Will Starbucks Kill the Cake Pop?

**This post was originally published on HonestCooking.com, a brand new online food magazine, for which I am a contributor. The website launched in March, and it is a great new resource for recipes, travel, restaurant reviews and foodie opinion pieces. Check it out here!**

I can’t tell you how many people in the past few weeks have asked me “did you know that Starbucks sells cake pops now?”. Some say cake pops are the new cupcake, and they seem to be everywhere you look. They are taking over food blogs, they are replacing cupcakes at weddings, and now they are being sold at the international coffee chain, Starbucks.

A cake pop is essentially cake, crumbled and mixed with frosting, formed into a ball, popped on a stick, and dipped in a super-sweet candy coating. I made cake pops for the first time for a friend’s wedding last spring (about 350 of them to be exact) and since then, virtually everyone I know has become obsessed. Certain friends (who shall remain anonymous) have been known to hoard them in their freezer and ration them out until the next batch of leftovers is delivered. It’s madness I tell you.

Will the appearance of cake pops at Starbucks mark the beginning of the inevitable cake pop backlash? The overexposure and obsession with a new food trend can quickly turn it from hip and current to passé and cheesy. With their new home at a coffee chain that many people already love to hate, will 2011 be the year of the death of the cake pop trend? Only time will tell I guess.

Until then, we can still delight in the near-sickeningly sweet treat that is the cake pop. Here are instructions for some bright colorful pops, perfect for a spring celebration or a fun Easter treat.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cake Pops
Makes about 50 pops

Cake Pops:
1 batch lemon-buttermilk cake, baked and cooled
1 batch cream cheese frosting (recipe below)
1-2 packages white vanilla candy melts (if you cannot find candy melts, you can use white chocolate, or almond bark the same way)
candy melt coloring (optional, but you cannot use frosting coloring, or liquid coloring unfortunately, the candy melts will seize from the water content)
sprinkles (optional)
50 4-inch lollipop sticks

Crumble the cakes into a large bowl with your fingers until broken up into pea-sized bits. Mix in about 2/3 of the frosting to start with, using either a large wooden spoon, or your hands if you want to get messy. Mix until the frosting is evenly dispersed. Take a small amount of some of the cake mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons or so) and try rolling it into a ball with the palms of your hands. If it stays together, continue to roll the rest of your cake mixture into balls and place them on a parchment or a wax paper lined baking sheet. If they fall apart or do not hold together, add a little more frosting until the mix is moist enough to allow you to roll an intact ball. You may not need to use all your frosting. I like to use the least amount of frosting possible, as it helps keep the texture of the cake pops more cake-like, and less mushy.

Once you have rolled all the cake mix into balls, place in refrigerator and chill for about 30 minutes. When the cake balls have been chilled, melt a small amount of the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions. Take one of the sticks, dip about 1/2 inch of the end into the melted candy and stick it about half to three-quarters of the way through the cake ball. Don’t go too far into the cake ball, or it will fall apart. The candy melts will help adhere the stick to the cake.

Place the cake pop (we can officially call them pops now since they are now on a stick) back onto the parchment and repeat process with all remaining balls. Place the cake pops in the freezer for 30-60 minutes before coating. This will save you a lot of headache when trying to dip the cake pops into the hot candy melts. If they are mostly nearly frozen, you will have a much easier time getting them to stay on the stick while dipping and tapping the excess coating off, so don’t rush this step!

Once the cake pops have been chilled, melt the rest of the package of candy melts according to package directions, and add your candy coloring, if usingdesired. I kept the majority of the cake pops in the freezer and took them out about five5 at a time. This way, the whole pan of cake pops doesn’t come up to room temperature while you are dipping the first batch.

One at a time, dip the cake pops into the melted candy coating being making sure to get the coating all the way up over where theon to the stick is attached to really seal it into create a good seal. GENTLY tap off the excess coating on the edge of the bowl while rotating the cake pop, to get a nice even layer all the way around. You will want to do this quickly in order to make sure to reduce any excess of the candy coating off before it starts to set.

