Richela Fabian Morgan's Blog, page 16

The One Dedicated to Food and Tom Cruise

And there's a recipe at the end of this post.

My children are Food Network junkies, which isn't surprising if you consider the cartoonish drama purposely woven through the narrative of shows like Cupcake Wars and Iron Chef America. The result of their addiction is a positive one--well, at least in my book. At the tender ages of 8 and nearly 10, my children are budding "foodies."

Please note that the glass of red wine in this pic belonged to me
and not my kid! He's a budding foodie, not a wine-o.When my husband Dave and I  travel with the kids, we try to incorporate the local food scene into the itinerary. So a trip to a museum could be followed by lunch at a white table cloth restaurant that sometimes does not have a kids' menu. My kids used to roll their eyes when we would announce the day's food destination because "nice places to eat" means table manners. But now they know better. They know that they are getting the good stuff and more than happily play the part of a well mannered child. Sometimes I scratch my head at how well behaved they are, all for the sake of eating a good meal.

While there may be typical kid food on the menu, there is always a twist. For example, during our recent trip to San Francisco we made a pilgrimage to Alice Water's Chez Panisse. My son Mack had a pizza (typical kid fare) but topped with a sunny side egg. The photo to the left is Mack prior to devouring his pizza. If the darn thing didn't cost $20, I would have ordered him a second. (That boy sure can eat.) My daughter Masana ordered the meatballs and spaghetti which is, again, typical kid fare. But when her dish came to the table, the meatballs had walnuts in them and the sauce was a green pesto. She initially gave her plate the skeptical once over. But after a shrug, she gamely bit into a meatball, smiled, and gave me a thumbs up.

All their travel food experiences have translated into fun dinners at home. I made pizza for dinner the other day and guess what Mack requested for his toppings? Pepperoni, basil,  and a sunny side egg. When I served it, I got a round of applause! Oh, Alice Waters. I love you.


Okay, now on to a more personal television-related food experience.

I've been watching a lot of television lately, especially after everyone has gone to bed. And the programming gods of cable have bestowed a gift to me that's better than a food show. They have given me Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire , Minority Report , Far and Away ...

As I type this, Far and Away is on the boob tube. And while I admit that Tom's Irish brogue is anything but lilting, I find his on-screen presence to be mesmerizing. Or maybe it's the size of his biceps. So it would not come as a surprise to anyone that all I can think about right now are potatoes. And Tom Cruise. And more potatoes. And Tom on a bed of mash potatoes. (Oh, dear...)

But being a middle aged suburban mom, I aught to be channeling my crafty skills for culinary good rather than salacious visuals. So I will share my latest potato dish.


Friends, I give you Tom's Twice Baked Potatoes. 



Ingredients 3 large potatoes8 strips of pork or turkey bacon, chopped small
1/2 large onion diced 2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup finely chopped spinach1 small carrot, finely grated4 tablespoons Irish buttersalt and pepper to taste2 cups grated Cheddar cheese





1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Poke holes and cut slits into the potatoes and lightly brush with olive oil. Arrange potatoes on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

2. Remove potatoes from the oven and let them cool. Set aside.

3. In a medium size skillet cook the bacon. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain excess fat by place it on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

4. In the same skillet (and using the bacon fat) cook the onions until it reaches a golden brown color, about 10 minutes. Add add garlic, spinach, and carrots. Saute for an additional 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted, then add the bacon. Stir until mixed then set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl, place the cooked potatoes and mash them (include the skin if you want). Add the bacon mixture from the skillet into the mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

(If you are not ready to serve the potatoes, wrap the mixing bowl with cellophane and place in the fridge. Can stay in the fridge up to 24 hours. Remove two hours prior to baking and preheat oven to 350 degrees.)

5. Mix 1 1/4 cups of the grated cheese into the potato mixture. Take out six 10-14 ounce ceramic ramekins or ceramic dishes and fill them equally with the potato mixture. Use the remaining cheese to top each ramekin. Place all the ramekins on a baking sheet and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and serve hot.

Enjoy! 

