Alphajores and Lecture #2

So it is no secret that the Glad children have been all over the world. Daughter number 2 is back from South America and has been asked to give her second Brown Bag Lunch Lecture to the BLM her employer here in lovely Provo.
She is an excellent speaker and an excellent baker, but she is a rotten cleaner upper of the kitchen. Mother was doing the dishes at 2:00 a.m.

Alphajores are a delectable cookie that screams EAT ME!!!. Filled with Dulce de Leche, you will find these treats hard to resist. They can be found in every Panaderia in Argentina.>Click here for your own Alphajores Recipe

Here I Go

My physician is excellent. I can't live with the pain of this foot any longer. I will post when I am able.

Advanced Baking 310

Happy Birthday to Malaina and Dave.

This is the last big thing I have made for my family before the big operation on Thursday.
if you have not made a "real butter-cream" you are missing out

This recipe is from the May 2009 issue of Bon Appetite' Magazine. My photos are above. The magazine's are below. I think my cake looks better than theirs.

Mile-High Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

The attraction of mile-high desserts is undeniable. Here, the base is a chocolate cake that is then filled with not-too-sweet buttercream. Covering the cake with white frosting would make it too sweet; instead a chocolate glaze drips down the sides. For tips on putting together this beauty of a cake, see How to Make Buttercream and How to Assemble a Layer Cake.

16 servings

Recipe by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Photograph by Brian Finke

May 2009

Ingredients

cake

• 1 1/4 cups hot water
• 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Scharffen Berger)
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (preferably nonhydrogenated), room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

vanilla buttercream

• 5 large egg whites
• 1 2/3 cups sugar, divided
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, diced, room temperature

chocolate glaze

• 5 oz high-quality milk chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
• 5 oz bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
• 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, room temperature

Special equipment

• Candy thermometer
• Instant-read thermometer
• Offset spatula

Preparation

cake

• Butter three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each pan with parchment paper round; butter parchment. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess. Whisk 1 1/4 cups hot water, cocoa powder, and sour cream in medium bowl until smooth; set aside until mixture is cool, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Sift next 4 ingredients into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and shortening in large bowl until well blended and smooth. Add both sugars; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with cocoa mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until incorporated. Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2 3/4 cups batter for each) and smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks 20 minutes. Run knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.

vanilla buttercream

• Combine egg whites and 1/3 cup sugar in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean.
• Combine remaining 1 1/3 cups sugar and 1/3 cup water in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Attach candy thermometer to side of pan, making sure that bulb of thermometer is immersed in syrup. Increase heat; boil until temperature registers 238°F to 240°F (soft-ball stage), about 5 minutes. Immediately remove syrup from heat (use within 2 minutes).
• Meanwhile, beat egg white mixture on medium speed until very soft peaks form (mixture will be slightly opaque).
• Increase mixer speed to high and slowly pour hot syrup down side of bowl into egg white mixture in slow steady stream; beat until meringue forms stiff peaks. Cool meringue in bowl until lukewarm (instant-read thermometer will register 100°F), about 30 minutes. Do not beat.
• Start beating meringue again on medium speed of stand mixer. Gradually add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, beating constantly until absorbed before adding next addition. Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (If buttercream looks broken or curdled, place mixer bowl with buttercream over medium heat on stove burner and whisk with large whisk for 5 to 10 seconds to warm mixture slightly, then remove from heat and whisk vigorously or attach bowl to stand mixer and beat mixture again on medium speed. Repeat warming and beating buttercream mixture as many times as needed until buttercream is smooth and no longer curdled.)
• Using serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally, forming 6 cake layers. If necessary, trim any domed tops of cakes to form even layers. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Drop 3/4 cup buttercream by tablespoonfuls over top of cake layer, then spread evenly to edges with offset spatula. Top with second cake layer, then spread 3/4 cup buttercream over. Repeat with 3 more cake layers, spreading 3/4 cup buttercream over each and pressing slightly to adhere. Top with 6th cake layer (do not spread buttercream over top cake layer). Chill cake at least 1 hour.

chocolate glaze

• Combine both chocolates in medium bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup to simmer in heavy saucepan. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate; let stand 2 minutes. Whisk chocolate mixture until melted and smooth. Add butter; whisk until melted. Chill glaze until slightly thickened and glaze drips thickly when poured slowly from spoon, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Spoon glaze around top edge of cake by teaspoonfuls, spacing drips up to 2 inches apart and allowing glaze to drip slowly down sides of cake. Spoon remaining glaze over top center of cake and smooth with offset spatula, covering top completely. Chill cake until glaze sets, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Tent with foil and keep chilled. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Hungry for More? If you have a question about this recipe, contact our Test Kitchen at askba@bonappetit.com. To see more recipes like this one, check out our Diner Desserts Slideshow.

