Joshua Tree For New Years
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 29th, 2010
This New Years, I’m putting aside my strong desire to dance and am heading for the hills (or valley? dessert?) for the near year. Tomorrow, I’m heading out to Joshua Tree with about fifteen friends and plan to ring in the new year under the California night sky. I’ve never been camping before, so, do you have any advice? I’ve already gotten the typical “don’t leave your food out or the bears will come” (yikes!) advice, but –is there anything else I should know?
Photo from here
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The Buns
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 28th, 2010
How amazing are these messy but perfect buns? If I wasn’t going camping for New Years, I’d definitely wear my hair like this.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 25th, 2010
xx, Elizabeth
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Eighth Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 21st, 2010This one is delicious!
Petits Pots De Crème Au Chocolat aka Chocolate Pots De Crème
Serves 4
240g cream 35%
100g milk
4 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
90g dark chocolate, finely chopped
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C and boil some water in a kettle.
2. Place the milk and cream in a pan, and bring to the boil. In the meantime, whisk the yolks and sugar into a bowl.
3. When the cream mixture comes to the boil, pour onto the yolks, mixing as you do so. Add the finely chopped dark chocolate and mix with a rubber spatula until melted. Divide in between 4 small ramekins.
4. Place into a deep tray and pour in enough water from the kettle so it reaches halfway up the outside of the ramekins.
5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until just set. Chill for four hours or overnight.
This recipe is from Foodbeam
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Seventh Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 20th, 2010I know that Nicholas likes roasted chestnuts, so this one is for you!
Roasted Chestnuts
2 lbs chestnuts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Using a sharp paring knife, score an X into the skin of each chestnut – this allows steam to release while they are roasting, and prevents them from exploding in the oven!
Roast the chestnuts for about 25-30 minutes, until the skin has peeled outward and their shells have darkened.
Let them rest, covered under a dishcloth, for about 5 minutes. While they are still warm, peel both the outer shell and the inner brown skin from the nut.
Today’s recipe is from The Year In Food
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Sixth Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 19th, 2010Okay, todays recipe is easy and cute!
Coconut Christmas Wreaths
Ingredients
180 g white eating chocolate, melted
1 1/4 cups (95 g) shredded coconut
Cachous
Directions:
1. Line two trays with baking paper.
2. Combine chocolate and coconut in medium bowl. Drop heaped tablespoons of mixture onto trays; shape mixture into wreaths using the end of a wooden spoon to make holes in the centre of each wreath.
3. Decorate wreaths with cachous. Refrigerate until set. Tie with ribbon, if you’d like.
Today’s recipe is from Almost Bourdain.
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Thanksgiving Dinner Part Deux
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 18th, 2010
With all these holiday recipes, In Between Seams is slowly turning into a food blog so I thought I’d throw something else into the mix.
Earlier this week, in celebration of a friends birthday, we threw a dinner party here at Ludlow. Since I was away in Miami for the actual holiday, and everyone else went back home, we decided to make it a Thanksgiving style dinner and so, I bring to you Thanksgiving dinner part deux.
Our friend and downstairs neighbor Bjorn, cooked the turkey and everyone else pitched in with what they could. Nicholas and I were in charge of the vegetables so he roasted some squash, zucchini, and asparagus, while I baked some sweet potato fries (which were a hit, thank you very much!)
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Fifth Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 18th, 2010
Eggnog French Toast
Ingredients
6 slices bread (I used Pepperidge Farm Oatmeal Bread)
1-1/2 cups prepared eggnog
2 eggs
4 tbs. butter
1 c. Heavy Cream
3 tbs. Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Peppermint Extract
Dark Amber Maple Syrup
Directions
1. Whip cream with sugar and peppermint extract until stiff peaks form. Set aside in fridge to keep cool.
2. Beat two whole eggs into prepared eggnog. Eggnog is made with yolks only, so the addition of the egg whites brings something different to the table.
