Brandy Alexander Pie

The big “3-0″ is just around the corner, so my “cousins” and I are meeting up tonight for a little shopping, dinner, dessert and wine.  I’m not much of a birthday cake girl, so I’m bringing a pie and wanted to try something different.  A while back while perusing recipes for a boozy frosting I came across a recipe called 1975 Dick Taeuber’s Brandy Alexander Pie and immediately bookmarked it.  A gingersnap cookie crust, meringue, cognac, creme de cacao and fresh whipped cream… how can you go wrong with that?!

I’m glad that the person who posted this gave a few pointers on it, because I think I would have screwed it up if she hadn’t.  Two things to remember:  don’t let the gelatin mixture boil, and don’t refrigerate it too long before folding in egg whites and whipped cream.  Once the gelatin mixture has been in the fridge long enough to start to form a “skin” on the edge of whatever you have it in, it’s time to fold in the egg whites and whipped cream.

While I haven’t cut into the pie yet, I did put some filling in a little bowl in the fridge so that I could check if it set up correctly and we have success… delicious success!  The texture is on par with a mousse, and the flavor reminds me of brandy ice from White Fence Farm.

BRANDY ALEXANDER PIE

• 1 1/2 c. gingersnap crumbs
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 3 eggs at room temperature, separated
• 1/4 c. cognac
• 1/4 c. creme de cacao
• 1 c. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degree.  Combine crumbs and butter and press into a 10-inch pie pan.  Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

Add water to a saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over top.  Add 1/3 c. sugar and egg yolks and heat until mixture thickens slightly.  Do not let boil.  Pour into a large mixing bowl and refrigerate until a skin just starts to form around the edge of the bowl.

Beat egg whites until stiff and add 1/3 c. sugar.  Beat until shiny and stiff peaks form.  Fold onto gelatin mixture.  Beat heavy cream until soft peaks form and folk into gelatin/egg white mixture.  Pour into cooled crust and refrigerate for at least a few hours.

I put some shaved chocolate on there just because it was a little blah looking.  Given that the taste reminds me of brandy ice from White Fence Farm I think a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg would actually work well here too, just like they do with their dessert.

A Year…

So, I broke protocol a couple weeks ago when I put a post on here about a craft, and I’m doing it again… but this one isn’t a craft.  For those who don’t know me well, I’m almost 2 years into making me a healthier, happier person.  A year into it I wrote a note about it and a friend recently suggested that I make it public because “you never know how it could help someone”.  I’m just a normal person, but if this post helps someone or inspires them to help themselves I’m all about it.

So… here it is.  Published Sunday, April 24, 2011.  Almost exactly a year to the date that I started.

 

A YEAR…

A year.  365 days.  8,760 hours.  525,600 minutes.  A year is a long time, and this week marks the week that I decided to make a change in my life.  I know exactly what day it was, I know exactly what students I had that day, and I know exactly where I was when I was just DONE.

DONE feeling like crap about my body.  DONE looking in the mirror and not wanting to smile at the person looking back at me.  DONE making excuses for myself.  DONE taking care of everything and everyone except me.

People who say, “It doesn’t matter what you look like – it’s what’s on the inside that counts,” are partially full of crap.  Yes, your heart, your soul, your faith, your personality, your sense of humor… those things are all more important than how you look.  Here’s the thing that gets me though:  unless you’re okay with your outward appearance, it’s nearly impossible for the important stuff to shine through. Controversial?  Maybe.  Do I really believe that?  Without question.

In a 25 minute car ride on the way home from teaching an 8:30pm piano lesson on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010, I had a heart to heart with my unhappy heart.  When I thought about it, my physical appearance – my weight, in specific – was making me absolutely miserable.  What’s on the inside IS, in fact, most important, but the problem was that what was on my outside was making my “inside” really unhappy.

I’m not an “excuses” type of person in most aspects of my life, but when it came to taking care of myself physically, I had A LOT of excuses.  My big two were:  “I’ve had knee surgery two times,” and (here’s the BIG one), “I don’t have time.”

