Crazy Delicious

Just about a month ago I thought I was back and life was going to slow down. I wasn’t exactly that lucky and life has continued to keep me busy. I have a few blog updates waiting in the wings, but you’ll have to wait my young jedi’s. Unlike some people *cough* April *cough* I don’t puke out my blog posts all at once.

Even though my google reader has officially stopped counting how many posts I still need to check out (Ya that’s right all I know is that it’s “1000+”) I’ve seen enough of the ice cream craze to motivate my bum to make some ice cream. I love making ice creams and sorbets. There are three main reasons

1. They’re fun and I’m in love with my ice cream maker

2. Ice cream is yummy

3. I don’t feel like I have to eat it all at once because unlike some sweets it actually freezes remarkably well

I was really craving black raspberry ice cream, but my local Trader Joe’s failed me the last week and there were no black raspberries to be found. It was already 8:30pm and I still hadn’t been home so the thought of searching all the grocery stores between where I was and home was just not my idea of a good time. One f my favorite things about black raspberry ice cream is it’s pretty color so I figured I would settle for blackberry ice cream. And before you say to yourself “Aren’t blackberries the same as black raspberries?” I’ll answer it for you, no, they’re not. Google tells me so. I don’t think I’ve ever had blackberry ice cream and even though it was a darker color it was still so delicious. Puddles snuck some while I was taking pictures and in less than 30 seconds she had gobbled down my three tiny scoops. Lucky for me there was more to go around!

I have quite a few ice cream books. I really want the Ice Cream Ireland one, but because I’m in the stupid US I can’t get it without paying like a bajillion dollars in shipping if I can even find somewhere to buy it from. Grumble Seriously though, their blog is amazing if you like ice cream. Everything I’ve made from their blog is delish! This recipe came from a random cookbook I picked up on the Border’s sale racks but it’s fab and there are lots of great recipes. Even better is the fact that a lot of the recipes have instructions to make the ice cream by hand without an ice cream maker.

PS neener neener CB I can make ice cream and yooouuu can’t … if you move to Boston I’ll share wink wink nudge nudge

Blackberry Ice Cream - The Ice Cream Book by: Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis

5 cups blackberries

6 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp water

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

- Put the blackberries in a pan, cover with the sugar and water. Put a lid on it and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until they’re soft.

- Dump (ya dump that’s what I said) everything from the pan into a sieve and put it though until you’re just left with the nasty stuff you don’t want.

- Put ice cream in ice cream maker for about 10-15 minutes until it starts to firm up then slowly pour the whipping cream in.

- Let the ice cream maker do it’s thing and enjoy!

Because I feel semi guilty that I never do the MeMe’s CB tags me for I guess I’ll do this one

1. Why did you start your blog?

I started my first blog years ago. A good friend has a very popular blog in Egypt and I wanted to be as cool as he was. Tragically, it never happened. I have my suspicions that it’s because in about a year I had about 10 blog updates. My next two blogs were started around the same time. One was a blog of the last 100 days before my wedding … I got from day 100 to day 96 before I lost interest and the other was my first cooking blog. Initially it was a locked blog and I pretty much used it as my own online recipe file, but things change and I started posting, then I moved over here and I have CDF and MasterBaker now

2. How did you come up with your blog name?

I’m horrible at coming up with names for things so I asked my hubs and this is what I got stuck with Master Baker was a little easier and I’m not commenting on why that is.

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog, and what do they think?
Most of my family and friends know, but I don’t think they come visit and if they do they sure as hell don’t comment. I almost pooped my pants the day I got a comment from my Mom. Now my Jknotties, they sit online all day too so of course they know and visit.

4. How do you write posts?

Um, I sit down at the computer and use my amazing typing skills to type whatever it is my little heard desires. I don’t really understand this question.

5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?

Well if the DB gods can be considered trolls then yes I’ve had them. They didn’t like that they couldn’t control what I write on my blog so they got their big bad posse together and tried to scare me into submission. They’re neither cool enough or bad ass enough to scare me so I didn’t care. In the end I did leave all the comments they wrote up (if I want to speak my mind then people have a right to hear the other side), but after a few hours of going around in a circular motion I closed comments on the post, but all were left up.