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

It seems that I took an unannounced hiatus from writing. Having children with busy summer schedules will make any (responsible) adult neglectful of her beloved blog. But look! I have some great photos of what I've been up to this summer. And since most of us like pretty pictures...

Riding Around On Two Wheels
This is my bicycle. Yes, I get looks and comments around town while to-ing and fro-ing, mostly of the appreciative variety. It's just a regular single speed with some bamboo and rattan thrown in for that hipster effect--despite the fact that I am far from being a hipster. (There will not be a need to set any hipster traps in my neck of the woods, that's for darn sure.) I have grown to love my bicycle, which says a lot about me since I loathe to move any faster than the speed my own two feet.

Cooking, Cooking, and More Cooking
Although I did not have a creative/cathartic outlet via writing, I did have cooking. And I added a lot to my culinary repertoire. My most important feat? Learning how to convert my gas grill into a smoker. That in itself is not a huge deal, but I learned how to smoke baby back ribs and whole chicken legs with a Tennessee style rub. Sadly, there are no photos. In my haste to get the falling-off-the-bone goods from the smoker to the table (where hungry children and child-like adults eagerly waited), I forgot to document the moment. But fear not: smoked ribs and chicken shall rise again from my grill!
The farmers' market has been a weekly destination for fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, okra, onions, garlic, eggs, various herbs, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and plums. Here are some dishes inspired and made from each week's shopping excursion:
Zucchini and Carrot Pancakes.

Penne with Tuna, Garlic, and Spinach.

Fried Okra, Garlic Rice with Tomato/Cilantro Salsa, and Corn.

Fruit n Juice Pops.

Popovers.
I'll try to post recipes sooner than later. (Really!)


Wallets, Bags, Cards, and Collages
You know what happens when the computer is turned off? I read the newspaper and the magazines that have been piling up around me. Heck, I even read a few books, but I digress...

The newspapers and magazines have provided ample graphic inspiration for new wallets, bags, and cards for my Etsy store. I've decided to try my hand (again) selling at flea markets and fairs. Most of the time I post pictures of my stuff on Facebook, but here are some of my latest and greatest:





Last Friday I participated in Jersey City's Creative Grove Market. Many thanks to Uta Brauser for welcoming me to the Creative Grove family. And a big hi to fellow artisans Yanni, Eddie, and Diane. See you ladies in three weeks when the market resumes.
Back in June I wrote about the collage art of Kurt Schwitters and Richard Meier. Feeling inspired to use my knife skills in more creative ways, I started making my own collage art. 




There are more photos for sharing, but I'll end this post here. In my next post, I'll talk about the Jersey Shore, a day trip to Beacon, NY, and racing through the Harry Potter series with my kids.

Until then...

ReadyMade magazine/Ben & Jerry's Pint Challenge

I made this cooler/briefcase for the Readymade magazine/Ben & Jerry's pint challenge. Vote for me!

I spent the last two weeks eating ice cream, emptying all the pretty containers and sketching out the design of my cooler/briefcase. And while I am paying for it in more ways than I care to share with anyone (hello, fat jeans!), my daughter and I had fun tasting all the different flavors from Vermont's Finest (ice cream, that is). Red Velvet Cake and Jimmy Fallon's Late Night Snack topped our list.




Here are more shots of the cooler/briefcase:

Top view.
Close up of front. I gave the Jimmy Fallon-inspired Late Night Snack prominent placement. I heart Jimmy.
Close up of the handle. 
Back of the cooler/briefcase. I couldn't resist adding a little duct tape.
Inside of the cooler/briefcase. Yes, it's insulated!
Please vote for me!

A few things I'd like to mention in this post.

I found out last week that my favorite magazine ReadyMade will close up shop. I was more sad than angry to hear the news. It makes me wonder about the future of DIY. More thoughts on this when I can fully digest the consequences.

Duncan Hines re-designed their cake boxes. What the heck?? I absolutely hate it. The changes were meant to be subtle ones, but it lost so much of its character. The result is a dull, boring box.


You might be wondering why I care so much about Duncan Hines cake mix boxes. For the past 4 years I've been making journals out of them. I had one last retro style cake box left in my stash and made this book.


