AMISH STARTER CORNBREAD MUFFINS

Well, you'll notice it hasn't been 10 days.

I read that you can take the starter out of the freezer and use it as-is after 10+ hours of room temperature.
That was happy news...so I'm going to try it...and try something completely different.  Amish Cornbread Muffins!

These are a well-loved bread item in our home and I figure with the basic sugar/flour/milk with yeast component for the starter, it would be an acceptable base for some sweet cornbread.  I generally like a sweet cornbread so it will be my first experiment.  (I do have another bag of starter in the freezer in case this doesn't work...and I didn't feed it since I read this last night and the stuff was still in the thawing state).   I have set the starter on the counter, still in the plastic bag, but unzipped, with the bag resting inside a plastic bowl.

If this works, I'll experiment with the other bag to make a chocolate cake recipe I found online.

AMISH CORNBREAD
Source:  Armchair World website
further attributed to M. DiPalma

1 cup Amish batter**
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal

Combine in large bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. (I did this by hand - not with a mixer)

Add:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix well. Pour in well-greased 9" pan. Bake at 425 degrees F 25-30 minutes. 

batter seemed a tad thin

I made muffins, so I used paper lined muffin pan and it made 21muffins, baked for 15 minutes.  I filled the muffin cups about 3/4 full and the batter seemed very thin.  When I checked them at the 7 minute mark, they were rising and doing what they were supposed to...So fingers are crossed at this point.  (I must say I love laptops in the kitchen...can jot down all this stuff as it is happening!)

batter in muffin cups - ready to bake

Out of the oven these look perfect...so I have to try one...immediately...to make sure they taste good too!

Out of the oven - looking good!

The first thing I notice is they are difficult to get out of the paper.  (you note above - it says "well-greased pan"...this is why)  The sides don't remove smoothly - a lot of crumb sticks to the paper.  The bottom releases fairly easily.  I've had this happen before with other cornbread recipes...with no detriment to the flavor.  Slather on a little bit of butter...oh my!  These are really tasty.  They are not real cornmealy (I'm sure that's not a word)...the Amish batter has made them more muffinish in texture...but they still taste like cornbread. 

Good crumb - challenging to get easily out of paper baking cup

I don't know if I would make these again.  I probably prefer regular corn muffins if truth be told.  The teen, however, liked them a lot!  Apparently I did too...I ate 4 over the course of 2 hours...I couldn't seem to stop myself.  I feel very roly-poly about now. 

We ate these with our NY Strip steaks and baked potatoes.  Lots of carbs...but good, good stuff. 

A side note - have you ever put Ranch Dressing on your baked potato?  I do all of the time...it sort of has everything except bacon you would add to a baked potato.  Tonight, I used the last bit of the Feta Cheese Dressing I made instead... and it was AWESOME.  The little bit of onion crunch, the sour cream/buttermilk flavor...with chunks of Feta melting into the hot potato.  Wow-wee!  Good, good stuff for dinner tonight!

....Late addition - after I finished writing this.  The next morning, the paper peeled off with no problem...think it was that they were so hot.  But, who wants to eat cooled off corn muffins?  Me, apparently :-)

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

**This recipe calls for 1 cup of the Amish batter that occurs at the end of the 10 day cycled described in my blog.   I saved 2 bags, 1 cup each, in my freezer after the 10 day cycle.

TED'S RESTAURANT

In the early 90's my mom worked as a house mother for a University of Texas fraternity in Austin.  While there, she had a Ben E. Keith food salesman named "Ted" who was more than "just a salesman".  He and his son helped her out with the BBQ for Parent's Week-end and just made sure she was had the best food provisions service possible.  I told Mom we were going to go to South Padre Island, instead of our usual Port Aransas, for a vacation (1990) and she said "oh, you have to go to Ted's Restaurant - my salesman owns it...or used to own it...and his sister runs it now".  So, we went and it was the beginning of many happy years of breakfast for the whole family at Ted's.  Located on the bay side of Padre Blvd, next to a boat ramp, we often waited in quite a line to have our breakfast with "the locals" and "the tourists"...while we were in the second category.

Then, something changed.  I don't know what - but the family felt the food stopped being as fabulous as we recalled from year to year...and we just stopped going.  Then we moved here.  We just never resumed our usual habit of going to Ted's.  Unfortunately, in the restaurant business, it just takes one or two mediocre meals to throw the whole thing off kilter in your mind.  Still, I missed the vibe of Ted's.  My husband calls it a dive...I call it a locals joint.  Whatever, nothing else on the island quite replaced it for our breakfast pleasure.