Crow Eating Results ; But Ate Elk Instead.

So, only a few people have responded to the poll about whether or not I need to eat crow. I was interested to note:

• Only one person said Kris had a better voice than Adam.
  
• And only 2 people were offended by my liberal use of the word boring.
• 6 people thought Adam had the better voice and it was a popularity contest.
• One person thought the voting was rigged.

So, I am not going to eat crow. (And frankly aren't we just a little bit bored by the subject?)

I am suffering the birds though. Some starling chicks have flown the nest and their parents are still chasing them down and feeding them like crazy. They are making such a racket in the area. So I am getting my comeuppance. The birds are flying, and I don't mean the middle fingers.


I was trolling the television recently. I came upon Apollo 13. I LOVE that movie. I think it might make my top 100 list. The only reason it might not is because of that

"BORING" actor.....Gary Sinise. I really strongly dislike him.A person might even think I hate him

. I do loves me some Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. They are two of my favorite actors.

There are so many talented actors out there who are some of your favorites?

1. Ed Harris
2. Tom Cruise
3. Kevin Bacon
4. Johnny Depp
5. George Clooney
6. Hugh Grant
7. Clive Owen
8. Sean Connery
9. Alec Baldwin
10. Shah Rukh Khan

to name a few. I am sure I can think of others, but it is 3:00 in the morning!!!

Elk Roast:
The Russ Fuller Family invited us over for a great dinner yesterday~~~
I just love that family .
YUM that Elk Roast was really good

Braise one or two roasts quickly searing them on each side.
Put them in a crock pot, with a bit of water. Score the tops of each roast;add onion soup mix and onions to the crock pot and let it go for about 10 hours. You can add potatoes during the last 2 hours of cooking ,and then make a great gravy to go over the whole thing. You will get a really lean dinner and one that is delicious and wholesome.

Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

This is the coolest video, and song. I need shelter!!

Some Crap Going Down

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis (means I can't walk for s*&t) and if I continue this way, I will get arthritis and fused bones. So, if orthopaedics and PT don't work..then I face a life with a brace or I get flat foot reconstruction. My foot is so flat that it turns in by almost 30%. So, alas, I am faced with a painful future for a year (yes that is how long it takes to feel better) with the surgery or a painful lifetime of really bad problems.
Medializing calcaneal osteotomy(reposition the Achilles tendon, plantar fascia and the bone more laterally)
first cuneform flexion osteotomy (bone graft)
soft tissue reconstruction (excise tibial tendon, realign a neighboring tendon)
with FDL transfer (move the heel into alignment, think screws and stuff)
and accessory navicular excision. (boney excess crap scraped off ..have lots of that)

I am terrified; the procedure IS as bad as it sounds. My surgeon says this is the biggest operation he does and , and it is more drastic than knee, or shoulder replacement. He said" it is a grueling recovery." I will be non-weight bearing for 6 to 10 weeks. In a boot for 2 months and swollen for several more. BUT, I will get the spring back in my step and be glad I did it now rather than when I am older.

I plan on crawling on my hands and knees a lot, and I bought this really cool knee walker for going out and about. I don't think I can do crutches permanently. When I broke my foot in Malaysia I was on crutches for a time, and it really hurt my wrists and shoulders. I just need to go easy and hope my other foot stays OK. I can't afford for this to happen on that side too.
Okay, on another matter.... I am placing another poll....DO YOU THINK I NEED TO EAT CROW? I proclaimed Kris Allen as a boring contestant, yet he won the popularity vote that American Idol has become.

Seeing the contestants side by side tonight I would like you to honestly (all musical taste and visual preferences set aside) judge whether or not the BEST singer won. Do you, you,you, the reader here and now really believe the BEST singer won?

