Cupcakes for Jess!

I helped organize a memorial for a friend today - she was sick for a long time, and her family will have a formal service for her later in the month a few hours from here. But we wanted to do something locally for the people who knew and loved her.

Jess didn't always have a lot of energy, but in 2009/2010 she put together a blog focusing on the cupcakes she created. It was called Have Another Cupcake which was so apt! It was sheer torture to see the plate of cupcakes at her desk, and I bet few people had only one.

When we were planning the memorial several of us said we'd bring cupcakes, and I picked her When the Levee Breaks cupcakes. She was following the Iron Cupcake SF group, and around that time they chose music as a theme. You can read the rest of the story on her blog post with the recipe.

These pictures are of the assembly - I'd already made cupcakes, chocolate pudding, chocolate buttercream frosting, and chocolate cookie crumbs. (Jess didn't supply a frosting recipe so I used one from Joy the Baker.)

To get the pudding in the cupcake, you cut a cone out of each cupcake, and fill the hole with pudding. Then you trim the pointy bit off the cone (converting it into a cap!) and cover up the pudding.

Finally, you frost. Holy moly, amateur alert! I'd never tried doing anything fancy with the frosting bag & tips I got for my birthday. I have a LOT to learn about frosting.

Some strategically sprinkled crumbs helped quite a bit:

And, of course, they were eaten with alacrity. There were four types of cupcake on offer so I think Jessica would have been pleased!

 Thanks Jess. We had a party for you today.

Recipe review: Gougères

I discovered tasty, tasty goodness this year in the form of gougères! They seem to be all the rage in blog-land - even though I "only" subscribe to 27 food blogs (*blush*), I saw at least three recipes posted in the last month.

My first time through, I made the gougères using the ingredients from one blog post, and using some of the tips from another one. The results were tasty and appreciated - I brought some to a harvest party and some to Thanksgiving.

Recently I tried a slightly different recipe, with equally tasty results. It's a rather interesting technique: you boil  liquids and butter on the stovetop, add flour, and stir like a maniac. After the batter cools a little, you add eggs, then cheese.

The result is a smooth, gooey batter. You can blop it or pipe it onto a cookie sheet - the ones in this picture are so close together because they're headed to the freezer.

The finished product is puffy, a bit salty (perhaps too much so, this time, but I expect forgiveness!), and entirely delicious. They're also not supposed to deflate like mine have, but I think the batter is too damp, based on some of the pictures I've seen online. I guess I just need more practice!

I really love that you can freeze them unbaked, and then put them straight into the oven without thawing them. I plan to use some of the ones in my freezer over the next week or so!

End-of-year roundup

2011 has definitely been a year of adventure and surprises. The hands-down coolest and most unexpected thing was learning to scuba dive, and deploying my new skills in the waters of Honduras. The most shocking/saddest thing is a tie in three parts, is all about death, and that's enough said about that for this post.

 Slot canyon hike in New Mexico

Travel:
I traveled a lot - to New Mexico with friends, Los Angeles, Florida, Honduras, Greece (yes, on miles), Portland, Ashland, and Yosemite (my sixth visit in five years - go me!).

 Yosemite - August 2011

Outdoors:
I didn't hike too much this year: once in New Mexico, once in wine country, and a couple of hikes while at Yosemite (I'm detecting a high altitude trend!). I sort-of camped (as in, slept in a tent on the ground, but didn't hike or have a fire) at a bluegrass weekend event. The garden is limping along still.

Regular events:
- Lunch group wrapped up this year, after a four-year run (April 2007 til about June 2011). It was nice, and taught me a lot about cooking, but I don't know if I want to resume or not. I'm leaning toward not.
- My wine group is going semi-strong. I think it started in June 2008 and I can't honestly say I've absorbed much wine knowledge, but I've gotten to make some super fun desserts and other food offerings, and have had the experience of hosting a couple of times, so that's lovely.
- I still greatly enjoy participating in pub hunts and longer-form treasure hunts on a regular basis!
- This summer's Ashland trip was the fifth and continues to be a pleasure; my December Portland visit marked the 16th version of a cookie party there!

Experiences:
It's easy to forget I ever learned to scuba dive, and already my fledgling skills have shriveled to the point I'd probably want to take a refresher before diving much - but whenever I really think about it and recall the experience, I SO want another tropical diving vacation!

