An Hour with a Baker

Last night I was able to visit a very well known bakery in the Portland area. I did this on my mission to find out if baking is right for me, as a career.

I gained a lot of great insight. She quickly shared with me all the not so pretty things about working in a bakery. The hours. The time on your feet. The physical pain. The working conditions. But I also got to see a lot of the fun side of it. The giant bags of sugar. The details on a wedding cake. The yummy smells.

We talked a lot about schools, great chefs and what I can do to be a better baker.

While it wasn't all I had hoped it to be, I am glad I went. It was nice to get a bigger picture of the life as a baker. And it helped me have a better idea of what I want to do. The really encouraging moment came when she told me that she has met a lot of people who pursue baking as a career then she realizes that they are not so great, but she thinks based on what I had told her, and the fact I wanted to know the reality that it is something I could do.

So maybe I will. Maybe I will become a baker.

Happy Meal Time

I found these adorable cupcakes on Bakerella's blog: (http://www.bakerella.blogspot.com/) so I decided to try them for our family camping trip this past weekend. Here they are from start to finish:

First I made some fries out of sugar cookies.


I rolled them out and cut them into fry shapes.


If they turn out like steak fries like mine did, cut them while they are warm!


Add some sugar to the final product, and your fries are ready to go.


Then I made a batch of brownies. I would bake these on a cookie sheet next time in order to get more "patties"


Cutting the patties.


Hamburgers!!




Then I made some yellow cupcakes.


Cut the cupcake in half and add the brownie. Iadded some frosting to hold them together since I was traveling with them.


Adding some ketchup, mustard and lettuce, just made colored frosting.



Yummy.


I just used a toothpick and white frosting to make the sesame seeds. You could use real ones, I just didn't have any.





One Happy Meal to go please!

Skewered Beef

Last night for dinner I made "Skewered Beef". It was quite tasty, although I do have to give Ryan some credit, since he grilled it for me. The only thing I would do differently is let the beef marinate longer than the recipe suggests.

Here is the recipe: http://www.thenest.com/Recipes/45858/detailview.aspx?id=45858&type=7&pageIndex=2

Skewered Beef
Ingredients
1 pound tender beef, such as rib-eye or filet mignon, cut into thin 2-inch-long strips
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 or 6 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths (see note)
1 package rice cake sticks

Preparation
Soak the short (5- or 6-inch) bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Put the beef in a medium bowl, add the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, and black pepper, and toss to combine, making sure all the beef is coated with the marinade. Let sit for at least 20 minutes.

Using 2 parallel skewers, thread the beef, green onions, and rice cakes alternately on the sticks.

Prepare a medium-hot coal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium. Grill the skewers until the meat is browned on both sides and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Note: Cut the green onions just a bit shorter than the length of meat, since the meat will shrink during cooking. If you don't want to bother with a grill, you can also sauté these in an oiled large skillet.

* Photo from thenest.com

A little bit o'lime

Last night for dinner I decided I was going to be a bit creative with my cooking. Usually I am all about the recipes...but last night it was just me and my brain.

I made cilantro lime chicken!! It was yummy! I marinaded the chicken in lime juice all day (I used a fresh lime and squirted half of it on the chicken) then I added some cilantro. When I got home I started the grill. I put some fresh lime juice on the chicken, and some fresh cilantro and BBQ'd away. It was so moist and flavorful. The lime was just enough and you can taste the hint of cilantro, I will make this again!

Then, I used a recipe from Weight Watchers, it is a Watermelon Salsa. It went perfect with some lime flavored tortilla chips. I omitted the jalapeno, because I don't like them. So it was more sweet than spicy, but I really liked it, Ryan not so much (only because he doesn't like 98% of the ingredients!).

Here is the recipe: http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=115391

Watermelon Salsa

4 cup(s) watermelon, seedless, chopped into small pieces
1 cup(s) cucumber(s), seedless, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped into small pieces (green and white parts)
1/2 large yellow pepper(s), chopped into small pieces
1 large jalapeno pepper(s), seeded, finely minced (do not touch seeds with bare hands)
1 1/2 tbsp cilantro, fresh, minced
1 1/2 tbsp mint leaves, fresh, minced
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Instructions
Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Yields about 1/2 cup per serving.

Notes
If you plan to make this recipe ahead of time, chop up and toss together the watermelon, vegetables and herbs, but wait to combine them with the sugar, olive oil and lime juice until just before serving.


* Picture from Weight Watchers