3. Arrange bread in a shallow baking dish. Pour eggnog mixture evenly over the bread. Flip the bread around in different directions until all of the pieces are thoroughly soaked.
4. In a large non-stick skillet, melt 2 tbs. butter over medium-high heat. Place two pieces of bread in the skillet, and cook both sides until they are a dark golden brown (but not quite blackened). Be careful when removing bread from the baking dish, as they will be very soft and fragile.
5. Remove cooked french toast to a dish and cover with tin foil to retain heat.
6. Add 1 tbs. butter to the hot skillet, and cook the next two pieces of french toast. Repeat for the final two pieces.
7. Place 2-3 pieces of eggnog french toast on your plate, drizzle with maple syrup, and top with the peppermint whipped cream.
**Note: It’s worth spending a little extra money on good quality maple syrup.
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Fourth Day of Christmas..
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 17th, 2010Today’s recipe is Italian because Nicholas is Italian! These are originally called “Italian Wedding Cookies” but I found a cute Christmas alternative to them…
Anisette Rings
1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick) softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 teaspoons anise extract, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
rainbow sprinkles
In large bowl with mixer on low speed beat margarine or butter with sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy. At medium speed beat in eggs, vanilla and 1 teaspoon anise extract; constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour and baking powder occasionally scrapping bowl. Dived dough into 4 parts, wrap each ball in plastic wrap and freeze at least one hour or refrigerate over night.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On lightly floured surface divide 1 ball of dough into 9 equal pieces, keeping remaining dough refrigerated. With lightly floured hands, roll each piece of dough into a 7 inch long rope. Bring ends of rope together and gently twist several times. Pinch twisted ends together to seal.
Place cookies about 2 inches apart on ungreased large cookie sheet. Bake cookies 12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. With spatula, remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.
When cookies are cool, prepare glaze. ***In small bowl, mix confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon anise extract and 2 tablespoons water. Brush top of cookies with glaze. Add sprinkles. Set cookies aside to allow glaze to dry. About 1 hour.
I used this glaze recipe
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoon anise extract
Today’s recipe is from Jules Food.
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Third Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 16th, 2010Okay, todays recipe isn’t exactly a “baked good,” its more like a “mulled wine.” It’s still Holiday-ish, it’s red, and it’s yummy –so why not? Everyone likes wine, right?
Mulled Rosé Wine
Yields 3 half a liter bottles
2 bottles of good rosé wine (but not excellent!)
2 sticks cinammon
1 vanilla pod
4 whole cloves
4 allspice grains
4 tbsp agave syrup (7 or 8 tbsp sugar, though the sweetening depends on the type of wine and personal taste)
2 tbsp ginger syrup (optional, just if you happen to have it handy, otherwise add another tbsp agave)
Put all the ingredients in an enameled pot and heat the whole thing up, but don’t bring it to a boil. Just leave it to infuse. As we were not going to drink it straight away, I left it to rest overnight, for all the flavors to develop.
Today’s recipe is from The Winter Guest. Go check out her site for more great recipes!
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The Second Day of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 15th, 2010
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Yields 3 dozen cookies
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons spooned and leveled bleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 3/4 cups sugar, divide
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 ½ tablespoons of peppermint extract
1 cup sugar
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, beat together well the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 50 percent power for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for 15 seconds more and stir; set aside.
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together 2 1/2 cups of the sugar, the oil, butter and corn syrup to blend. Beat in the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla and peppermint extract. Then on low, beat in the melted chocolate. Add the flour mixture and beat in on low speed. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line bakesheet with parchment. Take out about one-quarter of the dough at a time to shape. Roll the dough into 2 inch balls. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar into one bowl and the confectioners’ sugar in another bowl. Roll each cookie dough ball lightly in granulated sugar first, then very heavily in confectioners’ sugar. (By rolling in plain sugar first, the confectioners’ sugar does not soak in so much and stays on the surface better).
