Sweet Mary

Back in Baltimore

Here is my final glimpse of Providence from the bike path in East Providence near my now former apartment. I took a minute to say farewell right before hopping in the truck that, um, broke down 100 miles south of Providence! Moving can be so much fun.

Anyway, it's all history now. You know, in all my years and through all of my moves, I have never actually returned to the same place. Consequently, being back in Baltimore is an unfamiliar feeling. It's a bit surreal, to be honest, and as if the past three years never happened.  Although I am settling in just fine, I know I need to treat this all as a new place and experience.  I have certainly done a lot of changing and growing since leaving. So, I will let all the events of the past few weeks catch up to me so I can move forward as gracefully as possible.  It sure is good to see some familiar faces, though, and to look forward to whatever Baltimore will hold for me this time around.

Now that I can find the items necessary to make delicious desserts, I am ready to start giving Baltimore a dose of Sweet Mary. So, check back in soon for recipes and photos (of food).  Here's an industrial (as opposed to residential) shot of Locust Point, my new hood.

Chocolate Chunk and Toffee Cookies

With my last stick of butter, I cranked out a few cookies this afternoon for my movers. I say "my movers" because I know these guys on a first name basis. Although I do all the packing and truck driving, with my bad back I pay people to load and unload the truck.  So, if you need movers in/around Rhode Island, write me and I'll pass along some contact info.  Why? Because these guys are fast, thorough, and safe. In addition, they do very well with tight doorways, winding staircases, and lifting things over porches without a scratch. Considering this is the fourth time I've needed them in my short time here in Rhode Island (and I have another friend who used them as much as I did), I felt like they deserved a few tasty cookies.

These are yummy. All chewy chocolate and toffee.  No need to say more than that.

This will be my last post till I get at least a little settled in Baltimore and find my mixer and baking pans amongst the boxes and mounds of stuff. Give me a week and I hope to be back up and running and baking from Charm City.

This recipe comes from the Williams Sonoma site.

1 1/4 all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/3-inch pieces

1 cup chopped chocolate covered toffee

Heat oven to 375 F.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl of a mixer, combine brown sugar and butter and vanilla. On high, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Change speed to low and add in flour mixture until just combined. Then, mix in the chocolate and toffee. Spoon the batter by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Rotate pan halfway through. Let cool on pan for 1 minute and then transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Cinnamon-Rhubarb Muffins

Thankfully, I only have two sticks of butter left! It's getting down to the wire here and I really don't have much time to bake.  I am now officially unemployed and preparing for my move to Baltimore. I noticed some nice looking rhubarb at the supermarket the other day and decided to make some rhubarb muffins. This recipe hails from Karen Barker on Fine Cooking. I thought they were delicious. Lovely crumb/texture. Not too sweet. And, the rhubarb definitely stood out and was paired well with all the cinnamon. Nice.

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sour cream

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled a little

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch diced rhubarb

For the topping

3 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil cups (or grease the tin).

For muffins: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to blend.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Then, lightly stir the sour cream mix into the dry ingredients with a spatula until the batter just comes together. Do not over mix. Gently stir in the diced rhubarb. This batter will be thick.

Divide batter among baking cups. 

Make topping by combining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkled about 1/2 tsp. on top of each muffin.

Bake muffins until golden brown. They will spring back when pressed lightly. Also, a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Bake for about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool on rack in tin for 5-10 minutes and remove from pan.

Chocolate Espresso Bars

OK. I am leaving in 10 days and I am down to just 2 sticks of butter in the fridge.  Nice.  Forgive me for not writing more in my recent posts, but I'm in the midst of packing, loose ends, goodbyes, finishing work, and, well, using up my butter!  Consequently, I am also choosing super easy recipes so I am not in the kitchen for too long.  After tasting one of these puppies, I would definitely make them again. And, again.  Those chocolate coffee lovers will go nuts is all I have to say. Deliciously decadent, they are. This recipe is a keeper, so thank you Williams-Sonoma. The folks in the mail room were darn happy to get a plate of these, as was a good friend's husband.  Actually, Doug, I made these with you in mind! Even though we've only met once, Doug has been eatin' and enjoyin' my baked goods since I met his wife Diane about three years ago! He's one of my biggest RI fans.  Here's a shout out and big old thank you.

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

3 tbs instant espresso powder

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 eggs

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For glaze:

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp instant espresso powder

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

pinch of salt

chocolate covered espresso beans, optional

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8x8 square baking pan.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside. 

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter and chocolate, stir occasionally, until melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool a little.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and brown sugar until blended. Gradually stir in the chocolate mix until combined. Then, stir in the vanilla. Then, add the flour mix and stir until blended.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until edges slightly pull away from sides of pan and the center is springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool completely.

For glaze: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and espresso powder. Stir until powder dissolves and bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan. Add chocolate and salt and remove from heat. Stir just until chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature. 

Using a small offset spatula, spread the cooled glaze over the cookie in a thin layer. Put in fridge until glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Cut into pieces. Top each bar with an espresso bean, if you want.

