Athena Plichta Photography

Back in late January, Deb and I drove down to Soledad to tour the Lemoravo Ranch, operated by Brokaw Nursery, which is headquartered in Ventura. We weren't sure what to expect but Deb had discovered that lemons were grown in the area, so we had to see for ourselves.

At Lemoravo we were graciously given a personal tour of the vast lemon orchard by Kirk Williams, whose father, Jim, is one of the founders of Brokaw Nursery. The orchard itself is an enchanting place, quietly nestled in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains. The views from this elevation are enough to make you want to plant a hammock on the spot and settle down right there. As you walk through the orchard, you can't miss the bounty of the trees, the scent of lemons pervading the cool air. We couldn't believe our luck coming out on such a gorgeous January day.

In addition to 400 acres of lemon trees, Kirk oversees the vineyards and avocado orchard also located on Lemoravo. With each outing, my appreciation for the local agricultural community grows. And this is coming from a beginning of complete ignorance. Truthfully, It wouldn't be possible were it not for Deb's curiosity and enterprising spirit to seek out these growers and producers!

Please check out her point of view, an informative post of Lemoravo and the area that begins with a descriptive passage from a literary great... and local son. 

I'm pretty sure at some point I'll make what Deb ended up baking after being inspired by our trip.

the vineyard where grapes are organically grown for a winery 

the breathtaking view from the foothills

Shortly after the trip and with a small supply of lemons from the orchard in hand, I decided to make something simple... Herby Lemon Biscuits (or cookies, as they are referred in the U.S.; please correct me if I'm wrong), a recipe from Jamie Oliver.

Deb had given me a lovely gift of homemade Herbes de Provence and it proved to be perfect timing; the merging of herbs and fresh lemons was just right for this recipe to happen. If you wish to make your own Herbes de Provence, Deb goes into detail in this post on her blog. The herb mix is great to give away as well as to use in your cooking/baking.

Love the way she adorned the jar.

Herby Lemon Cookies

(makes 40)

from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

225g butter, at room temperature

150 g sugar

1 egg

zest and juice of 1 lemon

280 g flour

2 tablespoons mixed herbs (I used Deb's Herbes de Provence)

200g icing, or confectioner's sugar

thyme flowers, to garnish (optional)

1. in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg, lemon zest, and squeeze of lemon juice (set the rest aside for the topping).

2. Add the flour, a pinch of salt, and the herbs. Mix well. Spoon mixture on to wax paper and roll into 2 logs. Refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm.

3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Slice the logs of dough into 1cm slices and spread the cookies on the baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

4. Sieve the confectioner's sugar into a bowl and squeeze enough of the remaining lemon juice to make a thick icing. Drizzle icing over the cooled cookies. Garnish with thyme leaves or flowers, if you wish.

Hey guys! I didn't forget about picking the giveaway winner. Out of 13 comments (#1 being the earliest comment, #13 being the latest, and not counting my comments of course) the winner of the 2 prints is the 10th comment -- made by Gina!

I don't have an email for you Gina so please email me at janda03 at gmail dot com so I can put the pumpkin muffin and cookie prints in the mail for ya.

Thanks for participating everyone and I hope you all achieve your culinary goal(s) this year :)

better late than never...

(macarons were made by Deb and myself under the watchful eye of Chez Pim

The other day a client wanted to order extra prints of school photos I'd shot so I took the opportunity to add on a few food images for my lab to process. They arrived in the mail today:

I love photography, live and breathe it. If I had more money I would buy and collect prints from other photographers, and devote a wall in my house to a hanging gallery. Just food photos if I could, though I might get some weird looks from visitors. Anyway, I thought I'd offer up a few pieces of my work... I've noticed a few more subscribers to the blog lately and wanted to thank you all for the support. I know this baby of mine is just a tiny corner in the vast food blogosphere, and every reader counts. So thank you. 