I may put it under my pillow and pray for the cake box fairy to come. Or maybe I'll frame it so I can gaze upon it from time to time and remember the good ole days of Duncan Hines cake boxes. But the one thing I am sure of is this: I will not sell it.

I'm feeling my age and the prospect of change makes me crotchety. I'm mourning the loss of my favorite magazine and the cake box designs of yore.

But, hey, at least there's Ben & Jerry's. I can always find comfort in a pint of their good stuff, inside and out.
 

Full Metal Basket and Other Inspired Works

Back in March, the New York Times featured the work of Kurt Schwitters on the front page of their Weekend Arts section. And while I got really excited about the article and where it led me, I did experience a not-so pleasant feeling when I tried my hand at artspeak and mispronounced the artist's name in front of a snarky acquaintance. (Note to self: the "w" in "Schwitters"is not an optional consonant.)

Shortly after reading about Schwitters' collage pieces (now on exhibit at the Princeton University Art Museum in Princeton, NJ) and his Merzbau, I had the pleasure of visiting the Richard Meier & Partners Model Museum in Long Island City, NY. Among the giant wooden models of the J. Paul Getty Museum and other less formidable work, framed collages by Mr. Meier hung proudly against a small wall. Impressive and a little surprising since I primarily know Mr. Meier from his work on the Getty. I suppose a true connoisseur of art and architecture can draw parallels between the two men and their body of work, but I never made it past the required art history classes one needed to graduate college. So I ain't going there...

What I can tell you is that inspiration took root. I went home with jazz riffs in my ears and red/black/yellow abstract forms floating in my head.

The first thing I did was take my boring Ikea dresser and paint it with the inspired palette of Schwitters and Meier. I also added casters to the legs so I could roll it around, but that was a purely practical touch.





Okay, I admit that it's a little weird and my husband Dave initially gave it the stink eye--especially when I tried to roll it into the dining room. (Yikes.) But it's back in my little work room and growing on him. And my kids love it. Now on to my bottle cap collection. For six years I've been saving metal bottle caps from beer bottles. They are stored in bags, jars, and other containers that annoy the bejezus out of Dave. With those jazz riffs still in my ears, I decided to pull out as many red, yellow, and black bottle caps as I could to make ( insert trumpets blaring here ) this:

A full metal basket.
I tried soldering the darn caps together, but after inhaling the fumes from the liquified solder metal, burning myself, and the caps not sticking to each other, I gave up on the soldering iron. But not wanting to give up entirely, I turned to my trusty awl, poked 4 or 5 holes into each cap, and threaded them together with jewelry wire. Success! 
I'm hoping to catch the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art soon. Let's hope I walk away with another tune in my ears and gallery of images in my head--and the urge to make something worth blogging about!

Let's Play Catch Up

For the past last month I have been obsessed with duct tape bags again.

This little beauty is something I like to call "British Punk Rock," though there may be some fashionistas out there that will recognize the tartan as something other than. (Uh, oh...)

My sewing machine Kenmore does not like the sticky mess of duct tape. In fact, he despises it. Two broken needles and a full dismantling delayed the completion of this bag by almost a week. There were times when I picked Kenmore up and walked him over to the garbage can, threatening to toss him out in favor of a fancier model. But I eventually came to my senses, and felt ridiculous for losing my grip on reality. (He's just a machine, damnit!)

I've switched materials. No more duct tape. And no more insanity!
Anyway, here are more shots of the finished bag which you can purchase at REcologie in Larchmont, NY:







I've also updated my Etsy store a little bit and hope to add more things by the end of this month. So please check it out.

I've been cooking a lot, too.

Meatballs:
I forgot to take a picture after the meatballs were cooked! Oops.

Curried chicken legs with tomato and cilantro over basmati rice:
The chicken legs were broiled in the oven.
And steak sandwiches topped with sauteed onions, garlic, wilted greens and melted provolone cheese on a toasted baguette with melted provolone cheese:
After I sauteed the onions and garlic, I removed 70% of it and then added the greens for a quick wilting.
I have some recipes rolling around my head, so maybe I can write them down next time.

Until then!

