It hit the fan

Sometimes I'll be doing something totally normal and then all of a sudden I get a huge realization about something. Like I was eating a fattening brownie and looking at my stats about how many people have viewed my blog, and I was like it says September 2009. I think to myself of course, has it really almost been three years? I really don't believe that I've been in college for almost three years now. I graduate next year, and I'm supposed to be some grown-up that has their shit together and be a functioning adult, or something that resembles that. I still have no idea what I really want to do in life. There are elements that I know I want, but I don't know if I want to own my own place or if I'll be content working for someone else.
It just seems like a really big deal to me, really quite overwhelming at times.
On a somewhat pastry related topic. I was eating an ultimate brownie and I had ice cream on top of it, made it more delicious. And it was hurting my teeth because of the cold. My teeth are sensitive since I don't really floss because doesn't seem to matter how much I floss that my gums always bleed. So I had quite a few cavities ( I mostly blame being a baker and loving sweets). I had to have eleven filled plus one that had previously been filled had fallen out or broken off, something like that.
On a random tangent, I am in love with the Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins, (who isn't?) I don't remember a time when I've read a book so quickly. I would have finished it by now if I hadn't gone and done things I needed to do, like exercising in preparation for CopperMan or going to class. Which by the way is an awesome class. It is called brewing arts and is all about beer and related drinks. We got out early because of some mix up and we ended up not having beer to sip and spit with. Sip and spit is the only way that we are allowed to do this class, (my campus is a dry campus) and there are about 7 of us that are under 21. If we were 21 or older we would have the option to either write a paper or brew our own beer. But for those of us under 21 we have the option of either writing the research paper or not doing anything and getting a lower grade. I turn 21, two days after classes end, on graduation day for other people besides me.
Back to reading the Hunger Games, even though I know how this book ends, I still must find out how it gets to that point. It is such a good book. I'm so in love with it. My mom bought me the first one on Tuesday, and I read most of it last night, so on my way home from beer class this evening I had to stop into a store and buy the last two, even though it probably could have waited until tomorrow. I didn't want to wait because I know I'll be finishing the first one tonight. 

CopperMan

In a few weeks I am going to be running the CopperMan race, which is a 3k obstacle course. For most people 3k is no big deal, but I hate running. I have no clue why I got it in my head that I should run this race, maybe it was the idea of running through a giant pit of hot chocolate and having bragging rights to that. I don't know. Anyway, I am having a hard time getting motivated to get up off my ass and go for a run today, or even a bike ride. I have no excuses, except that I don't want to.
Remember a couple days ago when I posted about the ultimate brownies? Well they are slowly killing me with their chocolatey goodness, and really killing my want to exercise. The brownies make it more of a need, and I feel pressure to do so, which just turns into a sneaky hate spiral. My suggestion is to not make the brownies unless you are having a party or plan on selling them, because for a family of three (one that doesn't like chocolate) it is going to take forever to eat those brownies, unless we give them away or sell them or do something. If I eat the rest of that pan of brownies I will gain at least ten pounds because that is how heavy the pan feels.
Tomorrow is my second class of brewing arts and I'm kind of excited about it. Last class was a lot of fun, I'm hoping they stay fun. My hospitality law class is a lot of fun too. I think my law professor looks a lot like Jamie Lee Curtis, and she is a really fun professor. I actually pay attention in her class. After her class I have been going and sitting outside because the weather has been gorgeous, and Nick is good company to sit outside in the sunshine with. I help him with his Spanish homework, sorta. I've forgotten most of my Spanish. Its kind of sad but I already have a slight tan line and its only March... I want my snow to come back, I want to go snowboarding more. I have to go two more times at least before the season is over.

The Ultimate Brownie

There isn't much to report, other than classes started this week and I can't believe its only been a week. It feels like a lot longer. I only have three days where I am in class. Thursdays are more like a day off because I don't have class until 6pm. I was in class the other day and one of my friends was looking at this website and I looked over and there was this picture of brownies and they looked delicious. I asked him what the website was and if the recipe was there. He told me that there was a recipe. Of course I decided I had to make those brownies. They are awesome. I had to bake them for a bit longer than the recipe says. I don't like how the recipe doesn't say what temperature to bake them at, so I guessed and used 350. Death by chocolate is what I would call these because you would keep eating them until you died. I was going to take a picture but I couldn't get it out of the pan without it falling apart. Also I couldn't control myself and just attacked it with a fork. The recipe I used was from Like They Do. It has a picture so if you want to see it go there. I highly recommend this recipe if you are a huge chocolate lover.

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Since my last posting I have been a busy woman. I baked a bunch of cupcakes for my mom to take to work for her last day of the rotation as she usually does. I went to Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. I went snowboarding today, and classes start up again tomorrow.

Garden of the Gods

Yesterday was Monday and the last official day of Spring Break. Today was just my day off from classes because I don't have Tuesday classes anymore! yay! My friend Andy and I went down to Colorado Springs to see Garden of the Gods and it was a GORGEOUS day. We drove through because we were lazy like that, we stopped at a couple of the rock formations, like Balanced Rock. Where were almost saw a deer get hit by a car.