At this point you can do one of two things. If you want lollipop-like cake pops, you can stick them in a piece of styrofoam, let them dry pop side up, and serve them just like that. If you do it this way, you may want to reshape the tips of the balls a bit with your fingers before dipping them, as they may have a flattened bottom from sitting and chilling.

I tend prefer to to place them pop side down with the sticks up in the air. They are still just as cute, but easier to make in large quantities. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the flattened bottom since you are just putting it back in that same position anyway.

While the candy coating is still wet, feel free to go crazy with sprinkles, edible glitter, or even crushed nuts. If you are piping or dipping another color onto the pops, wait until the base layer is completely dry before doing so. You may need to melt more candy melts depending on how thick your coating ends up. , it’s always good have a few extra bags on hand.

Let your cake pops dry for at least an hour or two before packaging them up. I placed mine in a paper towel-lined ziploc baggies and put them into the refrigerator. You can leave them at room temp for a day or two, or even freeze them for a few weeks.

Lemon Buttermilk Cake:
3 1/2 cups (349 grams) cake flour

2 cups (383 grams) granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, 459 grams) room temperature

1 cup buttermilk (3,5 dl) room temperature

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract

zest of one large or two small lemons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift or whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Add the butter and half the buttermilk. Beat with the paddle attachment on a medium-low speed until combined and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, with a fork, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, the rest of the buttermilk, and the vanilla and lemon extracts to combine, just until eggs are broken up. Add the egg mixture to the batter in 3 additions, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes after each addition, being sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl frequently.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans until they are cool to the touch, then turn out of pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter (230 grams) room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups (325 grams) confectioners’ sugar

pinch of salt

In a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter, and beat on medium high speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Simple Summer Salad + A Giveaway!

Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of your hobbies? After weeks of working 14 day stretches with no time off, followed by a serious, back-woods, roughing -it, camping trip filled with bears and wolves and too many bug bites to count, I am back home and back to the blog. Finally. And what a better way to start a new stretch of (hopefully much more frequent) posts than with a giveaway for a $40 gift certificate to CSN stores. CSN stores is a group of online stores where you can purchase anything from dinnerware, to picnic baskets, to kitchen gadgets, plus lots of other fun things for your home and garden. Exciting huh? More on that in a bit.

For the past few weeks, I have noticed that I keep stumbling upon blogs which start out with something like: "As the summer is winding down..." or "Now that summer is almost over...". Excuse me? Where are you living? Here in chicago, we've got another 5 day 90+ degree heatwave coming at us. This hardly screams 'fall is coming', as much as I would love for that to be true. This may sound weird but I am ready for fall. I am sick of it being hot and sticky and rainy, it may be the Minnesotan in me. Give me changing leaves and fuzzy sweaters and big ol' pots of soup over the hot and humid weather any day.

Oh well, I will wait patiently for fall. Meanwhile, I will console myself with summer's bounty and tell myself that when it is 10 below zero I will be wishing I had fresh zucchini and cauliflower to make this bright, healthy grain and cous cous salad (either that or I will just tuck into the couch with a blanket and a big bowl of chili, my bets are on the latter).

Now about that $40 gift certificate. (I just wanted to make you read my whole post first :-) All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment on this post and tell me:

What summer dish you are itching to make before fall arrives?

Leave a description or even a link to a recipe, and I will pick one using a random number generator. You have until Monday, August16th at midnight to enter (sadly, this is open to US and Canada residents only). On Tuesday, I will announce the winning comment here so be sure to check back then to claim your prize! Until then, go outside, put your feet up, crack open an ice cold beer, and enjoy this cous cous salad.