Then, I started reading The Padre Puzzle, and the author and his wife, in real life, apparently love those Pecan Pancakes at Ted's.  I thought to myself that I needed to go back and check it out.  Maybe those few B- meals were a glitch.  I'd hate to be missing out on a once-beloved eatery over a glitch!

Today was my first free day following the Spring Break inundation and I headed East towards the island after dropping the teen at the high school.  The sun was gorgeous, the sky was clear, a little windy...but hey, it's March on the Gulf Coast...breezy is the norm.  It was just wonderful driving over the bridge without a thousand cars surrounding me and the streets were nearly empty on the island. 

I got to Ted's and it was easy parking (not always the case) and went in.  Not a dang thing had changed...the same posters on the walls, the same chalkboard showing pies, specials, and notifying you of their award winning fajitas.  I have to say...it felt like coming home.  At least 3 of the tables were filled with "familiar" folks - although I didn't really know anyone.  One lady came and took my drink order - looked really familiar - and commented on my book "that's a good book!" to which I responded "it IS, I can't hardly put it down!".  I ordered coffee which came in a charming mug (I looked around and all the mugs were different...just like at my house!).  Pitcher of creamer on the table so I was set.  Good coffee.  That's a good start!

I ordered the Island Breakfast - 2 eggs; choice of bacon, ham, or sausage; hash browns, and choice of toast, biscuits, or English Muffin.  I ordered my eggs over-medium, bacon, and biscuit.  My idea of a perfect American (or Island) breakfast.  I read my book and listened to the easy banter going around.  Everything was comfortingly familiar... and when the food got to my table, joy of joys, all the quality had returned to the way I remembered it...two fluffy and deliciously tender homemade-style biscuits, tasty crisp bacon, perfectly cooked eggs...a wonderful breakfast.  On top of it all, total $7.37.  Hard to beat :-)  With tip, under $10...that's the way I like it.  I must say, I cleaned my plate and drank two full cups of coffee.  It was wonderful.

So, then I'm outside taking a photo of the building when the familiar woman comes out...the one who took my order.  I stopped her and asked if she was the owner of Ted's Restaurant?  She said, yes, she owned the business.  We chatted a bit and I introduced myself and explained my connection with Ted via my Mom and asked if she was Ted's sister by chance?  She said yes and we chatted for a while longer.  It's really amazing to find a family-owned business that has hung in through thick and thin on South Padre Island.  They have been open since 1978 and she took over around 1982 or 83.  She said the land was originally owned by her parents but over time the land and building had been sold and she leased it to run the business.  We had a good chat and it was good to meet her.  Like any family, they've gone through hard times and good times...and to stay open for over 30 years in a resort town is quite the accomplishment.  Like I said, it was a pleasure meeting her and hearing a bit of Ted's Restaurant history.

I'll certainly be resuming my regular jaunts to Ted's Restaurant.  It is definitely a place the locals love! And, I surely do love being considered a local these days!  :-)

SPI FLIP FLOP FOODIE RATING:

3 – Pretty Yummy - I feel my flip flops wanting to head back from time to time!

Oh yeah, just a side bar... I went to the beach and looked to the left and to the right...not a soul present at that particular moment.  Ahhh...so begins one of my two favorite times of the year...post Spring Break pre Summer!!!

Bright sun, empty beach...Kite boarder had the beachfront to himself...the waves were rough though!

BRINGING FROZEN AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD STARTER TO LIFE!!!

My favorite little cakes from the Christmas Baking

In December I finally gave up on making more and more Amish Friendship Bread... and no one wanted the starter. I decided to freeze the last two "batches" in some freezer bags for future experiment use. It's been 3 months so it's time to take it out and see if the starter can be "brought to life"....mwah ha ha ha ha...

I took out one of the bags from the freezer. (I feel somewhat like a character from Young Frankenstein)

"Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Are you ready?
Igor: Are you sure this is how they did it?
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Yes! It's all written down in the notes!"

I do have my notes!  My plan is to let it come to room temperature and feed it. One cup of flour, one cup of milk, and one cup of sugar. Stir, stir, stir... Then, you'll recall - you go through the process of feeding it every few days and after 10 days - you remove enough to bake the first batch of baked goods - and continue the endless cycle :-)

"Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: LIFE! DO YOU HEAR ME? GIVE MY CREATION... LIFE!"

Okay - enough with the Young Frankenstein quotes.  I loved that silly movie.