Forty Observations: San Francisco (Part 2)

Hey there. Sorry it took so long to get this post together. I sorta became obsessed with duct tape purses (again) and spent the last two weeks literally stuck to my work table. More on that later. Let's get back to my trip to San Francisco.

A few years ago I started to make travel journals for every family trip. Nothing fancy, just a simple casebound book with 48 blank pages and a duct tape spine. For my San Francisco travel journal, I decorated the case with a reproduction of a 1909 city map.

If you look through it now, you'll notice all the euphoric scribbles and disappointed rants of a family who ate their way through this city. Dave and I didn't envision our trip to be an epicurean one, but Time Out does not publish a San Francisco weekly, which is unfortunate because they do such a great job with Time Out New York magazine. There is a website, but it's not as comprehensive as the one for NYC. I bought the Time Out San Francisco guide book, but it was published in 2008 and has not been updated since. Some businesses that were listed were either closed, had moved, or had different hours of operation. Argh.


11. Katanaya in the Tenderloin section (430 Geary St.) was a nice surprise. Tasty noodles, generous servings, and inexpensive. I had a hot bowl of ramen while my daughter worked through a serving of udon. The right amount of flavor, the noodles were firm and not rubbery, and the broth was soothing in all the right ways. Katanaya also serves sushi, which is a nice surprise since my favorite noodle joint in NYC (Men Ku Tei, 60 W56th St.) does not. Though I was full, I was tempted to order a tekka maki just for the heck of it. 
12. Tommaso's Pizzeria. That lone woman who worked the entire restaurant deserves a medal for making us feel right at home. When my daughter asked for a glass of milk, she acted like a proud grandmother and came back with the tallest glass I've ever seen. I nearly hugged her when we left. Oh, and the pizzas were fantastic! We had pepperoni and basil on our pies, and the crust was crisp yet chewy. Well worth the wait on line, and it moves pretty quickly.
13. Garibaldi's in the Pacific Heights neighborhood made our children feel sophisticated and welcome. I had the foie gras and lamb tenderloins, which I heard they were known for. My kids shared the mahi mahi with fregola and asparagus, and Dave had the baked ziti with porcini mushrooms. The ingredients were fresh, the presentation was impeccable, and my kids behaved! A great meal.
14. One piece of advice when eating at Gott's Roadside in the Ferry Building: get a burger--don't get a fish taco! Which I did, of course, while everyone around me basked in burger goodness. This is definitely a burger establishment, though it missed the mark of the "joint" feel. The stainless steel community tables made me feel like I was in the mess hall of some jail...like Alcatraz?? But the burgers are tasty (or so I've been told). The garlic fries are also yummy, though only serious garlic lovers will like the copious amounts of garlic slapped on top.
15. Though there's an In and Out Burger by Fisherman's Wharf, we didn't eat at that location. We were driving just outside of Sacramento when we spied one, made a sharp left turn into the parking lot, and ordered double-doubles and strawberry shakes. And of course we had seconds. Mmmmmm. It's a Cali thing, and I wish this burger chain would make its way to the East Coast.
16. Dottie's True Blue Cafe in the Tenderloin area (522 Jones St.) was our only disappointing dining experience. I have to admit that this was our very last meal in San Fran. We had breakfast before jumping into a cab bound for the airport. By the end of our trip, our taste buds were spoiled and our bellies were bloated. But we were all annoyed by this place. The service was spotty and the waiter got my order wrong, which really made my blood boil because I ordered one of the special omelets. The day's special omelets plus all the ingredients were prominently listed on a black board hanging up in the front for everyone--including the waiter and the cook--to see. And when I told the waiter that I had the wrong omelette he didn't even acknowledge the mistake. But the true barometer for a good breakfast establishment is my son Mack. His usual order of two eggs over easy with bacon, home fries, and dry white toast was hardly touched. This is a growing boy that loves his eggs and is in a constant state of hunger!

Dottie's True Blue is not as good as the hype.
17. Since Yuet Lee was closed for vacation, Masana and I looked for another suitable Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. We walked into a few places, and then walked right out. Dirty. Empty. Too dark. Too smelly. And then we followed what I discerned to be a local family (of Chinese decent) into the New Woey Loy Goey Restaurant. We ate wonton soup for two, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, and salt-n-pepper prawns. Everything was delicious! The wontons in the soup had thin wrappers and were generously filled with pork and vegetables. The Chinese broccoli was cooked perfectly and was not drenched in sauce. And the skin on the prawns were fried so that it nearly melted in your mouth.