Israeli Cous Cous & Wheat Berry with Veggies and Goat Cheese
makes enough for 6-8 main courses or 12-14 side dishes, easily halve-able

1 cup Israeli cous cous

1 cup wheat berries

2 small-medium zucchini, quartered and sliced into 1/8 inch slices

1 small head of cauliflower, broken into small florets

4-5 green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

To finish:

1-2 tablespoons chopped parsely

3/4 - 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

In a small sauce pan, combine wheat berries with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain off any excess water and set aside to cool.

In another small saucepan combine cous cous with 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside to cool.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute a few minutes just until fragrant. Turn heat to high and add the zucchini and cauliflower and saute until starting to brown a bit, but still retain some crunch, about 3-5 minutes, tossing a few times. Set veggies aside to cool.

In a small, sealable bowl (or mason jar) combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and salt and pepper. Close container tightly and shake until completely emulsified. Set aside until just before serving.

In a large bowl, combine cooled wheat berries, cous cous, veggies, green onions, parsley, to disperse evenly, and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can store this mixture in the fridge overnight, but I would recommend dressing just before serving, otherwise the zucchini and cous cous will get soggy. When ready to serve toss with just enough dressing to coat, and top with a generous amount of goat cheese crumbles and parsley.

Et tu macarons?

2 days, 6 aged egg whites, and 4 pans of macarons. My first and second attempts at making these delicate, immensely sweet french cookies, were filled with apprehension, excitement, disappointment, pride, betrayal, and a little bit of swearing...okay a lot of swearing.

I have seen the beautiful pictures of these cute little sandwiched cookies all over the blogosphere, and although I had never even tasted one, I knew I had to give them a go. I made these purely for superficial reasons, they are just so pretty, plus I love a challenge.

Any of you who know me knows I am not a big sweets person, but I truly enjoy the process of baking. I love the repetition, and the preciseness of baking. I didn't always feel this way, but have come to think that the tediousness of baking is a great way to hone your skills in the kitchen. The focus and attention to detail that is required in making something like macarons is something that can be applicable to other areas of cooking.

I think of it almost like doing yoga. When holding a pose in yoga, you have to completely clear your mind and focus on the pose itself, because if you are thinking about tomorrow's to-do list, you will fall on your ass. Lose your focus in a macaron-making kitchen, and you will wind up with meringue in your hair, and pistachio powder in your slippers (don't ask me how I know this).

They are known for being fussy, and boy did they live up to their reputation. After the first two attempts, I am only a little closer to making perfect macarons. The first batch was much too liquid-y and did not hold their shape on the pan, nor did the batter stay in my piping bag very long before dripping out all over the floor.

I attributed this to not whipping the eggs whites long enough. I baked them anyway, and lo and behold, they got their feet anyway.

The 'feet' are the little ruffles that form when the macarons are baked, and they are usually a good sign that you did something right. So I had the feet, but unfortunately between the feet and the glossy domed top, they were hollow and missing their light cake-like mid section. That is a sign that I did something wrong. So deceptive, these little creatures. They can look perfect from the outside, but poke the top and the crumble into a thousand little shards of pistachio-flavored betrayal.

My second attempt went much more smoothly and was much less emotional than the first.

The egg whites were whipped into oblivion and the batter in turn, actually held together when it was piped onto the baking sheets.

The two pans went into the oven and they were flipped top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Even as I tried to get even cooking between the two pans, they still came out of the oven completely different. One of the pans was lopsided and hollow, and the other was the closest I came over these two days of macaron-making to actually succeeding.

Since I am FAR from being an expert on macaron making, and haven't really nailed down a reliable process and recipe, I am going to turn you, my dear readers, over to one of my favorite blogs, Tartlette. She is the macaron expert, and her recipes are tried and true. She takes beautiful pictures of these lovely cookies. So until I prefect these little critters, and by god someday I will, I shall defer to her:

Pistachio Macarons with Lemon and Raspberry Buttercream Filling by Tartlette.