Up for grabs are TWO prints... your choice of one of the 5x7s you see pictured above (pumpkin muffins, butter mochi -- which I haven't blogged yet, chowder in a bowl) and the 3.5x5 of the mac nut cookies -- 2 prints total. All prints have a linen texture finish. By the way, I post-processed the photo above so the colors are not true to the actual prints.

To enter, please leave a comment about one skill/technique/dish you'd like to learn in the kitchen this year, whether it be making the perfect fried chicken or frosting a cake. Also, indicate which of the 3 5x7s you'd like to have if you win. As for me, learning how to make macarons was a goal of mine last year when I stumbled into food blogging. I came close but not good enough to show on the blog. I'm hoping by the end of the day tomorrow I'll have accomplished this goal and can begin sharing blog-worthy macarons. We shall see...

Open to U.S. and Canada residents only; drawing will be held next Sunday, 19 February. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond or another name will be drawn. Good luck! I hope someone enters so I feel loved!

I try (i.e., force myself) not to visit Anthropologie, both online and physical store, too often for fear of awakening the part of me that wants to foolishly max out the credit card on stuff I really don't need. I've done fairly well for several months; I call it retail abstinence. They've even done me an enormous favor by not mailing the catalogs to my house (even though I've signed up a million times to receive them). Out of sight, out of mind.

In the midst of some workout-induced stress a week or so ago, I found myself on -- you guessed it -- for a little retail therapy. I was only supposed to look. Like so many of you out there I'll find a lot of things I want but usually (sometimes) have the willpower to refuse purchasing. However, when I spotted this vintage-inspired sea foam green butter dish, I fell in love and had to have it. I justified the whole thing by telling myself that I don't own a butter dish. 

When I met up with local bloggers Deb and Jean a couple of weeks ago for some coffee time, I showed them a photo of the butter dish on my phone. Jean said it looked like a cake. I had to agree. 

When I got home and showed my husband the butter dish (he doesn't get my interest in kitchenalia) he just kind of shook his head and said plainly that it looked like a boob. Yes. When he uttered that, I was astonished but even more surprised at my next reaction -- that of agreeing with him. So there you go, folks... I'm the proud owner of a mint-colored boob-shaped butter dish. 

I'm keeping it anyway. It's functional and if I don't want to be reminded of a woman's chest, I can just use the plate. Ha. 

Anyway, I thought this butter cake recipe was the appropriate dessert to make for the occasion. I found it when I was craving brown butter one day. It wasn't too sweet and the frosting, with its beautiful specks and subtle nutty flavor, elevated the cake, I thought. 

Brassica Butter Dish from Anthropologie

Butter Cake with Browned Butter Frosting (I made cupcakes instead)

The next few days are going to be a dream for the foodie in me. Going to visit a local olive oil producer  and also learn from the one of the best on how to make macarons. I'm sure the camera is going with me so pics to ensue...

Today is World Nutella Day. Since it's also Super Bowl Sunday, I chose an easy, fried snack that fits right in with all the other fried foods consumed today.

Nutella Ravioli, adapted from Giada's Chocolate-Hazelnut Ravioli recipe. Excuse the wonky colors on these pics.

An alternative way of wrapping...  

Thanks to Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle at Bleeding Espresso for hosting World Nutella Day!

Last Wednesday was Baked Alaska Day so I made it. In fact, after baking pie on National Pie Day and now this, I thought of making something every day there was a celebration of a food. But after utilizing my friend, Google, I decided it would be in my best interest to pick and choose days. See this and you'll agree it was a good call, too.

The Baked Alaska was beautiful and bonus, everyone loved it. For those who don't know, a Baked Alaska is made up of layers of sponge cake or pudding and ice cream, covered with meringue and baked at high heat for a short time in the oven. The ice cream doesn't melt because the meringue insulates it; I know, I was fascinated by that as well.

I recently got close-up filters from my friend (thanks Alisa!!) and they're so fun to play with. This was the perfect model to try them out on as the meringue is a stunning detail, both pre- and post-baked. 

Recipe to be posted soon.

My second baking adventure this past weekend involved cranberries, cardamom, and a hint of lemon, combined in a braided loaf and topped with sugar and almond slivers. 