6. Do you check your stats or care how many people read your blog? If you care, how do you increase traffic?

I used to check my stats more than I do now. I think that’s partially due to the fact that I’ve been so damn busy. Of course I want lots of people to read and enjoy my blog, but as long as CB still reads it then I’m happy.

For those of you who have never seen Kenny vs Spenny I beg you to start watching.  It’s terrible, but most of the episodes will have you rolling on the floor peeing your pants.  The premise of the show is that two buddies Kenny Holtz and Spencer “Spenny” Rice think up these wacky contests to have and then compete, typically over the course of a few days and at the end the loser has to suffer some type of humiliation.  The general rule of thumb is that Kenny always cheats and Spenny always loses, but on occassion, things are reversed.

Last night I was watching/listening to streaming videos while doing work and I stumbled across a Kenny vs Spenny I had never seen … Who’s the best Chef.  This is one of the few episodes where Spenny cheats and he knew, Kenny seems like a bit of  foodie.  Sure hummus isn’t too hard to make, but how good do burnt molasses ribs sound (with red wine and garlic).  I want to try to figure out how he made them and I don’t even like ribs.  For a little chuckle and a whole different type of cooking contest take a look here

It’s not the necessarily the funniest episode, but it’s probably the most enjoyable episode for us foodies.

I feel like I’m going cross-eyed with how busy I’ve been.  Have I mentioned how much I hate being busy?  Ok, I did go out to dinner last night and that was fun even though it added to my overstuffed schedule it was an enjoyable break from the craziness and drunkenness of the last week.  I got to see blog-a-phobe KT and fellow TWD-er Beth (if CB would just move her butt to MA I would have seen her too).  Then today at work my boss was whining that in the last week since I got my new work comp I haven’t been able to get 2 weeks of work re-input in addition to my regular workload.  Ya, that’s 3 weeks worth of work in one week.  I’m sick of him whining so I had to bring work home tonight and waste 3 hours re-doing work I’ve already done.  Damn you Quickbooks and your stupid backup failure the day before my comp died and fried my poor hard drive.

In the middle of doing work I took a break to do the one thing that relaxes me most.  I baked!  Well, that’s kinda a lie.  Sleeping relaxes me more, but we’re talking about non sleep related things.  In case you’re wondering what my #3 most relaxing thing is, I’ll tell you.  It’s chopping veggies.  Oh I love it, I could do it all day.  I’m tired and rambling can you tell?

On to the torte goodness … I love pureeing Oreos.  I did it with the TWD marshmallows and they’re just so much fun and the powder is so yummy.  You know you tasted it too.  I was a little worried that my oreo crust needed more butter, but as always Dorie knows best and after it baked it was perfect.   Then came the PB moose (hehe Moose is the best way to spell it who cares if it’s wrong).  I’ll be honest here, Dorie didn’t know best.  I tasted the mousse before adding the cream and I liked it better.  I’m all about the PB.  I skipped the ganache because my buddy Beth mentioned last night that she thought it was too much.  I think I would have to agree more chocolate would have been good for G and bad for me.  Since I’m the baker what I say goes.

My only real complaint is the waiting time.  Of course I fixed that by cooling all the steps in the freezer, which went just fine until the very end when I went to release my springform pan.  The PB filling was a wee bit frozen to the sides so there was a bit of split-age on one part (you can see it in the picture).  I’m a thinker though so I fixed that lickity split.  I just got a warm cloth and rubbed it around the edge of the pan.  Volia!  Perfect loosening.

RPS found this article and it seriously gets me all girly and emotional. Obviously, the greatest thing about planning my wedding was marrying my wonderful hubby, but the close second (I think G sometimes wonders if it’s #1) was meeting my Jknotties. I never really got close with the Boston knotties, but the July 2007 Jknotties will seriously be my friends for life. Yes, I know it’s crazy, but you know you all have blogger friends too so be quiet. We come from all over the country, but I’ve managed to meet somewhere between 15 and 20 of them IRL. I saw one at a Red Sox game last week and am going out to dinner with two on my lovely ladies tonight. You beeches are the bomb and I love you like a fat kid loves cake.

PS CB is the love of my life, my wife on the side, the person I talk to more than G … she is the CB to my NB. (Is your shout out good enough?)