I used her pistachio shell recipe to a T, and modified her basic buttercream recipe, adding lemon zest and juice to half, and homemade raspberry jam to the other half. Even though some were hollow, some were gooey, and some were lopsided, they all still tasted wonderfully like pistachio sugary goodness.

This will not be the last time we meet my little macarons, but I may need a little time apart before our next encounter.

Cookie (Semi) Fail...

It's that time of year again. Christmas cookie time. The baking has commenced and I wish I could say that it is going swimmingly. It's not. I have had to call the mommy christmas cookie helpline twice already...and it's only the 18th. Sigh.

The past two years I have made a jam thumbprint cookie form a Emeril recipe. The cookie itself is flavored with lemon zest and juice, and the filling is homemade raspberry jam. They are amazing, and probably in my top three favorite christmas cookies ever. They were super easy to make, and turned out quite pretty looking. You would think by now I could make these with my eyes closed, but this year they just didn't go well. Instead of cute little perfectly round cookies, with a dot of jam in the center, they spread into large flat discs with jam oozing out over the sides.

Luckily they still tasted fantastic.

There is a reason I usually stick to savory foods, I kind of suck at baking. Although I suppose there could be worse things to have to practice eh?

Besides the slight mishap (maybe I need to turn down the heat in my kitchen, who knows) these cookies are absolutely delicious. They aren't super sweet, which is probably why I enjoy them so much. Now the trick is just not eating them all before Christmas gets here...

Lemon Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse on foodnetwork.com

1/2 cup raspberry jam (preferably homemade, but if you aren't lucky enough to have a mom that sends you multiple jars each summer, store bought is fine)

1 tablespoon chambord or kirsch (I didn't use any this time, but I have used triple sec and creme de cassis before, any berry or citrus liqueur that you have on hand will work, I recommend NOT skipping this ingredient, it adds some nice oomph to the cookie)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix the jam and whatever liqueur you are using. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together with hand mixer (or if you have a stand mixer do it in there. Also, if you have a stand mixer, I am jealous of you) until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat to combine.

In two additions, add the dry ingredient mixture and beat just until wet clumps form.

Then using your hands, gather the dough together in a ball.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and form 12 1-inch balls out of each of those parts. Place balls on parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch space in between each cookie.

Using a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon (a melon baller works if you have weird square shaped measuring spoons like me) make a small indent into the top of each cookie.

Fill each indent with about 1/2 teaspoon of the jam mixture.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for just a few minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

More cookie shenanigans to come, don't worry.

Thanksgiving dress rehearsal, part deux.

The remaining parts of our fall feast, lemon popovers, roasted carrots and parsnips, and plum tart for dessert were probably my favorite parts of the meal. I am usually the person at thanksgiving ignoring the turkey and stuffing and gorging myself on corn, Brussels sprouts, and my grandma's homemade buns. Side dishes are not to be ignored.

Dessert was incredibly easy. I can't really take credit for making it, I really just assembled parts and put it in the oven. Frozen puff pastry, ripe plums, homemade raspberry jam, and some fresh whipped cream made for a delightfully light yet decadent ending to the meal.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

When carrots and parsnips are roasted, they become caramelized and end up like sweet little candies. I like to add some cayenne pepper to offset the sweetness a bit and give them a little kick.

2 pounds of carrots, chopped on diagonal into 1/2 inch thick chunks

1 pound parsnips, chopped on diagonal into 1/2 inch chunks

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl to coat the vegtables. Spread evenly on a baking sheet (I use a sil-pat for even cooking, no sticking, and easy cleanup) and roast for about 30 minutes until the carrots and parsnips are caramelized and cooked through.

Lemon Popovers

adapted (barely) from Food & Wine Magazine

I don't have a popover pan, but I saw this recipe in food and wine for making them in a muffin pan. It worked great, they were just a little more stout than regular popovers. I used lemon zest instead of orange, since that is what I had on hand, but will definitely be trying them with orange in the near future.