Amish Friendship Bread is such a delicious cake/bread/whatever-you-want-to-call-it... and I'm in the mood to try some of the "varieties" I read about but didn't want to do at Christmas time.   I'll keep you posted on how this progresses!  Ten days...<sigh> okay, anything good is worth waiting for, right?

Tick, tock, tick, tock....

WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

I thought I wouldn't have any baking time on Sunday but, much to my great joy, the hubby and teen decided to go see a movie in Harlingen that I was absolutely not interested in seeing at the theater.  I always like it when they go off and do something together.  I'm with the teen so much, I think the men need to be together whenever they can...without "mom" butting in.  It gave me quiet time and I've made pizza dough - which is rising - so we can have homemade pizza for dinner (the last hurrah for Spring Break) and I am making a new recipe - basically a combined Oatmeal Cookie and my 2-Kinda-Chocolate Chip Cookie...made with 100% whole wheat flour.  I hope they are tasty and moist. 

So, here's to men doing men things while the "little woman" is home baking.  Ahhh, it's a good life.  (I think I'll sit on the deck and watch the bay while the cookies bake ... and read The Padre Puzzle by local author, David Harry...I can barely put it down!)

WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES
Based on Oatmeal Cookie recipe on JoyofBaking.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup of unbleached Whole Wheat White flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup Milk Chocolate Morsels
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Optional ingredients - nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, or other dried fruits.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2-3 minutes). 
Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. 
Scrape down sides of bowl.


Butter and brown sugar creaming

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.  Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated.  Scrape the bowl, getting down into the center at the bottom, not just the sides.

Flour added

Stir in the oats.  I added the first 2 cups with the mixer running and then I added the last one by hand.  VERY stiff dough.  Add both cups of chocolate chips by hand.

Cookie Dough ready to shape

For large cookies, use about 1/4 cup of batter  (I used a heaping 1 1/2 liquid ounce scoop which equals 3 tablespoons).  It made 20 cookies.  Space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.  I actually hand-rolled the scooped cookies into a ball because some pieces were falling apart.  I then used my hand to pat them down to about 1/2 inch thick. 

A dry stiff dough - made a nice chewy cookie!

Bake for 12-14 minutes (barely can see the brown at the bottom edge).

My, my, my...these are scrumptious!  Tender, chewy, and chocolatey - just as I hoped.  To borrow an old "A-Team" phrase... I love it when a plan comes together :-)

Mama mia, that's some delicious cookie!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

Strawberries with my Angel Food Cake

I didn't have time to do anything today besides sit in traffic for an hour to get to Wal-mart, watch some DVR'd television with my husband (the scary stuff - Criminal Minds - I don't watch it without him here), fix some fabulous Shrimp Alfredo for dinner...and throw together our dessert.

No time for extra recipes (I've already done this Alfredo recipe) or baking or writing for that matter.

So, here's a quick photo and summary of how I put together our dessert.

A thick slab of the Angel Food Cake I baked yesterday, some lightly macerated sliced strawberries prepped with extra fine sugar 2 or 3 hours before serving, and some freshly whipped vanilla-sugar cream.  (I used sugar that had vanilla beans in it - beautifully vanilla scented sugar)

I'd never had a piece of homemade angel food cake before.  This is so hands and shoulders above the stuff we usually get in the plastic container at the grocery store...there is no comparison.  Light, sweet, flavorful, delicate...downright heavenly!

Yum...and it may be Tuesday before I get anything further posted.  I'm going to enjoy my time with my husband being home!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

Yes - it tastes as good as it looks!  Simple and delicious....

ANGEL FOOD CAKE - FIRST TIME EVER!

Many things came together to urge me to make my first Angel Food Cake.  Martha Stewart recently did a Martha Bakes show on Angel Food Cake, which made it look "not so hard".  Also, I'm a big fan of Stephanie Jaworski's web site JoyofBaking.com and one of her newest videos is her demonstration of making an Angel Food Cake.  Her videos are very complete and educational in my opinion.  She shows how things should look along the way.  I'm a very visual kind of person...like to see how things are supposed to look when I've never made them...and that means the steps along the way.  Lastly, but certainly, not the least important, the teen and I were talking about cake last night.  He wanted to know what this weird looking pan was that I had purchased.  I got a very inexpensive tube cake pan last week in the hopes of making an Angel Food Cake in my near future.  I explained why it needed a special pan and he said "I like those cakes...they are very light...they are good"...with a winningly hopeful look on his face.  I told him maybe I'd make one when his Dad came home this week-end.  So, here it is Friday and I've got a cake in the oven!