This was my first time making bread. It was surprisingly easy, and strange as this sounds, relaxing. It took the better part of a Sunday afternoon to make and babysit the dough as it doubled, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

When it was time to braid the ropes I tried to reference my experiences of braiding my daughter's hair. Uh, not sure that helped. I tried; at least it's passable.

I checked on the loaf a few times, peering through the glass of the oven door to see it transform into a gorgeous golden brown color, bits of burst cranberries dotting the surface. The emanating smell -- sweet, citrus-y -- made the anticipation of biting into a piece worse. 

I'm not a tea drinker but I made some Darjeeling for the occasion. My husband bought it in London, in transit from Bahrain to Hawaii. So I consider the tea to be special because it came from afar... though I'm still not sure what compelled him to buy it (as he knows I don't drink tea)....

It just so happens that the tea was the perfect accompaniment to the bread. Unfortunately, the cranberries were a bit too bitter for my taste (and the fam's) but overall the bread was rated an A. Next time I'll omit the cranberries and replace with dried fruit or nothing at all.

Recipe is adapted from the Figgy Cardamom Bread I found on Williams Sonoma online. It's also in the new cookbook, Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw, featuring recipes from bakeries (e.g. Baked, Tartine, etc.) and bloggers (Smitten Kitchen, Bakerella, Canelle et Vanille) alike. I pre-ordered the book and could not be more excited to get it next week (Williams Sonoma stores carry it now).

*Instead of dried figs I used cranberries left over from the holidays, with a sprinkling of lemon zest at the step where the figs/cranberries are incorporated into the dough. 

For some reason starting a new fitness program recently made me go into a baking frenzy this weekend; doesn't bode well for my weight loss goals I suppose. Years ago when I was a gymrat (6 days a week) I had one cheat meal per week as I was also on a strict diet. I'm not going to that extreme this time around but I've promised myself that as long as I'm home on the weekends, I will bake something.

This weekend it was this cake from Bakers Royale; I even tried to frost my cake like hers but didn't do quite as great a job. Instead of cream cheese frosting, I substituted with a divine vanilla bean buttercream recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. I actually cut the cake into two layers and filled the middle with dulce de leche but you can't really tell from the photos; it was such a thin layer.

The semi-homemade dulce de leche recipe is linked from the banana cake recipe... though I found a homemade version from Chez Pim online that I'd love to try someday (will find link).

A few days ago my 4 yo accidentally dropped my camera from about 4 feet off the floor and now I'm having issues with the autofocus on my 50mm lens. So bummed. It's all I ever use. Will have to send it off to the repair gods at Nikon, hope for the best, and in the meantime dust off my only other lens, the 35... which I love, just not as much as my 50.

Today I made my first loaf of bread (that wasn't a quick bread recipe) which I'm excited to share in the next few days. Have a great week/start of a new month (!).

Recipe for Dulce de Leche Banana Cake from the talented Bakers Royale.

Yummy Recipe for Vanilla Bean Buttercream from Brown Eyed Baker.

I can't remember the last time I ate cauliflower. It's been many years and if I had a better memory I'd probably be able to count on one hand the times I've had it. A veggie person I'm not. 

So it makes sense that in my adult life I've never made anything with cauliflower -- until now. Creamy cauliflower soup.

Admittedly, I'm not 100% positive that I would've attempted this soup had it not been attached to a challenge. Simone's Donna Hay Styling and Photo Challenge has been active for a few months now and this is the second one I've managed to participate in. I recall that the lemon sour bundt cake from challenge #2 was similar in mood and atmosphere -- not Donna Hay's signature style but one that finds itself in the magazine anyway.

photo by Ben Dearnley, styled by Justine Poole, Donna Hay #51 (thanks to Simone for the scan)

Making the soup was easy but I do hope this year I finally buy a blender or food processor. My little Magic Bullet just isn't cutting it for bigger portions. 