Arrange cookies 2 inches apart on the foil. For crisp cookies, bake 12 to 14 minutes. For a chewier cookie, bake 10-12 minutes. Bake one sheet at a time.
Enjoy! xx
Today’s recipe is from Bakers Royale.
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A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking: On The First Day Of Christmas…
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 14th, 2010Instead of doing a gift guide like everyone else, I’ve decided to do “A Sweet Guide To Christmas Baking” which starts today and runs till Christmas (ahem –the twelve days of Christmas.) I’ll share some of my favorite baking recipes that have some sort of holiday theme. Okay –here we go!
I’m going to start off with a rather complicated but yummy, pretty desert. These Peppermint Fudge Cupcake Jars are amazing.
Makes approximately 8 jars or 12 Cupcakes
Cupcakes
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 oz chocolate, chopped. Use bittersweet, dark, or semi-sweet.
1/2 C + 3 Tbs real butter, cut into pieces
3/4 C plus 2 Tbs sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 8oz wide mouth mason jars (the short squatty kind)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Set mixture aside and let cool 10-15 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon (don’t use an electric mixer) stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until combined. Stir in the eggs one and a time, beating with your spoon until combined after each addition, and then beat in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture just until no traces of flour remain; do not overmix.
Place the mason jars on a cookie sheet. Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 jars (no need for greasing the jars) or 12 cupcake liners if you’re going that route. The jars should be about half full or a little less. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the jar comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached 22-25 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully (with a pot-holder!) transfer jars to a cooling rack. Let jars cool till at least close to room temperature before topping with ganache.
Peppermint Ganache
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C heavy cream
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
Place chocolate chips in a bowl. Heat cream in microwave until bubbles form around the outside. Pour in bowl over chocolate chips and immediately cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 5 minutes, add peppermint extract and then whisk until smooth. Let cool un-covered until thickened slightly, almost like a thin pudding.
To assemble, pour 1 1/2-2 Tbs ganache over the top of each cupcake jar. If desired, use a paring knife to first hollow out a well in the middle of the cake. Tilt jars to distribute ganache evenly over the top of the cake and then let cool for the ganache to set. If storing overnight, place lids and rings on jars and leave at room temperature.
Frosting
Use this frosting recipe, adding peppermint extract (in addition to the vanilla extract called for) at the end by 1/4 tsp to taste. I prefer at least 1/2 tsp. See instructions in the above post for creating a red and white striped look. Pipe frosting on each jar, being careful to leave room for the lid. If desired, sprinkle on some crushed candycanes and then screw on jar lids.
And there you have it, enjoy! xx E
Today’s recipe is from Our Best Bites.
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Nutcracker!
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 10th, 2010
Tonight I’m heading out with friends to see The New York City Ballet’s rendition of The Nutcracker! Nicholas and I are hosting a little pre-nutcracking party at our house –I’ll be sure to take pictures!
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The Foot Project
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 8th, 2010
Every time Nicholas and I are away somewhere, I manage to snap a photo of our feet. Here is what I’ve got so far. I hope to one day have a full collection!
Key West, Florida
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Our Christmas Tree!
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 5th, 2010
Yesterday, Nicholas and I went with a few friends to New Jersey to find a Christmas tree we could cut down. After no luck, a small time-frame, and the illegal nature of cutting down a wild tree (not in a farm) we decided to forgo the whole cut-down-your-own-tree thing. After returning to Ludlow, I decided to go on the hunt for a tree by myself. A few blocks down, at our local market, I found the perfect tree. I convinced myself I could carry the five-foot tree myself…ha! It was really heavy but I did make it. The only downside is that today I woke up with a lot of pain in my arms. Oh well –our tree is worth it!
So today, Nicholas and I headed to Kmart to get some ornaments and here is the end result!
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Happy December!
by Elizabeth Jaime posted at December 1st, 2010
