Orange Item of the Week

I have been trapped in my house with snow for four days.  I have used all my candy crush lives and clearly lost my mind.  This week's orange item is a pashmina folded into a turban.

Scones

"I made scones," Jen said "they came out really light and delish."  After those words came out of Jen Sikes's mouth (well, fingers, we were messaging) I could think of nothing else.  Light, buttery scones.        I began to scour my library of cookbooks, only to arrive at King Arthur Flour online.  These are their basic scones, I added dried cherries procured at a store during a visit to NYC and almonds.  My mother was happy and for once, I made something that did not make her shrug and say, "eh."

I plan on making others in the upcoming weeks.  Jen has ignited some sort of scone related fire I did not know I had.

Valentine's Cupcakes

Clearly Mother Nature does not have a date for Valentine's either, since she has dropped a ton of snow on us keeping us all in for Cupid's Big Day.  Or they are in a fight.  Perhaps he stood her up last year.  We will never know.  But I decided to go ahead and use my fancy new Mast Brother's cookbook.

Amazingly I had all of these ingredients in my home and I got to use my new paper cupcake holders. I am not sure if the refined Mast Brothers would appreciate the flourish, but Joann did.  The frosting is a crazy easy ganache.  And yes, we still have our Christmas tablecloth on.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcakes (makes 12)

Unsalted butter                   1\2cup (1 stick)
Dark cocolate                      2 1\2oz chopped
Sugar                                   3\4 cup
Cocoa powder                      1\2 cup
Eggs                                     2
AP flour                                3\4 cup
Baking Powder                     1\2 t
Baking soda                         1\2 t
Heavy Cream                        1 cup

Ganache

Heavy Cream                       1 Cup
Dark Chocolaate                   10 oz

Make the cupcakes


Preeat oven to 350
Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan over low heat
Add sugar and cocoa powder
Add eggs, and dry ingredients, mix well
Add heavy cream, mix to combine
Pour batter into muffen cups and fill halfway, these guys EXPAND
Bake for 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean

Make the Ganache
Bring cream to boil in saucepan
Add chocolate and let melt for two minutes, then stir

Spoon or pipe over cupcakes.

How much snow have we had?

I can't yell you in inches, but we bought this can of hot chocolate before right before Xmas, and cracked it open ONLY when we have had snow.  Joann just got the last mugful while watching ski jumping.  Oh, and we have another open container.  I had to switch us to the non fat milk we have it so much.

Mast Brother's Cookbook

Joann took me to the happiest place on Earth (Barnes and Noble) and let me pick out a few cookbooks!  This one grabbed my attention.  The Mast Brother's own a cool factory/chocolate shop in Williamsberg Brooklyn.  That's right, hipster Fair Trade, ecofriendly,  gourmet chocolate.  This book is all chocolate, sweet and savory and dark chocolate only.  It is very Hemingway with the brother's talking about their trips to Maine and South America.    It is simple and very masculine with complex cooking.

I made Marbled Cheesecake Brownies.   At first they were intensely chocolate, (I liked) and by they next day they mellowed and became for fudgy.  At tat point, these brownies become like gold in my house with both parents sneaking portions hourly.  The next thing I think I am in to make is a Dark and Stormy cake.  It is supposed to snow on Sunday, so I thought it is a good time.  Plus there is no cake called The Shining.

Easy, and tasty, but use good dark chocolate.

Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

Makes 16

Dark chocolate          12oz copped (used my expensive chips.)
Unsalted Buter           3\4cup
Brown Sugar               1 1\2 cups
Vanilla bean (they use the seeds scraped from it, I used extract)
Eggs                            5
All Purpose Flour        1\2c
Baking Power             1 teaspoon
Sea SaLT                     1 teaspoon
Cream Ceesse             4 oz whipped

Preheat oven to 325, butter an 8 inch square pan


Melt he chocolate, butter, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat
Add vanilla seeds or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add eggs and combine
Add flour, baking powder and salt and combine until smooth
Gently fold in a quarter of the cream cheese at a time, leaving a marbled effect
Pour Marbled batter in pan
Bake for 40 minutes.  Let Cool.

I had no idea baked potatoes could explode.

Lesson learned.

A question for the ages.

I should be baking, but the potatoes for dinner are occupying the oven right now.  So, to tide you all over until dessert, here is an important question for all of you.

Orange Item of the Week

We are about to get another foot of snow.  I am not happy and have had enough of winter/the polar vortex for a while, thanks.  So while it is cold out there, it is warm in my house.  (No, really, I could not take it any more and cranked the heat.) Here is to hoping spring will be here soon.