18. Somehow we were able to get a table at Chez Panisse Cafe in Berkeley. (Thank you, Tron family of 5 for your last minute cancellation; your loss was certainly our gain.) My braised pork with beans made me cry. It was that good. I can't say enough about this place except that if you love good food then you must eat here at least once in your life. While the restaurant is harder to get a reservation at, try your luck at the cafe for a lunchtime one. It's also a little bit more dressed down, so our children and their preference for "soft clothes" didn't make the wait staff blink.



19. The double latte at Cafe de la Presse is simply a big bowl of caffeine deliciousness! Better than the the latte at Mama's on Washington Square, but then again, I don't think that lattes are Mama's sort of thing. And though I didn't have any of the omelets, I could tell that the eggs in this place were decent: Mack finished his plate. 
20. Brindisi Cucina di Mare in the Downtown/Union Square area was recommended by one of the knowledgeable porters at the Ritz Carlton. It's located on a tiny street (Belden). The service has more to offer than the actual food, but it was our first meal in Frisco and I really shouldn't complain. After suffering through a near food-less cross continental flight, we were famished (darn you, American Airlines). They had decent thin crust pizzas, a tomato soup with truffle oil drizzled on top was surprisingly delicious, and fried calamari that was zesty--though served on the mushy side.

I have more to say about San Fran, though at the rate I'm going who knows when I'll finish this particular list?? Back to the duct tape purse making for me...

Forty Observations: San Francisco (Part 1)

 Last week I sorta disappeared before finishing my countdown to the number 40. No, I wasn't feeling suicidal. And I didn't crawl into a cave to escape the inevitable. My sweet husband Dave planned a special birthday trip to a place we both visited once before, though separately.

Sixteen years ago, Dave lived in San Francisco for four months while on a job assignment. He returned to New York about a month before I landed in San Fran with two friends, just a trio of tourists soaking in the sights and eating our first taste of California cuisine. Dave and I met later that same year, and on our first date we talked about the various places we've travelled to. We quickly discovered our shared affection for the Golden Gate City. After we got married, San Francisco has always topped our list of cities we would relocate to if the right opportunity presented itself---or if we simply got sick of New York. But neither ever happened, so we stayed put.

The sticker in this photo says it all. I truly do heart this city. And what made this second trip to San Fran extra special was the inclusion of our kids Masana and Mack, two sophisticated youngsters who patiently waited on long lines to eat what we adults kept calling "the good stuff" and energetically attacked the sharp inclines of the undulating concrete terrain. If it were not for their willingness to try new things, I don't think our trip would have been as successful as it was.

Masana and Mack: I heart you.
I didn't get a chance to finish my countdown to 40, so I thought it would be fun to put together 40 observations of our trip. But I can be loquacious when describing my sojourns abroad, today's post will only include the first 10 observations.

1. The architecture of San Francisco is impressive. While I may not like the Transamerica Pyramid, I do appreciate its Futuristic style. And the rest of the architecture of San Francisco. Victorian homes, Art Deco and Art Nouveau buildings, grand Beaux Arts hotels, and even some French Gothic structures like the Grace Cathedral. Every corner greeted our eyes with something that made us pause.

Or maybe it was all those darn hills. Hmm.



2. The variety of trees is just as impressive as the architecture of the buildings, mainly because San Francisco is a city and not some suburban town. Dave noticed them during this trip because he's become quite the gardener. The trees that lined Lombard Street (the non-crooked section) in the North Beach and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods "looked like broccolis" according to Masana. (I think that was a compliment.) I spied a few palm trees in the Montgomery Financial district, and these beauties on the left were growing amongst the rubble in Alcatraz.   

3. Tartine Bakery in the Mission district is the best bakery in the city. And I wish there had been enough time to sample everything in sight. One morning, the four of us jumped into a cab and headed to Tartine for a light breakfast. While we weren't rolling out the door with engorged bellies, the warm morning buns, croissants, and shortbreads could hardly qualify as light. But, oh, so worth it.