That’s a simple one:  MAKE TIME!  You do have time, you just have to find it.  Do it for yourself.

I’m not writing this out as a “hoorah Amy!” post.  I’m writing this out to encourage the people who find themselves in the same boat I found myself in a year ago.  Cliché as it sounds, it’s a journey that I’m not yet finished with, but we’re getting there.  I’m down almost 70 pounds and 4 or 5 sizes, but most importantly, I feel better about me.

I’ve been thinking about this day for a while, and have decided to share a few things for those looking to embark on a similar “inside out” or “outside in” journey.

 

1.     LOOK IN THE MIRROR.  Why?  Because the person who is responsible is looking back at you.  My weight ballooned out of control because I, no one else, was eating things I shouldn’t have been eating and not taking care of myself.

2.     DECIDE.  Make a decision to make a change and don’t allow yourself to look back.  Take responsibility for where you’re at TODAY.  Not next month, not next week, not tomorrow… TODAY.  Delaying it just prolongs your unhappiness.  Be like Nike and Just Do It.

3.     TELL YOUR FRIENDS.  The night I decided that I was going to do something about my weight I called my friend Katie and told her what I had decided.  Whether or not she believed I was going to do it wasn’t that important to me.  I had told someone beside myself and that was an important step in holding myself accountable.

4.     TAKE BABY STEPS. I needed to lose at least 100 pounds, but that’s a pretty daunting number and it’s not something that happens quickly.  Start by shedding 1 pound, then 5, then 10.  Allow yourself the luxury of celebrating each small victory.

5.     JOURNAL.  I highly recommend keeping a food journal and writing down everything you eat.  Let people read it – chances are that if people are looking at it, you’ll stay away from things that you shouldn’t be eating in the first place.

6.     CHEAT.  Given the comment from #5 above about things you shouldn’t be eating, you might think that I’m not in favor of cheating.  Wrong!  I think it’s an absolute must.  What you need to do is learn to plan for the cheat.  Save calories, add a work out for the week… do something to offset it.  It feels good to be in control of it, and most likely whatever you choose to cheat with is something you enjoy.  (I, for one, am a fan of a small mint oreo blizzard from DQ.)

7.     WEIGH IN ONCE A WEEK.  Not going to lie, I sometimes freak out that I ate horribly and get on the scale to see how much I gained.  It does nothing for you mentally – don’t do it.  I’ve seen my weight fluctuate as much as 8 pounds within a few days, but invariably by my weekly Wednesday morning weigh-in it has settled out to be in line with where I should be in comparison to the previous week.  Weigh yourself once a week, same day, same time of day.

8.     WORKOUT BUDDIES.  My workout buddy and friend, Laura, has been an invaluable part of this process for me.  The girl is in excellent shape, and she taught me how to work out.  (I quite literally did not know how.)  Additionally, she and her hubby (who is a tough cookie!) get an email from me every Wednesday with my weigh-in results.  They’ve celebrated some big numbers with me, and have also shared my frustrations on other occasions.

9.     LEARN TO TAKE A COMPLIMENT.  (Side note:  I cannot take a compliment to save my life.)  People are going to notice, and they’re going to be nice and tell you that you look great.  I still don’t know what to say… is “thanks” what you’re supposed to say?  My standard response is “we’re getting there”.  I had a friend of the male persuasion recently tell me that he found me attractive.  It wasn’t a loaded compliment – just something he thought I should know and feel good about.  Rather than say “thank you”, I promptly asked, “Why?”  Don’t do that – not being able to take a compliment is actually really unattractive.  (That being said, tips on compliment taking would be much appreciated – I suck at it.)

10. GET RID OF YOUR TOO-BIG CLOTHES.  It feels SO good to get rid of garbage bags of things that no longer fit you.  I’m at 8 so far.  Donate them and don’t look back.  On the same token, be budget conscious as you shop while you’re downsizing… you’ll go broke buying outfits in every size you pass through.  With the exception of well-fitting bras (this is not a point of compromise in my mind), buy things that will fit for a while or that can easily be taken in.  Cardigans that get too big look cute left unbuttoned with a skinny belt over top.  Dresses that get too big can be cinched with a belt and a cardigan.  Jeans can start taking trips through a hot washer and a dryer set on “high”.  Workout clothes are supposed to be tight – buy them that way.

