Burgers

Every week we have Free Technique Classes at Williams-Sonoma.
This past weekend was Burgers. Normally a follow up class happens on the following monday, but since Monday was Victoria Day, we had to have the class on Tuesday evening.
Both Debbie and Cailey, who taught and assisted for Sunday are not available to work on Tuesdays, so last week Nancy (my manager) asked me if I would fill in. I've taught plenty of classes in the past, all the baking and some of the cooking topics, but generally I hate doing them. It has nothing to do with confidence or insecurity. It's like homework, an essay or science project. You spend days going through the recipes and learning the facts and tips and information the company wants you to talk about, demonstrate, sell. It's tedious and labour intensive. You need time for prep and set up...you get the picture. So, I spent most of my Sunday off (of a long weekend) looking through, studying, planning. I spoke to Debbie, for tips, suggestions and feedback. I spent 2 hours prepping, getting all the equipment and supplies, setting the stage.
At 6:30pm, out the 12 people who signed up...1 person came. Just brutal. Worse still, Annie had warned me about a potential problem participant who asked too many questions and was very disruptive, who she suspected had some visually impairment. She was the one person. She clearly announces upon her arrival that she can't stay too long, only 45 min, so could we do the chicken/turkey burgers first. She is so visually impaired that she reads the handout with her coke bottle glasses actually touching the paper. So, most of my demonstration had to be adjusted to be almost under her nose. It was hysterical. My assistant manager Jason, just shook his head in disbelief at the wasted effort. Eventually a few customers (3) who came in to shop joined in the demonstration and my homemade mayonnaise and chicken/turkey burger sliders and feta/carmelized balsamic onion filled beef burgers got sampled. The majority of the meat was cooked off and sampled today. At least, it didn't go to waste. At least they were delicious....

Gar and Stinkerbum

Pippette and Sabrina are leaving early Sunday morning. We decided to have a "family" dinner (Pip, Ron, Rena, Sabrina, Elaine, Howard, Gar, Viv, Dave and me) at Mandarin to celebrate their Crab festival. The Crab was delicious. (hot and cold) The other food, not so much. But that didn't stop me from eating way too much of the buffet...UGH!

Gar was holding Sabrina. They looked so cute together. Sabrina seemed genuinely impressed with Gar's amazingly preserved 50 year old physique. :)

Hair

Cat recently sent me her ceramic straight iron. I had never owned one before and am enjoying the look. To quote my friend Nurit "The hair looks awesome. That iron is worth every fucking penny..." lol.

Vivian's birthday at Oyster Boy

Vivian turns a youthful 35 on Sunday, but since she and Gar have a wedding to go to, we decided to meet for dinner on Friday at Oyster Boy. The oysters were delicious. Vivian and I shared a platter of oysters for our appetizer...St. Simons, Northern Silvers and Caribou (from NS and the East coast). The highlight of the evening was when Nurit gave her the gift of entering her in the 5km run at the Zoo in the fall. (Vivian, who doesn't actually run, owns everything she needs to look very cute while she's running :P)

Here's Viv opening Nurit's Card.

She realizes what it actually is...a gift

certificate to purchase an entry fee

to the annual Toronto Zoo 5km run.

Oh no! This means she'll actually

have to run!

Oh Nurit...is this cruelty or an attempt at motivation?

After dinner, it was over to Dave's house to have dessert. I didn't know beforehand, but Vivian's favourite is the Chocolate Pavlova I make. I made the meringue that morning and took the whipping cream and berries over to Nurit's to prep. (Nurit was loading up my new 16gig ipod Nano. I finally caved to all her whining about my little shuffle not having enough memory) I was whipping the cream manually when I asked Nurit for some sugar. Miss Health nut :P didn't have any. We had to go over to Starbucks to "borrow" some. It was a communal effort to celebrate Viv. :) Dave supplied the Raspberry Cheesecake from Dufflet and Middle Eastern Baklava from a place on Lawrence and Pharmacy in Scarborough.

Annie's last day

My friend Anne Halloran had her last day with Williams-Sonoma on Wednesday. It was a bittersweet day. Obviously we were all sad to see her go, but we knew that leaving was the best choice for her. I made a Chocolate Berry Pavlova, her favourite, in her honour. We will keep in touch. We've already talked about instituting a monthly dinner involving some of the ladies we love from WS. We wish you all the best Annie!

Home Sweet Home...and catching up.