Or do you feel it was a popular vote like I do? I feel that Adam was too progressive, people didn't like his makeup, his sexual orientation, his glam - rocker style. Most of you know that I am left of center for an LDS woman, I would not consider myself a conservative. I have homosexual loved ones, I go to rock concerts (Green Day in August) I have opinions that are quite a bit more "out there" I voted for Obama for Pete's sake (and I strongly encouraged my husband to vote for him too). But , I am fair, and I will eat crow if you think, Adam was worse.

Vote at my poll on the right.

I watched the Ford commercial, and it was so good. I loved it, but it was good because of Adam's powerful harmony. You can watch or grab it too in the next post.

And what do you think of Adam and Kiss? Was that incredible or what? My father in law would have hated it. My husband says he and has dad had more than one altercation about that band when he was in highschool.

I Will

Want more American Idol videos? Click here.

With Love

My camera rocks. Look at the amazing photos, including the banner, that Tiny took in about 20 minutes. I sent her outside to complete an assignment and this is a small sampling of what she came in with.

Hosta

Iris

Mexican Beach Rocks

i have a lovely mini zen garden

Delphinium

Bleeding Heart

Thanks be, to my wonderful husband who buys the plants, tubers, etc. And then plants them, cares for them and loves them. God's hand in these small things is glorious.

My Great-grandma Suazo would be 120 today. It seems like yesterday, that I was wishing her happy 100!

American Opinion

So, I have not posted about American Idol yet this season. I have been kinda sick of blogging for a while, but now I am ready to pick up my "poison pen", so to speak. I have not been very opinionated in a while and frankly reading over some of my past posts, I have been bored to death. And speaking of boring....

....the guy on the left is so boring I can't even remember his name. I yawn every time he opens his mouth. ZZZzzzzz.

He has had maybe one good song all season. And, It was so boring I can't remember what it was.

We are ambivalent towards you, guy on the left. I would not recognize you on the street. You will go the way of all the other boring contestants.... into the" ether of ordinary".

But, I believe everyone should have their own right to vote and choose, so when it all comes down to it, I think it is rigged; the producers choose who is going to make the most money for the show. I am going to post a poll in the right hand column of this blog. Do you think American Idol is rigged?

Now let me get one thing straight. I do not necessarily love Adam Lambert. Sometimes he bugs me. But, he is more talented and has a better voice and stage presence than the other guy.( I think Alison was ripped off) I REMEMBER what he sang from several weeks ago. I REMEMBER him.

As I sit here writing this, I honestly cannot remember Chris's last name. ( wait,,, I am going to google it) "Allen" his name is Kris Allen.

I agree with Entertainment Weekly. Adam Lambert is the most exciting contestant since Chris Daughtry. So, I am through with the opinion. Love me or hate me, I am too tired to care, I will end it right now with the following sentence:

If America gets this vote wrong, I am through... through with Idol I tell you!

BBQ'd Birds

This is the third starling nest I have pulled from my BBQ. I need my BBQ. I use it quite often. They like to sit on the shelf and poop. Keep in mind that my BBQ hood was down. They were entering it from the back side. There maybe was a 3 1/2 inch gap between the BBQ and the wall. My good for nothing cat would just sit and watch the nest building. I even took this BBQ to an event and even its absence would not deter these birds. Now I have had to resort to stuffing the entire back part of the BBQ with towels to keep them from nest building. I have to shoo them from the window above my kitchen sink.

Now, if only I could be as persistent and industrious as these two birds, imagine what I could get done!

Here's to a Great Saturday!

A person would have to have been living....in a cave (pun intended) not to have heard about Gollum and his "precious" ring.

Well kids, I too, have a "precious" . My precious camera has been returned to me whole and in perfect form. For some unknown reason, there were two screws loose...(hmmm, does that bring to mind any person you know?) inside the camera. While "precious" was being fixed, I crocheted a cover for my neck strap. It used to drive me insane because is was so rough and prickly. Now it is soft and cushioney.

Dave and Tiny were gone camping, and Jordan was in Idaho with a friend
so Malaina and I snuck off to see "Angels and Demons", with Tom Hanks.
We enjoyed it. It had been years since I read the book, so I couldn't remember who or what was happening.

Then we went for Indian food. Oh, it was fabulously good! But 'spensive!

India Palace

My new favorite restaurant. Fabulous food, excellent service and ever so clean!!!

Watch This!