OK - onward with the recipe.  I looked up several different recipes...frankly they were all fairly similar.  I watched Stephanie's video 3 times for technique...and I got busy.  While I was surfing the net and watching the video, I had a dozen egg whites sitting waiting for me.  They need to be at room temperature.  Be careful...I was brave and separated them all together...i.e., I cracked the egg, let the egg white drop out and did the back and forth deal with the shell halves and dumped the yolks in a separate bowl.  I almost messed up on the 10th egg...I broke the yolk on the 3rd exchange and if I hadn't had fast hands I would have ruined all of those egg whites with a single drop of yellow yolk.  Adrenaline racing, I moved fast and dumped the yolk and shells into the sink.  Even then, my 12 egg whites totalled up to a small bit over the 1 1/2 cups required.  Whew.  Eggs have gone up in price so it would have been bad to have screwed them up.  Of course, we would have just had a big frittata if I HAD messed up...as I would have simply re-mixed the yolks into the whites and breakfast would have been good! 

Anyway, moving on...the timer just went off and I pulled the cake.  I'm excited to say it looks beautiful!!!  Now it has to cool, upside down, for 2 hours, so I have plenty of time to get this blog finished.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Primarily followed the recipes on
JoyofBaking.com and MarthaStewart.com

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar to combine with flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar to add to soft peak egg whites
1 1/2 cup egg whites (room temperature) - about 12 large eggs
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (helps stabilize this large volume of egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt - fine grain
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Method:

Place top rack in center of oven.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and get out a two-piece tube pan (aka angel food cake pan) and have it at the ready.  Do not oil it or prep it in any way.  Just make sure it is clean and dry.  Also ensure all of your equipment (whisk, bowls, spatula) are completely oil free and clean and dry

Set out all of your ingredients.

sugar for egg whites, vanilla, lemon, salt, cream of tartar...ready

Sift the cake flour into a bowl.  Sift 3/4 cup of sugar into the sifted cake flour.  Sift the two together, into a separate bowl.  I know it is dirtying up a couple of bowls, but they are easily rinsed and set to drain without having to do a big washing.

Cake Flour and Sugar sifted and re-sifted

Separately, sift the 3/4 cup sugar you will use in the egg whites to make meringue.  No lumps desired!
Sift the cream of tartar (I used a tea strainer and a ramekin).  Get your salt and vanilla out with the appropriate measuring implements.  Squeeze your lemon, remove the seeds if any; again I used a ramekin.

Eggs are ready if you did all that earlier as you should have - so they are at room temperature.

beginning to whisk egg whites

Start by placing the egg whites into the stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment and set it to low-medium for about 3 minutes until egg whites begin to get foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and the salt and the lemon juice.  Raise speed to medium and whip for several minutes until you are at soft peaks.  The egg whites will peak, but flop over at this point.  Begin adding, with the mixer running, the 3/4 cup sugar - one tablespoon at a time.  Allow each tablespoon of sugar to incorporate. 

Volume growing and almost at soft peak stage

I raised the speed after all that was in and I stopped and scraped it down with the whisk attachment.  Continue beating until firm peaks form and sugar can no longer be felt when you rub a bit of the mixture between you thumb and index finger.  Keep mixing until you don't feel graininess.  This can take several minutes.  Then, add your vanilla.  Whisk until incorporated.  Your egg whites should be glossy and hold a very nice peak.

beautiful peak in bowl - nice and glossy

Now that's a perfect peak!

Remove bowl from stand and sift AGAIN, 1/4 of the flour/sugar mixture on top of the meringue.  Carefully fold into meringue (don't beat, be gentle...fold).  Sift the next 1/4 of flour/sugar, fold...the next 1/4, fold...and the final bits...be sure to sift...be sure to gently fold.  Try not to deflate your egg whites although I found I did deflate a bit...but very little.  This is proven out by my very nicely risen cake!

Flour/sugar combo sifted in 1/4 batches to be folded in

Batter complete and ready to put in pan

Gently scoop the batter into the tube pan...it will not leak, if it does, you've done something wrong.
Spread the batter evenly making sure all sides touch and then run a sharp knife twice around the center of the cake batter to ensure no big bubble holes are in the batter.  Re-smooth and place in oven on top rack you have placed in center of oven.  Make sure you pre-heated the oven!

In oven - ready to roll!

 Bake 40-45 minutes (took mine 40 minutes) and a cake tester in the center of the "round" should come out clean.  There will be cracks on the top of your cake.  They all do.

Cracked top - no problem - it is supposed to be this way.
Look how high it rose!