HOME...it's nice to be home. Isn't it funny how when you go away and come back, things look just a little different? I was thinking this as I turned on the tv...only to realize that the remote had been replaced. At least I wasn't hallucinating :)

Saturday we decided to surprise Nurit for an early birthday dinner. Her day is today the 18th. We went to Fresh at Queen and Crawford. Normally I'm not one for vegetarian or vegan fare, (I'm a carnivore, hear me roar!) but the food was very good. They have changed their menu a little, added some new flavour combinations. It was a lovely night with friends. Notice the second picture of Nurit, forcibly trying to keep her eyes open for the photo. It's one way to take a picture...:)

Today I had lunch with Pip/Rena and baby Sabrina. It's amazing that in just 3 short weeks, the baby can change so much. She looked so pudgy and cute. I did get her to smile at me... could just eat her up!

Housesitting at Di and Gerwyn's

This is my last night at Di and Gerwyn's. I've been here since Thursday night. 4 nights (5 including tonight). At first it was nice, the quiet, having the whole house to myself, eating whatever I wanted (way too many croissants...too good to be passed up!) watching the enormous TV. By now, however, I miss home. Being around people and socializing. It's a little lonely housesitting. It's not like I can invite people over for dinner, or to hang out. I don't know where everything is...I was looking for tape a few days ago...with no success.
It made me think how lonely some people must be, to have the same routine, sleep, eat, work, eat, tv, sleep again. To not have family or people in their lives to share the mundane things about living. It wasn't like I was a hermit, I did meet friends for dinner, and a friend for brunch and a movie. But even that wasn't enough...I can't wait to get back to my regular life... and bed.

Lemon Cake Recipe

This cake was so lemony and tart and delicious.
Here is the recipe by popular demand.

Lemon Cake (by Ina Garten) This recipe makes 2 8x4 loaves.
1/2 pound (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 extra-large or 5 large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (about 8 lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
3 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease, flour, and line the bottom of two 8 1/2 x 4 1/4x 2 1/2 inch (one pound)loaf pans with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake teaster comes out clean.
Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had resigned myself to the idea that I was missing our family's Mother's Day celebration. (Usually, it's a brunch/luncheon.) Anyway, the family decided to have it at 6pm on Sat. I would only be a little late since I could get out of work by 6! Woo Hoo! I made a new recipe Glazed Lemon Loaf, deliciously tart. (Recipe to follow.) Notice the great picture of Charlotte before and after she eats some, priceless! Baby Elijah is huge! Obviously a good eater, and the hair is wavy and crazy! Too cute.

The big news of the day was...Samara is getting a baby brother or sister! The new baby's due date is November 19th. That means our family will have 3 babies born this year, Elijah, Di and Gerwyn's 1st and Mark and Mer's 2nd, it's a happy time. Di already announced that she wants her own shower :). The planning begins...

No Knead Bread? A Success!

So my first attempt at home of No Knead Bread was a delicious success. The crust is crunchy and the crumb airy and slightly chewy. Just what I wanted. After waiting the mandatory 15 minutes, I immediately sliced into it. A little butter...delicious.

The Verdict is in...Classic Chocolate Chunk!

After asking my brother his preference...Classic Chocolate Chunk it is!

Notice my little glass of milk and his much larger glass...

In case anyone wants the recipe, I've adapted it from Ina Garten

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs at room temp

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 scant tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 pound semisweet chocolate chunks (lots of very good quality)

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer. add the vanilla then the eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the butter with the mixer on low speed, mixing only until combined. Fold in the chocolate.

Drop the dough using a med ice cream scoop (1 3/4 in diameter). Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Cool and enjoy!

First Attempts at New Recipes

I've been on a little bit of a baking kick lately. On Sunday I made Banana Cake with Chocolate chunks (as muffins... yummy!) Yesterday I made little Sweet Red Bean mini cakes with Glutinous Rice Flour. My mom had first had these at Aunt Sandy's at Easter and loved them. So I wanted to try the recipe as a treat for her. The recipe was easy enough. I made them a little shallow in my silicone brioche molds. I made 24 instead of the 20 I should have made. They were so shallow, they burst while baking. I was worried that I may have used the wrong flour, or that they wouldn't taste very good... but my mom loved them. My dad loved them. My mom took them to golf to give as a snack to her cronies, they loved them. My mom practically beamed with pride as she recounted how she told them I had made them...she's too cute.

This morning before work at 5am I started a batch of no knead bread. I've made it at work but never at home. The last one at work was so delicious I couldn't resist the urge to try it. This is how the dough looks after the first 12 hours and a punch down. Another 20-24 hours to go!

As for baking, I promised my brother cookies later tonight...Hanna's Chocolate Wows or Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk...Oh the possibilities!