Anyway, those are just a couple things… I’ve learned a lot in the past year and I’ve surprised myself a lot too.  I’m capable of an awful lot, and you are too.

Lemon Cheesecake

My parents are going to a New Years party tomorrow and were asked to bring something that starts with the letter ‘L’.  Mom asked me to take care of it for her.  After going through multiple internet lists of appetizers and desserts that start with ‘L’, I settled on a Lemon Cheesecake recipe that I found on www.allrecipes.com but utilized some of the edits from the comments.  It’s actually called Luscious Lemon Cheesecake, so it doubly fulfills the ‘L’ requirement, but there’s something about the word luscious… I’m leaving it out!

LEMON CHEESECAKE

Crust:

• 1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 3/4 c. ground almonds
• 1/3 c. butter, melted
• 1/4 c. sugar

Filling:

• 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 T. lemon juice
• zest of 3 lemons
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 T. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Turn 9-inch springform pan upside-down and cover with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  (This cheesecake is baked in a water bath, so the foil will prevent water from seeping in.)

Combine graham crumbs, ground almonds, butter and sugar and toss with fork.  Press into the bottom and 3/4 of an inch up the sides of the springform pan (I find that a flat-bottom highball glass works great for this).  Bake for 8-10 minutes at 475.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.  Add extracts, zest and juice, and combine well, scraping bowl once or twice to be sure cream cheese is worked through.  Add eggs one at a time and then pour filling into crust.

Set springform pan inside a larger pan (for me, my jumbo frying pan is my best option).  Pour hot water between the springform pan and the pan you set it in.  Bake at 475 for 15 minutes, reduce oven temp to 350 and bake for an additional 60 minutes or until lightly browned on top.  Remove from oven and take cheesecake out of water bath.  Return cheesecake to oven (turned-off ) and leave in there for 30 minutes with door cracked open.

Mrs. Verburg, think you could take a pic of a piece once you all cut into this tomorrow night?

Baked crust set in the frying pan ready for filling and a water bath.

Filling...

Voilá!

Chippy Dippy Bars

An oldie but a goodie… these bars have been around for a long time.  I’m headed up to Michigan this weekend for New Years and wanted to take a plate of baked goods for my hostess so I pulled out my handy-dandy PRCS (Protestant Reformed Christian School) Cookbook and looked these up.

Chippy Dippy Bars have multiple names: Chippy Dippy Squares, Layer Bars, Magic Cookie Squares, Butterscotch Coconut Bars… the list goes on.  Essentially, it’s a graham cracker crumb crust sprinkled with coconut, butterscotch and chocolate chips and then drizzled with a can of sweetened condensed milk.  No mixer required, so the clean-up is easy.

CHIPPY DIPPY BARS

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 3 T. sugar
• 1 c. flaked coconut (shredded is fine)
• 6 oz. butterscotch chips
• 6 oz. chocolate chips
• 1 c. pecans, chopped (I usually skip this)
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine graham crumbs, butter and sugar in a bowl and toss with fork to combine.  Press into bottom of a greased 9×13 pan and sprinkle coconut, nuts and chips over top.  Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk and bake for 25 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting.

Best EVER Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend Stacie has a blog called Kats Kitchen and she posted a recipe for M&M Cookies 2 or 3 years ago that I’ve been using to make Chocolate Chip Cookies ever since.  Her recipe is an adaptation of Alton Brown’s The Chewy.

BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 T. milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 c. bread flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 c. chocolate chips

Sift flour, salt and baking soda.  Set aside.

Combine melted butter and sugar in mixing bowl and mix on low until combined.  Add egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla and continue mixing.  Slowly add flour mixture and then chocolate chips.  Chill dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Generously scoop onto cookie sheets (I usually get about 2 1/2 dozen cookies out of one batch).  And here’s where I learned something new… cookie sheet rotation!