When done, remove from oven and, if your pan has legs on it, place it upside down to cool.  If your pan does not have legs, put the "cone" on top of an upside down flat bottomed glass (balancing act) or, an empty wine bottle works great too.  You must cool the cake upside down or it will sink in on itself.  It won't fall out of the pan...in fact, you basically have to cut it out of the pan.  Cool at least 2 hours.

My pan has the little feet for it to rest on upside down
and allow air flow for cooling and prevention of sinking into itself

Once cake is completely cool, take a very sharp, long, thin knife (or thin metal spatula) and run it along the side of the cake, cutting it away from the side - go around twice to be sure.  Also, do this around the cone portion.  If the stars are aligned and all is well in your world, you should be able to push up on the bottom of the cake pan and it will lift right out. 

Sides cut free - pan removed - no problem

Next, you need to slide a knife between the bottom of the cake and the pan and cut it loose.  Slow, careful, sharp implement will make it easy (we all hope - I used a steak knife for the bottom and kept the tip at the cone). 

From the top - cut around the cone and this is the bottom side up.
Good removal - easier than I thought!

If you are confused, watch Stephanie Jaworski's video...she demonstrates getting it out of the pan very nicely.

You can't use a non-stick pan for this...the meringue needs to "climb" up the side of the pan.  Non-stick means it just sits in the pan and doesn't rise up.

Plate it either upside down or right side up...whatever you like.  I like it upside down because that's what I'm used to.  I put the cake plate upside down on the cone and gently turned it over.  Plop, perfectly centered landing on the cake plate! <she dances a little jig>

The teen asked for some whipped cream with his cake...I'll be macerating some nice strawberries with sugar and a splash of Lemoncello for serving after our Shrimp Alfredo for Saturday night dinner.  Since I'll probably post this Saturday morning, I'll have to add service photos later if I remember to take them!

This was not as hard as I thought it would be.  If the smell is anything to go by (and the taste of the crumbs that I scraped up and sampled)...this is going to be a truly heavenly cake!  Really yummy :-)

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

ANOTHER NEW KITCHEN GADGET

You have heard me say, on more than one occasion, that the proper tool is everything.  When I recently made a 3-layer cake...and found that it was not centered on the cake round, there was not a darn thing I could do about it.  I thought to myself "why didn't you order that cake lifter you have on your wish list BEFORE you made the cake?"  Hindsight is, as they say, 20-20. 

So, I went ahead and ordered one from Amazon and selected the Nordic Ware Cake Lifter.  I'd never actually seen a cake lifter and wasn't sure what to expect ...or even if I was wasting $10 on the purchase.  Boy howdy was I wrong to doubt myself.  This tool looks like it is meant to do the job!  It is huge...obviously big enough to slide completely under a 9 inch cake.  It is very sturdy with a rubber/silicone handle for comfortable gripping.  It's like a big ass old spatula!  The description said it had a folding handle for easy storage - which is of prime importance in my tiny kitchen.  Alas, that was an incorrect statement.  No folding handle.  It is made of a non-stick material but they recommend using a cooking spray to insure the transfer occurs without sticking.  Also, many folks recommend for removing 12 inch pizzas from the oven.  Great!!!  Love a multi-tasking tool.

Not only was my Hummingbird Cake off-center, I nearly broke one of the layers in half by trying to lift it off the cooling rack.  It seemed like such a dense sturdy cake, I thought I could do it...and I saw it starting to crack immediately, requiring a return to the cooling rack, and flipping upside down between two racks to transfer it to the cake in the correct position.  The entire endeavor would have been so simple with this cake lifter!

I can't wait to make another layer cake...this also should solve all those tricky problems involving icky icing smears on your serving platter too (well, I hope).  I'll certainly give you an update after I've used it a time or two and put it through its paces.  If it works as well as I think it will, you'll be wanting to get one too.

Last good thing...it says, right on the front "MADE IN U.S.A." and that's what I like to see!

BON APPETIT, Y'ALL!!!

SPRING BREAK - SOUTH PADRE ISLAND

This post has nothing to do with food.  It has only to do with my state of total shock because I've never been ON South Padre Island during "Texas Week" of Spring Break.  The first year we lived down here we went to Arizona to see the hubby and go to the Grand Canyon.  The next year, I had pneumonia and didn't leave the house except to go to the doctor...I mean nurse practitioner (we don't often have doctors)... in Port Isabel.  This year, I needed to make deliveries of baked goods to Paragraphs on the North end of the island and attend two of their events...I must have looked like a yayhoo with my mouth gaping open.  I left Paragraphs at 5:35 and it took me until 6:00 to get to the bridge (less than 2 miles I estimate).  I saw more young people with less clothing than I've ever seen except during my wild teen-age days at Hippie Hollow on Lake Travis in the 1970s....back in those days thongs were what we called flip flops and we just went topless sunbathed with our tops off (laying on our stomachs of course)...nothing was shoved up the crack of our behinees.  (I can see my adult children going "NOOOO Mom, I do not want to know that kind of stuff about you!!!)