4. The San Francisco Giants may replace my son's beloved Yankees as the most entertaining team in baseball. Brian Wilson: as my Mom used to say, you are really something. I mean something!

5. AT&T Park has a heated second tier, also known as the club level. So if you get cold, you can simply hang out indoors. And that guy with with gas tank attached to his back? Full of Ghiradelli hot chocolate goodness. Possibly my favorite ballpark ever.

6. Alexander Book Company may not have a cafe, but its customers are encouraged to lounge as they please. One rainy morning, we found ourselves hanging out for a protracted amount of time among the travel and children's books with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Mack pulled out AWhole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup from a shelf, sat on the floor, and began reading it. The proprietor (who's name escapes me) saw him and asked both Mack and Masana what they liked to read. After listening to the titles of the various books they rattled off, she made quite a few suggestions and excitedly summarized the plots of each book. Her excitement was contagious and we walked out with two new books. And at our hotel, our kids read each night before bedtime. How awesome is that?

7. There are hotel concierges, and then there are members of Les Clefs d'Or USA. Daniel Paz, the concierge extraordinaire at the Ritz Carlton, is a member and he will always hold a special place in our hearts. He planned my entire birthday dinner. I told him what I wanted and he researched restaurants for two hours. He then chose a restaurant, made our dinner reservation, wrote up an itinerary, and sent it to our room along with a copy of the menu. It was a night to remember. And my lamb tenderloins were fantastic! So when you are talking to a hotel concierge, look for the golden keys the members of the Les Clefs d'Or wear on their lapel. And if you stay at the Ritz in Frisco, tell Daniel that Richela sent ya.

8. Mama's On Washington Square serves the best breakfast in the city. The baked treats melted in our mouths, especially the crumb cakes (and though I couldn't find it on their online menu, we had the chocolate, raspberry, and plain crumb cakes). The breakfast "M'omlettes" were fluffy and moist, and the chocolate cinnamon French toast had the right amounts of chocolate and cinnamon so it didn't make us sick to our stomachs when we ate the whole thing. Which we simply had to do. And the homemade Olallieberry jam on the table was incredible. I never tasted anything like it. The only complaint was the latte. Not their thing. I should have just ordered a regular cup o' Joe.

9. True to its name the Curiosity Shoppe in the Mission district had some things that made us curious. A card catalog with prices on the front of each drawer compelled me to open each one like a little kid. A peanut shaped eraser priced at 50 cents found its way into Mack's hands, which is ironic since he is deathly allergic to the real thing. I was drawn to a letterpress origami rabbit ($8). As nice as the store is,  the offerings were a bit on the paltry side compared to what they offer online. This is great for me since I don't live in San Francisco and can still peruse their offerings from the comfort of my home in New York. But how disappointing for us as a family of four that waited thirty minutes for the store to open.

10. If you find yourself at the Ferry Building on a Thursday or Saturday before 2pm, head over to the 4505 Meats stand. We ate smoky bacon hot dogs that I can still smell in my dreams. The menu changes regularly, so I can't promise anyone that they will have the pleasure of eating a smoky bacon hot dog. But the menu is creative and it would be a crime to shy away from the more daring offerings. On the day we found ourselves on the queue, cheeseburgers and fried chicken were on the menu, but so were a beer sausage and something called a Gigante which was a pork sausage with jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese. Guess which ones I had?


So that's it for today. I'll post the next 10 observations in a couple of days.

Eating My Way Through San Francisco

If I were smarter than I am, then there would be photos to this post.

This is just a quick not to anyone who may be wondering what happened to me and my whole countdown to the number 40. My husband Dave took me and our two kids to San Francisco, California to celebrate my birthday. I barely had time to pack and didn't bring my computer.

I decided that this was going to be an epicurean exploration and that my children were old enough to wait on long lines and battle sharp elbows at crowded tables for the "good stuff." And while I did bring my camera, I can't upload them to my blog until I return.

So on the 21st I'll have a full description of every mouth-watering dish I ate.