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and divided

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the milk and 3 tablespoons melted butter and whisk to combine. In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and whisk until combined with only small lumps remaining.

Brush the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup tins) with the remaining melted butter. Place the buttered muffin tins into the preheated oven for 5 minutes, until butter starts to bubble and brown. Carefully fill the muffin tins half to three-fourths the way full with the popover batter. Bake the popovers for about 30 minutes until they pop over the muffin cups and are golden brown.

When they come out of the oven, stick each one with a knife to let the steam out so they don't get soggy on the inside. Serve right away. They are great with just a bit of butter, or also with some jam or preserves.

Plum - Raspberry Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

3 small plums, pitted, quartered, then very thinly sliced

1/4 cup raspberry jam or preserves

1 egg

2 teaspoons water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unfold thawed puff pastry on a sil-pat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Poke the pastry with a fork all over leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around the edges 'un-poked'. This will help the center stay flat under the fruit, and the edges puff up around the filling.

Arranged plum slices in rows on puff pastry leaving a 1 1/2 inch border around each side. Fold edges of pastry over to encase the plums. Beat the egg together with the water, and brush it on the top of the puff pastry edges. Sprinkle the sugar over the plum center. Bake until pastry is golden brown and plums are bubbly, about 20 minutes.

While the pastry is baking, heat the jam or preserves in a small saucepan over low heat until warm.

In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream with the confectioners sugar and beat with a hand mixer until it forms soft peaks.

Once the tart comes out of the oven, brush the plums with the hot raspberry jam, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Serve immediately with a big dollop of whipped cream.

After all this, you will probably want to take a nap. I did, and it was glorious. Heres hoping your first fall meals warm up your kitchens and your stomachs.

Hello Fall...or Winter?

We seem to have skipped fall completely here in Chicago and other parts of the Midwest. It has been about 20 degrees under the normal high temperatures, but looking on the bright side, at least it hasn't snowed yet like is has up in the northern regions.

I wanted to kick off fall with a big meal that would fill us up and warm the apartment. I accomplished both of those goals, and also made my boyfriend and his friends very happy campers, with very happy tummies.

We feasted on a whole roasted chicken with lemon, thyme, bacon, and garlic, mashed potatoes, pear and goat cheese salad, roasted root vegetables, and popovers. This was all finished off with a warm plum and raspberry tart.

I think of this as my dry run for the thanksgiving feast myself and some of my friends are going to have here in Chicago the weekend before the actual holiday. Everything went really smoothly, and even mistakes that were made turned out to be good things.

The day after this meal, in my food coma hangover, I realized that I roasted the chicken upside down. The funny thing is that I have seen so many birds roasted on television shows and in person that I can't believe I was confused when the recipe told me to 'tuck the wings underneath the bird'. I thought to myself, 'but the wings are already underneath the bird...'.

It turns out that this was a great mistake. The breasts were impossibly tender and juicy and I think that may have been because they basically braised in their own juices, bacon drippings, and lemon juice for about 2 hours. I think I may just flip my turkey upside down come Thanksgiving, but next time it will be on purpose.

Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is a VERY simple salad, but a classic and tasty combination of tart cheese and mellow fruit. Just be sure to use a high quality balsamic vinegar for the dressing.

1 package of baby spring greens

1 pear, diced and tossed with lemon juice to prevent browning

4 ounces crumbled goat cheese

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a tightly sealed container and shake vigorously until oil and vinegar is combined and emulsified. Toss greens, pears, goat cheese with just enough dressing to coat.

Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken

Recipe from Ina Garten - on foodnetwork.com

my notes in green

1 5-6 pound roasting chicken - I used a slightly larger one - about 8.5 pounds - so I would have plenty of leftovers, although I think the boys devoured much more of it than I anticipated

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme

4 lemons

3 heads garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 lb bacon - don't use lean bacon here, the point of it is to basically self-baste the chicken with the bacon fat

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Remove chicken giblets - if you are lucky they are in a nice little packet, if you aren't so lucky, you may have to pick them out one by one. I threw these into the freezer for a later date, you can make gravy and stock with these goodies. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan and liberally salt and pepper the inside cavity - I do not have a large roasting pan yet, so I used my 13 inch All-Clad french skillet and it worked great, it was just a bit harder to get it in and out of my oven.

Stuff the chicken with most of the thyme - I saved some for the roasted veggies - 1 lemon, halved, and two halves of the garlic. Now Ina calls for tying the legs together with kitchen twine and tucking the wing tips under the body. Since I roasted my bird upside down I did not need to do either of these things. If you want to go more conventional and roast your chicken right side up, by all means get the kitchen twine out and tuck those wings.

Quarter the remaining lemons and scatter them along with the rest of the garlic around the chicken in the bottom of the pan. Lay the bacon slices on top of the entire chicken - again I am sure this would be more effective had I roasted the chicken right side up, with the bacon fat flavoring the breast meat and keeping them moist. Next time I will either roast the chicken upside down again but omit the bacon, or roast it right side up with the bacon but definitely not a combination of the two.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon and set aside.

Roast for an additional 30 minutes or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh, or the breast temperature reaches 165 degrees - mine was bigger and took about an hour and 50 minutes total roasting time.

Remove to a platter, cover with foil, and let rest for up to 30 minutes.

For the gravy, remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil. reduce it to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes - I added a bit of cornstarch to help thicken it up since it was pretty runny.

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon

4-5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

2 bay leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Reserved bacon from roast chicken - roughly chopped

Peel and quarter potatoes and place in large pot of salted cold water with bay leaves. Bring to a boil then cook until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Heat the butter and cream over low heat in a small saucepan. Drain the potatoes and put back into the pot with the cream and the butter. Mash with a potato masher or a large fork until creamy and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with chopped bacon.

YUM. And we aren't even done yet. Since this post is starting to become a novel, I will leave the other sides (the roasted veggies and popovers) and the dessert for the next post so I don't lose readers due to sheer boredom. Maybe it will have turned back into fall by then, who knows.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

My first foray into grilled pizzas had it's ups and downs. After watching Micheal Chiarello easily slide his perfect pizza doughs on and off the grill grates, I thought 'I can do that, it doesn't look that hard'. Maybe someday I will learn that Mr. Chiarello tends to get me into trouble in the kitchen. (see the great gnocchi battle of 2008) Okay it wasn't all bad, and I think the next go around will be perfection, I just need to work out a few kinks.

The first dough to go onto the grill bubbled like crazy, and then once it was turned over the bubbles were so big, well, lets say they 'charred' (that's the grill-masters' way of saying it burned, without actually admitting fault). Everything seems to turn out better on the second try. They say you should always throw away your first crepe, your first pancake, but I didn't think I could spare an entire pizza dough the same way. So, I kept the 'charred' dough and went ahead. The second crust was beautiful, which is why I only took pictures of that one. Editing is GREAT.

Toppings are endless, and the method I used for making these allowed me to prepare all the topping ahead of time, and then just rewarm on the grill. One of the topping combinations was amazing, one of them not so much, but here is what I learned about making pizzas on the grill:

1. Do not use too high of heat, you will get crazy bubbles and burned edges. (if you are using charcoal I would recommend spreading one single layer of coals all over the bottom grate, and set your dampers so that you are over a medium heat)

2. Do not oil your dough too much, the heat will smoke the oil, turning your dough gray. This is NOT pretty. It won't ruin your pizza, but it will not enhance the flavor either.

3. Do not use a cheese that only tastes good when it is brown and bubbly. If you want brown and bubbly cheese, you may want to invest in a pizza stone so you can get your grill heat VERY high and not burn your dough (or finish it under your broiler). Hard cheeses and fresh mozzarella are good choices. Fontina....not so much (it kind of looked like snot, but more on that later).