The lighting and styling was more of what I struggled with in this shoot. Here are some notes and observations post-soup shoot:

-I improvised on props, utilizing a small bowl that is more a dessert than a soup bowl. If you compare my photo to Ben's you can tell that the scale is off on mine... the spoon looks a bit big next to the bowl.

-I didn't have any dark-colored napkins so I used an awkwardly shaped piece of denim fabric to place my soup on. I couldn't get it to fold or crease because it was simply too bulky. Not sure why but I placed the piece of parchment paper (napkin?) underneath the fabric instead of under the bowl, as it seems to appear in the DH photo.

-I skipped creating the little spills and bowl outline (or whatever those are) in the foreground.

-My camera position is at a higher angle, more of the soup on the side closest to the viewer is visible.

-As some of the other participants commented, the ribbon around the spoon was a little strange, though I can't talk as I recently wrapped a knife handle with ribbon.... The original ribbon I used was a deep purple and I played with hue/saturation in Photoshop to change the color to royal blue.

-The light in the DH photo looks a little stronger on the right so it might've helped to move the setup closer to the window and/or angled it a better way. The quality of light was fine that afternoon but with most shoots these days, timing is everything and I have to rush before the light fades.

-You can see detail in the foreground in the DH photo; I didn't like that it was so dark in the same area in my take. In fact, the entire bottom left and middle is in complete shadow with no definition save for the fringe of the fabric. While I like shadows, I think the bottom of the bowl becomes lost in it, isn't grounded. Definitely something to work on.  

I couldn't help myself with the parmesan cauliflower crumbs... I kept picking them out of the pan to munch on. I highly recommend the soup, too. I guess I'm a fan of cauliflower now :)

Thanks again for the challenge, Simone. Look forward to February.

Recipe for Creamy Cauliflower Soup and Parmesan Cauliflower Crumbs.

Did you know this past Monday was National Pie Day? When I found out that morning I felt compelled to make a pie to honor and celebrate this most loved dessert.

First mentioned in this post, it was inevitable that Minny's infamous chocolate pie was the perfect choice. 

It's not the prettiest thing to photograph but trust me that it tastes better than it looks.

And no worries, I left out the secret ingredient.

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine. The big difference was that I made the dough instead of buying packaged. I use this recipe from King Arthur Flour for the pie crust.

Monday was also Chinese New Year, so Happy Year of the Dragon!

This is probably one of the best chocolate chip cookies I've had. I discovered it on Jenny's fabulous blog Picky Palate and am forever grateful. I've made about 4 or 5 batches since Christmas, mostly for friends and family of course...

People come and go in our neighborhood all the time so when a new family moved in across the street from us not too long ago, I decided to whip up a batch of these as a welcoming gift.

Cute mailbox tin from Target, the $1 section!

I've heard all about the famous New York Times chocolate chip cookie on numerous blogs and am eager to see if it tops this one. I've a feeling it'll be close. Brown butter just makes everything better.

Recipe here.

The title sounds ultra sweet, right? The best part is the peanut butter cream cheese spread. Just typing that makes me want to reach in the fridge and eat the creamy goodness straight from a spoon.

I thought the chocolate loaf was just ok. While not overly chocolatey (as the name would suggest), it was satisfyingly sweet. But I found that it was not moist enough for my taste, perhaps a result of leaving the pans in the oven too long (I used smaller ones than called for).

This wasn't an easy shoot. Call it an episode of creative block or whatever, nothing seemed to work. I couldn't find a spot around my house that I liked lighting-wise. Wished for a bigger table or surface to work on. Longed for a macro to change things up.

I ended up shooting until the sun went down and called it a day. And today I took a break from baking and shooting.

From Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. My good friend got me their first book Baked: Frontiers and I want to make everything in both. They're probably my fave baking books at the moment. Tina Rupp's photography is unpretentious and simple yet inviting. Did you know they did not hire a food stylist for their books? I never would've guessed. The vintage touches in Explorations did it for me. Love me a beautifully-photographed cookbook.

Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

(from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito)

makes one 9x5 inch loaf

Ingredients

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 ounces good-quality chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

for cream cheese spread

5 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and position rack in the center. Butter a 9x5 in loaf pan, dust it with flour, knock out excess flour.