I promise I’ll bake this weekend. Poor TWD, DB and CH just weren’t meant to happen this week. Until then, you’re stuck listening to my ramblings.

I’m a creature of habit. The nice and boring kind of creature. I go to the same places every time I go out to eat and I order the same things. My husband complains that of the 100 or so restaurants in our mini city we have been to only three. Of those three, there’s only one that we’ve been to more than once. We go to that one restaurant pretty much all the time. What can I say, I’m addicted to Acapulco’s chicken fajitas. Now, being a bit of a foodie, this is not something I’m exactly proud of, but I know what I like and I know better than to mess with something that’s not broken.

This brings me to lunch today. I typically go two one of two places with the grocery store and Panera tossed in once in a blue moon. It’s either Qdoba for a plain burrito or Quiznos for a Turkey Bacon Guac sub. Quiznos is across the street so I end up there more often than not. I love the people who work there. I feel like they’re almost friends, but not quite. I know about their lives, they know about mine. They know what I order so I can skip the line when it’s massive and I get some of the best discounts you’ve ever seen. Today I wondered over to Quiznos only to find that they shut down. Somehow I missed the memo that it was happening and I’m sad. Sure, there’s another one 5 minutes away, but it’s not the same.

There’s just something about being a “regular” that’s nice. When you walk in you brighten up someones day and they brighten up yours. Even if it’s only for a few brief minutes you get to know these people and appreciate them and no, it’s not just because they cut my bill in half. I play with their new babies, I celebrate their engagements, I update them on the weather. I just like being a regular. It’s like Cheers (the TV show, not the replica bars in Boston) where everyone knows your name. I like that, hell I love it. I want more of it.

So today, I was grumpy when I walked into the other Quiznos. Their service is terrible, the people aren’t friendly and frankly my sub wasn’t nearly as good as it usually is. Oh and did I mention I had to wait in line for 10 minutes and pay full price. Ugh, not my idea of a good time. I don’t want to be their regular, I’m bitter and I don’t like them.

Yes, I’m whining … I want my “regular” status back.
Are you a regular anywhere? What perks do you get?

Note: the first two paragraphs are total rambling mumbo jumbo … the third paragraph is what’s important

This month is seriously kicking my butt.  I’m never busy, I don’t like to be, I prefer to make plans at the last minute and I like never needing a calender.  This month has been crazy though.  Between going away, being sick (which really isn’t enjoyable relaxation time), two bridal showers for weddings I’m in, baking for said bridal showers and what seems like a million other things  I’m ready to tap out and take a nap on my desk.  Yesterday was my first day off in awhile and I woke up at 11:45 and was back asleep from 2-6pm.  I’m still tired.

This weekend I had baking to do for the bridal shower and I kinda sorta don’t have any pictures for you.  I was running extremely late because I had tripped, knocked over milk, did some milk surfing, a split and dropped half of the cake I was making for the shower.  That meant I needed to bake a second cake, let it cool enough for me to frost it and make the 45 min drive to the shower location in 1.5 hrs … ugh not happening.  That second cake didn’t have time to set after I frosted it because I walked out the door 2 seconds later so it went slip sliding all over the place.  Somehow, I was able to save it and got tons of compliments on it, but damn I don’t want to do that ever again.  And my edible arrangement and trifle they were so damn cute, but I was in such a rush pictures were never taken.

So this brings me to the real reason for my post.  At the shower, the bridal party’s gifts were the last to be opened.  The group gift was opened, then the gift from me and two of the other BMs was opened.  While the second gift I was a part of was being opened the MOH got up and started putting out dessert.  Now, I made all of the dessert and there were still last touches that needed to be complete before they were put on the table.  Of course I wasn’t going to leave while the gift I bought was being opened and if someone had asked if everything was good to be set out I would have told them what needed to be done.  Instead, as soon as my gift is opened I rush over as the MOH is putting out my trifle that still needs it’s top layer of cool whip (I didn’t want the tin foil to smoosh it and it takes 3 seconds).  I really don’t want to be adding the top layer while it’s on the table, but I was given no say in how the dish was put out there because someone else took it upon them self to assume and put my goodies out without mentioning it to me first.  Then, to make matters worse, my cake that I saved from almost certain death was left on the bottom of the cake carrier when it was put out on the table.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?  I would NEVER put a cake out on the table with that thing underneath it.  The big clips around the sides do not belong on a pretty table dammit!  My cake had been through enough that day, it did not need to add white trash presentation to the list of it’s problems.