Get ready fellow foodies. Top Chef the Master's is coming June 10, on Bravo TV!!!!
If you are a true foodie, you will recognize all the people in Chef's jackets above. And, there are 19 more who aren't pictured!!! All the chefs on the show are playing for charity, and all have cookbooks, restaurants, limos, and bitches to do their everyday work. YES!!!

Sensuous Throwdown

So last week, we met up with Dave's brother Brad and his son Ben at one of Tiny's last games. We initiated them to Sensuous Sandwich on Provo Center ST. Ben must have a competitive nature because he bought the 24 inch submarine sandwich and took the challenge to eat it in under 30 minutes. He went 15:08. We didn't talk to him as he processed the food, but we did take lots of photos. For those that don't know....if you eat a 2 foot sub sandwich in under 30 minutes. you get a t-shirt that gives you free drinks, your picture taken and placed proudly on the wall, and heartburn and the shits for the next 24 hours. Good job BEN.

Streetfood - Penang - 10 June 08 - Part 1

MMM....I hungry la.

Star Trek and More Movie Favs

Thanks to screen.ology.com for letting me use this awesome photograph.

So who didn't see Star Trek this weekend? I saw it and I loved it. The casting was really brilliant. Especially because of the chemistry the actors had with each other. To me the best casting was of Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. The Kiwi did the role to perfection.

I think it was smart of director/producer, J.J. Abrams (Whom I feel I know via my connections to the t.v. show "Lost") to use the Star Trek noises, whistles, and hydraulic sounds. It was so fun to watch. I am not a movie critic and I don't want to go any further on the topic, just go see it.


So since I am still minus my camera this week, let's go through some of my favorite movies, in no particular order (you can link to my other post on my favorite movies here:) Remember, these are not the best movies ever, just some of my favorites....



Let's just get it right out in the open. I love Mobster movies. LOVE,LOVE,LOVE them. If you get the chance to see this movie on A&E the edited version; DO see it. This is based on a true story about a "goodfella" for a mob family. Brilliant acting, directing and music.


This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. I re-watch it from year to year and it never fails to entertain. Al Pacino gets his start here and Marlon Brando takes his swan song.

Oh, and this is one of the best movies ever.




The brilliant sequel to the original. Michael Corleone takes over after his father Vito dies. And he does NOT disappoint. Much of our "pop" culture comes from these two movies. I think the name "Fredo" went out of popularity amongst Italians after this movie, and for good reason.



I cannot say enough great things about this movie. Me and the girls have seen it countless times. I have been a fan of the Westminster Kennel Club for decades now, and this movie makes fun of the dog community. It is done by Jamie Lee Curtis' husband Christopher Guest who is masterful at writing and directing script-less movies. The actors are given a general idea of where to go with the story, but are ad-libbing as they go. Jennifer Coolidge was so hilarious as the ignored rich wife Sherri Ann Cabot. I still cannot say "snow peas" without thinking of her.



Okay, so if you want to see a really "educational" movie about the "Watergate" business I hope you see this movie. You will get a kick out to these two dimwitted 15 year old girls who as the famed "Deepthroat" bring down the Nixon administration by accident. You will also love the darling 70's era costumes and music.




I recently posted about this movie when the beautiful Natasha Richardson died. It is my official favorite movie of 1998. I remember seeing the Hamilton family at this movie in Orem when we first saw it. While I loved the original, this movie was just so much more fun for me. And the wonderful Dennis Quaid was in this too. (I can't wait for GI Joe this summer..giggle)

Good family fun.


A man is unjustly accused of murder and put in prison for life. Watch his ability to remain human after all the misery he endures; and the influence he has on others as he gains the trust of the ever nasty warden.
This movie has the best ending ever!!!! That said, it is tough to watch in some places. I always watch it when it comes on television. Morgan Freeman and Timothy Robbins are perfection in Shawshank Redemption.



A true master of the ensemble cast genre' was lost when director Robert Altman died. This is my favorite movie of his. Set in 1932 at a English country house, it is a classic who-done-it! Was it the secretive butler or the spinster aunt who is in danger of losing her allowance? You will love seeing several famous faces in this cast including the gorgeous Clive Owen as a manservant to one of the guests.


One of Gweneth Paltrow's most darling movies ever. Jane Austin must have been a delightful person to have conceived of this character. Emma is a horrid matchmaker, and she never gives up her scheming. But she succeeds in finding love for herself in the end with the dashing Mr. Knightly! Oh, this is a wonderful girls night out movie. My daughters and I adore it.




