A place for everything. Sorta.

Posted: June 12, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 8 Comments

We’re making progress here at our new home.  Most of the living spaces are in order, even if mountains of unpacked boxes remain in the basement.

Nothing gives me serenity like order.

Pink dishes, a pink pantry. Yes, I have a bit of a sweet tooth.

My new dish pantry is finally complete.  The wallpaper and light fixture are hung, the shelves are stacked and organized, and it’s exactly as I envisioned.

Almost.

My tiny but mighty dish pantry.

I’m thrilled with the wallpaper.  It matched the hooked rug that I had in my former home perfectly. The space still needs a curtain of some sort, but I haven’t found one yet that’s just the right touch.  The wicker hamper turned out to be a perfect hiding spot for odds and ends.

But one big surprise was that all of my dishes and linens and serving pieces and glassware and flatware don’t fit.  I had envisioned a single space, a masterpiece of entertaining organization, but it became clear halfway through unpacking that my dream wasn’t to be. And I’m not even fully unpacked.

So, some of my pieces have been relegated to the kitchen, some to a display-case-turned-china-cabinet, and some to a second pantry off our kitchen.

“I get it,” I exclaimed to my husband while unpacking china. “I have enough. I can stop now.”

And I proved it. Yesterday I resisted the urge to pick up additional white serving pieces while in Target.

But when I stepped into the pantry this morning to select the items for our first gathering at our new home — a BBQ for eight tonight — and saw this:

You never know what kind of dish you'll need.

And this:

Or glasses.

I must admit my tiny-but-mighty dish pantry made me awfully happy.

And isn’t that the goal of any home?

Chocolate therapy.

Posted: June 5, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

I woke up Sunday morning craving chocolate cake.

It was a strange craving because, although I adore cake, chocolate is not my favorite.

I perused my cookbooks in search of the perfect recipe, only to find I should have started a day earlier if I really intended to serve Chocolate Mousse Layer Cake for Sunday Supper. (A tried-and-true recipe from Fine Cooking’s “Sweet Cakes,” I’ve made this cake many times. But I had forgotten that on top of baking and mousse-making, it takes a six-hour chill.)

So I settled on a recipe for chocolate pavlovas, with a twist. The recipe called for fresh fruit, but — with a crisper full of just-ripe cherries — I decided on a spiced cherry sauce of my own making.

The result, which I’m calling Black Forest Pavlova, was the perfect scratch for my chocolate itch . . . rich enough to satisfy my craving, light enough for a summer day.

Chocolate, cherries and cream. Yum!

Black Forest Pavlova

(adapted from the Chocolate Pavlova recipe in Fine Cooking’s “Sweet Cakes”)

For the pavlova:

4 large egg whites, room temperature

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp table salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 TBLS red wine vinegar

3/4 oz (1/4 cup) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

For the whipped cream:

1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBLS granulated sugar

For the spiced cherry sauce:

2 cups fresh cherries, halved and pitted

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

2 TBLS fresh squeezed orange juice

2 TBLS cornstarch

3 TBLS cold water

To make the pavlova:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper (I prefer Silpat silicone baking mats) and set aside.

With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, whip the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a large dry bowl on medium speed until foamy, about 30 seconds.  Gradually add 1 cup sugar and then the cornstarch and vinegar; whip on medium high until the whites hold stiff peaks and look glossy, another 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the sifted cocoa powder and mix on low speed until mostly combined, 20 to 30 seconds more, scraping the bowl as needed. Finish mixing the cocoa into the meringue by hand with a rubber spatula until well combined and no streaks of white remain.

You can make one large shell (approximately 9 inches in diameter) or several small shells by piling large spoonfuls of meringue on the baking sheet(s), spreading it out with a spatula, and shaping it into one or more circles. If you are serving several people at once, a large pavlova works well. But since I was serving only 4 for supper and I knew it wouldn’t store well after assembly, I decided to make 9 four-inch pavlovas.  That way, I could store the whipped cream and cherry sauce separately in the refrigerator and assemble and serve this dessert as desired over a few more days.

Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake until the meringue has puffed and cracked around its edges, about 45 minutes more. Turn off the oven, prop the oven door open, and allow the meringue to cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes.  The pavlova(s) can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for three days or more.

To make the whipped cream:

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, whip heavy cream in medium bowl, gradually adding sugar, until it holds a soft peak.  Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

To make the spiced cherry sauce:

Combine all ingredients except water and cornstarch in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium flame.  Cover and reduce flame, allowing cherries to simmer until they are soft, about 10 minutes.  Uncover, return flame to medium high, and bring mixture to a full boil. Stir cornstarch into cold water until dissolved, add cornstarch mixture into cherry sauce.  Stir while boiling until the sauce is thickened.  Remove from flame and cool, then store in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator.

To assemble the dessert:

Top each pavlova with a generous amount of whipped cream and top with spoonfuls of chilled cherry sauce.  Serve immediately.  Serves 8-10.

This is what I’ve been waiting on. All my life.

Posted: June 4, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Okay, so maybe not all my life.

But at least the last 20 years of my working-adult life, which, you know, is a long time to a woman who until recently was in the middle of a mid-life rut.

And it’s probably a sad commentary on my shallow nature.

That, uh, I’ve been waiting all my life on this.

I'm a shallow woman indeed that a little marble should make me so happy.

But it’s pretty, huh?

There’s nothing as splendid as Carrara Marble, especially in the kitchen.  I’ve wanted marble countertops all my life.  The naysayers tried to thwart me, predicting doom and gloom because it’s so soft and porous.

Phooey, I said.

A couple of years ago I bought a sizable slab and put it smack dab in the middle of my island. I cut on it. I rolled pastry on it. I spilled all kinds of food on it. In short, I lived on it.

You may say it looks worn now. Imperfect. Stained.

I say it has a patina of love, timeworn by a woman who gets her biggest thrills in the kitchen.

So when we moved recently, I did what I’d been wanting to do for a very long time. I laid down my stash of mad money and bought marble countertops.

And — geeeeeeeeesh — do I LOVE them!

You might notice from the photo I’m still waiting on cabinet doors. And hardware. And a maple butcher-block island top.  Things are still in a bit of disarray right now after only seven days of unpacking in this house. But I don’t care. I could stand for hours and admire this marble. Even the act of making toast brings me joy in this kitchen.

And what more can you want out of life?