4. Do grill toppings separately, this just adds to the deliciousness of the pizza.

5. Do not overload your pizzas with toppings, they will get very hard to maneuver, as the crust can be very fragile.

6. Use toppings that just need to be warmed briefly, in other words cook all your raw toppings ahead of time.

7. Use a sturdy dough recipe, one that calls for high gluten bread flour, or a similar additive.

8. Have fun with your flavor combinations, and don't be afraid to mess it up...maybe make some extra dough just in case though.

Pizza Dough

From Smitten Kitchen

My notes in green

Smitten kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs, and I often turn to it to get great recipes, especially for the basics (bread dough, pasta, pizza etc.). If you haven't checked her out yet, do it, she has awesome recipes and great photography. This dough worked really well, as it wasn't too delicate to throw around on the grill.

1 1/2 cups flour - I used my typical All-Purpose with added Vital Wheat Gluten combination

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix all dry ingredients, including the yeast, in a large mixing bowl. You can also start this in the food processor with the dough blade if you wish. Add the water and olive oil and mix until it starts to form a ball. Turn the shaggy mess out onto a floured surface, and knead until everything combines into a nice clean ball, just a minute or two.

Lightly oil the mixing bowl -a cooking spray such as Pam works well for this- and place the dough in, turning it around a few times so all sides of the dough are oiled as well. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for and hour or two, or until it has doubled in size.

Dump it out onto a well floured surface and gently press the air out of the dough. Fold the piece into a basic ball shape and let it sit under plastic wrap for another 20 minutes.

At this point, the dough is ready to be rolled out and grilled up. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick.

Goat Cheese, Zucchini, and Prosciutto Pizza

1-2 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced very thinly on a mandolin

1 package of prosciutto, cut into thin strips

1 4 oz. package of goat cheese

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pepita Pesto, Mushroom, and Fontina Pizza

About 3/4 cup peptia pesto (you can use any pesto, homemade or jarred)

1 package button mushrooms, sliced thinly

3/4 cup shredded fontina cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

While the dough was on its final 20-minute rise, I fired up the my trusty Weber. I tossed the zucchini and squash with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and grilled over high heat until just cooked through. This only takes a few minutes if the slices are very thin.

I also sauteed the prosciutto and the mushrooms separately until crisped and cooked through.

Mix the lemon juice, thyme, and goat cheese in a small bowl and set aside.

Lightly oil the pizza dough on one side, and moving gently and quickly, place the dough oiled-side down on the hot grates, and immediately oil the top side. It will probably start to bubble up and as soon as it starts to set, you can move it around a bit so that it doesn't burn in any spot.

Flip the dough over once the first side is nice and brown. This should only take 3-4 minutes on each side until the dough is fully cooked. (I obviously made 2 doughs, so I repeated this process)

I brought the doughs inside to where all my ingredients were ready and waiting to be assembled.

On the first pizza, I spread the goat cheese mixture thinly all over the crust, laid on the grilled zucchini strips and the prosciutto, and sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese.

Onto the second pizza went the pesto, then the mushrooms, the fontina, and lastly the Parmesan.

Each of these pizzas went back onto the covered grill over low heat until all the ingredients were heated up and the cheese was melted, about 10 minutes.

The goat cheese pizza was divine. It was salty, fresh, and creamy. I would make it again as-is in a heartbeat. The pesto/mushroom pizza I would make again, but with many changes. I would add another component, something a bit sweet to offset the bitter pesto. I would also finish it under the broiler to get the cheese all brown and bubbly, instead of greasy and gooey like it turned out.

There were many lessons learned about pizzas making, and now that it is turning into autumn, I am looking forward to testing out my new skills with the coming fall produce.

Happy first day of Fall, may your week be filled with changing leaves, pumpkins, and cinnamon-flavored everything.