This may be old news to some of you, but cookie sheet rotation makes a huge difference.  I put in the first tray on the top rack, set the timer for 7 minutes, rotate and add a tray to the bottom rack.  Set the timer for 7 minutes, take out the tray on the top rack, rotate the tray on the bottom rack and move to top.  7 more minutes… you get the idea.  Granted, every oven is different, but a total of 14 minutes gives me a perfect cookie in mine – lightly browned on the edges and soft in the middles.  PERFECT.

Chocolate Chip Cookies on the bottom left. Ina's Granola Bars on the top left. Pizza dough on the bottom right. (Recipes for granola bars and pizza dough are elsewhere on my blog.)

Hand-Stamped Tile Coasters

Yes, I’m fully aware that this is a food blog, but we’re going against the grain a little today and posting about a craft.  Theoretically, it ties in since you would use it when eating/drinking, but that’s a bit of a stretch I suppose…

Every year for Christmas I alternate between giving my co-workers a food or craft item as a Christmas gift.  This year was a craft year and I stole this idea from the mom of one of my mother’s students who gave one of these coaster sets to my mom for Christmas a couple years back.

I’m not lying when I say it’s easy.  It might, in fact, be the easiest craft I’ve done so far.  I’m 500% sure that it was easier than the etched wine glasses I did two years ago, right Laura and Stacie?!

HAND-STAMPED TILE COASTERS

Materials:

• Unglazed, unpolished natural stone tile (I found these at Home Depot for about $4/pack of 9)
• Rubber stamp
• Ink Pad (I tried a couple brands and the only brand that didn’t bleed into the tile was Staz On)
• Adhesive felt discs (the smaller version of the kind used on dining room chairs to prevent floor scratches)
• Ribbon

Open packages of tiles and wipe surfaces with a slightly damp washcloth to get rid of grit.  Wipe dry with a towel.

About three tiles into stamping I quickly realized that it would be easier for me to press the tile onto the stamp as opposed to pressing the stamp onto the tile.  Doing it that way allowed me to see which part of the stamp I was using so that I didn’t go crooked or miss part of the tile entirely.  So, place the stamp face up and then ink it with the pad.  Turn tile carefully onto stamp, press, let sit for a couple seconds and then carefully lift off stamp.  Set it face-up to dry.

Once the tiles are dry (wait about 10-15 minutes to be safe) flip them all over and put adhesive felt discs onto the corner of every tile.  Stack in sets of 4 and tie with a ribbon.  It really is that easy, and they look REALLY good.  Depending on which tile you pick, they’ll even absorb moisture.  The travertine I chose absorbs moisture quite well.

A few pics for your viewing pleasure:

Here's a close-up of the tiles. Took this right after I stamped them while they were drying.

Backs of tiles so that you can see the little adhesive circles.

Finished product, all wrapped and ready to gift.

Mrs. Menghini’s Meatballs

VanderCook College of Music published a cookbook (aptly titled ‘The VanderCookBook’) a little over a year ago as a fundraiser for our Great Teachers Scholarship fund (designed to help future music educators meet their educational expenses).  Our president’s wife is a fantastic cook and she came through with some great staple recipes that I’ve been using ever since I got a hold of them.

I’m not a spaghetti person, but the family is and these meatballs were a big hit.  We really don’t use any other meatball recipe anymore.

MRS. MENGHINI’S MEATBALLS

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
• 1/2 c. onion, minced
• 3/4 c. bread crumbs
• 1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Mix well and scoop (I use one of these ice cream scoops) onto a cookie sheet.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 for one hour and then add to pasta sauce and simmer until ready to serve.  I usually get about 20 good-sized meatballs out of this.