I know CB will agree with me on this one, but what do the rest of you think?  Is it super anal retentive that after spending hours and I mean many hours on the things I made that I should want them put out on the table complete and looking pretty?

I know, I know, I’m a little late, but I got my new computer at work which is WAY more exciting than uploading my ugly picture I snapped quickly last night before I went to bed.  I mean my new comp is awesome.  More hard drive space than I can use up, 4 gigs ram so I can have a bazillion things open and still have a rocking comp.   A massive 20 or 22 inch wide screen moitor annnnd I can leave it on my desk because it’s slim so when I have to burn CD’s on a regular basis I don’t have play around under my desk.  Because of how my desk is set up it’s a hugemongous pain in the rear and I burn CDs daily.

Ok on to the carrot cake.  Laurie had mentioned that it seemed like a lot of carrots.  I was amused while I was grating them so I grated all three cups and it was too much.  I like carrots, but 3 cups?  In one cake?  It’s just too much.  All in all I really liked this cake, but next time I would use less carrots.  I think I may even try it sometime without any carrots.  I’ll call it a not so carrot cinnamon coconut cake.  Mmm now that sounds delish.

I made the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake for a friend’s shower this weekend.  People raved about how good it was and I was even asked if it was my super secret amazing recipe.  Well, I do love sharing recipes, but sometimes it’s a little more fun to enjoy the ego stroking that’s happening.  So, like a complete AW I smiled, nodded my head and let her think it was my very own.  Little does she know the recipe is on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa container.  Bahahaha

Yes, that’s right folks I now only have one kitchen appliance (14 cup food processor) left on my list of “every kitchen appliance I could ever want.”  Obviously, that list doesn’t include a drool worthy AGA stove, but that’s on a whole different list of large scale appliances for when I get a house in 20 years or so.

Anyway, back to my hand mixer.  For awhile I felt like I didn’t need one.  I mean I already have a wonderful KA stand mixer that I love and adore, but lately, I’ve been getting frustrated.  My KA does a stand up job, but it feels like such a waste to have to use the big guy when I’m mixing something small and basic.  I also get really annoyed when I’m making cupcakes because I’ll throw my first batch in and want to get started on the frosting, but NOooooooooooo I still have batter in the bowl and I’m way too lazy to get a new bowl, scoop the batter out, wash the KA bowl … ugh hassle and a half.  In the end I say I’ll do it after the cuppys are done, but inevitably I’m “over it” by the time the cuppys are done and they won’t get frosting for another day or so if they ever get it.  Now I know my little gripes can be easily solved with a few extra little things, but really, I have too much already and I wanted to keep it to one easy solution.

I thought it would hang out on my list for awhile and eventually I would get around to buying one.  It wasn’t like the day I decided I needed a stand mixer and within a few days I had one.  Well, today I wanted to take a long lunch because it’s Friday, it’s nice out, and I get Monday off for Marathon Monday so a long weekend is headed my way.  I ended up finding my way to Macy’s and figured ehh I’ll go see if there’s anything good.  Then I remembered that I had a gift card for $28 and change that expires next month.  Yay for wedding registry rewards.

I get in the store and it’s popping.  I look at the purses meh nothing good on sale.  Then I headed downstairs to look for cooking goodies.  Meh, the Martha Stewart stuff is so overpriced for the quality and I just wasn’t feeling any of it.  I almost got some random cookbook they had just so I could use my gift card before it expired, but then …. I saw the 7 cup food processor on sale hmm, I wonder if the 14 cup is too?  Nope, it’s still more than I came to spend BUT, the hand mixers were on sale for $50 w00t, $50 -$28 + tax = $24 yippity skippity.  I snached up the black one (they only had black and white) and now, sitting in my car, waiting for me to get home and start baking is my brand new hand mixer.  I’m giddy.

I love kitchen appliances … it’s a severe addiction … I have a problem (that’s the first step right?) … I think I might need meetings