Place brown sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Press out any lumps with the back of a large spoon. Add the cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk until blended, then add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; whisk until combined.

Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry one, mixing just until combined. Stir in the dark chocolate chunks by hand.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serve the loaf plain or toasted, topped with the peanut butter spread.

Loaf will keep, in an airtight container or wrapped tightly, at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. If not using spread immediately, place it in a ramekin or container and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Note: I don't have a regular 9x5 in pan so substituted with 2 mini loaf pans and baked for an hour, which was too long as the loaves were dry. Adjust accordingly if you use a pan different from what is stated in recipe.

Have you read or watched The Help? I saw it over the holidays (on DVD) with my mother-in-law and let's just say we were a sad, albeit amusing, display of waterworks during the movie. Not being a huge reader, I didn't have a chance to go through Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel prior to viewing the flick so I'm not sure a fresh strawberry cake is even mentioned in the story (and if it was in the movie, I missed that detail too). A slew of southern foods appear in the film, though, something that at once caught my attention because 1) it's Down South home cooking, and 2) I was really hungry.

I'm surprised there isn't a cookbook dedicated to the foods from the movie, or at least a few recipes printed in the book. However, a great article, complete with dishes inspired from The Help, was published in Food and Wine. I'm especially eager to make Minny's Chocolate Pie; for those familiar with the story, you may be grinning pretty wide right now at the reference.

Fresh strawberry cake recipe here, from another list of foods featured in the movie. I was losing light fast so the whipped cream went on a still-warm cake, hence the drips down the sides. 

For the tarts below, I made the filling from this Lemon-Berry Tart recipe and used leftover hazelnut dough to make the crust. Nothing special, just wanted to break in my new mini tart pans. 

For those in the U.S., Happy MLK Day.

Last week we were in exploration mode (happens when we have family visit) and drove to a few never-before-seen places in the local area. Thus far, I have visited 3 (Carmel, San Juan Bautista) out of 21 missions in California. Not impressive when compared to my mother-in-law's record of 13, and she doesn't even live in CA. Of the 3, the mission in Santa Cruz was the smallest.

I thought the little figures in the paper mache chapel were adorable. This replica of the mission chapel was made by a 4th-grader. I envy the kid's skills.

Old Fisherman's Wharf. I didn't know this place existed until last week though I always pass it going into Pacific Grove. Even my mother-in-law, who has visited the Monterey Bay area countless times, missed this spot. It's touristy like Cannery Row right down the road but somehow a bit more charming. The main thoroughfare is lined with gift shops, restaurants (an unbelievable amount of them), and odds-and-ends, like places to book whale-watching or fishing tours. 

We ate a lot of clam chowder last week. It's kind of become a tradition to order a cup of chowder at any new restaurant we try out and given where I live, it's hard not to find a good cup of chowder.  At the wharf, restaurants hand out samples of warm soup to passersby, every place claiming to have the #1 chowder. However if I were to judge them, it'd be difficult to decide which was the best. 

You'd think I'd be sick of chowder but no, I went ahead and made my own last night. A hollowed out rosemary and olive oil bread served as the vessel for my soup, with the insides of the loaf transformed into pan-toasted croutons.

New England Clam Chowder recipe adapted from Dave Lieberman. There are a ton of recipes out there that use fresh clams (such as Ina Garten's East Hampton Clam Chowder), I simply went for easy and quick yet still hearty and delicious.

New England Clam Chowder

makes about 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 celery stalks, trimmed, quartered lengthwise, then sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

2 (10 ounce) cans chopped clams in juice

1 cup heavy cream

2 bay leaves

1 lb Idaho potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

salt and freshly ground pepper 

Pan toasted croutons

2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

insides of a round loaf of bread, cubed into 1-inch pieces

salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.

2. Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often.

3. Stir in the flour, distributing evenly.

4. Add the stock, juice from 2 cans of chopped clams (reserve the clams), cream, bay leaves, and potatoes. Stir to combine.