See? I look good in tropical splendor

I also went to cheese school a few times, learned how to process and filter beeswax, joined SFMOMA and got some culture, and got in another round of sea chanties. I almost-completely gutted and re-populated my bedroom. I infused some booze. I started to really get into bluegrass and am looking forward to volunteering at 2012's SFBOT for the fourth year.

And oh yeah, I turned 40. Honestly, with everything else going on it didn't seem like that big a deal! I was so grateful my Toronto friend made the trip to celebrate, and a local friend hosted a barbecue (featuring my favorite dish that she makes, and some killer sliders her hubby made!) (also featuring a hi-LAR-ious hot flash fan and other Turning Forty decorations!).

What's missing?
So, what didn't I do this year? I didn't volunteer too much - aside from a few gigs at February's SFBOT I don't think I did any. My friend/neighbor and I didn't do a BBQ series this year and I got asked about it a few times. I didn't host people at my place very often - I hosted a dinner in February, and a pre-concert get-together in December, and had guests stay a few nights, but that's really it.

So for 2012 I shall: volunteer more (already set to volunteer at The Crucible in January, and plan to do SFBOT in February); host people at my place more; have a few more BBQs in the warm weather months.

Traditions!

One of my favorite December traditions is an annual party I attend in Portland. It started as a cookie decorating party in 1996, and we've held some version of it every year since, making 2011's the 16th! That's mind boggling.

Counting me, seven of the adults in the picture have been there since the beginning. I've been to six weddings of people in this picture, helped name one of the kids, and got to meet one of the babies on the day of her birth! I feel super lucky to have this richness in my life. Hurrah for holiday traditions!

2011:12!

December, at last and so soon. It's been quite a year, but I won't get too cocky just yet - there are still 24 days left!

I always have a little trouble with photos for my winter month selections - I'm a traditionalist and think the pictures should at least be winterish even if I don't see that kind of weather much. Add in a desire for a Christmaslike December shot and it's tricky!

This month's picture is the very last of my New Zealand shots. I took it in a cemetery in Rotorua, in the tiny village of Ohinemutu.

Catch-up time

It's been a busy couple of weeks off the ol' blog:

• I'm wrapping up my beeswax project - and have managed to get wax and/or oil on every item of clothing I own, I swear! I even went the extra mile and found someone on Etsy to make labels for me. I'll link to her shop when I have pictures of the assembled project.
• I created and ordered the calendars for 2012. I think the layout will be better this year, though not every page will have a caption. The interface I use was eating up too much photo space with the text block, even though I wanted unobtrusive lettering. Fine, be that way. 
• Cleaned, made delicious apps, and had a few people over before going to see Pink Martini in concert. I wasn't going to go see them since I've gone to at least 8 shows by them, but Groupon posted a deal for $22 tickets! It was worth way more than twenty-two bucks, too - every time I see them I remember how very happy they make me feel. Their live performance energy is just so very positive!
• I made a SUPER yummy side dish for Thanksgiving: Butternut squash, kale, and cheddar bread pudding. 
• Checked in on my various boozy projects. The nocino is incredibly bitter and undrinkable, which I think is normal for its youth. This summer I wound up making two kinds of cherry bounce; the bourbon/sweet cherry is okay, but the vodka/sour cherry is outstanding, if sweet (you add sugar).
• Knitting is also proceeding apace, but those will be held in reserve for post-Christmas posting, if ever.

Stay tuned for the wrap-up on the various projects! I might even write up the end of the beeswax story even though a couple of the recipients may then have their Christmas surprise blown. 

International bundt day!!!

Mary the food librarian is at it again: It's International Bundt Day and yes, she likes big bundts! As it happens, so do I!

This is my third year participating; in 2009 I invented ginger-pear bundt. In 2010 I made Mexican hot chocolate bundt.

This year I played it simple: Spice cake with brown butter/vanilla glaze and yes, that frosting really did make the cake. It was greeted with much admiration and delight!

Do all bakers criticize their products? I thought the flavor was great but the crumb was too dense. I think I overmixed it. Still, it was delicious and I had no leftovers, so I couldn't critique it very carefully!

You'll find the recipe here.