Seven Falls

After Garden of the Gods we went to Seven Falls, where we were told that they elevator would not be open and the stairs would be open in about a half hour or so. We walked around and found random things in the cliff walls. It was fun. When the stairs opened up we slowly made our way up the 224 steps according to the sign or 223 according to us because we counted them, twice.  When we were looking at all the really expensive stuff in the gift shop we heard that they were opening the elevator, so after we climbed up to the top of the falls we rode the elevator up so we could take this picture.
 

The view from the top of the zoo

The bears that knew their names

 We were going to drive up Pikes Peak but the road would have been closed by the time we got to it, so we decided to go to the zoo. This zoo is amazing, it is huge and has a lot of animals. I got to feed the giraffes, it was cool and gross. They would see you get the food and come over and start sticking their tongues out trying to get the food from you. There was a couple giraffes that thought the wood of their cage was better tasting and one actually pulled a huge piece off and was trying to eat it. We went into the monkey habitat and saw this pair of gibbons that are both missing their left hands, but you wouldn't know it unless someone pointed it out to you. Those gibbons were getting along just fine. We also went and visited the bears and there was a plaque that had a paragraph on each of the bears and what their names are. So Andy and I started calling their names and they actually turned and looked at us.
Monday was an awesome day.

 Today was also an awesome day. I got to go snowboarding. It was another beautiful day out. Sunny, not really cloudy, but the wind was killer. We made seven runs, which  might not sound like much until you know that each run is about two miles long. My face got sunburned and windburned, I kind of have raccoon eyes. Two things I found interesting today was that there was a guy who only had one leg and he was skiing. I was in awe by this, I sat down and watched him go sailing down the mountain, just like any other skier. The other thing I found interesting is there was a woman that I met a lunch that skies or snowboards while carrying her three month old baby. Since Loveland requires you carry them in a pack she was taking turns with her husband as to who was sitting with the baby because they didn't have a pack for her. 
I made the cupcakes on Sunday because Mom needed them for Monday. I had given her a bunch of choices and of course she loves chocolate so she picked the chocolate one. This recipe is from 175 best babycakes recipes by Kathy Moore and Roxanne Wyss.
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs at room temp
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl whisk together flour cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat the sugars and butter for 1 to 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk making three additions of flour and two of buttermilk and beating on low speed until smooth. Gently stir in chocolate chips.
If you have a babycakes maker then you can just bake them like any other cupcake. If not then you should be able to bake at 325F until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. This is supposed to make 32 to 36 babycakes, even if I measure I don't seem to get the right number...

Caramel Frosting, from the same book as the cupcakes
1/4 cup butter softened
1/4 cup shortening
3 tbsp caramel syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp milk (optional)


In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter and shortening for 1 minute or until light and creamy. Beat in caramel syrup, vanilla and salt. Gradually beat in sugar until blended. Beat in milk if thinner frosting is desired.

Cheddar Mustard Beer Bread

Another super busy day in the kitchen of mine. Its not really my kitchen, but I use it a lot. I saw this recipe on a blog that I like because she bakes things with booze, and my lab classes have taught me to love baking things with booze and "just a little bit." It is for Cheddar Mustard Beer Bread, her pictures made it look so delicious that I just had to try it.

I did have a little problem with trying to get it to rise and double in size. I think this is mostly because my house is not that warm, and its kind of a cold day today. Also eating it I kept finding pieces of pepper that didn't get cracked all the way. But I think it turned out delicious. My dad says that it is dense and wet, he thinks that it needs to be toasted, I don't suggest trying to toast it because of the cheese.

I'm also making an angel food cake for dessert so that we can eat strawberries. That is just a box cake mix though so no big deal.

See doesn't it just look delicious and that you want to make it yourself now because I can't share mine? Well here is the recipe that I got from Bake it with Booze! blog.

 

Bread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup beer, preferably dark
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/3 cup rye flour (you can get rye flour in the cool bin section of your market)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine salt (regular table salt)
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Filling

3 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon or a mustard of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Several grinds black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

Make dough: In a small saucepan, heat the 4 tablespoons butter and 1/4 cup of beer, just until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and add the remaining 1/3 cup beer. Set aside to cool down slightly. You want the mixture warm (110 to 116 degrees).  Be anal, use a thermometer.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast and salt. With the mixer on low, pour in the butter-beer mixture, mixing only until the flour is moistened. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. The batter will look lumpy, but will become smooth when you add in the rest of the flours. Add the remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and all of the rye flour, mixing until just combined. Replace paddle with a dough hook and let the machine knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes on low.

Oil a medium bowl and transfer dough to it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside for 50 to 60 minutes, until doubled. 

Make fillings: In the same small saucepan you used for the butter and beer, melt the 3 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, Worcestershire and hot sauce until smooth. Set aside.  You want an emulsion, trust me.