Frosted Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes

In my quest to use all the butter in my fridge before moving later this month, I made two dozen cupcakes and brought them in to work for some nice folks to enjoy. I always like cake made with buttermilk, so I made this recipe from the Martha Stewart site. The cake was absolutely delicious. I frosted them with Martha's easy icing. I would have preferred to make real buttercream so I could have prettied these cupcakes up a bit more; however, I also wanted to use up some confectioner's sugar and not go through all my butter in one shot. This icing tastes fine, but it is a bit hard to spread or pipe. If you want to get fancy, I would definitely make buttercream (even a Swiss meringue).  

*makes 12

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 tablespoons buttermilk

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Heat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cocoa and 3 tablespoons hot water until a thick paste forms. This will make the chocolate taste stronger. Add butter, buttermilk, egg, and egg white. Beat until combined. Whisk in flour until smooth.

Spoon or scoop batter into prepared tins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely.  Then, spread icing over top. Click on link above for icing.

Baltimore Food Blogs

I thought I'd start familiarizing myself with some of Baltimore's food blogs so when I arrive, I can jump right in and join the B'more blog community. I am excited about returning to a bigger city that has a few more bloggers with whom to share and network. Here are a few to get us all started.  And, of course, don't forget about Rachel from Coconut & Lime.  I actually had the pleasure of having coffee with her during my visit to Baltimore in February and certainly hope to chat more in the near future.  

Kitchenography

The Baltimore Snacker

Black Coffee & a Donut

B More Sweet

Raspberry Eggplant

Pigtown Pigout

Raspberry-Walnut Streusel Bars

Before I move later this month, I have about 8 sticks of butter to use, so I figured I'd better get cracking in the kitchen. These cookies hail from a Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes (2004) book I have titled Cookies. You know, if you're ever in a pinch and need something quick and easy to make, bar cookies are the way to go. These turn out like buttery nutty fruit sandwiches. All in all, a very nice cookie.

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Heat oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl of a mixer, beat butter, sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Scrape bowl occasionally with a spatula. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg yolks and vanilla until well combined.  Scrape bowl down when necessary. Add flour and salt and beat until just blended. Stir in walnuts with a wooden spoon.

Pat half of the dough evenly into the greased pan. Spread raspberry jam over dough, leaving 1/4 inch border around the sides. Then, pinch off 1-inch pieces of the remaining dough and drop them on top of the jam. It doesn't matter if they touch.

Bake until the crust is golden, 45-50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a rack. Cut into pieces. You should get 24.

Goodbye Rhode Island

Dear Rhode Island,

Oh, we've had a bit of a love-hate relationship over the past three years, now haven't we? It's OK, you can be honest.  

I haven't been so kind to you lately; however, I sure do remember that frigid day I arrived three years ago in January of 2006. Yes, it's true. I hate the cold cold cold. But, somehow, I felt warmed by all the possibilities of taking yet another detour from my once well thought out life plans. My detour included achieving one of those supposedly unattainable goals on my life list and simply indulging myself in all things baking and pastry in culinary school for a while regardless of outcome...and, well, maybe chasing away a few demons in the process. And, you seemed perfect for all of that.

So, we were good, Rhode Island. Really good. It worked and you were a fantastic place to go to school, get part time temp and ad hoc jobs whenever I needed them, and recover from what was certainly the toughest time in my life. And, you know, I met my share of wonderful people here, particularly through my former book/food club and first temp job. And, I won't lie, I also really enjoyed the slower pace and quiet....at first.  Oh, and I always love the skies and sunsets here....when it's not gray!  You see, that's where the love-hate starts coming in to play.  But, thanks, Rhode Island. I mean it.

And, you know, I tried.  Really tried to settle down and stay here.  But, I grew restless, especially during the long long winters.  I'm just not cut out for that anymore.  And, how was I going to know you'd be the first to fall apart when the economy started spiraling out of control?  Yes, it's unfortunately true that opportunities here are very limited not only due to the size of the state, but the state of the state. So, something kept telling me that you were just a temporary stay and I must....go....back....home.

Home.  Now, that's a tough concept for my wandering soul to understand or define these days. I grew up in Wappingers Falls, New York; however, haven't lived there since pre-college days. And, with all the places, spaces, and motion behind me, it's tough to figure out what home is for me. My past includes cities, country, mountains, suburbs, islands, small towns, etc. While it's certainly true that I am flexible and adaptable, it can get confusing. But, that doesn't mean I don't want a home base that suits me well. 

What I do know is that there are truly two places I've lived where I felt at home, Northern California and Baltimore. They are so radically different, you know. But, I fantasize about going back and forth between the two. I love the grit and realness of Baltimore, the industrial landscape and the quirkiness that constitutes its personality. Yet, I also love the beautiful blue skies, dramatic coast, stars, dry weather, and land in Northern California. When I visit, I breathe huge sighs of relief because I simply feel calm and connected.  

In both places, I am blessed with some of the most amazing people on the planet. Smart, creative, hilarious, compassionate people.  People who make me feel lucky to be alive no matter what life throws at me. So, I really can't go wrong in either place, right?

So, Rhode Island, you've been great and all, but I got to get my butt back home. For now, I am headed back to Baltimore where I hope to bake, blog, teach, and earn my keep in a productive creative way. My people are waiting on me.  

Thanks for the journey that was the past three years....

Mary

P.S. Don't worry, I'll be doing some baking before departing.  Not only do I have a bunch of flour and butter that must be used, but also some people to thank for their kind deeds.