Dunk & Crumble

Archives for October 2012

Tricksy Treats

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(Circa 1992.  My aunt made my clown costume and we all (pretty, pretty obviously) did our own makeup.  You’re welcome.)

Happy day-before-Halloween!  Or rather, as it’s called this year, crazy-nuts-hurricane-clean-up-day.

I hope you’re all staying high and dry and doing some fun Halloween treat-making.  Or baking.  Or eating.  If you have electricity, I mean.

Need some candy-coated inspiration?  How about some homemade marshmallows?

Totally toast-able.

Here, bowls of pumpkin patchy brown sugar vanilla bean pudding.

Chocolate peanut butter candy cake?

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Owl Cakes

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I mean…

Do I even need words for these?  How dang CUTE is he?

I could just eat him up.  Which, in fact, is exactly what I intend to do.  So.

Sorry I’m not sorry.

Here’s a checklist for owl cakes of your very own:

  1. cupcakes (from scratch or some sort of box mix, no judgement here)
  2. frosting (I will only sort of judge you if you use pre-made frosting)
  3. Oreo cookies (for owl eyes)
  4. Reese’s pieces or M&Ms (orange for beaks, brown or green or blue for eyeballs)

The little kiddos and I made these in cooking class today; they are, I think you’ll agree, a real hoot.  Happy almost-Halloween!

Baked Cinnamon Sugared Pumpkin Doughnuts

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These doughnuts are baked and not fried, cinnamon-sugared and not plain, eaten and not saved.  Both dunked and crumbled.  Take the leap!  Make some doughnuts.

Other leaps worth taking, while we’re on the subject:

Write things, even if you feel silly writing them.

Get up and out of the house.  Take a walk.  Wander.  Travel somewhere far!  If you can.

Send somebody a letter.  Like, in the mail.  (The mail, mail.)  What’s better than getting a nice letter written by hand?

Talk to that guy you think is so-o-o-oo cute.  Call him maybe.

Pause for a minute.  Look around.  Ok, go.

Wear something you think you can’t pull off.  If you’re wearing it (and walking tall in those boots), you’re pulling it off.

Use real butter.  Just, please do.

Be a friend.  A real one.  Everyone needs those.

Just a few leaps to keep in mind.  Mostly reminders to put yourself out there – socially, personally, professionally.  Mentally?

Sometimes I need a little extra push, a voice that says “go!” and “YOU can do it.”  Because things don’t always work out, but sometimes they do.  When they do, you’ll be glad you wrote that letter, or wore that skirt.  And when they don’t?  Well, then we get up, dust off, move on.  And either way, there are doughnuts.

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Nana’s Cheese Biscuits

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I spent the weekend in Tennessee, near Chattanooga; it’s where Ben’s Nana grew up.  We were there to celebrate the life of this amazing Southern lady, to smile at her kindness and spirit, to cry because we’ll miss her.

When I met Nana, she was 92.  Her hands were pale and fragile, but her eyes sparkled and her smile came warm and easy.  At the sight of Ben, her face lit up like fairy lights at Christmas time; though Nana was once a Lookout Mountain cotillion queen and a sharp and witty newspaper columnist, her very favorite role was that of unconditionally doting Grandma.

Much like someone else I know (hint: me), Nana showed her love through cooking.  A cake for every birthday, a feast for every Friday, a cookie (or four) for every little thing.  A true southerner and generous in every way, her recipes weren’t complete without multiple sticks of butter, shortening, cream.  She made a habit of tall and creamy pies, fried chicken, cheese biscuits, lush layer cakes, cornbread.  Her recipe journals are rich and full of whimsy — reading them helps to fill in the gaps for me, a friend who came late into her life.  Her jaunty words help to paint a picture of the vibrant and gracious woman responsible for bringing “Elegant Sour Cream Pound Cake,” “Truly Southern Pecan Pie” and “Especially Good Corn Pudding” into the lives of all she loved.  The notes for her lime chiffon pie recipe read as follows:

“Lime Chiffon Pie is such a special favorite of my family, and even many friends.  It is so delightful on steamy summer nights to end a dinner filled with recipes renowned in the South – of vegetables, just picked from the garden.”

I knew Nana for one year of her 92 total, so it’s fair to say I missed a lot.  But I’ve made her lime chiffon pie, I’ve made her cheese biscuits and apple cake.  I’ve got her words and stories to keep me company as I sift flour, roll out dough, melt another stick of butter. And for this I feel so lucky.

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Chunky Peanut Butter Brownies

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A few things that are true:

1. Sharks can (sort of) sense fear.
2. Pumpkin patches in California are dusty and meltingly hot, even in October.
3. I’m having dinner with my Uncle Bob tonight.
4. My Uncle Bob lives in Minnesota.
5. Brownies are sometimes best with peanut butter.

I made these a few weeks ago, right after I got Dorie Greenspan’s baking bible which, incidentally, is called Baking.  It’s a fantastic book, covering everything from scones and muffins to loaf cakes and cheesecakes and special occasion cakes, too.  Hearty cookies to delicate French tarts.  Crisps, crumbles, custards, puddings, ice creams.  Also brownies.  Dorie writes neatly and enticingly, and her recipes are notoriously flawless.  Especially, I find, when they involve a bit of peanut butter.

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Salty Caramel Thyme Dip

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I’ve been wanting to tell you about this caramel recipe for awhile, but then it was suddenly upwards of 90 degrees here and I was too busy panting my way up the stairs (four flights, come on!) and standing directly in front of the table fan.  Which took hours, you understand.

But!  The caramel.  It is good.  And now it’s starting to feel appropriately fall-ish here in the Bay.  I’ve got sunflowers in miniature vases and miniature pumpkins on the coffee table.  I’m into miniatures, apparently.  Also caramel.

Do you say cah-rah-mel?  Car-mel?  What’s the appropriate pronunciation, anyway?  It’s probably best to just eat it, and leave the pronouncing to someone else.  Is what I always say.

This caramel is for dipping and dunking and eating straight off the spoon.  The thyme gives it a subtle and pleasant earthiness, and the addition of cream cheese (a happy accident, the result of not having any heavy cream in the refrigerator and needing a suitable replacement) results in a creamily thick, smooth, and subtly tangy caramel.  Car-mel.  Whatever.  Lay off.

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