5. Bring to a simmer, stirring consistently. The soup will thicken.

6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until potatoes are tender.

7. Add clams and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until clams are just firm, about 2 minutes.

8. Carefully cut the top off of a round loaf of bread (I used Rosemary and Olive Oil from Whole Foods). With a knife, hollow out the inside of the bread, leaving about 2 inches on the sides and bottom. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes and pan toast (directions below).

9. Ladle hot soup into hollowed-out bread bowl. Top with croutons and parsley.

for croutons

1. Melt the butter in a large skillet and toss the bread cubes until browned and toasted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

note: After eating the soup and scraping the inside of the bowl, I cut up (more like tore off chunks with my hands) the bowl and top and made more croutons for leftover soup. They can also be used in salads or to munch on (great snack for the kiddos).

Hope the new year has been a great one for you all so far.

As a grown woman I shouldn't admit to this but I've been hooked on playing Plants vs. Zombies and reading The Hunger Games Trilogy late at night. And I'm totally smitten by Kinfolk Vol. 2 and the Donna Hay app. Seriously, the iPad is the best distraction invention ever. 

Here are a few things I've made lately that I had the chance to shoot on the fly as family is visiting.

Bon Appetit's peppermint meringues

I tried to copy BA's December cover models but as you can see, the peaks on the meringues didn't form.  

I'm fairly certain something went wrong in the mixing of the ingredients but aside from that issue, my  piping wasn't that stellar. I'm determined to master piping this year (sounds like I just made a resolution...). Of all the steps in the macaron process, piping gives me the most anxiety. I just signed up for Chez Pim's macaron class next month so I promise they will make an appearance by year's end.

Ideas and inspiration sometimes arrive in the strangest of ways. I was in a nail salon getting a pedicure when I saw Paula Deen making her hash brown quiche on tv. All I know is that I looked over at my mother-in-law and said "I want to make this." Voila, my first quiche.

My wonderful mother-in-law's Banana Split Cake, though it's not really a cake in the true sense of the word, more like a layered dessert. But you can pretend it's a cake. The cool whip top almost counts as frosting.

A few Christmases ago my MIL gave me a recipe book filled with a few of her favorite family recipes, leaving plenty of pages to write in my own later. I thought it was a cool gift back then but now it's even more meaningful and special since I've become more interested and involved in the kitchen.

And some non-food related photos... work I did for a cute company called Bunnies by the Bay that appeared on their website...

and the 2012 spring catalog. My little model was a doll. And it was my first commissioned shoot in a looong time, something I really needed to lift my spirits after being out of work for a while. 

Hello from the other side of Christmas. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. It was a pretty quiet one spent at home and aside from most of us in various stages of being sick, it's great we were able to spend this time together with no departures looming (unlike last year).

I was in a baking frenzy most of last week, trying to mail out boxes of cookies to friends and family for the first time ever. I've baked and shared before but never on this scale, and it felt really good to hear positive remarks from everyone afar. I always appreciate homemade over store-bought any day so if the recipients are anything like me, I think I made a few people happy.

I finally slowed down on the baking on Christmas Eve, only making a batch of brown butter and fleur de sel chocolate chip cookies for none other than Santa. But before that I baked a couple of cakes, one being this divine satsuma mandarin and vanilla upside-down cake. As soon as I saw the tangerines at the store, I had to grab a few even though I had no idea what I'd do with them. Though small, they stood out, and instantly cheered me up with their bold, bright color.

Originally I thought about making some sort of bread but after a bit of searching, it came down to two cake recipes: a toss-up between a cheesecake and this upside-down cake, and the latter clearly won out because it showcases the oranges so beautifully in presentation and taste. My daughter wanted to pick out the orange slices on top, and I don't blame her -- the skins were so tender and sweet! The vanilla really accentuates the flavor of the mandarins and adds depth to the cake; it was love at first bite.

Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Oh, and that mini cake from the last post? It's an encore appearance of the luscious red velvet cheesecake I've made before. Recipe from 17 and Baking.