In a busy house like ours, we typically mix these up on Saturdays and then freeze them on a cookie sheet until the night before we’re going to use them.  Transfer to the fridge before you head to bed and they’re thawed (or thawed enough) by the time you need to get dinner started the next night.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

The last Evanston Farmer’s Market of the year was today, and I loaded up on fresh Michigan apples and Wisconsin cranberries.  Normally, the last thing I want to do after working a 12 hour day is start cooking and baking, but I had the itch today.  In addition to the Crisp I’ve also got one last batch of Stuffed Pumpkins prepped for lunch tomorrow and made a big pot of Potato Leek Soup for dinner tonight.  My brother even made a special trip down into the field today and picked fresh leeks for me for the soup!  Doesn’t get much fresher than that!

Anyway, back to the Crisp…  I just started looking through cabinets and throwing stuff together.  Admittedly, I used a friend’s secret apple crisp recipe for the inspiration for the topping.  (Don’t worry Jamie, I ran out of a few things and had to adjust your secret.)   So, here goes…

CRANBERRY APPLE CRISP

• 20 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored and diced (I used gala today because that’s what I got cheap from another vendor)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. maple extract
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 2 c. fresh cranberries, boiled until popped and mashed
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 3/4 c. oatmeal
• 1 c. almonds, pulsed on food processor until fine
• 1 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. butter
• 2 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Add maple extract to butter.  Mix apples, cranberries, sugar, pie spice, and cinnamon and pour butter/extract over top.  Mix until well coated and pour into a large (10×14 or bigger) casserole dish.

Combine flour, oatmeal, almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Toss with a fork.  Drizzle melted butter over top and toss until crumbly.  Pour over apples and spread evenly.  Bake 30-45 minutes until apples are bubbly and topping is slightly browned.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or brandied whipped cream.

Cranberries and apples ready for topping...

Perfect!

Stuffed Pumpkins

I made Stuffed Pumpkins again for lunch today to go with a turkey breast, mashed potatoes and fresh brussel sprouts. THIS TIME I remembered to take pictures! I posted the recipe 2 posts ago but added a couple things today, including some fresh cranberries I picked up at market yesterday and actually liked the stuffing even better.

STUFFED PUMPKINS

• 10 mini pumpkins, washed, topped, gutted and rinsed
• 1 lb. sage pork sausage
• 1 box wild rice, prepared according to box
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 apple, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3/4 c. fresh cranberries, boiled until popped and tender then roughly chopped
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. celery salt
• 1/4 c. apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay pumpkins and their tops on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Brown sausage and set aside. In same pan, saute apples and onions until onions are translucent and apples are tender. Add brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, celery salt and cider to apples and onions and return sausage to pan. Add 1/2 to 3/4 of the prepared rice and mix together. Stuff pumpkins and place pumpkin tops back on. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

NOTE: This would be a great Thanksgiving Day recipe. All the ingredients can be prepared in advance, refrigerated and reheated. I baked my pumpkin shells last night and then made the stuffing while I was getting the rest of lunch ready. The leftover stuffed pumpkins also reheat very well in the microwave.

Baking the shells...

Stuffing pre-cranberries...

Boiling the fresh cranberries until they pop and are tender...

Voilá!

Coconut Macaroons

If you read my last post, you’ll see that I made creme brulee yesterday for a dinner party.  As creme brulee only uses the healthiest of ingredients – heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar – I was left with a dozen egg whites.  I am the guiltiest of the guilty when it comes to wasting egg whites – always separate the yolks with the best of intentions and plan to use them, but consistently find them in a fridge a month later and end up throwing them out.

I was in the mood for a little baking this evening and remembered those egg whites.  I’d never made them before but remembered seeing a recipe in my  Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook (yes, I wanted the pink one) for Coconut Macaroons.

They’re JD.  Just.  Delicious.

COCONUT MACAROONS

• 7 oz. bag shredded coconut
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Add vanilla, beat again, set aside.  Combine coconut, sugar, flour and salt and fold in egg whites until well combined.  Drop by teaspoonful onto parchment and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Let cool and drizzle with melted chocolate.  Store in airtight container.  (Truth be told, I didn’t feel like washing two cookie sheets so I made mine twice as big as you’re supposed to so I could fit them all on one, but they still turned out great.)