I can't believe these "children" "teen-agers" "young adults" would walk down Padre Blvd barefoot <ouch>, in bikinis (and that is a stretch to call some of them bikinis...several barely-there-thongs), carrying or dragging ice chests, boys and girls stacked and packed in the back of pick up trucks, mardi gras beads hanging around everyone's necks, flags flying from the truck beds and SUV windows.  I was next to a truck that was toting quite the extravagant beer bong...it looked like an octopus.  Boys were whooping and hollering and blowing these loud horns that sounded like conch shells...whoa.  I needed ibuprofen (OK - another sign of aging).  They were headed north...and I think they were pouring out of Coca Cola Beach at Isla Grand.  WOW...what an experience.  If you don't believe me - check out the live web cams courtesy of South Padre Live Cams.  Right now, as I type this, all is quiet...but check in around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  Holy smokes!

It normally takes me slightly less than 20 minutes from my door on the mainland to Paragraphs book store.  Today it took me nearly an hour...you had to drive really slow because some crazy kid would dash out in front of you...people were gawking...dudes were posing...honking at girls...oh my!!!  That was nothing compared to the trip home though...as described above.

I am officially old.  Thank you very much.  I even had my camera...but was afraid to drive and take photos for fear of crashing into the person in front of me...or being considered a pervert.

That said...only one girl appeared sloppy drunk as she nearly dashed into traffic and was restrained by her friends...mostly they all looked happy and, well, like Spring Breakers...and I only saw two ambulances...and about 25 police/constable/sheriff/DPS cars swarming the island and Port Isabel...and two wrecks...both totally avoidable.  Whew...glad to be safely home.  And to think...I have to go back there on Wednesday.  Wonder if I'll see Snoop Dogg or his posse hanging out?  Hell, probably not :-)  I'm embarrassed to say I watched his reality t.v. show for awhile when I lived in Austin.  I'd stop and couldn't look away...kind of like those wrecks I saw today.  They are really setting up quite the stage for this event...whew...Spring Break at SPI...like everything in Texas...it's bigger and badder!

OK - that's my blog post for today.  I'm in old lady culture shock.  Sheesh, I'm not even that old...but that entire episode made me feel ancient.

Ciao for now!

HUMMINGBIRDS ABOUND!

Little goodies for the children

Sugar Cookie Hummingbirds

The Hummingbird Cake
A Southern Favorite

I have a hummingbird theme going this week.  My sweet friend, Joni, at Paragraphs on Padre Blvd hosted a couple of book signing events on Tuesday for one of the authors of "Hummingbirds - Fact and Folklore From the Americas", Ms. Jeanette Larson.  I had in mind to take some of my hummingbird sugar cookies over to the children's event and Joni had hoped for a Hummingbird Cake for the afternoon event.  I felt up to both tasks so that's what I'm up to today (I'm writing this on Monday, although you will likely read this on Wednesday at the earliest).

The cakes have just come out of the oven...and I can tell already at least one of them is crooked...dang it. 

3 layers cooling on racks

I've never made a Hummingbird Cake before...and it is a really old fashioned type of cake...I remember friends making these when I worked at Shoal Creek back in the 1980s.  For many years, a Hummingbird was part of the logo for Shoal Creek Hospital - so anything with the name was a popular feature at employee events.  This cake was a pineapply, bananay, cinammony <OK - I know, not real words> cake...3 layers...with pecans.  The frosting is a delicious cream cheese frosting.  I remember the cake being quite scrumptious!  The ones that came to work, though, were always sheet cake style...now I know why!  The batter is so thick it was hard to get smoothed out...and either I did a bad job of that or I have an uneven spot in my oven.  This is the first time I've ever baked 3 layers in my oven.  I've baked plenty of cakes...but not layer cakes.  Oh well...I'll see what I can do.  It surely does smell good here right now.  I suspect it tastes just as good as I remember it.

The recipe I used is the one Joni sent over.  The printout says "The ultimate recipe for Hummingbird Cake.  It's the most requested recipe in Southern Living magazine history and frequents covered dish dinners all across the South, always receiving rave reviews." 