On wax paper, where you grated your cheese, sprinkle over the cheese: the mustard powder, paprika, salt and several grinds of black pepper. Toss with your hands on the wax paper until the grated strands are evenly coated with spices.  Wrap it up in a little package and put it in the fridge until you're about 20 minutes away from rolling out the dough.  If it gets too warm, it'll get too clumpy.

Assemble bread: Coat a 9-by-5 loaf pan lightly with butter or a nonstick spray.  Set aside.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and roll the dough into a 18-by-9-inch rectangle, making sure it doesn’t stick to the counter by re-flouring the counter as needed. Brush the butter-mustard-Worcestershire mixture evenly over the whole surface, right up to the edges. Sprinkle with the cheese spice mixture, evenly distributing all the way to the edges.  Press the cheese into the dough a bit.  Starting at the short end, roll up like a jelly roll.  Press the seams together and turn the seam side down.

With the sharpest knife you own (or a serrated one), gently and with the lightest sawing motions cut your bread into 12 equal pieces.  I cut it in half, then quarters, then each quarter into thirds.  

Arrange stacks of dough down the length of your prepared loaf pan in an offset pattern.  Almost simulating a braid look.  

 

Loosely cover the pan with more plastic wrap and set it aside to rise again for 45-50 more minutes. Let it come to the top of the pan at least and get kinda plump.

Preheat your over to 350 degrees.  Bake loaf for 25 to 35 minutes, until puffed and brown. You want it to sound hollow when rapped with a wooden spoon, or so I'm told.  Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for 5 minutes before flipping it out onto a serving plate/cutting board.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Have I told you about my friend Andy? Not really? Well he is a pretty cool guy, and he is from Chicago. He moved to the Denver area a couple weeks ago. I sorta have known him for awhile. Like he is my friend Kendra's ex-boyfriend and she got us talking online because she wanted me to know another awesome person. Well we finally met because he moved here after he graduated. We have hung out a couple of times and he told me that since I bake things that I should bake him a Chicago style deep dish pizza. Since I'm on Spring break and looking for things to during break. He called me this morning and was like we should totally make the pizza today. He came over to my house, which we then went to the store to buy toppings and make sure we had all the right ingredients.
I would give you the recipe, but I have been sworn to secrecy, since we are going to try to open up a restaurant and have our awesomely delicious pizza sold there. I will however refer you to the site that we used as a basis, but greatly doctored it up to make it our own. Recipe we used mostly for the dough, but like I said it was greatly altered.
The pizza we made was so freaking delicious, Andy hasn't shut up about it. He was really excited about it, and found that it turned out delicious. The only thing that we really found that was wrong with it was that we had a bit too much sauce and not enough cheese. 

Before

After

Bad slice that fell apart from too much sauce

Good slice

The half eaten frittata that I made for dinner and the pig that holds my spatula

Spring Break/Fudgy Brownies

I'm on Spring Break and this is what it looks like outside...

Real Spring like...

Why does my school have spring break when it isn't spring time? Because we are a bunch of college ski bums? I don't know other than this is how they have worked it... I am super excited to find out that I got a 294 out of 300 on my history final. I was really stressing out about that one because we had to write two essays in under two hours. Granted they didn't have to be long essays, but I don't like having to write in a time limit such as that. I am also happy that on my huge group project that was due last week and was 20 plus pages, my group and I got a 92%. This trimester I started out failing most of my classes because I had a crappy schedule that didn't really let me do anything, but I was able to work at it and get all of my grades above a C, I believe. There is still one class that the final hasn't been graded yet, but it should still be a B or A even. I don't think I can truly convey how excited/happy I am about my history final. Tomorrow I'm going to Cirque du Soliel, which should be good and fun.

Holly being the strange kit-cat that he is

I love him more than chocolate

Because I didn't do a Valentines day post, this one is kind of making up for it. I'm cheap, most of the time. I don't do days like Valentines day because its a stupid day to go out a buy cards for and crap. My mom however bought me the bear that is strangling my cat. It is holding a heart and it says "I love you more than chocolate" and she bought me two bags of peanut chocolate covered candies. Which I then used to make her gift, and picked out only the blue ones because that is her favorite color. Since I know she loves chocolate, I made her brownies and turned it into a card saying love Sara, but a heart instead of the word because I didn't have enough room in the pan... 

Here is the recipe for the brownies. We got it out of a magazine, and I want to give them credit, but I don't know what magazine, the title just says The Enlightened Cook.



Fudgy Brownies
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup butter
2 oz dark chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350, Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in a medium bowl, stir with a a whisk. Place putter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl and microwave at HIGH for 45 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds. Stir until smooth, and set aside. Cool slightly. Add the sugar, milk, vanilla extract, egg yolks and egg; stir with a whisk to combine. Add butter mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Pour batter into an 8-inch square metal baking pan coated with cooking  spray. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes our almost clean.
For mine just pick out chocolate covered candies and place randomly or in a message.