Until then. xxoxR

5 Days 'Til 40 (White Chocolate Bread)

So I have this cyber pal named Tammy (aka Tamdoll) and she's quite the baker. After following her blog for more than a year now, I had gotten ballsy enough to say, "Hey, Tammy! Let's make beautiful bread together." And guess what? She thought it was a fantastic idea.
I suggested the white chocolate bread that I fell in love with during my recent winter vacation at the Sandpiper Bay Club Med in Port St. Lucie, Florida. If you've ever been to any of the Club Meds in the Dominican Republic or Mexico, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a baguette type loaf with white chocolate chips, the crust a bit caramelized bubbled over chips, and the inside surprisingly spongy and airy. I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When the host of the marketplace saw me leave with pieces precariously stuffed in a napkin, he drolly asked if I wanted the recipe. "Yes!" I barked at him with a bite of white chocolate bread still in my mouth. But what he gave me was the strangest collection of ingredients and measurements. I think it was made for an industrial baker, one who needed to output 50 loaves in an afternoon. I had no use for it so I chucked it in the trash, knowing that there was always Google to give me answers.

But the recipes I found were different, and the comments/ratings for each recipe rang with disappointment. I briefly wrote my pal Tammy a note about this mythical white chocolate bread and we decided to make it together based it on a recipe we found on The Fresh Loaf website.

Or sort of together. She made it last week and her loaf looked amazing. She wrote on her blog that she didn't use gluten flour. Now I made it yesterday and did use gluten flour, but I didn't have sour dough starter. Mine came out dense, but incredibly tasty. Though I will admit that maybe I should not have used an entire 10 ounce bag of white chocolate chips, that maybe half of the bag would have sufficed. And I followed the advice of a commenter named Christopher who suggested spritzing the loaf with water before baking it and also the preheat the oven with a pan of water in it.

Hmm. I'll try to make this again, but with sour dough starter. I really miss that spongy texture of the Club Med white chocolate bread.

I would hate to travel all the way to a Club Med just to have this delicious bread. But, hey, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do to get herself some good white chocolate bread, right?

6 & 7 Days 'Til 40 (I Came, I Ate, I Swapped)

Today I attended my very first BK Swapper's Event.  After reading about this food swap gathering in a New York Times article back in March, I became obsessed with the notion of participating. And why? Because I love to bake--and bake with lots of butter, cheese, and milk, which are things that my dairy-allergic son Mack shouldn't have. A food swapping event would provide an excuse to make as many unsanctioned baked goods as I could in a weekend for the mere sake of barter. And, oh, did I barter!

Mango chutney, curry mix, strawberry rhubarb jam, strawberry chipotle jam, Meyer lemon and vanilla bean marmalade, spicy caramel corn, and (my favorite!) rainbow cookies. Sadly, I missed out on the Jalapeno infused vodka, marsh mellows, and sausages. And there were other lovely treats that went so fast that I barely had a chance to write down what they were.



There were some who clearly cooked for a living, like Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert. Her offerings were packaged beautifully (I'm such a sucker for a pretty label) and included my much beloved rainbow cookies. And there were some who simply loved showcasing their passion. Claudia (last name unknown) made these self-described "SICK!" jams and attached tags on each jar with delicate line drawings to help identify the fruit. After tasting the strawberry rhubarb, I completely agreed with not only the use of all caps but the exclamation point as well. Claudia, your jams are SICK!

A quick note about the rock star known as Jane Lerner. She along with Meg Paska founded BK Swappers. Jane had her appendix removed only two days ago and yet she attended today's swap. Had I been the one playing appendectomy victim instead of Jane, you can bet your sweet bippy that I would have skipped this event. But Jane? Nah. She was all warm smiles and easy conversation. She and Meg made me and all the other first time swappers feel right at home.




So you might be wondering what I brought to the swap.

White chocolate bread (recipe tk tomorrow):

Mini chocolate babkas and mini cheese babkas:

And a bacon gruyere quiche for the potluck:


I had a fantastic time and will definitely try to attend the next swap. (I say "try" because this most recent swap sold out in twenty minutes. Holy cow!) Jane and Meg: thank you for everything! You've made me a fan for life.