I Googled a couple of recipes and this one had 5 stars and came up first on Google...so I went with Joni's recommendation.  I am also a big fan of Stephanie Jaworski's recipes on JoyofBaking.com.  She has one very similar but with a different frosting.  I might try it for my husband - he sounded disappointed that I was not going to be serving the Hummingbird Cake to him. :-)  Stephanie reports that the recipe first appeared in a 1978 Southern Living magazine...and the source of the name is unknown.  She speculates that perhaps the name comes from the sugary sweetness of the cake since hummingbirds are associated with loving sweet nectar.  I found a lot of speculation on the name...but nothing definitive.  The one thing most people agreed upon...it is a cake of the Southern United States culture.  I can certainly attest to that!

Here's the recipe I used with a few of my usual tweaks and comments in italics.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE
from MyRecipes.com and further
credited to Southern Living, January 1999

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten (mine were room temperature)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used closer to 2 teaspoons)
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained (nowhere did it say whether it was with pineapple juice or heavy syrup...considering the age of the original recipe being 1970s...I elected the heavy syrup and the can was 8.25 ounces)
1 cup chopped pecans (I used the Texas pecans I bought at Coastal Mail and had stored in my freezer)
2 cups chopped bananas (this was two really large bananas - they were quite ripe but not mushy - I'd bet 3 or 4 regular smaller bananas would be needed for 2 cups)

One recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup chopped pecans for top of cake
(I also used pecan halves to trim the bottom of the cake)

METHOD:

DO NOT USE A STAND MIXER!  Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (I whisked to combine thoroughly); add beaten eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat)  Stir in vanilla,  pineapple and juice, 1 cup chopped pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. (I used Baker's Joy - a spray that has flour in it - and they slid right out - I also used a non-stick cake pan).  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes (mine took 28 minutes), or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.  It's important that the cake is cooled 100% or the cream cheese frosting will melt and it will be a mess!  I know from baking other layer cakes with cream cheese frosting.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top.  Store in refrigerator.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened (1 stick)
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD:

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy.  Scrape frequently.  Stir in vanilla.

Now that I have frosted this cake, I would recommend making more frosting from the get go.  I could barely get the sides frosted and actually did a ring of pecan halves along the bottom because there just wasn't enough frosting to go around.  I like a generously frosted cake. 

Needed more frosting - so I put pecans around the bottom

The photo they displayed on the Southern Living website certainly was not made with just this one recipe of frosting...I'd say 1 1/2 times the called for amount on all frosting ingredients.  THAT would have generously frosted this 3-layer cake.

When I put my cake together, I put the top layer on upside down. 

The bottom of the top layer - filled with yummy bananas and pineapple

That gave me a nice flat surface to frost...and it worked out well.  The only thing I messed up was I didn't get the cake centered on the cake round I am using...I thought I did... but I either was wrong or I moved it while I stacked.  I should have put a little dollop of frosting on the bottom so it wouldn't slide.  Oh well, hindsight and all that.

The Hummingbird Cake from the top

It's a wonderful cake and it wasn't troublesome to make.  I always taste the batter when I'm cleaning off my spoons before sticking in the dishwasher.  I must say, if it can be graded on the batter - it's going to be an A+ cake!  We'll see what the folks say after the book signing.  I'm always nervous to take my baked goods...what if it sucks or something???  YIKES, that would ...well, that would suck :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well - it is now Tuesday evening.  The events are over.  Joni and Griff are excellent hosts, as always.  I attended part of the children's program as well.  I love to hear people read to children and watch their little faces.  It is magical.  Jeanette gave a great presentation despite it being quite the spread of childrens' ages.  You can tell she's a child specialist (what librarian isn't?)... she gave them something to hold onto, and brought that into play...it was just a penny, but it sure brought home her point.  Awesome.  I didn't stay to hand out the cookies - left that for Joni.  I hope everyone liked them.  Sounds like they did....or at least their parents did!

The evening event for the adults (where we had our cake) was different...the circle thing works so well at Paragraphs...people always share stories and it is just fascinating to hear the vast array of experiences the visitors and inhabitants of South Padre Island have to share.  I just soak up every story that is told.  I met some new folks today...  I continue to broaden my social circle thanks to the exceptionally fine events at Paragraphs on Padre Blvd. 

Paragraphs reminds me of the way BookPeople in Austin used to be... back in the day when it was on far South Lamar in Brodie Oaks Shopping Center next to Whole Foods...before they both became big time and moved up to South Lamar and 6th Street and became "big".  You used to walk into BookPeople and they greeted you as if you were old friends.  That's how it feels at Paragraphs.  It is cozy and welcoming.  Thanks Joni and Griff!

