did a trial run last night. They won't look this sloppy when I make them on Saturday...I was tired and decided to dip the cupcakes in the frosting rather than actually ice them with a spatula....which is why this cupcake has a little soft-serve swirl going on.

Below are the recipes for your baking pleasure. It's far and away the best recipe for chocolate cupcakes I've tried...although I did a little tinkering. I'm one of those people that can't leave a recipe alone...I have to tweak something just to experiment and give it my own spin. I read in another cookbook that using brown sugar instead of white really amps up the chocolate flavor and makes the cake super moist. So that's what I did.

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking"

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Fir the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with muffin cups.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating for 1 minutes after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix it in with the rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a knife inserted into their centers comes out clean. Transfer to a baking rack and frost when cool.

Fluffy White Icing
from Nick Malgieri's "The Modern Baker"

4 large egg whites
Large pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup

Half-fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Combine the egg whites, salt, sugar, and corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk by hand, just to mix together.

Regulate the heat under the pan of water so that it boils gently and place the bowl on the pan. Whisk gently just to keep the mixture moving until it is hot (about 130 degrees F). and all the sugar is dissolved. Place the bowl on the mixer with the whisk and whip the icing until it has cooled and becomes white and fluffy. Frost cupcakes.

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