Two assassins meet and fall in love unaware that they are working for opposing teams. Their marriage turns stale, until they are contracted to kill one another. Then the heat returns to the marriage bed in aces! Buckle up your seat belt and enjoy the fun ride.

and...um yes, the chemistry between the actors was um... well,,, you know the story.

Scarpetta Comes to the Big Screen

Angelina Jolie is going to put on her medical scrubs and play Patricia Cornwell's, fictional medical examiner Kay Scarpetta in a series of movies. There are sixteen books in Cornwell's Scarpetta series. So no one movie will be based on any book, but the movies will be kind of like the Bourne movies based on the Robert Ludlum, Bourne series of books.



I like the early Kay Scarpetta books, and I just finished the last one which I enjoyed, so I am looking forward to the movies. However I do question the choice of Angelina Jolie as the lead. I always pictured Kay Scarpetta to be more of a blonde, and one who looks like...well the author, Patricia Cornwell. You can link to her website for a full listing of her books. And like any series they are best to be be read in order.

If you like mystery, thriller, and some medical gore, you will like Kay Scarpetta, I like her 'cause the girl knows how to eat too. I get hungry reading a Scarpetta book. All the talk about pancetta, and olive oil makes me want to feed.



Start with Post~Mortem .






And end with Scarpetta

My darling girl is finally home. She looked fresh and young, and she looked like a true backpacker except she didn't have her Chaco's on. But she did have requisite guitar in hand.

Here is a three generational photograph. I think we look like a pretty good representation of Malaina's physical future.

Congratulations Malaina, NOW is the time to truly explore the world when you don't have little kids in tow or even a husband trying to keep you from shopping to your hearts content. You are brave and courageous to do this on your own....but...that is how we raised you to be. Rock on.

Do You Have Friends?

Lets hear from you if you have friends that have seen you in the best of times and the worst of times; and POOR as a church mouse... This fun group of ladies below, (held together by the woman in red) has many, many things in common...

• We all lived at BYU Married Student Housing
• We have seen each other through pregnancy
  
• We have all tried to loose baby fat
• We all raised kids together (and raised each others kids sometimes)
• We all lived on about 5,000 dollars a year
• We have all driven beater cars and used ,used furniture
  
• We have all argued and made up with each other
• We have all swapped recipes
• We all have our own kids in college (or missions)
• We all have successful husbands and wonderful children
• After 17 years, we are still friends
  

...And apparently we all enjoy a bawdy joke,
that was probably told by Heather or Becky.

Everyone was in town for Women's Conference, and is was so great to see each other again. It was just like old times.

Wisteria What?

Okay, so I dropped my amazing, wonderful (ahem, top of the digital camera hierarchy) camera. It worked for a few more photos after the fall and then it stopped. I am traumatized beyond belief. I am going to take poor precious darling to the camera doctor tomorrow and hope for a cheap fix, but don't count on it. Have you priced the Canon G9?? They are going to charge me an arm and a leg.

So, long story short...I have to resort to my already old pictures. I, due to an amazing lack of imagination and a short attention span, am not particularly fond of blogs without photos, so I will proceed to force feed my readers horribly terrible information and some very average pics. Are you ready? (In proof reading this paragraph I noticed it is grammatically awful, but I am too lazy to fix it)

Ha! We went to California...like 2 weeks ago, and I forced the group to go to Universal Studios. Then if that were not bad enough, I forced them to take the tour of the studio.

Here are poor Christina, Art and Tesha looking at Gabby's house from the Desperate Housewives show. (The show takes place on "Wisteria Lane")

Okay, so have you ever watched the Desperate Housewives?

While I do not record the Housewives, (I choose to record Breaking Bad a totally amazing Emmy Award winning show that is filmed in New Mexico that my sister works on)
I do watch the Housewives occasionally. It is not a "cocinada" (Spanish slang for dirty), like my mother thinks it is. It is a really creative drama that deals with some pretty ridiculous scenarios in a whole new twist. It is narrated by a dead woman for one. And it is loaded with plot twists and delicious foreshadowing. It is really fun to watch if you get the chance. But Breaking Bad is incredible.

Here is a really stupid photo of some Wisteria.

All the flowers on the set were fake but they looked really pretty. You will see Wisteria in tons of Chinese art. It is grown in the Eastern U.S. and is native to China.