If I don't post again before 2012 is here, I just want to say "Happy New Year" to you! Hoping it is a healthy and prosperous one for all. Thanks for reading/looking/commenting. See you next year!

Busy baking more cookies for friends and family...

Double Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

And my new favorite, Sandies by the Sea (pecan cookie topped with melted dark chocolate, caramel, and fleur de sel). Soooo good. I'm forever grateful to my neighbor for introducing me to the recipe (she needed to borrow my KitchenAid mixer to make these for a party so she gave me a few of these as a thank you).

Last night hubby and I watched the finale of The Next Iron Chef. The final two chefs standing were Geoffrey Zakarian and Elizabeth Falkner. Seeing Falkner on tv reminded me of my trip to San Francisco several months ago when I took part in the first-ever Scharffen Berger bakery crawl. Fun times, and one of the stops during the crawl happened to be Falkner's Citizen Cake where she demonstrated her take on a classic dessert using Scharffen Berger chocolate. It was cool to see her larger than life on the tube.

p.s. Just a few more weeks to enter their Elevate a Classic Dessert Contest with a $10,000 grand prize to the winner.

First, some scenes of San Francisco and the Ferry Market Building before heading to Anthony's Cookies, Citizen Cake, Kara's Cupcakes, and Miette for sampling.

It was Fleet Week so the Blue Angels were in town. A lot of people were annoyed by the noise but I love it; I grew up in a Navy family and am now married to it, and was always a fixture at airshows.

Our mode of transportation around the city to the various bakeries.

I saved my loot from Kara's and Miette. I had a great breakfast the morning after the crawl.

Have a great week, everyone!

I recently discovered quince a few months ago though have not had the opportunity to cook with it yet. However, upon tasting a sample of quince cheese on my first visit to Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove, I had to take some ready-made products home. I picked up a jar of quince jelly (which I used in the linzer cookies in previous post), then later went back to buy quince cheese, or membrillo. The card (below) recommends pairing it with manchego cheese.

Quince cheese is not really a cheese but a firm paste with a jelly-like texture and gorgeous rose color. It's sweet like candy, and to me, tastes similar to honey. It goes very well with the saltiness of manchego... the sweet and salty flavors of this combo definitely work. Once I'd bitten into a cube of quince and manchego, I was instantly smitten.

Quince cheese is prepared with the remains of the fruit (flesh and juice) after making jelly. It's brilliant how most all of it is used; nearly none is wasted and that really speaks to the versatility of the fruit.

Together, membrillo and manchego are the perfect appetizer or snack. Throw in some bread and I'm set for a mini meal. I'm a no-fuss bread and cheese girl but will welcome quince candy in the mix anytime.

I met up with friend Deb one afternoon to pick up our order of Pink Lady apples at Happy Girl Kitchen. It's a quaint space with a shop and light cafe, as well as an open production kitchen. 

Quince was (is?) still in season and Deb and I were fortunate to hear all about the quince jelly and cheese-making process from HGK's own, Diego. He spoke with a lot of passion for jamming and food preservation. 

The sample got me hooked. And as I've been spotting quince recipes all over, I'm even more eager to try the fruit in other dishes.

Just 9 days before Christmas. Where did 2011 go? Hard to believe and though I'm nowhere near being done, I'm happy/relieved to have the kids completely taken care of and the tree finally up. Perhaps nothing cheered me up more lately than getting a surprise visit from the Fairy Hobmother one day last week. Her email couldn't have come at a better time amidst the holiday stress. The Fairy Hobmother hails from Appliances Online UK, a site that sells some of the best washing machines, among other appliances and a selection of over 4,000 products from top brand names. The Fairy Hobmother spreads cheer in the blogosphere with her generosity; in my case, the form of a lovely Amazon gift card to spend however I please (cookbooks, anyone?)! This is her thank you to bloggers everywhere for all their hard work. Thank you so much, Fairy Hobmother!

Maybe she'll visit you, too... so make a wish, leave some love in the comment section, and perhaps you'll be next to be sprinkled with fairy dust ;)