The piece of cake I brought home....it was really good IMHO! 
All my worries for nothing.

Bon Appetit, Y'all!!!

PORT ISABEL DAIRY QUEEN

OK - no hecklers.  Yes, you read it correctly.  I'm blogging about the Port Isabel Dairy Queen.  I love my local Dairy Queen.  I think it is better than the island Dairy Queen.  I have frequented both on a fairly regular basis.  We are big DQ lovers at our house.  Maybe doesn't "look" better - but I get treated better!

What makes one DQ better than another?  Well, the service mostly.  The manager at the Port Isabel Dairy Queen knows my car, knows my usual order, and if he has time, he always pokes his head out the drive thru window to say hello or gives a friendly wave.  I like that a lot.  Also, if the frozen goodies aren't "good" - he won't sell them to me (unlike the island's DQ).  He will order things we like.  He just takes good care of me.

I will say the Port Isabel DQ is aging (okay - it looks really old) - it needs a face lift.  They keep it fairly clean - better with the current manager.  I get better drive thru service than I get inside service.  Who knows why that is?  I sure don't.  I just know that the folks manning (or womanning) the drive thru are friendly and they get it right.

We were going to the DQ every Friday after school (for over 2 years) but since I've been baking so many sweets at home, it's been more like once each month.  Friday night after chowing down at Pirate's Landing, we stopped at the DQ for dessert.  I got a small dip cone and the teen got his standard M&M Blizzard.  I'm a Blizzard Fan Club member and love getting the buy-one-get-one free coupons from time to time. (you can join online).  I know every DQ on the highway between Austin and South Padre Island.  A French Vanilla MooLatte has kept me going on the last leg of my journey back to the coast on more than one occasion.

So, I've been to a lot of Dairy Queens.  MY Dairy Queen is the best...friendly folks, get my order right, and they aren't stingy with the napkins.  Hope they bring back those Ooey Gooey Caramel Fudge Brownie Blizzards soon.  They are the BEST.  I also miss the Cherry Lime Freezes...yum.

Thanks DQ for being part of my childhood, my teen-age years (it was the only fast food place in Cedar Park, TX at the time - and I lived on Steak Finger Baskets), part of my kids' childhood, and hopefully part of my old age!

"DQ...that's what I like about Texas..." - damn song is stuck in my head now.
I LOVE me some DQ!!!

HUMMINGBIRD COOKIES

I did some decorated hummingbird cookies when I worked on all my tropical themed cookies a couple of weeks ago...but I was never really satisfied with them.  We are on Spring Break now...no deadlines, no alarm clocks...but also no beach.  When you live near South Padre Island, you avoid the beach like the plague during Spring Break (well, if you are an adult of a certain age anyway).  I decided I would take today and work on trying to improve my cookie decorating skills...I baked just one kind of cookie...just one shape...and I made myself do them over and over again.  I made the dough and baked the cookies on Saturday...and Sunday I spent 4 hours (5 if you include clean up) decorating 28 hummingbird sugar cookies.  There were 30...but 2 met an unfortunate end...so they had to be eaten.  That's okay - quality control is important!

The first dozen, including the royal icing, colorings, and set up, took me 3 hours to finish decorating  and the last 16 took me just over an hour... I was in the swing of things by then.  What I learned is that I am not a great artist, I am inconsistent, but I do improve over time.  Most of my issues were with icing consistency.  I, again, used the squeeze bottles but found I needed a piping bag with a #1 or #2 tip for the best feathering.  Once I got that down, I had more consistency...unfortunately, it took me so long to get to that point that my icing started separating and I ended up with some dry bits gumming up the works...and all the kinds of mishaps that occur when you work with royal icing for many hours straight.



The first dozen - not very consistent

I used my favorite World's Best Sugar Cookies dough and the royal icing found on that link.  I actually looked at cookie after cookie on google images, different websites, and on Etsy.  I settled on what I thought I could do and hoped for an improvement over my sort-of-plain hummers of the previous decorating exercise.  I wanted the feathering to make the wings look more like wings...I guess it did to a certain degree...but again and again...I was not able to make the same pattern consistently.

I'm not totally happy...but I'm getting better. 

So, here's the old one I did last time...and the new ones are, obviously, the blue hummingbirds...I tried to get a little artsy and the feathering didn't work all that well about half the time.  Baby steps...we're taking baby steps!

The ones I did last time

The 2nd dozen - better!

I really like doing this for pleasure...I do not think I'd like doing this for a job!  It's kind of hard work ;-p

Bon Appetit, Y'all!